There was some strange stuff the had to be re-directed after the fall of the Peacock Throne.
Dad worked in Guided Weapons at the time and ended up driving a white V8 Engined Auto boxed Left Hand Drive Series 3 Land Rover that had two sets of Headlights (1 pair normal 1 pair IR bulbs) from Stevenage along the North Circular to somewhere in the South West towing a trailer.
It should have gone to Persia but was now going for tests with the British Army (They rejected them).
Anyhoo, I spent half of 1984 winter commuting from Connah's Quay North Wales to Oxford Road Manchester on a Yamaha DT100.
(Things you'll do for a shag at that age!)
The Yamaha did its best but they were never designed for a fifty mile each way commute and had never been quite the same after being used for Enduros back in the IoM.
Battering down the beach at the back of Kirk Michael flat out and a XR650 goes past about 50mph faster and changes up as he passes...
Two wheels good.
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bub2006
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Re: Two wheels good.
Can anyone upload me a video of my trikes gearbox? I think it sounds rather bollocksed and may explain the noise
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Hooli
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Re: Two wheels good.
I can't recall the allowed file types here. send it over & I'll stick on youtube & link it to Roland's thread.
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DodgeRover
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Re: Two wheels good.
A brief history of my road bike purchases, I worked in a bike shop for several years in the spares counter and occasionally got to ride bikes over for MOTs and test rides, it also have me the option to buy anything that came in that was too nasty to go up for sale in nasty corner..
I had a CB 550/4 part ex as my first big road bike, ungrateful piece of shit dropped 3rd gear after I rebuilt the top end, I got a spare engine dropped it in and found whilst it did indeed have all the gears it was fucked in some other random way, very smoky when hot and rattling I think, I had absolutely zero enthusiasm for building yet another motor luckily I flogged it to the local rat bike brigade for what it stood me at sadly not including my time.
FZ600, this was a genuinely nice bike, but they already had one in the shop, came in with no MOT
Paid for it at £100 a week from my wages
To be continued
I had a CB 550/4 part ex as my first big road bike, ungrateful piece of shit dropped 3rd gear after I rebuilt the top end, I got a spare engine dropped it in and found whilst it did indeed have all the gears it was fucked in some other random way, very smoky when hot and rattling I think, I had absolutely zero enthusiasm for building yet another motor luckily I flogged it to the local rat bike brigade for what it stood me at sadly not including my time.
FZ600, this was a genuinely nice bike, but they already had one in the shop, came in with no MOT
Paid for it at £100 a week from my wages
To be continued
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DodgeRover
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Re: Two wheels good.
The FZ was lovely, just serviced it and rode it for about 4 months, then I got bored, the only issue with it was if it was left out in the rain number 3 cylinder would hydraulic for some reason. This is the bike I've gone the fastest on, went out with a friend on his ZZR and he nailed his wide open obviously I did the same - I think I got it to show either 140 or 160 before shiting myself what would happen if I had a Goose type moment at that speed.
Had a DT175MX after that, I could commute on the DT in less time than the FZ unless I took the motorway route as I could filter better on it.
I think about this time I discovered Yahoo auctions, my first purchase was a mint Yamaha XT350 that had been subject to a good will warranty claim when the engine went bang in a big way at 6000 miles, the engine went to Yamaha and they sorted out a deal with the owner and he kept the bike intending to get another engine at some point. He didn't do so eventually sold it. Newark autojumble found me a supposed low miles engine for not a lot, having gone in a friends Impala, there was no way I was putting a mucky engine in it so I dropped it off with one of the breakers I knew who had a stall there. When I picked it up a day or two later they had already whipped the rocker cover off and it was actually as described, don't think it could have done more than a few thousand miles.
MOT'd it and sold it as for some reason I couldn't add it to my Footman James policy.
At same Newark autojumble I got the card of a bloke who imported mainly XLs from Italy.
With the money from the XT I bought an XL600R, got it MOTd and registered rode it about for 6 months on the road as it was too good for me really then couldn't get anybody to buy it!
Whilst deciding to sell the XL600R another XL600LMF came up on Yahoo auctions, described as needing a rebuild and having a very noisy top end, I bought it cheap and bugger me it was noisy, what the seller hasn't mentioned in the auction was that it had also had a 650 conversion using some wierd wiseco XR piston and a complete arrow (I think) exhaust system.
Pulling it apart expecting to need to source a new head I found the cam chain tensioner spring had snapped! That was a cheap and easy repair.
The LMF was brilliant fun, rough enough for me to throw about without worrying about scratching it, I sold it and then bought it back again a few months later. Fitted with MX tyres it was a good laugh to go green laning on and still had a decent turn of speed on the road and away from the lights.
Went to Australia and bought a CB750F2 in Brisbane, Queensland, did most of a lap of the East coast and down through the centre, cam chain rattling like buggery and consuming vast amounts of oil if you pushed it along quickly. Sold it in Melbourne about 18k later! I got that one briefly up to an indicated 200kph on a long gentle downhill. I think the Speedo was out....
