Phil the Motorcyclenut’s Weblog

Still running and looking good after all these years!

Now there are only 4. I have alot more room than when there was 7!

This is Patrick when he was around 4 years old:

Seems like nowadays most motorcycles on the market is either a cruiser or a sport bike.  Sure, there are touring motorcycles and now the “adventure”  ones.  But what I am wondering about is how the American motorcyclist wandered away from the good old “standard” motorcycle.  You know, the ones with a simple round headlight and foot controls that are in the middle of the motorcycle (not rear sets or forward controls).  A standard can have any kind of engine, V-twin, parallel twin, single, anything!  Most motorcycles up until the mid 70′s were basically “standards’.  If you wanted a sporty looking bike, you made a cafe racer out of it, by putting rear sets, clip-on’s,  and a few other items to enhance the handling or even looks.  If you wanted a cruiser, you built a “chopper”, with extended forks and increased rake, higher handlebars and forward controls.  Some publications even termed the phrase “Universal Japanese Motorcycle” back in the 70′s, upon which one could ride or modify one way or the other.

What some call “naked” or “street fighter” is like a standard, but they have some sort of plastic gadgetry and a non-standard headlight. The Honda Nighthawk series is a true standard, as is the Suzuki TU-250 (not available in California). The Triumph Bonneville line is also a true standard. I cannot think of too many more modern day standards.

Here are some pictures of a true 1978 and a 2010 “standard” motorcycles, the Yamaha XS650E and the Triumph Bonneville T100:

Both of these motorcycles are vertical twins, have 19″ front wheels and the “standard” seating, handlebar and foot peg positions. Note that both have a nice big round headlight. Modern day technology has improved somewhat as the 2010 motorcycle has fuel injection, electronic ignition, and the double overhead cam engine has a counter-balancer which make the engine so smooth. The 1978 motorcycle has regular carburetors, a points and condenser ignition system, and the engine timing needs t be set periodically.  The engine has no counter balancer and there is vibration to prove that.

AAA is great! (the auto club). No long DMV lines! I took my paperwork in after work this morning and brought the KTM out of non-op and transferred the title.  Came home, put the sticker on the plate and went riding.

1st impression: Wow, this bike is light! Next impression: Whoa, this engine has torque! Overall impression: this belongs in the dirt, not on the street. The front wheel does not want to stay on the ground, the full knobbies seem to slip and slide a bit. I see what they mean when they call these 620′s a paint shaker. It is not annoying, but you do feel the heavy rumbles of the engine and the knobby tires.

With no side stand, I did not want to even think about stalling the engine. I am tip toed on it as it is, and need to lean the bike against something on the right side to start it. It does start easy, 1 kick when warm, 2 kicks when cold.

I am planning on taking it to do some trail riding this Thursday, so will check in then and give a dirt report. (and maybe some pictures)

Just sold my XS750 Yamaha and picked up this KTM. Although it is the SX model, it has been modified to be California street legal.  As soon as I get it re-registered (it is currently non-op) I will take it on the road and dirt and write more about it. It starts on the second kick, sounds great (crisp) and is super light!:

Went 7.85 with a 1.72 60ft time.

Here is a clip of one of the few races I won. You often won on the other persons mistake.

Here’s an onboard cam shot of about 10 minutes on the CA Speedway AMA course back in September of 2007 on my old Suzuki trackbike.

I found these pictures on the Internet that looks alot like one of the many Honda 750s that I had owned in the past. They certainly were nice smooth bikes back in the day and there were tons of aftermarket stuff for it. Enjoy these pictures: