Thinking about my two kids getting ready to enroll in a motorcycle training class to earn their motorcycle drivers licenses, it occurred to me that outside of the AHRMA vintage road race school I enrolled in two years ago during the Bonneville Vintage GP, I’ve never actually had any sort of motorcycle training.

That’s not a boast, mind you. I firmly believe in proper training and encourage everyone I know coming into the sport — and yes, it is a sport; pretty much the only people who ride for necessity live in Third World countries — to enroll in one of the literally thousands of Motorcycle Safety Foundation training courses held across the country. And yet, I’ve never done so myself.

When I got my license, I’d just moved back to my home state after a two-year absence. We moved during my last two years of high school, but right before we left — just days after turning 16, then the legal age for a full license — I secured my drivers license. I still had that license when I moved back for college and “renewed” it by going to the local DMV for a change of address. Filling out the form, the disinterested clerk banging away on an IBM Selectric asked me if I wanted a motorcycle certification. “Sure,” I said, “what do I need to do?” “Fifty cents,” came the answer. That’s all it took. A half buck and I was legal to ride. No proof of ability, no riding test, just 50 cents on top of the $3 it was costing me for a duplicate license. I had my first bike within a week.

It was only a year or so later that the state changed to a mandatory riding test before you could get your motorcycle license. The test was typically administered by whoever happened to be on duty that day, usually somebody with no or very little motorcycle experience. Most of my buddies had to take the test, usually on the smallest bike they could borrow to ensure making it through the cone course without knocking one over. They hated me for how easily I got mine.

That was back in the Seventies, and since then rider training courses have become the norm, and there’s no question in my mind but that’s a good thing. Motorcycling exposes you to a much higher degree of risk than a car, and a critical aspect of safe riding is risk assessment, something I’ve been trying to drill into my kids for years. Sixteen-year-old Charlie has become pretty familiar with two-wheeled exposure. He’s gotten heavily into bicycle racing, and when we salvaged a pair of old mopeds two years back he was the first one out. Nineteen-year-old Madeline has experience riding our little 100cc dirt bike, and I know both of them will benefit hugely from taking the MSF class to certify for their motorcycle licenses.

I like to think that I’m a competent rider, and I suppose my 36 years in the saddle without an accident (just jinxed myself, didn’t I?) might support that notion. On the other hand, that I’ve ridden so long without major issue could be as much luck as capacity. In my defense I’ll say I’ve always taken riding seriously, taking lessons, so to speak, by watching other riders and honing my skills on the road after reading tips from the MSF’s Guide to Motorcycling Excellence and the likes of David Hough, Lee Parks and the late Lawrence Grodsky.

Riders face a constant barrage of threats, but the more they learn the better they can assess risk and respond appropriately. My AHRMA class opened my eyes to just how much you can make a motorcycle do, and I’m betting Charlie and Maddie will make the same discovery in their MSF classes. They’re reminding me it’s never too late to learn, and that it’s high time I enrolled in a rider course myself. - Richard Backus 

 
The finished Race to Rebuild 1974 BMW R90/6

The Motorcycle Classics/Dairyland Cycle Insurance Race to Rebuild 1974 BMW R90/6 is done! And today we announce the lucky winner of our finished custom café BMW in the Race to Rebuild Sweepstakes! And it is … drum roll please … Bill Elliot of Seymour, Conn.!

 
Winner Bill Elliot with the Honda CB750 he built last year.

Bill is, as you might imagine, more then a little stoked about having his name pulled from the more than 20,000 entries for our BMW. And frankly, we couldn’t be happier ourselves, as Bill is a Motorcycle Classics subscriber with a long history in motorcycling. His grandfather raced Hondas back in the day, and opened one of the very first Honda motorcycle dealerships in Connecticut, Parmelee Honda in Fairfield, Conn. Bill was raised around motorcycles, and likes to use his skills building his own customs, like the 1972 Honda CB750 café he finished just last year.

