Have you ever thought the past?

[R-Rated]

Every now and then I have a fleeting thought about what past motorcycles were like and what it would be like to have had some of our modern comforts back then.

For example, the Harley Shovel head motor was a good idea in concept with the domed piston. Unfortunately the company only had a spark plug on one side of the wedge shape so the entire compressed area did not burn efficiently so the power that could have been gained was lost.

Then there are times when I think about how cool it would be to still have a kick start on my modern bike. I had a couple of Honda CB750s from the 1970's and kicking them over was cool as heck. To be able to do that with the modern fuel injected bike would be awesome.

Then there is the whole GPS! I can see the movie Easyrider being a whole lot different if Capt. America and Billy used GPS. They could have avoided the parade scene and not got arrested. They would not have met Jack Nicholas's character who then would not have been killed by the rednecks.

What modern motorcycle things would you want if you traveled back about 40 or 50 years? What old motorcycle tech do you wish you had now?

 

[HippoDrone]

tyres and brakes and suspension would be a total game changer

 

[R-Rated]

tyres and brakes and suspension would be a total game changer

No kidding! Back in the 90's the best tires for my bikes were ok and the affordable tires were a risk. Mileage was horrible! I could wear a rear out in just one 3200 mile trip.

Then the brakes on the 1970 Honda CB750 were not that great. Not even close to keeping up with stopping a stock powered bike running 100+ miles per hour. Sure you would stop but it was eventually.

 

[LoneWolfer]

I would love to see modern v-twins with kick starts along with the push button start. There is something to just having the look of the kicker on the bike that looks so damn cool. Even if i barely used it, it would be nice to look at.

As for old tech, not sure I really want brakes that will stop me eventually, or sooner if there is a wall in the way, and tires that I get a week out of hahahaha. But there is something that a few bikes still come with that I don't have on any of my modern bikes and that is an analog tachometer. There is an odd sense of purpose to seeing those RPM's shoot up, even on a low revving air cooled v-twin.

 

[Dewey316]

I still prefer analog gauges. Tach and speedo I prefer the analog over a digital display.

Funny, in an upcoming vlog I ended up talking about my '82 Honda in it, and how much things have changed, even the old headlights. I also laugh about standing on the side of the road with a paper map because we didn't have GPS yet.

In some ways I miss the old days, there is something to be said about the simple times, and the fun and adventures we had because we didn't have technology to solve the problems for us.

 

[R-Rated]

I would love to see modern v-twins with kick starts along with the push button start. There is something to just having the look of the kicker on the bike that looks so damn cool. Even if i barely used it, it would be nice to look at.

As for old tech, not sure I really want brakes that will stop me eventually, or sooner if there is a wall in the way, and tires that I get a week out of hahahaha. But there is something that a few bikes still come with that I don't have on any of my modern bikes and that is an analog tachometer. There is an odd sense of purpose to seeing those RPM's shoot up, even on a low revving air cooled v-twin.

Does the Dyna not have the ability to add a tachometer? There were Dynas in the couple of decades that had them so maybe your engine has the sensor and connector in it already.

Mine is really accurate. I can watch it fluctuate and I tell my FP3 to drop the RPM at idle I am sure it would bounce like the old carb bikes were prone to doing.

 

[LoneWolfer]

The Dyna does have the inputs R-Rated. it has an RPM display in the trip dialogue box, but that is a project I am considering further down the line. I can't figure out where I want to put the tach, or if there is a dual analog speedo/tach that i can just plug and play.

 

[Drakhen99]

I have a 79 KZ650SR in addition to my 05 Vulcan 800 Classic and my 19 Street Glide Special, so I guess I have a bit of all of it, minus the old tires [the previous owner put Shinkos on my KZ].

I really like the brakes and suspension on my KZ, it's plush but sporty, and the brakes work quite well. The upgraded ABS linked brakes on my Harley beat even that... but the Vulcan is best ridden at moderate speeds.

The Harley's suspension could use a plushness upgrade - it errs on the harsher side of sporty.

I love the new Z900RS because I think it answers this question, for standard bikes anyway. Modern engine/tech, with retro styling

-John

 

[Meifesto]

Kickstarting a 600cc single-cylinder was a pain.
And if you forgot the decompressing handle it was allot of pain xD

 

[Theodor]

Interestingly I have not thought about old bikes with modern tech as much, as old cars with modern tech. I guess the appearance of bikes has changed either too little, or only towards positive, for me. With cars, it is the opposite, for most models.
I have however thought,what would it be like, if my bike had the current looks, but the newer generation engine, the one with fuel injection. But it will not fit in that frame. I already checked

 

[R-Rated]

Kickstarting a 600cc single-cylinder was a pain.
And if you forgot the decompressing handle it was allot of pain xD

Back when Harleys had kickers, the inexperienced would get a little catapult if the engine wanted to be a butt.

 

[R-Rated]

Interestingly I have not thought about old bikes with modern tech as much, as old cars with modern tech. I guess the appearance of bikes has changed either too little, or only towards positive, for me. With cars, it is the opposite, for most models.
I have however thought,what would it be like, if my bike had the current looks, but the newer generation engine, the one with fuel injection. But it will not fit in that frame. I already checked

Wild that the new FI won't fit. Did you ever see this Valkyrie?

Those make me feel all warm inside

 

[Moto Mengy]

I owned and rode bikes from the 70's & 80's. I don't miss them at all, in my opinion modern bikes are leagues better and I'm glad the market has improved since then. It's largely why I don't miss riding a Harley Davidson, I've learned what I was missing tech and design wise and there's no going back for me now.

What modern motorcycle things would I have wanted 40 years ago? All of it!!!!

 

[Theodor]

Wild that the new FI won't fit. Did you ever see this Valkyrie?
Those make me feel all warm inside

I have. I even watched Jay Leno do a piece about it. And I still think the previous generation looks better

 

[LoneWolfer]

Back when Harleys had kickers, the inexperienced would get a little catapult if the engine wanted to be a butt.

Isn't there an actual ailment called Sportster Knee that people who owned Sporty's with kickers suffered from? And was that also a girls bike?

 

[R-Rated]

Isn't there an actual ailment called Sportster Knee that people who owned Sporty's with kickers suffered from? And was that also a girls bike?

I did not know the condition had a name

 

[Meifesto]

Only thing i miss sometimes would be an "emergency" kickstart, when the battery is dead, or the startbutton is funky.

 

[TMackie]

I really like the old look of bikes. If I could I'd do a restomod, all the old looks with modern tech. The old bikes had real flare.

 

[HRMV]

After beginning my current project bike I definitely think there are some key things would have been nice back in the day... Like brakes that work, suspension that doesn't go through your spine... However that being said there is something amazing about how simple they are.

A few spanners, some WD40 and a decent hammer and there's not much cannot be fixed.

 

[Theodor]

A big hammer and an iron lever, now thats some proper soviet equipment. Everything can be fixed with those two and sufficient amount of cursing.