Motorcycle History

Coming from a background in earth moving saw Jamie driving a truck and dog transporting a lot of concrete and sand, which was never a passion, just a way to make a living. His real passion had always been tinkering and building custom bikes on the side, even helping a few mates build their dream customs, which finally led him to the big decision of opening his own custom bike business, which was just over three years ago now.

The concept for this motorcycle began back in 2021, when Tony took his wife’s 2016 Indian Chief Vintage for a ride and was so impressed he decided to build a chopper using a similar motor. As luck would have it, he found a smashed 2019 Indian Chief Vintage for sale in Devon. So after purchasing the wrecked motorcycle, he had it delivered to String at Raw steel Choppers in Essex, where Tony discussed what he had in mind.

It was a thoughtful gesture that on another day might well have saved me a big fine, or even my licence. The motorcyclist riding in the opposite direction on the motorway flashed his headlight repeatedly, then waved frantically at me in an obvious warning of trouble up ahead.

Few bikes pull their rider’s emotions in opposite directions quite like the SFC1000. Riding the tall red Laverda can be either hugely enjoyable or a big disappointment, depending on what you expect from this last of Laverda’s illustrious line of 981cc aircooled triples.

The R32 was a flat-twin roadster featuring shaft final drive, black paintwork and a round, blue-and-white quartered tank badge inspired by the propellers of the aircraft engines that the German firm had produced during World War I.

Jaws hit the floor a couple of years ago, when Harley-Davidson unveiled the latest in its long line of Sportsters.

First up, this is not a deep dive into every single motorcycle that made its way onto the field of battle. Why? Because mainly I’m lazy and there are literally volumes upon volumes of literature on the subject that could fill a shipping container.

After the conclusion of World War II, when it came to the use of motorcycles in the military, it was a case of the more things changed, the more they stayed the same.

No matter what brand of motorcycle you like there’s something for everyone at the National Motorcycle Museum of Australia.

Back in 1984 Harley-Davidson released the FXST Softail, which at its heart was an Evolution 80ci motor in a revolutionary new frame.

HARLEY-DAVIDSON Shovelhead engine is definitely loved by enthusiasts but also much maligned by those who subscribe to the theory that Harleys are unreliable running oil leaks.

It’s over 115 years since Harley-Davidson produced their first motorcycles for the public.

Simon Butler has always built bikes over the years just for himself and was never interested in projects for other people because not only is it time consuming, but most non-bike builders don’t understand what’s actually involved.

The Norton Company was first formed in 1898 by James Lansdowne, (J.L Norton).
Although originally they were just supplying motorcycle and bicycle parts, it wasn’t long before the first Norton motorcycles were produced in 1902 using French and Swiss engines.
It wasn’t until 1908 however that they produced the first ever Norton motorcycle available to the public. This of course came off the back of their racing success, albeit in its early

If you’ve heard of or even had the privilege of visiting the Petersen Motor Museum in the US before, you’d know just how impressive some of the machinery on display is, especially in ‘The Vault’.

Some longtime readers may even recall a feature we ran last year, which included a full tour of not only the museum, but also the Harley vs Indian exhibit.