|
Post by prof20 on Jan 31, 2018 21:27:12 GMT
For that rare occasion when this is your only transport home...
|
|
|
Post by Sir Rowley Birkin on Feb 1, 2018 0:43:31 GMT
Handy if I ever spot one I want to quickly steal...
|
|
|
Post by penquin on Feb 1, 2018 12:09:10 GMT
Wow.... what a feckin palaver....
On my fantastic machine I used to flood the carb by pressing the tit then turn it on kick the feckin pedal down and it would start....
Obviously a MUCH higher class machine....
advance/retard? That was the driver surely?
Choke? I did that if the fecker wouldn't start....
That was a whole 125cc BSA Bantam (1952) so obviously British engineering was a much higher level of user-friendliness....
and on a good day it would touch 45mph (if the hill was long enough) but the brakes were suspect (I suspected they had not been fitted)....
Those were the days..... Bear in mind they often did not have a 6v battery so it was only kicking the fecker over that created the spark (or not......)
|
|
|
Post by Sir Rowley Birkin on Feb 1, 2018 12:16:55 GMT
That Bantam was a post-war (German designed) two stroke... That H-D is a pre-war V-twin four stroke. I'm a big fan of two-strokes. If as much research & development had gone into them as went into four-strokes, we'd all be driving two-stroke cars now, I'm sure. My party-piece with my '65 Yamaha YDS3 two-stroke was to press the kickstart lever by hand to start it!
|
|
Barry B'stard
Administrator
80%
Posts: 63,690
Type of Motorhome: A great big white one
About you: I like beer, guitar, causing trouble, avoiding work
Member is Online
Likes: 20,535
|
Post by Barry B'stard on Feb 1, 2018 12:44:32 GMT
Bloody hell. Worra carry on! I see we have our Penquin back!
|
|
|
Post by penquin on Feb 1, 2018 13:19:41 GMT
Well talk about old motorbikes will do that.... I went on from the Bantam to another BSA but a bot bigger although it may look similar..... A BSA M20 - 600cc single cylinder fourstroke.... Running flat out you could almost count the revs - it was very slow revving.... Sadly it caught fire near Worthing and I had to leave it there - needless to say I was contacted by the Police about it who asked if I would be prepared to relinquish ownership as one of their constables was very keen to acquire it.... I did he restored it and kept it as a vintage machine for many years - sadly I lost contact after a number of moves (and getting married...) I still wonder what happened to it but it was certainly a characterful bike.....
|
|
|
Post by Sir Rowley Birkin on Feb 1, 2018 16:14:14 GMT
Was yours an ex-military one, PinkGin?
All this stuff is becoming collectible - all the performance stuff is now too expensive but a lot of the 1930/1950s stuff is still affordable.
|
|
|
Post by penquin on Feb 1, 2018 17:24:04 GMT
It was at some stage in it's life but it was originally given a civilian reg in 1947 (from memory) and was declared ex W.D. then - presumably that was theway they disposed of things..... I wish now I had hung on to it or the BSA Bantam but hindsight only comes years after the event..... I went on to a Lambretta LD 125 which I was given - easier to use to get to school then on to Which had a 250cc Villiers 2 stroke engine mounted over the single front wheel - the whole engine turned with the steering and there was no revers..... If you wanted to go backwards you stopped the engine and started it up again running in the opposite direction.... crude but effective..... (Smoky too) It got through tyres like they were going out of fashion.... I sold that when I went to Uni and bought an Austin A35 then upgraded to a Morris 1000 Traveller - which I loved....
|
|
|
Post by prof20 on Feb 1, 2018 21:54:46 GMT
Wow.... what a feckin palaver.... On my fantastic machine I used to flood the carb by pressing the tit then turn it on kick the feckin pedal down and it would start.... Obviously a MUCH higher class machine.... advance/retard? That was the driver surely? Choke? I did that if the fecker wouldn't start.... That was a whole 125cc BSA Bantam (1952) so obviously British engineering was a much higher level of user-friendliness.... and on a good day it would touch 45mph (if the hill was long enough) but the brakes were suspect (I suspected they had not been fitted).... Those were the days..... Bear in mind they often did not have a 6v battery so it was only kicking the fecker over that created the spark (or not......) My first 'on-the-road' bike at age 16 exactly, that. Took it out on my birthday, January 6th. Couldn't afford proper gear, no skidlid, thin jacket, middle of bloomin' winter. Froze me kn*ckers off I did. Called it fun Which cretin put the blinkers on it and replaced the single saddle with that dual seat, and put those ball-end levers on? Boggers is right about the German design, a DKW actually, taken as war reparations, I believe. It was actually a pre-war design and used by the German military during WW2. CLICK FOR LINK
|
|
|
Post by prof20 on Feb 1, 2018 22:00:34 GMT
Well talk about old motorbikes will do that.... I went on from the Bantam to another BSA but a bot bigger although it may look similar..... A BSA M20 - 600cc single cylinder fourstroke.... Running flat out you could almost count the revs - it was very slow revving.... Sadly it caught fire near Worthing and I had to leave it there - needless to say I was contacted by the Police about it who asked if I would be prepared to relinquish ownership as one of their constables was very keen to acquire it.... I did he restored it and kept it as a vintage machine for many years - sadly I lost contact after a number of moves (and getting married...) I still wonder what happened to it but it was certainly a characterful bike..... Good post Penquin, but I'm gonna be a pendant. The M20 was 500cc, the M21 was 600cc. Identical apart from the lump. (Not the one riding it)
|
|
|
Post by prof20 on Feb 1, 2018 22:03:31 GMT
That Bantam was a post-war (German designed) two stroke... That H-D is a pre-war V-twin four stroke. I'm a big fan of two-strokes. If as much research & development had gone into them as went into four-strokes, we'd all be driving two-stroke cars now, I'm sure. My party-piece with my '65 Yamaha YDS3 two-stroke was to press the kickstart lever by hand to start it! That's nowt! My party-piece with my 550 Suzuki LTD four-stroke four was to press the starter button with one finger to start it!
