She finally said yes.....This is for you Dartanian

[KellyBass]

Cool Pic, Tom!!

Man, does that take me back...I had a 500 triple with bigger mikunis, expansion chambers, etc...in addition to a few RD's I loved two strokes. Maybe that's why I love class A amps so much now. I always feel like so much of the fuel goes right out the tailpipe on a class a amp.

Those were really fun bikes...in a straight line.

[skyboltone]

I briefly had access to a Velocette Thruxton in between bikes. I'd say maybe 1971? It was a '56 I think, maybe newer. Big thumpin' 500cc single with just the right geometry to make it a wonder in the curves. Kinda like Giant Slalom skis. You twisted a knob to tighten up the steering resistance. Easy 100mph bike. Spark advance. High compression. Break your darn leg if you didn't start it right. There was a time in the last few years when Vellos where hitting Ebay regularly out of OZ. Never did see a Thruxton though.

[CaseyJones]

Buddy of mine has... had? a Thruxton under the stairs next to Rickman Enfield Interceptor SN #1. Late Thruxton, even towards the end of the production run they were more a '30s bike than '50s or '60s. 'Course the Brits perfected the big single by '59 or so. It takes four valves per cylinder and water cooling to go faster than an old G50.

Thruxton Guy has a Vincent in big chunks on top of his tool box, too. There's really no frame, it's just that big ol' motor and everything else bolts up to that.

Lotta Vincents tucked away around here. Must be two dozen of 'em between the several Vincent owners I know of...

Vincent... it's the Trainwreck of motorcycles.

Britten = Dumble.

[dano-rator]

Hey Sky - nice job scoring that bike she's purdy...

Tom, thats a nice pic of you on the KZ. I love em ol two strokes, had a water buffalo and the 550 cc air-cooled version. But they weren't speed demons like the KZ's. And you gotta love throwing a 70's Japanese bike way too deep into a corner - makes you wonder why they put a "hinge" in the middle of the frame. lol

[Structo]

Yeah, they were terrible road racers but I did my share of it.
I was one of the first guys in my town to put café bars on a bike.
The 750 had a goose neck tightener knob that you tightened when cornering to cut down on the wobbles as well as a adjustable steering stabilizer on the right side connected to the fork.

If you forgot to loosen all that up when you came into town it could create some interesting scenarios. Like almost falling over on the first slow speed turn.

If they would have done more with the frame on that bike it would have been a lot nicer.

Still, I believe it was rated as the fastest production motorcycle for a few years.
They claimed 12 second 1/4 mile, stock but even after I built mine up I could only get down to 12.17 seconds.
The problem was with a street tire on back it would burn rubber until third gear before it hooked up then you hung on for dear life!

I did some porting work on it, installed bigger carbs, shaved the heads for more compression, custom expansion chamber exhaust pipes, K & N air filters, etc.

A lot of horse power for the day.

When these bikes were popular at the drags, guys put wrinkle wall slicks and wheelie bars on them, then they went real fast down the strip.

[CaseyJones]

I did some porting work on it, installed bigger carbs, shaved the heads for more compression, custom expansion chamber exhaust pipes, K & N air filters, etc.

Should have started by welding gussets on the frame head. Hindsight is 20/20, right?

The Z1 / KZ1000 had the same geometry and frame problems as the H2. Look at most Z1s, there's two little holes in the gussets on the front downtubes from the factory. There are two little cracks from the holes in the gussets on almost every last one of them. That's because the whole front of the frame is twisting in the corners. The hinge isn't in the middle, it's right in front of the tank.

Look at mid-60s BSA A65. The frame is wimpy compared to H2 or Z1, There's only a single top tube. There's a sheetmetal wrap around the junction. The forks twist in the triples. Yet they don't handle all that bad and they don't have the dreaded H2 Death Wobble.

[M Fowler]

Here is my three year old grandson on his PW 50 fitted with training wheels. Yes he drives it around.

[Structo]

I did some porting work on it, installed bigger carbs, shaved the heads for more compression, custom expansion chamber exhaust pipes, K & N air filters, etc.

Should have started by welding gussets on the frame head. Hindsight is 20/20, right?

The Z1 / KZ1000 had the same geometry and frame problems as the H2. Look at most Z1s, there's two little holes in the gussets on the front downtubes from the factory. There are two little cracks from the holes in the gussets on almost every last one of them. That's because the whole front of the frame is twisting in the corners. The hinge isn't in the middle, it's right in front of the tank.

Look at mid-60s BSA A65. The frame is wimpy compared to H2 or Z1, There's only a single top tube. There's a sheetmetal wrap around the junction. The forks twist in the triples. Yet they don't handle all that bad and they don't have the dreaded H2 Death Wobble.

Hehehehe, sounds like you had some experience with the H2 Casey.
Nothing worse than going into the wobble at 100 mph.
A friend had a brand new Z1 when they came out.
I could beat him near 1/4 mile but after that he would take me because of his higher top speed.

I know there were tricks to stiffen the frames but I got out of it after a crash that wasn't my fault.
I could live with the wipe outs that were due to my stupidity, it was the one where a car pulled in front of my point blank that scared me.