 
An undated photo of Parmelee Honda established by Bill's grandfather in the early 1960s and one of the first Honda dealerships in Connecticut.

You’ll see the full results of our Race to Rebuild BMW in the May/June issue, but if you can’t wait that long just jog over to Dairyland Cycle’s Facebook page where they’ll be posting update project photos. The finished bike looks fantastic, with custom wheels, a replica Ducati 900SS fairing, solo seat, rearsets, updated suspension, a new exhaust tipped off with a set of Dunstall-style mufflers, and an incredible custom paint job from Travis at TC Concepts. It rides beautifully and it sounds fantastic, more Moto Guzzi then BMW. Look for videos of our first run and our final dyno run soon.

In the meantime, we loaded the BMW up today and shipped it off to Bill, who will get his first real look at the bike when it arrives at his home in Connecticut. So congratulations Bill, and our thanks to everyone who wrote in as we conducted our build. And if you’re disappointed at losing, don’t be, because we’re already gearing up for our next Motorcycle Classics/Dairyland Cycle build project. Dairyland has been posting ideas for the next build on their Facebook page, and we’ll announce our plans soon, so stay posted. – Richard Backus 

As much as I appreciate winter’s forced downtime, embracing it as an opportunity to commit to motorcycle maintenance projects I put off during the riding season, I’ll admit that the single biggest problem with winter is, well, you can’t ride.

My daily 60-mile round trip commute is a lot more fun on a bike than in a car, and lately I’ve found myself droning along with the horde of metal boxes thinking wistfully about getting out on the road and putting on some serious miles.

I didn’t get in a lot of road time in 2012. In fact, I didn’t get in a single good solo road trip. It’s not that I didn’t get in any riding. I did, for instance, make the excellent RetroTours Redneck Giro, a three-day, almost 800-mile romp through West Virginia with a sextet of vintage Italian bikes. I got in a few other great day rides, but I never got out alone, which for me represents the essence of riding. Since my first solo motorcycle tour in college I’ve loved the solitude of the road, just me, myself and I, discovering new routes, new towns and new faces. Today, more than ever, it’s unique to be alone, cell phone off, no e-mail, no radio, no TV, just you, your bike, and the road.

So I want to get in a good tour this year, but that brings up the question of where to? Recently, I’ve been finding myself oddly drawn to the notion of riding in South America. I say oddly because in the past I’ve been dismissive of riders heading below the equator, an army of middle-aged white guys on huge BMW GS’s trying desperately to get in that last “big adventure” before middle age turns north and the body suddenly becomes unwilling to suffer the ravages of long-distance travel.

But reality won’t let me tickle that emerging fancy just yet, so I’m left pondering the when, what and where, with the where decidedly limited to someplace in North America. I could head south to Mexico, I suppose, but if I’m not going to go all the way to South America, I’m thinking points north.

I’ve never ridden the famed Alcan Highway, a fact riding buddy Ken loves to remind me of. We were supposed to ride it together years ago on our Nortons. Ken made the ride, but I didn’t, instead following a girl to San Francisco, where Ken looped through months later on his way home; he was definitely having more fun than I was.

I’ve also never made the run to Newfoundland in Canada, an area that’s intrigued me for years. Beautiful, desolate and lonely, it’s the kind of destination I think of when I think about a long ride. Plus, it has the total thumbs up of a great ferry ride from Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, to Argentia, Newfoundland. Any time you can mix two wheels with a ferry ride is a great day in my book.

Then there’s the issue of what to ride. I love putting in long days on the Laverda, but I’m not sure a ride to Newfoundland would show the best side of the big RGS. It’s a long way from the Midwest to Newfoundland, and hauling a lot of gear is not the Laverda’s strong suit. My BMW K100RS would swallow up whatever I need to bring, but it seems almost too big. That has me thinking of something like a mid-Seventies Honda CB500 or CB550 Four. They’re good on gas and reliable, and properly set up they’re surprisingly capable bikes. Stick on a whacking huge old Wixom fairing (I just happen to have one) and a big tail rack (got that, too) and you have a vintage touring bike made for the kind of run I’m thinking about.

