Legendary Bikes

Noteworthy Historic Motorcycles

Elkhart Lake: City of Speed

Posted by Ken "Hawkeye" Glassman | May 29, 2025 | Legendary Bikes | 0 |

MZ’s Moto Memories: 1994 Yamaha FZR1000

Posted by Mark Zweig | May 20, 2025 | Legendary Bikes | 1 |

The Legend of Slippery Sam

Posted by Road Dirt Crew | May 8, 2025 | Legendary Bikes | 0 |

MZ’s Moto Memories: Kawasaki W650

Posted by Mark Zweig | Apr 15, 2025 | Legendary Bikes | 2 |

Resurrecting a Laverda, Part 3

Posted by Neale Bayly | Apr 2, 2025 | Legendary Bikes, Ride Life | 0 |

My Scooter Youth: 1962 Vespa 150

by Mike Boyd | Mar 31, 2025 | Legendary Bikes, Ride Life | 1 |

Most who took up motorcycle riding as kids typically got their start on pull-start Sears & Roebuck minibikes, Honda Trail 70 or 90 bikes, or maybe something like a Yamaha YZ80. I got my start on a scooter. I was 14 years old, Christmas of 1962, and to my surprise, I was gifted a brand new Vespa 150 motor scooter by my parents. From that day forward, my whole life changed. I was free. I could go where I wanted, when I wanted (or so I thought), a very dangerous prospect for a young rascal like myself.

MZ’s Moto Memories: Yamaha Road Star Warrior

by Mark Zweig | Feb 18, 2025 | Legendary Bikes | 9 |

I had never owned or even ridden a “power cruiser,” and even though I had owned a couple H-D Sportsters by then. I was really more of a sportbike or “standard” kind of guy. But there was something that appealed to me about that Warrior besides its blacked out looks and the 135 ft lbs of torque churned out from its massive V-Twin. It had sportbike style wheels on it, and dual front discs. It looked like I could actually RIDE the thing. So impulsively, I bought it. I think I paid $5500 which was about half of what it had cost new.

Resurrecting A Laverda, Part 2

by Neale Bayly | Feb 11, 2025 | Legendary Bikes | 0 |

Then one fateful day my enthusiasm got ahead of my abilities, both mechanically and financially, and I decided to do a complete restoration from the ground up. The frame got shot blasted and painted and I started pulling the engine to bits. Unfortunately, travels came, children came, careers came and the parts just ended up moving from location to location in boxes. With all the growing responsibilities of family life, spending money on an old box of bits grew further and further from the front burner.

The Little Sportster That Could

by Mike Boyd | Feb 6, 2025 | Legendary Bikes, Ride Life | 4 |

It was the summer of 1984. I was riding my Harley-Davidson FLH to California with my wife at the time, on one of our many road trip adventures. We stopped in Flagstaff, Arizona and visited the Harley shop, mostly because we were always looking for more oil for the Harley. As I walked in the front door, they were using a new black XLX Sportster for a doorstop to keep the front door open.

Resurrecting A Laverda, Part 1

by Neale Bayly | Jan 13, 2025 | Legendary Bikes, Ride Life | 1 |

In early 1981 I rolled into the town of Colchester on a well-worn Yamaha XT 500, flat broke wearing a leather jacket, a pair of thread bare jeans, and just a bag of clothes on my back. As I pulled over in the high street to get my bearings, it happened. A bright orange Laverda Jota fired up a few hundred yards away, filling the high street with the most blood-curdling roar as the owner blipped the throttle to warm the engine. Watching transfixed as he then climbed on, clicked the snarling beast into gear, before dropping the clutch, and taking off with the most intoxicating cacophony of sound I had ever heard. Winding the big triple up close to red line in first gear before letting off to slow for the traffic light, the noise the big Laverda made on the overrun was as equally stunning as it snorted and backfired in the quiet English afternoon.

MZ’s Moto Memories: Sears/Gilera 106SS

by Mark Zweig | Jan 9, 2025 | Legendary Bikes | 3 |

I was taught by my father at a young age not to go walking through other people’s yards but eventually, my curiosity got the best of me and I rode my bicycle down that driveway to see what was in that garage. There leaning against the wall was a super crusty/rusty little silver single cylinder machine with just the metal framework of a seat left on it. I had no idea of what it was. It didn’t have any badges or emblems on it that I could see. I just knew it was old and it was a motorcycle.

MZ’s Moto Memories: Christmas Motorcycles

by Mark Zweig | Dec 23, 2024 | Legendary Bikes, Ride Life | 0 |

Back when my oldest girls were young, I also owned a bunch of motorcycles. I was riding pretty much every day myself, and I used to occasionally “ask Santa” to get them motorcycles for Christmas.

First Look: 2025 Triumph Bobber TFC

by Rob Brooks | Dec 10, 2024 | Bikes & Gear, Legendary Bikes | 2 |

Triumph Motorcycles has a custom bike division, called “TFC” for “Triumph Factory Custom”, not unlike Harley-Davidson’s CVO line. Each year, the brand designs and builds limited edition models for their TFC line, and sent us a few early press photos of a Bobber TFC 1200 they are looking to bring to market in the new year. They’ve made more than aesthetic upgrades for this custom model- they have also made a few significant changes to the overall design and function of the Bobber in general. We’re unsure if these will translate to the base model Bobber, or remain on this custom version.

MZ’s Moto Memories: 2001 Suzuki TL1000S

by Mark Zweig | Nov 27, 2024 | Legendary Bikes | 2 |

With colder weather finally here, and Thanksgiving upon us, besides being sure our RVs are winterized and our gas fireplaces are functioning, it could be time to think about what bikes we’ve owned over the years that we are most thankful for. One of those for me was my 2001 Suzuki TL1000S.