motorbikes old/new...open thread??

Great thread. I’ll add a couple of my old and existing bikes when I get home. Motorcycles have been a large part of my life.
 
Here's one of the nine (I think - I kept losing count) I used to have

full
 
My GSXR750K2, which was bought for track days mostly, and was probably the best all round bike I owned, but I sold it due to space issues when we moved house, we went from 3 bedrooms and a double garage, to 6 bedrooms and a single garage....

image by rick phillips, on Flickr
 
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mrtoad said:
AJS1 by mrcrow_uk, on Flickr
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Confused, whilst I know many manufacturers used other people's engines, with that being a Matchless V Twin engine and a Matchless badge on the tank, isn't it a Matchless rather than an AJS?
 
MatBin said:
Confused, whilst I know many manufacturers used other people's engines, with that being a Matchless V Twin engine and a Matchless badge on the tank, isn't it a Matchless rather than an AJS?
Click to expand...
Yes, I think we can safely say that s a Matchless.
 
MatBin said:
Confused, whilst I know many manufacturers used other people's engines, with that being a Matchless V Twin engine and a Matchless badge on the tank, isn't it a Matchless rather than an AJS?
Click to expand...

that is my bad...i get the two mixed up and why should i ....it says matchless and why i tabbed ajs i dont know
i was asked what engine....can anyone confirm its matchless....and what is the lever for...it has a foot gearchange
cheers
dumbo
 
MatBin said:
so why does it say ajs1 on the image? :)
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just lay off willya...or i will show me on my T110

T110 a by mrcrow_uk, on Flickr

1958 triumph...tiger 110...650cc...one carb..high lift camshaft...slickshift..quickly detachable rear wheel....full width front drum...
taken in london in 1961 somewhere in the tottenham area
 
rick448 said:
My GSXR750K2, which was bought for track days mostly, and was probably the best all round bike I owned, but I sold it due to space issues when we moved house, we went from 3 bedrooms and a double garage, to 6 bedrooms and a single garage....

image by rick phillips, on Flickr
Click to expand...
ever been to the TT

i went in 1963...hailwood, camathias etc...thrilling then..
 
mrtoad said:
ever been to the TT

i went in 1963...hailwood, camathias etc...thrilling then..
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No, I've meant to go many times but never made it. I've been to a few European MotoGP events over the years though. I've actually gone off the TT now.
 
rick448 said:
No, I've meant to go many times but never made it. I've been to a few European MotoGP events over the years though. I've actually gone off the TT now.
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i think i have too...i watched some on tv...too fast..not being picky but the bikes i saw were slower but more spectator value
who could forget those flying men on their dustbins
met bob mac at a race meeting in kirkaldy scotland
he was riding a borrowed works honda 350...won both the 350 and 500...lapping some chaps twice
small course with loads of bends....beveridge park...probably first gear stuff for the honda
he died some time later
cheers
geof
 
mrtoad said:
i think i have too...i watched some on tv...too fast..not being picky but the bikes i saw were slower but more spectator value
who could forget those flying men on their dustbins
met bob mac at a race meeting in kirkaldy scotland
he was riding a borrowed works honda 350...won both the 350 and 500...lapping some chaps twice
small course with loads of bends....beveridge park...probably first gear stuff for the honda
he died some time later
cheers
geof
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Doing the TT next year after a 10 year gap to scatter the ashes of my mate, we did 20 years with out a break from 1978 onwards. I promised him I would scatter his ashes on the course.
 
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Bearair said:
And a Norton a few feet up the road at WSM

Norton (1 of 1)-2.jpg by R Hillman, on Flickr
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very desirable...and still is

my friend in the 60's had a lovely 500 dommie which i hadnt the cash to buy....ended up on a velo viper steered just as well..
i think it was the old tank shape that got me, the ace bars and the high footrests
worth a lot today...if running
 
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mrtoad said:
my friend in the 80's had a lovely 500 dommie which i hadnt the cash to buy....ended up on a velo viper steered just as well..
i think it was the old tank shape that got me, the ace bars and the high footrests
worth a lot today...if running
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Began the 80's with a Triton, then discovered Laverdas, my bank balance never recovered!
 
Bearair said:
Doing the TT next year after a 10 year gap to scatter the ashes of my mate, we did 20 years with out a break from 1978 onwards. I promised him I would scatter his ashes on the course.
Click to expand...

were you racing then...?? that is a long haul 20 years
what was his favourite spot on the course...i didnt get to spectate on them all but creg ny baa remains in my mind as a good spot when i went
watched them coming down the hill and taking the r hander...had to push in to get on the apex spot
cheers
geof
 
mrtoad said:
were you racing then...?? that is a long haul 20 years
what was his favourite spot on the course...i didnt get to spectate on them all but creg ny baa remains in my mind as a good spot when i went
watched them coming down the hill and taking the r hander...had to push in to get on the apex spot
cheers
geof
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No we just loved the two weeks, we camped at Ginger Hall. Best thing I ever saw at Creg Ny Baa was a little Italian riding the pants of his MV Augusta America complete with wife and homemade panniers from sheet ali! The MV owners club who had turned up mostly with trailers were horrified! Will see if I can find the prints of that MV.
 
