Shinya Kimura

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via : the Selvedge Yard

In 1962 I was born in Old Town Tokyo

I was brought up surrounded by the smell of oil and steel, and the sound of machinery

I think this is why this life suits me well

I have Images but I am not inspired by any particular thing

I don’t draw either

I cut steel or bend aluminum listening to how I feel at that moment

I use my own hands and break my back making the bikes

I believe that speaks to peoples emotions and makes them want one... Read more

image by Scott Pommier

http://shinyakimura.blogspot.com



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Carson Brown Vintage Motocross

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By Carson Brown via : www.dirtrider.com


I started racing Vintage MX this winter and it's been a blast. This past weekend was the big Dino Daze vintage race up here in the Northwest. It was the 25th annual race and it has grown over the years into one of the biggest vintage races, bike show and swap meets in the country.


If you are into XR75s , Maicos, Huskys and other bikes I can't pronounce, this is the place to be. Vintage racing is for bikes that are usually 1980 and older, but there seems to be a class for just about any older bike you show up with. The old bikes are cool because a lot of the parts on them are handmade and pretty crazy to look at. Some of the owners are just as crazy! These guys are into every little part on their bike and have tons of riding and racing stories from “back in the day”. I think some of the guys like working on and talking about the bikes more than riding them. I can relate.


My dad and I have been restoring XR75's for as long as I can remember. Hunting down the original parts or finding trick aftermarket stuff is fun. Going to the swap meets or checking out E-Bay to find that one last part to finish a restoration is hard work but worth it when the bike turns out perfect.


The thing I like most about vintage bikes is riding them. You can learn a ton from riding a bike with bad suspension and a slow engine. It teaches you how to be smooth. If you over jump something or just try to pound through the whoops, the bike is going to beat you! You also have to learn how to work on them. Vintage bikes seem to have problems that you don't run into on modern bikes (chains coming off, spokes breaking, fouled spark plugs, etc.) ... Read more




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The Sunday Movie

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http://MuscleCarFilms.com

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Norton’s Rocketship, by Greg Williams

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Greg Williams is a professional writer, living in Calgary, Alberta.

His main area of interest is automotive and motorcycle journalism. A weekly column appears in the Calgary Herald’s Driving.ca section. The column is titled ‘On the Road’, see www.calgaryherald.com and click on Driving.ca under Weekly Sections. Monthly columns, titled ‘Western Perspectives’, run in Inside Motorcycles — a Canadian publication. He is also the book review editor for Inside Motorcycles. Feature articles run monthly in American Iron Magazine, the No. 1 motorcycle magazine on the newsstands, and every three months in the Antique Motorcycle, the publication of the Antique Motorcycle Club of America. He was recognized with the 1997 MAX Award for Motorcycle Journalism — awarded for an article published in the Oct. 1996 issue of the U.K. based magazine The Classic Motor Cycle regarding British motorcycle legend Bernie Nicholson. He was also recognized with the Castrol Chinthe Award for Automotive Journalism in 2003 and the Julie Wilkinson Motorsports Award for Excellence in Journalism in 2009. An avid enthusiast of vintage British motorcycles, he completely restored a 1946 Velocette MAC 350 c.c. single-cylinder machine in late 2003 and early 2004. He also own a complete, original and unrestored 1939 Triumph Speed Twin. The Triumph belonged to Bernie Nicholson, and still wears the patina obtained in the years Bernie owned the machine.

He is a professional member of the Professional Writer’s Association of Canada, a professional member of the Automobile Journalist’s Association of Canada, and a member in good standing of the Canadian Vintage Motorcycle Group, The Antique Motorcycle Club of America and the Velocette Owner’s Club of North America.

Norton’s Rocketship, by Greg Williams

The slogans ‘The Unapproachable Norton’ and ‘The World’s Best Road Holder’ defined one of the most fabled British motorcycle builders. Founded in 1898 by James Lansdowne Norton, or Pa, as he was commonly known, Norton brought to the motorcycling masses several technological advancements. Not the least of these developments was the featherbed frame as designed by the McCandless brothers.


