Harley Davidson was bought back from AMF in 1981 with Willie. G. Davidson at the helm. The XR1000 was meant to be the fierce machine that reminded the pubic why HD remained top dog. Let’s have a look at the Harley Davidson XR1000 and you can decide whether it achieved it’s goal or not. History … Read more
The 1930s were a big decade for the motorcycle industry. The 1920s saw developments on the original pioneer motorcycles, going from bicycles with engines to full on motorcycles, they even saw in the worlds first Superbike with the Brough Superior. The 1930s however, was a time for pushing boundaries, improving engine design and going hell … Read more
For me, the standout memories of the motorcycles of the 80s was the fascination with turbo bikes, improved (faster) two stroke machines and the Japanese manufacturers stepping on Harley Davidsons toes with their own cheaper V-twin cruiser models. Kawasaki 80s Motorcycles As it was for all the big four Japanese motorcycle companies, the 1980’s were … Read more
The Manx Norton was a racing motorcycle produced by Norton Motors Ltd from 1947 to 1962. It was created for just one single purpose, to win the Isle of Man TT. History of the Manx Norton The Manx name first appeared prior to the development of the Manx Norton on one of their earlier racing … Read more
The 1940s were a turbulent time for motorcycle manufacturers. On one hand motorcycles were evolving into faster, more reliable and capable machines and then on the other World War II was consuming the world and bikes were being built to go to the war efforts. Following the war, manufacturers hit the ground running and picked … Read more
AJS Motorcycles is one of the longest surviving British motorcycle companies to date. Founded in Wolverhampton, the Stevens brothers, Harry, Joe Junior, George and the company’s namesake Albert John (or Jack, as he was more popularly known as) created AJS in 1909. It was their dream to manufacture a motorcycle to win at the Isle … Read more
The Ariel Square Four was a completely new design and had a spectacular impact on the motorcycle design industry in the 1930’s and then beyond. It was a tough, endurance workhorse capable of nearing 100 mph that stood the test of time. Let’s take a look at what made it so great. Ed Turner and … Read more
The 1938 Triumph 5T Speed Twin 500 was a revolutionary motorcycle, it was the birth of the parallel twin. Most, if not all British twins that followed owed a debt to both Edward Turner and his Triumph 500 Speed Twin. Whilst it was not the first of its kind, it was lighter, narrower and most … Read more
1950’s motorcycles were all about performance enhancing features which were being demanded by consumers from manufacturers the world over. The Second World War was slowly becoming a memory and business was on the up across the board. It was time to be excited again and really pick up from where the motorcycle industry had been … Read more
I write quite regularly about some of the older bikes that I now fancy – Katana 1100, RD500, FZR1000 … all eighties motorcycles, all ‘old school’ that brings back memories of my youth, although for the main part, I was too young to ride them; in 1988, I would have been 17. So why wouldn’t … Read more
I was born in 1971, brought up in a motorcycling household, and as we grew older, bikes were just part of our life; Dad owned a very cool Bonnie, my eldest brother also owned a Bonnie, as did many of his friends, although fast Japanese stuff was just creeping in to the group – a … Read more
The term superbike was first used by the motorcycling press in October 1968 after the unveiling of the Honda CB750 at the Tokyo bike show. It’s not a given though that just because the Honda was the first to be called one that it was indeed the worlds first superbike. Contenders for the crown of … Read more