"Hunting Road 'Gators..."
Sunday, February 27, 2011
David Wilcox on Motorcycles
Tuesday, September 07, 2010
My first impression of the Honda pc800 was that it was a shameful disgrace of what a motorcycle stood for.
You couldn’t see the engine at all. The seat was way too comfortable. There were no hot exhaust pipes to burn your leg on. It was super quiet and it didn’t vibrate. It would run forever with no maintenance, so you didn’t even have to know how to work on it. The only person who would want a bike like that was someone who wasn’t even a biker. Like maybe if you just wanted to go down to the beach one summer day with your girlfriend and she just wanted to wear her bathing suit. Cognitive dissonance. What’s wrong with that? Well, everything’s wrong with that! It will bring down the whole industry. Motorcycles are in danger of losing their motorcycle-ness. It must be stopped. And it was. Nobody bought the pc800 and it went out of production. I have a white 1989 pc800 that I have enjoyed for twenty years, and when I rode it to the top of Mount Mitchell yesterday, people were still commenting that it looked futuristic. “Is that new?” they asked. “No,” I said, “I’ve got a lot of miles on it.”
When Nance and I go to the farmers’ market on Saturday morning, we take the old pc800 Honda. We gather four bags of fresh veggies and eggs and honey and whatever else, and we walk back over the the motorcycle. Somebody always says: “How you gonna get all that home?” And I turn the key and open the trunk. The pc800 has a big waterproof trunk that can hold four bags of groceries. The rear seat just hinges up with the top of the trunk and then folds back down again. Sounds more like a hatchback car. In fact, it has the same nitrogen filled shock absorber that lifts the lid. Motorcycling should never be this easy. I mean, there should be laws. Concerned citizens should be calling their senators. What’s at stake is the sacred covenant between man and machine. Every good biker knows that the machine makes the man. It should to be difficult to start. You have to know the trick. Its should be very loud. It should require protective clothing because of the exposed whirling belts and chains and hot metal. Primitive machinery for the primitive man. Everything about it should say: “Damn the practical and convenient! I am the brave explorer risking everything for adventure!” Which would be great if you were using the bike for adventure instead of using it to look like an adventurer. I need to revive my song about target marketing non conformers.
I’m ashamed to say that the quirky motorcycle I ride is an 800cc called a Pacific Coast or PC. As in PCH, the twisty road along the west coast. Or, as in Coasting along Peacefully. Now, I’ve had other bikes. Until I was 18 and started into guitar, motorcycles defined me. Motocross was the most exciting thing I knew about. Later, I had street bikes too. There were four in the garage at one time, and most of them I was proud to talk about. And then there was the pc. Not cool. Body by Tupperware. It is so not a motorcycle. All it does is get you where you’re going quickly and smoothly without drawing attention to itself. What good is that? Wouldn’t that ruin America? If people start accepting practical solutions to logical problems, we could lose our tribal identity. We might forget what sets us apart. And then we would be in danger of seeing what we have in common with everyone else. I know that I’m extrapolating philosophy from motorcycle design, but some people say that the way you do anything is the way you do everything. And the anger that was elicited in the biker community by the PC’s practical utilitarian design is telling. It’s as if it were the breakdown of everything. Two decades ago, the pc800 was shunned into oblivion. We knew back then that in America, motorcycles should be about where we come from, not where we are going. The classic American motorcycle is a primitive design that shakes and barks when it’s running, and leaks oil the rest of the time. Imagine the guy sitting on his bad-ass chopper just talking to his buddies. He’s been there for hours, parked outside the bar. It’s as if his bumper sticker reads: “We’re not going anywhere! We’re America!”
Richard Thompson 1952 Vincent Black Lightning
A great performance by Richard Thompson. His song “Vincent Black Lightning, 1952″, one of my all-time favorites, deals with a redheaded girl, a fast motorcycle, and black leather, three of the best things. Richard Thompson was a hell of a guitar player.The Vincent Black Lightning was a hell of a motorcycle. Red Molly was, clearly, a hell of a girl.
