'LEO' IN THE TIMES

From today's New York Times:1905 'Leo' motorcycle, made in Oakland, CA; the only survivor?"Only Known Leo Motorcycle to be AuctionedLAS VEGAS — The recent discovery of the only known example of a Leo motorcycle, which is scheduled to be auctioned here Jan. 10 by Bonhams, raises more questions than answers.The 107-year-old Leo, found in complete and original condition in a storage area at a Massachusetts museum, has motorcycle historians and Bonhams valuation specialists stumped. The motorcycle, made to a high standard of fit and finish, offers a freely turning two-stroke motor with strong compression, a purpose-built heavy gauge tube frame, spoked rims, Thor pedals and a Troxel leather saddle.Thor pedal crank used on the Leo (more Thor history...

Read more »

DAYS OF FUTURE PAST: THE MERCURY

Laurie Jenks aboard his personal 'Mercury'There wasn't an announcement when the Future died, but die it did, sometime around the 1980s I reckon, as the Age of Optimism was superseded by the Age of Irony.  For over 100 years the Future was a popular pastime, the subject of countless magazine articles, fantastic illustrations, and sometimes wacky/sometimes dead accurate conjecture on what our material surroundings would look like, and how they would function, in the Future.  As we've passed the Millenium, and are still driving piston-engine cars and telefork motorcycles, it seems our imminent whiz-bang Future hasn't arrived yet, and isn't likely to arrive soon; hell, we don't even have a space program anymore.  Our enthusiasm for...

Read more »

THE LITTLE VELOCETTE THAT TRIED...

Great story from Greg Summerton, about an attempted Velocette trip across Australia in 1922; the bike is probably a Velocette GC3 'Colonial' model 225cc two-stroke!  A very light machine, and sophisticated with throttle-controlled oil injection, and a 3 speed gearbox.  Was it up to the job?The 1922 Velocette 'GC3' was an early all-chain drive machine; many were sold in Australia.Here's Greg's story:"That fellow leaning on the fence is my Great Grandfather, Ernest Allchurch. The bike is a Velocette, the rider was Member of Parliament for the Northern Territory (Harold George Nelson), who rode the bike from Adelaide, hoping to cross the country all the way to Darwin.My Great Grandfather and others tried to dissuade him, but realising...

Read more »

BMW 'KOMPRESSOR' FOR SALE AT VEGAS

[I'm rarely asked to write catalog copy for Bonhams, but was happy to oblige in the case of this exceptional supercharged BMW, an RS255 'special' built of genuine racing parts supplied by BMW and others, assembled by legendary GP pilot Walter Zeller with BMW mechanic Gustl Lachermair, to campaign in Vintage events.  The following is my description for the upcoming Bonhams sale in Las Vegas]There is no question the BMW RS255 deserves a place at the very pinnacle of motorcycling history. While the German marque is admired throughout the world for its decades of competent, comfortable, and stylish motorcycling, there was a brief moment when it stood atop the world of road racing as well, having honed 15 years’ development of supercharged...

Read more »

MATCHLESS SOLD AGAIN

In common with other extinct motorcycle brand names, the Matchless marque has changed hands again, moving down the Mediterranean from Greece to Italy, and the house of Malinotti.  That name might ring a bell, as the Malinotti family purchased Belstaff in 2005, and revived the brand name by cladding supermodels and movie stars with their shorter, tighter versions of Belstaff's archival designs.  After opening a dozen Belstaff stores in Europe, the brand ran into financial trouble, and the Malinottis sold Belstaff last year, as the company's debts were reportedly in the region of 40M euros.  Luckily for the Malinottis, the Belstaff brand had gained considerable industry 'juice', and  the Labelux group purchased Belstaff for...

Read more »

FALCON 'WHITE' IN NEW YORK TIMES

From the New York Times 'T' December design issue....the skeletal, 1967 Velocette Thruxton-based 'White'You might have seen glimpses on my Vintagent Facebook page, if you were quick, or at Shinya Kimura's blog, before 'those' photos were edited out...but since work-in-progress shots of the 'White' showed up in the New York Times 'T' design section today, I suppose a further few discreet images won't hurt. Ian Barry with the in-progress handlebars...the whole assembly is built from solid aluminumA lot has happened since 2011, when Falcon Motorcycles débuted their Vincent-based custom, the ‘Black’, at the Quail Motorcycle Gathering.  In my Cycle World article ‘Back to Black’, I pondered the ‘Tidal Wave’ of time and effort required to...

Read more »