[KellyBass]

Buddy of mine has... had? a Thruxton under the stairs next to Rickman Enfield Interceptor SN #1. Late Thruxton, even towards the end of the production run they were more a '30s bike than '50s or '60s. 'Course the Brits perfected the big single by '59 or so. It takes four valves per cylinder and water cooling to go faster than an old G50.

Thruxton Guy has a Vincent in big chunks on top of his tool box, too. There's really no frame, it's just that big ol' motor and everything else bolts up to that.

Lotta Vincents tucked away around here. Must be two dozen of 'em between the several Vincent owners I know of...

Vincent... it's the Trainwreck of motorcycles.

Britten = Dumble.

Dang! If you ever wanna do some tradin?...Everything Vincent round these parts might as well be gold plated. So, if you ever need transformers, etc.!?

I just love the Brit bikes! I'm still ridin' the tr6c on my avatar. But I'm afraid I've been neglecting her, lately. Too many amp projects...

[skyboltone]

I've never even seen a Vincent in the flesh. Kinda like Matchless, Greaves, Velo, and Norton Manx or any number of other old Brit bikes. Mostly parts. Same goes with the Bultaco Metralla. Seems like lots of Sherpas and Alpinas around. Trials types. I'd love to have a Metralla just to be different.

We have two pretty good motorhead events in this town each summer. Hot August Nights is about cars with the odd bike thrown in, and Rolling Thunder is about bikes. I'll be making those this year seeing as how I won't have to park three miles away. I hope I can find a Black Shadow to oogle and photo. It's such a legend I'm surprised somebody hasn't tried to resurrect them like the Indian re-make.

[CaseyJones]

I've never even seen a Vincent in the flesh. Kinda like Matchless, Greaves, Velo, and Norton Manx or any number of other old Brit bikes. Mostly parts. Same goes with the Bultaco Metralla. Seems like lots of Sherpas and Alpinas around. Trials types. I'd love to have a Metralla just to be different.

They live in basements. There's a semi-common (as Vincents go) Vincent... the Comet. It's a Rapide with one cylinder left off. A Vincent 500 single. There's a race version of it, I forget what they called it. If you have Vincents you need a couple Comets, a Rapide or trade up to a Shadow. Or trade the whole lot for one Brough...

The Matchless to have is the G80CS. Brit big single dirt bike. A G50 would be nice but you might as well have a Vincent for what they cost. A G50 is a fun bike to have to scare the shit outta kids on CBR600s... If you want the ultimate G50 track down a Seeley Condor. Bring money. Lots of money.

Buddy of mine had, like, eight G80s. They went into a container and got shipped back to England...

We already covered the Velo. It's one of those odd ducks, might as well have a Manx or a Gold Star.

Metrallas... I know where there are three minty ones in a basement in Connecticut.

Greeves... why?! Keep the gas tank, throw the rest of the bike out.

You need a Kwakasaki W1. That gives you your minimum daily requirement of rice and Yorkshire pudding all in one bike. Or get a W2. Unlike an A10 they came with a dual carb head. Two Mikunis are more fun than one leaky Amal...

We have two pretty good motorhead events in this town each summer. Hot August Nights is about cars with the odd bike thrown in, and Rolling Thunder is about bikes. I'll be making those this year seeing as how I won't have to park three miles away. I hope I can find a Black Shadow to oogle and photo. It's such a legend I'm surprised somebody hasn't tried to resurrect them like the Indian re-make.

They have. You can buy the entire bike in pieces, all repro. Pretty sure you can buy every part. I can do without the stock valve springs, they suck. It was a brilliant design in 1947 or so, there are parts of it that aren't so nice these days. I'd just as soon ride Aprilia's more recent 550 supermotard. Gotta have a V-twin? That's the one to have IMO. Another cool bike to scare the shit outta kids on Ninjas. They don't even see it comin'. "Old dude on a dirt bike..."

[Lousyatit]

Speaking of Vincents, there's a guy that lives in the area that has a Black Prince. My brother rode it once, lucky bastard!

[Zippy]

Out here in Cali, you really need a Harley with open pipes so that you don't get run down by the lousy drivers.

Please explain how that works.

[Cliff Schecht]

Out here in Cali, you really need a Harley with open pipes so that you don't get run down by the lousy drivers.

Please explain how that works.

Makes it so people can hear you. Doesn't stop them from running you over usually though..

I'm more comfortable on a motorcycle than I am in a car, probably because I learned to drive on a motorcycle first. The big key to survival on a motorcycle is awareness of ones surrounding. I always keep my eyes open for an "escape route" and just try to stay prepared for whatever comes up. Also, never rely solely on your mirrors. Always check behind you before switching lanes!

[skyboltone]

Out here in Cali, you really need a Harley with open pipes so that you don't get run down by the lousy drivers.

Please explain how that works.

Especially while lane splitting!!! It's against the law to use blue driving lights, but that's prescribed for CHP and NHP motorcycles. I wish I could run them. They get the sombiches to hang up and drive.

By the way, both of those state troopers are now driving BMWs. What happened to buy American?

By the way Casey, I looked up that Aprilia 550 Super Motard. Yeah, I'll take one instead of the Metralla. Wonder how long I'd live?? What a way to go though eh?