1968 Bultaco Campera 175

I spent years riding Bultaco motorcycles and loved every one of them. Well, in truth I loved a few of them, ok, not that many of them. But, there is something about Bultaco’s that makes everyone who has owned one, love them. It’s weird.

I don’t know what it is that makes me love these motorcycles, but I do. I have been stranded in the desert more times than I care to remember by a Bultaco. I have been pitched over the handlebars, high-sided into a cactus bush, and been stuck axle deep in mud all on a Bultaco. Notice, I didn’t say because of a Bultaco. Most of my misfortune has been due to rider error, but still, there were plenty of times the bike was the culprit. And yet, Bultaco holds a special place in my heart.

I have ridden Matador’s, Pursang’s, Astro’s, Lobito’s, Shepa’s and Metralla’s but never a Campera. I wonder why? The Campera, as I look at it now, almost seems a perfect bike for it’s time. The Campera used essentially a Trials bike motor (lot’s of low end torque and smooth power delivery) stuck into an Enduro chassis (good road going capabilities). A proper ‘Dual Sport’. The Campera is a simple motorcycle with classic European Enduro styling, and it is Moto Giro legal for those of you that would like to ride that event…I want to. The 175cc motor is a very low stress little powerplant and if you don’t abuse it should just go and go.

I found a Campera on ebay this morning that needs a good home. It is a runner but it certainly needs some love. Other than cosmetics some simple going through the mechanicals and you would have a fun bike to ride just about anywhere. Is it worth doing a full ‘show room’ restoration? No. Is it worth painting the tank and doing some other cosmetic work? Yes. Is it worth the asking price? Probably. If you like Bultaco and want a unique model from the Spanish company, give this little Campera a look.

Click on the pics below for more info and pictures.

1968 Bultaco Campera

1964 HONDA CA200 TOURING

Believe it or not, often times less is more. Yeah, there is nothing quite like the rumble of a big V-Twin, the scream of a high revving two stroke triple, the roar of an inline four, or the thump of a big single. But, there are times that the song of a little (not even freeway legal) single or twin is pure music to your ears. Add to that a style that launched a whole generation of riders and you have the making of a true classic. Honda, better than anyone in the ’60′s, knew how to do just that.

THe Honda ‘Dream’ was a big bike by ‘then current’ standards, but Honda needed something in between the little ‘You meet the nicest people on a Honda’ 50cc step-thru bikes and the ‘bigger’ 160′s and 305′s. The 90 was perfect.

The 90cc CA200 was light at just 188 pounds, put out a whopping 6.5 horsepower, could top 55 mph, get nearly 100 miles per gallon of regular gas and was quite stylish. Honda took the successful style of the ‘Dream’ model and the comfort of the ‘Benly Touring’ model and simply put a smaller motor in it. It worked!! The CA200 was one of Honda’s best sellers.It was the perfect transition bike for most riders of the time.

I found a really nice one on ebay today. Not too many miles, generally really nice condition…ok, it needs a bit of touch up here and there (the owner primered the top of the tank and there are a few dents here and there…) but, all in all pretty darn nice. This is the kind of bike that goes perfect on a motorhome bumper rack (it is that time of years ya know..), it’s also a very cool get around campus bike for the freshman at University in your family…chicks dig guys that don’t have big motorcycles to match their big ego’s. Well, maybe they do, but, I’m just dreaming here. I think the cool factor of this little Honda goes way beyond ego.

Click on the pics below for more info and more pictures. This really is a very cool little motorcycle. And, reasonably priced I might add.

1964 Honda CA200 Touring

1950 Moto Guzzi Airone 250

Today I was doing my daily research on cool old motorcycles and started finding an interesting pattern, small displacement motorcycles seem to live on decade after decade with minor changes, but larger bikes come and go and change every couple of years. My closest reference is the Honda 350. Honda built that model for years with little changes and was the largest selling motorcycle in the world. Sure, the CB750 was a world changer and spawned the ‘Superbike’ (actually, Triumph trumped them on that one with the Trident, but Honda got the title…), but while everybody was one-upping each other in the performance range, smaller bikes just kept selling.

