Innholdsfortegnelse for May 2024 i Motorcycle Mojo Magazine

If you’re at all like me, then you have a hard time passing by a motorcycle museum. In fact, I go out of my way to see vintage motorcycles whether they’re at a rally, a swap meet or a museum. There is just something special about the basic mechanicalness of vintage motorcycles — built in a simpler time before plastic, hightech metallurgy, and state of the art electronics became the norm. Don’t get me wrong: Modern motorcycles are mechanical marvels that are efficient and reliable (for the most part — those who have had their brand-new bike break down can hold off on the hate mail). But maybe they are too efficient, thereby losing the character that a machine should possess. There is nothing wrong with feeling some vibration, reminding…

When my son, Ashton, turned four years old, we surprised him with a Yamaha PW50. I’ll never forget the pure excitement and joy on his little face when he saw the dirt-bike shaped checkered-flag blanket covering his gift on our lawn. He ran over, pulled off the blanket, and sat on it, twisting the throttle and making vroom-vroom sounds. It’s been a relentless journey toward becoming a talented, well-rounded rider since Ashton first hopped on that minibike. He now launches high and with style at the motocross track, and races smoothly and with determination on the roadrace track. As a mom, allowing my child to race motorcycles has been emotionally challenging. Witnessing the devastating loss of my student and dear friend, Peter Lenz, in a racing accident at 13, made…

A total of eight AJS 500 cc parallel-twin Grand Prix racers were built during the project’s lifespan from 1947 to 1954 — four each of the two different types — the E90 with its cylinders raised just 15 degrees from horizontal, and the E95 introduced in 1952 with them inclined at 45 degrees. According to the Kiwi AJS factory rider Rod Coleman, a total of twelve engines in all were manufactured, four each in 1947 (the original E90 spiky-finned design dubbed the “Porcupine”), and then in 1951 and 1953 (both years the later E95). While externally these differed architecturally, inside they all shared a common format, as well as major components such as crank-shaft assemblies, engine dimensions and cylinder head design. The 498 cc engine’s 68 x 68.25 mm “square”…

It had been 15 years since I found myself suddenly divorced and carrying a 30 kg bag of Quikrete on my chest. Back then I had turned my attention for the first time to motorcycling, and to a cross-country odyssey in particular: Wouldn’t it be cool to ride my newto-me Suzuki Marauder 800 across the Golden Gate Bridge? And maybe heal a little? Life and recovery began taking me places I could not have foreseen, much less orchestrated including, over time, a new partner, a larger family, and the tiniest involvement in the motorcycle industry. To now be retracing my journey up the Pacific Coast Highway felt both a little triumphant and entirely different. This was part of a long-term test ride of Suzuki’s V-Strom 800DE, an all-new adventure…

Ever seen a rider with an awkward looking neck brace on while riding? It’s certainly more common in enduro and motocross crowds, and it’s now becoming more common for Adventure riders to also wear a neck brace while riding. Dr. Chris Leatt first created the neck brace after he experienced a friend’s passing when that rider took a low-speed fall over the handlebars of his mountain bike. Dr. Leatt started working immediately after seeing the outcome of this crash to create better protection against neck and spinal injuries, with his first patent on the brace in 2003, and his first product coming to market in 2006. The brace works to create less stress on the neck using what’s called Alternative Load Path Technology (ALPT). In other words, in the event…

We motorcyclists are a hoary old lot. Oh, we revel in the latest outrageous designs and, my God, some of the graphics on helmets these days are worthy of George Clinton, funk impresario extraordinaire and the most outrageously coiffed man of the ’70s. Deep down, though, we are suspicious of anything new. Especially if it’s safety-related. Doubly paranoid, in fact, if it’s a safety device that’s electronically activated. Some decry the loss of freedom. Others simply fear that sensors and the ECU won’t be reliable. More still — especially in these anti-science days — don’t actually believe that anything computer-controlled can actually improve their safety. Whatever the reason, we’re generally pretty slow on the uptake. For instance, I rode my first ABSequipped bike in 1988 — an ice-white BMW K100RS…

