The Harley-Davidson Pan America 1250

Manufacturing Plant for Harley-Davidson Pan America™ 1250 – York, PA

As promised, here is a post on the Harley-Davidson Pan America™ 1250.

I’ve previously posted on the Pan America all-new Revolution Max 1250 engine HERE. To recap, it’s a liquid-cooled V-twin with variable valve timing that produces 150 horsepower with 94 pound-feet of torque at 9,500 rpm and is attached to a six-speed transmission. The engine features maintenance-free valves, thanks to hydraulic valve lifters, crankshaft connecting-rod journals, offset 30 degrees creating a 90-degree firing order, forged aluminum pistons, a 13.0:1 compression ratio, which requires 91-octane fuel. The engine is a “stressed member.”  Meaning the front frame, the mid-frame, and the tail section bolt directly to the powertrain. According to Harley, this design results in a stiffer chassis and less weight. The frame is mounted to a cast-aluminum swing-arm that minimizes unsprung weight.

Start of Harley-Davidson Pan America™ 1250 Manufacturing in York, PA

The base Pan America uses conventional Showa suspension with 7.5 inches of travel at both ends, while the Special trim gets an Ohlins steering damper and semi-active electronically adjustable system with Adaptive Ride Height (ARH) technology ($1,000 option), and with Vehicle Loading Control, which senses the rider’s weight, a passenger, and/or luggage to select optimal suspension sag by automatically adjusting rear preload.  It will also lower the bike over an inch when stopped. Once moving again, the bike automatically lifts itself back to an optimal ride height. The Pan America has a bucket load of acronyms: Cornering Enhanced Linked Braking System (C-ELB), Cornering Enhanced Traction Control System (C-TCS), Drag-Torque Slip Control System (DSCS), Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) to impress all your ADV posse riders during set up of your Jetboil camp stove!

Harley-Davidson Pan America™ 1250 “In the Wild”

The motorcycle has a 19-inch front and 17-inch rear cast-aluminum wheels. Harley-Davidson worked with Michelin to create the Scorcher Adventure tires and the Anakee Wild tires that are also available with a more aggressive block-pattern tread. Tubeless cross-laced spoked wheels (additional $500) are also available. Brembo monoblock four-piston calipers that squeeze dual 320mm discs up front, and a single 280mm disc in back. The motorcycle uses a corrosion-resistant 304-series stainless steel exhaust system that’s Euro 5 compliant and features two mufflers – one below the engine and the other on the right side. The radiator shrouds are guarded by a crash bar and there’s an optional two-inch bar riser that doesn’t require lengthening the cables.

Harley-Davidson Pan America™ 1250

The motorcycle has smart rider aids that are all based on Bosch’s six-axis Inertia Measurement Unit (IMU) that makes the anti-lock brakes, traction control and other safety features lean-sensitive. In addition to traction control and ABS, the Pan America offers electronically controlled linked braking, Harley’s drag torque-slip control (this automatically modulates engine torque to reduce wheel spin) and hill hold control. The base model uses a Daymaker Signature LED headlamp, and the Special is upgraded with the Daymaker Adaptive Headlamp technology, which utilizes the ABS IMU to determine the motorcycle’s lean angle and automatically projects additional light into corners. All other motorcycle lights are LED.

Manufacturing the Harley-Davidson Pan America™ 1250

Electronics are plentiful on both models and include: Four rider modes: Road, Sport, Rain, Off-Road, and Off-Road Plus. The base features one customizable mode and the Special offers two customized modes. Both models use a 6.8-inch TFT touchscreen instrumentation that pairs with your mobile device. The screen’s touch feature is disabled when the Pan America is in motion. Missing is Apple CarPlay or Android Auto integration, but Harley instead chose to handle all the media and navigation integration with Bluetooth and an app.

The four-position windscreen is adjustable in a range of 1.8 inches by using “one” hand.  There are heated grips on the Special model with standard cruise control. Fuel capacity is 5.6 Gallons and the curb weight: 534 pounds (Special: 559 pounds).

