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Two-Wheel Tuesday: 1990 Honda RC30

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On July 16, 2019

In Motorcycle, Two-Wheel Tuesday

Honda RC30 by cars
The 1990 Honda RC30 was a limited-production race bike for the street

For this edition of Two-Wheeled Tuesday I’m going to talk about one of the few vehicle’s I’ve let go that I wish I still had. The 1990 Honda RC30 was a very special motorcycle indeed. First, it was only offered for one year in the U.S., and only 300 RC30s were sold that year. This means finding a Honda RC30 for sale, in any shape, is challenging.

Honda RC30 Rock Store
Every time I took my RC30 to the Rock Store it got quite a reaction

If you are lucky enough to find an RC30 for sale you’re likely to find one that’s been heavily modified. These bikes were so capable in stock form that many owners used them as club racers, with all the modifications that come with that duty. My Honda RC30 had less than 10,000 miles and was completely original. I had guys tell me to swap out the bike’s exhaust canister. Not for performance, but to keep it somewhere safe. “If that gets damaged you’ll never find another one.”

Honda RC30 Tank
Every aspect of the Honda RC30 was unique, even its fuel tank design

All Honda RC30s were built at Honda’s race shop (versus a traditional assembly line) and everything from the 750cc V4 engine’s titanium connecting rods to the “Big Bang” 360-degree firing order was done for maximum performance. There were simply no compromises in this motorcycle’s quest for power and performance.

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1973 Triumph Hurricane Mulholland

Two-Wheeled Tuesday: Triumph X75 Hurricane

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On July 9, 2019

In Motorcycle, Triumph Motorcycle, Two-Wheel Tuesday

1975 Triumph Trident 1973 Triumph Hurricane

The 1975 Triumph Trident and 1973 Triumph Hurricane are two of my favorite bikes

For a long time, the Triumph X75 Hurricane was my ultimate dream motorcycle. As previously noted, I grew up in a house full of classic British motorcycles. Sure, 1960s and 1970s BSAs and Triumphs weren’t quite as “classic” in the 1980s. They were mostly thought of as old, leaky, unreliable has-beens compared to the more advanced Japanese motorcycles of the day.

1973 Triumph Hurricane Dodge Challenger

The Hurricane’s fiberglass bodywork flowed from its tank to the side panels

But any enthusiast with foresight knew, even back then, these bikes told a compelling emotional story flush with timeless design elements and an engaging man-machine interface. And within the massive spectrum of classic British two-wheelers there were bikes like the Vincent Black Shadow, the Norton Commando and the Triumph X75 Hurricane. I appreciate all legendary British motorcycles, but I personally loved the Triumph X75 Hurricane.

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1987 Ducati Paso Rear

Two Wheel Tuesday: 1987 Ducati Paso

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On July 2, 2019

In Ducati Motorcycle, Motorcycle, Two-Wheel Tuesday

1987 Ducati Paso Profile

The Ducati Paso was sold from 1987 through 1989 in the U.S.

In 1990 I was in college at the University of Colorado at Boulder. My personal fleet consisted of two muscle cars and one vintage British motorcycle. At that point I had zero experience with Italian motorcycles, but I’d always been fascinated by Ducatis and MV Agustas. In November of 1990 I had an opportunity to buy a 1987 Ducati Paso from a BMW motorcycle dealer in Fort Collins. I remembered when the bike was new a few years earlier and this Ducati Paso was being offered at what seemed like a low price — $3,200.

1987 Ducati Paso Rear

My Ducati Paso had an orange tint to what should have been deep red paint

I went and looked at it, took it for a short test drive, then bought it and drove it back from Fort Collins to my apartment in Boulder. One issue I spotted immediately was an orange tint to what was supposed to a be deep red paint. The dealer told me the bike was originally from Alabama and was kept outside. He said the paint had faded from the sun exposure. I later discovered rust throughout the clutch system that had to be drained and cleaned to get it to work properly (presumably also from sitting out in humid Alabama). I had the local Suzuki shop in Boulder perform the work, which they completed without issue.

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Two-Wheel Tuesday: 1991 Ducati 851 Superbike

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On June 25, 2019

In Ducati Motorcycle, Motorcycle, Two-Wheel Tuesday

1991 Ducati 851 Superbike

The Ducati 851 Superbike was among the most advanced bikes sold in the U.S. in 1991

On July 15th, 1992 I bought a 1991 Ducati 851 Superbike. This was my second Ducati, after selling my 1987 Ducati Paso a few days earlier. I had graduated from CU Boulder a couple months earlier and couldn’t normally afford a near-new Italian motorcycle, but I sold the Paso for $4,600 (a nice profit after buying it for $3,200) and the same dealer in Fort Collins, Colorado, offered me this bike for $8,700. A 1991 Ducati 851 Superbike cost over $12,000 new, and only a couple hundred were imported to the U.S. Getting a year-old 851, with 1,800 miles on the odometer, for $8,700 seemed like a deal I couldn’t pass up.

1991 Ducati 851 Superbike Gauges

The 851’s gauge cluster, controls and riding position were designed for aggressive performance

These Ducatis had an impressive spec sheet for the era. In 1991 there were only about four bikes offering fuel injection, two were Ducatis and two were BMWs. The 851 Superbike’s 90-degree V-twin also featured four valves per cylinder and water cooling. Horsepower was rated at 93 and weight was about 460 pounds. The Ducati 851 Superbike’s technology and performance was a big step up from my 1975 Triumph Trident and 1987 Ducati Paso. It’s capabilities on Colorado’s twisting mountain roads were, quite honestly, above my skill level at the time, though I slowly expanded my riding prowess. It’s red paint and Italian styling were also quite exotic in 1990s Colorado.

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Two-Wheel Tuesday: 1975 Triumph T160 Trident

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On June 18, 2019

In Motorcycle, Triumph Motorcycle, Two-Wheel Tuesday

1975 Triumph Trident T160 Front

The 1975 Triumph T160 Trident was the last stand for vintage British triples

The first bike I’ll be featuring on Two-Wheel Tuesday is a 1975 Triumph T160 Trident. This was the last year of the vintage Triumph three-cylinder motorcycles that started production in 1968. I’ve actually owned two of these motorcycles, one when I was still in Colorado and one after I moved to California. They were identical, right down to color (both had the purple-and-white gas tank). The Triumph T160 Trident was a fabulous ending to a tragic story.

1975 Triumph T160 Trident

This final Trident featured disc brakes, a 5-speed transmission and electric start

In its final year the Triumph T160 Trident finally offered a 5-speed transmission, front and rear disc brakes and an electric starter. It was fully competitive with the Honda CB750, the Japanese motorcycle that essentially killed the British bike industry. Unfortunately, the Honda offered all those features years before the Trident, and by the time the T160 arrived its parent company was already in dire financial straits. The Triumph Trident T160 is the epitome of too little, too late. A few hundred stragglers were produced in 1976, dubbed Triumph Cardinals and sold to Saudi Arabia to serve as police bikes, before Triumph halted all production of its three-cylinder motorcycles.

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