A great example of small displacement bikes that just kept selling and going strong was the Moto Guzzi Airone 250. This was a bike that was born in the 1930′s and finally retired in 1957. The Falcone (500cc) was the better known of the two Guzzi singles but the Airone was the better seller. In Italy,the Airone was up against scooters and ultra lightweight two strokes for market share and was considered a ‘big’ motorbike. If you had a an Airone you were definitely in the big leagues, the Falcone in its home market was considered too big?!

Early on the Airone was a very simple motorcycle, a pressed steel frame, girder front suspension and an eye-popping 10 horsepower that would propel the little single to a top speed of 60 mph! Pretty impressive for its time, but still the Airone was considered a very sedate motorcycle.

1948 brought out the ‘Sport’ version of the 250 single. The motor was pumped up to 13.5 horsepower and the top speed went up to 75 mph…now were getting serious here! The styling became a bit more ‘dashing’ with the new paint job and ‘Fishtail’ muffler,the new muffler did more than just look good, it did add a bit of power to the little single and it sounded much more robust (as robust as a 250 single can sound). You could get a speedo and a tach for the bike as options but as was the common thought of the day “If you have to check your speed, you’re not going fast enough”. The Airone was Moto Guzzi’s best selling single through the 1950′s outselling the Falcone four to one. It was also Italy’s most popular lightweight motorcycle at the time.

Today I found a very nice Moto Guzzi Airone 250 Sport on ebay that is selling for what I believe is a somewhat reasonable price considering some I have seen on the market and the fact that there are very few around here in the US. This particular Airone is a 1950 Sport model in really good condition that would only need a basic going through to make a fun rider right now. It’s not a show bike it is a rider…you show up at your local Sunday ride hang out on this bike with the ‘baloney cutter’ flywheel spinning away, you will have a crowd instantly…don’t expect to be eating breakfast all too soon.

For more info and pics, click on the pics below. Nice bike, it ain’t cheap but rare and unique bikes from this era never are. They are worth it however.

1950 Moto Guzzi Airone

1970 Hodaka Super Rat

Nobody doesn’t love Hodaka. With names like Ace, Dirt Squirt, Wombat, Rat and Super Rat, Road Toad and Thunderhog, what’s not to love? In the late 60′s through the mid 1970′s every young ‘wanna be racer’. wanted a Hodaka. Why? Well, they were cheap, they were easy to ride, and almost maintenance free. Operative word here was ‘almost’…remember these were little two-strokes.

Hodaka has been given credit for kick-starting the ‘trail-bike’ craze here in the US of A, and it’s easy to understand why. Like I said in the first paragraph… Hodaka’s were easy to buy, easy to ride, easy to maintain and they had fun names.

Many beginning racers that became stars got their start on Hodaka’s, mom’s got to go riding with the family on a Hodaka, and they had the cool factor of the crazy names. A good number of aftermarket companies jumped on the Hodaka bandwagon with all kinds of hop-up parts that made your little Ace 100 out run bikes twice it’s size!! No Kidding. Hodaka’s were light and quick and just a pure joy to ride. Hodaka’s were known as ‘The Little Bike That Could‘. And at only $495 ‘new’…you could could buy a fun trailbike and a winning racer.

I found a really nice little Hodaka on ebay the other day and is actually selling for a reasonable price. It was restored four years then stored. It is in really nice shape with the original chrome tank and stainless steel front fender (most Hodaka’s you find have a plastic tank and fender because the originals were just too heavy or they have been beaten into submission). The original carb was rebuilt as well. This little bike is ready to ride…not store somewhere.

Here is another very cool thing about having a Hodaka motorcycle…Paul and his wife Patti at www.strictlyhodaka.com. When you have a Hodaka and you need a part, there is no other place on this planet that can help you more. Paul and Patti live breath and live for Hodaka and it shows. When you first contact them you become part of the family.

And one last thing about the Super Rat, how it got its name. When the 100cc MX racer showed up at Pabatco in Oregon (the importer), it said ‘SR’ on the side of the engine, one of the Pabatco honcho’s looked at it and said what that stand for, ‘Super Rat’? Well, it may have been a bit of a sarcastic remark but the name stuck.

Ok, and one more last thing…remember I said “everyone loves Hodaka”… if ‘The Duke’ will trade his horse for a Hodaka, well, it has to be a great motorcycle!

Click on the pics below for more info and more pictures. This will be a very fun bike to own.

