Our buddy Starmag (his commenter name) recently visited the Hendersonville Meltdown Classic Motorcycle Show in Hendersonville, North Carolina for their 13th annual show and he was kind enough to share some photos of the bikes on display. Come check them out!
In no particular order, here are the bikes that Starmag thought were worth taking photos of:
Ducati 750 Sport with a heck of a custom paint job:
BMW R75/5:
Moto Guzzi but I can’t pinpoint what model. Do you know?
Wards Riverside 250. Between ’59 and ’69, Montgomery Ward sold Benelli motorcycles under the ‘Wards Riverside’ name. If you bought one, you’d get the bike delivered in a crate and then have to assemble it yourself.
Aermacchi Ala Verde. Ala Verde translates to “Green Wing” from Italian, and it was a sport variant of the Ala Azzurra. It stood out thanks to distinctive styling and a bump in power from the 250cc engine up to 16 horsepower. The Ala Verde became an instant hit with amateur racers, and even after it was replaced by the Turismo Veloce, the Green Wing remained a favorite for weekend non-professional competitors. Several generations of the Green Wing existed, with various updates and changes being made along the way. In ’67, the bike received some engine changes and a restyled tank, mudguards, duo-seat saddle, headlamp, and fork. The wheels went from 17” to 18” in order to help solve the scraping issue customers had complained about with the previous generation (in 1970 they would grow to 19”).
I’ve seen this fairing before but I can’t remember what it is. Can you? Let me know in the comments!
Scott Flying Squirrel.
Released in 1926, the Scott Flying Squirrel was an interesting motorcycle that placed third in the ’29 Isle of Man TT. A water-cooled 598cc twin, this is one of the coolest sounding two-strokes I’ve ever heard – riders used to call the distinctive sound the “Scott Yowl”. For more on the Scott, check out this video of a ’28 model from Hoxton Moto:
Selfishly, the Flying Squirrel is special to me as Jay Leno let me try his during one of my visits to his garage. It was the first hand-shift bike I had ever ridden, and I was nervous. Jay sent me on the road by saying something along the lines of “you better wind it out,” so I had to oblige him!
Moto Guzzi 850 Le Mans. In Moto Guzzi’s long history, there are several models that have stood the test of time. But for many, the ultimate offering is the first gen LeMans. High compression pistons and 36mm Dell’Ortos helped the 850 put down 71 horsepower, good for a top speed of around 135 miles per hour. For more on the 850 LeMans, check out this write-up on Motorcycle Classics.
Moto Guzzi 850 Le Mans III. In the early 80s, Guzzi could only export their 1000 (949cc) engine to the US because of stricter emissions rules. In ’83, MG was able to bring the 850 back, meaning they could also sell the Le Mans Mk III again – 2,609 were sold that first year. The Mark III produced 76 horsepower at the crank and was capable of about 132 miles per hour. One of the 80 improvements made between the Mk II and Mk III was Guzzi’s “Nigusil” lining – a shortening of Nickel-Guzzi-Silicon. For more on the Le Mans III, check out this review from a long time owner.
Triumph Hurricane X-75. Considered by some to be the world’s first “factory custom”, the Triumph Hurricane was the brainchild of Craig Vetter (well known as a motorcycle designer and manufacturer of custom motorcycle fairings) and Don Brown (General Manager of BSA). Brown wanted a better looking British triple, as he believed the Trident and Rocket III weren’t selling well in the US because of blocky styling. Vetter worked his magic and the bike was initially going to be released as a BSA in 1972. Minor issue – BSA was about to go bankrupt. So the Hurricane was instead branded as a Triumph. Unfortunately, within a year America had released stricter noise standards from motorcycles and the Hurricane couldn’t meet them. Just like that, the bike was done. Want to learn more? Craig Vetter has a story on how this bike came to be here on his website.
I already used this as the feature photo, but here’s a Ducati 750SS “Green Frame.”
Royal Enfield Bullet Diesel. If my eyes do not deceive me, this is one of the rare motorcycles that was fitted with a diesel engine from the factory – an experiment that Royal Enfield tried between 1993 and 2000. They called it the Taurus, and it was the only production motorcycle offered in India with a diesel engine. Royal Enfield claimed just over 150 mpg and some riders were getting over 500 miles per tank!
As you can imagine, a motor yielding that much mileage isn’t making much power…Royal Enfield claimed just 6.5 horsepower. Some riders say that with the 4-speed transmission, cruising speed is basically 40 mph. Let’s be real, no one was buying this for speed, they were buying it for running costs, especially when you consider that diesel was significantly cheaper than gas in India back when this bike was released. But now the bike is in America, where that sort of top speed limits it to a novelty.
Thanks so much to Starmag for grabbing these photos! Which one was your favorite?