revtothelimit - motorbike forum

So... Having won our club's quiz last year, I've been tasked with creating the next annual motorbike quiz... I'm just in the process of putting a load of questions together, and it dawned on me that not only is my motorcycling knowledge (especially racing wise) all quite heavily biased towards the 90's and 00's, but also that most of the quizzes online that I've been using for inspiration are all a little samey too...

So... I'm asking for some help...

Post your most obscure/random/interesting questions (with answers, which of course I will be verifying before using) that other people would almost certainly not have thought of to ask... If you would that is...

In return you will have my undying gratitude and respect!

The only proviso is that the questions need to be motorcycle related... Beyond that, anything is fair game... I'm trying to stay away from racing now (got that covered to a large degree, though by all means if you have an obscure gem, please post it) and look at other topics a little more... But appreciate anything you've got to give.

Hit me...

The first brakes ever installed on a motorcycle were by a company known as 'Steffey Motorcycles' of Philadelphia in 1902.

Donnie McLeod was Nial Mackenzie's teammate on an Armstrong in 1985.

Jawa 250 uses gear lever to activate the clutch as well as the usual hand lever, can be amusing when someone borrows the bike and you forget to tell them

Phil Reed was the first rider to win world championships in the 125cc, 250cc, and 500cc GP classes.

What shape are NR500 pistons? Stadium, not oval.

The full TT circuit is 37.73 miles.

Triumph motorcycles first appeared as a manufacturer in Germany. The English company didn't start up until a few years later. (I can't remember how many).

In 1894 Hildebrand & Wolfmüller became the first series production motorcycle, and the first to be called a "motorcycle", German: Motorrad

Erich Wolf invented the expansion chamber, Kaaden improved it.
Ernst Degner stole the design for disc valves and gave them to Suzuki
Kawasaki's original racing colour was dark red & white ( Kawasaki USA was credited with choosing green as an unlucky colour to big up the bad boy image)
Kawasaki USA also made a 2 stroke racing car

The first mass-production motorcycle to be fitted with tubeless tyres was? The 1977 Honda CX500.

There's a few possibilities here:

The Honda Super Cub is the best-selling motorcycle of all time, with over 110 million units produced since 1958. It is not only the top-selling motorcycle but also the most produced motor vehicle in history, comfortably surpassing the Toyota Corolla and Volkswagen Beetle.

How long to get round this planet?

The fastest, generally accepted, and most commonly cited motorcycle circumnavigation is 19 days, 8 hours, and 25 minutes, set by Kevin and Julia Sanders in 2002. They rode 19,461 miles two-up on a BMW R1150GS Adventure, a record that remains a benchmark.

Count Steer wrote: Mon Mar 23, 2026 2:26 pm The first mass-production motorcycle to be fitted with tubeless tyres was? The 1977 Honda CX500.

Wasn't the RD400 the first mass-proddie bike with alloy wheels?

World's smallest...

Tom Wiberg (Sweden) built a motorcycle with a front wheel diameter of 16 mm (0.62 in) and a rear wheel diameter of 22 mm (0.86 in), and rode it for more than 10 m (32.8 ft) in Hökerum, Sweden in 2003.

I think 'motorcycle' is a bit of an exaggeration though.

Ian wrote: Mon Mar 23, 2026 1:29 pm Kawasaki's original racing colour was dark red & white ( Kawasaki USA was credited with choosing green as an unlucky colour to big up the bad boy image)

The story (at least here) is some blokes from their first US office (in Santa Monica) were walking down the street & saw a bunch of mis-mixed paint discounted at a local paint store & decided to use it for the race bikes.
The A1/A7's were dark red/white at the time.

When was the MoT test introduced in the UK for motorcycles? How old were the bikes involved?

1960/61, bikes over 10 years old.

derek badger wrote: Mon Mar 23, 2026 7:17 am Phil Reed was the first rider to win world championships in the 125cc, 250cc, and 500cc GP classes.

Freddie Spencer was the last rider to win the 250 and 500 GP championships in the same year in 1985

Le_Fromage_Grande wrote: Mon Mar 23, 2026 8:08 pm

derek badger wrote: Mon Mar 23, 2026 7:17 am Phil Reed was the first rider to win world championships in the 125cc, 250cc, and 500cc GP classes.

Freddie Spencer was the last rider to win the 250 and 500 GP championships in the same year in 1985

I loved watching that season. Proper megastar. Before he turned weird later in life.

Yorick wrote: Mon Mar 23, 2026 8:47 pm

I loved watching that season. Proper megastar. Before he turned weird later in life.

He seemed alright when I chatted to him about ten years ago at Donington, but I think he'd admit to going through a strange patch in the 90s.