1970 Hodaka Super Rat

1978 Yamaha SR500E

One of my favorite bikes from years gone by is the Yamaha TT500. Yamaha did a great job with that bike, it worked well in the desert and on trail rides. It was easy to start (sort of), easy to ride (as long as you weren’t expecting it to act like a lighter European two-stroke), and easy to maintain. Plenty of power for a big single, you could lug it down and it wouldn’t complain, it would rev higher than the Brit singles that it patterned after, it was easy to maintain and the thing I liked about a lot was that it was actually kinda of smooth running for a big thumper. It was a very good motorcycle and sold well here in the USA.

The TT spawned the XT, which was the road going / dual sport model of the time. It too was a good seller. Yamaha had a hit on its hands. There is something about a big single that once you ride one, that wonderful, powerful feeling just sticks with you and haunts you until you own one…then, a few thousand miles later you start wondering “what was I thinking?”.

Big singles are not what you would call fast. OK, before I start hearing all the ranting about the Manx Norton and the Matchless G50 and how fast they were, I’m talking about your average production single not racers, thank you for not sending me nasty e-mails. The advantage that big singles have is their stump pulling power throughout the rev range and the ability to get from corner 1 to corner 2 right now. Big singles are nice and compact which makes them easy to hustle around on tight twisty roads. On top of those features, big singles are super fun to pull big wheelies with no effort.

Yamaha was doing so well with the TT/XT models that they decided to go for a somewhat retro styled, purely street going model based on the XT. Enter the SR500. The SR had just enough of that classic ‘British’ look to look the part, but enough modern touches that didn’t make it look old. However, the SR wasn’t the solid sales success here in the west as it was else where in the world and lasted just a short while in this market. Too bad really, it was/is a good motorbike.

I found a nice SR today on ebay that if you’re looking for a very cool piece of modern classic history, this could a good choice. This particular SR is completely stock, which I like a lot. It is an unrestored original that is not showing its age too much. Paint is good, chrome is good and mileage (at 17K) is acceptable. It looks like it may have tipped over at one time as there is a small scuff on the muffler and a corresponding dent in the tank. Pretty minor. The seller says it starts and runs good so, so far so good.

Now, here are my suggestions for this bike; one…leave it completely stock and just ride it around, two…do a light cafe’ treatment (don’t go overboard here, there is no need to) and have a blast on Sunday mornings or a local bike night, three…go all out! Find a Dick Mann frame, someone out there has to have one they want to sell. The DM frame is designed for dirt but I can tell you this, it is a perfect platform for an incredible streetbike with the Yamaha single.

The SR500 isn’t that fast, it doesn’t handle all that great but if you want a fun bike that with little money and effort can be a faster, good handling vintage bike that is a blast to ride, an SR is a great choice. There are many forums and sites on the web where you can find like minded thumper nuts with ton’s of knowledge that make owning a bike like this so much fun.

Click on the pics below for more info about this SR500 and more pictures.

1978 Yamaha SR500E

1965 Norton Atlas

When you name a motorcycle after an Intercontinental Ballistic Missle it better be one hell of a bike. Norton did just that, sort of. Norton had some sort of Post War / Cold War theme going for a while. They had the Dominator, then the Atlas, next came the Commando… Norton was at war with the rest of the motorcycle industry. Not really, they just had some cool names…and bikes.

The Atlas really was named after the ICBM and was aimed at the U.S market. Norton took a lot of the good parts of the successful Dominator model and then put on some higher handlebars, a smaller gas tank, chrome mudguards (fenders) and a chrome chain guard…Voila, a bike to compete with Triumph and Harley Davidson here stateside.

The Atlas was a great handling bike. The 750cc engine was mounted in the popular ‘Featherbed’ frame, the front end was the wonderful ‘Roadholder’ forks and the rear was suspended by Girlings best shocks. The bike handled wonderfully by comparison to the Triumph or Harley it was aiming for, however, it had one problem….It was a bone shaker!

The 750cc motor from the Dominator had a higher compression ratio than the Atlas and Norton lowered the compression for the Atlas the engine vibration became almost unbearable. In 1964 Norton modified the engine, going to a 12volt system and twin carbs and that did help some but still, at higher RPM’s it would shake the fillings right out of your teeth. Now, most riders didn’t ride the Atlas at higher RPM’s they would use all that low end torque that the long stroke Norton would give and that is what Norton figured the American rider wanted and, it’s not as if Harley’s were all that smooth?.

