Vintage Motorcycle Advertisements
June 11th, 2008 by Paul Crowe - "The Kneeslider"
Many of us have a lot of fond memories of old motorcycle ads, (remember the Norton girls?) whether of our favorite vintage motorcycle from back in the day or just a favorite ad you remember that brings back a flood of old memories. I happen to have a sizable stack of old motorcycle mags research library, filled with old motorcycle advertisements that I’m sure many of you will remember. I sprinkle these old ads throughout The Kneeslider, because I think they look pretty neat but, for the most part, you can’t see the details or read the ad.
Lately, I’ve been getting a lot of requests to see these ads in larger sizes so you can read the words and just remember when. From time to time I’ll put one of these out here so you can check it out. If you have a particular ad you remember but haven’t seen for a while, let me know, there’s a very good chance I have it. The images here are not big enough to print in a large size, as some of you would like, but I may make those available, too. In the meantime, here’s ad number 1, a Norton ad presented here for no other reason than to show you what we saw 40 years ago as we flipped through our favorite magazines. Enjoy!
Complete ad below:
Posted in Motorcycle Business, Motorcycle advertising, Vintage Motorcycles
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13 Responses to “Vintage Motorcycle Advertisements”
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June 11th, 2008 at 12:16 pm
Thanks Paul!
June 11th, 2008 at 12:28 pm
Thanks, Paul. I feel special today since I requested these only recently.
When I bought my 1970 Commando Roadster in Oct 70, I asked about arrangements to get the girl in the ads. Alas, harsh reality revealed I had to find the girl on my own. The one I found about 7 month later may not have been exactly like the one in the ads, but after 37 years we are still happily married. I won’t complain.
June 11th, 2008 at 12:46 pm
Nice. I would love to find ad for my ‘73 Bonneville, but I like looking at them all.
Thanks.
June 11th, 2008 at 1:19 pm
I also have ” research library” of old (1969 to 1975 ish) BigBike, Chopper and a couple of 50’s Hotrod Magazines. It is fun to look through at some of the old ideas and styles. My favorite is all of the multi engine dragsters of the era. some day I will have my tripple 750 h2 tripple 9 cylinder powered dragster.
June 11th, 2008 at 2:20 pm
By the way, in this particular ad, the guy sure looks like Jamie Farr, the actor who played Clinger in MASH, … could it be?
June 11th, 2008 at 2:32 pm
nah… if it was he’d be in a dress right?
June 11th, 2008 at 3:30 pm
Speaking of ads, the Allstate one on your front page is pretty fun. Thought I can’t quite make the bike as custom as I would like there are many more choices than on Harley’s Custom Configurator web site.
I inherited huge stacks of car and motorcycle magazines from my grand-dad and dad from the ’40’s to the early ’80’s. “Research” can definitely take a long time.
-todd
June 11th, 2008 at 4:05 pm
I Love these old adds. Hey Paul, - Here’s one for ya. How about a “Bridgestone Harry” add (”Harry’s got NEW friends now!”). Keep it up!
-GB
June 11th, 2008 at 5:33 pm
Well, heck those Norton and Ducati ads were often the only things that gave teenagers hope for a future with bikes and babes!
June 11th, 2008 at 7:57 pm
I wonder what a rough old hag that sheila would be these days!!!
June 12th, 2008 at 6:50 am
If memory serves correctly, the BSA ads were hotter than the Norton ads.
What about the ‘68 BSA Spitfire IV ads? Some are on e-bay, how about some larger images?
June 12th, 2008 at 12:08 pm
Note sure about the bike, but how could you forget that guy’s nose.
August 29th, 2008 at 2:12 pm
Hi, I was hoping to find some early Indian Motorcycle Company and Harley Davidson ads - (maybe 1950’s, 60’s 70’s).
If you have some, I’d like to purchase scanned in images of them. Please contact me at ericlee@wonderaffect.com.
Thanks!
Eric.