February, 1967

February, 1967

ROUNDUP

WHY IS IT THAT TRIUMPHS always look so damn nice as magazine coverbikes? This issue’s T100R Daytona 500, which the editors labeled “a café racer's dream,” certainly is no exception.

Peruse the ads in this issue and it’s clear that some manufacturers were on a power kick.

Readers were invited to try the Bridgestone 175 Hurricane Scrambler, but only “If You Can Handle It.” Potential buyers of the Spitfire

Mk. Ill were told they could have “Big-Power Fun on a BSA.” The Ducati 160 Monza somehow had “Instant Power!” Montessa had a line of 250s, referred to as “The New Brutes From Barcelona.”

Other advertisements took a more esoteric approach. “People who know where this year’s place is...have known about Bultaco for years,” proclaimed the copy for a Metralla 250 in full Sixties-speak.

“Triumph is a Way of Life,” readers were instructed. There was also something called “The Kawasaki Feel,” which “Satisfies Your Passion for Excitement.” And BMW claimed that “When BMW Riders Meet, They Become Friends.”

Some advertisers couldn’t make up their minds. The Magnum Electra 500-a Japanese

BMW clone-was said to be "The Perfected Motorcycle," even though its main selling point seemed to be "500cc Cycle Can Be Bored To 600cc."

As today, Harley-Davidson didn't mince words and showed an air of superiority. Its Electra Glide model was simply presented as "Supreme In All the World."

David Edwards

Americans prefer machines that are perfectly legal on the high way and yet can be used for any of the various off-the-road ac tivities that we are able to dream up.

-from Benelli Barracuda 250 Road Test