A continuation in our investigation of 125 Maicos; the first part of the series you can find here. Preparation: Getting Ready to Ride The 125 Maico was a dichotomy. On one hand, it used a superb, unbreakable, fine handling frame. It had excellent suspension. It was light, and the engine produced the most horsepower […]
Chapter 2.3 Part 1 SMALL MAICOS: THE 125s Although known primarily in the United States as a producer of large, powerful, off-road motorcycles, Maico was certainly no stranger to smaller bikes and road motorcycles. As we have seen, the company began by manufacturing small motorcycles, 200cc-and-under, which were initially used as personal transportation in […]
A continuation of our third installment of epic motorcycle locations. We’ve previously documented such iconic north-eastern bike garages as those of Mike Schantz and Stacy Clark. If you are a serious old motorcycle enthusiast and you live in the northeastern part of the greatest country on earth, you likely have heard of “Yankee Bob” Fornwalt. […]
The Fall Hershey National Antique Auto Meet and the Vintage Motorcycle Enthusiast
A-plus Truck and Fleet is a business specializing in large truck maintenance, along with automotive work, in Lewisberry Pennsylvania. Owner Mike Schantz is a dirt rider from his youth, who can’t wait to push the last truck of the day out of the garage and start working on what he really loves. It’s at that […]
While it could be argued from several standpoints, we can say with reasonable evidence that Maico produced the first two-stroke, purpose-built dirt bikes to reach North America. They didn’t come in great quantities at first, may have had lights installed, and didn’t (at least in the mid-1950s) resemble our modern idea of an off-road motorcycle, […]
Every Tuesday: Stacy’s Garage Every Tuesday. It’s a clearly understood reality. Every Tuesday evening Stacy Clark will walk the 100 feet or so to his garage behind his house, and be there. Not just sometimes—every Tuesday. In fact, Stacy does not eat supper on Tuesday evenings; he goes right to the garage, because that’s where […]
It seems to be that our younger motorcycle buffs are, these days, hard-pressed to name any motorcycle other than the Japanese “big four”…and perhaps several others. KTM, Ducati, Husky…(now, it’s getting harder)…let’s see, “oh, yeah, Harley!” “And…I heard my great-grandpa had an Indian. Uh…does Vespa count?” (Getting really hard, now.) “Umm….wait—Triumph! Yeah!!” And, that’s probably […]
As we’ve mentioned before within these sacred halls of our literary web forum, it is truly a privilege to be located here in the great northeastern part of the USA – especially if you are an active vintage bike aficionado. The amount of swap meets, events, and in general motor shows gives us seasoned motor-heads […]
THE SHOP OWNER: GIG HAMILTON Pt. 2 Our second article in the examination of the unique business model of retail sales, as the “motorcycle boom” of the late sixties and early seventies reached the United States. This was a time when hardware stores, used car dealerships, individual racers – and, nearly anyone with a few […]