05-06-2014, 12:58 AM
I have a real retro bike in my garage - a 73 Ducati 750GT. It has Amal carburetors that wear the slides out quickly, spoked rims that need truing every couple of years, kick starting which aggravates my 66 year old right knee. The points ignition sucked too but I replaced with an electronic ignition. The good part is the bike has a comfortable riding position, sounds great, handles pretty good and is a lot of fun to ride.
I would be very happy to see more bikes like the W800 imported - retro look and riding position but with modern components. However, the real problem is that it costs hundreds of thousands of dollars to get a bike through US emissions, safety and noise compliance tests. The reverse is true when trying to export US bikes to Japan or Europe. Why not a universal set of standards? Every company is afraid of competition from foreigners.
I would be very happy to see more bikes like the W800 imported - retro look and riding position but with modern components. However, the real problem is that it costs hundreds of thousands of dollars to get a bike through US emissions, safety and noise compliance tests. The reverse is true when trying to export US bikes to Japan or Europe. Why not a universal set of standards? Every company is afraid of competition from foreigners.