Motorbike photos

Pev,

   that is an absolute corker of a bike. Did you restore it yourself?

I love the old bikes, but never been able to justify investing in same

please post more photos of your great bikes.

nice one

Ok - here's one for our American friends - 1925 Indian Scout

BTW CBR600 - the Rudge spent all its life in and around Dublin before I bought it (already restored) at auction last year.

My first

Pev,

    It must be a dream to look around your garge with such old exotica

Fabio,

     Was never that gone on the V50 ?, but absolutelyloved the guzzi le mans, not to mention the laverda jots !

Pev,

That looks like a gorgeous bike. Do you have a larger picture so we can see it better?

Steve

What can I say Paul?Yes,you're right:there was a V50...Le mans?It was in my dreams but couldn't afford it.Laverda?I only remember it was faster than Guzzi.

Fabio,

More important to me at the time was Laverda jota reputation for superb handling and rock solid frame

Just remembered another beauty from that era was the MV Augusta !     

Bigger ones of the Indian...

Love it

Pev,

   the photos of the Indian are absolutely stunning,

maybe you will grace us with large photos of your other beauties?

Pev,

    just looked again at the Indian. is that a rigid frame with NO suspension?

Yep - rigid with no suspension. Earlier Indians did have leaf spring suspension at the rear as well. Actually a sprung seat is surprisingly comfy especially the large American style pan saddle but even the smaller British Terrys/Lycett seats are fine for me. Better half much prefers plush heated BMW seat to a marginally sprung "bum pad" though!

Photos of these 2 are lifted from the web sites where I bought them - no similar sources for any of my other bikes and I'm reluctant to join a photo sharing site. Will think about this one...

TBH I'm also a bit wary of publicising what I have - I sold my Brough Superior last year because it was a worry on that level. I got into old bikes many years ago (paid less for the Brough than a new Fireblade would have cost at the time) and have very mixed feelings about the explosion in value. 

My father and I all set to 'Get your motor running - Head out on the highway' circa 1974 on my Honda CB175.

The worrying thing is; I don't think we were joking. Happy days.

The photo still cracks me up.

John.

Fabulous John. You can't beat a decent coat, gauntlets and snorkle. 

Things got a bit more serious later on, with this beauty.

My Suzuki GT750 'Waterbucket'. A two stroke which pulled like a train from low revs and was suitably beastly at high revs.

John.

R-E-S-P-E-C-T !!!!

You'll be telling us next that you have Vincent Black Shadow hanging around in the garage. Great photo's by the way.

I've never been in to old bikes myself but have respect for those who are. A few years ago we stayed in a farm cottage in Cornwall. The farmer had a few old British bikes which you could hire out for the afternoon. I went out on a 50's AJS, Velocette and BSA. These were old, non-restored bikes and they frightened me to death. I'll stick with modern handling and brakes

Pev,

   I fully understand your worries over publishing photos, don't want to attract the wrong sort of attention

John, that's a great photo, thanks for sharing it. Must give you some happy memories.

BTW which one is you ? 

As for the black helmet, not sure how good a fit that is, and whether it will protect the user !

One of the biggest challenges is making your brain work with the pedals / levers on the "wrong" side

I'm on the left - the young one!

I'm sporting a pudding-basin helmet with chin-cup strap and a clip-on full face visor. Safety to the max!

I think dad dug out his ex war department gauntlets, and I'm fairly sure it's a Zenit B SLR round his neck - upon which I learned the basics of photography.

Dad is currently 84 and in poor health, so it's nice to raise a smile at the photo.

John.

I grew up on a farm myself, but my father - himself an idiot on a M/C - would not let my brother and have even a wreck for knock about on the land.

BUT we often spent a fortnight each summer at either my father's brother's farm ten miles west of Hereford, or his sister's place, on a farm down by Ross-on-Wye.

Over at Bridge Sollars there were several old British bikes rusting away in the orchard behind the house, and boys being boys, my brother and I got one of them going. An old BSA without back suspension, and a kick-start that was great fun if you accepted the occasional kick-back! Ouch, a few times for sure. If you have never ridden a motorbike with the pedals the wrong way round like modern bikes then there is no problem getting the brain to instruct the left leg to work the rear brake pedal. It is the same position on some similar vintage farm tractors amazingly enough.

So when I got my Enfield "CO" in 2000, I surprised the previous owner by not only starting it perfectly first time, but them riding off on it, across Brindsty Common near Bromyard, getting up to about thirty miles an hour, and through the gears without a hitch. The first time on a motorbike for me, except as pillion, for twenty five years!

When I did my CBT, I was completely happy to have the gears on the wrong, for me modern side with the actual gears the wrong way up! And the rear brake on the right, ...

But really the natural way round these things are is merely what you learned first.

My Carlton push-bike has the brake levers with the left working on the front, and this can cause me a grin when someone else is having a try on the old girl! I like to change gears with my left hand, and have possible use of the back brake with my right hand ... And the route of the cable from the keft lever to the front is actually much better, considering that the run is only about seven inches.

Without any thought I can manage cycle brakes either in Continental or English configuration having ridden bikes in Norway and England from times before I can remember!

ATB from George

Dear John,

What a fantastic photo!

ATB from George

The same as mine except it was blue. Like 'sh*t off a shovel' in it's day but would be considered a dog now. I enjoyed my time with it.

Steve

Pev,

My grandfather had a Brough Superior. Before he went to war he stripped the bike and stored the parts in oil rags. It wasn't rebuilt until the '60s. Even though I was young I remember how beautiful it was and the sound it made. Many years later I met a chap who lives in Bushey Heath who had 2 Broughs and belonged to the Brough Owners Club. He was able to trace my grandfathers bike to an owner in Norfolk. He told some great stories like when the site of the old Brough Factory was demolished they found many large engine parts, like pistons, used as hard core in the floor of part of the factory. I always aspired to own one but they were always out of reach. 

ATB

Steve