Harley is asking $17,319 for the base Pan America and $19,999 for the Special. For comparison, BMW’s base R1250 GS starts at $17,995 with a relatively extensive list of available options. The more expensive GS Adventure starts at $20,345.

Harley-Davidson took a lot of time researching, understanding and developing a motorcycle for the ADV market. They’ve used components from the same trusted brand names that you’ll find attached to a BMW, KTM, Ducati, Honda, Yamaha or Triumph. They’ve engineered a power plant which in of itself is most impressive. They have lineage with building Baja-winning dirt bikes in the 1970s, along with dirt track racing experience and with Buell one could debate that they had a semi-Adventure Touring motorcycle back in the early 2000s.

I imagine somewhere in a Milwaukee conference room a marketing exec said “Bring It On“…  Bring on that competition!

Previous Pan America posts:
Harley-Davidson Explores The Unexpected
Harley-Davidson Announces New Movie Telling Origin Story Of ADV Motorcycles
Can Harley-Davidson Stay Relevant With Pan America and Bronx

Photos courtesy of Harley-Davidson

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Disparaging Black Lives Matter Ends Harley-Davidson Dealership

Abernathy’s Harley-Davidson of Union City Tennessee came under intense fire last week for racist posts allegedly made by owner Russell “Tootie” Abernathy II.

Racist posts allegedly made by owner Russell “Tootie” Abernathy II

Abernathy’s family has owned the multi-line (Harley, Honda, Polaris and Brunswick) dealership for 60 years. The dealer was founded in 1955 when Russell Abernathy’s grandfather, the late Clarence Abernathy, began working with Harley-Davidson motorcycles in his garage. In addition, Abernathy’s sold boat brands Lowe and Lund including the engine brand Mercury Marine.

Abernathy stated to the media and on the company website that his social media account was hacked by a disgruntled employee who tried to make him look bad.

Polaris, which is based in Minnesota where the tragic death of George Floyd occured, didn’t pause to determine the nature or extent of the hack and on June 17 stated that Abernathy had agreed to cede ownership of his store. “Should that transfer not occur, Polaris will terminate the relationship with the current ownership.”

Honda Statement

Brunswick Corporation terminated their contract with Abernathy’s last week as well.

Honda is taking a more determined approach and investigating the situation before taking immediate action.

A week after the Polaris announcement, Harley-Davidson decided to also cut ties with Abernathy, stating “The dealer owner in question will no longer be part of our dealer network and we are finalizing details on the dealer owner’s exit.”  Before any determination of an employee hack occurred, Harley-Davidson experienced some derision history with Abernathy which didn’t help his “I was hacked” alibi.

Harley-Davidson Statement

Back in 2015, Abernathy was at odds with the motor company over the Confederate flag. The dealer posted on social media that “As of today, we have been informed Harley-Davidson will no longer let any Dealership sell any T-shirts with the Confederate Battle Flag on the back.”  This was an issue for the Tennessee dealer and they made some social media noise about not liking the decision.

We know that small businesses are reeling by COVID-19 and the shut down of the economy.  Then came the last 6-weeks of protests across the country and businesses need to be proactive with more meaningful action against racism.

Abernathy’s “Hack” Statement

Debate is okay, but there is zero tolerance for disparaging racial posts by any employee.

Harley-Davidson stated on Twitter that if you see someone who works for the motor company spreading hate, please call their Customer Care Team at 1-800-258-2464 (Monday through Friday; 8am-7pm CDT). Or you can write to Harley-Davidson Customer Care at 3700 W. Juneau Avenue, Milwaukee, WI 53208.  Of course, social media is faster!

Next up for “Tootie” is a tell all book: The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Running a Motorcycle Dealership!

Photos courtesy of Twitter, Honda, Harley-Davidson and Abernathy’s.

