I speak to a lot of people that are interested in vintage motorcycles, and it's always amazed me at the vast differences of opinion about them. Many years ago, I originally would have thought that other like minded enthusiasts, would share my same purist point of view when it comes to preserving these old bikes. I should start by saying that my opinion, is simply that... my opinion. I make plenty of room for others to feel differently about their motorbikes, than I do about mine. After all, we all sort of get a personal experience from these old bikes. Some just want to ride, some just want to wrench and others are somewhere in between.
The general argument starts at some point when guys are either building, restoring or preparing a vintage bike for racing. I've seen countless strange and interesting choices that people make when doing these tasks. There seems to be a lot of so called "upgrades" that guys bolt on to their beloved machines. And when I enquire about these things, the answers tend to be the same. I always get this argument that they're "continuing the development process", and I shake my head in disgust and inability to understand that. Basically, the facts are simple; the real development of these bikes that was done when the bikes were new, is that they eventually became obsolete and were replaced. So their development stopped there. Their initial designs were developed to the max and then as more modern technology came into play, other designs and methods of manufacture, proved to be better. So quite simply, it was out with the old and in with the new. So in my opinion, any thoughts of continuing the development, are purely speculative, and tend to be distorted thoughts and endless justification for such modifications.
In general, I use Norton motorcycles for the basis of my comparison. Mainly because these are the bikes that I'm obsessed with, and also because I know them intimately and can therefore make my point by calling out certain features. Nothing disgusts me more, than to see a vintage Norton that has been modified and "developed" to the point of no return. To the point where the original machine and it's design, is barely even recognizable. It does the bike, it's history and it's future chance at being preserved, a total injustice. You'll see them with Japanese made Mikuni carbs, electronic ignition boxes from a go cart, 6 speed gearboxes with modern internals, wide profile 18" wheels, cush drive rear hubs, billet yokes and the list goes on and on. A lot of these things are done to cosmetically "replicate" original parts. Things such as the TTI gearbox, are used and bare an exterior appearance that looks like the original Norton / AMC gearbox. Basically, what's happening is that individuals are creating these Frankenstein like machines that have stretched the original bike that they supposedly love, to the point of being unrecognizable. And here's the catch to all this never ending upgrading; at it's core, it's still an old bike. It has all it's original limitations, and therefore can never function anywhere close to even a moderate road going machine of the current decade. Guys are trying to squeeze just a few more horsepower out of bikes from the 1960's, destroying them in the process and still not being able to achieve anywhere near what a modern bike could do. So what's the point then?
All this got me to thinking, and I had a sort of epiphany as to why this is happening. It seems to me that we're cursed with the fact that we live in the future. Or at least the future, as seen from these old bike's point of view. We've all had the experience of riding a modern bike, of seeing motor sports develop at a rapid pace and to see modern day motorcycle racers, ride in a way that is continually progressive. So I believe that we subconsciously project these thoughts and experiences on to old machines. I suppose it's natural to do so, but it's also destructive at the same time. The fact is that a Manx Norton from the 1950's was never intended or designed to be ridden in the way that Valentino Rossi and other great racers, ride today. Racers of those old times didn't drag their knees thru every corner, they didn't hang off the bike and they rode the machines to their limits, in the way that the times in which they lived, permitted.
I think we should stop trying to make an old bike into something that it's not, and start simply enjoying it for what it is. There are very few talented and skilled craftsman that can customize a vintage bike and make it look great, and in some cases, even better than the original. The percentage of those people are very small. I completely understand the individual experience that guys are having with their bikes. And I celebrate it. But I would also hope that we can all modify bikes in a way that allows them to be returned to stock. We should preserve them while we enjoy them. We should keep all their original parts with the bike even if we customize them. So that a future owner can still revert the machine back to original. We should ride and race these machines responsibly and not build the motors into hand grenades that get blown to pieces for our own personal enjoyment over a race weekend. There's only so many of them out there, and they can't just be replaced. I also think we should replicate old bikes in a way that's faithful to the original, rather than using our own personal judgement as to what's ok. If we're going to race these old bikes, then we should realize what they are and treat them as such. Meaning that we should take care not to throw them down the track or destroy their beating hearts.
