How much you say?

Kindly stolen from Volksrat's blog.

Kawasaki Recalls 2011 VN900D for Tire Problem

Kawasaki is recalling certain model year 2011 VN900D, Vulcan Classic LT, motorcycles.

The tire inner tubes might have been pinched during the mounting of the tires. Damage to the inner tubes could result in loss of air pressure.

The number of units affected is 436.

Check out my Motorcycle Recalls feature for more details.

SALON PRIVE CONCOURS, 2011

The ex-Steve McQueen 1931 Indian Scout

The Vintagent is proud to début correspondent Julian Balme, legendary English graphic artist and gearhead, enthusiast of both cars and motorbikes, whose album art for The Clash  and other British bands is legendary. Julian sends his perspective on last weekend's Salon Privé Concours d'Elegance, which for the first time included motorcycles in the judged display. This is a watershed year of high-end car shows realizing that two wheels are fascinating and sexy.

Egli-Vincent with custom alloy bodywork

"Truth be told, the British are much better at using their toys than standing back and admiring them…a cultural flaw where Concours events are concerned… yet there's no doubt that for the size of this island, the quality of kit that resides here punches well above its weight. Thus, the content of our Concours isn't, and never will be, an issue…but the staging and motive behind such events remain unconvincing.

The Louis Vuitton Concours, started in the Nineties at the Hurlingham Club, had a simple agenda - get as many pictures in the celebrity press as possible. Everything else was a bonus. After LV packed up the show, Salon Privé took over the vacated venue, with less focus. Yes it was full of glamorous women and desirable machines, but so is the car park at most Premiere League football clubs. Now, after 5 years, Salon Privé has moved to Syon Park on the outskirts of West London, where its goals appear, if anything, even sketchier.

While Syon House is a beautiful pile, there are no glimpses of Lake Como (or the Thames) through the trees surrounding the site, nor are there blazer-wearing officials guarding every inch of their golf course. Instead there are 2 lawns of exhibits, the first inhabited by purveyors of contemporary, high-buck frippery, the second tucked around the back, and badly sign posted, containing various classes of classic cars and bikes, all luxuriating under the Heathrow flight-path.

Very rare Cotton with JAP PTOR v-twin engine

 Luckily for the organisers (and anyone interested in motorbikes), the two gents who assembled the 2-wheeled classes, Malcolm Clube and Mike Jackson, know exactly what they are up to. While all around them might devolve into chaos, they remain rock solid. The bikes of Steve McQueen class were a bit pony (hasn't this guy’s currency been run dry yet?), but the ‘100 Years of the Isle of Man TT’ class was inspired.

Apart from the breadth of history covered in their impeccable choices, how great was it that they included this year’s Senior TT winning Honda?  Complete with fly splattered fairing (above), all of whom died at an average speed of 131mph, under the guidance of the 'Morecombe Missile', John McGuinness. Sammy Miller scooped the main award with his amazing 1939 watercooled V4-powered AJS, but every entry was a contender. Notables included a 1930 Cotton-JAP ohv v-twin and an EGLI Vincent.

Mike Jackson was justifiably proud of his contribution and thought he and Malcolm Clube were well on the way to eclipsing their work for the Louis Vuitton Concours… whereas 'Cluby' was simply grateful to “get out of the house and look at the [synonym for cat]'..."

All photos c.Julian Balme 2011, except the bottom photo, courtesy Fluid Images.

Really?

O.K. at least I gotta give it to her that she respects the Harley.

THE UNIVERSAL RACING MOTORCYCLE

You need four different motorcycles to road race, motocross, trials, flat-track, and hillclimb...right? There was a time, not so long ago, when it was possible to have just one motorcycle, and race in any event with a chance of success in all of them.  Those days have passed in the world of serious competition, but with Vintage events cropping up all over the world, it's still possible to have serious fun - with a chance of winning - in every category, with a single bike.

That's the vision of photographer Dimitri Coste, who is gradually traveling eastward in the US with his Triumph special, competing in events along the way, in his own version of 'Then Came Bronson' (a 70s TV show in which Bronson's HD Sportster magically became a Husqvarna when it touched dirt!).  Dimitri has already won first in his class at the Catalina Grand Prix last year, and today, he's in Colorado, competing in the Pike's Peak International Hillclimb.

