Paul Hendrick in Ownership Guides ★ Featured Why We Keep Them Running: The Fellowship and Soul of Vintage Motorcycle Ownership In an era of touchscreens and disposable tech, riding a machine held together by mechanical fasteners and human touch connects us to something genuine. 3 min read 245 32
Paul Hendrick in Ownership Guides ★ Featured Restoring a 1974 Yamaha DT250: Castrol R, Autolube Pumps, and Two-Stroke Rebirth Resurrecting an iconic Japanese dual-sport taught me the nuances of rotary valves, crank seals, and the irreplaceable thrill of an early two-stroke powerband. 3 min read 160 21
Paul Hendrick in Ownership Guides ★ Featured BMW Airhead Longevity: Why the R75/5 Remains the Ultimate Cross-Country Classic Fifty years later, the air-cooled boxer twin from Munich is still capable of continent-crossing reliability if you respect its rhythm and valve clearances. 3 min read 185 24
Paul Hendrick in Ownership Guides ★ Featured The Reality of Owning a 1970s Honda CB750: What Nobody Tells You Before You Buy Four carburetors, oil-in-frame dry sumps, and electrical quirks vs. the indestructible engine symphony of motorcycle history’s greatest pioneer. 4 min read 142 18
Paul Hendrick in Ownership Guides Winter Storage & Spring Recommissioning: Protecting Vintage Metals and Seals Modern ethanol fuel eats vintage petcocks and float bowls alive. Follow this off-season protocol to ensure your classic starts instantly on the first sunny weekend. 3 min read 71 8
Paul Hendrick in Ownership Guides The Moto Guzzi Le Mans Experience: Longitudinal Torque, Shaft Drive, and Italian Soul Blipping the throttle produces an unmistakable lateral rock. Riding a 1980s Mandello del Lario icon is an exercise in rhythm, momentum, and deep charisma. 3 min read 134 16
Paul Hendrick in Maintenance & Tech Spoke Wheels and Inner Tubes: Roadside Puncture Repairs on the Backroads Cast wheels and tubeless plugs have made riders soft. Here is how to spoon a fresh tube into a vintage wire wheel with two tire irons and hand soap. 3 min read 82 6
Paul Hendrick in Ownership Guides Kickstarting Without Broken Shins: The Lost Ritual of Starting Big Vintage Singles Don't just kick wildly and pray. Understanding top dead center, compression releases, and fuel priming will get even a finicky 500cc single firing on kick one. 3 min read 112 14
Paul Hendrick in Maintenance & Tech Drum Brakes in Modern Traffic: Surviving and Thriving with 1960s Stopping Power Twin-leading-shoe drums have charm and surprising grip when properly arced and adjusted, but modern ABS traffic requires a complete recalibration of your brain. 3 min read 65 5
Paul Hendrick in Ownership Guides The Roadside Survival Kit Every Classic Motorcycle Rider Must Carry Modern roadside recovery won't fix a blown condenser or loose throttle cable fifty miles from nowhere. Here is what is in my weathered leather roll. 3 min read 89 7
Paul Hendrick in Restoration Stories Barn Find vs. Running Survivor: How to Calculate the True Cost of Your First Classic Project A cheap $800 rolling chassis can easily become a $5,000 money pit. Here is how to evaluate stuck engines, rotten tanks, and missing unobtainable trim. 3 min read 114 15
Paul Hendrick in Maintenance & Tech The Sacred Art of Carburetor Synchronization: Tuning Multi-Cylinder Classics by Vacuum From bench synch to manometer balancing, here is the methodical procedure to eliminate off-idle stumble and make vintage carbs purr in harmony. 3 min read 76 9
Paul Hendrick in Ownership Guides Living with Lucas Electrics: How I Tamed the "Prince of Darkness" on My Vintage Triumph You don’t need to fear 1960s British motorcycle wiring. Here is how modern grounding, Boyer ignition, and solid-state rectifiers transform reliability. 3 min read 98 12