kendo
Prussian bot
A Harley, after all those fun bikes? Buy it, restore it (not cheap), ride it once so you can say you have, then sell it.
(I've ridden these HD things and I just don't rate them at all.)
Time for a motorbike list
- Thread starter Rasher
- Start date
(I've ridden these HD things and I just don't rate them at all.)
steve watkins
pfm Member
A Harley, after all those fun bikes? Buy it, restore it (not cheap), ride it once so you can say you have, then sell it.
(I've ridden these HD things and I just don't rate them at all.)
I know, I know. I can't believe I have admitted to even liking one. It is the first one ever that I have seen that I like the look of though. It has been sorely neglected and is really tatty. I think it reminds me of the Bonneville which really was superb, fast, comfortable and with a real torquey kick up the backside when you gave it a handful, perhaps I should find another one of those instead. Am I cured?
Arkless Electronics
Trade: Amp design and repairs.
If you are not yet sporting one of those Harley branded belt buckles there may still be hope for you!
They reckon that 85% of all Harleys are still on the road you know!? The rest made it back home
steve watkins
pfm Member
If you are not yet sporting one of those Harley branded belt buckles there may still be hope for you!
They reckon that 85% of all Harleys are still on the road you know!? The rest made it back home
Never, never, never, never. I am saved!
Ha ha ha I had forgotten that one. Made me smile.
It occurs to me to wonder if nostalgia about motorbikes is going to be good for me?
Colin Barron
pfm Member
The Bonneville may have been bad, i can better this i had (still have bits) a Triumph Blazer SS 250cc as bad as it gets.
graham-r
pfm Member
The only ones I can remember are the Hawkstone, Silverstone and Scottish. I had one of the latter for years but never managed to repair the engine properly (I was young and had noidea what I was doing
). It had a cast aluminium front frame/headstock member and (probably) Metal Profiles telescopic front forks, it should have had leading link forks I think. Sound anything like yours ?Of course I can't condone anything as reckless and anti-social as riding completely illegal bikes on the road to get to a field. Outrageous behaviour that I would never have considered. I did have one 'Prodnose' have a go when I wasn't pushing a bike along the road, a policeman, but he let me go !
graham-r
pfm Member
You'll be lucky - weren't they all bought up by CCM for their bikes before they did their own engines ?
steve watkins
pfm Member
It was a 1977 US spec pear tank T140. From new it was just one thing after another after another but rarely the same thing twice. When it ran it was superb and it probably still rates top of my nostalgia list. That and the H1. Wish I still had them.
Modern bikes are fast and reliable but they don't seem to have the character of some the older favourites.
Shame about the Blazer what a lovely looking machine.
I did some engine and other work on a friends 350cc Enfield Bullet the other day. No wonder the UK motorcycle industry went down the pan.
My dad sold his Aerial Square Four to buy his first car. I never let him forget it once I found out.
rbrown
I think therefore I think I am
My first bike was a Suzuki GP100 and it would just about do 65 downhill with a following wind but my abiding memory of it were the most terrifyingly ineffective drum brakes front and rear, I could never get them working properly. It used to give me nightmares and was by far the most dangerous bike I have ever ridden.
Nevertheless I did pass my test on it and chopped it in for a Yam RD250LC. This ran like a moped until you hit 5000 revs and then went like a rocket. Finally swapped this for a Kwak GPZ550 which was a mistake, no faster and a lot less fun.
After getting done by the police for doing 88 on a 30 mph dual carriageway I succumbed to enormous parental pressure and have had cars ever since. The crazy shit you do when you're 19 eh?
Rich
Arkless Electronics
Trade: Amp design and repairs.
Ah yes those drum brakes.... I nearly bought the farm on my GP100U 'cos of those! I was going down a very steep hill at about 80+ and had total brake fade. I was very lucky that a farmer had left the gate open to a meadow at the bottom of the hill! Straight into the field still doing about 60
I passed my test on mine also
It nearly didn't happen as the tuned engine was starting to play up badly a few days beforehand and by the time of the test it was banging and farting and wouldn't run at less than about 5000 RPM.The examiner said it wasn't in a fit state for me to take my test on and told me that if I could get it running ok within an hour I could come back and take the test. There obviously wasn't much that could be done but I came back and told him it was better than before and with a bit of persuasion he allowed me to take the test.... and I passed!