The organizers of Pike's Peak made a special exemption for Dimitri to ride, not because of his bike, but apparently the Vintage class refers to the riders!  As he is under 50 years old, it took a bit of string-pulling to get an entry, but he's already there, and had practice blasting up to the 14,110' peak, which is still covered in snow.

The tech inspector commented, 'I haven't seen drum brakes in a long time...'

The first Pike's Peak Hillclimb was a bid for publicity, after the first highway to the top opened in August 1916; a race was staged for cars and motorcycles over the tortuous, snaking dirt track with dramatic views and vertiginous dropoffs in many areas - the race is not for the faint of heart.  The road is 12.42 miles long, partially paved (at the bottom), with graded gravel and dirt towards the top, and the weather can change dramatically from the 9400' start, over the 156 turns and 4700' climb. 

Dimitri's gear is worth noting; as his brother Jérome Coste is the designer of Les Ateliers Ruby, most of his riding gear is a Ruby prototype; they will shortly launch a line of leather jackets, and
'I spy' a Ruby badge on that full-face helmet...something they will release next year.

Photos provided by Dimitri Coste on his blog Le Motel Coste, and the Pike's Peak International Hillclimb.

RevZilla's Gear Givaway

Here is another Gear Giveaway you can enter to win:

AGV AX-8 DS Helmet

They are having this contest for June and for July.

Ride on,

Torch

LIVING LIFE LARGE ON 2 WHEELS IN APPALACHIA

I rode again yesterday. Here's the route:


View Larger Map

Starting out I took the fastest way to get to roads I've never been on before. I don't want to waste time on roads I've seen a lot of. So I blasted my way up I-26 to US-23 and Webber City. I'm riding with the clouds now. Don't ya just marvel at the sight of clouds lisping around a mountain top?

Once at Duffield, I stop for gas at a favorite stop of mine on the corner of US-23 and US-421. Gas up and head across the mountains on US-421. It deviates from the usual route I take up this way. Funny, I never realized US-421 didn't continue in a straight line. It took an hard right and went north. I've got a new road under my belt now folks. Check it out!

The further north I rode, (once in Kentucky) the deeper I got into coal country. It's beautiful here, and I'm so very happy I decided to ride North today. I saw very few motorcycles, cars, trucks or other types of vehicles to ruin this day!

I stopped in the town of Hyden, KY to ask for directions. The guy I asked was looking after his little grand daughter. I stepped across the street to take a photo of the "Main Street" of this little town and caught "grandpa" trying to set the little barefood girl on my very hot Sporty. I'm so very glad she was too scared to let him do it. She would have burned herself on my bike!

Moving on from there using KY-80 to get to Hazard, Kentucky, I found myself on a very nice twisty road cutting east across the southern corner of the state. Lovely road with mobile homes cutting into the sides of mountains and some scary looking folk who live in the rural edges of KY State Road 80.

I did arrive safely to my destination: Hazard, Kentucky. Here is a photo of their modern courthouse, and a slight history lesson about the area.

Next I wanted to visit the Mother Goose House. I went up this road, and down that one. I headed up the mountain side and around the neighborhoods circulating around the town on small one lane neighborhood one way roads. No can find the Mother Goose House. I am hungry. It's after 12 PM. Lunch time and I will ask someone in the restaurant to direct me. I stopped at Long John Silver's for lunch. The folk there were friendly and hospitable. The food was ok...it is after all fast food. I wanted to stop at a diner type of establishment. I found 2 of them in the town. Both closed down and empty. I guess the poor economy don't exclude the folk who work in the mines. I did get the information for the Mother Goose house.

As I'm riding through town, I spy this wall. I enjoy the textures and the colors of this wall. As you might guess, there was another building here torn away and destroyed, leaving the building we see now intact but with the vestiges of the building that stood next door!

I'm gonna stop here and leave the rest of the photos and story for another day this week. But hey...there is one more photo to show ya. I love my Sportster.

Motorcycle Pictures of the Week - Bill

Here are my Pictures of the Week as displayed on the Motorcycle Views Website. This feature has been expanded to include Bikes Only and Trikes Only. These pictures are taken from the Moto Pic Gallery. See Bill's 2006 Harley-Davidson Dyna Glide w/Champion Trike Kit under Trikes Only. There are no Women on Motorcycles, Men on Motorcycles, or Bikes Only this week. We need more pictures of men and women with their motorcycles. Get your picture in. For details, see Motorcycle Pictures of the Week.

