They do say classic design never fades and that copying is the highest form of flattery in which case the 1980’s original Japanese bike designers must have got something right. Meandering around one of the Heptanese islands I have been struck by the number of copycat small monkey bikes and narrow engineered enduros – all are perfectly designed for the islands and rough gravel and pitted roads. This well used and sun bleached Skyteam ST200 model was born in 2007 and with 17HP is faster than much of the local taxi and tourist traffic. The ST200 looks like a slimmer love child created by blending a 1991 Honda XR250 and a 1993 Suzuki DR350 – nice to know that classic design lives on care of the Jiangsu Sacin Motorcycle Company based in Nanjing. But one question remains – now that Honda have announced the release of a new 125cc classic monkey bike following on from the success of the Grom, maybe design is going full circle with Honda recreating the Skyteam copy of a Suzuki copy of a Yamaha copy of a Honda original – I can see patent lawyers rubbing their hands together from here…
Category Archives: Travel Blogs
Kåfjord Memories
Somewhere in Norway, I pulled over into the side of a minor dirt road, skirting past the fjords on the lead up to . The sun was shining and rain had long since passed, there was not a sign of a single other vehicle for miles around and I drifted into lay by next to the Tirpitz Museum – thinking it was closed I tried the door only to startle a young man who’s summer job was welcoming the occasional lost traveller – I remember the day like it was yesterday, a strange array of twisted metal and shell casings, plus well restored photographs of the attacks by the RAF and midget submarines from the Royal Navy, plus a well restored snow camouflaged 80 year old BMW bike…
To vignette or not to vignette
I am not a great fan of motorways, the endless tedium of riding through a landscape at speed does nothing to enhance the journey but on occasion I understand that it is needed. Taking minor roads in eastern Europe can be challenging as the roads are potholed, poorly surfaced and staffed by military and civilian police only too keen to relieve you of cash for minor traffic violations. I was stopped recently by the military police and while they checked our papers (the bikes and mine) they at least could not query the collection of vignettes accumulated for recent journeys. The chance of getting stopped in these countries is proportionally higher on an imported bike and you can be seen a mobile cashpoint by some officers so my advice is for the sake of a few Kuna or Euro get the right badge and keep a few small value euro notes in your display wallet to ease the way as needed – after all everyone has to make a living.
Rendőrség – Could I outrun them?
I think it is fair to say that I could have outrun the Hungarian Civil Guard members who were laying in wait on the back roads near Szekszard in Tolna but even I knew better… as I traveled further east the one striking observation I have is that Policemen’s hats get bigger, I mean the cap size, enormous, like some overhanging sunshade. The car was lovely and in fairness so were they – more interested in the bike and my passport than anything else and seeing as I responded to the request for “papers please” with the correct documents they let me go. With a parting wave i noticed the lack of door trims and the fact that the boot was held shut with a bit of string and a bungee – least I could have done is given them a rocstrap…
What makes a classic?
Sometimes it is the first bike you had, sometimes it the one you did a special trip on or the one you made another personal connection with, sometimes it is a bike you lusted after as a youth. I have always loved the angular style and square ‘in your face’ engine of the old and original K Series bikes from BMW. I found this, an unpainted aluminum tanked, 1989/90 K75C in Berlin this week… The bike was propped up under an industrial unit balcony, being protected from the worst of the winter elements, and after almost 30 years it looked like it would have coughed into life. From memory and new, it would have had about 70bhp so not much chance of me getting a (read ‘another’ German) speeding ticket, even if I had persuaded the owner to part with the flying brick…
