Just in case those of you having a two-wheel inclination missed any of the action over at Tanshanomi’s Snap Judgments, here’s a summary of the bikes profiled during the month of April:
- Cagiva 650 Alazzurra GT: Fri, Apr 1
- Fantic GT Super Six: Wed, Apr 6
- Honda FT500 Ascot: Fri, Apr 8
- KTM 990 Adventure: Wed, Apr 13
- Yamaha XV920R: Fri, Apr 15
- Münch Mammut-4 TTS-E: Wed, Apr 20
- Moto Guzzi Griso 1200 8V: Fri, Apr 22
- Honda CB175: Wed, Apr 27
- Honda GL650 Silver Wing Interstate: Fri, Apr 29
For those of you who haven’t headed over my other web outpost yet, a new “snap judgment” goes live every Wednesday and Friday at www.tanshanomi.com, so you can get your online motorcycle fix more often than just on Two Wheel Tuesday. Check it out and feel free to comment and let me know if I’ve nailed it, or if your opinion of a bike is wrong wildly different from mine.
I came across this motorcycle stash the other day and thought of you, Tanshanomi. You probably already know this place in Arizona, but it blows my mind. http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php?topic=62376.0
<img src="http://images.hemmings.com/wp-content/uploads//2010/08/bikeyard_800-700×525.jpg"width="500"/>
Sweet sassy molassey!! That's a ton of bikes. The OCD in me wants to organize the hell out of that mess.
Careful. There might be a rattlesnake or two in there.
NO, I had not heard of it, but I know of a couple other places that only sort of approach that scale. I spent a lot of time going through a couple of places and nearly wept over all the desirable stuff that had been left to rot. Most of the time once you find it there is nothing worth saving. I have however rescued some vintage tin from bike yards — two '60s Gilera singles (a 124 and a 202) and a very early Bultaco (a "Model 4," as in their fourth model made). Probably didn't pay more than $50 for the Bultaco. Other than missing fenders it was complete, and ran fine with just a good cleaning and a set of rings. Somebody just got bored with it, I guess.
There used to be a couple of places like this in the Salt Lake City area, and I visited them many a time trying to keep my collection of crappy old riceburners running. One of them had a pack of evil looking pitbulls who actually were quite friendly (during business hours, anyway) who would fetch rocks. Big ones. I'd hate to get caught by them, shopping at Midnight Auto.
Stacy the Ascot is almost on the road again as of the rear brake job this coming weekend.
Interesting about the Griso feeling heavy around town. I used to have an Ambassador, and it was just the opposite. It was really easy to drive exceedingly slowly, but once you got up to speed it took an act of heroism to get it to lean over, and then the centerstand would hit. It was not a machine that could change direction quickly above about 5 mph. I still miss it though.
I was hoping the Griso had outgrown this heritage. Does Guzzi make anything that could be considered even remotely flickable?
If you don't know anything about motorcycles (and I don't), it's fun to try to match the names with the pictures.
The KTM is the orange one, the Silver Wing is pretty easy, and; Is it just me, or is it painfully obvious which one of those is called 'Münch Mammut'?
You're awesome, Tanshanomi. I don't care about motorcycles, really, but I like reading your posts on them.