25 Years Ago March, 1970

25 YEARS AGO MARCH, 1970

My response to pulling this issue from Cycle World's dusty, musty archives?

“Hey, that's exactly what I'm looking for!" It was the cover bike, a 1970 Yamaha XS650, tested here for the first time anywhere. More precisely, it was the front brake worn by that bike. Then, the XS650 was a ground-breaking bike for Yamaha. Now it’s the donor of the Hot Tip front brake-a trick, double-leadingshoe item-for the vintage racebike that languishes in my garage.

• Another road test in this month’s issue involved the Honda CT70 Trail Mini, not only every child’s dream, but also the putt-putt runabout most likely to grace the rear of a motorhome. “Stands tall among its competitors,” we said then. Who would have guessed that 25 years later, the bike still would be in Honda’s current model line?

• On the next page past that road test, a cool advertisement: A shop called Steen’s, in Alhambra, California, advertised Rickman frame kits and eight-valve Triumph engine conversions. Talk about your vintage-racebike heaven.

• Twingles—spirt-cylinder twostrokes featuring two pistons sharing a cylinder/combustion chamber shaped like an inverted U-were also explained here. Among the weird bikes I’ve owned was a Puch 250, a fine little piece, complete with interchangeable wheels and a terrific suspension system, that was powered by a Twingle. I kinda wish I still had it.

Jon F. Thompson