The 1970s was a fantastic era for motorcycle enthusiasts! Kids, parents, grandparents, and hippies—everyone either rode or knew someone who did.
As a teenager during the ’70s, I rode almost every day, as long as the weather was even slightly cooperative. My dad had a Honda Trail 90 and would take my friends and me to explore new and exciting places.
I am glad I grew up in that time when motorcycles and motorcycling were in their ascendancy.
Do you have any special motorcycle memories from the 1970’s?
“The Glory Stompers,” released in 1967, is a B-movie outlaw biker film that is interesting from a film history point of view.
The plot revolves around Chino (played by Dennis Hopper), the leader of the Black Souls motorcycle gang, who kidnaps Darryl’s (Jody McCrea), girlfriend, Chris (Chris Noel).
The film’s frmework is, more or less, a western but it remains firmly in the B-picture format, exuding a gritty atmosphere.
I ran across Glory Stompers on a rainy day on ScreenPix Westerns network so I took one for the team. Is it worth your time, not really.
I have a lot of other motorcycle TV reviews on this blog. Just do a seach for IJustWant2ride Motorcycle TV to get a list from your search engine.
My wife mentioned that this is Women’s History month and that I should post something, just not photos of her. LOL
I went back into my vintage photo folder to look for those “old school photos of women and motorcycles. Women have been riding motorcycles from the start and these photos prove that women JustWant2ride.
Few commerical enterprises can say they have been in business for 100 years or more. Even fewer motorcycles companies reach that mark. This month Moto Guzzi reaches that mark.
Moto Guzzi started after the first World War by veterans who had decided to go into the motorcycle business as soon as the war ended. The motorcycle company they created would go on to have a big impact on the industry.
A short list of Moto Guzzi’s achievements include:
14 World Championship Titles
15 World Speed Records
The first use of wind tunnels for testing design
Moto Guzzi was also one of the first motorcycles to reach the artic circle when, in 1928, a GT500 Norge, ridden by a brother of the founder, made the journey.
They also tried out an eight cylinder 500cc race bike out in 1955. It could reach over 170 MPH! While they had a technically advanced engine, the rest of the motorcycle was not able to keep up with the engine technology and it was shelved. It would be decades before racers would again be hitting 170 MPH on the track.
The unique and “quirky” Moto Guzzi has fans all over the world and those fans will have a chance to own a special “Centennial” edition of the following motorcycles.
2021 Moto Guzzi V7 Stone 100th Anniversary: MSRP $9,190 / late March
To all the current, past and future veterans “I salute you”! As one myself I know the levels of hardship that can come with that lifestyle.
Many service members will take their motorcycles with them each time they move, or sell their current bike to buy a new one at the other destination. I like to think that this motivation is something that crosses international boundary’s. I can imagine a soldier in India riding or pulling his motorcycle to the next duty station just like an American soldier.
Soldiers can sleep anywhere!
Veterans and motorcycles have had a long term relationship that still goes on today. In the US there are a multitude of clubs formed by vet’s from the recent wars. Whether or not they rode motorcycles as a duty or only when off duty, bikes are a way of life for many.
Below is a video on how WWII US Army dispatch riders trained.
WOW..… I would have never seen that coming. A Top 10 Vintage Motorcycle Blog award? I do not think of the blog as about vintage motorcycles. I don’t intentionally post about vintage motorcycles or the old school bike life but looking though the blog I do so more than I thought. Here are a few:
And I do post more than a few old school photos on our IJustWant2Ride Facebook and Twitter accounts. So, not sure how I qualified for the awarded but COOL!
In Part 1 I wrote about our trip to Timonium for the annual motorcycle show. That was on a Saturday, on Sunday we attended the International Motorcycle Show, Washington, DC.
As I noted with the Timonium show the crowds were smaller then in previous years. Having the shows on the same weekend definitely impacted attendance IMHO.
As always with the IMS all the major vendors were on site with their latest products. Ducati had a couple new Scramblers, Indian had their new FXR but the one that caught my eye was the new Suzuki Katana. Last produced in 2006 this new Suzuki motorcycle look clean, sleek and ready to run! I would love to get a test ride on this bike.
There were also a bunch of vendors, but not quite as many as in the past (again same weekend). Two of the vendors really caught my eye, the Moto Power Puck and Silent Beacon. This is not an endorsement or recommendation, I just liked their concept. Check them out for yourself.
I JUST WANT 2 RIDE!! 