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My Big Brother Motorcycle

1984 Honda Magna (VF700C or V42)

It’s a play on George Orwell’s dystopian 1949 novel 1984 — where the world in 1984 is under control of Big Brother and the Thought Police who enforced the rules against individuality and original thinking — essentially praising society’s achievement on the “Unification of Thoughts.”

Taking a page from Apple’s Super Bowl ad, my “1984 wasn’t like 1984,” — thumbing my nose at the roots of America, I purchased a little slice of freedom and original thinking in the form of a Honda VF700C or V42 Magna.

That shiny jet black Honda Magna (V42) had a liquid-cooled, double-overhead cam 90° V4 engine (displacement is 699cc or 42.7 ci) with four valves per cylinder and a compression ratio of 10.5:1.  Honda claimed it’s output was 82 crankshaft HP at 9,500 RPM.  The motorcycle had a smooth shifting 6-speed transmission, a wet multi-plate clutch that was hydraulically activated and shaft final drive with helical gearing in the rear-drive unit.  The motorcycle featured twin horns, coil rear springs, hydraulic clutch, air preload front fork with anti-dive valving, and an engine temperature gauge.

1984 Honda Magna (VF700C)Specs

Braking was delivered via a hydraulic activated double twin-piston disc brakes up front and a traditional non-ABS mechanical internal expanding drum brake in the rear. Great for leaving skid marks, but not so much for stopping!

The instrumentation was housed in chrome and included an analog speedometer, tachometer and engine coolant temperature gauge, along with lights for oil pressure, neutral, turn signals, tail light burn-out and a light that illuminated “OD” which let the rider know the transmission was in 6th gear.

As I reminisce on riding the Magna, I recall it having good power and a broad torque band.  Given its light weight and low center of gravity, the motorcycle was easy to ride in the city or a twisty two-lane country road. The Magna’s features were truly pushing the state-of-the-art for a production cruiser in its day.

From a historical viewpoint, only a few years had past since Harley-Davidson executed the epic buy back from AMF.  Their sales hadn’t reached the levels they envisioned, in part, because the AMF era was famous for shoddy quality, bikes requiring a lot of maintenance and the Milwaukee motor company was getting knocked down publicly and in need of some sunshine.

The poor quality and hi-maintenance requirements on Harley motorcycles was a key factor in my decision to purchase Honda.  In fact, a member of our posse also purchased a Honda, a V65 Magna (VF1100C) the same year.  Man, those V65 Magna’s (1,098 cc) were fast.  It was Honda’s initial entry in the “1/4 mile wars” between all the Japan manufacturers during the ’80s.

As Harley skidded toward bankruptcy, you might recall they petitioned and lobbied the Reagan administration in 1982 to raise tariffs on Japanese manufacturers because of “Dumping.”

“Dumping” in this context refers to exporting a product at a lower price than is charged in the home market, or selling at a price that is lower than the cost to produce it.  In April 1983, President Reagan signed into law an act that imposed draconian import tariffs for a five-year period on Japanese motorcycles with a displacement of greater than 700 cc.  This would give the sole American motorcycle maker some breathing room from intense competition to retool, get its act together and turn profitable.

However, Honda quickly responded to the retaliatory import duties and retooled the engines (what had been the 750cc class, VF750C V45 Magna) to displace just under 700cc; making them immune to the financial impact of the tariff.  One of the bikes that debuted as a “tariff buster” in 1984 was the V42 Magna.  Ironically and in a show of engineering superiority, it had three additional horsepower compared to the 750cc!

Harley was eventually able to turn a corner and the motor company ultimately requested that the tariff protection end early — essentially stating, they were now strong enough to take on the best competition in the world!

While the act was supposed to last for five years, then CEO Vaughn Beals asked that it be lifted a year early in 1987.  The 5-year tariff officially expired in 1988. That same year the Honda Magna reverted back to its original size of 748 cc.

Photos courtesy of Honda and Harley-Davidson Museum.

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Can Harley-Davidson Stay Relevant With Pan America and Bronx

Pan America™

At the EICMA (Esposizione Internazionale Ciclo Motociclo e Accessori), motorsports show in Milan, Italy, earlier this week — Harley-Davidson debuted two new bikes.  Important to note is the difference in the terms “launch” vs. “debuted.”

