23/05/2012 | By:

BMW is entering the scooter market this year with its C600 Sport and C650 GT maxi-scooters, but the German manufacturer almost entered the scooter segment nearly 60 years earlier. In the 1950s, BMW produced a pair of scooter prototypes it called the R10.

The first prototype produced in 1953 was equipped with a 175cc Single producing about 8hp while the 1954 prototype (pictured above) was equipped with a 200cc producing about 10hp. Unlike the successful Vespas of that era the BMW 1954 R10 scooter prototype (pictured here) had a large fairing that served as both leg shield and front fender. The end result however made it look a bit like a cyclops version of Snoopy from Charles Schultz’s “Peanuts” comic strip.

Though the R10 scooter never entered production, BMW is trotting it out for display at the second annual Concours di Motociclette, a side event to the Concours D’Eleganza Villa D’Este, May 25-27 at Lake Como in northern Italy. Continue Reading »

05/03/2012 | By:
Brim’s Imports is a vintage motorcycle shop disguised as a used car dealership, and chances are you’ve never heard of the place or its proprietor, Tom Brim. If you’re in the market for a rare vintage motorcycle, however, it may behoove you to give Tom or his brother, Ralph, an old fashion phone call. A website does exist, brimsimport.com, but its for searching the inventory of late model car and truck parts — the cash flow supporting Tom’s motorcycle obsession.

Brim’s is located in Kenton, Ohio (population: 8,021), and its motorcycle inventory is spread throughout three locations along West Franklin St. Within these buildings is stashed an eclectic collection of restored and original condition Ducatis, Excelsior Hendersons, Harleys, Hondas, Indians, Nortons, Triumphs, etc. Moto Guzzi Airone, got it, Triumph Hurricane, yep, Indian board tracker, check… Oh yeah, the Harley XR Evel Knievel jumped in Wembley Stadium, uh-huh, he’s got that too!

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17/01/2012 | By:

One of the world’s largest private collections of Ducati motorcycles is going on the auction block. Former Ducati factory test rider, racer and dealer Carlo Saltarelli is selling his collection of classic motorcycles at RM Auction‘s biennial auction in Monaco on May 11-12 during the Grand Prix of Monaco Historique.

Saltarelli’s collection includes 100 motorcycles including a 1970 ex-Works Ducati 450 Desmo Corsa which was featured in the Ducati museum in Bologna, Italy. Saltarelli’s collection also includes a 1990 Ducati 888 superbike ridden by Giancarlo Falappa and a number of 750SS race bikes from the ’70s such as a Ducati 750SS ridden by factory rider Franco Uncini in 1975, and a race-winning 1974 Ducati 750SS raced by Saltarelli.

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16/01/2012 | By:

A collection of classic motorcycles including some owned by the Du Pont family was auctioned by Bonhams in Las Vegas, with sales reaching $1.8 million, nearly double the pre-auction estimates.

The auction included 50 motorcycles and 113 lots of spare parts from the Du Pont family including some from the personal collection of E. Paul du Pont, founder of Du Pont Motors and one-time president of Indian Motorcycles. The Du Pont collection accounted for $1 million. The auction also featured 70 other rare motorcycles.

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27/05/2011 | By:

American motorcycle pioneer Norbert Schickel has been named to the Motorcycle Hall of Fame’s 2011 class.

Schickel founded Schickel Motor Co., in Stamford, Conn., in 1912, a year after exhibiting his first “two-cycle” motorcycle at the Chicago Motorcycle Show. Schickel Motor sold more than 1,000 motorcycles between 1912 and 1924 when the company filed for bankruptcy. Schickel’s designs included innovations such as twist grip transmission control, a rotating magneto spark advance, spring fork front wheel suspension and an integrated frame and fuel tank.

“It’s fitting for the Motorcycle Hall of Fame to reach back 100 years in time and honor one of the true pioneers of American motorcycling,” says Jeffrey V. Heininger, chairman of the American Motorcycle Heritage Foundation, which raises money for the Hall of Fame. “The Hall of Fame honors and memorializes the men and women who have made motorcycling great. And without early pioneers like Norbert Schickel, there would be no American motorcycling.”

Schickel will be inducted into the Hall at a ceremony Nov. 18 in Las Vegas alongside Cycle editor Phil Schilling, Parts Unlimited founder Fred Fox and road racing World Champion Doug Polen.

Related Reading
Doug Polen Joins Motorcycle Hall of Fame Class of 2011
Parts Unlimited FoundeParts Unlimited Founder Named to 2011 Motorcycle Hall of Fame Class
Schilling Headed to Motorcycle Hall of Fame

[Source: AMA, SchickelMotorcycle.com]

Schilling Headed to Motorcycle Hall of Fame