Antique/Vintage Motorcycles

Riding through the little village of Samarate in Varese, Italy, the roads are narrow, with flats adorning one side – usually two or three stories high – and fields and trees adorning the other. Cars parked along the road make the narrow street even tighter, and the foot traffic marching to the church can clog the streets on a Sunday. It’s a sleepy little town and is remarkably easy to miss. You can ride right on through, from one end to the other, and dismiss the town entirely. Except for the little house with a helicopter – four, actually – resting on the lawn under canvas tarps. They’re so out of place in this little town that it’s hard not to stop and wonder what they’re doing there. That’s when you realize you’ve reached the Museo Agusta, or the MV Agusta museum.

Ever since the, “You meet the nicest people on a Honda” campaign, Big Red has been positioning itself as an ambassador for motorcycling. Not only by offering a range of motorcycles to attract new riders throughout the years, but also by promoting responsible recreation. Since the early 1970’s, Honda has been producing dual-sport motorcycles. Through the years, the popular XL line was offered in a wide range of displacements – many of which stayed in production into the late ‘80s. 

As motorcycles become more reliable and maintenance intervals get more spread out, one consumable remains on a fairly frequent interval for motorcycles. Tires have made tremendous advances in the last decade, but they are still the most frequent maintenance items for motorcyclists. With the rates for mounting and balancing tires going through the roof (My local shop charges $60 for a pair of tires with the wheels off the bike.), buying a tire changer makes a lot of sense. I’d been eyeing No-Mar Tire Changers for quite a while before pulling the trigger and installing one in my garage. In less than a month and after changing a dozen tires, we’d have already spent about 35% of the cost of the No-Mar Classic HD Motorcycle Tire Changer at our local motorcycle shop, but what’s most important is how convenient it is having a tire changer in my garage available when I need it. I no longer have to load my wheels into my truck, drive to my local shop, wait an hour (or more) for them to be ready, and finally take them home to reinstall on my bike. 

It’s on rainy, cold nights like this one that I’m glad I have a garage. Looking at your motorcycle parked outside as it’s pelted with rain, sleet, hail, mud and other unpleasantness can make you weep with impotent rage. Cover it? Motorcycle covers are a hassle to put on and remove. First, you have to wait until the bike cools to avoid melting the cover to the exhaust. Plus, they can blow off your bike, get shredded and messy-looking, and trap moisture underneath, which can cause rust and mold. Nasty!

This time last October, I was flying through serpentine roads in the foothills of the Sierra just south of Yosemite on board a Ural Gear Up (okay, I was hardly flying) to meet some of my closest friends for a camping trip prior to getting married the following weekend. The temps began to drop rapidly as we ascended in elevation, making me all the more happy to have chosen the REV’IT! Westport Overshirt as my jacket of choice for the ride.

“Here’s to the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers, the round pegs in the square holes, the ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules, and they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them, but the only thing you can’t do is ignore them because they change things. They push the human race forward, and while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius, because the people who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world, are the ones who do.”

The Petersen Automotive Museum is one of the world’s premier car enthusiast destinations. Located in Los Angeles, the museum showcases automotive culture from around the world while celebrating Southern California’s rich history of automotive innovation, competition and design. The Petersen features exhibits primarily revolving around four-wheeled vehicles, but due to popular inquisition and demand, in addition to the vision and wealth of knowledge from the exhibit’s guest curator and motorcycle historian, Paul d’Orleans, the “Custom Revolution” exhibit was born.

Modern technology is great and all, but there was once a time when you couldn’t just Google something or watch a ‘How to’ video on YouTube demonstrating the proper technique to do whatever it was you were trying to do. There were books back then, and these places called libraries were full of them. Fortunately, printed, hard-copy books are still around, and there’s a certain variety of them called manuals that any motorcycle, or vehicle owner for that matter, must own to accompany whatever type of bike they have.

The only thing unpredictable about that announcement is that there’s no word on the Z900RS Cafe. Oh well. The Z900RS has drawn tons of interest ever since its leakage right before the big EICMA show last month, and now it’ll be North American buyers’ chance to put their money where their retro-loving mouths are – on the order of $10,999.

Bologna, is the world’s gateway to the picturesque Emilia Romagna region of Italy’s east coast. Quite recently I flew-in a day prior to boarding a bus to Rimini for the international press ride of Ducati’s new 2018 Monster 821.

Hitting the road (or trail) on a motorcycle can make you feel like a modern day cowboy chasing the sun into a horizon of new experiences and foreign places. I think just about every motorcyclist will agree with me in saying that there’s an air of adventure that is inherently built into every bike. Whether it’s on or off-road, motorcycles can take you places in a way other vehicles cannot.

Here’s our weekly guide to the upcoming motorcycle events and rides that are happening over the next several weeks.

This original, unrestored 1922 Humber is a bit crusty and, because of its looks of plumbing run amuck, might elicit a chuckle or two, but it’s much sought after across the Pond in Merry Ol’ England. Back in 1922, this stovepipe-black Humber was “the bee’s knees” and considered way ahead of its time.

Below is the first in a four-part series highlighting rare and historic motorcycles. Today’s subject: the 1939 Scott Flying Squirrel. Penned by Motorcycle.com contributor Paul Garson, this series will examine the backstory of four of the world’s most collectible motorcycles, what made each so special and why they are so highly sought after today.

Before Henry Ford’s assembly line production of “affordable” cars displaced them, motorcycles were the prime means of motorized personal transportation.

Today at Intermot, Moto Guzzi unveiled a revised V7 lineup with a host of new features. Despite its vintage heritage, the V7 II lineup will receive ABS and “Moto Guzzi Controllo Trazione,” better known as traction control. While the addition of ABS is no surprise considering all motorcycles sold in Europe are required to have the feature starting in 2015, traction control was slightly unsuspected. It makes sense, however, since much of the ABS hardware can perform double duty.

We’ve now ridden the new Indian Chief and confidently predict that it will make a massive splash in the cruiser market. Our full review will soon follow, but there’s a lot of ground to cover in telling the Chief’s story.