Today in motorcycle history, January 11, 2004

The 2004 Cycle World International Motorcycle Show makes it's stop at the Convention Center in Washington, DC, giving the Capital motorcycling population their first look at the 2-wheeled marvel,  the Triumph Rocket III.

  It appears to have very little in common with the 740cc, air-cooled, Amal-powered  BSA Rocket-3 where the name was borrowed from.  This version has a boastful 2,294 cc (140 cubic inch), fuel-injected, 12-valve,  DOHC, liquid-cooled, shaft-drive straight three, 140 bhp @ 6000 rpm.  It is 98" long and 38" wide (not for the short-legged), 774 lbs (wet) with 6.3 gallon fuel capacity.

 Triumph's hard work paid off with the critic's at least,  being awarded Motorcycle Cruiser Magazine's 2004 Bike of the Year and Motorcyclist's 2004 Cruiser of the Year.

 The 2004 Rocket III is one of the newest models to be on exhibit at the UK National Motorcycle Museum.

  Yesterday, January 10, I wrote about the only known Leo Motorcycle that was to be auctioned at Bally's Las Vegas by Bonham's Auction House. Much to my surprise it sold for only $27, 600, yet at the auction a 1978 Ducati NCR, frame no. DM860SS088923 engine no. 090013, sold for $69,000.
   Being the caring sort I am, I just thought I'd let everyone know.

Today in motorcycle history, January 10, 2013

 What is believed to possibly be the last remaining Leo motorcycle, made 108 years ago by the L.A. Mitchell Manufacturing Company in Oakland, California, is scheduled to be auctioned Jan. 10 in Las Vegas.

 The motorcycle, found in complete and original condition in the storage area of a Massachusetts museum, represents the earliest surviving example of an American two-stroke motorcycle, according to the auction firm Bonhams that's selling the bike.

  Leo Motorcycles were thought to have been produced for just one year, 1905. 

 The Leo was a purpose-built motorcycle utilizing a motorcycle frame, that is to say a frame specifically built for the motorcycle rather than using a bicycle frame which would have been the norm.

  Its lightweight, compact motor was way ahead of its time as two-cycle engines were not commonly used in American motorcycles until after World War I.

It appears the bike was not a prototype, either, as it has signs of many miles of use.

  Discovered in the warehouse of a museum where it was hidden and forgotten for decades, the motorcycle is in extraordinary condition, according to Bonhams.

  It has a freely-turning motor, strong compression and original components such as spokes and rims, Thor pedals and a Troxel leather saddle.

  The bike will be auctioned at Bally's Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, along with other motorcycles including Steve McQueen's 1970 Husqvarna 400 Cross.

   If I win the auction I'll let you know. 

Today in motorcycle history, January 9, 1999

  SWAT teams from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and Broward County Sheriff's Department raid a warehouse and bust an illegal bar allegedly ran by a local motorcycle club in Pompano Beach, Florida, and arrest 6 men, including a former Sheriff's Deputy. 

  The cop's ordered a Lite Beer, but instead got 13 guns, hundreds of rounds of ammunition, 10 pounds of marijuana, 18 vials of steroids and (reportedly) $15,000 in cash. 

  Cops?! Bikers?! Drugs?! Weapons?!  Tuesdays on FX.

Today in motorcycle history, January 8, 1970

 

  Don Brown, Vice President BSA, National Sales, resigns.

  Don Brown conceived the original idea of the Triumph X75 Hurricane in 1968.  Brown felt that the BSA/Triumph triples needed a different look to succeed in the USA, and he engaged designer Craig Vetter to give the BSA A75 a customised face-lift, with a brief to make it "sleeker and more balanced". It was a secret project that was funded by Brown out of BSA, Inc. petty cash on a weekly basis.

  Vetter created the Triumph Hurricane in the summer of 1969, and in October 1969 he unveiled the prototype with "BSA" on the tank as the new ‘Rocket Three’. Peter Thornton (President of BSA/Triumph North America) and the American officials were impressed, and Vetter's bike was then sent to the UK, but the bike arrived in England just as the BSA marque was about to be ended. At BSA-Triumph's design facility at Umberslade Hall, the design was seen as too "trendy" by chief designer Bert Hopwood; but after very positive public reaction to the design when it appeared on the front of US magazine Cycle World in October 1970, the UK managers changed their minds. They realised they had a large stock of obsolete BSA Rocket-3 parts that could now be turned into a premium-priced motorcycle.

  Engineer Steve Mettam was given the job of supervising production for the 1972/3 season; and the Vetter BSA Rocket3 became the Triumph X75 Hurricane. 1,183 engines were put aside for X75 production. However, BSA was facing bankruptcy and the design went into a limited production run of 1200 as the Triumph X-75 Hurricane in 1972.  Production stopped in 1973.

Today in motorcycle history, January 7, 1972

  After not nearly enough testing, Norton releases the "Combat" engine.  With a twin roller bearing crank, 10:1 compression and able to develope 65 bhp at 6,500 rpm. Reliability immediately suffered, with frequent and early crank-shaft main-bearing failures, sometimes leading to broken crankshafts. The earlier Cammando engines had used one ball-bearing main bearing and one roller bearing main bearing but the Combat engine featured two roller bearings in a mistaken belief this would strengthen the bottom-end to cope with the higher power-output. Instead the resultant crank-bending caused the rollers to "dig-in" to the races, causing rapid failure. This fragility was particularly obvious when measured against the reliability of the contemporary Japanese engines .

  With the new engine the Commando was offered in several different styles: the standard street model, a pseudo-scrambler with upswept pipes and the Interstate, packaged as a long-distance tourer, which unfortunately became short distance very quickly if used to the full on German Autobahns with the atrocious Combat crankcase, that threw all its oil out of the breather at over 4.500rpm and stopped suddenly after all the oil had gone.

  After 1973, with the new crankcases, it actually was a very nice long-distance bike.  Too late.

Today in motorcycle history, January 4, 2002

  American Suzuki Motor Corporation unveils it's GSX-R/4 concept car at the Los Angeles Auto Show. 

  The "Formula Hayabusa" -- designed for a new Japanese one-make competition series -- is an open-wheel, ultra-light race car built to showcase Suzuki's advanced automotive and motorcycle engineering, and the firm's ability to build affordable high-performance products. The race car -- powered by the engine of the fastest mass-produced street motorcycle in history, the GSX1300R Hayabusa -- has 175 horsepower at 9,800 rpm, with speeds of up to 194mph, generated with the help of double overhead cams, 16 valves, an 11:1 compression ratio, liquid-cooling and electronic fuel injection. Perfect for a quick trip to the store for a 6-pack and chips at half-time.

  By the way, Hayabusa is Japanese for "peregrine falcon", one of the world's fastest birds.  They also just happen to prey on blackbirds which was what Suzuki's original target was, the Honda CBR1100XX Super Blackbird.  The CBR1100XX was the World's Fastest Production Motorcycle until the Hayabusa (GSX1300R) blew it out of the water by more than 10mph.