1979 Honda CB750F Super Sport "Montjuïc Special"by Luis Etchenique

 

I'm not often impressed by motorcycle builds, but this Honda CB750F Supert Sport built by my friend Luis Etchenique is just a work of art in my eyes. Luis Etchenique built this bike as a tribute to the Honda RCB machines that won the 24 Hours of Montjuïc in Barcelona, Spain, back in 1976.

 

Stan Woods in Montjuic 1976

The 1976 edition of the 24 Hours of Montjuïc, won by Stan Woods and Charlie Williams on a Honda 941, was the 22nd edition of this race, organized by the Barcelona Motorists Association at the Circuit de Montjuïc on the weekend of July 3 and 4. It was the second round of the European Endurance Championship (called the FIM Cup until 1975) that year.

That year's extremely hot Barcelona summer forced the Honda Britain ( Stan Woods/Charlie Williams ), and Honda France ( Jean Claude Chemarin/Christian Leon ) teams to remove the machines' cowlings as to allow for a much needed improved cooling. You could see all the hardware, the mechanisms, the internal components. I recall being at the pits ... in awe of such raw performance and engineering.

I was at the time a teenager, and I promised myself that one day I would build a bike that would convey a similar feeling; a bike where you could see its engine, the carbs, the exhaust -- its guts and its soul.

For this project I used a 1979 CB750 Super Sport I found ( in need of many of its original parts ), which otherwise would've probably ended up in someone's junkyard. 

VOC International Rally 2023

 

A few days ago my friend Wayne Kogan went to the VOC International Rally celebrating the 75th Anniversary of The Vincent H.R.D. Owners Club. The Rally was hosted by the Southern California Section, one of the oldest and strongest Sections in the VOC. There were Iconic Racing Vincents featured including the John Edgar's 'Bathing Suit' LSR rode by Rollie Free. The story of the Bathing Suit Bike started In 1948  when Philip Vincent was touring America and meeting his dealers. While at V.L. “Mickey” Martin’s shop in Burbank, Calif., he was introduced to John Edgar, a well known West Coast journalist and sportsman with a liking for fast motorcycles. Edgar appreciated that the Black Shadow had the potential to take the American speed record from Harley-Davidson and rider Smokin’ Joe Petrali. And the Vincent “Barn Job” built by Clem Johnson would become the first drag bike racer to go 140, 150 and 160 mph. For more than five years, the machine held the record for both elapsed time and top speed. Its quickest would be 9.70 seconds; its fastest was 151.51 mph. It was for Wayne the occasion to meet with the "one and only" Alp Sungurtekin and his amazing 1948 Vincent Twin Engine, production number ‘F10AB/1/666’ which became in 2021 the fastest 1000cc Vincent Record Holder of all time with a two way average of 193.621MPH.

Opel 1930 “Motoclub” 496 cc OHV

Adam Opel’s company was situated in Rüsselsheim am Main in Germany and among its products were sewing machines, bicycles, cars and motorcycles. The latter products were made in three periods: for some years in the early 1900s, then from 1913 till halfway the twenties and finally from 1928 till 1930. 

Adam Opel was born on 9 May 1837 to Wilhelm, a locksmith, and his wife in Rüsselsheim. Opel studied with his father until the age of 20, when he received his travel pass. The pass enabled him to be an apprentice locksmith in Belgium, in Liège, Brussels, and then Paris, where he arrived in mid-1858. While in Paris, he took an interest in an innovation—the sewing machine. In 1859, he went to work for a maker of sewing machines to get a closer look. Opel's younger brother, George, also came to Paris to absorb this new technology. In 1862, Adam Opel returned to Rüsselsheim.

At the Berlin Automobile and Motorcycle show in 1928 Opel stunned the motorcycle folk with the display of two very extravagant looking machines. Frame, front suspension, tank, saddle and handlebars were unorthodox to say the least. This, combined with the cadmium plated matt silver finish of all metal parts and the bright red components like saddle, tyres, handlebar grips, foot rests and kick-start rubber made for an awesome sight.

The design itself was not Opel’s, the company had secured the production rights of the rolling motorcycle chassis system of the very unorthodox and multitalented Ernst Neumann-Neander. One of the great advantages, Neumann-Neander claimed, was that his pressed steel frame construction made it possible to reduce the assembly time of a motorcycle from between 20 to 25 man hours to no more than four man hours. Other features were short, vertically placed leaf springs, great accessibility of all parts and comfortable seating for the rider. Opel offered OHV and SV versions of the 496 cc power source. Production lasted till 1930. 

