Today, BMW and Honda are pretty much the only major manufacturers of both automobiles and motorcycles in existence. It’s surprising that there aren’t more companies that do so, as you’d think there’d be equity in the brand proponents of both bike and car. But other than two-wheel stalwart Yamaha’s one-off OX99-11 and Sears’ cars from Kaiser and motorcycles from both Harley Davidson and Italy – all branded Allstates – no one else has really gotten on the bike-wagon.

You can’t count Triumph as the motorcycle brand thus anointed peeled off from the car-building division all the way back in 1936. Today, that builder of bikes has shown a startling resurrection while the car arm remains a withered fruit. In my opinion, that’s a damn shame, and one company that ought to consider a reconciliation.

Consider the desmodromic valves used on most every Ducati sold these days. What if that Italian manufacturer turned their attention to a Ferrari or Alfa competitor, what would that possibly portend? I mean, think of the sound. And how about Kawasaki, who, if you were to believe the ads, once let the good times roll. What if they rolled on four wheels instead of just two? KTM has made the leap from two wheels to four, with no dilution of their motorcycle brand, what other bike builder should really do likewise?

Image: [57classicchevy]