The Triumph America truly embodies all things British & American in a motorcycle: laid back cruiser stance, low seating, wide bars and a 900cc parallel twin timed at 270 degrees, rather than the Bonneville’s 360 (which gives the America a more V-twin sound a la Milwaukee ‘gins).
Well, it was a shame all that tea was wasted in Boston Harbor! But I’m sure this evens the score somehow…
Hondas from the seventies: a perfect machine to have as a basis for an urban totin’ cafe Moto, or a restoration for a reliable old bike that any home mechanic with a few tools and timing light can work on. Common as muck; which is good for parts; and var nigh bomb proof. It was of course the seven fifty that usurped Triumph and BSA from the ‘bike to have’ throne. Here’s a spotless early example.
It was also the miniaturization of the manufactured product pouring out of the FarEast that was also seen in the motorcycle industry with their four cylinder 350. A pocket-watch when other timepieces were wind-up Grandfather clocks! High redline, sporty power and good looks. A mini 750 for those wary of the big brothers power.
Of course their twins were seeing action too; a superbly detailed CL175 scrambler with wide bars, high pipes with filigree-like heat shielding and a ‘come ride me and smile’ attitude!
At any bike gathering of the older models just turn your head and you see ’em lined up ready to roll. Bell bottomed clad youth, with old skool Bell helmets and a SoCal tan and smile were the owners in the past; urban hipsters moving up from their single speed fixie’s are the crowd now.
Balloon Firestones, swan-neck clip-ons and pipe wrap is the way to go these days. It’s a lifestyle…
Taking Hannibal’s route sees us back in Italy; this time the other big roman name: Ducati. Always restrained design that sets the high-bar for other makes. Let’s start with the recent 1000 cc Sport model tank:
If you’re talking about design and Ducati mention MUST be made to the 916. It took super bikes into another orbit. Both on the road and the track. Carl Foggarty saw many chequered flags on the world Superbike championships through the nineties. You can just look at these all day long..
The owner of this next Moto was honest in saying it was an absolute bear to ride anything slower than 50mph on poor roads. Long sweepers through the Italian Alps is its true playground. But it is a beaut to gaze at. A bike that looks like its moving even standing still. Darmah 900ss
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The teal blue grey hailed from the Paul Smart racer in the early 70’s. A setup given a new lease of life recently with a special edition 1000 cc bike. Modern Duke engine, good tires, brakes and frame. I’m MAKE room in a garage for one, they look terrific! Now if Triumph could do a ‘remake’ of Slippery Sam with one of their triples then we’d be talking!
All these are of course still photos from the Mods & Rockers afternoon on Lincoln Avenue.
Bayerische Motoren Werke Motorrad: as well as the eye-tie Gootzies there is of course the Bavarian Born Beemers. This wartime R12 is one such example with lines both practical and aesthetic even to this day. The gloss black with laser clean pinstripe is so Teutonic, seeing it on any other make looks so wrong. This opposing flat twin was used to great effect both as a despatch ride as well as a combination tug.
This model saw reincarnations via the R71 model both in Soviet Russia and the People’s Republic of China; which brings us to this socialist red Chang-Jiang. Rough around the edges with third hand tooling liberated by Stalins troops and eventually sent east. Not fast, probably a handful to handle, but I’m sure it’s grin inducing and head turning.
The final Moto to look at is this cafe’d R75; stripped of its typical German trim usual of their ‘grown-up’ bikes of the seventies and given a modern boy racer appearance. That hefty tank and those chunky jugs look like some Wagnerian opera singer ready to rend the streets asunder with a Valkyrian aria.
Sehr Gut mein freind, sehr gut!
During our long haul up to Minnesota this weekend I spied this Bonneville haring along. The captain has a bit of a speed tuck to raise velocity.
Moto Guzzi: the history of motorcycles wouldn’t be complete without the V twin ‘cycles from Mandello del Lario. Good Italian mountain roads and a renowned racing history give these models genes to be proud of. Much like Triumph.