Vintage racing isn't contemporary and competitive racing. I certainly understand the competitive nature of racing, but these organizations are supposed to be set up so that the bikes are represented in a genuine way. If you fancy yourself a talented motorbike pilot, then perhaps you should buy yourself a modern 600cc track bike and have at it, rather than destroy the soul of an old machine that can never be replaced. Let's keep some perspective in regards to what we're all doing.
Lastly, I encourage anyone that agrees or disagrees, to comment or to email me. I think it's a healthy debate that we can have. This blog has always been intended for me to share my experiences and opinions, and to hopefully generate interest in others, so I encourage responses.
On a final note, I will point out the fact that I make every concession in regards to safety when racing and riding. While I'm a purist, I also ride and enjoy my bikes, so I don't use 50 year old tires and I don't wear a puddin basin helmet. I believe that things like belt drive primaries and modern tires are a safety issue, so I always make room for those, as safety is far more important than originality on a bike that's being raced or ridden.
Friday, February 14, 2014
Tuesday, January 28, 2014
Non Traditional Beauty
Generally speaking, I always prefer the traditional livery of Norton motorcycles, and especially their racing counterparts. But every once in a while, I come across a machine that's so different, and at the same time, so striking in appearance, that it demands attention. Such is true for this racing Dominator.
I'm unsure as to the history of this bike, but it's got some very interesting features. The frame is a standard wideline featherbed, form a production machine, rather than a Manx chassis. Based on the fairing lettering, this is a 650 motor, and since the wideline featherbed was never produced with a 650 motor, it's surely a special machine. Petrol tank, seat unit and fairing are fiberglass, while the central oil tank is alloy. The front wheel is a standard Dominator hub and likely a single leading shoe brake plate. It's rim is a shouldered alloy unit, while the rear rim is standard chrome steel. Shock length looks to be longer than standard, and the rear sets are mounted quite high. It's hard to tell exactly from the photo, but they're either mounted to the swingarm spindle, or potentially even higher than that. Clip ons are of the Manx type, with the lever perches built directly onto them.
That's about all the details that can be seen, but I'd certainly love the opportunity to inspect this machine in person, or get more details if anyone out there, knows anything about it.
I guess it makes sense to keep an open mind about these old racing motorbikes. You never know when one of them, in a very unique set up, will catch your eye and raise curiosity. So, to the Henry Bros., my hats off to you.
I'm unsure as to the history of this bike, but it's got some very interesting features. The frame is a standard wideline featherbed, form a production machine, rather than a Manx chassis. Based on the fairing lettering, this is a 650 motor, and since the wideline featherbed was never produced with a 650 motor, it's surely a special machine. Petrol tank, seat unit and fairing are fiberglass, while the central oil tank is alloy. The front wheel is a standard Dominator hub and likely a single leading shoe brake plate. It's rim is a shouldered alloy unit, while the rear rim is standard chrome steel. Shock length looks to be longer than standard, and the rear sets are mounted quite high. It's hard to tell exactly from the photo, but they're either mounted to the swingarm spindle, or potentially even higher than that. Clip ons are of the Manx type, with the lever perches built directly onto them.
That's about all the details that can be seen, but I'd certainly love the opportunity to inspect this machine in person, or get more details if anyone out there, knows anything about it.
I guess it makes sense to keep an open mind about these old racing motorbikes. You never know when one of them, in a very unique set up, will catch your eye and raise curiosity. So, to the Henry Bros., my hats off to you.
Thursday, January 23, 2014
Motobi / Benelli / Parilla Factory Race Team Toolbox
About a year ago, my buddy calls me up one afternoon and tells me that the toolbox he purchased, showed up in the post that day, and asked if I wanted to come by for a first look. Of course this isn't just some random toolbox. It's a genuine 1960's Factory Toolbox for the Motobi / Benelli / Parilla Racing Team that came out of Cosmo.
