Kevin Stevens said:
>Yore wasn't very far along technically, so instead of the
>neat little integrated ignition-switch fork locks, there was a separate
>lock down on the steering head itself to lock the steering to one side or
>the other- my bike was just about the last to have one of these before the
>New Age of Enlightenment began.
The age of Enlightenment advances only sporadically. Motorcycle technology
has improved a lot. We have water cooling, electronic ignition, V4 engines
with quad cams, flat torque curves with twice the horsepower, better fuel
economy and lower maintenance. This is quite an improvement over the air
cooled, prone to overheat beasts of yore which required one to file the dual
points, adjust the dwell and timing, change the oil and adjust the valve
tappets every 2,000 miles.
Yet my 1999 Honda Magna still has side ignition and separate lock on the
steering head. Also has a manual choke with suicide style side pull
activation -- on a water cooled engine. I believe they now do this
intentionally as a throwback to the days of yore. It's been a few years
since my own pavement spirals but every time I unlock the steering or reach
down to shut off the choke it brings back fond memories of riding "real"
motorcycles.
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