Everybody wants to save the earth, nobody wants to help mom do the dishes.  --P.J. O'Rourke

Showing posts with label motorcycles. Show all posts
Showing posts with label motorcycles. Show all posts

Saturday, August 29, 2009

Nimbus Motorcycle (What Hagrid SHOULD Have Ridden)



Unless you are a hardcore bike nerd or Danish (of the non-pastery persuasion), you have probably never heard of Nimbus motorcycles. Unlike the Nimbus 2000 of Harry Potter fame, this one runs on petrol as opposed to ye old magickal spelz. Note the unusual (for a bike) 4 cylinder inline motor. If you look closely, you will notice another oddity, these guys were shaft drive, even way back when. The Nimbus was made by a Danish company that also made vacuum cleaners and was manufactured from the 1920's until 1960.
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Tuesday, June 23, 2009

1923 Megola Sport Racer - Rotary Engine Motorcycle




Now here is something you don't see everyday, a motorcycle with a rotary engine driving the front wheel. It's not a Wankel rotary engine (a la RX-7), but rather a radial rotary of the type found in early airplanes. In this instance the crankshaft is actually the front axle and the engine rotates with the wheel. The crank was hollow and did double duty as an intake manifold. It seems crazy now, but the Megola was actually competitive in racing and won the 1924 German Championship. While the engine may look small, it is actually 640cc, about the same as a modern midsize bike (though it only produced 14hp). According to the Wiki's 2000 Megola's were made, but only 10 serviceable examples remain. If you would like to see a restored one in action check out this youtube video here
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Tuesday, May 19, 2009

1913 Scripps-Booth Bi-Autogo

This is without a doubt the one of the dumbest ideas in auto history, being right up there with
the Lyatt Helica.  A 3,000 lb motorcycle with a V8 and training wheels, take that O.C Choppers !
And what is up with that "radiator"?  Among the Scripps "firsts" (most of which ended up as
"lasts") was purportedly the first V8 in a Detroit car.  What I can't get over is how much the 
passenger compartment bodywork resembles a kids toy peddle car from the 60's.

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Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Honda CBX 6 Cylinder Superbike - The Last 70's Bike

To me, this is the last and ultimate 1970's bike,  looking for all the world like a 1970 CB750 on
the juice, with more chrome than a 1950's Buick, the CBX marked the end of an era. The 
game changing Kawasaki GPZ Ninja's essentially put the nail in the CBX's coffin and it faded
away quietly in 1982, largely un-noticed.



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Suzuki DR-Z400SM - Let's get motarded in here.


Chiefly a European phenomena, supermoto is a kindof hybrid between Motocross and Street
racing.  A Supermoto track is much shorter and twistier than a regular track and often includes
a small dirt section.  Predictably, the bikes that evolved in supermoto are a hybrid of
Motocross & Street Bikes called supermotards. Combining the lightweight nimble handling of a dirt bike with powerfull brakes and sticky tires, the Supermotard is probably the best City bike
you can get.  Suzuki is the first Japanese brand to offer a turnkey production Supermotard, the
Dr-Z400sm will set you back around $6,500 Suzuki
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Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Mini Bikes - Sears Catalogue Throwback

In the 1970's, the arrival of the new Sears catalogue was an eagerly anticipated event and was met with a level of enthusiasm virtually unheard of today (I must confess, to this day, I remember what the catalogue smelled like).  The phonebook sized, full color, "Dream Book" was the key to a full year's worth of childhood fantasy.  Looking through the catalogue you could piece together in your mind the room that would eventually be expressed as so many adult "Man Caves".  The Briggs & Stratton powered "minibike" was a staple of those catalogues and enjoyed a brief period of popularity more or less concurrent with Banana Splits reruns.  All in all, a pretty crappy little vehicle, the minbike's short reign as the object of boyhood lust was ended with the introduction of 80cc Japanese Motocross bikes, three wheelers and BMX Bicycles.
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Sunday, April 19, 2009

1951 Rumi Sport 125


Perhaps as we move towards the promised post consumerist society, people will begin to put as much thought and craft into the creation of products as they clearly did with this little post war gem of a motorcycle.   Thanks to the excellent moto blog Bike Exif
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Friday, April 10, 2009

BMW Motorrad R1200 GS Sport

OTG week has thus far been concerned primarily with the requisite comfort and luxury products no self respecting militia-uh-"family campground" should be without.  Equally important however is transit to and fro said camp.  Sure, you COULD make do with a mere "Dirt Bike", but why settle when you could have a colossal 1200cc German dirt bike.  Weighing in at 500lbs. with a 100hp 2 cylinder BMW boxer motor, THIS is a Dirt Bike - like Crocodile Dundee's Knife is a "Knife".  I tend to view "traveling lightly" in the same vein as "light beer", that is something that should be avoided at all costs.  The R1200 fits the bill perfectly, it can be loaded up with another 500lbs of driver, gas, ammunition, pinot noir or whatever else you should require, and with a nearly 9 gallon gas tank it can take you there and back.

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Tuesday, March 24, 2009

BMW C1 Scooter

This scooter has been around for a while now in Europe and has enjoyed some success there.  The design attempts to combine some of the benefits of a closed vehicle in a scooter form factor.  Besides the seatbelt, the C1 also sports a metal cage surrounding the driver to provide protection in the event of a collision.  BMW went to great lengths to enhance the safety to the point where the driver would not be required to wear a helmet
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Tuesday, March 17, 2009

1934 BMW R7 Prototype

Believe it or not, this bike spent the last 70 years in a box before being discovered and restored by BMW


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Friday, March 13, 2009

Dead (But Not Forgotten) Brand of The Day - BULTACO

Bultaco was a Spanish motorcycle manufacturer best known here in the US for it's excellent dirtbikes. My Uncle had a couple of these in the 70's and even though they effectively ceased production in 1979, they continued to enjoy an excellent reputation into the 80's. Even today there is a cultlike following that transcends their modest production volume. Having what I consider one of the best ever logo's certainly doesn't hurt either, demonstrated by the fact that you can still readily purchase Bultaco tee-shirts and stickers.

Trivia: Bultaco was formed by Francisco "Paco" Bulto and the company name is a a combination of the first four letters of his last name and last three of his nickname. And CEMOTO is an acronym for "Compañía Española de Motores"



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Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Goofy Vehicle of the Day

 Kleines Kettenkraftrad HK 101 (AKA Kettenrad)  A WWII German Half Tracked Motorcycle, all in all a pretty cool little ride.  And talk about go anywhere, see this video of a restored one running today 


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Saturday, December 6, 2008

Truly Apropos of Nothing

I don't think I have ever seen anything like this !


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Sunday, November 30, 2008

While We're on the Retro Cycle Path - URALS

If you're looking for old school commuting, look no farther than the Ural.


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Finally !

Ever since I was a kid with a paper route I always thought it made sense to motorize a basic bike.  
They are light and designed to operate without alot of power, so you can use a teeny motor. 
Anyway, these guys finally did it.  And while it's way expensive and a bit over the top, it's pretty
cool non-the less.  Derringer Cycles






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Thursday, November 6, 2008

Piaggio MP3 Scooter

I saw my first one of these the other day
I had read about them a while back and they seem like a great idea.
The front wheels are suspended in a way that allows the Scooter
to lean into corners with both wheels still in contact with the asphalt
which makes it much more stable and safe (Stops faster & Handles Better)




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