After last week’s post about mystery motorcycles I decided to follow up with more about the beautiful New Imperial v-twin ridden in this picture by Ginger Wood. So far as we can tell, this picture was taken in 1935 and shows Ginger attempting to wrangle the New Imperial around the Isle of Man TT circuit, the bike had a fantastic engine but woeful handling and in the end Ginger lost his battle with the bumps and was thrown off at over 100mph.
Amazingly he survived the accident largely unscathed and returned a year later with an updated New Imperial v-twin, although this one suffered a mechanical failure and ended New Imperial’s interest in racing. This bike is widely considered to be one of the most beautiful motorcycles of the 1930s, sadly they’re quite rare and as a result, the chance of me ever owning one is fairly low.
Click the photograph for the high resolution version.
Ben Branch has had his work featured on CNN, Popular Mechanics, the official Smithsonian Magazine, Road & Track Magazine, the official Pinterest blog, the official eBay Motors blog, BuzzFeed, and many more.
Silodrome was founded by Ben back in 2010, in the years since the site has grown to become a world leader in the alternative and vintage motoring sector, with millions of readers around the world and hundreds of thousands of followers on social media.
The Ducati 848 was released in 2008 as a replacement for the outgoing Ducati 749, the new model quickly gained legions of fans thanks to its all-new engine – a lightweight 122 rwhp 849cc Ducati L-twin. The eagle-eyed among you may have noticed that I said L-twin rather than V-twin, this wasn’t a typo –…
When describing C’était un Rendez-vous Jeremy Clarkson claimed that “it makes Bullitt look like a cartoon” and Carroll Shelby simply said “Outstanding”. Filming took place on public streets through Paris, there were no closed roads, safety supervisors, or medical personnel on standby. Obviously this is inadvisable and you or I shouldn’t try it, but thanks…
The CAKE KALK electric bike was designed from scratch to offer dual sport capabilities – for those who need to commute during the week, but want to hit the trails on the weekend. As battery technology continues to improve, we’re seeing electric bikes (and electric motorcycles) getting lighter, faster, and offering better range. The KALK model…
Tim Caraco has made a name for himself in recent years by capturing the zeitgeist of the 21st century chopper/bobber scene in America, Australia, and Europe. The hardcover book is 148 pages long and it includes a huge array of bespoke photography as well as the work of world class builders like Max Schaaf, Chase…
This short film was shot in 1987 as part of the British sports television show “Grandstand”, it could very well have been lost to history but fortunately it’s been uploaded from an old VHS tape to YouTube. The clip includes Murray visiting the Ferrari headquarters in Maranello to speak personally with Enzo Ferrari about his…
The Bimota SB2 was a significant evolutionary step forward for motorcycles when it was released in 1977. Massimo Tamburini had designed not just a superbike, but the future of superbikes. His new creation featured an ultra-lightweight chromium molybdenum trellis perimeter frame, a bulletproof Suzuki GS750 DOHC engine that doubled as a stressed member, and handling…
