"J
ust one word—plastics."
It may not have been the
most memorable mo-
ment of the classic 1967 movie
The Graduate (if you know, you
know), but it was advice that
young Benjamin Braddock
should've taken, especially if he
was thinking about a career in
the motorcycling industry. From
fairings to fuel tanks to fenders,
our 21st-century motorcycles
have us riding high in polymers.
As durable as it is soulless, plas-
tic is king.
It was not always so.
In the early 1970s, brothers
Don and Derek Rickman pro-
CNIIARCHIVES
P128
BY KENT TAYLOR
The Rickman 250cc
motocrosser was a
serious race machine
that didn't wait for
yearly updates.
BEAUTIFUL EFFECTIVE
AND
The high-performance
Rickman motorcycle
could be described as
progress in motion.