The Milwaukee MoCo has aimed one of motorcycles at a market segment in which Harley-Davidson has never really participated.

It’s my view that Harley-Davison is slowly trying to build higher walls to keep “enemies” (competitors) from invasion. Marketing types call this “relevance” and “barriers to entry.”  Multiple financial reports from the company clearly indicate a struggle to fire up a new generation of riders.  The growing presence of electric vehicles is undeniable, but the premium-priced electric (LiveWire) motorcycle — is a non·start·er in terms of revenue!

And at the same time, there’s been an invading army (BMW, KTM, Triumph, Yamaha, Honda or Ducati counterparts) of adventure touring bikes (ADV).  Importantly, this segment is where customers seem particularly excited to buy new models year-after-year.  Even Italy’s floundering boutique bike builder, Moto Guzzi, has had to double the workforce in its Mandello del Lario plant to keep up with demand for the new V85 TT adventure bike ($12,990).  It’s simple.  A fresh new design, a fresh new motor, and a capable around town, comfortable on freeways and durable enough for off-road riding gets customers excited to put down money!

We could have a long-debate on why Harley-Davidson spent millions of R&D dollars much too early as part of their electrification strategy and if the mainstream motorcycle market is ready to encourage motorcyclists to switch to electric vehicles.

But, lets return to the point at hand.

The first new motorcycle is an adventure touring bike (ADV) called the Pan America™.  Astute readers are likely to have déjà vu as it looks very similar to the Pan America concept motorcycle teased out back in 2018.

The Pan America has a new liquid-cooled 60-degree V-twin engine labeled the Revolution Max that displaces 1,250-cc and is reported to make 145 horsepower and more than 90 pound-feet of torque. Impressive stats, especially for the MoCo, which typically has built larger displacement engines with less power and more torque.  The new ADV motorcycle differs from traditional Harley models.  The first item, is exchanging the belt-style final drive for a chain drive that allows simpler gearing changes and improves on the ability to repair if something goes sideways on the trail.  The ADV also leverages a rear trellis-style subframe for strength and reduced weight, which allows motorcyclists to mount different types of adventure-isk luggage to it.

Other advancements include new radial monoblock four-piston caliper brake system developed in collaboration with Brembo and an inverted fork setup, which is common on ADV bikes.  From a styling perspective, you’ll either love the bird-beak nose and squinty cyclops-like headlight or not.

Harley-Davidson® Bronx™

The second new motorcycle is a middleweight class and called the Harley-Davidson® Bronx™. It’s reported to have a smaller 975-cc version of the Pan America’s Revolution Max engine and produces 115-horsepower and 70 lb.-ft. of torque.  Style wise, the Bronx looks somewhat cookie-cutter in this crowded “streetfighter” market segment.  From press photos the motorcycle appears to be belt-driven.  Both motorcycles will roll on new co-branded Michelin tires.

Harley-Davidson says that it’s aiming to have both the Pan America and the Bronx in showrooms by the end of 2020.

Huh?!  A year away?

I like the adventure touring bike (ADV) lineup, but if I was in the market to purchase, it’s unlikely that I’d stall buying for a year to purchase an unproven ADV motorcycle.  I also think it will be a mistake if the MoCo expects its Harley-Davidson name to garner an ultra-premium price in this new segment as it has in the EV market with the LiveWire.

The Pan American should launched and be in showrooms in March 2020, not “late” 2020.

Photos courtesy of Harley-Davidson

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Harley-Davidson Is The Second Worst Motorcycle To Buy

That is, according to Consumer Reports.

You know, the independent, consumer-oriented not-for-profit organization, replete with consumer activists.

Recognized as an automotive quality and value authority, Consumer Reports branched out and started reviewing motorcycles last year.  They published the first-ever report on the most reliable motorcycles from five of the biggest brands — Harley, BMW, Honda, Kawasaki, and Yamaha.  For some odd reason, Polaris’ Victory and Indian brands didn’t make enough of an impact in the market to attract Consumer Reports attention by the time of the survey.

