http://www.MotorcycleClassics.com 7
Back issues
I have a new subscription, but I'm one
of those guys that started in 1964 with a
Cushman Husky and have had 34 vari-
ous make and models to date. At pres-
ent I’m riding a 2016 Indian Springfield
(love of my life so far), a 2009 Triumph
Thruxton, a 2014 Yamaha Super Tenere
and a “Humming electric-start appli-
ance” (Kevin Cameron’s words, not
mine!) — a 2014 Honda CTX1300.
After my first issue, I realized I would
not be able to live without every issue,
so I’m on the installment plan at the
moment: I recently purchased back
issues 2013 through 2016. When my wife
saw how much it cost for the back issues
... well I won’t tell you what she said;
however I can tell you that I have shown
her, in your magazine, how much the
1955 Vincent Black Shadow I want costs,
and how much 1960s Nortons are today.
She is now thrilled with your magazine
back issues! (“You can buy all those you
want!”) The next payment on my install-
ment plan (2010-2012) is on the way.
Can't wait!
Rick Testa/High Springs, FloridaThe artist
My July/August Motorcycle Classics
arrived today! Black Side Down caught
my attention. Interestingly, you don’t
consider yourself a true mechanic, or
an artist. Yet, you mastermind a bril-
liant magazine revolving around two-
wheeled works of art. And, you success-
fully adjusted the intricate valves on your
soon-to-be on the road Laverda. So, suck
it up, Richard, you are a mechanic and
an artist. You’ll just have to learn to live
with the burden.
Kim/Forestville, CaliforniaA good day in the garage
Back in the Seventies and Eighties an older gentleman named
Loren often rode with me and my brothers and our father. We all
rode BMWs. Loren rode FAST in the curves, but what I remember
best is his unique riding style. He sat
straight upright as if he had a steel rod
for a spine. Curves to the left. Curves to
the right. Flat out down the straights.
Nothing mattered. He was always sit-
ting bolt upright. And always FAST.
About two years ago Loren’s trusty
polaris silver with blue pin stripes
1971 BMW R75/5 serendipitously
crossed my path. It was offered to me,
and thankfully I was in a position to
say, “Yes, please.” I had been want-
ing a /5 again and I had a personal
connection with this bike. It
had passed through one or
two owners since Loren, and
wore a Wixom frame-mounted
fairing and safety bars. It was
missing the headlamp innards
and front turn signals, and it
had aftermarket silencers, but
everything else was still show-
room stock and in amazing
condition! I smile every time I
cast my eyes on that beautiful
saddle with the two chrome
hand holds.
The fairing and safety bars
were shelved. Then I went trea-
sure hunting and located all
the missing headlamp parts
and the polished aluminum
signals with the amber side
reflectors. I bought new replica
cigar-shaped silencers. I want-
ed it to look just as it did out of
the crate. I tried to rediscover
my factory-trained BMW mechanic skills from decades ago.
What was foggy to my mind was somehow remembered by the
muscle memory in my hands. My hands knew which size wrench
to use and how to remove the front cover and how to torque the
heads and how to adjust the valve clear-
ance. But no matter how many times I
balanced the carburetors for idle and
smooth acceleration the adjustments
wouldn’t hold. I overhauled the carbs
to no avail. A little research and some
memory jogging made it clear that these
Bings were from a batch of bad carbs
that found their way into production.
There could be no “fixin’ ’em.” Then I
remembered putting Mikuni carbs on a
number of bikes in those years. Some
Internet research led me to a shop in
Massachusetts with every-
thing I needed.
Today I put the new
Japanese carbs on the old
German bike. I hung the
auxiliary fuel tank from the
handlebars. I slipped the
fuel lines onto the carbs
and turned on the petcock. I
pushed down the old plung-
er key on top of the head-
lamp, took a deep breath
and thumbed the starter but-
ton. Without any hesitation
the engine came to life, com-
plete with that old /5 rocker
noise and valve clatter. Oh,
sweet music to my ears!
Sometimes an old motor-
cycle will let you know it’s
happy just like a good dog
does when it looks up at you
and “smiles.” Ya know what I
mean? — Jerry L. Hall“After my first issue, I realized I would not be able to live without every issue.”