I can't recall even seeing anyone riding one of those strange and ugly Aeromacchi singles. It appears they have a following, so I assume there must be some feature that overcomes how ugly they are. So do they ride really well or really fun to ride?

I worked at a HD dealership in the 70s and they were a typical 4 stroke thumper, HD raced them in short track. There was a 350ERS that was built for racing. That was when AMF owned HD and had bought Aeramachi to fill in the smaller bikes.

1960. I had just gotten out of the Navy and I wanted a small commuter for NYC traffic.

Wanted one really bad when I first started riding in 1967. Early versions were 250cc, later 350cc.

They come up for sale here and there. Don’t want to imagine what someone would have to go through to find parts. H-D has nothing nor did they when I started in a dealership in 1999. Harley issued a letter that addressed the issue that pretty much said “don’t call us, we won’t call you”

Big regret, early 90’s I was at a hot rod swap meet and a guy offered me an insane amount of Aeromacci parts all NIB for almost nothing. Should have taken him up on it.

Some variation of one. Shifting on the right side is different.

I've only seen a few, never ridden one.

For those curious about the appearance of the bike:



I kinda prefer its appearance to most of the modern stuff.

quote:

Originally posted by Oz_Shadow:

Some variation of one. Shifting on the right side is different.

Definitely. I owned an early 1950's Sunbeam, shifted with right foot, rear brake left foot.

Some of the Brit cycles of that era were not only shift on the right, but also upside down -- press the shifter down for higher gears & vice versa.

quote:

Originally posted by V-Tail:
ycles of that era were not only shift on the right, but also upside down -- press the shifter down for higher gears & vice versa.

This was the case with my (Italian) 1973 Moto Guzzi V7 Sport as well. The right shift wasn't a problem so much as the "down to upshift" was.

I was told the right side shift was for racing on those tiny dirt circle tracks.

Harley Sprints, Sportsters through 1974 and British bikes through 1974 had the shifter on the right side. Often these bikes were used in flat track racing, flat tracking is all left turns.

Shifting on the right was a Euro thing mostly, they eventually all migrated to the left side in the 70s. Harley Sportsters shifted on the right originally also. I ran into a guy at a Grand Prix in Florence, KS , Memorial weekend that specialized in restoring the HD Aermacahi 2 strokes , he had several with him.

Right side brake, left side shift. Federal mandate that went in effect for the 1975 model year.

quote:

Originally posted by shovelhead:

Right side brake, left side shift. Federal mandate that went in effect for the 1975 model year.

My first "real" motorcycle was right foot rear brake, left foot clutch. Right grip throttle, left grip ignition timing. Shift was left hand, Next to the gas tank.

Right foot was starter, but it was a good idea to park at the top of a hill.