It's probably best for me to let him tell the story of it's history, since what I personally focus on is Norton motorcycles, and 'd hate to mince the facts. Here's a full description as given by my buddy Jon, who's an expert in all things related to Italian and Spanish road racing motorcycles:
This toolbox is the one that the Cosmo race team used from the late 1950's thru the early 1970's. I bought it from Cosmo's owner, Larry Wise, via an auction he conducted in 2012. He provided documentation of the toolbox and I also remember seeing it in the old Cosmo race shop in Hatboro, PA on one of my visits there in the late 1980's and early 1990's. It's main caretaker and user was Giuseppe (Joe) Rottigni, the racer, tuner and mechanic of virtually all the race bikes from The Cosmo shop. This toolbox travelled with him to the races all over the US. He is famous in Italy for winning the 1957 Moto Giro on a 175 Parilla. He was famous in the States for introducing European-style road racing techniques to us cowboys. The Parilla factory sent him over to their US distributor (Cosmo) to teach them how to service the Hi-cam engines. He liked the US and stayed for the rest of his life, eventually tuning the Motobi engine for Cosmo as well. He passed away in the early 1990s.
I like to think of this toolbox as one of the holy relics from the origins of real road racing in the US, not to mention from the history of the great Italian marques Parilla, Motobi, and Benelli.The other user of the toolbox was a young Eraldo Ferracci. Similar to Rottigni, he was sent over by the Benelli/Motobi factory in 1964 as a service technician for Cosmo. In Italy, he road raced Motobis as an employee of the Benelli brothers and was technically trained by the head of the Motobi/Benelli race shop, Primo Zanzani. The story goes that Eraldo had a knack for crashing and the Benellis figured they'd save money by sending him to the states! Again like Rottigni, Ferracci liked the states and stayed. He left Cosmo in the early 70's to establish his own motorcycle shop and race team and eventually gained fame and fortune under the guise of "Fast By Ferracci" as the official US Ducati race team, winning numerous US championships and a World Superbike Championship with Doug Polen as rider.
What's inside? Of course, that's the big question, right? Is it stock full of uber rare Dellorto SSI carburetors? Well, not exactly. Surely anything of that status would have been pillaged long ago. But what remains is a whole bunch of small spare bits. Carb jets, springs, fasteners, circlips, specialty tools... Basically anything that someone would need to remedy an ailing motorbike in the paddock. And even without any of that, the box itself is a real piece of history.
It's probably best for me to let him tell the story of it's history, since what I personally focus on is Norton motorcycles, and 'd hate to mince the facts. Here's a full description as given by my buddy Jon, who's an expert in all things related to Italian and Spanish road racing motorcycles:
This toolbox is the one that the Cosmo race team used from the late 1950's thru the early 1970's. I bought it from Cosmo's owner, Larry Wise, via an auction he conducted in 2012. He provided documentation of the toolbox and I also remember seeing it in the old Cosmo race shop in Hatboro, PA on one of my visits there in the late 1980's and early 1990's. It's main caretaker and user was Giuseppe (Joe) Rottigni, the racer, tuner and mechanic of virtually all the race bikes from The Cosmo shop. This toolbox travelled with him to the races all over the US. He is famous in Italy for winning the 1957 Moto Giro on a 175 Parilla. He was famous in the States for introducing European-style road racing techniques to us cowboys. The Parilla factory sent him over to their US distributor (Cosmo) to teach them how to service the Hi-cam engines. He liked the US and stayed for the rest of his life, eventually tuning the Motobi engine for Cosmo as well. He passed away in the early 1990s.
I like to think of this toolbox as one of the holy relics from the origins of real road racing in the US, not to mention from the history of the great Italian marques Parilla, Motobi, and Benelli.The other user of the toolbox was a young Eraldo Ferracci. Similar to Rottigni, he was sent over by the Benelli/Motobi factory in 1964 as a service technician for Cosmo. In Italy, he road raced Motobis as an employee of the Benelli brothers and was technically trained by the head of the Motobi/Benelli race shop, Primo Zanzani. The story goes that Eraldo had a knack for crashing and the Benellis figured they'd save money by sending him to the states! Again like Rottigni, Ferracci liked the states and stayed. He left Cosmo in the early 70's to establish his own motorcycle shop and race team and eventually gained fame and fortune under the guise of "Fast By Ferracci" as the official US Ducati race team, winning numerous US championships and a World Superbike Championship with Doug Polen as rider.
