The Aprilia 250 GP bike

The year is 1985 and the debut of an extraordinary GP bike the Aprilia in the GP 250cc class is a fact. The first bike has an alloy aluminium dual beam frame with a Marzocchi fork and a rear monoshock mounted on a pro lever type suspension. The engine is a two stroke Rotax tandem twin. In the debut on 23 March 1985 in Kyalami South Africa Loris Reggiani finishes 12th. For the rest of the championship the bike performs so well that Reggiani takes a third place at Rijeka and repeats this in Imola. In 1987 the Aprilia 250 rises quickly to the top. A new chassis and V-twin engine take it to second place (Salzburg and Rijeka). Victory is within reach and comes at Misano. The date is 30 August 1987 and Reggiani rides his AF1 250 to its first success in a Grand Prix race. In 1991 the bike configuration changes from AF1 to RSV (production bikes) and RSW (factory bikes). After three consecutive 250cc world titles for Aprilia with Biaggi from 1994 to 1996, the title is in 1998 for Loris Capirossi, as he beats fellow Aprilia rider Tetsuya Harada on the last corner of the last race in Argentina. The late 1990s also saw Valentino Rossi thrilling race fans on Aprilia machines as he won the first two of his total of nine World Championships, in the smaller classes. Rossi spent his first four years in Grand Prix racing on Aprilia bikes, winning the 125cc title in 1997 and the 250cc crown in 1999, before he moved up to the premier class. In 2007 the configuration changes to RSA. The last 250 World Championship on an Aprilia was for Marco Simoncelli with a bike under the Gilera brand, he succeeded in 2008. 

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Tandem twins

V-twins

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Ex Preining AF1 250 V-twin

Kim Newcombe

Born in Nelson, Newcombe grew up in Auckland, then moved to Australia (first Brisbane, then Melbourne) in 1963, and subsequently moved to Europe in 1968. He competed in the 500cc Grand Prix World Championship finishing second to Phil Read in the 1973 season on a König 500 developed completely by himself.

Read the amazing story about Kim and the König here

Kim Newcombe not forgotten

For pics of this awesome bike see

König 500

Suzuki GSXRG500

When you think you have seen all the Suzuki RG500 frame combinations, this bike pops up at Facebook. It is a combination of a Suzuki GSXR400 rolling chassis and an RG500 engine, made by Mark Walker. 

Want to know how it sounds see 

Suzuki GSXRG500

Mark Walker also makes some very trick stuff for the Suzuki RG500, like frames and dry clutches.

For pics of his parts see

Mark Walker RG500 parts

The golden era of sidecar cross

The eighties were the golden era of sidecar cross racing, this was the time of the big two stroke twins, Startwin even produced a four cylinder boxer engine. The leading companies were EML with their Jumbo and the Swedish Folan. Dutchman Jerry van der Heiden produced a Vtwin KTM engine for Ton van Heugten. Husqvarna made a prototype, the Proof 2000 with a Folan engine. 

For more pics see 

Sidecar cross engines

Want to know how they sound?

Folan sidecar

Hi-Tac Suzuki 500

Barry Sheene on the very special Hi-Tac Suzuki 500 two stroke twin. The Hi-Tac was Peter Inchley's (ex-Norvil chief) project, started in 1972. He saw that water cooling was desirable for two strokes and designed a thermo-siphon kit for the T500 (before Suzuki's own watercooled TR III). 

For more information and pics see 

Hi-Tac Suzuki 500

Lotus Rotorvic V12

This amazing assemblage is the V12 Rotorvic two stroke which appeared in British club racing in 1965, powering a specially modified Lotus 23 sports car. It consists of six Ariel Arrow two stroke motorcycle engines disposed at an included angle of 90-degrees and driving the central shaft. Transmission was via a Hewland five-speed gearbox and the engine was cooled via huge air-scoops in the body panelling. This 1482cc V12 made a ferocious noise and it was almost impossible to tell it was misfiring on one or two cylinders. It produced 220bhp at 10000RPM. The creator was R.V. Marchant and the driver was Bill Hill.

For more pics see

Lotus Rotorvic

Want to know how it sounds?

Lotus Rotorvic Youtube

Monotrack by Dan Hanebrink

Here we have a very special bike made by Dan Hanebrink! The description on the Hanebrink site (no longer there) pretty much sums it up: 

"In 1971 “Cycle News” publisher Chuck Clayton asked Costa Mesa, California engineer Dan Hanebrink to sketch a futuristic machine of the eighties for a front page Christmas issue of the newspaper. From this sketch Hanebrink developed his ideas and the result, two years later, was the Monotrack Experimental. This design accounted for a large number of firsts in motorcycle engineering. The monocoque chassis was made from magnesium plate and a three-cylinder, rubber-mounted, two-stroke Kohler snowmobile engine provided power to the belt-driven torque converter. Drive to the rear wheel was also by belt. Hanebrink produced the 16-inch cast magnesium wheels on which Goodyear racing tires were mounted. The suspension had no springs, but relied on air and oil damping. The circular component on the fork bottom and rear strut contains a central neoprene diaphragm, which separates the oil and air. In use, the oil in the suspension struts compresses the air under load, allowing 41/2 inches of travel in the front forks and 4 inches in the rear."

Dan Hanebrink has been building quite a few interesting vehicles over the years including the “Ice Bike” used in a bicycle trip to the south pole, which is now his Extreme Terrain Bike which can be used on sand, snow or wherever else a regular bike can’t go. Dan has done a little downhill bicycle racing, too, and of course there is the motorcycle business. 

Dan Hanebrink died at the age of 80 on 29 December 2018.

For more pics see

Hanebrink Monotrack