Walt Siegl is the man many modern custom motorcycle builders pointed to as a primary source of inspiration, he’s been building world class bikes since the ’80s – when he was based out of a friend’s basement in Long Island City. Meet Walt Siegl Walt dropped out of art school at the age of 19 to…
Alta Motors is a relatively new electric motorcycle manufacturer based in California. Their current product line includes two motorcycles – an on-road supermoto and an off-road motocross bike called the Redshift SM and the Redshift MX respectively. The Electric Motor, Battery Technology, and Range Electric motors are better than internal combustion engines in almost every…
The AJS 7R was introduced in 1948, and was almost immediately nicknamed the “Boy Racer”. It would go on to be become one of the most successful over-the-counter racing motorcycles for sale in England at the time, and even today almost 70 years later the AJS 7R is a dominant force in the world of vintage…
The BMW R1100S The BMW R1100S was released in 1999 as an indication of the direction the German marque would take into the 21st century. It was fitted with the most powerful boxer twin BMW had made up until that point, producing 98 hp and 72 lbf.ft from its 1085cc capacity, and it was mated to…
The Kawasaki KLR650 was such a good multi-purpose motorcycle that it was used by the Marines and formed the basis for the US Marines M1030M1 motorcycle created by the folks at Hayes Diversified Technologies. The Kawasaki KLR650 is a bike that Kawasaki got right all the way back in 1987 and had no need for…
Those of you who are active in the motorcycle side of the Instagram universe will probably have already seen Karly and her trusty Honda CB550. For those who haven’t, Karly is a Texan, a counsellor, a photographer, a mother, and an avid motorcyclist who picked up a junkyard Honda CB550 back in 2015 for $500….
The Honda Shadow The Honda Shadow isn’t a motorcycle you would usually associate with a top tier custom rebuild. Honda introduced the Shadow in 1983 targeting the lucrative American market – specifically Harley-Davidson buyers. The styling borrowed heavily from the cruiser market, with a V-twin, sweeping fenders, a relaxed riding position, and a generous helping…
The Honda CR500 The Honda CR500 first appeared in 1984, it was the most powerful model in the legendary CR series of two-stroke motocross bikes, and its 55 hp engine only had to move a (dry) weight of 102 kilograms (225 lbs). Honda’s first CR-badged bikes were the CR125 and CR250 released in 1973, both…
The Honda CB550 was probably the best balanced Honda of the seventies. It did not have the awe-inspiring power of the legendary CB750, but it had a stiffer frame and was a lighter and more nimble motorcycle. We might describe the Honda CB550 as Honda’s “Goldilocks bike” – the CB750 was too big and powerful…
Meet Joe and Alma Rocheleau In the early 1960’s the Sidecar Racers’ Association was formed in Toronto which expanded to include competitors from all over Canada and the USA. It happened one day that a couple of Americans from Michigan travelled across to Canada to watch some motorcycle races at the Mosport circuit in Ontario….
The Kawasaki KZ 1000 was released in late 1976, and both the motoring public and the motorcycle media quickly realised that it was the new fastest production bike in the world. Kawasaki built the K1000 as an evolution of the KZ 900, which itself was an evolution of the original big inline-4 Kawasaki – the…
Designated “SdKfz 2” by the German military but more commonly known as the “Kettenkrad”, the tracked motorcycle was used extensively on both the Eastern Front and the North African desert, and it retains the historical distinction of being the fastest tracked vehicle of the Second World War. The Story of the SdKfz 2 Kettenkrad The top speed…