From its research Consumer Reports discovered that quality varies “significantly” among brands — and the best brand, Yamaha, is about six times more reliable than the worst, BMW.

Only about one Yamaha motorcycle in 10 has experienced a major problem or required a serious repair over the past four years, according to the 4,424 motorcycle owners surveyed by Consumer Reports. In contrast, about one BMW motorcycle in three has suffered from such a complaint — and one Harley in four.

Consumer Reports found that major, big-ticket repairs were few and far between in its research. Regardless of bike and regardless of brand, only about 3% of all problems reported to Consumer Reports involved a motorcycle’s engine, only 3% a transmission, and only 7% a clutch. More common were issues with a vehicle’s brakes or electrical or fuel system, and with the accessories.

Overall, Consumer Reports noted that about 75% of the repairs reported to it were performed for $200 or less.

Photo courtesy of Consumer Reports.

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Dirt Whirling Days Of Youth

Dirt Bike Reunion – Yamaha WR450F

People love story.  It’s the essence of novels, TV and film.  It also explains why reality TV has so many script writers and how phony rules in America.

This video took me back to the dirt-whirling days on my Honda CT70 (HERE) and more recently with buddies on the Oregon coast range on the old Yamaha YZ400 (HERE).  What a terrific dirt bike, that smoker 2-stroke was!

Everybody says they want shorter info snippets, but what they really want is something that rivets them.  They’ve got endless time for great, and this video is just that – great!  Prop’s to Mark Toia.

I think travel gives you perspective.  Be it trail rides, sand dunes or the longer wind in the face road trips.  You see satisfaction is unexpected.  In other words, it’s when you’re riding down the open road (or trail) behind the handle bars that you’ll suddenly realize you love your life.

I’m not sure about you, but I’ve noticed that one-time events… seem to happen all the time, and as I age I’m less susceptible to the hype.  This video about 4 friends that use to ride and hang out as kids and reunite atop their favorite hills was inspiring.

Photo courtesy of Toia.com

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Harley-Davidson Out-BMWing BMW

With a cocktail of high-strength steel, aluminum, magnesium, rubber and plastic Harley-Davidson adds flexibility, functionality and refreshed paint schemes to their model lineup each year.

By the numbers, 2012 was a pivotal year for Harley-Davidson.  Earnings per share up 16.7%, revenue growth up 6%, $280M annual savings from restructuring, sales outreach with the 18-34 demographic grew at twice the rate of core customers, but in the first ever Consumer Reports’ motorcycle reliability survey, conducted by the Consumer Reports National Research Center about 1-in-4 owners of Harley-Davidson motorcycles reported experiencing a major problem with the motorcycle in the previous four years.

Twenty-five percent had a major problem!

H-D Executive Leadership Team

It turns out that BMW motorcycles were even less reliable than a Harley-Davidson with about 1-in-3 owners reporting problems in the previous four years.  How did the Japanese manufactures perform?  Only about 1-in-10 Yamaha owners experienced issues during that time, followed closely by Kawasaki and Honda.

However, reliability problems don’t seem to affect the satisfaction scores of owners and their bikes.  When asked whether, considering everything, they would buy their bike again if they had to do it over, 75% of Harley-Davidson owners said definitely yes, closely followed by 74% of BMW owners and 72% of Honda owners.  In contrast, only 63 and 60% of Yamaha and Kawasaki owners, respectively, would buy their bike again.

Both BMW and Harley-Davidson riders have segments that skew more toward the enthusiast and hardcore, meaning they tend to keep bikes longer and I wonder if this says something about the riders than the bikes.  Could H-D riders be more critical about problems?