DEMONSTRATE YOUR LOVE: PARIS

 Nearly 15,000 motorcyclists in Paris swarmed on June 18th to demonstrate against repressive 'safety' laws targeting our favorite mode of transport. The French Federation of Motorcyclists, combined with Moto Magazine, made the call, and the response was enormous.  While it may seem like 15,000 scooters mass at every stoplight in Paris (especially in summer), such a gathering of motorcyclists demanding their rights is unprecedented in the city.

Riders started at the Chateau de Vincennes in the east of the city, and blocked traffic for half an hour by the sheer mass of their numbers, as they rode to the Trocadero, and parked their machines.

While we motorcyclists might find inspiration with so many machines filling the Place Vendome or the Eiffel Tower, the ride seems to have worked as a political tactic, as the government is rewriting the proposed policy of enforced safety vests on all riders, compulsory A4 license plates, the removal of speed camera warning signs, making radar alerts illegal, etc...the gradual process of infantilization in the name of 'Safety', even as the number of road fatalities on bikes has dropped significantly in France.

The 'manifestation' was a reminder that motorcyclists, whether riding hyperbikes or classics, are voters too, and prefer to to manage their own risks, rather than the State attempting to manage for them.

Women are Riding Motorcycles in Greater Numbers

More and more women are getting off the back seat and climbing on the front seat of a motorcycle. Most are learning in special training classes. Here's an excerpt from a story and video from FOX 13 TV in Tampa Bay:

"Tammy Perkins is enamored when she gets on her motorcycle. 'It is freedom,' she said. Perkin's husband bought her a bike for Mother's Day. It is something she has wanted since she was a kid. Now that she is 40, and the youngest of her kids is out of high school, Perkins thinks she deserves it." -- Ken Suarez, FOX 13 News Polk County Reporter

Read more of this story and watch the video.

For more about women riders, check out Women in Motorcycling.

Motorcycle Pictures of the Week - Men on Motorcycles - Jim

Here are my Pictures of the Week as displayed on the Motorcycle Views Website. This feature has been expanded to include Bikes Only and Trikes Only. These pictures are taken from the Moto Pic Gallery. See Jim with his 1983 BMW R 65 under Men on Motorcycles. There are no Women on Motorcycles, Trikes Only, or Bikes Only this week. We need more pictures of men and women with their motorcycles. Get your picture in. For details, see Motorcycle Pictures of the Week.

SILK FOR SALE AT BANBURY

Bonhams' Banbury Run sale next weekend in Oxford has a little-known gem in the ranks, a true connoisseur's machine, and the end of a long line of English two-strokes.  There was a time when most UK manufacturers had a 'smoker' in their lineup, even the esteemed Velocette built only quality two-stroke lightweights for many years before introducing their overhead-camshaft 'K' series in 1925.

The first Scott of 1908

 But the Scott was always something special; a remarkably advanced design when introduced in 1908, genius engineer Alfred Angus Scott created a water-cooled, twin-cylinder two-stroke, with a rigid, fully triangulated frame, two speeds, and telescopic forks!  Scotts were always very quick and handled beautifully, a fact borne out by making the fastest laps at the Isle of Man TT from 1911-14, and winning the event outright in 1912 and '13.  Very few English motorcycles had multiple gears and all-chain drive at the time, and the 'spec' of the Scotts was streets ahead of anything but the Indians which were imported for these early IoM races.

A late two-speed model ca. 1927

 The original Scott two-speed system used a two primary chains on different sized sprockets, with a clutch between, giving two different ratios, the gears changed via a distinctive 'hi and low' rocking gear pedal.  Easy to use, the early two-speeders were very smooth, light, and handled beautifully.  Having only two gears is less a problem than one might imagine, while riding up hills and around bends, as corners could be taken as quickly as you dared, with no braking required!  It sounds like a boast but I've experienced it firsthand on mountainous California backroads (on the 'von Dutch' Scott, no less). A charming and endearing quality for any 'scratcher', Scotts made friends and kept them.

A late 3-speed 'Flying Squirrel

AA Scott left the company after WW1, and the range was evolved over the years to include 3-speed gearboxes and clutches, becoming gradually heavier with added sophistication, although a Flying Squirrel Clubman in the late 30s, weighing a scandalous 400lbs, could still top 90mph.  They never won another TT, and never won a 'Gold Star' at Brooklands, but they were fast and fun on the road, and easy to maintain.

