Talk Morgan Forums Community Vehicle Talk (non-Morgan) A Little Personal Motor History

New here, and mentioned in the "introduce yourself" thread that I had some history in motorsports 20+ years ago. I'm now seriously considering a three wheeler from the exposed engine era (I think you refer to it as a 5 speeder). Anyway, had a lot of cars and bikes and thought I'd share a few images.
The first is a 2001 500 Barchetta - it was one of the first to land Stateside, and was the "salon" car in the Feb. 2002 issue of Road & Track- it was a nice easy car to drive- you had no idea of speed despite the open top. I was almost 25 years younger then:
DSC04576 by William Hart, on Flickr

I also drove this beast, unwieldy as hell, no rear visibility but the Italian answer was always, "why" are you looking behind you? Go forward!" Surprisingly reliable, as were the Ferraris:
P1010017 by William Hart, on Flickr

A tricked out V-Rod, great motor in search of a chassis. I did lots of mods to this, it was a stable, easy rider for cruising- hated by the traditional Harley crowd, wonderful motor, but with Brembos and good rubber, you could feel the chassis flex:

P1010012 by William Hart, on Flickr
I'll put up some additional images in another post to follow.

More images of motor stuff:
This was during the Targa Florio in Sicily in the late aughts. Great event, never saw a highway, all B roads in the mountains. People were wonderful. We broke down constantly.
rome-sicily 194 by William Hart, on Flickr

A few more recent photos. I bought a vintage BMW R69s in Fall, 2024 and had it sorted by a marque specialist here. It is a piece of industrial art but I find it cumbersome, it's heavy, and though I loved the idea of a primitive bike, kick start, it is extremely heavy for its modest size/power. It is now being brokered for me:
3.21.25 by William Hart, on Flickr

While awaiting the BMW, which was in the shop getting sorted, I bought a Royal Enfield. This is the 120th Anniversary 650 Continental GT. It is approximately the same power and weight as the BMW, but is modern, electronic ignition, disc brakes, ABS. It is actually a beautiful bike, and pretty well made, but not the "heavy metal" of the old BMW:
IMG_0756 by William Hart, on Flickr

I have tons more, but don't want to overwhelm here. Also, a lot of the images were taken with film cameras back in the day and I would have to take a digital image of a photo- no big deal, but among the other Ferraris was the '89 328GTS from Frank Beard, the drummer in ZZ Top. Car had almost no miles, was a really nice example, had it thoroughly gone over by an old school dealer. Sadly, it did not have the power I liked, though it was small and tossable. One of my favorites, and perhaps the only one I regret selling, was a late production 512BBi. It was a bit of an early '80s time warp car, plasticy dash, but that motor was a wonder! And the car was balanced on a knife edge-- the motor was not truly mid-engine given its size, more rearward, and it was well balanced due to the suspension, but if you lost adhesion, it was not something easily brought back into control. (that only happened to me once, in the wet and thankfully, no damage done). Those cars were not loved at the time; mine came from a collector/broker and was very unmolested. The old school dealer went over everything and it was a terrific driver.
I put miles on all these cars back then-- no garage queens!

Bill, some interesting machines there and for me the VT and the 512BBi stand out. I still remember seeing a Diablo on the road for the first time in 1990 and feeling like it looked like it had dropped out of the sky from an alien planet. I still feel that during the 70s - 90s Lamborghini did outlandish design better than anyone. Furthermore, the Miura is up there for me as one of the most beautiful cars ever made.

Given some of the background you've provided, it is no surprise that you have found yourself looking at a Morgan Three Wheeler and, being frank, if the Aero 8 was still in production, I think you'd have also enjoyed that too! Morgans do tend to attract a certain type of person and, more often than not, those owners all share a love of interesting and varied vehicles. Some people view cars as a mode of transport but, in my experience, Morgan owners fall into the camp of 'the journey is often more of an event than the destination.' The love of driving, the thrill of a road trip (no matter how short) and the joy of something different are shared by almost all Morgan owners, be they behind the wheel of a three or four wheeled version.

I hope you find the M3W that speaks to you because I think it will be exactly what you'd hoped it would be.

Lastly, nice to hear you use your machines and that they aren't 'garage queens'... driven not hidden is the best way in my humble opinion.

@Simon- Though the Miura is considered the most desirable especially in its top tier version, the original periscope Countach always gave me the reaction you describe- like something from another planet. Pure lines, no spoilers, flared wheel arches, carb'd (of course) and build quality from the factory was a little iffy. I came close to buying one but found it almost impossible to sit in--though the Boxer was similar it was less radical. Now, those early first Countachs are rare and desirable (though I think a little crazy- I remember seeing them in traffic in LA back in the day). Oy!
The Aero8 is an interesting design exercise that, to my eye, reminds of some of the great French-bodied cars from the 30s or other marques from the art-deco era. I know very little about their drivability but have come to appreciate the aesthetic now, though it didn't look like a traditional Morgan.
Thanks for replying.

Bill, thanks for sharing some of your very interesting automotive experiences over the years, much appreciated.. The few lines you typed of the Targa Florio and the image you posted brought back some memories of driving in back Road Italy, all be it at a more leisurely pace in my old +8 a couple of decades back.. That you described the R69 as heavy, was interesting, given it`s weight is considerably lower down than on the likes of a big V Twin... I had the pleasure of enjoying an R69 round part of the I.O.M. circuit in the 70`s, whereas my bike at the time was an old Norton Dominator... My last bike was an R850R which I very much enjoyed in my fifties, unfortunately no bikes now but still have my old +8 to rumble around the bock roads hereabouts on occasion when both the weather and the mood align...(-:

Looking forward to you sharing more of your past experiences and sure hope that you find whatever kind of Morgan(s) might add a little interest to your automotive enjoyment, wherever and however you care to find it..

The BMW R69 is indeed industrial art. Thank you for sharing your photographs, as it is always a pleasure to see the toys that others have enjoyed.

Thank you all for your positive reactions. I do not get notifications via email of new posts, something that I think I have opted for in settings. I'll reach out to Simon to ask about that. @Luddite-It may be one or both of two things re the weight of the BMW. I am feeling my age and/or the weight is higher up on the bike? The RE is approximately the same weight and power as the BMW, but seems far easier for me to manage.
I'll try to digitally image some other motorsports stuff, and need to ask my wife about more photos from the Targa Florio. They must be stashed in a box somewhere here.

At top of the thread there's a tab that says Thread options. Next to it is an icon that looks like a flag or ticket. Click in that and you'll subscribe to the thread and get notifications. Seems to work better than the email thing in settings.