Over the past decade or so China has become a leading builder and consumer of electric vehicles – so much so that many large cities have banned the formerly ubiquitous small capacity scooters and motorcycles that used to swarm the streets in clouds of smog. The Shanghai Customs Electric Scooter The scooter you see here…
Steve McQueen’s love for motorcycles is well documented, he owned many over the course of his life, including Indians, Triumphs, Husqvarnas, Hondas, and even a Cyclone board track racer. In 1973 he starred in a commercial for the Honda CR250, and as part payment Honda sent him a brand new CB450 – doubtless hoping he…
The Background of Bckyrd Customs Bckyrd Customs was started in 2011 by an amiable Balinese man by the name of Arfan and his friend Jacky – they started the business in Arfan’s backyard and chose to name it as a reference to where it all started. In 2013 the fledgling company’s success was such that they…
A Brief History of the Egli-Vincent The Egli-Vincent was originally built to fix a design flaw in the Vincent Black Shadow – its frame. Although highly innovating for the time, the frame wasn’t really strong enough for the speeds and suspension loads endured by the bike – and a Swiss motorcycle racer named Fritz Egli had…
A very brief history of Officine Rossopuro Filippo Barbacane started Officine Rossopuro in 1998 as a small shop that sold custom motorcycles, as well as parts and apparel. Based out of Abruzzo in the mountainous region of East-Central Italy, the little shop quickly made a name for itself in Italy and around Europe, and today…
The Norton Manx is easily one of the most famous racing motorcycles of the 20th century, the mighty single-cylinder British bike was a dominant force in the world of two-wheeled racing – nowhere more so that at the Isle of Man TT. The Story of the Norton Manx Norton originally used the Manx name on the 1936…
The first generation Ducati 900SS was the successor to the bike that saved Ducati from oblivion in April of 1972 when Paul Smart won the Imola 200 aboard a 750cc Super Sport prototype, with fellow Ducati rider Bruno Spaggiari finishing second. Ducati in the 1970s The early 1970s were an exceedingly challenging time for European motorcycle…
A Very Short History of Velocette Velocette was a British motorcycle manufacturer founded by the German-born Johannes Gütgemann, who would change his name to John Taylor when he moved to England as a 19 year old, before finally settling on an anglicised version of his birth name – John Goodman. Initially Goodman founded a company…
There are few motorcycle engines as iconic as the BMW Airhead. The opposed twins were first built by the German marque in 1923 based loosely on a design borrowed from the British motorcycle maker Douglas, the Germans turned the engine 90 degrees so the heads would be out in the clean airflow to aid cooling….
The Story of the Velocette KTT The Velocette KTT was named for its overhead cam and its Isle of Man Tourist Trophy intentions – the K stands for Kam and the TT stands for Tourist Trophy. The KTT was an important motorcycle design for a number of reasons, it was the first production motorcycle to use…
The Suzuki GSX250 The Suzuki GSX series made its first appearance in 1980, and within a few short years the “Gixxers” had established Suzuki a rock-solid reputation as a four-stroke superbike builder. Up until the mid-70s the Japanese marque was building almost all two-strokes, from small capacity bikes right the way up to the widowmaker GT750….
The Matchless Model X was released in 1929 and sold until the Second World War got underway in 1939, with the final examples being built in 1940. It was characterised by its 990cc V-twin, a hefty side-valve engine perfectly suited to sidecar hauling. Riders without sidecars attached enjoyed an exceptionally fast motorcycle for the age,…