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Bearair said:
Began the 80's with a Triton, then discovered Laverdas, my bank balance never recovered!
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yum...ouch!!
the top of my tree for desire was the black shadow....i worked in the shipyards as an apprentice marine engineer and one of the turners in the machine shop had one
at lunch time i used to go out to the bike shed and just look at it
next to it was my 650 T110 with isle of man mountain mile boy racer fairing and just seemed like junk beside it
i think it might have been a late model...52 or so..it seemed to run at around 1200 rpm.
here is my missed trip to the morque

52Vincent-BlackShadow-L.jpg
 
mrtoad said:
very desirable...and still is

my friend in the 60's had a lovely 500 dommie which i hadnt the cash to buy....ended up on a velo viper steered just as well..
i think it was the old tank shape that got me, the ace bars and the high footrests
worth a lot today...if running
Click to expand...

I had a velocette mss500 for a while and my dad had a Vincent black shadow in the mid fifties. He used to put me on the back when I was 5 and just strap his jacket belt around me and probably just forget I was there.
 
mrtoad said:
yum...ouch!!
the top of my tree for desire was the black shadow....i worked in the shipyards as an apprentice marine engineer and one of the turners in the machine shop had one
at lunch time i used to go out to the bike shed and just look at it
next to it was my 650 T110 with isle of man mountain mile boy racer fairing and just seemed like junk beside it
i think it might have been a late model...52 or so..it seemed to run at around 1200 rpm.
here is my missed trip to the morque

52Vincent-BlackShadow-L.jpg
Click to expand...

Yum.

Yum!

Always fancied a NorVin rather than a full blooded Vincent for some reason. Possibly Ogri's fault. Would still have a stocker though (if Armageddon wasn't available!!!)

Not got any snaps of my current stable and it's not ideal weather for getting any. Having some work done and will have to get the garage clear so will try to get them lined up for a couple of shots. Other than the Royal Enfield (which is to be bobbed), I have a trio of Triumphs; an '08 T100 Bonnie Speedmaster, a '14 T100 Bonnie and Big Red - a Rocket III from '05. All moderns but with at least a bit of soul and no oil leaks.
 
My buddy, Digger, has stripped this AJS down to nuts, bolts, washers and screws. Washed, brushed, scrubbed, polished, shined and inspected every
little bit, re-built the 500cc, single pot motor, re-enameled the frame, and now has a superb 1949 that you can hear and ID from a good mile away!
I have ridden it (for a short while) and it gave me goose bumps!

Digger Dave's Bike - 1949 AJS. by Barry Smith, on Flickr

and in glorious colour.

Digger Dave's Bike. by Barry Smith, on Flickr
 
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Quite a rare one this time!
A Swiss 'Condor' ex military. 350cc Ducati de-tuned, twin looped frame and Italian suspension and brakes.
Used by the Military and Postal Service in Switzerland.

Swiss Condor Motorcycle by Barry Smith, on Flickr
 
@justpix love the little Duke, used to have a 450 for razzing around the Brecon Beacons when I lived there.
 
wontolla said:
One that a lot of bikers started off riding, me included.
Not mine though, I think he said it belonged to a rat! :D

Battered BSA Bantam! by Barry Smith, on Flickr
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that is some mean machine...i bet the rider doesnt shave...:D:p

this was before the MOT's of course .....
i had a DOT...villiers engine much the same
one could decarbonise the engine in about 20 mins...
 
wontolla said:
My buddy, Digger, has stripped this AJS down to nuts, bolts, washers and screws. Washed, brushed, scrubbed, polished, shined and inspected every
little bit, re-built the 500cc, single pot motor, re-enameled the frame, and now has a superb 1949 that you can hear and ID from a good mile away!
I have ridden it (for a short while) and it gave me goose bumps!

Digger Dave's Bike - 1949 AJS. by Barry Smith, on Flickr

and in glorious colour.

Digger Dave's Bike. by Barry Smith, on Flickr
Click to expand...

another winner...and no jampots..!!
i had a bsa dispatch riders 500...sort of rusty red colour...and just as comfortable as your one...
in first gear with clutch out it would go quite happily along in first gear...i think the compression ratio was probably about 7:1....or less
 
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