The only problem now is the when — and of course the niggling issue of finding that old Honda. But that’s just a detail. See you on the road — I hope. — Richard Backus 

 
Retro Moto host Matt Smith with a Manx Norton featured in the first episode.

Well known vintage bike enthusiast and founder of the Chadds Ford Classic Motorcycle Auction John Lawless is dipping his toe – or more like his entire body – into video with the premier of a five-minute mini-episode of his planned new show, Retro Moto, on PBS’ Motorweek, January 5 and 6, 2013, and again January 15 at 8 and 11 p.m. on the Velocity network.

Matt Smith plays host in the new series, produced by Lawless, Sheldon Brown and Ed Buffman, who say the show is about classic motorcycles “and their timeless art and beauty, as well as the people that appreciate and love them.” We’ve checked out a couple of trailers for the new show, and we like what we see. Fans of Orange County Choppers won’t be tuning in, but those of us who love old bikes and the people who keep them running will. Lawless and crew’s new show looks like the perfect tonic to the sort of tired, overwrought and over-hyped crap that typically defines TV. Real enthusiasts already know that old bikes are cool, and we don’t have to be hit over the head with hyperbole to appreciate what we’re seeing. Fortunately, Lawless and Smith don’t, instead keeping the viewer focused on the real point of interest, the motorcycle.

“We're testing two Norton Manx and a Yamaha TZ750 in this show,” Lawless tells me, adding, “We're trying to get folks to give some feedback to comments@motorweek.org so that we can continue to air episodes.”

This is definitely vintage motorcycle TV worth watching: Go to Motorweek to check local listings, and follow updates on the show on the Retro Moto TV Facebook page. You can also contact Lawless directly at john@myclassicmotorcycle.com – Richard Backus 

 
Brand new, uncrated 1979 Yamaha RD400F sold on eBay for $21,000. 

If this bike rings a bell, it should. We first told you about this brand new, never uncrated 1979 Yamaha RD400F back in June 2010, when reader Scott Lees stumbled across it at Britt Motorsports in Wilmington, N.C. When Scott visited the dealership, the Yamaha was resting just inside the front door of the motorcycle dealership, pushed up against a wall where it was being used as a table to hold racing trophies. At the time, Scott was told it was not for sale at any price. Turns out it did have a price; $21,000, to be exact.

 
The RD400F was basically hidden behind the green couch, doing duty as a trophy stand. 

We don’t know what changed the dealership’s mind, about selling it, but we discovered the still-crated Yamaha listed on eBay this past week, where it garnered 46 bids before selling for $21,000, surely a record price for a Yamaha RD400F – or any Yamaha, for that matter. Either way, that's a lot of money for a bike you couldn't even see, although the listing said the winning bidder would be supplied “uncovered” pictures. Still, we’d have been nervous bidding on it as there’s no guarantee the bike in the box hasn’t suffered corrosion from moisture or blistered paint from heat during storage. With any luck it’ll be time-capsule perfect, and we’re really hoping the winning bidder comes forth so we can all see what he or she actually got. Click here to read Scott Lees’ original article on the new-in-crate Yamaha RD400F.

 
The Electric Option: 2012 Zero XU. Note use of belt for final drive instead of a chain. 

Although the focus of Motorcycle Classics is yesterday’s motorcycles, every so often we like to dip a toe in the present. Witness our coverage of bikes in the retro classics category, which includes machines like the iconic Royal Enfield Bullet, the revived Triumph Bonneville range and Moto Guzzi’s tres cool V7 models. Thanks to a long heritage, we think the retro classics fit in naturally with our focus. So how do we end up testing a 2012 Zero XU all-electric motorcycle? That takes a bit more explaining.

