Motorbikin' Without Leaving The Sofa Quiz

Answer: Velocette KTT

Velocette were made in Birmingham by Veloce Ltd and not only was the 350cc KTT the first production racer with a positive-stop foot gear change, it also became, in 1937, the first with a swingarm rear suspension using separate shock absorber units. The KTT had many successes at the Isle of Man TT races and Brooklands and led to good sales of the road going variants, the KSS, KTS and KTP. Velocette went into voluntary liquidation in 1971.

Answer: 0

Knievel jumped or attempted to jump many things during his career, including the Caesars Palace fountains in Las Vegas, 19 cars and 13 Pepsi delivery trucks but despite trying for years, never got to attempt the Grand Canyon as the U.S. Interior Department refused to allow him airspace over the canyon.

In 1999 though, he got to watch his son Robbie jump the canyon at a section owned by the Hualapai Indian Reservation. Although the jump was successful and set a personal record of 228 feet, Robbie lost control on landing and crashed, breaking a leg.

Answer: Honda CB750

Introduced in 1969, the CB750 Four ended the dominance of the V twin competition and has been called the most significant bike to appear in 30 years, if not most significant bike of all time, by motorcycling experts as its transverse in-line four has become the most popular engine design in use today. An automatic model was made for USA, although sales of this were disappointing. Production of the CB750 ceased in 2003, but in 2007 a new CB750 looking very similar to the original 70s version was manufactured and sold in Japan only.

Answer: First transcontinental female motorcyclists

In 1915, Effie Hotchkiss of Brooklyn was bored with her job as a bank clerk and decided to buy a V Twin, Three Speed Harley Davidson in order to see America. Avis, her mother, decided a trip across a country full of bandits, native tribes and wild animals was not suitable for a woman alone, so insisted on a sidecar being fitted so that she could accompany her.

They left Brooklyn on May 2nd and arrived in San Francisco two months later, with Effie also learning mechanic skills along the way. After taking in the Panama-Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco, they then made the return journey, meaning they covered a total of 9000 miles in five months.

Answer: Finland

Imatra is a street circuit and until 1979, when the circuit was altered, competitors had to cross a railway line. The circuit lost its World Championship status in 1982 following the death of sidecar racer Jock Taylor but Finland went back on the calendar for the 2019 season, with Moto GP racing at the newly constructed Kymi Ring in Iitti.

Answer: Wilkinson Sword

Prior to the TMC, Wilkinson Sword made a military reconnaissance motorcycle which had a steering wheel in place of handlebars and a machine gun mounted on the sidecar. The TMC was a four cylinder, three speed bike with the luxury of a bucket seat for the rider, but production ceased when Wilkinson Sword had to use their steel to concentrate on making bayonets for the war effort, and never resumed after the war.

The company is now known for razors and other grooming products.

Answer: Kawasaki

Depending on the year, the bike was either a Kawasaki KZ900 or a KZ1000, known as the KZP to differentiate it from a normal KZ which didn't have the CHiPS modifications such as lights, sirens, fairing and radio equipment. In the 2017 movie "CHiPS", the bike again reflected real life CHiPS as it was the BMW R1200RT on the screen.

The police bike has the suffix P added to its name to indicate the modifications, which apart from the ones available for the 70s Kawasaki also include a gun rack.

Answer: Super Cub

The Super Cub is the most produced motor vehicle in history and its models include the C50, C70, C90 and C100. In 2017, production of this evergreen bike passed the 100 million mark. It is still manufactured in Japan, China, Thailand and South America.

Answer: Hats

Hirotake Arai was a keen biker who had his share of spills and soon realised that as Japan was a closed market at the time with no domestic helmet manufacturers, it was very difficult to get a helmet that would offer a good degree of protection. With this in mind, he switched from making hats to making helmets and in the process, as there were no legal standards in Japan, developed his own testing equipment and standards. Hirotake died in 1986 and ownership of the company passed to his son Michio and grandson Akihito.

Answer: Buell

Although Buell entered two 1190RX bikes in the 2014 championship, ridden by Geoff May and Aaron Yates, it was wildcard entrant Larry Pegram that won the first points by finishing in 14th place in race two at Laguna Seca, securing two points and a place in history.