Yamaha started what it likes to refer to as the “four-stroke revolution” as they were first to release a 4-stroke motocrosser. From the time Doug Henry piloted that YZ400M to victory in an AMA SX event in Las Vegas, Yamaha’s YZs have won countless high-level racing events and established itself as the go-to 450 for many top riders. The four-stroke …
A Variety of Minimotos
For the majority of the today’s fastest Grand Prix racers, their racing careers began on pocket bikes, or as they’re better known around the world: minimotos. Some riders started as tots on micro-displacement dirt machines, but most of today’s champions all honed their skills by dragging their knees in local parking lots that served as impromptu circuits thanks to a …
Honda vs. Kawasaki – 1982 250cc MX Racers
For decades, two-stroke MXers were big business. Production versions of factory competition machines became desirable off-roaders, leading to some of the most iconic quarter-liter off-road racers of all time. Two of those machines are undeniably the Honda CR250R and Kawasaki KX250. Both bikes were “out of the box racers” that were instant classics, receiving various updates over the years in …
Restored Period Custom – 1972 Norton Commando Combat
In 1986, a New England yacht builder decided to turn his Combat Commando into a show bike by fabricating his own replica Production Racer fairing and front fender out of carbon fiber. While he was in the customizing mood, he also built rearsets and brackets for the seat and fairing out of stainless steel. He turned to Gus Kuhn for …
Real World Testing – MotoQuest Puts 30k Miles on the Africa Twin
When you read First Ride motorcycle reviews nowadays, it can be fun to read about what’s new but it’s tough to really get a feel like for how a bike will perform for years if you’re going to plunk down your own money on it. Moto-journalists get the bike for a day or two and maybe put a couple of …
Marlon Moto Build – 1997 Ducati ST2 944
This Ducati ST2 build is the epitome of a professional job as it boasts a lot of character and the builder seems to have paid attention to every little detail, opting to spend time, energy, and money on minute details such as aftermarket brake reservoirs and narrow full brass piping that houses the various lines running around the bike, coiling …
Bavarian Cruiser – 1999 BMW R1200C
BMW builds a variety of different types of motorcycles, many of which are considered to be some of the best touring machines. Having said that, cruisers aren’t exactly what come to mind when the German marque is mentioned but nonetheless, here is an example born of out BMW’s foray into the lucrative cruiser segment: the R1200C. This was BMW’s first …
Clean & Classy – 1997 Ducati 900SS Cafe Racer
When Ducati brought back the 900SS at the end of the 1980’s, it was already technologically and mechanically dated compared to the other offerings being sold towards the end of the decade. It boasted a retro style that was powered by an equally retro engine. For this reason, the 900SS is a terrific candidate when looking for a donor machine …
All Original Survivor – 1967 Honda P50
First introduced in 1966, the P50 would only have a three year production run before being replaced by its successor: the PC50. The P50 – also known as the P25 or “Little Honda” – was an important bike in Honda’s history. To the best of my knowledge, this little scoot was the first Japanese moped to be imported to UK …
UMRA 24 Hour Race – Race Day!
View PostHarley MXer – 1975 Harley-Davidson SX250
In 1969 Yamaha released its wildly popular 250cc DT-1, selling around 50,000 units in its first couple years of production. Other manufacturers took notice of this, including Harley-Davidson. They would toss their hat in the MX-ring the following year in an effort to nab a piece of the lucrative late-’60’s/early-’70’s off-road segment. Harley had recently purchased a large stake in …
Triumph and Tribulations – Exploring the UK, Day 4
June 20th, 2017 – Christchurch, England to Cardiff, Wales: ~120 miles Missed Day 3? June 19th, 2017 – London, England to Christchurch, England: ~120 miles Here’s the next day of our summer UK trip to tide you over in case I can’t get service during Saturday’s 24 hour race…
UMRA 24 Hour Race – Drama
24 hours before the start of the race, I get a text message from our team captain. “Need to talk…there’s a remote chance we might not race tomorrow.” Well, shit.
UMRA 24 Hour Race – The Gear
With the amount of time I’m about to spend racing, there’s a good chance that I’ll be experiencing the wonders of a lowside. Here’s the gear I’ll be entrusting to keep my time on the ground relatively pleasant and hopefully not painful. This is a primer – I’ll go into more depth on each item after I’ve had a chance …
1968 Aermacchi Harley-Davidson Ala Verde
Aermacchi and Harley-Davidson produced a number of solid machines over the course of their partnership after Harley bought up a 50% stake in the Italian manufacturer. In contrast to Harley’s heavy, relatively poor-handling cruisers, the Italian/American moco-partnership made many nimble low-displacement motorcycles with superb handling and quintessential 1960’s Italian style. The Ala Verde, which was produced from ’59-’72, is a …