Better Beaters - Building Cars and Daily Drivers

 Thinking about "Occhio Lungo" 

The image of this Excelsior greets you on the homepage.

Fun stuff from 100 years ago.

Occhio Lungo is an old Italian saying that means "long eye."

The site was started and produced by Pete Long.

Unfortunately the site has been dormant for many years, but it is still accessible and is an amazing treasure trove of information, and especially of high quality photographs of antique machinery. The site covers many activities and runs, these guys really like to get their old bikes out on the road. No garage or trailer queens here! 

Pete's goal in producing this site was to get more people exposed to, and excited about early machinery.  The only time I had ever seen an antique motorcycle outside of a museum was years ago at the Alameda Naval Air Station swap meet. Someone brought two old bikes. Teens to early Twenties. I wish that I had checked them out further and asked about the price.  

In all my years of CL watching I don't think that I've ever seen a pre War motorcycle offered for sale. I guess that the best way to find one would be through an antique bike club. 

I would imagine that they would be pretty pricey, like most other collectible vehicles. 

This article described how to build a sporty "cut down"
out of an older model.

Hybrid engine bikes were not unusual during the '40's and '50's. With Harley Davidsons, later OHV barrels and heads were often grafted onto earlier bottom end assemblies. Because evolution was gradual, and models ran in production over a long period, many later mechanical components were often compatible or easily modified to fit earlier machines. Updating early bikes both mechanically or cosmetically was an economical way to own a personalized motorcycle.

The Vincent V Twin was rare back then and remains rare Today.

There is a long history of "Bob jobs" being built out of early Indians and Harleys. As motorcycles developed in the '20's and '30's they became somewhat heavier, with larger more effective fenders, bigger seats, and extra lighting. Then they began to be fitted with road bike equipment, like crash bars, windshields, luggage racks, saddle bags, and passenger seats.  Since there were no specific sport models being built at this time, the big twins were stripped to their essentials to lower weight to gain more performance. 

Later, the vertical British Twins like the Triumph, BSA, and Norton were built specifically as sporty jobs that didn't need to be stripped down. HD followed suit with the new Sportster.

Old Harleys and Indians are more familiar than many other marques from the past. There is some very interesting engineering displayed by these manufacturers. There were hundreds of independent manufacturers that were founded and later went out of business during this period. Some were quite advanced for the period.

Take a look at these machines.

True antiques that are a hundred or more, years old are fascinating. The newest model that qualifies under that standard is from 1925. For an automotive reference point, that would be from the era of the final Model T Fords. They were replaced by the Model A in 1928.

My exposure to this website increased my interest in antique motorcycles, which led me to attend a local National show and swap meet in Dixon this Summer. This was an Antique Motorcycle Club of America event. I was so enthused by the event that I signed up to join the club, which produces a very high quality magazine and online forum. They also put on smaller shows and swaps around the Northern California area. I attended one of their swap meets in Modesto a few months ago. I don't know if I will ever own an antique motorcycle of my own, but it is fun visiting the shows to admire the bikes that are on display.