This powerful ohv delivers 22hp and is fitted with Bosch ignition and lighting, tank top speedometer, petrol level indicator in filler cap and centre stand. For two-up touring there’s a Denfeld sprung pillion seat, finished in read leather of course. Note the striking design of the two short exhaust dampers and the stylish and elegant enamelled badges with the Opel logo on the front and rear mudguards. This rare and unconventional machine has been restored with much attention to detail and is a strong runner.

Via : https://www.yesterdays.nl/home/

Michael Lichter Photography

Stacy McCleary 1961 Triumph Bonneville

Michael Lichter never ceases to impress me with the quality of his photos and I strongly advise you to take the time and browse his website to discover his amazing work. In 1977, after a stint simultaneously playing drums in a BeBop jazz band, bussing tables in a restaurant and doing personal photography, Michael Lichter decided he was a better photographer than a drummer and hung up the sticks. It was during this time that he started riding his 1971 Harley-Davidson Shovelhead (which he still owns) and photographing bikers. This work, along with a series on cowboys, was exhibited in group and solo exhibitions over the next few years. Prints were included in private and public collections, most notably by ARCO (Atlantic Richfield Corp.) and the Bibliotheque Nationale de France, in Paris.

Stacy McCleary started building bikes, way back in 1965, at the age of 11, when he took over the garage in his parents’ brand-new house with his booming business of building and selling mini-bikes and customized Stingray bicycles to his friends and neighborhood kids. His parents actually parked their brand-new vehicles outside so he could run his business. At 15, his first street-legal motorbike was a 1962 Cushman Eagle Scooter that his dad had purchased new. 

Words via : Cycle Source Magazine

XTR Pepo

Pepo Rosell, born in France soon went to live in Spain. First biologist, working in scientific research in aquaculture, he finally started working on his other passion: Motorcycles

He first worked with two Spanish Ducati importers and finally decided to start his own business. It was in 1996 and what he wanted was to do something different and special with the standard bikes, outside the norms. Preparing them for competition or street use.

In 2001 he went further and founded Radical Ducati, he decided to manufacture entire motorcycles with his own brand. After 13 years of frenetic activity being at the top of the world builders, he had to stop, reconsider and rethink his life.

In the end he saw that motorcycles were his life and at the beginning of 2015, he restarted his activity with XTR PEPO. With a new vision…. Less business and more fun 

Meyers Manx Is Back

 

  Bruce Meyers on a feasibility run in 1967 with buggies Old Red, Splinters, and the #5 monocoque, on a stop at El Arco in Baja.

Bruce Meyers on the feasibility run, Vincaino Desert, 1967.

Getting frisky in a vintage Meyers Manx during downtime on the NORRA Mexican 1000 Rally, April, 2022.

The original Meyers Manx in action competing in the NORRA Mexican 1000 Rally, April, 2022

My dear friend Wayne Kogan sent me the link from the Iron & Air article about the rebirth of the Iconic Meyers Manx. After more than 50 years, Phillip Sarofim and Freeman Thomas are bringing the legendary dune buggy brand back to mainstream culture.

Words Jay Ward : "If I ask you to picture a “dune buggy” in your head, what image comes to mind? Most likely you’ve pictured the shape of a Meyers Manx without even realizing it. When sailor, surfer, and fiberglass boat-builder Bruce Meyers formed the first Manx, he had no idea that he was creating an entirely new type of vehicle — one that would become a ’60s vehicular icon of freedom and fun, cemented in cool by the likes of Steve McQueen, pulling massive jumps at the beach with a lady by his side in The Thomas Crown Affair. When Bruce crafted that first dune buggy, he was only thinking of simplicity and lightness; of building a better mousetrap.
First hatched from his home garage in 1964, the final design was eventually dubbed the “Manx,” a name first given to an epochal Norton racing motorcycle in homage to the Isle of Man TT race, and now given to an incredibly lithe and agile dune buggy which would become the dominant off-road racing vehicle. His first Manx had the nickname Old Red, and Meyers was soon shattering time records at the Ensenada to La Paz run. Another early Manx took first place at the grueling 1967 Mexican 1000 race, later known as the infamous Baja 1000."  Read the full article HERE 

 

Triumph T100 pre-unit 1956 Desert Sled

Once again, my friend Franck Castrol surprises me with his exceptional talent as a motorcycle builder. Although I know his ability to provide first-rate work, I am always amazed by the amazing result of his work. Below is a quick detail of the work done on this desert sled.

Oscillating pre-unit 1956 Triumph Tiger 100 frame.  Completely reassembled engine in standard side (vilo and pistons), assembly of racing camshaft e3134, intake and exhaust coupled to a Lucas racing magneto . Front and rear period dunlop spoked rim in 19 inches,  dual front cam brake and rear bolt-on hub. Triumph t120 TT exhaust mounted on stainless steel ring on preunit cylinder head (not the same diameter), dry sump clutch.