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Car Forum / Antique and Collectibles / Studebaker / September 2005Smart thing to do (OT)
The guy who lives across the street recently bought an old 60's something,kick start only,cobbled up 650 B.S.A. .Better known as"Bloody Sore Arse"or some guys used to say it stood foe"Bastart Stopped Again" Actually these British motorcycles are pretty cool and you seldom see one on the road anymore. But this ones got a Honda Gold Wing stretched front end,a Harley rear fender,a tractor type seat,a real cobbled up piece of work. Hes always working on it in his driveway so Ive been on day shift this week and stop over everynight to see what else hes fixed(or screwed up). Well last night after I helped him put new front brake pads on(dual rotors),we bleed the air out,and I decided to go for a little rip around the neighbor hood.I stalled her at the first intersection,and it took a few kicks on the compression stroke and applying throttle and I got the noisy beast fired up again. This things been bored 60 over,so its really about 730cc,and goes like snot.It felt great to shift an old right foot shift British bike again,then I felt the kill switch getting hot to the touch(he recently installed it,obiously a tad to light),then smoke started escaping from wires,and "poof",no more headlight,tailight or any sort of a light. Good old Lucas electics(Lucas,the Prince of Darkness). But the kill switch held out and I got the rig home without getting arrested(G) Sure brings back the memories of my early days of motorcycling,on 850 Norton Commandos. I had two,and if anyones driven one you know what I mean, there not a recomended beginners bike. Very strong! In the SF Bay Area, there used to be a nice (free) bikers weekly. The ad for one of the Triumph shops was delightful to read. The more he lambasted the products he worked, the more business grew. OCF could learn from him. (Maybe he did!) Karl Owned a '70 650 Triumph chopper that tried really hard to kill me(long story) and a '73 750 Norton.The Norton I bought new in the box in 1977,at that time they couldnt give them away.I like the European bikes. Bob40 > The guy who lives across the street recently bought an old 60's > something,kick start only,cobbled up 650 B.S.A. .Better known as"Bloody [quoted text clipped - 23 lines] > recomended beginners bike. > Very strong! To amend...I like the British and European bikes.Not having lived there I classify the whole area as Europe...islands and all. Bob40...politically,socially,geographically incorrect<G> > Owned a '70 650 Triumph chopper that tried really hard to kill me(long > story) and a '73 750 Norton.The Norton I bought new in the box in 1977,at [quoted text clipped - 29 lines] >> recomended beginners bike. >> Very strong! Wasn't the power impressive on those bikes Bob? I had a 74 which was the last year for the factory right hand shift. It had way to many problems for me at the time so I traded it on an almost new 75,left foot shift,eletric start,which burnt out pretty quick. But if you had a Norton engine tuned right they were damn good"one kick" starters. And handel like the painted line on the road. I still have a few Witworth wrenchs. > Owned a '70 650 Triumph chopper that tried really hard to kill me(long > story) and a '73 750 Norton.The Norton I bought new in the box in 1977,at [quoted text clipped - 29 lines] >> recomended beginners bike. >> Very strong! Funny you should mention Righthand shifters. A few years ago, at the San Diego Automotive Museum, I was asked why one Indian had a RH shifter and another a LH one. It seems that Harley had a LH and Indian a RH as standard. I guess that Indian made a kit (Factory, dealer, or owner installed) available so that a HD owner could switch sides. I wonder if HD did the same. Oh, At the Mueseum we have a great display of British bikes. If I see someone spending much time there I go over and tell them about the fantastic bike museum halfway between Coventry and Birmingham. Marilyn and I stopped by a few months ago to see how it looks since the fire. Nicely rebuilt. Book to get: The Untimate Motorcycle Book by Hugo Wilson. My boss had one and I spent fifteen minutes looking at just one drawing. It cost £15 (close to 30 USD at the time.) I had to get one. Oh, the first time at the museum in GB I went in figuring to pick my favorite new and favourite old bike. When done, the new style bike I piicked was older than I - a 1938 Scott 1000 cc 3 cylinder watercooled two-stroke. The old one was a 1907 6hp REX V twin. I lived close to Mallory Park, but Cadwell was the place to go to see great bike races. Sears Point is best in the US. Karl (never owned a bike) Haas The power was impressive to be sure.The engine song was just right and I never had much in the way of issues other than constantly fouling plugs no matter what range I used.A Norton was looked on with a certain amount of respect.Bob Waitz from the Salt2Salt Bonneville Stude race team is quite the bike afficianado and a walking encyclopedia of British cycle knowledge. Bob40 > Wasn't the power impressive on those bikes Bob? > I had a 74 which was the last year for the factory right hand shift. [quoted text clipped - 37 lines] >>> recomended beginners bike. >>> Very strong! I was a branch president of the Norton Owners Club in the 70's. SF had a branch that met at the RAF veterans pub, my gosh what a place. I think there is a real active Norton owners group around DC now. I have a 74 JPS, a 75 Commando with the electric start and its annoying primary cover removed (Made in Toledo, they were) and converted back to right shift, and a 67 Norton Matchless. That one is real fun because it looks heavier than it is, takes off right smartly with the small countershaft sprocket. On a trip though, it will rattle the side covers right off on the road. I used to run a Drouin supercharer on an 850. It was the thrill of a lifetime for about 30 minutes at a time, about how long it took to burn the valve heads off their stems. Great intake manifold though; I put a Dell'Orto 40mm carb on it and had both performance and mileage. Sorry I let that one go. A Brit expat in my son's flying club has a Panther 600 single. Now when you REALLY want to make some noise... My freinds bike is a 68 BSA Lightning. We were just down wiping oil away so we could read the numbers on the cases(G) >I was a branch president of the Norton Owners Club in the 70's. SF had a > branch that met at the RAF veterans pub, my gosh what a place. I think [quoted text clipped - 18 lines] > you > REALLY want to make some noise... |
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