Since the early 1940s the brothers had been working on advanced frame designs, labouring at improving the handling of their own motorcycle – a Triumph. But the McCandless brothers came to the attention of Norton and they were persuaded to design a frame for the Birmingham, England motorcycle company. The featherbed was the result – an all welded duplex tube frame with swingarm rear suspension. The design of the frame was such that the centre of gravity was lowered, and the fuel tank placed further back from the steering head to help centralize weight.


Their featherbed motorcycle chassis, introduced to Norton in 1949 and used in the 1950 Isle of Man TT races, revolutionized how Norton motorcycles handled. There are a couple of stories about how the name featherbed was coined. The most popular is that in 1950, when Norton racer Harold Daniell first rode a 500cc single-cylinder equipped McCandless frame he was so impressed with the handling that he equated it to “riding on a featherbed.” The name stuck.


In 1951 Norton’s Model 7 500cc twin-cylinder engine slid into the featherbed frame, and that was the Model 88 Dominator. Over the years Norton used the featherbed frame for many of its motorcycles, including its more pedestrian 350cc and 500cc single-cylinder machines. It was the twin-cylinder Dominator Model 99 that grew to 600cc in 1956, and to 650cc in 1961 with the 650SS. On that bike, he frame top rails were pinched together, decreasing the width of the frame to better accommodate a rider’s knees... Read more



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American Classic Racing

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ACR is an organization dedicated to the sport of vintage motocross and hare scramble off road racing. ACR conducts AMA sanctioned amateur racing events in the North Eastern region of the United States. Click here for more club information.




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About vintage motorcycles

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via : www.collectorsweekly.com

Motorcycles have figured prominently in movies, music, wars, recreation, and just about every aspect of 20th century life. Classic and vintage motorcycles have become highly collectible, especially among baby boomers.

1975 MV Agusta 750 America

The first motorcycles were produced in the late ...19th century, on both sides of the Atlantic. Some of the earliest efforts were simply small motors attached to a bicycle. In the 20th Century, hundreds of makers produced motorcycles of all varieties, including Indian, Harley Davidson, Ducati, Crocker, BMW, Triumph, Honda and more.

RARE 1931 TT REP NORTON

Two American companies, Indian and Harley Davidson, dominated the market in the U.S. until the waves of British and Japanese imports in the 1950s and 1960s respectively. While Indian ultimately failed, Harley Davidson made a comeback in the 1980s, and its classic 'hogs' are now a favorite of riders and collectors.

1967 Triumph Bonneville T120R Bobber

and many, many more ...




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The Kestrel

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A few days ago, Amaryllis Knight from Falcon Motorcycle send me this video of Ian Barry riding the Kestrel in the desert. Its a real cool video so take time to look at it and enjoy. Frank



Second of Falcon's Concept Ten, a series of custom motorcycles designed around the engines of iconic pre- and post-War British motorcycles - The Kestrel is the engine from a 1970 Triumph Bonneville, which Falcon cut in half and completely re-engineered.

With the exception of a few critical pieces (crankcases, gearbox, and 10 inches of the original Triumph headstock), everything -- including the frame, girder front forks, gas and oil tanks, exhausts, handlebars, levers, even the cylinders -- was fabricated in-house from blocks, sheets and rods of steel, brass and aluminum.

Directed: Matt Taylor & Amaryllis Knight

Edited: Matt Taylor

Song: Torment of the Metals / Black Math Horseman

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Lost Australian Speedways

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Australia has abounded in speedway tracks, many of which have gone forever, buried under suburban development or just abandoned.

Here's three to start the ball rolling:

Wattle Grove Speedway, Western Australia, 1968.

Forrestfield Speedway, 1968.

Claremont Speedway, 1968.

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Saddlemen Vintage Class

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via : the Vintage Flat Trackers web site

Finish Bike # Rider Brand

1. 55Y Ricky Henson YAM
2. 98 John Hateley TRI
3. 13 Rick Hocking YAM
4. 17T Paul Covert HON
5. 6 Michael O'neil YAM
6. 68A Mark Fillebrown TRI
7. 42Z Anthony Mitchell YAM
8. 31 Mike Besemer NOR
9. 47Y Ken Robicheaux YAM
10. 24 Robert Hansen YAM
11. 58Y Jim Ottele BSA
12. 35 Jeff Johnson YAM
13. 33 Erik Bland YAM
14. 54 Slow Wayne Karcich YAM
15. 55 Tom Horton YAM

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Yamaha YZ250

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The YZ250 is a 2-stroke motocross race bike made by Yamaha. It was launched in the 1970s, and has been regularly updated since. It is slowly being phased out and replaced by its four stroke rival, the YZ450F.


