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MZing in Turkey - Vintage and classic motorcycle

Posted by Sigit Dolland Jumat, 08 Juli 2016 0 comments

A trip down memory lane... On holiday in Turkey back in something like 1992. I hired a MZ Kanuni and my mate Will a Honda Lead scooter. We had a great time buzzing around Cappadocia exploring the underground cities for a couple of days. The MZ was a 250 and was a sweet bike, the Honda didn't leave much of an impression but it did the job as a twist and go pretty well.

DKW Hobby scooter - Vintage and classic motorcycle

Posted by Sigit Dolland Selasa, 05 Januari 2016 0 comments

A 75cc DKW Hobby scooter. The Hobby was notable for being the grandaddy of the current wave of twist and go mini-scoots. The might of the Hobby's 3bhp two stroke motor was harnessed by a primary belt drive constant variable transmission. It must have worked well enough as the Hobby was in production from 1954 to 1958 in Germany and then licensed out to the Manurhin concern in France who continued with production up until 1962.

There's a great article with history and road test of the Hobby on the Iceni Cam Mag site. Well worth reading the road test section of the article where the experience of riding the Hobby is compared to, 'like sitting on a washing machine full of brick rubble, and running spin cycle'. The conclusion is that the 'only happy cruising speed seems to be stationary', the main problem being that with just 3hp on tap the automatic transmission keeps the motor on full power which happens to be at full revs.

DKW Hobby scooter.

Apes spotted in the Dolomites - Vintage and classic motorcycle

Posted by Sigit Dolland Selasa, 08 Desember 2015 0 comments

Spotted a few months back in Falcade in the Dolomites, a pair of Piaggio Apes. There were quite a few Apes out and about in the mountains. Great to see that they are still in use.

Piaggio Apes spotted.

VMCC Stonehenge Autumn Nifty Run - Vintage and classic motorcycle

Posted by Sigit Dolland Kamis, 22 Oktober 2015 0 comments

The third Nifty Run that I've turned up to but previous times other commitments have meant that I could just be a spectator for the start and then have to nip back home. This time was to be different, I had the time, I had the bike. I prepped the Gilera 175 Sport and it was running sweetly. The ride over was a slog on a long straight road with a small bike but it was running like a Swiss watch. Then just before arriving I decided to take a quick stop for the call of nature, on starting again the Gilera was misfiring and refused to clear up. Pulling in at the start of the run I noticed a fairly severe fuel leak from the tank. That sealed my fate, once again I was a spectator and had to head off home straight after everyone else had set off.

The decision to ride home or call out assistance was a tricky one but in the end I cleaned out the carb and that made the bike run sweet again. The fuel leak though I trusted to the gods that I wouldn't be incinerated on the bike and decided to ride it. In the end all worked out well, the leak was at the top of the tank so the more I rode the less the leak and rider and bike arrived home unburnt.

Nice Greeves 20DC. I had one of these for a while. Really sweet
bike though the engine was decidedly underwhelming. I can
see why so many folks fit Triumph motors. The running gear felt
like it could take a lot more. I rate it as one of the best handling
bikes I have owned.

Ariel Arrow. One family owned until very recently. The bike is
in cracking unrestored condition and was recently featured
in The Classic MotorCycle magazine.

Here's a machine you don't see often, a British
Sun Wasp Villiers powered scooter attached to
a Watsonian Bambini sidecar.

Detail on the Sun Wasp.

The Sun did the run with rider and passenger in the Bambini.

Villiers power in James cycle parts. They may be
derided in some quarters but the 'E' series Villiers
engines are really excellent motors. Forget power
figures these engines are one of the nicest products
of the British Motorcycle industry,

T'other side of the Villiers.

Leaky Gilera on the way home. Fingers crossed we don't end
up in a huge fireball. That petrol tank is big and full!

The Grom Motorcycle Museum, Vransko, Slovenia part II - Vintage and classic motorcycle

Posted by Sigit Dolland Selasa, 15 September 2015 0 comments

More pictures from the Grom collection in Slovenia....

Apologies for the poor photography here but I'd never seen one
of these before so thought it was worth including. An American
Salsbury Autoscooter.

A mighty beast. Polish Sokol v twin. This is one
of the collection's regular riders. Normally with
a sidecar it was detached at the time of visit
and undergoing some attention.

Weird and wonderful French built Majestic from the late
twenties undergoing restoration.

Late thirties NSU two stroke.

1938 Zundapp DB200.

Slovenian pride is represented at the museum by a number of
Tomos machines. Some road but also a collection of 50cc
racers. This is a Colibri VS50 from 1957.

Tomos Colibri T12 from 1967.

1929 NSU 201R in the background. Typical fine unrestored
condition of much of the machinery in the collection.

I love this bike and it's not just personal vanity over the name.
It's rare, it's unusual, it's red and the condition is perfect.
250cc Miller made in Balsano, Italy.