#vincent

This week’s Top 10 comes to us courtesy of Miguel Galluzzi. Mr. G is best known for designing Ducati’s original Monster and starting the modern naked-bike movement, but before that he also penned Ducati’s early ’90s 900 Supersports. He’s been a busy man ever since, and is currently director for PADC (Piaggio Advanced Design Center), in Pasadena, CA, where he – together with another design team in Noale, Italy – cooks up new Moto Guzzis, Aprilias and other Italian delicacies. —John Burns

Liquid Asset Partners LLC, owners of Erik Buell Racing, have filed a trademark application for the name “Black Lightning” for use on “motorcycles and structural parts therefor.” The application was filed Oct. 27, just over a month EBR sent out a press release promising something “quick, dark and low” this fall. The name “Black Lightning” would certainly fit the descriptors “quick” and “low.”

Snortin’ Nortons, Trumpeting Tritons, Beastly BSAs, Invincible Vincents … they all rallied to the 36th running of the iconic Hansen Dam Motorcycle Rally. For 2015, the rally broke all its previous records by the sheer number of bikes and people in attendance, spilling into virtual overflow capacity at the popular recreational area. Major gearhead himself, Jay Leno, rumbled in to enjoy the event aboard a major piece of motorcycling history; a well-ridden Brough Superior SS100.

Part three in Retro Rider’s three-part series features the oldest and most iconic model Neale Bayly has yet sampled. The Series B Vincent Rapide may not be as well-known as its cousin, the Black Shadow, but the Series B Rapide is the predecessor that made the Black Shadow possible. The Series B was the second iteration of the Rapide models, Series A being the first. The most notable difference between the Series A and Series B models is the Series B’s use of the engine as a stressed member of the frame, as in the Black Shadow. Other improvements included unit construction of the 50° V-Twin engine and gearbox, internal oil lines and improved suspension.

The Hansen Dam Rally, officially known as the All British Hansen Dam Ride, is a SoCal tradition decades in the making and hosted the first week of every November by the Southern California Norton Owners Club (SCNOC). The  day-long event includes a 95-mile loop through the canyons of the western San Gabriel Mountains and culminates in a bike show at the Hansen Dam Recreational area located in the northeastern San Fernando Valley, some 20 miles from downtown Los Angeles.

For the last 40-some years motorcycle manufacturers have enjoyed an era of relative stability. The Big Four Japanese (Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki, Yamaha), Harley-Davidson and BMW remain unremitting and seemingly indestructible.