2005 Harley-davidson Touring on 2040-motos

Moto blog

Sturgis Motorcycle Hall of Fame Announces 2013 Induction Class

The Sturgis Motorcycle Museum & Hall of Fame announced it will induct five new members for 2013. The Hall also announced it will add one new member to its Freedom Fighters Hall of Fame. For 2013, the Hall will welcome to its ranks motorcycle attorney Russ Brown, custom chopper builder Rick Fairless (pictured above), Harley-Davidson dealer Bill Gikling, actor Marjoe Gortner of the television special “Sturgis: The Great Ride”, and antique motorcycle expert Lonnie Isam, Sr.

Vespa goes back to the future

IT'S been a while coming, but the gorgeous Vespa 946 - EICMA 2012's Best of Show - has finally introduced something to the two-wheeled world that our four-wheeled counterparts have had for a while.  I call this 'reverse retro-futurism' - the art of borrowing lines from models past and imbuing them with a sleek sense of future direction (as opposed to retro-futurism, the pre-1960s design trend of depicting the technology of the future. The term 'decopunk' may come close, but feel free to tell me if there's a more exact term.) It's what the New Mini and the New Beetle (both 1997 and 2012 versions) have done so well, and so successfully: building an all-new model as a tribute to a classic, something that's modern yet already timeless, with a widely-appreciated, inclusive aesthetic (and here we eliminate the Plymouth PT Cruiser from the conversation). The biking world is great at retro, indeed thrives on it, but not so good at adding in a taste of the 21st century.

Want to Buy the Pope’s Harley?

In February, Bohnams auction house in Paris will allow both the Catholic and the Harley faithful to bid on a Harley-Davidson Dyna Super Glide owned by none other than Pope Francis, himself. Given to the Pope last year as part of the Harley-Davidson 110th anniversary celebration, the bike was unlikely to become the Popecycle because of the security required to protect the pontiff. The Pope donated the Dyna to the Roman Catholic charity Caritas Roma but not before signing the tank with “Francesco” at a special ceremony at the Vatican last November.