Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/126986
... ~ ....-4 "'" o ..... Q.) . ..0 u o "I heard the Japanese were making motorcycles now; I figured I'd read MOTORCYCLIST to find out more about it." -Jay Leno , much of a Ferrari. I crashed that one, got another, a faired '81 CBX, but by that time I was losing interest in modern bikes-they seemed too cOmplex and hard to work on. In '81 I looked around and bought my first Vincent, the Rapide. . Riding the old English bikes is like piloting a plane-you walk around the bike before you get on, just to make sure everything is all right. PHOTO: DEXTER FORD I must admit, I enjoy working 0l,l the bikes. For every hour I ride I would say I easily spend another hour tinkering, because it's something I enjoy. Name: Jay Leno Occupation: Comedian, Tonight Show guest host, fllm and television personality Riding hlstory:When I was a kid-about ten years old-I remember a guy in our town had a Vincent. And of course we thought he was very worldly-he could actually drive all the way to die next town. We were just in awe of the guy, and his Vincent. A little later some friend gave us a broken-down Honda 90. Being the good mechanics we were, we took it apart and painted the piston red and the cylinder head yellow. Then we threw away all that paper that was clogging up the engine-we later found out those were called gaskets. I had a couple of beat-up Japanese bikes, and then in '79 I got a CBX, because the engine reminded me so 56 I guess I like older bikes for the same reason I like antique. watches, or anything else that's well made. I don't like the new fully enclosed motorcycles-I tend not to like any motorcycle I can't see through. Motorcycles look right. It's like people who can sit and stare at a Chagall or a Renon- for hours. I'll come out here in the garage and just let my eyes wander over the Vincents and the Broughs-to me, it's artwork: The castings, the way everYthing is held together-it's kinetic art, I guess you'd call it Motorcycles and show busi· .ness: I try to promote motorcy.: cling when I can. I've ridden my Harley ontp the stage of the David Letterman show, the Tonight Show, and Merv Griffin. I like doing it with the Hatley because it's an, American-made bike, and I'm an American comedian. There's a certain national chauvinism that's fun. I think people like that. When I ride my Vincent or the Harley to a show, people stop and wave. It's a whole different atmosphere. It's fun sometimes to pull 'into the Tonight Show on my bike-it shows that I've got a little different point of view. Magazine: I like the fact that MOTORCYCLIST covers only street bikes-I don't have much interest in dirt bikes. And I especially like the project series where Joe Minton or somebody else takes a bike and, over the course of a few months, tests various bolt-on horsepower accessories. The idea of earning your horsepower appeals to me-you can get a bike in stock triin and learn to ride it, and then, as you improve as a rider, you can add the power as you learn to use it. I like Joe's tech pieces because they're written for the layman, because he talks about real-world horsepower that you can achieve in your own garage. I like the "Off the Record" sections, because there are lots of bikes I don't want to read the whole test on-I just want to read the opinions of the guys on the magazine staff. This endorsement is purely voluntary. No fee or other consideration is paid. AT NEWSSTANDS FOR $24.00 PER YEAR OR BY SUBSCRIPTION FOR $13.94. FOR SUBSCRIPTION ORDERS CALL (213) 854·2470.