For a few years the Atlas model, in the UK, was the basis for some great racers. Dunstall built a successful Atlas based roadracer and so did the Rickman Brothers with their Metisse chassis. Norton put a 150mph speedo on the Atlas ( a bit optimistic I believe), Cycle world Magazine coaxed the Atlas up to 119mph but most riders never got above 110mph, still not bad for a 58HP, 60′s era motorbike.

The Atlas was mildly successful here in the U.S until the Commando arrived on our shores and that was the end of the Atlas, well almost, it hung around until 1968. I found a really nice 1965 model on ebay today with only 6,000 miles on the clock and in stock condition. This is a great bike to leave just as it is or…a perfect cafe racer! Sorry folks, I couldn’t resist.

The Norton I found on ebay today is really clean, it has been sitting inside for 30 years, it starts and runs great, is completely original and not over priced. What else could you ask for? Here’s the cool thing about the Atlas, it is the truly underloved Norton here in the U.S but, more and more collectors and riders are getting on the Atlas bandwagon because you get a great classic Norton without paying Commando prices! Click on the pic’s below for more info and pictures.

1965 Norton Atlas

1972 Ducati Mototrans 350

Starting back in the Victorian era when motorcycles were just emerging, you’d have a guy building bicycles in one village, and another guy building motors the next village over. The guy building motors was thinking about putting them in an automobile or a farm tractor, the bicycle guy was just making bicycles. Well, one day at a wedding for some local farmers daughter (there has to be a traveling salesman and shotgun joke involved here somewhere?), the bicycle builder and the motor builder met. Over a pint of the local brew, they hatched the idea of sticking a motor in a bicycle frame!!! Our life (as motorcyclists) was born. They designed motorbikes over a pint of beer and we still talk about them over a pint of beer. Or two or five. Ain’t life grand.

Over the past century or so a lot of motorcycles have been joint ventures. Matchless frames with JAP motors, Enfield motors in Indian frames, German motors in English frames…the list goes on and on. It is a very interesting part of motorcycling history that there are many books written about. Another twist on this same theme is a manufacturer from one country (in today’s story, Ducati) contracts or licenses a factory in another country to build motorbikes under their name for them. It’s been quite common since World War Two and is still done today.

Starting in 1957, Ducati of Italy licensed their motor design to Mototrans of Spain, who put it into their own design frames. But, they were also building Ducati motorcycles with…some slight differences. Most of those slight differences were in suspension components, carburetion and general build quality. The early Mototrans Ducati’s were not known for their quality, but later versions of the Spanish Ducati’s were as good as the homegrown models. They still had different suspension components and Amal carbs but the bikes worked just fine. There was only one niggling glitch and that was the oil pump gear…but the Italian model had the same issue.

The Mototrans Ducati’s got a bit of a bad rap from the beginning so the value of one of these motorcycles is not as high as the same bike from Italy but little by little that is changing, I think in part due the fact that Genuine Italian Ducati’s are getting way too expensive for the average Joe to start his collection with.

Mototrans kept building Ducati’s through 1983 when they were bought out by Yamaha. The Spanish company was quite successful with the Single cylinder bikes, the most popular being the Vento, a very sporty bike still featuring the Bevel drive motor.

I found a nice Mototrans Ducati 350 on ebay that is a rider and really only needs a good going through to be a great Sunday rider, vintage roadracer or….a really great little Cafe Racer! These bikes put out around 28HP, (which is quite respectable for its age, size and weight…there has to be a joke about my age, size and weight in there somewhere!?), have good handling characteristics and parts are still available…Maybe. This particular 350 seems to be very stock except for air filter and muffler, but these are two things that don’t take anything away from the bike if you are going to ride it. If you want to show it, well, you’ve got some work to do.

Now speaking of parts for older Ducati’s, and this Mototrans 350 is a prime candidate, Steve Allen’s Bevel Heaven (www.bevelheaven.com) is the best source in the United States. Information, parts, forums…it’s all there.

