Domination.

From MCM:

"Often, post-war British motorcycle factories were unedifying experiences. Squalid working conditions, management of appalling mediocrity, obsessively militant trade unions and chronic under-funding led to a reliance on existing designs and tooling which was suicidal. Yet, out of this mire, true motorcycling gems sometimes appeared.

Norton’s Bracebridge Street works in Birmingham was a near perfect example of how not to build motorcycles - but still the factory managed to produce one of the best big bikes of its era.

Luck had a huge part to play in the launch of the Dominator. First, the factory owned the coveted “Featherbed” duplex frame. This design had been gifted to the factory by the McCandless brothers and had kept Norton’s Grand Prix aspirations alive ten years after Norton’s race bikes should have been obsolete.

Not only did the “Featherbed” set the standard of handling for the whole of the motorcycling world but its great benefit to Norton, and many other manufacturers, was that the duplex design allowed almost any engine to be housed within the widely splayed frame tubes.

The Dominator also had a very reasonable engine. Designer Bert Hopwood was an obsessive self-publicist but had worked alongside both Val Page and Edward Turner at Ariel in the 1930s when all three became interested in the concept of neat, cheap to produce, parallel twins. Page penned the elegant Ariel KH, Turner the legendary Speed Twin and Hopwood the Dominator. Naturally, he claimed the Dominator to be far superior to the other two!

The resultant bike was a nice motorcycle by any standards. It handled extremely well, had a sweet, reliable engine which provided a genuine 90mph performance and possessed the best brakes of any contemporary British bike. Only in terms of a leak prone primary chain-case was the Dommi inferior to Triumph’s world-beating range.

Finished in Norton’s classic polychromatic grey colour scheme, the Dominator also looked every part as elegant as its Triumph contemporary and was far more elegant than either Ariels or BMWs of the day.

But it wasn’t oil leaks which constantly forced the Dommi into second place in the sales race. The Triumph factory was modern, well equipped and profitable. By contrast, the Norton works was a model of inefficiency and squalor and suffered from chronic under-funding. At best, the Bracebridge Street works could produce only 200 bikes a week - and that was a rare occurrence.

That Hopwood’s first design proved to be right is shown in the way that the basic motor was bored and stroked first to 600cc and then to 750cc with the Atlas and eventually, although much modified, all the way to the 828cc Commando.

Today, the Dominator still does not fetch such a premium price as its Triumph rivals which makes it one of best buys in the classic bike market."

Your first Cafe Racer: the Honda Dream Kids Dokitto.

From: totalmotorcycle.com

"Offering the satisfying feel of a do-it-yourself kit, these kid-oriented machines serve up heaps of good times by offering a variety of fun styles. Powered by modularly designed small-displacement engines, the Dream Kids' specially designed parts can be combined to create either the Dream Kids "Dokitto" bike or the "Wakuccho" kart and expand a child's imagination.

Engine type / Air-cooled four-stroke single-cylinder OHV
Displacement / 31.0cm3"

Motorbikes today review of the W650.

From motorbikestoday.com by: Adrian Percival

"Tucked away in my collection of old photographs is a picture of my Mum & Dad leaving to go on holiday on their 650 ‘Bonnie’. Now this was taken about 40 yrs ago and I could swear that it’s the same bike that I currently have on test! We all remember countless hours spent in dimly lit garages crawling around on dirty floors or looking under workbenches. We just had to find that c-clip that just flew off the piston pin, it was all that we needed (we thought) to get some old "fixer-upper" back together again. Well anyway I do, and I also remember my Dad doing it almost every weekend in order to keep that ‘Bonnie’ in working order.Now 40 years ago women could easily fall for a man on this bike. It looks just like the Triumph’s, Norton’s and BSA‘s of that period which demanded such attention after the likes of Marlon Brando and the infamous movie. But times have changed, nowadays it's a little harder to convince the girls that you're cool when you ride past on the W650. Still, it's not impossible to turn their heads as I found out to my surprise!

Times have definitely changed and in some ways it’s for the better. If it weren’t for bikes like this then we probably wouldn’t have the fabulous machinery we have today. So where does that leave this one? It's not race-rep or a sports tourer, it isn’t a big-bore cruiser or a commuter, and it certainly isn’t a beginner's bike, even though it could be with its low seat height and classically simple design. It's a retro classic that gets its looks and design from the famous bikes of the past and then adds a lot of modern flair and technology in all the right places. If my Dad had had this bike all those years ago he would have been over the Moon, it really is everything you ever wanted your old Triumph, Norton or BSA to be. Reliable, no oil leaks, powerful (ish!), smooth and good brakes! It’s a bike to be proud of and to keep for another 40 yrs, and I’m sure it will last that long as the build quality and finish is probably the best I’ve ever seen on any Japanese bike.

