British bikes thread... (1 Viewer)

[IronYuppy]

Since the Bonneville thread was kind of moving beyond Bonnevilles, here's a blanket thread for all things British.

I habe my eyes on a '71 Bonnie right now. It's been dropped and has some cosmetic damage. As it's not a numbers-matching "collectable" I think it's a good candidate for some customization. I am thinking about a dedicated cafe bike - clip-ons, single seat, modern discs, etc. No fairing, of course, because those are for girls. Here is what I have in mind:

This is my 1972 Triumph Trident, all stock and original except for the equal-length header:

 

[IronYuppy]

I woud like to get one of these at some point. It's a 1950s-era AJS 500. I think they're gorgeous.

 

[Red Herring]

Do you know about this fella? He's in town. One of the Rads at work has bought from him, and continues to frequent his site and shop. He likes old Japanese, but Robins carries everything, and he might be able to help you with those hard to get parts.

ROBINS CLASSIC, VINTAGE MOTORCYCLES AND SIDECARS- home page

 

[IronYuppy]

...
ROBINS CLASSIC, VINTAGE MOTORCYCLES AND SIDECARS- home page

Cool. No, I don't know him, but there was a '56 Ariel Square Four at the Tsawwassen this year. I wonder if it's the same bike/guy. What's funny is I saw a different Douglas just today. That means there are at least two uber-rare Douglas bikes in Victoria.

There's a run from Sidney to the New Savage Cycles location on Saturday, and Savage is going to have a bunch of demo Triumphs, Zuks and Royal Enfields(!) to try out. Giveaways and a BBQ, too. Wanna come?

 

[Red Herring]

Cool. No, I don't know him, but there was a '56 Ariel Square Four at the Tsawwassen this year. I wonder if it's the same bike/guy. What's funny is I saw a different Douglas just today. That means there are at least two uber-rare Douglas bikes in Victoria.

There's a run from Sidney to the New Savage Cycles location on Saturday, and Savage is going to have a bunch of demo Triumphs, Zuks and Royal Enfields(!) to try out. Giveaways and a BBQ, too. Wanna come?

You bet! Where and when?

 

[IronYuppy]

Well, apparently I broke the Enfield!

I took it up the 'Hat to Shawnigan lake, nice and easy at highway speed, and when I got back it was leaking oil. Like A LOT of oil. Like, probably a cracked case or a blown seal amount of oil. And smoke. Oil all over the pipes.

Needless to say the dealer was pretty quick to "disappear" it, what with ten more for sale on display.

Maybe it's just a fluke, but I'm still not sold on them

On the whole it was a nice little bike (500cc that feels like a 250) - obviously better suited as a city runabout than a long-haul cruiser. The EFI is nice, the suspension was a good match for my 185lbs, but the frame size was a little small for my 6'0" frame. Handling was good. The brakes were quite excellent. Overall it didn't feel very substantive, like only riding half a bike somehow. Very light - maybe a little too light. The "feel" is kind of cheap and disposable.

 

[Red Herring]

I didn't see anything for me to test ride. The Speed Triple was popular, and the Thunderbird was taken as well. I was so hoping they would have a Street Triple for me... but alas, t'was not mean to be. I did strap my bike on the Dyno and turned some meager numbers. He could not do my torque figures, which is what I was hoping for. Anyways, it was a good amount of exposure for the dealer.

Iron, and comments on your machine from the spectators?

Here's my bike on the dyno...

Something for Gunby,

Something for Iron,

 

[Red Herring]

And finally, something for me!

 

[IronYuppy]

Dude! I thought you weren't going?!

Yeah, I love the Street Triple, but I'd be dead in a week.

There were a couple of nice comments about my bike. But I snuck away early, after breaking the RE, in case they wanted me to pay for it .

I was going to dyno my bike, but I kind of chickened-out because all the early bikes on the dyno were posting triple-digit numbers. Putting my 60hp from the factory, 30yo bike on the machine would have been like going into Shoppers and asking if they sell extra-small condoms in quantities of one.

Oh, and also... on my way to location #1, I slid my bike trying to avoid a particularly stupid rabbit. So by the time I got to Savage I had a broken signal lens and a bent shift lever and foot-rest (now all fixed the pry-bar way!) . So it wasn't exactly "show quality". Nex time, the bunny will lose. On the up-side, nobody saw me do it. .

Someone else during the run slid a new Daytona, and their damage was considerably more costly (but luckily no injuries). They broke thir foot peg assembly, the brake lever, and bent a bar, plus some cosmetic damage. They had to be trucked away.

It was a pretty nice run. All over the Peninsula, including the extra-twisty Munn Road.

So what were your dyno results?

 

[Red Herring]

60 at the wheel. I was hoping to see the torque. I think I am making a pancake flat 45ft pounds from 3000-8500. He told me to back off the fuel ~5% at 3/4+ throttle 6500RPM and up. God bless Power Commander.

I wound up showing about 1400hrs, and stayed for an hour or so. Met a couple of guys I had seen a few times and had fun talking bikes. It's a nice camaraderie. I do however, think Alex (the owner) is getting sick of seeing my face but not my wallet!

Good thing no one witnessed your low side! I'm not sure I'd want to be seen after that. Oh... I have heard, that if you ever wreck, tell ICBC it was a deer, and that you hit it, and it ran off. Never mention avoidance of an animal or admit guilt. Even if you don't have collision, I believe (and I have to confirm this) they will fix the bike.

I want one of those Street Triples so bad I can taste it. I'm an suburban hooligan at heart.

 

[Red Herring]

PS. that Enfield does look disposable. It's retro cool, but I don't think I'd want one.

 

[Red Herring]

Did you witness this?

Look at that thing buck! Man, that's got some power.