For more pictures and info about this neat little Ducati, click on the pics below. Oh, and if you do buy this little gem, check the oil pump gear…if it’s plastic, replace it with the steel version, your bike will love you. And so will your friend that might have to come rescue you on a Sunday morning.

1972 Ducati mototrans

1976 Honda CB500T

Sometimes you just have to wonder why a motorcycle manufacturer would keep building a bike that they have already replaced with a much better bike? A bike that is smoother, faster and much more in line with the times. The 1976 Honda CB500T is the poster child for just that question.

In the early to mid sixties, Harley Davidson was doing it’s best to compete with the British invasion and the Brit’s were happily selling bikes as fast as the factories could turn them out, nobody was really paying attention to the Japanese…particularly Honda.

Honda and the other Japanese motorbike builders were developing and selling small displacement bikes by the boat load but in 1965 Honda went head to head with the Brit’s with CB450. The first CB450, also known as, The Black Bomber’ (named because at that time, for that model, Honda followed Henry Ford’s mantra…”you can have it in any color you want, as long as its black”) had typical Japanese styling (odd) but a great number of technological innovations. Reliable electrics, it was oil tight, an electric starter and quite fast for a 450, Honda claimed a 112mph top speed but Cycle World magazine could only coax 102 out of the 450, still quite impressive for a first try from Honda. The CB450 really was one of the most important models ever launched by Honda, it was the first of the big twins from Honda.

The CB450, for all its new technology, still had its issues, mainly it vibrated…a lot. The CB wasn’t as fast as the slightly bigger Brit bikes,it was a bit on the heavy side and the suspension was, well…not so suspending. On the plus side, it was the first production street bike with double overhead camshafts (previously only on race bikes), and constant velocity carbs, again a first for street bikes. Styling however was woeful and the bike was not making as much of an impact on the US market as Honda had hoped.

Despite slow sales here in the US Honda kept building the DOHC 450. After the first couple of years Honda changed the styling, making it a little more British looking, hoping to attract more buyers. Still, the 450 collected more dust than buyers at the dealers.

IN 1972 Honda delivered the wonderful CB500 Four, the nail in the coffin for the CB450? Not yet. Which brings me back to my opening question, why would a manufacturer continue to build a bike that didn’t sell that well in the first place and was replaced by a much better motorcycle? Well, because some people still liked and continue to like, the way a twin cylinder motorcycle feels and sounds. Me included. I had a 1969 CB450 for a while and compared to my CB350′s, WOW…what a bike!

I have seen CB450′s set up for touring, been chopped and of course my favorite set up…a cafe racer. You can make a CB450/500 look and sound great and with just a few mods it becomes a very capable canyon carver.

Still trying to keep their original ‘Big Twin’ alive, in 1975 Honda bumped up the engine to 500cc, added a disc brake to the front (which in reality, the original drum brake was better), a bit of a styling tweak, a few other modifications, and…the bike still went over like a fart in church.

It seems that the CB450/500 was always just a bit shy of the mark but for some reason it has become a moderately desirable collector bike? Let’s see, the bike is special in many ways technologically, in its stylistic simplicity it is good looking (even the Black Bomber), the engine is almost as good looking as Yamaha’s XS650, and if you maintain it according to Honda’s specifications it will outlast you, your kids and your grandkids. These DOHC Honda twins are pretty damn nice. You want to know how good Honda still thinks it is…a 2013 Honda CB500 twin is on its way.

I found a really nice 1976 CB500T on ebay today that would be really nice to have. This CB500 looks almost new. It has only 11,000 miles on the clock but the owner had a basic overhaul done on the motor, refreshed the brakes,new tires, battery, etc. The only thing I see that is different from a completely stock version are the mufflers, but by the looks of them they probably sound better than the stock. This is a really nice CB500T and I’m sure it will go for a reasonable price and if you are a fan of Honda twins, this is a good bike. Most importantly, it will make a great cafe racer!!!

Click on the pics below for more pictures and info.

1976 Honda CB500T

1972 Harley Davidson Sportster

In 1957 Harley Davidson was not really in trouble compared to Indian. A few years before the Beatles arrived there was the original ‘British Invasion’. Soldiers had returned home from the war in Europe and were buying motorcycles. Triumph, BSA, Norton, AJS, Enfield, and others were all building light and fast motorcycles while Harley and Indian were still building big, heavy and slower bikes. Indian tried to compete with the Brit’s by building bikes powered by the Enfield twin and, Harley went to Italy looking for lightweights. None of that worked for the American builders.

