Come for a ride down memory lane and take a moment to ponder what was important for you and motorcycling on retro bikes we’d kill for!

The Bonnie ruled when I bought my BSA 350 single around the late 60s. Couldn’t afford motorcycle gloves then, so my dad being a welder, gave me a pair of welding gloves. They were made of canvas and came up to my elbows, and when I painted them black, they were almost waterproof.

I remember seeing an Electra-Glide on the black and white telly and thought to myself how stable it looked with its huge tires and large clear wind-shield. The cops riding it on the TV show would never fall off that thing. What’s more…it had electric start! I had to kick-start my rusty ole dunga every cold morning and hold in the compression key so the lever wouldn’t fly back and break my leg! After that I bought a Beeza Lightning 650 that started easier and was gentler on the leg, but I always lusted after a Manx Norton, after seeing one at the TT. The Manx was perfectly suited for the challenging island TT course and the 500 single had a top speed of around 130 mph. I’m sure they wore welding gloves back then instead of leather motorcycle gloves.

Just as Valentino Rossi changed the sport of motorcycle racing in recent times and has become the sports biggest drawcard, Giacomo Agostini ruled the roost in the 60s. He was fast, dedicated and classy on his MV Agusta. The three cylinder 500 was renowned for its excellent road handling. Ago always looked sinister in his black leathers, motorcycle gloves, pudding basin helmet and goggles.

John Britten was a New Zealander who built his Britten motorcycle in 1991. He threw all the engineering rules out the window and started with a clean sheet of paper. He designed, built the bike and engine which became revolutionary and may have just been the world’s best motorcycle ever, had he not died of cancer in 1995 at the age of 45. His bike remains years ahead of contemporary design. Andrew Stroud pulled on the motorcycle gloves and racing leathers as one of the few racers to have had the privilege of racing a Britten superbike. Read the rest of this entry »

When Gottlieb Daimler invented the motorcycle back in 1885, he had no idea how it would handle, that it would handle at all or even know what handle meant! His bike had training wheels to help him negotiate the turns, and it probably steered like a boat! Way back then, nothing was known about centre of gravity and the geometry of spinning wheels.

Motorcycles are always at their happiest being straight up from the ground when you are moving. The geometry being that, as the tire spins, the force of spinning causes the motorcycle body to want to stay upright. Now, that’s fine if you travel in a straight line all your life. But, on our highways and byways, we have such things as corners, bends and curves. So, how do we negotiate these?

The art of cornering is achieved by learning how to “push” the handlebar grip into the corner while maintaining a proper “lean” angle through the turn. This is a skill that is developed with experience. It is summed up rather simply by the phrase “Push the right-hand bar to turn right, push the left-hand bar to turn left”. But, before that actually happens and before a turn is actually negotiated, a momentary or even subconscious “steer” is given “counter” to the desired direction. In other words, “steer left to turn right”. This “steer” in the opposite direction actually causes the “lean”, because it shifts ever so slightly the centre of gravity in the middle of the rubber on the road from the front wheel.

The rider of a relatively light sports bike with a short wheelbase can initiate a “lean” by shifting body weight. These bikes are designed for going in and out of corners at high speed and taking winding roads. The next time you’re watching MotoGP, notice how the riders lead with their inside shoulder and see how comfortable and relaxed they look. Poetry in motion! But for heavier bikes with a longer wheelbase such as tourers, cruisers and choppers, shifting body weight is less effective. That’s why these bikes are properly designed for straight line performance and highway use.

When you are leaning into the corner… I don’t mean leaning the bike in… I mean leaning yourself relative to the bike, and as you turn, move your inside shoulder forward and in. This moves your weight where you need it and positions your arms to comfortably steer. As you come out of the turn, this is the easy part because motorcycles always want to be stable and will bring itself back up-right. Read the rest of this entry »