That could have been nasty…

Quite so, always enjoyed riding Brit bikes, probably my favourite was a mates Norton Commando, a generally nice machine that looked & sounded awesome.

Italian bikes, not that much experience, ridden Jota’s, both (180 & 120 crank) Ducatti Hailwood rep & once owned a Benelli 125! The electrics were appalling lol

Only ever ridden one Harley, not bad, but really not my thing.

BMW’s all quite samey, but not in a bad way, they all ooze reliability & confidence.

& the whole stuck in car on a hot deal is why I’m seriously thinking of getting on two wheels again, no more road rockets for me though, another big four stoke single enduro bike would fit the bill.

Interestingly though, I have a ’76 GL1000 engine on the bench. The crankcases are vertically split.
No sealant is used between the halves.
Actually the ‘wing engine is something of a work of art.

What has started here is the endless and pointless argument about British and Japanese bikes.
Both have advantages and disadvantages–and more importantly merit.
Anyone who dismisses one type out of hand displays a lack of knowledge–that simple.
I happen to like Italian and American bikes too–and French and German ones come to think of it.
All of them are better than being stuck in a car on a hot day.

Getting Brit bikes to stop pissing oil is a piece of cake, I’ve even managed to make P&W R2800’s oil tight so doing the same for a bike is a doddle..:cool:

Careful assembly, good quality gaskets & Wellseal sorted the ones that I fixed up. 😉

The British bikes were generally hampered by a vertically split crank case which very dependent on perfectly aligned jointing faces, whereas the (larger) Jap stuff tended to be horizontally split which made a bit more sense.

T64, I have to agree with Andy on thread 74. You do indeed have very little knowledge of Brit made bikes. I never had ANY leaks on my Rocket, Bonnie and Dommie 99. Most leaks on any bike I owned was on a Douglas Dragonfly. Most of us did our own repairs not garages who would cut corners, and charge a mint, just like main dealers do today. Lots of the D.I.Y. lads could take things apart but cocked thing up by example, putting the old compressed gasket back instead of buying a new set.
Nowt wrong with Brit bikes, you only have to look at the TT races. Jap bikes were a success over here because they were dirt cheap, and I would add I had a very early Honda. which broke down so many times, that the last time it did, I dumped it by a wall in Huntingdon, and hitch hiked home. Then went and got my self an Aerial Golden Arrow, leading link front wheel suspension, it went round bends like it was on rails.
With respect T64, get to know your Brit bikes before you run them down.
Andy, a “Frannie Barnet?.” You lucky, chap.;)
Jim.
Lincoln .7

brit bikes pissed oil like drunks

Getting Brit bikes to stop pissing oil is a piece of cake, I’ve even managed to make P&W R2800’s oil tight so doing the same for a bike is a doddle..:cool:

brit bikes pissed oil like drunks a well known fact although to be fair a lot of that legend could be put down to bodging by local bike shops
but therein lies a problem too if they were forever being split down by the local garage they were unreliable junk to be in there in the first place
because sureley the same mechanics would have worked on jap bikes wich shows jap bikes were rarely stripped or certainly nowhere near as frequent as brit stuff
got to admit there is some brit stuff that looks nice ( from a distance ) but i myself would rather have toothache than own or ride one !!

How little you understand.
Your lack of understanding of engineering is stunning–quite amusing actually.
Have you ever ridden or owned one?–well obviously not.
I actually prefer Japanese bikes myself but that isn’t to say that British bikes have no merit–because they have much.
Having recently been the member of a team which restored a one hundred and eight year old Coventry built Aurora (the last one anywhere), and then rode it at a public display, I can say that I haven’t enjoyed anything as much in years. I also have a 1963 Francis Barnett 250 Cruiser in my shop at the moment. A full cosmetic rebuild is required but the bike has been in the same family since bought new at Fowlers of Bristol back in the sixties. It’s Villiers 4T engine starts easily and will need only a cosmetic job before it goes back in the frame. The current owner is the grand-daughter of the original purchaser. She rides a 600 Thundercat and a 650cc Suzuki Gladius as well as being somewhat fond of Grandad’s Frankie-B

Of course you’d need a full license to ride all three of these nowadays.
See what you’re missing stuck out there in ‘Learner land’..?

Owned a couple of Kwackers-

GPZ550H1 Unitrac

love that design they are flash without being over the top have to confess i am quite tempted by the 305 belt drive for after the test !

Worked on plenty of Brit bikes, but that really is the crux of the matter, they needed a fair bit of it!
Not bad things to ride though, certainly more character than most of the Jap bikes & that counts for a lot.

brit bikes pissed oil like drunks a well known fact although to be fair a lot of that legend could be put down to bodging by local bike shops

but therein lies a problem too if they were forever being split down by the local garage they were unreliable junk to be in there in the first place

because sureley the same mechanics would have worked on jap bikes wich shows jap bikes were rarely stripped or certainly nowhere near as frequent as brit stuff

got to admit there is some brit stuff that looks nice ( from a distance ) but i myself would rather have toothache than own or ride one !!

All these Jap bikes, don’t you guys remember the Classics, Road Rocket, Bonnie, Dommie 99 etc, They were real motorcycles.:D
Oh, Forgot, they were made here in the U.K.not Japan.

Jim.
Lincoln .7.

they were over priced junk that no one wanted !! that’s why all the main japanese bike manufacturers are still in business !!

fair enough triumphs are being built today but they are far removed from yesterdays cr*p and norton if they ever get out of the starting blocks

but they are not the triumph and norton of yesteryear , they couldn’t afford to be , customers are more canny these days and wouldn’t spend money on junk just because it said triumph on it !!

which beats me how the hell land rovers still sell !!

Yep, also had the use of a BSA C25, but I have no pics of that one 🙁

Worked on plenty of Brit bikes, but that really is the crux of the matter, they needed a fair bit of it!
Not bad things to ride though, certainly more character than most of the Jap bikes & that counts for a lot.

All these Jap bikes, don’t you guys remember the Classics, Road Rocket, Bonnie, Dommie 99 etc, They were real motorcycles.:D
Oh, Forgot, they were made here in the U.K.not Japan.

Jim.
Lincoln .7.

Owned a couple of Kwackers-

GPZ550H1 Unitrac

& my last bike, up till now-

KLR650

Never got into *Elsies*.. I’ve always bled green 🙂

worked at a bike shop then used to go recovering accident bikes a big percentage of lc’s departed the world with heavy frontal damage

they were a quite pretty bike as well as full of power band fun !!

unfortunately so are kwak tripples

& LC’s, another one I regret letting go 😮

unfortunately so are kwak tripples just discussing that with my mate who nearly baught mine whilst on a ride today !!

A good XT is worth a few bob these days.

Don’t I know it! One of lifes regrets moving that old girl on 😮

What sort of 500?
I ask because it’s an unusual engine capacity these days and the bike may therefore have been something vintage.
Most Japanese bikes tend towards 600 or 650 in the modern era.

Andy

wasn’t that old a modern kawasaki sport tourer

A good XT is worth a few bob these days.

Just for a spot of thread R&R 😀

Used to own a 500, a Yammy XT500, one of my all time favourites, lots of fun, one of the few bikes that I actually miss.