What's inside? Of course, that's the big question, right? Is it stock full of uber rare Dellorto SSI carburetors? Well, not exactly. Surely anything of that status would have been pillaged long ago. But what remains is a whole bunch of small spare bits. Carb jets, springs, fasteners, circlips, specialty tools... Basically anything that someone would need to remedy an ailing motorbike in the paddock. And even without any of that, the box itself is a real piece of history.
In my eyes, this thing is a museum piece. A truly romantic connection to motorcycle racing history here in the United States. I know that if this was a Norton Factory Race Team box, what it would mean to me, and I know that Jon surely feels the same way about what this great piece, means to him.
If you've got an old Italian or Spanish motorbike and are looking for parts or service, you should contact Jon, as his company Historica can likely help you out:
Historica
Jon Jacobson
email - straycat27@icloud.com
Sunday, January 19, 2014
Norton Dominator Timing Cover
Three days, and about 20 hours of work, and it's ready do go. All the fittings were thoroughly cleaned in the sonic tank, and the aluminum got the full treatment of sanding and polishing. It'll need to find a home on a bike, but for now it'll be here, looking good and ready for it's call into action.
Thursday, January 16, 2014
On The Bench - Norton Timing Cover
I've redone countless Norton timing covers, but this one is pretty special. It's from a 1950's Dominator and has the riveted on brass badge, and is without the tach drive boss. But beyond that, this one is special for sentimental reasons. I bought this out of a dear friends shed, and sadly, he's no longer with us. I won't go into details about that, but I'll say that it's important to me to see as many as his Norton motorbikes and parts, get done up and put back into service. I know he'd be happy to know that these things were being used as intended, and it's my plan to make as much of that happen as possible.
Here's a couple of before shots, and as you can see, it's got the normal wear and tear from a 60 year old motorcycle part. Some of it is from use, and some of it is likely just nicks and scratches from being knocked around the shed for years. The inside is just dirty, but all the fittings are in tact, so it'll get disassembled, cleaned and polished up. Note that it would have originally been mounted to a Dominator with the early style top oil feed off the oil tank return banjo, so the bottom fitting in this cover, is plugged.
The brass badge will be taped off, and I'll work around it. It won't get polished at all, and simply left in it's original patina.
Usually the inside is quite a bit dirtier than this one, so it should make for an easy job to the inside.
Check back soon as I'm hoping to have this done in the next few days.
Here's a couple of before shots, and as you can see, it's got the normal wear and tear from a 60 year old motorcycle part. Some of it is from use, and some of it is likely just nicks and scratches from being knocked around the shed for years. The inside is just dirty, but all the fittings are in tact, so it'll get disassembled, cleaned and polished up. Note that it would have originally been mounted to a Dominator with the early style top oil feed off the oil tank return banjo, so the bottom fitting in this cover, is plugged.
The brass badge will be taped off, and I'll work around it. It won't get polished at all, and simply left in it's original patina.
Usually the inside is quite a bit dirtier than this one, so it should make for an easy job to the inside.
Check back soon as I'm hoping to have this done in the next few days.
Monday, January 13, 2014
Wasting Time and Space
It's official, Solo Motorcycle Works is now on Instagram!
I'm actually a bit excited about it, since I sometimes feel that this blog space can be long winded and perhaps over detailed, so something as simple as seeing photos on your phone, is actually a pretty good balance to what you'll see here.
In the end, I hope that everyone out there spends more time living life and enjoying real experiences, and less time with their faces buried in their phones and computer screens. I know I'm guilty of it too.
If you're inclined, follow along
Sunday, January 12, 2014
Winter in LA
After what's already been a long winter, it was nice to get out of town, in search of much better weather, and time spent with good friends. I had to make the biannual trip to the greater Los Angeles area for work related duties. And since I was already going to be out there, I figured that it would be nice to take a few extra days of vacation to soak up the weather and see some old friends.