It blew up completely the next day in Middlesbrough town centre... Ah fun times
If you thought the brakes were poor on the GP100U you should try an MZ TS250 Supa 5! The first time I rode it was quite an experience.... Approach junction or roundabout etc leaving rather more braking time than I usually would as I know it has a drum brake and will be fairly poorly braked... apply front drum and find it's so poor that it has hardly any effect
of course you then go for the rear drum and find that it's got the longest rear brake arm in the world which gives such leverage that the merest touch locks up the wheel After getting used to it's braking foibles though it was actually quite a good bike and had bags of character...
rbrown
I think therefore I think I am
I never tried an MZ but had a similar heart stopping moment on my Suzuki. I tried overtaking a car which suddenly turned right without indicating. I avoided the car but ended up going over a long long grassy area over the other side of the road with a ditch at the end and the bike just would not stop. So I jumped off with the ditch looming and the bike just ran ahead into it. Anyway I was ok, the bike was okayish and the car was long gone.
Rich
Rich
steve watkins
pfm Member
The only ones I can remember are the Hawkstone, Silverstone and Scottish. I had one of the latter for years but never managed to repair the engine properly (I was young and had noidea what I was doing
Of course I can't condone anything as reckless and anti-social as riding completely illegal bikes on the road to get to a field. Outrageous behaviour that I would never have considered. I did have one 'Prodnose' have a go when I wasn't pushing a bike along the road, a policeman, but he let me go !
Sorry Graham I missed your post. I was going to mention in the earlier post that I remember something about the suspension being different. I will see if I can find an image of the Scottish and see if that jogs my memory.
I am glad to hear that you too, were responsible in your method of getting to your field of choice. Being a responsible lad I never rode my bike down the numerous little footpaths to get there. That would have been as you quite rightly say "outrageous behavior" and thoroughly anti-social.
One of our fields was part of the local girls school. It was a few acres of grassland which was never cut so we made the most of it on Sundays. I assume they knew what we were doing as about 10 of us appeared most times. We made a track with jumps and planks etc I cannot imagine getting away with it today. It seems incredible that nobody bothered us at all. We were never stoped going there, it just sort of petered out in the end.
I remember being stopped by plod once when I had the engine running and I was walking alongside the bike using the clutch to avoid having to push it up the hill. He gave me a bollocking but let me off with a warning but seemed quite happy with what we were doing as long as it was not on the road. At least he knew where we were. He was actually quite a decent chap and in later years he often used to give me a lift in his patrol car if I was walking somewhere.
We of course wore all the latest safety clothing of the day. Jeans and t-shirt.
I don't remember any serious injuries but the Lambretta frame cross spar claimed quite a lot of shin skin because it dug into the ground when you came off and scraped up you leg as the bike stopped and you didn't.
Excellent days, in a smaller world.
Arkless Electronics
Trade: Amp design and repairs.
Excellent days indeed....
I always recall the first few years of motorcycle ownership, on FS1E's, GP100 and up to 250's at 20 year old or so, as being by far the most enjoyable I had.. It was so much of an adventure back then... Probably mainly down to being so young and foolish at the time rather than anything super special about the bikes I suppose!
Ah nostalgia isn't what it used to be...
There was something about having to get prone and rev the tits of the thing to get that last 5 mph and reach 75 that just isn't there when you can reach 150+ at the twist of the throttle with no effort other than watching for plod
I always recall the first few years of motorcycle ownership, on FS1E's, GP100 and up to 250's at 20 year old or so, as being by far the most enjoyable I had.. It was so much of an adventure back then... Probably mainly down to being so young and foolish at the time rather than anything super special about the bikes I suppose!
Ah nostalgia isn't what it used to be...
There was something about having to get prone and rev the tits of the thing to get that last 5 mph and reach 75 that just isn't there when you can reach 150+ at the twist of the throttle with no effort other than watching for plod
graham-r
pfm Member
I think the local plodney knew exactly who was playing silly b*ggers on the local playing fields and woods and just turned a blind eye ! We weren't always entirely responsible though, like the time we pinched a mates bike, rode it into town (at 1am ish), past the plod station, into the town centre and parked it on the bandstand. Something we thought was hilarious, ahem.
My school had an enormous wrap around field that was tiered at three levels - brilliant built in jumps, even oh a Honda C50 !
I like the idea of a local girls school, wish we had one back then
A 'smaller world' definitely and one with different ways, much preferred in many ways.
24ggaarryy
pfm Member
Honda C50 thats brings back a few memories.
Last bike was an early fire blade, but marriage, kids etc put a stop to all of that, ho hum.
Last bike was an early fire blade, but marriage, kids etc put a stop to all of that, ho hum.
Colin Barron
pfm Member
I had an NSU Quickly 49cc moped when i was 16. Had it for a year and must have used four engines. It had a chromed cylinder bore which i have not come across before or since. It may not have been a 16 proof engine but it was quickly repaired, maybe that was what they meant by the name.
My Guzzi has taken to not starting at awkward times. I'm thinking of part-exing it for a Sportster Iron. Lots of black, not much chrome. And makes it a Harley-only house. I need something that's good for windy roads here in Devon, but not something too sporty that means I'll ride it like a tw*t.