Daimler + Maybach = motorcycle?

NGottlieb Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach then under the guidance of Dr Nicolaus Otto and Eugen Langen in 1876 created one of the first four stroke gas engines. Shortly after this creation Daimler created a "test bed" or chassis to hold the 246cc engine. During the initial test run the engine became so hot the seat caught on fire. The longest distance it ever covered was 12km. 

Daimler was really only looking for a means to test his engine and therefore stopped after this little test bike. (All historical information and picture are fromhttp://www.ozebook.com/daimler.htm)

In short... Mind Blown!

To think that some of the worlds most well known cars came from the minds of men who initially built a motorcycle. I think so many people these days take their vehicles for granted (both riders and drivers)and they can't appreciate the simplicity that led to our everyday drivers. 

Take a moment to to think about this little machine and enjoy it. 

Change of pace

Towards the end of last week I realized I had kind of run out of things to talk about in the motorcycling world. It isn't easy to come up with new information each day considering Facebook already does that for you. 

There are also several other great motorcycle blogs written by women who have a better focus on what they want to write about and you should definitely check them out.

So after some thinking I have decidedto focus more on classic bikes, which is how I grew my passion for motorcycles in the first place. 

With the cafe racer movement coming back in full force and the chopper movement somewhat behind us I think showing all of you these brilliant machines in their original style will help put all the modern technology and engineering in perspective, make us all appreciate where these machines have come from and where they will go. 

I don't think anyone can move forward without taking a good look at their past.

So I hope you will all stick with me as I in lack of better terms bring up the past of motorcycling.

Brit Bikes

As you all may have figured out I Love British bikes. I also happen to love pretty much everything else that comes out of the UK. There's just something about the culture I love.

What I find most amazing about today's British bikes is that they are all a Phoenix of some kind. Triumph came out of the management failures of the early 1970's, Royal Enfield survived through India and Norton is just now beginning to come out of it's preverbial ashes.

I hope these remaining three continue on. There's something to be said about learning where these bikes came from and I'm honored to be around to see where they will go. 

Could Triumph enter the ranks of MotoGP factory teams? Is a new Norton Commando the next "must have" cafe racer? Will they ever make a better Royal Enfield (at least they don't catch fire anymore)? These are all things I'm excited to see and you should be excited too! 

Favorite Riding Jacket

If you could change one thing about your favorite riding jacket what would it be?

I would want my jacket to be a but more broken in than it is right now. Don't get me wrong I love wearing it but I just don't feel like I can move in it very well. I know they are meant for safety but us tiny girls tend to get overwhelmed in these kind of protective riding gear. 

I currently wear a textile Dianese armored jacket which I do love but the armor is still "universal" which doesn't work so well for my small frame. It makes it difficult to move. I currently haven't found a leather jacket that I like, every one I try is too stiff and limits my range of motion even further than the textile.

Despite these small problems I always wear protective gear when riding even if it means I'm uncomfortable. 

Vintage Police Bike

So here's another great post from my club president and for all of you that don't know it's The BSA Owner's Club of New England. I know I need to stop poaching his pictures but they're always so great!!

Today's pic is of a vintage auxiliary police bike from New Haven,CT. It's interesting to see how only the brand has really changed over time. Modern police bikes don't look all that different from this wonderful relic of the past. I guess that doesn't say much about Harley's choice in styling...

Anyways, I do enjoy the styling of the British models, they have always displayed a beautiful simplicity and functionality. 

Vintage Helmets

It looks like vintage style helmets have made a come back in the world of riding. 

I personally have a Biltwell bubblegum pink metal fleck 3/4 helmet.

I think it started with the hipsters and scooter riders but there have been some seriously cool ones designed too like the one above courtesy of thekneeslider.com.

What style of vintage helmet do you like? The cafe racer? The bubble visor?

Riding Music

For me listening to music in the car is as natural as driving. So when I hopped on the Honda for the first time last year I put some Vivaldi on the IPhone and went off for a sunrise ride along the water in Falmouth,MA. It was beautiful to see the sunrise and follow the road curves by myself. 

Music while riding helps calm my nerves, as much as I love hearing the engine roar it takes my mind off bad stuff that could happen which sadly has happened a bunch. 

Any thoughts on riding with tunes on?