The eighties were a decade of great change in the world of motorized two-wheelers. The range of motorcycles became more diverse. They rekindled the motorcycle boom after the first wave of the fifties. The new generation of motorcycles fulfilled…
The time when Japanese cars had little respect in the classic car world is long gone. From the sixties onwards, several generations in Europe also grew up with cars from the Far East. And that is becoming more…
When owner Marc happily informs me that we can photograph a great, 50-year-old 7-seater station wagon, it could be German, French, Swedish or American, but in any case something beautiful. When I was in a neighborhood a few days later…
Karel rolled up his sleeves and that led to an unexpected result: a highly sporty Honda Goldwing. The Arnhem poster phenomenon Loesje would ask: “Is that allowed?” We think so. Especially because the first Goldwings were considered truly dynamic naked…
"What is that?" It is the question the road worker asks his colleague as we pass the gentlemen. The question penetrates the interior. Grab it 25 years ago this would never have been asked. Because then it was…
Revolutions are also becoming outdated. And where the Honda CB750 F was earth-shattering news in 1969, the Honda CB750 K7 (1977-1978) was the last of the Honda four-cylinder story with single overhead camshafts. The K7 (and the K8) was a good, now almost classically styled engine for people who found the Honda F1 and F2 four-cylinder too modern or just ugly. And those F1 and F2 were Honda's latest attempt at keeping their trusty long-standing until the company finished its overhead cam models.
Around the second half of the 80s, the Japanese customs were thoroughly reliable. Only in the first years of Honda VT 1100, the four-speed models (1987-1996), the third gear broke too often. And in the meantime the parts are no longer available for that.
In the first half of the 1970s, the Japanese automotive industry was on the rise in Europe. The established order on our continent became increasingly competitive. One of the Japanese manufacturers who responded to the European market potential of those years was Honda. After a modest start with the 600 and 800 types, the Japanese surprised with the front-wheel drive Honda Civic, a dynamic and compact response to the increasing traffic intensity.
At the beginning of the eighties, the idea was to run combustion engines cleaner and more economically. It seemed as if they already knew that the petrol here would cost almost 2 euros. Suzuki was working on the Twin Swirl Combustion Chambers, Honda successfully experimented with the CVCC, or Compound Vortex Controlled Combustion and that was the start of a whole lot of cleverness with Yamaha's YICS that now leaves us with a pile of abbreviations. Kewl!
For many of us, 1986 still feels like yesterday. But a motorcycle from that year is already 35 years young. In the summer of 1986, the motorcycle world was even different. It was the time of fairings and sporty but usable engines. In the XNUMXs, motorcycles were still supplied as all-rounders. You made them sporty after purchase by means of a low handlebar, rear-set footrests (Raask!) A sports buddy and an exhaust system that loudly supported the sportiness. Touring riders mounted higher handlebars and bags or suitcases. The XNUMXs were also the years when motorcycles became reliable.
Retro thinking has only just begun. And Honda was a forerunner with that. At the time, the CB500T twin was seen as old-fashioned to bizarre. They weren't sold much. They were – until recently – not worth a drop. The Honda CBX550 F was also sort of retro. It also had a front brake disguised as a drum brake. That solution was one according to the old motto of the Marines: Why easy when it can be difficult? The approach was complicated and difficult to service.
Like a Triumph Bonneville from 1969 you envision as a classic? Then an engine, a Honda NTV, from the eighties or nineties is of course just a new thing. So classic? Or just old? Oh, yes: it has shaft drive. The Honda NTV is an excellent all-rounder with its very own identity and the absolutely indestructible technology with which Honda has built its empire.
The motorcycle that gave motorcycling a new dimension. The first really strong, fast, heavy engine that was also reliable. The final blow to the British motorcycle industry. The 'engine of the (last) century'.
Ask motorcyclists who did the North Cape, who drove Route 66. Then a lot of fingers go up. But a trip where the travelers spent the full ten hours on 254 kilometers? What kind of trip must that have been? What kind of motorbikes did those heroes ride?
At AMK, we are often quite ahead of the curve when it comes to 'discovering' classics. But in the case of the Honda DN-2005 presented as a concept model in 01, the market is on our heels.
The BSA Spitfire was the fastest BSA motorcycle and was produced from 1966 to 1968 with MkII, MkIII and MkIV model designations. Announced at the Brighton Motorcycle Show in September 1965, the dynamic novice was based on the earlier BSA Lightning with a power upgrade achieved through the most classic tuning.
It's that time again: A massive revival of motorcycling (including the love of classics) is reported. And now De Jeugd would also hook up. We don't see it going that fast, also because we've heard the story so many times.
Whether our hobby will have new growth in 25 years? No idea. But I fear the worst. I've had the 2021 press kits and read the first complete tests. Motorcycling today is apparently 80% about electronics, assistance systems, connectivity and communication. And about the fact that under 100 hp you are somewhat poorly motorized. Because you read mildly surprised: 'Despite the fact that this engine has only 105 hp, you never have the feeling that your power is lacking'.
The Ardennes in late autumn. That can be very nice. The outward journey was cloudy. Despite the less than moderate weather, the stay on site was perfectly manageable, because we had a real roof over our heads and the cook in Olloy 'nen Real Chef was zalle! Belgian chefs work wonders with cholesterol and heavy cream. And alcohol dissolves fat. We were doing well there in the west hem of the Ardennes. Paradise is only three hundred and fifty kilometers from home. But we had to go back.
In the early XNUMXs, trial riding was completely hot in the States. And that was noticed by the Japanese motorcycle makers