Motorcyclist Archives 1987: The Best of Motorcycling

Tough Days And Garaged Nights
Then-Feature Editor Nick Ienatsch found himself in a bit of a jam when he wrote this editorial in the September '87 issue. He was overdue on stories and pictures and had the art director after him for a photo. His lunch partner canceled shortly before their meeting and none of this really phased him. That evening, Nick knew that he had a much-needed date with his garage.

He realized that the time spent in his private two-car garage gave him the power to get through the rough days. And rough days he had experienced as of late, including a day at Los Angeles County Raceway. There he spent the day with a “recalcitrant test bike that insisted on doing everything but running down the quarter-mile. It coughed, sputtered, lunged and wheezed…” None of this bothered Ienatsch since he had planned an evening of adjusting valves on his FZ600 long-term test bike. Also on the list of potential projects to keep him busy were to change the oil in his Toyota, or wax his favorite project bike, a Harley-Davidson Evolution XLCR.

Time in the garage is not always a singular pursuit for Nick. On occasion he was visited by motorheads like Joe Minton who might be tinkering with a project of his own or helping the writer with a more involved project.

The garage is a two-car affair set away from the house (and telephone) with a static-riddled radio and two sets of fluorescent lights. Lights are a thing he deems mandatory to a successful garage. His garage relies mainly on hand tools. To complement these things are a ⅜-inch drill, a vice, and a bench grinder. Also in reserve are three unnamed air tools without a compressor to power them.

As you would expect, Motorcyclist has a garage at the office but Nick prefered the comforts of his own garage. The tool selection was better and there was little order in that space. Too many mechanics sharing a space guaranteed that.

Although he holds his own man cave in high regard, it is not the space which he pays homage to; it is the repayment to the machines for the incredible high that captured his love of the garage. He sees maintenance as an insurance policy for future performance. Torquing cylinder heads, gapping plugs, and tightening engine mounts are his form of payment for the excitement the machines give him.

No matter the space, be it a 3,600-square-foot garage or a tiny a carport, he saw this work as enjoyment that all should experience. When a machine breaks, there are basic steps that a mechanic can take. People are not quite as easy to fix.

He does enjoy people and in fact, they mean more to him than motorcycles. He just finds that garage time to be the thing that helps him unwind at the end of a challenging day.

The Best Of Motorcycling
For the September 1987 issue, the staff of Motorcyclist magazine compiled what are known as listicles today. The best of, the odd, and the offbeat.

In "Best Contemporary Collectibles," the staff saw these as the bikes that were different enough with small enough production numbers that qualify them as future collectibles. Did they get it right?

With the touring rider in mind, Harley-Davidson sponsored a contest to put this list together. The staff downright stole this one. Here are the results:

Harley-Davidson dealers handed out brochures of this list (50 total roads) in 1987. Stop by your local shop and see if they still have one floating around and let us know if you find one.

In this 1987 list of "Best Features," we were treated to some of the best motorcycle features seen on bikes that made them easier to work on and ride.