The AMF Harley-Davidson Leggero Mini Cycle was a bit of an anomaly in its day, the 65cc two-stroke never really caught on in the US and the bikes remain relatively rare stateside to this day.
Harley sold the Aermacchi Motorcycle division in 1978 due to waning sales though interestingly the Alenia Aermacchi company still exists today producing military training aircraft. A return to the company’s roots in many respects as Aermacchi was building planes as early as 1917 with motorcycle production not really kicking off until 1945.
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 Catalina Grand Prix was a motorcycle race held annually between 1950 and 1958 on the island of Santa Catalina off the coast of Los Angeles. The races were hotly contested, and the rules that governed races on the mainland didn’t apply – meaning it was a hotbed of race testing with cutting edge parts fitted to…
The first Porsche tractor designs were penned by Dr Ferdinand Porsche in the early 1930s alongside the early designs for the VW Beetle – the original plan was to develop a “Volks-Tractor” to be sold alongside the “Volks-Wagen”. A Brief History of the Porsche Tractor By 1934 there were three working tractor prototypes, all of which…
The Biltwell Overland 2.0 Goggles are the new-and-improved version of the much loved first generation Overland goggles. The team at Biltwell have developed an all-new injection-molded polyurethane frame that’s 10% smaller than its predecessor, whilst still using the same wide-periphery, injection molded polycarbonate lens. This allows wearers more room to fit the goggles into the…
The Ducati 900 Mike Hailwood Replica was the best-selling Ducati of its time, both because of its sporting abilities and its close association with Mike “The Bike” Hailwood who had ridden a Ducati 900SS to a hugely popular comeback win at the 1978 Isle of Man TT in the Formula I class. Mike Hailwood –…
This was Steve McQueen’s Nimbus Model C motorcycle – an unusual and quite advanced bike from Denmark characterized by its inline-4 cylinder engine with a single overhead cam and the distinction of being one of the first motorcycles to be fitted with telescopic front forks. The Nimbus Model C The Nimbus Model C is one of the…
This original 1918 Indian Twin Board-Track Racer is a good reminder that back in the early 20th century, American motorcycle manufacturers were one of there world-leaders in the design and construction of racing bikes. In 1911 the Indian factory racing team took 1st, 2nd, and 3rd at the Isle of Man Tourist Trophy – beating…