AZ Proving Grounds Video

In 2012, the average U.S. retail purchaser of a new Harley-Davidson motorcycle had a median household income of approximately $89,500. The Company defined its U.S. core customer base as Caucasian men over the age of 35 and its U.S. outreach customers as women, young adults, African-American adults, and Latino adults. (Sources: 2012 Company 10K and 2012 Annual Review)  The motor company no longer provides data on age demographics which had been rising in recent years.

Reliability is only one of several factors buyers consider when purchasing a Harley-Davidson motorcycle.  Among the bikes that needed repairs, survey respondents reporting having the most trouble with accessories, such as lights, instruments, switches, and radios (21 percent), brakes (20 percent), the electrical system (16 percent), and the fuel system (15 percent).  Most of the repairs were fairly inexpensive, but for a company whose reputation relies heavily on the quality of its products the 1-in-4 number is perplexing.

The survey results can be viewed by subscribers at the ConsumerReports.org web site and in the May issue of Consumer Reports.

Photos courtesy of H-D.  

H-D Executive Leadership Team photo: (Left to Right — Tonit Calaway (VP, Human Resources); John Olin (Sr. VP and CFO); Keith Wandell (Chairman, President and CEO); Lawrence Hund (President and COO HDFS); John Baker (GM, Corp Strategy and Business Development); Joanne Bischmann (VP, Communications); Paul Jones (VP, General Counsel))

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Resolutions For 2012

Happy New Years!

Now that the champagne toasts are made and the ball dropped, it’s time to start thinking ahead:  What’s your riding resolution for this year?  Will you ride your motorcycle more often to work?  Take that epic journey or stay close to home?  Will you buy a new ride or enhance the existing one?

Before going forward let’s take a quick look back.

Over the years I’ve posted the occasional summary of the more popular and least liked stories from the past 12 months.  It’s not my “helper-monkey”, but the good folks at WordPress.com state their rankings algorithm is based on how many people read a particular article.  The average is the sum of views divided by the number of days and its gets even more complex if you are the sort of person who likes to verify computations.  I don’t.

The final tallies can be a little mystifying, to be honest.

Are readers giving a “thumbs-up” because they liked the content of the article or just the topic itself?  I don’t find these summaries a really useful exercise because some of the better written articles (IMHO) will sometimes have the fewest views.  It’s the old adage that writing about or reposting the nip slips, exposed undies and ever-presence dysfunction from the celebrity train wrecks for the whole world to see will bring a whole lot more views if that’s your goal.  But, if nothing else, the summary does provide a snapshot of what struck in my readers’ collective fancy during the past year.

In 2011, I posted 88 new articles (about 7 per month).  That brought the total archive on this blog up to just over 800 posts.  I uploaded 165 pictures (or about 3 per week).  The busiest day was September 25th (during the Vagos and HAMC shooting in Reno) with 1,120 views on an article I posted in 2008 (HERE).  Clearly the social behavior and the attraction of the events in Reno was a big draw, but I’m mystified why the more current article (HERE) had fewer views?  Maybe it’s a SEO thing.  I also want to provide a shout-out to the large number of UK viewers who consistently visit the blog.

Here are the 2011 most viewed highlights:

Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs Flying Colors in Oregon

OCC Family Feud Ends

Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs Are New Media Darlings

Vagos MC Meeting In Grants Pass

Harley SAMCRO Limited Edition Motorcycle

Harley-Davidson’s SwitchBack

Vintage Motorcycles – Honda CB750

Harley Engine History

“Green Nation” Busts On Saint Patrick’s Day

No Angel

The Day Laughlin River Run Changed

Men Of Mayhem

A “Legend Bell” Full of Mystery

Harley Snubbed In Benjamin Button Movie

Operation Black Rain Nets Oregon Mongols

I enjoyed this past year—and I hope you have, too.  If I’ve done my “job” right as editor of this blog, then your visits will have helped make your motorcycle hobby a bit more meaningful.  Hopefully you’ve become closer to your motorcycle and grown your relationship with friends that you’ve met on the road.

Happy 2012!

Photo’s courtesy of WordPress.com and Northwest Harley Blog.