Cruising around in town or out on meandering country roads is what this bike is all about. Dressed in my black leather jacket, jeans, boots and open face helmet together with the obligatory shades, I did my best to pay homage to days gone by and ended up on the receiving end of many a thumbs-up. Not bad, I thought. Ok so you may well feel a little out of place when you're sitting at the lights and the latest and greatest 600/1000 race-rep pulls up alongside. But, with those twin burbling exhausts and the sheer presence of that totally open, and beautiful motor just ticking over beneath you soon forget about any other bikes and carry on with your mission. To prove your point at green the motor revs up in a flash, you drop the clutch and this bike just storms away from the race rep (well at least for the first few yards until he realises just what has happened!). You can’t hear anyone else because the now burbling exhaust has turned into that unmistakable throb of a British twin on song. It’s just magic!

Kawasaki designed the W650 to capture a sizable portion of the Japanese niche retro market. They are currently falling over themselves trying to acquire the originals, like the old Kawasaki W1 from the early 60’s. The W650 was never intended to be sold in Europe but demand forced Kawasaki to import the bike to our shores. Good for us, and right on Kawasaki for being a bit different! The W650 thrives in speeds from five mph up to 80 mph, after that be prepared for the most wind blast you can experience on any bike! There is a bit of vibration at higher speeds but only in the bars, and it’s acceptable. In between those speeds the 650 delivers you with sufficient oomph to propel you out of corners with flair and you will definitely run out of ground clearance before you run out of tyre. The W650 has what look to be vintage style tyres fitted, even the sizes are vintage in comparison to today’s bikes, but there's no reason to worry about vintage-style traction levels. Fitted with a ribbed front section 100/90-19 and a rear 130/80-18 it certainly looks the part but these Bridgestone’s certainly do a good job of keeping this bike on the road.

One of the main focal points on the W650 is the engine with its long chrome tube housing the bevel drive on the right hand side of the 676cc parallel twin. This shaft drives a single overhead camshaft and 8 valves through hypoid bevel gears thus eliminating the need for a cam chain, cam chain tensioner and its guides. The crank has been designed to allow the pistons to rise and fall in unison, one is on the intake/compression cycle and the other is on the power/exhaust cycle, this gives the original exhaust sound. The engine is definitely pleasing to the eye, with little touches all over it reminiscent of the Triumphs, Nortons & BSA’s of the day. Four valves feed each cylinder the fuel/air mixture via a pair of 34mm carbs. This function has been somewhat updated and is monitored via Kawasaki’s Throttle Responsive Ignition Control system (K-TRIC) and is then used by the said digital ignition to instantly work out the engine load and adjust the ignition for maximum power (trick eh on a 60’s bike!)

Everything on this bike is mounted in an old-style tube-steel cradle frame that's painted black (black is bad!). To compliment all of this it has spoked aluminium rims, black rubber gaitered 39mm conventional forks, and five-way preload adjust dual shocks on the rear. Yes it has that authentic nostalgic harshness but it’s well damped although a bit soft when you first get on it. Surprisingly when you are on the go, the suspension isn't that bad, which is good. It's nimble enough to chuck around with ease but yet seems to have a long forgotten British bike trait commonly referred to as "hinge-in-the-middle" when ridden hard! The W650 has been produced as close as possible to the original so it even has ‘that’ special feeling built in. Still, its predictable, grips well and is far superior to anything from the 60’s.

More nostalgia gets added to the braking department here. The W650 gets a 160mm drum rear brake and, even though the front brake is only a single 300mm disk and a four-piston caliper they work well in bringing this bike down from speed. Performance is pretty good for a bike designed as a true retro but it’s not even close to that of a current naked 600 Honda Hornet or similar. With around 50bhp and 43ft-lb of torque to propel it’s 195kg it’s no street racer. Interestingly enough this the W650 is about 15kg heavier and about 15% larger overall than it’s 60’s counterparts, still it has enough power to send the ‘oldest’ model Kawasaki up to around 115mph, not that you’d want to do it for long though!!

Verdict.