Actually, we can explain how we came to test a new Zero in one word; serendipity. How so? Well, one of our sister publications is none other than Mother Earth News, a title that bills itself as “The Original Guide to Living Wisely.” With roots that go back to the environmental movement of the early 1970s, Mother Earth News champions sustainable life-style issues, focusing on, among other things, renewable energy and green transportation. So when the editors at Mother Earth News told us they might get a Zero to test, we were all ears.

Collecting our Zero
Thanks to the fact Motorcycle Classics has a trailer, I pulled duty to make the short trip to the local Zero dealer, Letko Cycles in Shawnee, Kan., to pick up the XU. Upon arrival, Letko’s Andrew Hammer gave me a comprehensive run down on the Zero before handing me the key and helping me load it up.

As it turned out, our pickup day happened to be a Thursday, which over the last few years has turned into the unofficial motorcycle day at my house, wherein several pals including Motorcycle Classics Q&A tech guy Keith Fellenstein ride over after dinner to wrench and generally talk motorcycles for a few hours. Good beer helps. As if we needed any encouragement.

I gave those assembled a brief rundown on the bike before letting everyone swing a leg over it to get an idea of its physical nature, and while none of the gang were exactly pumped by the Zero (we are old bike guys, after all), everyone thought it was a pretty interesting proposition in just about every way but one; the price.

At a current list of $7,695, the Zero XU is not what you’d call cheap; especially when you consider its limited range. Zero claims 42 miles ridden in town and 28 miles in mixed commuting. If you watch my video of the Zero at the bottom of this page, you’ll see I only managed about 25 miles in mixed riding. That may be enough to get urban dwellers to school or the store and back, but it’s not enough for me to make my daily commute of 30 miles each way, even if I stick to back roads. Zero claims an average cost of $0.32 per charge, equating to a mile-per-gallon equivalency of 539mpg, but the bike’s short range means you’ll have to be plugged in quite a bit. Average recharge time is a claimed 2.7 hours to get to 95 percent charge; we think it’s actually a bit faster than that.

But if you put commuting limitations aside you’ll discover the Zero XU is a hugely rewarding machine. Zero claims a top speed of 65mph, which we saw a few times, and while I favor motorcycles with gas-powered engines – for a multitude of reasons ranging from issues of character to points of practicality – I was surprised how much I enjoyed riding the Zero. To the point I actually started calling it a motorcycle, a development that surprised me when I realized I’d quit calling it a “device.”

For in town use the 3.0kWh power pack returns respectable performance. Initial acceleration is almost oddly slow, but once you’re moving things pick up and the Zero proves capable of zipping in and out of traffic easily and competently. It doesn’t return the sort of urge you’re used to with a gasoline engine, but it’s powerful enough to get out of its own way quickly. It’s a bit odd for the traditional motorcyclist in that unlike a gas engine nothing happens with urgency. It’s all very linear, naturally enough, which feels somewhat odd when you’re used to being able to modulate speed with abrupt power input as you can with a gas-powered motorcycle.

In practical terms it feels about as powerful as maybe a 250cc, but a weight of only 221 pounds makes it feel almost like a dirt bike, a feeling aided by reasonable suspension travel (5.31 inches front, 5.54 inches rear) and quick steering geometry with only 24.7 degrees of rake and 3.4 inches of trail. Stopping power of the front and rear single disc brakes on our test bike was excellent, with excellent modulation and good feel. Tires are fairly narrow (90/90-19 front and 110/90-16 rear), perhaps amplifying the dirt bike sensation, yet grip on our bike was excellent.

If there was a let down on the Zero, it was in the quality of the cycle parts. The turn signals looked and felt like the kind of kit you’d buy online for $5 a pop (the stop/tail light was even worse), and the plastic body panels felt cheap and flimsy. Given the XU’s almost $8,000 price tag, I’d expect better. Perhaps the biggest surprise was the use of heat-generating, power-robbing incandescent bulbs for the headlight, tail and turn signals. Surely LED lights are cheap enough now to make them the obvious fitment on an all-electric motorcycle?

