Show Me Your Ride!

[Dreadbelly]

Vincent Black Shadow...
is there any bike more coveted among the collector crowd? Beatiful piece of work.
If you want a sidecar rig with 2WD (rear and sidecar wheel driven)... don't get a Ural, as I have read (from people who own, ride and love Ruskie iron) that they aren't streetable in that fashion... more or less tries to shoot you in a straight line...differential is locked. The Dneprs on the other hand that DO have 2WD option (largely in military models like MB650, or the civilian MT16) have a limited slip style diff that will transfer to the slipping wheel when needed, good for about any weather, and even some interesting off road situations. I THINK that you can engage/disengage it at will too. Plus the bikes were semi-automatic clutch after the MT9, which is interesting.
However, if you just want a sidecar rig, a Ural is the more reliable of them in the modern sense.

I could talk bikes until the sun goes down.

I've been hit riding once, it wasn't very serious, and I am glad for that. It was still quite hair raising. I can't imagine what it would be like to get plowed by someone. I think I would kill the car driver if I was able to get up.

The Urals go from one wheel to two wheel drive only when needed, like in the snow, ice, and off road. The older Urals from a few years ago were bad about the 2 wheel drive problems, the newer ones, with bigger and better engines, and many improvements, are considerably better.

But you are right. You shouldn't go down a paved road with 2wd engaged.

I really love Urals. They look nice, and actually have proper front forks for a sidecar rig. That, and the military models still have the machine gun mounts as well as a heavier sidecar made out of solid steel.

[Fearnest]

Stripped down Shadow, very rare. Race ready, 125mph in 1948.

There was only 15 or 16 of the Lightnings produced, and they could go from 0 to 140ish in the space of 1 mile. Whatsisname broke the 150 mph mark in the one mile mark test. The bike could have probably gone faster, but the engine would likely explode at some point.

Sorry again to both of you - what you see is the reason there were only 15 or 16 produced... while it was quite enjoyable for the "builder," the gestation period left the consumers with such a significant jones during the time between order and fulfillment that the market quickly dried up. Besides, there was NO way they could EVER give a "factory tour" of the process in those days.

Ah yes, the "perfect union of man and machine..."

[laotou]

Laotou:
Are those old Dneprs (K-750, M72), or are they CJ750s?
Freakin' sweet either way...

Andrew,
The green bike is a very early Chang Jiang 750, so I guess you could say it is a little of both. you can read more about this bke Here. Thats me at the table in the back ground. I have seen a lot of China from the side car of that bike!

The gray solo is a former Peoples Liberation Army bike. The frame is anyway, the rest of it is PLA NOS parts. Its a brand new old bike Right now its somwhere between LA and Denver on its way home.
And I thought the Kilt Jones was bad!

[bunchdescendant]

Yes, the Vincent Black Lightning.

How about SoCal's very own Crocker? I've only seen 1 in all my years. They were/are fearsome machines!

BTW, I had a Mach IV kawi- Tony Nicosia (sp?) of Hot Bike Engineering fame built it up so much (130 hp+ and 8000 r's+) that I scared myself on a regular basis. I wish I had that rocket back....

Ray

[Andrew Green]

Tony Nicosia!
Awesome old drag racer. He posts on www.kawasakitriplesworldwide.com sometimes. He recently spent some time in the hospital (though on the road to recovery from what I have read).
You had a machine built by Tony, and you sold it. That bike would be major bragging rights.
Or Rick Brett would have paid you a good chunk to get it (massive triples collector, parts supplier, repro parts maker in the UK). Dude knows his triples.

The CJ750s are fun bikes... how did you manage to get them into the states (you said one was on its way to Colorado...)? I have read many horror stories about getting CJs through customs. On the other hand, getting a Dnepr isn't as hard, though registering them can be from my readings (I am actually hoping to be able to afford a Dnepr in about 8 months time.) Partial to the K-750...very similar to the CJs, but it's from Ukraine. Call it a quirk...I want a Soviet machine for some reason... plus I looove old tech when it comes to cars or bikes... keeps me from having to pay outrageous labor fees in shops (as in I can do it all myself, and if I can't do it myself, then it would likely be a royal pain to do, and therefore I would be ok paying someone to do it... this has not happened yet).

The only other motorcycle I have felt such a strong pull towards has been the Royal Enfield Bullet 500. But I'd do a Dnepr over it... a bit larger (I am fairly tall), and roomier. Though the Enfield is a neat machine (got to test ride one once, at the only dealer in state...rode about 100-150 miles that day I think).
There is a guy about 18 miles from my house who specializes in Dneprs on the side (runs an avionics business as his main endeavor).

Yeah... more bike chatter.

[Sciuropterus]

My old '83 Harley Wide Glide, I built it from a basket case one winter in my living room. I had the heads ported, got an honest 102HP on the dyno. Sold it to a guy from holland right before Harley prices went thru the roof.



I built this Harley Softail from scratch ten years ago. Bought a frame, bought an engine, hit the swap meets, it was a fun project. Sold it two years later after I decided to buy one of the new Harley twin-cam Softails.



Here is the current fleet:
Torker Unicycle, BikeE recumbent, 99 Harley Sportster (with wide FLH handlebars), '00 Twin-Cam Softail.



Next bike will probably be a smaller BMW or Honda 750, but it will be a while. I need to ride the bicycle more.

[GG]

Here’s mine, or rather it was mine. A couple of months ago I changed to the 2007 Volkswagen Passat, my fourth one since 1997, by the way. The one on the picture is the 2003 model.

My wife is driving a Toyota Yaris.



GG

[ozone]

Here's my latest ride from atop Highlands Bowl in Aspen...very good for today's thigh deep powder (no kilted skiing today...too cold at about -5F)

[AL-58]

Stripped down Shadow, very rare. Race ready, 125mph in 1948.

Rollie Free. Someone played him in Worlds Fastest Indian as a minor part also (little bit of Trivia).

I've seen a few Vincents, mostly Rapides, some Black Shadows and Black Princes also. The one bike thats had me drooling when I seen it though was an Ariel Square Four fitted with a Steib bullet sidecar, it was just gorgeous and still very useable.

Al

[AL-58]

No. Sorry, the bathing suit picture was ol whatsisname breaking a land speed record for ANYTHING on wheels. (And a combustion engine)

Not so Dreadbelly, it was for the US national motorcycle speed record only , he did that in 1948, at that time the world land speed record was already 394mph (fastest vehicle, combustion engine driven), 150mph was the fastest anything on wheels in 1925!

Al