I’m quite certain that just the sound of this echoing twin mentally adds a good ten horsepower to it, that sound as you cruise along just goes straight through you. Add to that the way people stare at you on this bike and the plain fact of its uniqueness and here’s a package not to be missed. How good do you feel when people (bikes or non-bikers) wave or signal their approval at you, it's all emotion, let this bike take you back to your forgotten youth or an era when motorcycling was still an adventure - at any price. Life’s too short so why not relax a bit and get away from the ultra fast and ultra powerful license losers on today’s market. This bike oozes cool, its certainly a bike I would have in my garage for riding out on those sunny days down leafy lanes to a country pub where it would more than likely be the centre of attention (again!). And on your departure you just get on it, swing out that kick-starter and fire it up first time in true old-school style – now how cool is that!

The Image of the beast.

From diseno-art.com:

"The stripped down 2001 Sachs Beast concept motorbike from 2001 is a radical, unusual and extreme concept, which goes back to the basics of motorcycle design for influence, evidently displayed by the fact the minimalist Beast keeps luxurys and fairings to the bare minimum.

The exposed 998 cc Swedish Folen engine was selected for the bike because of its comlicated although pleasant design. However, if the Beast goes into production the limited edition run of 1000 would probably be powered by a more reliable Japanese engine."

The fashion statement part 2: Armoured Jeans.

By Mike Werner in Normandy France from Bikes in the fast lane:

"I'd say that most of us would like to jump on your motorcycle to go for a ride, go and pick up a loaf of bread or quickly go and visit someone. If you're safety minded, you know that it's usually in these small trips that most accidents happen. So you drag your leathers out of the cupboard, wiggle into them, and 1 hour later you're on the road. Well, OK that's exaggerating a bit, but you get the picture.

Riding in jeans, though cool and easy can be very dangerous. They're not meant to withstand ANY crash, and when you go off your motorcycle at any speed, you will get burns on your legs. One of the only jeans you can really use on a motorcycle are Draggin Jeans . They can withstand sliding across the pavement. But... they have a few issues. First, they are lined with Kevlar. Kevlar is a great product, very impact resistant, and pretty good at stopping burns, however... Kevlar is resistant as a material, so they make movements more difficult. Also, since Kevlar produces an irritation of the skin, you need to make sure that it doesn't touch the skin. This makes the jeans a bit more thicker, not something you'd want to wear around the house, or in the disco.

French company Esquad have the solution! Using fabrics designed in-house, and with help of the aerospace unit of EADS (the folks who make Airbus airplanes amongst others), they've come up with a fabric called Armalith. Armalith consists of fabrics used in the military and space industry, combined with cotton.

The result is an ultra-resistant fabric, that breaths and is light. Using the Armalith, they produce jeans and jackets that can be used as normal jeans. Re-enforced at the knees and hips, you now also have a jean that will withstand a crash, and more importantly, will prevent you from having to undergo skin transplants when sliding over the road after falling off your motorcycle. To test their fabric, the suspended a Hummer from a crane, attached to an Esqaud jean. The Hummer did not fall....and the jeans did not stretch.

They also used stuntmen to fall off their motorcycle at 60 mph. The jeans were scratched, but intact. No skin was burned.

their jeans and jackets can be bought directly in several European countries (more being added), or directly off the internet. You can also find their fabric in Ducati jeans and jackets, since they signed an agreement with the Italian motorcycle manufacturer. Ducati jeans will be sold for 395 Euros.

Esquad have several collections of jeans & jackets, both male and female versions. Depending on your sense of style, and use of the clothes, there's a choice for you.

All-in-all, these look like great motorcycle clothes. You can use them normally around the house, and you can use them to jump on your motorcycle, and still feel safe when riding those twisties. But remember... they are jeans, so not rain proof (though they can get wet in contrast with Kevlar). "

The fashion statement: The Barbour Jacket.

By Rick K From webbikeworld:

The Barbour Cowan Commando from lindaclifford.com

"It doesn't get more classic than this, folks.

You're looking at the Barbour International jacket, which has been in production just as you see it here since -- get this -- 1936!

And since what's old is new again in our Retro is Golden age, the International is now red hot.

The International is now being distributed by British Motorcycle Gear in the U.S.A. (the same folks who bring us the Belstaff goodies) so get 'em while you can, because you never know what tomorrow will bring...

Look through a book with photographs of the motorcyclists of yore and it's obvious that the International jacket was de rigueur riding apparel for the serious motorcycle rider.

Barbour's own website has some of the statistics: 97% of the competitors in the 1957 Scottish Trials wore Barbour and they were the official motorcycle police jacket in 14 different countries. And other than WWII, when there were no international motorcycle events, Barbour was worn "by virtually every British international motorcycle team from 1936 until 1977". How's that for a pedigree?

