Very OT -- for the Motorcycle Guys

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Honu-Hugger

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They're going eBay crazy for this one:
1967 BSA Spitfire Mk III
I was interested and willing to bid up to $6K, it is exactly like the one I rode in college. This morning my wife asked if I was sure I didn't want it...I told her the memories of British bikes are always much fonder than the actual experience (oil leaks, hard starting, Lucas electrics, etc.) 😀.
 
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those britbikes are really sweet.. I once passed up a deal on a Triumph and I've regretted it ever since.. I was into sportbikes at the time.. now, as I've lost the desire to go fast and hard into corners, I've been looking a lot closer at the classic bikes
 
Brett, the current production Triumphs are very nice bikes. There's a dealer in town here - a former Triumph racer namer Lyle Sharer. Perhaps we should go out there the next time your down?

William
(Lusting in my heart for a new Triumph Thruxton)
 
they're nice, William.. but not quite the same thing.. I considered buying a new Triumph about 6 years ago.. just never fell in love with the upgraded machine.. much like the new VW Beetle is a vast improvement over the original.. but I'd much rather drive my old '74 Sun Bug if I still had it

FrankG.. did you ever see the ill-fated Bimota V-Due? it was a 500cc 2-stroke street-legal superbike that quickly was recalled due to fuel injection problems.. drop-dead gorgeous and quick as hell.. but $22k and unreliable.. I wanted one soooooo bad
 
I can understand. He does restore the old bikes too. I should take you there to see some of those sometime. Very good work.

William
 
Thats nice over $10K too...It reminds me of a Honda 350 Twin I my brother had...I would like to have my first motorcycle back. A 1974 Yamaha DT250 enduro. Very streetable but would also go great in the woods.
 
...aaaarrrgghhh - lucas electronics aka "prince of darkness" electronics - i have very ambivalent memories of my last brit bike, a bsa victor 441...

...still, if i could afford it - i would love to have a vincent black shadow - .a '55 series 'd' ...despite heavy steering, occasionally quirky handling and adrenalin-attack/inducing brakes - riding one briefly was one of the two most memorable vehicular experiences i've ever had...still waitng for a ride in a mc-claren f-1.

...the vincent black shadow had the most straight-forward, accurate and precise chain adjustment i have ever encountered...a gorgeous, big, honkin' five inch speedo that topped out at 150mph...rear mono-shock...used the engine as part of it's frame...and an had exhaust note that was more about power than noise.

...i think i can still smell gas on my thumbs from priming those darn amal carbs
on my '58 or '59 (?) bonneville...i guess i'm still not entirely cured...

kenneth
_______________________________
"...patience and shuffle the cards..." miguel cervantes
 
Actually, the v-due issue was bad mapping. Alan Cathcart told me a wealthy enthusiast bought the remaining examples after Bimota tanked, again, and now those bikes are demons. When he told me they're like riding my 250 Aprilia Cup, (since drowned in the storm), but with twice the power, my eyes momentarily popped out of their sockets.
 
grantray, you know Alan Cathcart? I believe I saw him once at Road America in Elkhart Lake, WI

and kenneth.. you rode a Black Shadow? man, I must have been hanging out with the wrong crowd for most of my life
 
...brett, i just got lucky...started talking to the guy and offered to take some photos & hinted i would LOVE to ride one some day....he said yes - and i blinked and gulped - i left him my m4-2, m6 & camera bag & took off for about half an hour...i was riding bmw 'r' bikes then (a r65 w/ "toaster tank") ...i guess he liked the stripe of my cameras & motorcycle...wish i had exchanged info & kept in touch...

Ce n'est pas rien...it was really something.

take care, kenneth
_____________________________________

"...patience and shuffle the cards..." miguel cervantes
 
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Seeing this auction of course instantly brought back fond memories, and then as I seriously considered bidding the rest of the memories came back as well (temperamental starting, oil leaks, Lucas, Whitworth fasteners) 🙂.

Owning my Spitfire was like being in a relationship with a beautiful psycho -- it could be heaven or it could be hell. The bike did get me out of a speeding ticket; two policemen on motorcycles pulled me over and after I dismounted and walked towards them they both walked right past me and starting looking over the bike. They asked me all sorts of questions about it and it was then I realized that motorcycle police are just as bike-crazy as the rest of us 😀! After we were through talking bikes they gave me a verbal warning -- they said to take it out of town when I wanted to get on the gas!
 
The closest I've ever gotten to a Vincent is Richard Thompson on the radio. Here is my Brit bike, '69 Raleigh DL1, it has dragless dynohub lighting (bright!), leather mudflap, leather brakes (!). It had a "CLA" about 10 years ago, and I rode it all through college in Philly, and to my first few city jobs. I've even ridden it a few times in a tuxedo on some Academy of Music events (I'm a singer). It has a new proper english saddle bag and leather grips installed since this crappy digi/luminous picture. A more comfy bicycle, there's never been (although I guess the recumbents are nice). My ex would never allow me to have a motorcycle, but I'm looking around for one now. 🙂
 
Well, I'll possibly cause a lot of tooth-gnashing by passing this along:

http://worksengineering.com/

I like passing by there every once in a while and hanging out - I only discovered it a few months back when I was cycling home after a freelance gig. Cool shop, cooler crew of people who really know their bikes. Speaking of Black Shadows, my first visit there introduced me to a drop-dead mint Shadow that instantly floored me (had a nice chat with the owner)...never saw one in-the-metal before. There were several Beezers in various states of repair/restoration, including what I believe was a '70 Lightning that had seen better years, but supposedly ran okay (if you can deal with the classic "Beezer vibe").

Of course, there's this Lightning there now:

http://worksengineering.com/

But the machine I couldn't stop straddling while there was one which I snorted at in my relatively callow youth, and apparently is still there, priced around $4k:

http://worksengineering.com/bikeforsale4.html

This is the reason I stick to pedal-powered exotics (which cost enough).


- Barrett (so Guzzi, sono buoni!)
 
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Argh, no biking this year. Have to save for next years vacation and after I have had new pistons fitted into my Moto Morini 500s and installed a 6speed gearbox from a 3 1/2 since we couldn't get spareparts for the 5speed it blew the big end on the first outing :-(

The 6speed box is great fun, the gear lever is now on the right and you move it up to shift down and the rear brake is on the left. I have to have a sprocket (?) made to compensate for the shorter transmission.

I've repaced the original magnesium aloy wheels with Borani VA spoke wheels and the front disk brakes against a double duplex (?) drumbrake.
Some 10 years ago I fitted a, bah - here my english is lacking, windshield from a Ducati 900ss to it. Very sleek and sporty.

Ah, to hell, the weather is bad anyways and I'll get over the summer driving my Mini Convertible, it's nearly as read as the Morini 🙂

Edit:

Alan Cathcart? The name rings a bell but I can't sort it out.
 
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