Re: old design was oilheads-digest V 1 #47

[Steve Makohin <wateredg@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

On 1/6/04 10:10 PM, john h. outlan joutlan@xxxxxxxxxxxx wrote:

>Original Message ----- 
>From: "Steve Makohin" <wateredg@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
>To: "Oilheads list server" <oilheads@xxxxxxxxx>
>Sent: Tuesday, January 06, 2004 10:05 PM
>Subject: Re: old design was  oilheads-digest V 1 #47
>
>
>snip....
>>
>> A few years ago, I spent almost 2 weeks in Ireland. They's motorcycle
>> crazy out there. Bikes everywhere, and lots of 'em. I didn't see a single
>> Harley or metric cruiser, though. The clear two wheeled mount of choice
>> is a 600 cc sports bike. I doubt the BMW 1200CL would do well in Ireland.
>>
>> Hey, is anyone interested in an insight into the American Harley
>> preference vs the European sports bike preference?
>>
>> -Steve
>>
>>  Oakville, Ontario, Canada
>>  2000 R1100S/ABS, Mandarin
>
>I'll byte Steve =)  I do have some first hand experience re: England and
>middle western Europe, though it's probably stale by now ....

This information is according to a documentary I saw on the TV regarding 
the history of motorcycle. A large grain of salt should be handy, as I am 
not personally able to validate the authenticity of these apparently 
logical claims.

The history of motorcycling in the US and Europe was allegedly influenced 
by the horsemen in the respective countries, and their preferred riding 
style. According to the documentary, European horsemen often found 
themselves in wooded areas and hilly terrain, and they preferred to have 
their stirrups and saddle in a configuration in which it was easier for 
the rider to avoid low hanging boughs, and to readily adjust his balance 
- -- the rider was often crouched slightly, knees bent and feet pretty well 
beneath the saddle. Horsemen venturing into towns and villages found 
themselves amongst "old architecture" -- roads were narrow and twisty, 
originally designed for nothing more than being traversed on foot.

When the dawn of the motorcycling era was upon Europe, there were no 
cruisers, "street fighters" or "standards". Motorcycles simply started 
out as bicycles with an engine. But as these motorcycles evolved, it 
"made sense" to European riders that they should have similar 
characteristics to those that European horsemen found to be desirable: 
Something that could negotiate old European towns and village streets 
(narrow and twisty). To the European, having a motorcycle configuration 
that was similar to the typical horseback riding style, was an "obvious" 
choice. This eventually took the form of sport inclined motorcycles.

Contrast this, according to the documentary, to North America, where 
horsemen tended to work the plains; large expanses of mostly flat lands. 
North American riders tended to lean back in the saddle, butt planted 
firmly in the saddle, and feet forward of the vertical center line. The 
terrain in North America as well as the towns and villages were different 
than in Europe. Streets tended to be built wider, and distanced between 
towns were greater due to the vastness of the land. As motorcycles 
evolved in North America from their "bicycle with a motor" origins, they 
tended to take the form of the plainsman's mount: upright or slightly 
back seating posture, feet forward of center, and optimized for straight 
line traveling for "longer" distances. This lead to the cruise style 
motorcycle which remains popular in North America to this day.


Disclaimers:

 o People who described the above events claim to have studied the
   history of motorcycling, and specifically, the origins of these
   two different styles of motorcycles. 

 o When I visited The Art Of Motorcycle exhibit put on in Las Vegas
   by the Guggenheim Museum, their statements on this subject were
   consistent.

 o I have no more information to indicate the accuracy of these
   claims.

- -Steve

 Oakville, Ontario, Canada
 2000 R1100S/ABS, Mandarin

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