Classic & Vintage

Review: 1983 Suzuki Katana Custom

Fans of the long-running TV sci-fi series Stargate SG-1 and the movie The Fantastic Four will likely have seen Rob Wilton on their screens without realizing it. You’re not usually supposed to recognize him.Rob is a stunt coordinator and stunt performer with a long list of credits in

May/Jun '15

1954 MV Agusta 175 CS: Disco Volante

Peter Calles, a noted international collector of classic motorcycles, recently finished a full restoration of this rare 1954 MV Agusta motorcycle. The saga behind the MV Agusta marque, however, began on February 12, 1945, when the company was founded. Prior to that time, the Agusta family’s primary enterprise was

Mar/Apr '07

Bumble Beemer

I once asked a BMW car marketing guy what differentiated his company's image from rival Mercedes. "Simple," he said. "We build motorcycles; they build trucks." And considering its traditional image as a maker of staid and stolid motorcycles, BMW has an impressive record of performance innovation: the first factory-faired sport

Nov/Dec '06

Special Victims Unit

I can still remember opening my copy of Motor Cycle News and seeing BSA's announcement of their motorcycle range for 1966. I was fifteen, motorcycle crazy and a big fan of motocross, which was then called 'scrambles.' Jeff Smith had just won his second successive world championship on the

Jul/Aug '06

1981 Laverda 1000 Jota

"Any color as long as it's black." Not surprisingly, it was in the psychedelic seventies when motorcycle manufacturers first broke with the tradition of black-painted frames. First came BSA's "dove grey," intended, it's said, to reprise the company's titanium-tubed, motocross bike frames. Then came Ducati's teal-framed silver 750SS. But perhaps

Mar/Apr '06

Total Recall

A life is a warehouse of sensations and experiences best opened and shared with as many others as possible. Whatever we choose to stock the warehouse shelves with indicates our particular passions and often leads us back to our inner selves. For me, the vintage bike experience holds a prominent

Nov/Dec '05

Review:1968 Royal Enfield Interceptor TT Mk1A

Jim Stothard wasn't looking for a motorcycle when he heard about the Royal Enfield his boss had in storage. He wasn't even sure what an Enfield was. But the idea of buying it wouldn't go away. It took two years of needling and cajoling before Jim was even allowed to

Mar/Apr '05

The Return of the UJM

I knew if I bugged Bill long enough he'd sell me his bike. He hardly ever rode it. I was in a very unusual "bikeless" stage of my life while living in Asheville, NC, which is as close to moto-Utopia as you can get. I needed a bike and Bill

Jul/Aug '04

1978 Triumph Bonneville T140V

For years I've known I would someday get around to buying a classic bike. My heart told me it would be a British bike. And since finding one is no longer a problem - what with so many auctions going on and sites like cycletrader.com now commonplace - I

Fall '02

The Moto Morini Story

After a long snowy winter and six busy months of restoration it's time to face the truth. Did I do a good job and will the Italian primadonna finally sing?Alfonso Morini, the owner of the little Italian manufacturer from Bologna, started out in the motorcycle business in 1924. Together