|
|
|
Post by prof20 on Feb 1, 2018 22:16:07 GMT
It was at some stage in it's life but it was originally given a civilian reg in 1947 (from memory) and was declared ex W.D. then - presumably that was theway they disposed of things..... I wish now I had hung on to it or the BSA Bantam but hindsight only comes years after the event..... I went on to a Lambretta LD 125 which I was given - easier to use to get to school then on to Which had a 250cc Villiers 2 stroke engine mounted over the single front wheel - the whole engine turned with the steering and there was no revers..... If you wanted to go backwards you stopped the engine and started it up again running in the opposite direction.... crude but effective..... (Smoky too) It got through tyres like they were going out of fashion.... I sold that when I went to Uni and bought an Austin A35 then upgraded to a Morris 1000 Traveller - which I loved.... You seem to have gone down a similar path to me, Penquin. As regards the Bond you were posh. I had one, but not with the Villiers twin, mine had the 197cc single Villiers. On a slight incline three-up in the bench seat the local vicar overtook us on his push-bike. My electric starter was snafu so I had to lift the bonnet and step in an kickstart it. The turning circle was so sharp you could pull out from the kerb at right angles. I remember the ignition thingy which move the ignition to just after TDC and reversed the direction of the starter. (when it did work - a Dynostart or summat as I recall). Talking of bonnets, I had mine come unlatched three-up doing all of 50 down a steep hill. Immediately went blind and lost about 15 mph. Slammed on brakes which immediately faded. God knows how we managed to stop but fortunately the road was straight, and traffic was light and me and my mate managed to stick our heads out of the windows to see where we were going. Lucky you managed to sell yours. Aluminium body but mild steel chassis. Mine fell apart. Some guff on the Siba Dynastart HERE
|
|
|
Post by penquin on Feb 1, 2018 22:37:38 GMT
Thanks you are probably right it probablywas the M21 certainly 600cc - like a baked bean can going up and down (without the beans) manual advance retard and a decompression lever so you could kick the fecker over without breaking your ankle more than 3 times.... I had a crash hat for my Bantam but it lasted years and in the end was more flexible than a bobble hat..... and about as naff to look at.... The Bond was as you said great fun- but three up? doing 50? must have been a long hill. The most "interesting driving" was trying to follow car tracks through 9" snow - being only three wheels it had to go along like an feffing crab with the sh1ts.... and there was not a lot of traction on the front wheel anyway... I used to hand my gf (now my wife) an old cut-down con rod to use as a key to unlock the bonnet (two locks) and then flood the carb - always started then...... so romantic that.... (saved me having to slide out throught the only door (on the left) to do it....) .... mind you it had oodles of leg room although the floor was only 5" below the seat so you were sat in a very odd position..... The gears were a challenge - column change and a very slack linkage it was more a case of move and pray an my prayers were not answered often - even driving from Hertford to Beckenham through Central London and having to ask a black cab driver the way - very helpful he was too..... ?5 gallon tank? with a 05 gallon reserve from memory and 2 stroke again mind you petrol was only 6s a gallon...... (same price as a 45rpm single). Those were the days......
|
|
|
Post by Sir Rowley Birkin on Feb 1, 2018 22:41:12 GMT
In 1965 I dreamed of having electric start. Actually, I didn't - kick-starting was only a problem for the poor sods like my mate with his 500 Velocette. But I loved the electric start when I bought my K2 750 Honda Four in 1972 - luxury! I just wish the BSA C15T my Dad's left me had one...
|
|
Joe66
Fruitcake full access member
Bad behaviour warning!
100%
Posts: 16,307
Type of Motorhome: an old one
About you: bit of a lush
Likes: 11,974
|
Post by Joe66 on Feb 2, 2018 15:47:12 GMT
my Dad's left me Yea, and I can understand why
|
|