PIPE DOWN I just read David Booth’s review of the MV Agusta Turismo Veloce Luso SCS (March 2024). He talked about being able to relive his Akrapovic piped youth. I enjoy riding but don’t enjoy the noise. Noisy or straight pipe mufflers are just an annoyance that I am sure also bothers non-riders. Living in the city, I hear from inside my house the riders on the main roads that are a long block away. It is obvious why motorcycles get a bad noise rap with politicians. Perhaps it is time for reviews to stop praising the noise that comes from the bike. The muffler is not a selling point for me. GLENN DAVIES VIA EMAIL 100% ELECTRIC DOUBTFUL Glenn, concerning your editorial on all electric vehicles (Crossroads, March 2024).…

I hope all your travels are trouble-free. But if they aren’t you should be prepared to get help, or even get yourself home. Many of my past vehicles were in a condition that warranted having a roadside service, like CAA, to help if I needed a tow. However, I also had a backup plan when touring in wild, far-out places. I am lucky to be able to travel to the Yukon and Alaska every June. With only about 44,000 people living in the Yukon, there just aren’t the same types of services you may find at home, so we have learned to support ourselves on these trips. I travel with the folks from Dualsport Plus, who book all the accommodations and meals, plan the route, and provide a sweep truck…

LILLOOET — This road, although not so long at 75 km, is like riding three different areas. Highway 99 begins in Hat Creek, B.C., where it branches off Hwy 97. It continues to, and beyond, Lillooet. Starting out on 99, you first see scattered farms in a narrow valley with a road that rolls and turns as it follows Hat Creek. Further on, you enter into a tight canyon with cliffs on one side of the road and three narrow lakes on the other. These lakes are Turquoise, Crown and Pavilion Lakes. Slowly the trees disappear to a dry arid landscape until you top scenic Fraser River Canyon. Now the road drops into the side of the canyon on its way to Lillooet. More great scenery and curves with little…

In the January/February 2024 issue of Motorcycle Mojo, I wrote a column titled “Organized Chaos.” I was surprised to see the heightened response in readers. Thank you to everyone who wrote in and spoke to me at the bike shows. It not only shows that you enjoy reading my rants, but it also signifies that you, as readers, understand that there’s an issue in our culture with riding. With May being Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month, let’s follow up identifying the issue with discussing solutions. We’ve stated that there is an issue with North American riding culture and safety, but how do we fix it? It would be great to see a more stringent licensing system that encourages more skillful and safe riding but that is currently out of our control,…

The 500-cc parallel-twin AJS E90 Porcupine is the rarest and most exotic factory road racer ever entered by a British factory in Grand Prix racing — and also, in some ways, the most frustrating. Yet its position in history is assured, as the first-ever winner of the premier class 500 cc World Championship (which later mutated into MotoGP) exactly 75 years ago this year, with British rider Les Graham winning the world title aboard the AJS in 1949. Indeed, the AJS is still the only twin-cylinder bike ever to have won the 500 GP world title — singles did it later, and triples and fours too, of course, but never another twin. The AJS Porcupine was both first and last. That six-race 1949 World Championship series had started badly for…

In the previous issue, we looked at the effects of a gasoline’s octane rating on your engine. We also noted that ethanol is used to boost that octane rating. Here, we take a look at ethanol. Ethanol predates gasoline as a fuel for internal combustion engines; Nicolaus August Otto used the plant-based alcohol in the mid-1800s to power his early engine designs. Petroleum-based gasoline followed in the late 1800s, and it eventually became the primary automotive fuel. As early as the 1920s, ethanol was blended into gasoline to boost its knock-reducing octane rating. Use of ethanol-blended gasoline was increased during World War II to help counter gas shortages, but it was ramped down after the war. More commonly used as a means to increase gasoline’s octane number since the 1920s,…