The YZ250 has a 249 cc liquid-cooled two stroke reed valved engine with a YPVS exhaust valve for a wider spread of power. The engine produces a peak 46.8 horsepower (34.9 kW) at 8800 rpm and 30.6 foot-pounds force (41.5 N·m) of torque at 7500 rpm, with a 9000 rpm redline (Motocross Action Magazine).


In fact, it is still making 45.0 horsepower (33.6 kW) at 9100 rpm and 41.6 horsepower (31.0 kW) at 9600 rpm before the rev limiter kicks in.
Since its introduction in 1974, the YZ250 has had a single backbone steel frame. For the 2005 model year, however, the YZ250 has a new frame made entirely from aluminum, which brought the dry weight down to 212 pounds.


The bike has a Swingarm rear suspension system with more than a foot of travel, as well as telescopic inverted forks with 11.8 inches (300 mm) of travel. Front and rear hydraulic disc brakes round out the YZ.


The YZ250 holds many championships:

- 5 AMA National Motocross Titles
- 9 AMA National Supercross Titles
- Most recently, Chad Reed rode the YZ250 to an AMA National Supercross title in 2004.





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Brad Andres

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Brad Andres has the distinction of being the only rider in AMA Grand National history to win his first and last professional race. He is also the only rider in history to win the AMA Grand National Championship in his rookie season. Andres, best known for his three wins in the Daytona 200, retired in the prime of his career to take over management of his family-owned motorcycle dealership.
Andres was born in Stockton, California, on April 20, 1936. Born into a racing family, Brad's dad, Leonard, and his uncles were all well known motorcycle racers. His father owned a motorcycle dealership in Modesto, California. Andres starting riding at the age of 5 on a Powell scooter. Soon he graduated to a 125cc Villers and later a Harley-Davidson 125cc bike, which he began racing in field meets and scrambles around California.When Andres was 16, his family moved to San Diego, where he continued to hone his racing skills. TT racing became one of his favorite forms of competition. As a kid, Andres cited Bobby Hill, Bill Tuman and California greats Ed Kretz, Chuck Basney, Jimmy Phillips and his dad and uncles as his racing heroes.




Brad upheld the Andres family's racing tradition and became one of the top novices in California. Racing at famous Southern California tracks like Ascot and Carroll Speedway, amateur Andres was often as fast of faster than his expert counterparts. In 1954, Andres hit the AMA national circuit as an amateur, traveling with riders such as Joe Leonard and Dick Mann. "I always traveled in good company," Andres would later say.

After winning races on a regular basis as an amateur, Andres was ready to run with the experts in 1955, his rookie season. But it was a surprise to nearly everyone in March of 1955 when Andres rode a Harley-Davidson tuned by his father to victory in his first Daytona 200 on the old beach course.


Andres steadily raced through the field that year until the only rider in front of him was Paul Goldsmith. Goldsmith's goggles got oiled and as he tried to wipe them off he ran into the ocean and was knocked off his bike by a wave. Goldsmith was able to rejoin the race, but Andres was long gone, heading towards victory in his very first professional race. At only 19 years old, Andres became the youngest rider ever to win the 200, a record that stands to this day. He won at Daytona again in 1959 and for a third time in 1960, tying Dick Klamfoth's then-record of three wins and becoming the final winner on the beach course.


His Daytona win in 1955 was only the beginning of a dream season for Andres. In June, he won the Laconia (New Hampshire) Classic road race. In July, he was victorious at another road race in Dodge City, Kansas. In September, he won at the Langhorne (Pennsylvania) Mile and he polished off the season in October with yet another win on a road course, this time the circuit in Torrey Pines, California. In all, Andres won five of the 13 Grand Nationals and finished on the podium five other times en route to the 1955 title.


Andres became the greatest road racer in the country during the middle-to-late 1950s. He said racing on makeshift road race circuits, laid out from Southern California's numerous drag racing strips, gave him an early feel for racing on pavement. Of Andres' 12 AMA national wins, all but two of them (Langhorne in 1955 and Peoria in 1956) were on road courses.