Indian rode themselves into the sunset while Harley Davidson decided to go head on with the Brits with the technology and success they already had. “let’s take what we already know how to do just make it lighter and faster and give it a good name”. Enter the Sportster.

The 1957 Sportster had the new Overhead Valve Ironhead engine but was stuck into an older KH model chassis and truthfully, for all of Harley’s good intentions, it was not a sporty motorcycle and had no chance of competing with the motorbikes from across the pond. When dealers first saw it they were less than impressed and convinced Walter Davidson to build the KR race bike with the new Sportster engine, which he did, rather begrudgingly, and the Sportster is now the longest running, continuously made model in motorcycling history.

The Sportster was considered America’s first ‘Muscle Bike’. Over the years it was steadily changed, not necessarily improved, but changed. The 1958 model had the smaller 2 gallon ‘Peanut’ tank, bobbed fenders and straight pipes. This is what buyers wanted.

In 1972 AMF was building Harley Davidson’s and honestly, quality went right down the drain. That is not just my opinion but one widely held by everyone. In 1973 Cycle magazine did a six bike comparison and the Sportster came out dead last. Still, the Sporty continued to sell. It was even a TV star!

I am a fan of the Sportster. Yeah, I know, it’s called the ‘girls Harley’, or the ‘baby Harley’, or the ‘wanna be a Harley’ but I believe that the reason it stills sells well is because it works. The Sportster has gone from 883cc to 1000cc back to 883cc up to 1200cc’s and currently there are about a half dozen models of the Sporty at your local Harley dealer. In my humble opinion, the Sportster is Harley Davidson’s best motorcycle and I think Harley thinks the same way. Why? Because they are still building it more than fifty years later. Enough said.

I found a really nicely updated 1972 Sportster on ebay today. This one has been set up to look more like the XLR than the XLH it is. The owner has given the motor a good overhaul, nice new Borriani wheels, new seat and pillion pad, tires and sweet paint job. It is ready to ride home today. This would be a really fun bike to ride. It has the look it should and the upgrades it needs. Nice.

Click on the pics below for more info and pictures.

1972 Harley Davidson Sportster

The two for one deal…

….gone South.

Those of us that are afflicted with ‘VBD‘ (get your mind out of the gutter, it is not a sexually transmitted disease…it’s Vintage Bike Disease) seem to have a hard time resisting finding a way to sneak some weird, obscure, oddball motorcycle into our garage without our spouses noticing. I have tried it a couple of times and trust me, it never works. I don’t care how many sheets or blankets you try to hide it with, she knows.

Oh sure, she may pretend that it’s not there, but when the time comes that she wants something, like a new sofa or airplane tickets for her mother to come visit for a month, she’s going to pull the cover off that 1960 something Triumph basket case, smile at you, then go book the flight and order the new sofa. You my friend have been outwitted yet again. When are we ever going to learn?

Everyday, I spend my early mornings scouring ebay, craigslist and countless other sites looking for parts for my projects, parts for friends projects, bikes for friends, and bikes I would like to have. It’s much more entertaining than watching the local news. Every now and then I come across a motorcycle that I really would like to add to my small collection. I show it to my very understanding and tolerant wife, she smiles and says “sure, go ahead and get it, but you have to sell two of the bikes you already have first” and then walks out of the room. Practicality has never been the strong suit of anybody afflicted with ‘VBD‘.

A few days ago I found a bike that a good friend of mine (who happens to be the type that will buy a bike on a whim and then six months and two thousand dollars later, on top of the price of the bike, will ask “why did I do that?”) that he has lusted after for the past forty years. I sent him the link and the next thing I know he is bidding on ebay for the bike. I quickly sent him an email asking what he was selling in order to buy this bike? “Nothing” he says, “I’ll just buy it with money I have tucked away, stick in the corner of my shop and then pull it out in about six months”. I told him that his plan never works but he was sure it would…this time.

The very next thing I get in my inbox is this picture along with this message, “if my husband buys this bike you will be responsible for this happening to him”.

I’m guessing that he forgot the two for one rule, that and his mother in law is coming for a visit.