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1967 MATCHLESS G80 BACKGROUND Matchless de-stroked their big 500 single down to an 86mm stroke, creating what they called the “short stroke” engine. The G80 was what they called back then a “scrambler”, which later might have been defined as an ‘enduro’, and today would probably be called a ‘Dual Sport’ bike, capable of off-road …
2014 TRIUMPH BONNEVILLE STAYS TRUE TO ITS ROOTS The first Triumph Bonneville came out in 1959 and instantly became one of the fastest vehicles normal people could buy, on 2 or 4 wheels. The “Bonnie” became the stuff of legends, and a sign of being cool. Movie stars and rock stars alike loved their Triumph …
1959 MATCHLESS G80 BACKGROUND As was the case with virtually all Matchless motorcycles, sister-company AJS had a nearly-identical version which they called the Model 18. Matchless had cut its teeth, and built its reputation fielding fast, robust and reliable big singles (ie: 350cc and 500cc). The Matchless G80/AJS Model 18 were pushrod-operated OHV singles with …
1937 BSA WM20 Background The 1937 BSA WM20 was part of BSA’s massive wartime contribution to Britain’s war effort. 1937 was its first year of production that would last until the late 1950s. The “W” in the model designation signifies that it was specifically-deisnged to be a military bike (just like Harley’s wartime WLA). Designed …
1999 HARLEY-DAVIDSON MT500 BACKGROUND It’s rumored that Harley built just around 500 MT500s for the US Military. The design genealogy is quite convoluted. To begin with, it has an air-cooled 500cc single-cylinder Rotax engine (made in Austria). The design of the overall bike originated in Italy in the early 1980s, was then picked up by …
1973 TRIUMPH BONNEVILLE MODEL DESIGNATIONS 1973 was a big year for the new Oil-in-Frame Triumph Bonneville. Starting the model year with Engine #JH15366, the T120 Bonneville 650 soldiered on for another year (it would finally be dropped in 1976), side-by-side with the new T140 Bonneville 750, which started with Engine #JH15435. BELOW: This lovely bike …
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