Motorcycles and the Blues

WilliamEnright

Blues Junior
I'd present the theory that motorcycles and the blues go together in many ways. Players and Riders may have similar views of the world and they appreciate the 'instruments' they use and the feel and sounds they produce.
I do have one reservation though, old British bikes that leak oil, vibrate to the point your teeth fall out, barely functioning drum brakes and electrics so weak you'd be better served with a candle instead of a headlight and cylinders that fire only every second lamp post. Such as the Royal Enfield. Surprisingly being remade to the same standards in modern times. ;-)
I rode them in the 70's before moving on to things that reliably started, went and stopped.
I do reserve the right to say you can ride anything you want to though.
 

Mickey Duane

Used To Be A Rock Star
In 1981 my girlfriend and I rode a honda 750 motorcycle from Napa ca to new york and back - played a little guitar at camp grounds and such

28 states - 13000 miles and survived

1982 back in napa crashed head on into a semi truck at 40 miles per hour

after not walking for over a year - put bike back together - rode it for a bit than got rid of it

talk about the Blues

Guitar is much safer

Peace
 

Al Holloway

Devizes UK
Gave up with British bikes when I discovered Italian. All the character and thump of the British twin, without the leaks.

cheers

Al.
 

tommytubetone

Great Lakes
I had 4 Japanese bikes in my life.
1973 Honda CL350
1976 Honda CB750
1984 Honda Goldwing Aspencade
2007 Honda VTX1300.
I took some major trips on the last 3. This TV show in the States gave me the bug.
 

Rancid Rumpboogie

Blues Mangler
Such as the Royal Enfield. Surprisingly being remade to the same standards in modern times. ;-)
I rode them in the 70's before moving on to things that reliably started, went and stopped.
.
You are dead wrong about modern Royal Enfield motorcycles. The new Interceptor and GT are thoroughly modern bikes and have SUPER reviews. They are taking a big bite out of Triumph sales. They have fuel injection, great brakes, a super-smooth vibration-free engine, and great electronics. The only thing retro about them is the look. I have the Interceptor and love it to death.

Plenty of power to cruise at 70 - 80 mph all day long, light and quick handling around town, GREAT in the kinky twisties with plenty of ground clearance, great brakes and handling, and a very reasonable price. What more could you want? I will choose the Interceptor over a Harvey Diddleson every day of the week. I ride a lot on the twisty two-lane blacktop through the mountains in Idaho. I had a Harley and half the time it's mufflers or other parts were dragging on the pavement severely limiting cornering ... and compared to my Interceptor it handled like shit ... in the twisties as well as around town.

Here is mine.
RE FRONT FENDER 2.JPG
And here is are typical reviews.
 
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CaptainMoto

Blues Voyager
You are dead wrong about modern Royal Enfield motorcycles. The new Interceptor and GT are thoroughly modern bikes and have SUPER reviews. They are taking a big bite out of Triumph sales. They have fuel injection, great brakes, a super-smooth vibration-free engine, and great electronics. The only thing retro about them is the look. I have the Interceptor and love it to death.

Plenty of power to cruise at 70 - 80 mph all day long, light and quick handling around town, GREAT in the kinky twisties with plenty of ground clearance, great brakes and handling, and a very reasonable price. What more could you want? I will choose the Interceptor over a Harvey Diddleson every day of the week. I ride a lot on the twisty two-lane blacktop through the mountains in Idaho. I had a Harley and half the time it's mufflers or other parts were dragging on the pavement severely limiting cornering ... and compared to my Interceptor it handled like shit ... in the twisties as well as around town.

Here is mine.
View attachment 13822
And here is are typical reviews.
Does your Quilter fit in the saddle bag?
If not, time to go shopping for a new bike or smaller amp.
 

DesmoDog

Desmo was my dog. RIP big guy
Motorcycles you say?

Yeah, I guess I know a little about them... well, one brand anyway. ;)

Garage.jpg


EDIT: Full disclosure, that's an old picture. The only one of those I still own is the 851. I do have Moto GUzzi V85tt and an Aprilia RSV-R track bike these days too, but the RSV is going to be for sale as soon as I can get it from storage to the garage.

The V85:
v85_5719.jpg


The RSV:
RSV_5581.jpg


I also have a couple single cylinder Ducati project bikes, but they've been dormant for a lot of years now. I hope to get back to work on them once I retire.
 
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WilliamEnright

Blues Junior
Love it guys.

Sorry about the Royal Enfield.....that was a set up mate! Someone unnamed on this forum suggested that I give them some stick but the responsibility is all mine. ;)
Keep 'em rubber side down lads.
 

zwantedone

Blues Newbie
Motorcycles you say?

Yeah, I guess I know a little about them... well, one brand anyway. ;)

Garage.jpg


EDIT: Full disclosure, that's an old picture. The only one of those I still own is the 851. I do have Moto GUzzi V85tt and an Aprilia RSV-R track bike these days too, but the RSV is going to be for sale as soon as I can get it from storage to the garage.