"I just got used to sliding a bike on pavement," Andres recalls. "The tires were not very good back then, so we'd throw the bikes in the corner and slide them just like we were on a flat track."


At the end of 1956, tragedy struck Andres. He was involved in an accident at Gardena (California) Speedway that killed his good friend, Chuck Basney, and left Andres badly injured. Andres sat out the entire 1957 racing season and had surgery done to try to repair his mangled leg. His doctors told him he would never race again.

Andres was determined to return to racing and he did in 1958. He proved to be just as competitive as he was before the accident, winning again at Laconia and earning a podium finish in the rugged Peoria TT.


Andres continued racing and winning until 1960. That year, his dad asked him to assume management of the family-owned motorcycle dealership. Andres was now married to Betty, and the couple later had one daughter. After talking it over with friends, including Harley's racing manager, Dick O'Brien, Andres decided to call it quits after winning his third Daytona 200 in 1960. Harley-Davidson talked him into coming back for one more race in 1960, the 150-mile road race at Watkins Glen, New York. Andres won that race and walked away from racing for good, thus ending a relatively short and brilliant career.


He walked away from racing at the peak of his career, it was the toughest decision that Andres would ever make and one he still questions.

"It was not easy, let me tell you. Going from winning big nationals one day to changing out oil on old Harley 74s the next."


Andres stayed with the motorcycle dealership until 1976, when his property management business became too big and lucrative to keep to the side. For recreation, Andres became involved in scuba diving and spearfishing. His father, Leonard, who Brad spent nearly every day of his life with, passed away in 1996. Today, Andres continues to run the property management business in San Diego.

via : AMA Motorcycle hall of fame

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Can-Am

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Can-Am is a motorcycle producing subsidiary of the Bombardier Recreational Products, a Canadian corporation.


In 1973, under the direction and leadership of an American Engineer named Gary Robinson and former motocross World Champion, Jeff Smith working with a team of California desert racers, Can-Am began producing motocross and enduro bikes using engines provided by the Austrian Rotax company, another Bombardier subsidiary. The machines made an immediate impact with riders winning Gold, Silver and Bronze medals at the International Six Days Trial, a form of off-road motorcycle Olympics. The following year, the company swept the 1974 AMA 250 cc motocross national championship with Can-Am riders Gary Jones, Marty Tripes and Jimmy Ellis, finishing first, second and third. The bikes gained a reputation for their high power outputs.


The Rotax motors used a slightly unusual style of intake. A rotary disc system was employed and this plate was altered repeatedly between T'n'T (track and trail) and MX models. This plate is accredited with the horsepower gain over conventional piston port motors used on Japanese motorcycles. The MX3, produced in 1977, was the pinnacle of Can Am. Its 36 horsepower (27 kW) was 6 more than the closest competitor.


However, soon after the Can-Am introduction, the Bombardier corporation shifted its priority from recreational products towards diversification into the transit equipment industry and then, several years later, into aircraft manufacturing. As a result, investments in the young Can-Am division were reduced substantially. In 1983, Bombardier licensed the brand and outsourced development and production of the Can-Am motorcycles to Armstrong / CCM of Lancashire, England. 1987 was the final year Can-Am motorcycles were produced.


In 2006, Bombardier Recreational Products reintroduced the Can-Am brand with its all-terrain vehicles (ATV). In 2007, the Can-Am brand was also used to introduce the Can-Am Spyder a new three-wheeled roadster.
see also : www.classiccanam.com




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Union Motorcycle Classics

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via : Union Motorcycle Classics

The Team

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The Sunday movie

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Emerson Fittipaldi 1975: one lap around Monaco circuit in his McLaren

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Tim White Photography

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Take time to visit Tim's blog, its a great one. Frank

Tim is a freelance motorsport photographer. Areas of primary interest include AMA Pro flat-track and roadracing, MotoGP, and World Superbike, although nearly all forms of motorsport hold at least some interest. Even car racing. His photos can be seen in publications such as Cycle News, Cycle World, Motorcyclist, Motor Sport, Roadracing World & Motorcycle Technology, and others.

from Tim : copyright Tim White Photography

copyright Tim White Photography

copyright Tim White Photography

copyright Tim White Photography

copyright Tim White Photography

copyright Tim White Photography

copyright Tim White Photography

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