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Two Wheel Tuesday: False Neutral Podcast #83 – Two-Stroke Stroker!
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The topic of this month’s episode was supposed to be the new bikes from EICMA, but Garrett followed through on his predicted purchase of not one but three Yamaha two-stroke twins. One will be a fairly mild, original looking Kenny Roberts Special. The other two, an RZ and an RD, will be wildly modified with…
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Last Call: Fat Hippo Edition
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This uber-functional dirt bike, used for clearing riding trails, was home-built using parts scavenged from a worn-out Honda TRX250 four-wheeler and parts of a Kawasaki Tecate 3-wheel ATV. The finished fat-wheel style trail bike has electric starting, ultra-low gearing, shaft drive, and reverse. It’s not terribly fast, but it can confidently tackle any terrain and…
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BMW finally puts the M in motorcycles
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BMW’s Motorrad is taking a page out of the playbook from the automobile side of the family. It’s all about M as the motorcycle family will soon be able to option up their bikes with new options and performance parts. The goal here is performance, exclusivity, and individuality. And mucho dollars, of course. First to…
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Two-Wheel Tuesday: Radical Simplicity
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Prior to the 1980s, Husqvarna had designed only two-stroke motorcycles for decades. So, when they designed a new 510cc four-stroke motor, they based it on their existing two-stroke bottom end and employed quixotic but logical engineering to lubricate the engine. Rather than a positive-displacement oil pump and dedicated oil lines, the engine utilized nothing but…
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Last Call: Retro Minimalism Edition
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The Yamaha Y125 Moegi was a concept bike displayed in 2011, and was intended to reflect the design of the very first Yamaha, the 1955 Yamaha YA-1. The Moegi featured an aluminum frame and bodywork and was powered by a fuel-injected, 125cc single-cylinder engine. The result weighed a claimed 176 pounds. The small, three liter…
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Last Call: Dutch Treat Edition
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The Van Veen OCR 1000 was the Wankel-powered dream of Dutch motorcycle magnate Hendrik Van Veen. The OCR (“Oil Cooled Rotor”) used a repurposed Comotor rotary automotive engine, most famously used in the NSU R080. NSU and Citroën pulled the plug on their joint rotary project after delivering only 50 engines to Van Veen, though…
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Last Call: Reduce, Reuse, De-Cycle Edition
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From the class’s inception just after World War II until the early sixties, Formula 3 cars were limited to 500cc. Virtually all of these engines were liberated from motorcycles, such as this Manx Norton engine. Eventually, as the British and European economies improved and automotive technology grew more sophisticated, the concept was abandoned and “Formula…
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Two Wheel Tuesday: False Neutral Podcast #82 – Garrett's Two-Stroke Cache
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In the October episode, Garrett updates us on his pending estate purchase(s?) before moving on to discuss the new Indian FTR1200 [Spoiler: we’re impressed], the new Suzuki Katana, the ergonomics of the Husqvarna Vitpilen 701. We go on to examine which bikes are (and are not) on our bucket lists and bargains in small non-current…
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Two Wheel Tuesday: False Neutral Podcast #82 – Garrett’s Two-Stroke Cache
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In the October episode, Garrett updates us on his pending estate purchase(s?) before moving on to discuss the new Indian FTR1200 [Spoiler: we’re impressed], the new Suzuki Katana, the ergonomics of the Husqvarna Vitpilen 701. We go on to examine which bikes are (and are not) on our bucket lists and bargains in small non-current…
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Last Call: Chalk Talk Edition
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Click for larger image view Ad men are notorious for selling the sizzle and not the steak. Every once in a while, though, the actual technical merits of the product are showcased. The tech-talk in this Suzuki magazine spread from 1976 isn’t really as in-depth as it appears to be at first blush, but the…
