Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

(A bove) John Cane ssa and his 1945 Indian. (Left) The Reading Standard was once major competition for Harley and Indian; this is a 499cc single. : Japanese motorcycles are reaching the "collectable" status; the 1952 Mitsubishi Rocket f eat u re d a flat-head . single cylinderfour·stroke engine. Aging iron fans gather to relive past glories By Bob Marich VISALIA . CA, AP R. 20-2 1 The 1952 Rock Queen, a 192cc single, was inconspicuous next to its British cousins displayed on th e concourse - . the Triumphs, BSAs, Nortons and Royal Enfields. But th e antique mot or cycle show. kno wn a mong a ficio na dos as si mply T he Visal ia Sho w, ce lebra ted th e gen ui ne American and Europea n art icles . These h ard y mot or cycles are dis Bu t wa it a secon d. Wh at 's thi s . tin gu ish ed by tank-mounted gea r J apan ese script a ll o ver th e right sh ifters, bicycle-lik e sea ts restin g on cra n kcase? And, ··blim y, th ere 's the co i l spri ngs a n d fa ctory-o rigi na l fa miliar tri angular Mit subishi cor- '.. chro med ga s tanks. Abo u t 2000 perporate logo on this 33-year-o ld mot or sons con verged on th e Cen tra l Cal iforn ia to wn of Visa lia Ap ril 20-2 1for cycle. Indeed, th e Rocket was th e lone wh at is the west coas t's lar gest vin ringer from th e Land o f th e Rising tage mot or cycle gathering. Sun slip ped in among 132 vintage \ " T h is is kind of a mecca for tir ed motorcycles o f Am er ican an d Euroiron buffs," mused Ernes t Pegg, 5 1, a motor o il distributor wh o rode a 1966 pean manufacture exh ibited a t th e . West Coas t Antique Motorcycle Rall y Panther from h is Santa Rosa. Calia t Visa lia, California. fornia. home 300 mil es a way. The The Rocket is an early J apanese Panther is a British motorcycle noted stab a t motorcycle manufacture that for it s huge 650cc sin g le- cyli nd er copied the then state-of-the-art Briengine. tannia motorcycle which ruled the • .A {l;.~ old motorcycles ca n surprise • .. ·.. · '~·~~ ;i i ; i iiii.' ' Ii i • aJ d mlM s with featu res thought to be Everything from th e Rocket's plunger frame to number-plate fin protruding from the front fender is clearl y British ins pired. 1 18 recent advances by those with little kn o wled ge of motorcycle h istory. Ta ke the 1926 Sco tt Super Squirrel o n display. T he 600cc twin-cylinder moror cvcle o f Brit ish manufacturer is liquid-cool ed, a des ign th at a fter fall in g o ut o f favor for decad es is no w popular agai n . The Scott also boasts a two-speed tran sm ission with a manual sh ifter but no cl u tch, wh ich makes it a sor t of precursor to an a u to ma tic transini ssion. "They were fam ous for win n ing Englis h h ill climbs in th eir time because you didn 't ha ve to shi ft with a ha nd clu tch " a nd lose mo ment um on a n incli ne , reports the Scott's ow ne r, Brent Ba illie, 17 , a savi ngs a n d loan execu tive from Malibu. But th e vintage mot orcycles are certain ly low -tech mach in ery. They require freq uen t maintenance. Lights on early mod els are poor o r even nonexis tent . Hav ing gear sh ift levers a ttach ed to the gas tanks required that rid ers take o ne hand off th e handlebar , wh ich co u ld be trickv busin ess. On th e 1952 Mit subishi Rocket, both th e gear sh ifter a n d clutch are o pe ra ted by si de- mounted lever s, whic h forces th e rid er to tak e h is hand o ff th e th rottle wh en shi fting. " It's a, urn , cha lle nging to ride," sai d the Rock et' s owne r, Paul Montgomery, a 27-year-old H onda mechanic from North H ollywood, Then th ere 's th e rid e itself on a n old cru iser, which is a ch iro p rac to r's delight. Man y o ld motorcycles have hard tail frames with n o rear sh ocks. Leaf-spring front su spension found o n many ea rly models is no match for tod av 's telescopic front fork . A few miles at a brisk pace can shake a rider 's fillings loose. " If you ride any distance, your butt gets sore, " said'·Ra!Y' Gibson: '00, fa , ma ch inist from Su n nyvale, of his 1915 vin tage Excelsio r. The name Excelsior ha s a kind of British ring to it. But it is a marque from Am eri ca 's heartland - Excelsio r hail s from Ch icago. T he Windy City was a ho tbed o f motorcycle manufacturing as home for Excelsior. H enderson, Thor and Super-X. The com pan ies went under during the Great Depression. Th eir behemoth four-cylinder creations were sudden ly too expe ns ive. " T hese were a gen tlema n's mo torcycle ," sai d Rich a rd Morris, 36, who was di splaying a n unrestored 1929 Cleveland Tornado, a looocc fourcylin der mot orcycle. Many of the fours were advertised as capable of loomph, bett er than many cars ofthe era. The ea rly Am erican fours - all IOOOcc or larger - are a sight to beh old. T heir cylinders a re in- li ne with the frame, not mounted transversely, giving th e Am erican fours a lon g , lean appearance.The fore-to-aft placement of the cylinders recall s a row of smokestacks on mi ghty ocea n liners. And th en th ere's th e bariton e hum of the mo to r. Un der th e pronounced en gine rumble, th ere's a tenor section, a pl easant clatter from valves that a re externa l (no t en closed like on modern motorcycles). The exposed valv es can be seen moving in a jerk y _ fashion with a rapid clickety-clack. At age 79 and still riding, Ray Hook can tell yo u about early American motorcycles. The Escalon resident, who markets motor oi l. exhibited a 1916 Cleveland (which was manufactured in th e Ohio city that is its namesake). The 212cc single is a -so rt of bicycle with a motor that Hook remembers was popular trans'poi ta tib'n' 'with ~ mtls5erlg'er ' bl)y$~ ' " I

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