I won't bore you with the details of my vacation days, but figured I'd share a few photos. These first few are from Garage Company. Most likely, anyone reading this, is familiar with Yoshi and his shop in Ingelwood California. He was out of town for the auctions in Las Vegas, but the mechanics were still busy in the back, and they were kind enough to let us have a look around.
Early Norton International in rough mock up state, after being unpacked from boxes. In need of a full rebuild, and I'm assuming a total restoration.
An early pre-featherbed Norton Dominator that I've seen in the back for several years now. I'm not sure what the story is, but it definitely needs some serious attention.
Unique fiberglass Norton tank that was likely on some sort of Commando special. For now, it's just a piece of art.
Shelves of Amal and Delorto carbs litter the place. I tried to buy a few carbs, but without Yoshi there to assign a price, I simply had to put them back, and move on.
I'm a Norton guy, and since finding a 500T will likely be impossible, I've always considered getting a Greeves. This isn't the model that I'd like to have, as I prefer the earlier type with Earls fork. Or better yet, a Silverstone. Either way, it's cool to look at.
After rummaging around and taking in all the details of mounds and mounds of vintage motorcycles and parts, it was time to head out. A really good friend of mine, was out of town, and offered up that I could ride his brand new Triumph Bonneville Scrambler. I'm generally not one to ride another man's bike, but we've been friends for a long time, and how could I really say no. So it was off to the canyon with another buddy. I think we put on 100 miles or more, and damn was it nice to get out and ride.
Stopping point to go to the bathroom, so I snapped a photo to remember the time. Scrambler with all the goodies that make an already nice bike, even better. The Arrow exhaust makes a big difference in performance, sound and shaves a lot of weight off the bike. My buddies 1965 Norton Atlas in the background. I'm not used to riding a modern bike, so it took a few minutes to feel comfortable. Shifting on the other side and just getting used to riding something completely different. It's a tall bike with the suspension travel set for riding on and off road and the riding position is much different than what I'm used to. But needless to say, we had a great ride. Thanks Matt, I truly appreciate it.
I won't bore you with the details of my vacation days, but figured I'd share a few photos. These first few are from Garage Company. Most likely, anyone reading this, is familiar with Yoshi and his shop in Ingelwood California. He was out of town for the auctions in Las Vegas, but the mechanics were still busy in the back, and they were kind enough to let us have a look around.
Early Norton International in rough mock up state, after being unpacked from boxes. In need of a full rebuild, and I'm assuming a total restoration.
An early pre-featherbed Norton Dominator that I've seen in the back for several years now. I'm not sure what the story is, but it definitely needs some serious attention.
Unique fiberglass Norton tank that was likely on some sort of Commando special. For now, it's just a piece of art.
Shelves of Amal and Delorto carbs litter the place. I tried to buy a few carbs, but without Yoshi there to assign a price, I simply had to put them back, and move on.
I'm a Norton guy, and since finding a 500T will likely be impossible, I've always considered getting a Greeves. This isn't the model that I'd like to have, as I prefer the earlier type with Earls fork. Or better yet, a Silverstone. Either way, it's cool to look at.
After rummaging around and taking in all the details of mounds and mounds of vintage motorcycles and parts, it was time to head out. A really good friend of mine, was out of town, and offered up that I could ride his brand new Triumph Bonneville Scrambler. I'm generally not one to ride another man's bike, but we've been friends for a long time, and how could I really say no. So it was off to the canyon with another buddy. I think we put on 100 miles or more, and damn was it nice to get out and ride.
Stopping point to go to the bathroom, so I snapped a photo to remember the time. Scrambler with all the goodies that make an already nice bike, even better. The Arrow exhaust makes a big difference in performance, sound and shaves a lot of weight off the bike. My buddies 1965 Norton Atlas in the background. I'm not used to riding a modern bike, so it took a few minutes to feel comfortable. Shifting on the other side and just getting used to riding something completely different. It's a tall bike with the suspension travel set for riding on and off road and the riding position is much different than what I'm used to. But needless to say, we had a great ride. Thanks Matt, I truly appreciate it.
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