This motorcycle has an odd cool factor. The bike I found on ebay today is an ex cop bike but you wouldn’t know it. This motorcycle is ripe for being a cafe racer or a very nice tourer. Right now, it is dead center. Perfect. The Guzzi Ambassador truly is the do anything motorcycle. These…
When I first started doing serious traveling on a motorcycle it was with my friend Bud Bay. We worked together at a Ski Shop here in Southern California. Yes , it really does snow in Southern California. He worked part time because he was actually a tool designer by trade but also an avid skier and…
The little bike that could.When the original Suzuki X6 Hustler came out (aka the T20) it humbled bikes twice it’s size. Light (for it’s time) quick and affordable. What more could you ask for? Well, not much other than handling. The original X6 was typically Japanesse…it tended to wander around corners, get wiggly going over…
The Triumph Trophy is all in all a great motorcycle. It has a great history beginning back in the 1950’s. Over the years (it was built up until 1973) it got many improvements from frame strengthening, bigger better brakes, engine improvements and became a movie star. Everyone of us that love motorcycles and those that…
I’ve been waiting to do this for a long time. I’m going to get on my soapbox here. There are those that have an old motorcycle and figure it’s worth a bunch of money just because it’s old. Old doesn’t mean it is classic or valuable. It’s just old. I spend time on ebay, craigslist,…
This is one of the great motorcycles. But…. It had to compete with the mighty Z1 from Kawasaki, the CB750 from Honda and the GT750 from Suzuki. A pretty big hill to climb. Yamaha already had the very popular RD series of small two stroke twins, then came the “let’s beat the Brits at their…
In my circle of motorcycling friends there are a few, well, most of them, that their motto is “the weirder the better”. That goes for cars, motorcycles and even some of the women they’ve dated over the years. Corvairs with 327 Chevys in what was the back seat, a Honda CB350 with a Kawasaki Ninja…
It all started in 1978 when Kawasaki America bolted a Turbocharger onto a Z1. This thing was a brute! When the Turbo kicked in, you got kicked off if you weren’t holding…tight! In the early ’80’s we were all power hungry and the manufacturers were more than happy do accommodate us. Turbocharging seemed to get…
In the early 1980’s the ‘Cruiser’ class was growing like crazy. The Japanese manufacturers were selling them faster than they could make them. I know because I was selling motorcycles at the time, the dealership owners even made me ride one as a demo bike for three months. I was happy I had a full…
My business partner in Arizona bleeds black and orange, he wouldn’t be caught dead on any motorcycle that didn’t come from “The Motor Company”. Well, that’s not entirely true but pretty damn close. In all the years I’ve known Les if he’s not in an Aloha shirt (at his pool party) he’s is wearing a…