The V85:
v85_5719.jpg


The RSV:
RSV_5581.jpg


I also have a couple single cylinder Ducati project bikes, but they've been dormant for a lot of years now. I hope to get back to work on them once I retire.
 

zwantedone

Blues Newbie
is that a yellow 748? I had a modified one ( 853, heads done, etc,etc) as a track bike. Traded it for my 888. Had a 96 Monster that was fitted with Keihein flatslides, flowed heads, cams, pistons. That bike would pull a wheelie for days. Traded that one for the 748. Paso. Never could bond with that one. Even though it came with a Weber carb, never could get them to carburate worth a damn. Nice bike set of bikes there. I still have the triple 8 and a 2003 ST4s. Both are fast enough anymore. RR talks about brakes on that Enfield. Don't know how much it weighs, but a bike with a single front rotor just doesn't cut it. Twin 320 mm rotors with 4 piston 4 pad calipers, that's brakes!
 

DesmoDog

Desmo was my dog. RIP big guy
is that a yellow 748? I had a modified one ( 853, heads done, etc,etc) as a track bike. Traded it for my 888. Had a 96 Monster that was fitted with Keihein flatslides, flowed heads, cams, pistons. That bike would pull a wheelie for days. Traded that one for the 748. Paso. Never could bond with that one. Even though it came with a Weber carb, never could get them to carburate worth a damn. Nice bike set of bikes there. I still have the triple 8 and a 2003 ST4s. Both are fast enough anymore. RR talks about brakes on that Enfield. Don't know how much it weighs, but a bike with a single front rotor just doesn't cut it. Twin 320 mm rotors with 4 piston 4 pad calipers, that's brakes!

The yellow bike is a 2000 996 monoposto. The dealer had a red one in stock but I had them find a yellow one instead. By 2000 "Ducati red" wasn't the same as what they used in the early '90s. My '91 907 (see below) would damn near glow in the right light. My '95 900ss wasn't as impressive, in 2000 I liked the yellow better. Plus it reminded me of the 900SS/SL I should have bought but wimped out on years earlier.
996_8887_l.jpg

Not many mods. Single injector chip and dyno tuned, it ran pretty good. The 1200S Monster could run and hide from it though, which made me question why I needed a superbike. Now I'm having second thoughts. I have been in touch with the guy who owns it now (Ducati ownership is a relatively small world) so if he ever decides he doesn't want it anymore...

That isn't a 750 Paso, it's a 907ie. Fuel injected, water cooled, 17" wheels. Against everyone's advice in the fall of 1990 I put a deposit down, sight unseen before they had been released, based on rumors and a crappy faxed picture. It was displayed at vintage motorcycle days at Mid-Ohio in 2005 and ended up in a British magazine. This bike proved the Italians could do red better than anyone. I came out of a place after lunch one day to find a guy just staring at it. I had parked next to his Corvette. He told me "I thought my 'vette was red, but... damn...." I had a little mishap and needed the mirror repainted so I sent it to the best painter I knew, a buddy of mine with compulsive attention to detail. He did a fantastic job matching the color but it took a few tries. He ended up using a pink undercoat with a red-tinted clear over it, and told me if I ever needed anything else painted on it to take it somewhere else. He also painted bicycle frames and offered people deals on "Ducati red" using the failures that led up to the final product. ;-)
CB907_m.jpg


That bike followed me around for a lot of years, including times I didn't have a garage and had to rent a storage space for it. But sometimes it spent the night.
furniture.jpg


And here's a shot of the bike on the end that you can barely see. A 1966 160 Monza Jr. I modded it a bit.
IMG_4223_xl.jpg

Not much left that's stock on that bike. 160cc of Italian horsepower. The throttle stuck wide open on it one day. I didn't bother hitting the kill switch, instead I figured out what was wrong and got it to release. Things would have been different if it was the 1200S that did that.

I want an ST4s. Well, I want the engine from an ST4s anyway. They fit 851s. But I'm hearing rumors a guy put a 1098 engine in one too, so... maybe the RSV will end up getting parted out. I've already measured the front end, pretty sure it'd fit, along with the forged wheels and radial caliper Brembos. I intended to keep the 851 original when I bought it, but even before I had ridden it a hack furnace crew screwed up the tank on it. I found an NOS tank still in the box, but then replaced the exhaust too (because who didn't back in '91?) and of course an open clutch cover. I have a fiberglass solo tail for it too...

EDIT: What the heck, I may as well post a pic of the 851 as it sits too. It was the holy grail bike to me back in '91. I drove five hours into Canada to look at this one when I heard about it. Knew I'd buy it within ten seconds of seeing it. The first season or two didn't go well, it was a huge problem child, but now it's pretty much had the bugs worked out. It could use some time on a dyno but it doesn't come home on a trailer half the time like it used to.
851Termi_m.jpg
 
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