Vintage Off-Road Motorcycle Buying Guide

Click to view the Vintage Off-Road Motorcycle Collection

HISTORY

Off-road motorcycle races have been held since the earliest days of the motorcycle, in fact it’s likely that almost all of the earliest motorcycle races took place off-road as there was almost no such thing as a sealed road until cars became more commonplace. As with all forms of motorised transportation, it was the racing that really pushed the technology forward – early bikes had no rear suspension, limited front suspension, primitive braking systems and engines that blew smoke even when brand new.

As the years went by rear suspension was added and perfected, front suspension was hugely improved, braking technology surged forward and engines became reliable, exceedingly powerful and sometimes even almost smokeless.

If you’ve decided you want to get into the world of vintage off-road riding you’ll need a few things – A hearty love of working on engines, a good set of motorcycle body armour, a solid MX helmet and an astonishing level of patience. There are fantastic clubs for people with similar passions who meet on weekends to ride, race, swap parts and swap stories.

CHOOSE YOUR GENRE

Enduro, Motocross, Scrambler, Hill Climber, Flat Tracker or something a little more exotic? The choices are expansive and it might take you a while to decide, the best way to make a decision is to think about what you want to use the bike for. Do you want to go on adventures down fire trails? Do you want to race at flat track circuits on weekends? Do you want to take part in vintage MX racing? Or do you like the idea of competing in classic hill climbing events? Have a think about it and when you’ve decided, you’ll know what genre you should be shopping in.

CHOOSE YOUR ERA

Some off-road motorcycle genres have only been around for a short while, so you don’t have that many decades to choose from, but some have been around for over 100 years and will require significantly more thought. Personally, I love the motorcycles produced throughout the ’60s and ’70s – many of these can keep pace with modern bikes if ridden by people who know what they’re doing. Once you’ve chosen your era and genre you’ll need to move onto the next question – which marque?

SEE THE REST OF THE GUIDE ON EBAY HERE

SEE THE REST OF THE GUIDE ON EBAY HERE

via SILODROME

‘76 Kawasaki KZ400 – Tattoo Custom Motorcycles

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Some of us dream of throwing in the towel on our day jobs to do what we truly love. Whether it’s building custom bikes, opening a café or just taking more time to focus on your family, it’s a fantasy that’s as common as slap bass in Seinfeld. But as with most things inline, there’s another option to consider. What if, instead of leaving one job for another, you just combined your passions and did both? Sounds impossible, right? Well don’t tell that to North Carolina’s Tattoo Projects, who are currently a successful advertising agencyand a custom bike shop. It might seem crazy, but when you consider that they count Victory Motorcycles amongst their clients, you can kind of see the logic of it all. And what have they been up to when they weren’t standing around with whiskey and cigarettes Don Draper-ing? This is what.

We’ll let Rudy Banny – Tattoo’s Founder and Creative Director – kick things off. “Born from the Tattoo Projects Ad Agency, Tattoo Motorcycles applies the same principles of creativity to customs as we do to making ads for our clients.” On any given day at Tattoo, bikes are being made right alongside tv spots, print ads, and package designs. The Tattoo team suggests that this kind of creative influence produces bikes with an unusual and memorable style… and hopefully some decent bike ads, too.

“There’s a few things that characterise a Tattoo bike. A lower stance. A stretched swing arm. A better-proportioned profile. Fatter, gnarlier tires. Powder coating. An exhaust sound you can feel. Great seats. We do whatever it takes to bring out the soul of the bike,” says Rudy.

This build was a joint venture with their mates at 2topia Cycles. They agreed to do a steam punk-influenced design on the Kawasaki and things were kicked off with the removal of the bulky rear end and the modifying the sub frame to provide a cool, solid foundation to build on.

“We went the solo seat route and attached some clip-ons, rear sets and Ohlins shocks. She was really starting to take shape. We had a custom triple-tree machined, we powder coated the wheels and we strapped on some gnarly Pirelli Scorpions.” That’s right about when the boys recruited the help of Nate Hamlin and Bob Iwankow of 2topia to do their magic on that damn, pesky wiring.

Nate and Bob hooked the KZ up with a complete rewire and buried most of it in the frame while they were at it. Seeing the rather impressive results, it stood to reason that they fit the bike with some slick Motogadget components. And to wrap things up, they broke out their deft fabrication moves to build some bespoke custom fenders and an exhaust set-up. We’re not sure about you, but we’re really liking the twin trumpet look they’ve achieved.

But is it a Mac or a PC?

If you like what you see, then be sure to check their stunning 1970 BSA Lightning we featured back in 2013. Eighteen months later and it still manages to bring a smile to our faces and an itch to our throttle hands. Nice, huh?

via PIPEBURN

Los Muertos Motorcycles "Bat Outta Hell"

Los Muertos Motorcycles "Bat Outta Hell" from Los Muertos Motorcycles on Vimeo.

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