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Progressive International Motorcycle Show

The 2012 Progressive International Motorcycle show will soon hit the northwest on December 16-18th at the Washington State Convention Center in Seattle.

Attendees can check-out new bikes from Aprilia, Beta, BMW, Brammo, BRP, Darwin, Ducati, Erik Buell Racing, Gas Gas, Harley-Davidson, Honda, Husqvarna, Indian, Kawasaki, KTM, Moto Guzzi, MV Agusta, Norton, Star, Suzuki, Triumph, Victory and Yamaha.  There will also be the latest aftermarket parts and accessories.

Not only will there be new bikes, but the show is jammed pack with other events and activities.

There is the Learning Curve – an interactive stage with industry experts presenting a variety of motorcycling topics for both new and experienced riders including adventure riding, motorcycle maintenance, increasing bike performance, seminars for women riders and more.   There will be Demo Rides for licensed motorcyclists.  There is the Custom Bike Show – where motorcycle builders will showcase elite-level custom motorcycles competing for a piece of a $90,000 cash purse prize and a chance to compete in the U.S. Championship, at the Daytona Beach Motorcycle Show, in March.

The Smage Bros will have a motorcycle trials stunt riding show and attendees will also get a chance to create their own motorcycle design at the Kawasaki Design-A-Bike kiosk, featuring a brand new digital spray-painting technology available only at these shows.

See you there!

Photo courtesy of Progressive.

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A Classic Honda CB750 Lamp

NW Hog Lamp - In the Shop

Old motorcycles represent good memories for me and I suspect for many of you reading this blog.

Honda introduced the CB750 motorcycle to the U.S. in 1969.  The bike was targeted directly at the U.S. market after company officials fully understood the opportunity for a larger bike.  It had 750-cc, 4-cylinder SOHC engine, electric start and disc brakes.  The motorcycle set the bar very high for manufactures.  Disc front brake and an inline four cylinder engine were previously unavailable on mainstream production bikes. And with a price under $1500 (U.S.) it had significant advantages over British competition.

All those new motorcycles left Japan for America and some forty odd years later you’ll find them forgotten in the auto wrecking yards across this land.

Finished lamp on the desk

John Ryland scours the Richmond, Virginia junk yards in search of the motorcycles and their recycled parts.  His main business is rescuing and creating retro-cool-custom bikes from the rustic heaps.  Not the West Coast Chopper or OCC slick and polished, rather the brutally sparse and elegant.  You see the steel and welding is straight up and honest.  At the time he worked in an ad agency, but the economy had its way and what was a hobby began as full-time adventure building motorcycles from parts and frames he found in junkyards and classified ads. The operation is called – Classified Moto.

I ran across John while catching the tail end of a CNN segment that featured a custom motorcycle builder who on a whim decided to a build a lamp.  Yes, the kind that lights up your life, or workshop or home décor.

As I watched this behind the scenes video I could almost smell the gasoline, grease and arc welder as John grinded and then aligned the metal springs and shocks on his workbench along with the transmissions gears and brake rotors.  The walls in one corner of his ‘office’ were covered in chalkboards and scribbled notes about how the lamps were built.  I decided right then that I had to have one of these “Road Warrior” welded and hammered out creations and decided to upgrade my desk – Classified Style!

Born Date

I did the ‘Google’ and placed an order a couple months back.  I ordered up “Honda CB750” circa 1980.   Yeah, I run with V-twins these days, but I’m talking about the four-into-four exhaust pipes classic!  Japanese models are widely regarded as the purest specimens and besides many collector’s may well make this invaluable.  John’s wife Betsy helps out in the shop and she kept me up-to-date on the order as it progressed.  They are a real joy to work with.  At one point they were running low on parts and had to run a special ops into S.C. where they scored a truck load of parts to keep up with the high-demand.

So, to the spirit of those who still find adventure behind the grips of an old motorcycle I say check out Classified Moto.  You’ll be humbled as people walk past and look twice while saying cool lamp!

Photos taken by author and courtesy of Classified Moto.

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