Retro + Vintage Motorcycles
Retro + Vintage Motorcycle reviews and road tests include old (vintage) motorcycles, such as those featured in Clement Salvadori’s Retrospective column each month, as well as motorcycles styled to look like those that rolled off the assembly line decades ago (retro). Cruisers can be considered retro due to their styling, but they’re a more natural fit in the Cruiser + Touring Motorcycles category. Whereas the irrational exuberance of the 2000s brought us overpriced, blinged–out choppers and painful–to–watch TV shows about customizers with short tempers, motorcycle guides suggest that back–to–basics vintage motorcycles have enjoyed a revival since the Great Recession. Harley–Davidson has its Dark Custom line, Victory offers blacked–out 8–Ball versions of several models and DIY builders are snapping up low–cost bikes on Craigslist and eBay for café racer and bobber projects.
Indian Sport Scout 750cc: 1934-1942
Clement Salvadori
May 2, 2012
Undoubtedly the most famous Indian Scout is the motorcycle belonging to New Zealander Burt Munro, of the movie, The World’s Fastest Indian. He bought it in 1920, one of the original Scouts – which were said to have a top speed of around 55 mph – and fiddled with it for the next 40-plus years, making... Read more »
2011 Moto Guzzi V7 Racer Road Test
Bill Stermer
April 4, 2012
Vintage motorcycles are incredibly cool, but most riders are reluctant to put up with their drawbacks that can include meager power, lack of reliability and the potentially dangerous inconvenience of anti-stop brakes. What we would really prefer is a classic that performs like a modern bike—or a modern... Read more »
Retrospective: Honda CL72 Scrambler 250: 1962 – 1965
Clement Salvadori
November 11, 2011
photography by Steve Ready [This Retrospective: Honda CL72 Scrambler 250: 1962 - 1965 was originally published in the December 2011 issue of Rider magazine] In the early ’60s big changes were coming to the motorcycle world. The British industry did not understand that it was on death row, Harley was... Read more »
Retrospective: Matchless G15/45 750cc (AMC): 1962-1963
Clement Salvadori
November 10, 2011
[This Retrospective: Matchless G15/45 750cc (AMC): 1962-1963 was originally published in the November 2011 issue of Rider magazine] The old American adage goes, “There is no substitute for cubic inches.” And in the early ’60s there was definitely a battle for the biggest among the British exporters... Read more »
Retrospective: Yamaha YM2C Big Bear 305 Scrambler: 1967
Clement Salvadori
November 9, 2011
In the early ’60s the Big Bear race was a pretty serious event, running across California’s Mojave Desert and up to Big Bear Lake in the San Bernardino Mountains. The idea that this beautiful, highly chromed street-scrambler had any possibility of winning against high-strung Euro-bikes like Maico,... Read more »
Retrospective: Meguro Junior S3 250: 1957 – 1958
Clement Salvadori
November 9, 2011
story and photography by Clement Salvadori [This Retrospective: Meguro Junior S3 250: 1957 - 1958 was originally published in the September 2011 issue of Rider magazine] Pretty good-looking motorcycle, this OHV 250. Look down at the right-side engine case and you might expect to find the stacked rifles... Read more »
Retrospective: Yamaha SRX600S (SRX-6): 1986
Clement Salvadori
November 9, 2011
photography by Dave Martens [This Retrospective: Yamaha SRX600S (SRX-6): 1986 was originally published in the June 2011 issue of Rider magazine] Year/model: 1986 Yamaha SRX600S. Owner: John Schroeder, Reno, Nevada. It was a bad time to introduce a new motorcycle in the United States, with the economy... Read more »
Retrospective: Suzuki GS1150E: 1985 – 1986
Clement Salvadori
November 9, 2011
story and photography by Clement Salvadori [This Retrospective: Suzuki GS1150E: 1985 - 1986 was originally published in the May 2011 issue of Rider magazine] Year/model: 1986 Suzuki GS1150E. Owner: Tyson Baker, Los Osos, California. Talk about naked power! This baby had it, an unfaired motorcycle with... Read more »
Retrospective: BSA W1 Winged Wheel 35cc: 1953 – 1957
Clement Salvadori
November 8, 2011
story and photography by Clement Salvadori [This Retrospective: BSA W1 Winged Wheel 35cc: 1953 - 1957 was originally published in the April 2011 issue of Rider magazine] Following the ravages of World War II, Britain was eager to get back on wheels—preferably motorized wheels. Motorcycles were expensive,... Read more »
Retrospective: Honda XL600V Transalp: 1989 – 1990
Clement Salvadori
November 8, 2011
photography by Andrew Tabor [This Retrospective: Honda XL600V Transalp: 1989 - 1990 was originally published in the March 2011 issue of Rider magazine] Year/model: 1990 Honda XL600V Transalp. Owner: Andrew Tabor, Scarborough, Maine. Here was a motorcycle that made perfect sense, a multipurpose, go-just-about-anywhere... Read more »