Most Americans probably got their first introduction to Barbour clothing via the characters in "All Creatures Great and Small" or one of the other interesting British shows on public television. Like many other things, we've pigeonholed our British cousins with stereotypes involving tweed, Wellies, snorkers and Barbour jackets. But hey, it could be worse, right?

I lusted after a Barbour jacket and finally saved up enough scratch to buy one -- almost exactly 20 years ago. My Bedale still looks like new and it's even hipper now than it was back then. And the nice thing about it is that it works -- whenever it rains, summer or winter, the Bedale's waxed cotton keeps me warm and dry.

Some of you may recall that we reviewed the Belstaff Trailmaster not too long ago, which uses a construction that is very similar to the Barbour International and is a classic in its own right. But the Barbour is one of a kind, with its classic slanted left-hand chest pocket instantly recognizable in the vintage photos of classic riders and their mounts.

The four big cargo pockets with their real brass snaps can hold lots of junk. Bulging bottom pockets seem to indicate a serious off-road rider, because back in the International's heyday you'd have to carry spare plugs, points and who knows what else to keep running.

The huge brass zipper with its big pull ring on the left-hand side (of course!) give the owner a trip back in time with every zip. When's the last time you saw a brass jacket zipper??

And although the waist belt really does help to keep the jacket watertight in a blow, most owners will probably slip it out of the loops and toss it. But the neck belt should be left hanging from that soft moss-colored corduroy collar to ensure that "The Look" is kept intact.

Speaking of The Look, the Barbour is also instantly recognizable by its classic signature tartan interior cotton lining, which is also very comfortable. And best of all is the "Made in England" label, along with its gaggle of Royal seals, attesting to Barbour's official appointments to various Kings and Queens.

The International certainly doesn't replace any of the modern motorcycle jackets with their high-tech fabrics, CE-approved armor, Gore-Tex liners and Nylon zippers. The decision to buy a Barbour International comes from the same set of illogical emotions that "force" one to come to the decision that only a Moto Guzzi Le Mans, Ducati Paul Smart 1000 or Triumph Thruxton will do as the next bike.

Owners of those classics or any other vintage British or European make will surely want to complete The Look by going all the way with an International. And while you're at it, how about a pudding bowl helmet and some stringback gloves?


But it's more than nostalgia -- the great thing about the International is that it looks (and works) just as great off the bike as on, so you'll be the envy of the pub when you're wearing it.

As an old-time Bedale owner, I can tell you that the waxed cotton (the only way they could keep anything waterproof back in the days before Gore-Tex) is sticky at first and attracts lots of lint, cat hair and other assorted fur-balls and tumbleweeds, especially in the International's near-black color.

But after a few outings, the wax stiffens up and the jacket will get that wonderful broken-in patina that Barbour owners know and love. The jacket can be re-waxed if necessary, either by the owner or by sending it back to Barbour for a refurbishing.

Which is another nice feature about buying a classic that's been in production for 70-odd years. Barbour is always there to fix it should something go wrong. Try doing that with your globally-sourced mesh jacket and see how far you get!"

Tangerine Dream: The 1981 Laverda 1000 Jota.

Edited for size From Road Runner touring and travel:

"Any color as long as it's black." Not surprisingly, it was in the psychedelic seventies when motorcycle manufacturers first broke with the tradition of black-painted frames. First came BSA's "dove grey," intended, it's said, to reprise the company's titanium-tubed, motocross bike frames. Then came Ducati's teal-framed silver 750SS. But perhaps the most successful color combo was Laverda's pairing of the company's racing orange with the sleek silver tubes of its mighty muscle bike, the Jota.

The Bikes from Breganze
Pietro Laverda founded the eponymous Breganze, Italy company in 1873 to manufacture farm machinery. In 1948 his grandson Francesco built the first Laverda motorcycle, a 75cc four-stroke intended for his own use. Devastated by war but fired with renewed vitality, Italy was undergoing its reconstruzione, and demanded cheap, economical transportation. Soon, Francesco's neighbors wanted his sturdy little bikes. Incorporating motorcycles in the company's output was not a great stretch, and an initial batch of 500 bikes was produced in 1951.

Now committed to motorcycle production, Laverda needed sales, and selling motorcycles in Italy means going racing; so Laverda entered a 75cc machine in the 1951 Milano-Taranto race, and though carburetion problems forced its retirement, the bike proved competitive. In the same race two years later, Laverdas filled the first 14 places in their class! More success followed for Laverda in the 100cc class until 1956, when overhead camshaft Ceccatos and Ducati Mariannas (both Fabio Taglioni designs) began to dominate the class...."