Cw 25 Years Ago August, 1965

CW 25 YEARS AGO AUGUST, 1965

IF IT DOES NOTHING ELSE, LOOKING back at this old issue of Cycle World reminds me of another in

a long line of mistakes I’ve made. The bike on the cover was a Norton Atlas. But that’s okay,

I’ve never craved Nortons. Ah, but featured inside was a test of a Ducati 250 Mk.III, a jewel-like little production racer. When this rascal was introduced,

I was a drooling student whose appetite for fine equipment rather exceeded his budget for same. That didn’t

prevent me from finding the nearest Ducati dealership and talking my way into a test ride. The joy of it! And oh, the agony! Even at the now-laughable price of $729, it was way out of my league; deeply involved with tuition and books, I

could find no way to buy it. Bad mistake. I’ve since learned to do whatever’s necessary, short of armed

robbery, to obtain the motorcycles I require.

Also in that issue was a Royal Enfield ad, wonderful for its naiveté, which tempted readers to “Cruise all day at 85 mph” (which manufacturer would dare offer that advice today?); a photo of popmusic celeb Fabian aboard his new Yamaha tiddler; a piece about an Arizona designer touting a single-piece

riding suit made of stretch fabric; an Isle of Man retrospective; and a tech piece on the internals of the Norton Manx engine. Good stuff, but don t call us retro-fanatics. Cruising at 85 aside, we’ll stick with 1990.

Jon F. Thompson