Top 5 Muscle Cars
I’ve chosen to make a list of the top muscle cars for this Project. I’m personally very passionate about muscle cars, and there are many different great makes and models of muscles. But for the sake of this project, we will stick to 5. Each of the following cars have been icons of their times, and to a vast extent, their companies owe their current growth and popularity to these cars.
- Pontiac GTO: Known as the “First True Muscle Car”, GTO is a high performance car built by Pontiac from 1964 to 1974. Pontiac general manager Elliot Estes approved the GTO (as an option to the Tempest model) despite violating the GM policy due to its 5.4L V8 engine. It became a great success, and marked the beginning of the muscle cars era. Even today it is loved and considered one of the most famous muscle cars ever.
- Ford Mustang: Probably the most famous of all muscle cars is Ford’s Mustang series. Mustang saw a great deal of success, and inspired a whole new breed of muscle cars, the pony cars. Mustangs have become the dream of every car enthusiast. Many movies, e.g. Gone In 60 Seconds, and computer games have featured this car, adding more to it’s popularity.
- Chevrolet Camaro: Chevrolet’s Camaro has been the number one competitor of Ford Mustang ever since they were built. In fact, Camaro is categorized as a pony car, which means it was initially inspired by the Ford Mustang. Despite its great success in the 60’s and 70’s, Camaro was always beaten by Mustang in terms of sales. Nonetheless it is a wonderful car, and it is back to compete with Ford’s Mustang Shelby GT500. Look out for the new Camaro around the end of 2007 and/or beginning of 2008.
- Dodge Charger: Have you seen The Dukes of Hazard? Yes? Then you have seen a Dodge Charger. A wonderful car indeed! Even though Charger entered the battle of the muscle cars a couple of years later, it left a great impression on the competition.
- Chevrolet Chevelle: Another great muscle car from Chevrolet is the Chevelle. This car was below Camaro in Chevrolet’s product line, therefore was lower in terms of performance. It is still one of the favorite among the muscle fans.
There you have it, the top 5 muscle cars of all times. Of course, there are other cars that I have missed which probably deserve to replace one or more on this list. This is based on my knowledge (which is quite limited) and opinion. The cars 1 to 4 are quite similar from a performance perspective. They were all mounted with V8 engines and were built as high performance vehicles. My personal favorite muscle car is the Dodge Charger, then the Ford Mustang, preferably a 1969 Shelby GT500, followed by a 1969 Camaro SS.
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Friday, February 25, 2011
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Cool Father / Son story - Restoration of a 1958 BMW R50
Here's story about a son restoring his father's 1958 BMW R50...
"This is a photo story of my father's 1958 BMW R50: Boy meets girl, gets married, buys motorcycle. Rides it for 60,000 miles and has accident when wife is pregnant with 3rd child (me). Wife orders motorcycle to be taken off road until all her children are grown and on their own. One day when bike is moved to a different storage location, son sits on bike and dreams of being a Jedi Master like his father. Couple grows old together and bike is not ridden for 40 years. Husband is now a grandfather of 7 and married for 50 years, when he dies of a stroke at age 71. Son looks over the old rotting machine and finds note attached to it from his father to him. Son decides to restore the old 1958 BMW R-50 as a tribute to his father. With the help of many friends, especially Peter Nettesheim, world renowned BMW collector, bike is restored to look even better than it did when it was built in Germany."
"This is a photo story of my father's 1958 BMW R50: Boy meets girl, gets married, buys motorcycle. Rides it for 60,000 miles and has accident when wife is pregnant with 3rd child (me). Wife orders motorcycle to be taken off road until all her children are grown and on their own. One day when bike is moved to a different storage location, son sits on bike and dreams of being a Jedi Master like his father. Couple grows old together and bike is not ridden for 40 years. Husband is now a grandfather of 7 and married for 50 years, when he dies of a stroke at age 71. Son looks over the old rotting machine and finds note attached to it from his father to him. Son decides to restore the old 1958 BMW R-50 as a tribute to his father. With the help of many friends, especially Peter Nettesheim, world renowned BMW collector, bike is restored to look even better than it did when it was built in Germany."
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
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