tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2693775542020483450.post1343774887544013405..comments2024-03-28T18:12:54.222-04:00Comments on Progress is fine, but it's gone on for too long.: Cool Special, That Imp Thing.Mister Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17663484841011868779noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2693775542020483450.post-76691630337817549242021-05-31T08:46:03.688-04:002021-05-31T08:46:03.688-04:00Ahhh, a memorable year. One that combined both mot...Ahhh, a memorable year. One that combined both motorcycle and car classes. The Amazonas would have combined the worst of both...Mister Ghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17663484841011868779noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2693775542020483450.post-79726357087181026952021-05-30T21:05:12.148-04:002021-05-30T21:05:12.148-04:00Sorry again. I typed "o/a length" above;...Sorry again. I typed "o/a length" above; that should have been "wheelbase."<br /><br />ratsnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2693775542020483450.post-32180179206855073312021-05-30T20:59:46.726-04:002021-05-30T20:59:46.726-04:00I won my class in the '77 Baja 1000 on one of ...I won my class in the '77 Baja 1000 on one of those. The class was restricted to motorcycles whose dry weight exceeded 850lbs, with a minimum o/a vehicle length of 5' 6"; the only other entrant was a Harley-Davidson Electra Glide pulling a second, wheelless Electra Glide, and it came up DNF after the rider and crew disappeared en masse on the second night of the race.<br /><br />I remember the race-prepped Amazonas as an agile and fleet machine with a tendency to oversteer, due not to any flaw in the geometry but because I was, despite the factory's advice to the contrary, towing the pit crew and their families, six South American moto-photo-journalists, and a few of Amazonas's sales and PR people behind me on a barge. It was a brilliant machie that should have sold in the tens of thousands.<br />ratsnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2693775542020483450.post-85191321729779812422021-05-30T17:22:43.300-04:002021-05-30T17:22:43.300-04:00Oh yeah... that thing! I mercifully, had forgotten...Oh yeah... that thing! I mercifully, had forgotten about that. Mister Ghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17663484841011868779noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2693775542020483450.post-24325288677829304262021-05-30T10:26:54.364-04:002021-05-30T10:26:54.364-04:00M-my eyes!!
M-my eyes!!<br />ratsnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2693775542020483450.post-91037773997766712242021-05-30T09:11:45.651-04:002021-05-30T09:11:45.651-04:00...I spoke from ignorance (my favorite vantage poi......I spoke from ignorance (my favorite vantage point).<br />========================================<br /><br />Heh, I wondered why it was getting so crowded up here...<br /><br />And Exhibit A from the Repressed Memory Syndrome Museum (Auto Engined Motorcycle Section), I give you the Amazonas:<br /><br />https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6VFo_54uG00/UM1VH_V9tDI/AAAAAAAAAnA/MeCbTwU2eZU/s1600/superEsporte+Amazonas.jpg<br /><br />[again, shudder]<br /><br />rdguyAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2693775542020483450.post-23573832952983841872021-05-29T11:36:03.820-04:002021-05-29T11:36:03.820-04:00Yeah, the Munch is hideous. And not because its ma...Yeah, the Munch is hideous. And not because its maker consciously slighted looks in favor of function (as with virtually all the VW-engined BMWs I've seen, for example). Uncle Friedl put thought, effort, and considerable money into Munch bits such as the ugly cast-alloy seat, the ugly cast-alloy rear wheel, and the ugly-ass headlight housing -- so presumably he thought they looked swell.<br /><br />The Munch is definitely uglier than the Imp-engined RE; the latter certnly has nice points, such as the primary cover. Also I belatedly read up on the Imp engine's capacity to be hotrodded, and that does make the engine swap sort of somewhat arguably subjectively worth the trouble. So, yeah, I spoke from ignorance (my favorite vantage point).<br />ratsnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2693775542020483450.post-78907356189840406892021-05-28T21:51:22.689-04:002021-05-28T21:51:22.689-04:00Ugly??? Ever seen a Munch Mammoth? (Since we'...Ugly??? Ever seen a Munch Mammoth? (Since we're talking auto-engined bikes)<br /><br />https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%C3%BCnch_%28motorcycles%29#/media/File:M%C3%BCnch_Mammut_Motorradmuseum_Ibbenb%C3%BCren.jpg<br /><br />[shudders]<br /><br />rdguyAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2693775542020483450.post-45692908497556811682021-05-28T18:58:30.551-04:002021-05-28T18:58:30.551-04:00On the one hand, ugh: wretched excess. It seems mi...On the one hand, ugh: wretched excess. It seems miraculous to me that the large REs -- Meteors, Interceptors et al. -- handled as good as they did, burdened by about (my guess) 125lbs of engine. Their common frame is the least gussetted, most Schwinn-looking of any big British bike I can name.<br /><br />[Effortfully getting a partial grip on myself] Okay okay, this concludes today's exercise in grumbling. Sorry. (Except, PS., it's ugly too!)<br />rats (a.k.a. Old Sneep)noreply@blogger.com