And that’s leads me to my basic conclusion on the Zero: It’s a great machine for non-motorcyclists looking for an easy to own urban two-wheeler (maintenance is down basically to tires and brakes, with maybe the occasional inspection of forks and swingarm and steering bearings), but only a so-so machine for motorcyclists. Non-motorcyclists won’t miss its lack of personality, but old-school machine heads will, and I’m betting most of them, given the choice, would still buy a gas-powered bike before shelling out the dosh for a Zero. - Richard Backus 

CLICK THE VIDEO BELOW FOR A RIDE ON THE ZERO XU. 

I am not a collector. Although I like to blame my disinterest in collecting on terminally shallow pockets, the reality is that I lack the Collector Gene, the essential biological component that drives people to fill Butler buildings and barns full of vintage motorcycles.

It’s not that I don’t want a bunch of bikes — I do — I’m just not driven to make it happen like some people I know. The other day I received a text with a photo of yet another cool old bike (a Yamaha RZ350, if I remember) that my buddy Frank had just restored. A lifelong motor head, Frank has in the last few years discovered his true calling in life: collecting vintage motorcycles. In a short period of time, he’s gone from owning a couple of bikes to something like 40, many of them following a theme (2-strokes, dirt bikes) and all of them grounded in his living memory, bikes he wanted when they were new and can now afford. Frank has the Collector Gene.

Frank’s hardly alone, and compared to some he’s almost a piker. Forty bikes? Hell, that’s nothing. There are hundreds of vintage bike fans with collections approaching 100 machines, and I’ve met more than a few who claim to have 200-plus vintage bikes to their credit. I will, it’s become clear to me, never be one of them.

For one thing, true collectors approach their task seriously, strategically identifying particular machines or themes to help define their pursuit. Vintage car and motorcycle collector Joe Bortz likes to go for one-of-each sets (6-cylinder motorcycles, turbo-charged motorcycles), RetroTours’ Joel Samick focuses on big twins from the Seventies, and Wheels Through Time proprietor Dale Walksler focuses on prewar vintage American iron. Me? I apparently hone in on whatever crosses my path.

That’s about the only thing that explains the bikes currently sitting in my hovel. I’ll admit that I’d wanted a Laverda RGS since first laying eyes on one back in the 1980s, but I’ll qualify my ownership by noting that only blind luck led me to my bike. I didn’t set out to find it; it found me. Likewise, I didn’t set out to own my 16-valve BMW K100RS. I was just looking for a good commuter/fast touring bike to have for those days when the Laverda is up on blocks. The BMW fit the bill perfectly, plus it was available and cheap, a critical ingredient in my world.

Cheap would also explain the other bikes corralled in my shed, and they don’t come any cheaper than the 1974 Yamaha TX500 my son, Charlie, and I are slowly coaxing back to life — it was free — or the 1971 Honda CB350 I keep swearing I’m going to transform from a near wreck to a cool little city bike for my daughter, Madeline — also free. Then there’s the pair of Honda Express mopeds, part of a small horde bought for $100 (that’s almost free, isn’t it?) that ultimately netted two complete running machines, with plenty of spare parts left over.

Those machines constitute my motorcycle “collection,” which apparently is less the byproduct of a yen for collecting than the result of a pack rat mentality. How else to explain the ratted out 1964 Chevy Corvair I’m slowly nursing to life? Or the 1963 17-foot fiberglass Hydrodyne powerboat complete with period 75hp Evinrude V4 languishing in my backyard?

I might have a lot of stuff, but unlike a collector, there’s no strategy to what I own. It crossed my path. I liked it. Now I have it. And it was usually free, or as close as I could come to free. There are days I wish I had the Collector Gene. Thankfully, there are people like Frank, Joe, Joel and Dale to do the collecting for me. — Richard Backus