20 INCH BIKE RIMS

60+ years after it was designed, the Major is still an awe-inspiring piece of machinery. Those wheels would not look out-of-place on a modern bike either. And it is far, far more beautiful than that ugly monstrosity Batman rode in The Dark Knight.

An engineer in Turin, Italy, Salvatore Majorca, designed a draft of the Major in 1948. His goal was to create an exceptional piece of art, both stylistically and mechanically.

Aesthetically, one look will tell you that the Major was years, or even decades, ahead of its time when compared to its contemporaries. A close look at the bike shows it to be of extraordinary construction. The unique lines only left the handlebars, seat, and wheels exposed to view. After World War II, when Italy was full of Moto Guzzi's, the Major was sure to turn heads, make grown men drool, and been quite the babe magnet.

However, Majorca's design was not just an exercise in style; it was a mechanical wonder too. The entire forward section of the bike's body was formed around the rider and was an important component in the body's aerodynamics. Majorca also included a few hidden surprises. The body appears to conceal the suspension, but in reality, the suspension is non-existent. The suspension function was designed into the wheels. Suspension and shock absorbsion was accomplished with special rubber cylinders between the wheel's hub and the wheel's rim.

The Major was a fascinating project, but it was too expensive to go into production and so this bike remains the only unit ever built.

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Yours truly during a previous lifetime (on the Honda Goldwing, mid turn).

This exercise, which I dubbed, “the U-Turn,” was an adaptation of others I had previously been taught but later developed as a result of my street experiences. Here, I’m demonstrating the technique to a couple of my students. Looks easy, doesn’t it?

Most traffic lanes are 11 ? to 13 feet in width. The exercise represents a narrow, two lane street at an intersection. The motorist traveling the opposite direction just ran a red light – now you, the motor officer, have to make a U-Turn from a dead stop near the road’s centerline to give chase (no, not a “pursuit” but merely chasing after to stop the violator). To successfully complete the maneuver, you must start in a full lock position, meaning the handlebars are turned to the left as far as they will go. While traveling at a very slow speed, you lean the bike into the turn, pivot about a point (taking care not to strike the far curb or running off the pavement edge where curbs do not exist). You cannot come out of full lock until the turn has been completed.

If you’re a motorcyclist…go out and give it a try. I dare you! LoL

PS - do NOT put your left foot down at any time during the exercise unless you want a broken ankle/leg. I can think of two officers who failed to heed that warning...