Back in the UK and I bought a CB900F2, sweetest quietest engine I had heard in one of those. Trailered it home and fettled it up, new tyres, new motad exhaust, new battery, lights, paint it looked lovely everything the old 750 wasn't even found someone with one of the metachex swinging arms for it. Booked it in for an MOT and on the way back the gearbox started making ominous noises every time the clutch was pulled in, rode it into the shed and left it there in disgust. Brakes had seized last time I looked at it.
I haven't included all the 125/175/250s I've had as there were so many of them, nor the trials and Mx stuff.
Had a DT175MX after that, I could commute on the DT in less time than the FZ unless I took the motorway route as I could filter better on it.
I think about this time I discovered Yahoo auctions, my first purchase was a mint Yamaha XT350 that had been subject to a good will warranty claim when the engine went bang in a big way at 6000 miles, the engine went to Yamaha and they sorted out a deal with the owner and he kept the bike intending to get another engine at some point. He didn't do so eventually sold it. Newark autojumble found me a supposed low miles engine for not a lot, having gone in a friends Impala, there was no way I was putting a mucky engine in it so I dropped it off with one of the breakers I knew who had a stall there. When I picked it up a day or two later they had already whipped the rocker cover off and it was actually as described, don't think it could have done more than a few thousand miles.
MOT'd it and sold it as for some reason I couldn't add it to my Footman James policy.
At same Newark autojumble I got the card of a bloke who imported mainly XLs from Italy.
With the money from the XT I bought an XL600R, got it MOTd and registered rode it about for 6 months on the road as it was too good for me really then couldn't get anybody to buy it!
Whilst deciding to sell the XL600R another XL600LMF came up on Yahoo auctions, described as needing a rebuild and having a very noisy top end, I bought it cheap and bugger me it was noisy, what the seller hasn't mentioned in the auction was that it had also had a 650 conversion using some wierd wiseco XR piston and a complete arrow (I think) exhaust system.
Pulling it apart expecting to need to source a new head I found the cam chain tensioner spring had snapped! That was a cheap and easy repair.
The LMF was brilliant fun, rough enough for me to throw about without worrying about scratching it, I sold it and then bought it back again a few months later. Fitted with MX tyres it was a good laugh to go green laning on and still had a decent turn of speed on the road and away from the lights.
Went to Australia and bought a CB750F2 in Brisbane, Queensland, did most of a lap of the East coast and down through the centre, cam chain rattling like buggery and consuming vast amounts of oil if you pushed it along quickly. Sold it in Melbourne about 18k later! I got that one briefly up to an indicated 200kph on a long gentle downhill. I think the Speedo was out....
Back in the UK and I bought a CB900F2, sweetest quietest engine I had heard in one of those. Trailered it home and fettled it up, new tyres, new motad exhaust, new battery, lights, paint it looked lovely everything the old 750 wasn't even found someone with one of the metachex swinging arms for it. Booked it in for an MOT and on the way back the gearbox started making ominous noises every time the clutch was pulled in, rode it into the shed and left it there in disgust. Brakes had seized last time I looked at it.
I haven't included all the 125/175/250s I've had as there were so many of them, nor the trials and Mx stuff.
Re: Two wheels good.
Due to someone thinking eating badly cooked bat was a good idea,
2020 Road Race Season has been knackered.
So when you have finished climbing the walls or chewing the carpet watch some re-runs;
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/ ... port-rerun
Then you can get you copy of Hank's out and get some Virtual Practice in for the Virtual TT
Here is a little snippet from 30years ago
(Best played with the volume set to 11)
[youtube][/youtube]
2020 Road Race Season has been knackered.
So when you have finished climbing the walls or chewing the carpet watch some re-runs;
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/ ... port-rerun
Then you can get you copy of Hank's out and get some Virtual Practice in for the Virtual TT
Here is a little snippet from 30years ago
(Best played with the volume set to 11)
[youtube][/youtube]
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Hooli
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Re: Two wheels good.
Rotarys, now those are a unique noise. Ideal racing lump I guess as smooth & revvy with all the power high up.
The TT never looked that impressive till I went & rode those roads. It's much narrower & tighter than it looks on TV.
The TT never looked that impressive till I went & rode those roads. It's much narrower & tighter than it looks on TV.
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Re: Two wheels good.
You should have seen the TT Course before it was improved to its current "motorway" standard ...
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Hooli
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Re: Two wheels good.
Must have been an unsurfaced goat track!
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Re: Two wheels good.
It was all hard surfaced and the Gates on the Mountain taken away by about 1920.
The amount of widening, corner straightening and bump/adverse camber removal
that has taken place in the last 30 years has been the enabler for the jumps in Lap Record
currently Hickman 135.452mph
McGuinness broke the 130mph lap in 2007
Hislop broke the 120mph in 1989
Williams broke the 110mph in 1976
McIntyre broke the 100mph in 1957
The bikes have improved but the circuit has hugely improved
- Brandish Corner for example is almost unrecognisable from what it was 30 years ago