This super clean, sharp as a knife example from Lincoln Avenue M&R is a ’68 or so V750 Ambassador.
Line, form and shape have obvious timeless Italian design balance.
The actor James Brolin, father of Josh, played a young doctor on the above titled show. He plays the ‘by the book’ practitioner Dr. Steven Kiley, against the elder Dr Welby with his unorthodox methods, played by Robert Young. The premise was a kind of ‘House’ of it’s day (that show starring another Triumph rider Hugh Laurie).
This late 60’s Bonneville promoted Brolin’s characters youthful exhuberance against the sedan driving Welby. Toting his doctors briefcase like that ain’t gonna be easy tho’!
A Mods & Rockers event wouldn’t be complete without the diminutive 2 Stroke ring-ding gathering of scooters.
Other small-wheeled offerings had some sort of on board lucky item. Plastic Jesus?
The classic Italians design can be seen here with this Lambretta leg shroud. Meanwhile Irish Stout supporters advertise their taste!
The cartoon Martian took pride of place on the chair of this scooter combination. One of my favorites.
However scootering coolness goes to this east European three wheeler with many admirers and what looks like a dusty travelers tale to tell!
There was also the Honda Ruckus ‘rockers’. But I didn’t take any photos of them…
These was a great selection of Japanese bikes at the Mods and Rockers gathering; in particular my favourite of the Oriental Order: Kawasaki. Starting with this green 2stroke demon: the Mach III, supersonic cubed. A powerband to rip limbs from joints or so I’ve heard. Treat with respect or it’ll tear you to shreds! The double green tank is sublime.
Another beast, this one with a vociferous roar is the big Zed KZ1000. On my list of top ten motos: pure motorcycle wrapped around the perfect four cylinder engine.
The next two take us into the eighties, hints of Eddie Lawson superbikes in the tuning and styling. GPZ1100, and a 750 (this one in all flat black a la Road Warrior)
These are the forefathers of the modern superbikes. The Mach III being some lunatic relative best left alone; but the Zed, 1100 and GPZ’s are the speed-kings of their day: then in ’84 the Ninja 900 came along and the future path to the big nigh-on 200bhp missiles we have now was established.
Then as a nostalgic side note the motorcycle arm of KHI brought out the W650, a recreation of their 1963 W model itself direct emulation of British twins from that time. This time it was a reliable, leak-free, easy handling bike that Triumph should have had out before their modern Triumph. The W650 is a rare machine indeed having been sold for only 2 years in the ‘States (8 in Europe). However it is certainly NOT out of place at a Mods & Rockers bash!
The car CD player has been non-stop Stranglers all weekend whilst driving around errands, social events and motorcycle maintenance. Jean-Jacques JJ Burnel, is of course the bassist and major writer for this punk band extraordinaire. He is also an ardent Triumph rider.
Where would ‘Peaches’ be without that heavy bass riff?
The atmosphere of the bike gathering was heavy with twin, triple and four cylinder engines as people kept arriving on their particular mounts. The curbs were packed with sardine-tin full groups of British, Euro and Japanese ‘cycles. A few Milwaukee models thrown in for good measure too; though they were comfortably outnumbered!
They say at the end of the afternoon the noise of all the bikes starting up is surely chest pounding. Hopefully I’ll have the ole’ Trumpet up and running next year to be in that one!
Brit-Iron in black & white: light ‘n’ shadow: shiny and ebony. More delights from the M&R day.
Several of the moto-specimens at the rally were heavily modified for a particular riders needs: in the first instance here bobbed, chopped and lowered to create a bar-hopper. Or the way that gear lever looks the bar itself. Old Style indeed! Not so keen on the seating stance of these: leg out front with bent knee and stretched out to drag bars and yer arse down low.
Down the row was another sweetened ride; here its purpose to go fast, turn and repeat. No stopping, just going. A dirt Tracker with the heavily ridden patina of a dedicated racer. Big alloy rims, big knobbly boots, and a honking big cog on the rear. This thing’ll take off like a cougar chasing a jackrabbit!
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