What have a rescued Rickman Triumph, the new Husqvarna Norden 901 and a Japanese hoverbike got in common" Absolutely nothing at all, except they?re in this week?s Speed Read. Enjoy.

Larry Maas? Rickman Triumph T120 Some fifty years ago, Larry Maas worked at Kosman Specialties, one of the most famous names in motorcycle racing. He laced up about 3,000 wheels for Sandy Kosman in his time, and when not working, watched another employee put together a bike from a Rickman Métisse frame and tank, and Avon seat unit.

The engine had a ?67 bottom end, 800cc barrels, a modified TR6 head, and racing cams. The forks were Ceriani GP35s, with a Fontana 4LS brake. Then the build stopped, the Triumph went up for sale, and Larry tipped off a friend?who bought it. ?Everyone was amazed at how powerful it was,? says Larry. ?It had the standard one-gallon Rickman motocross tank and weighed in at only 295 pounds with oil and gas!?

Larry welded up a pair of megaphone pipes for his friend, and added the necessities to make it road legal. And when his friend passed away in 1990, he inherited the bike.
The T120 had been sitting in a garage unused, and stayed like that until around two years ago. So Larry decided restore the bike, ?As a street-legal ride but keeping it as period-correct as possible? and with no oil leaks.?

As you can imagine, it was a long and often frustrating process?complicated by Larry suffering from a degenerative nerve disease called Charcot-Marie-Tooth. But...