A postwar 'Birmingham' Scott with teleforks

After WW2, the Flying Squirrel with telescopic forks was launched, but the thrill had gone, and Matt Holder bought the company in 1950 (he later bought the remains of Royal Enfield, Vincent, and Velocette).  Holder manufactured Scotts in Birmingham until the late 1960s, and the Holder family's Velocette Motorcycle Company still has stacks of triangulated frames in the old Triumph despatch warehouse at Meriden.

The last of the Silks, with Lester mags and Lockheed discs, ca. '79

George Silk was a serious Scott enthusiast and a talented engineer, and as he watched late 60s two-stroke racers challenge the top of GP racing, he felt a Scott could be fitted with modern cylinder barrel and heads to increase power, and be competitive in racing.  Silk's original racing machines, using Scott crankcases and Silk's own top end, had respectable horsepower, and their Spondon racing frames echoed the old Scott frame, being completely rigid, ultra-light and triangulated, with exceptional handling qualities.  These Silk/Scott racers were underfunded and underdeveloped, typical of a solitary builder working at GP racing, but they were fast and held promise.

More importantly, by 1972 George Silk announced he would begin production of road-going 'modernized' Scotts in Spondon chassis.  Apparently he made his announcement before informing Holders of his plans, for he did not receive permission to use the Scott name or Holder crankcases, and prospective Silk owners had to supply their own 'cases!  Amazingly, as the basic design of the Scott engine hadn't changed since 1908, it was possible to use 60-year old crankcases on a new, 50hp sporting Silk in a racing chassis!

The Silk for sale at Bonhams is the last of the line of 'owner provided' machines, (#23 - clearly this was a low-volume effort), as George Silk manufactured his own engines in their entirety by 1975.  The last Silk left the factory in 1979, by then with a disc brake up front, the last of the Scott family, produced for just over 70 years.  All Silks are rare, and are coveted by 'those who know' for their remarkable handling, ultra-light weight (305lbs), and super-smooth power.  Silks aren't revvy and nervous like their contemporary two-stroke cousins from Japan, but used old-fashioned 'deflector' pistons which generate torque at low rpm, while sacrificing the screaming, wheelying, light-switch powerbands of its rivals.  A gentleman's two-stroke!

THE BLITZ BOYS

Fred and Hugo from Blitz Motorcycles in Paris brought two of their latest creations to Toulouse for a ride, and managed to park themselves in front of The Vintagent's camera so many times, and so successfully, that a Blitz photo album basically created itself.

While this portfolio certainly looks like an advertisement, are we selling custom motorcycles, rides in the French countryside, beer, or handsome young men with beards?!  Perhaps all of the above.  Of course, a little advertorial ambiguity never hurt commodity fetishism...'selling the lifestyle'... (and if you haven't read your Kapital, just remember Karl Marx famously quipped "I am no Marxist.")

I did toss the little Yamaha SR-based special around a gravel road near the village of Milieu de Nulle-Part, and found the bike light and extremely manageable while machine-gunning pebbles into the blue fluffy-cloud skies of southern France, fishtailing madly down the lane on full throttle.  While this machine is intended to battle traffic on the gladiatorial streets of Paris, its flat-tracky visual cues were borne out on the loose stuff - big fun.

I didn't ride the BMW special, but heard it described by another rider as 'a Punk bike', which is a far cry from the 'rubber cow' nickname given the early R75/5.  Perhaps Blitz is onto something; inexpensive, low-sheen, vintage-based customs meant to do well in modern traffic.  Fred and Hugo certainly thrashed the beasties along the gravel-spotted country roads of the Midi-Pyrénées, proving at the very least, faith in their own handiwork.

In the 1980s, such stripped-down and punked-up bikes were the hot ticket for Tavern to Tavern racing in San Francisco, but you could never buy such a machine, unless a friend was upgrading (often to a '60s Britbike), then usually the 'stock' parts were bolted back on, as there was zero resale value for a stripped motorcycle.  Scrounged together on very limited budgets, we rode them everywhere, hard and fast, cherishing our youth and the erotic possibilities of speed, pack riding, and harmlessly transgressive behavior.  Bikers, in short.

Blitz has taken this concept - the urban custom - and run with it, pushing what was originally a junkyard aesthetic to new and occasionally controversial places.  At their core, these Blitz machines are 'biker's bikes', built to be ridden.