Vintage motorbike

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I realise this is not strictly model engineering but there is one running on aircraft. So here goes.

I saw this old rascal parked up in Warrington.

Nick

Very nice too, Nick

... a "model" of engineering for one to follow.

MichaelG.

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Here is a video of Norton Commando that belongs to a friend of mine he restored a few years ago. He has 5 bikes in total but the Norton is his cherished favorite one.

Link to video :- **LINK**

Nick

Its amazing , but the british bike industry made a good few models of v-twin's in large capacities before the second world war, but only vincent made one after (maybe jap engines too ?). Bsa made a 1,000cc v-twin and it was marketed as a workhorse used to drag massive tradesmens sidecars about. The parallel twin was a developmental dead end compared to the better balanced v-twins.

Hmmmm..... Big capacity V twins from say 1910 to 1940, built in relatively (compared to the single cylinder mainstay) small quantities; parallel twins built by all manufacturers from 1936 ish to 1970 to 1975 in huge numbers and varieties. If you include the new Norton 961, being built in numbers probably greater than Vincents, then the parallel twin is still going. Most tradesmen moved to Thames vans and their ilk in the 1960s.

Not arguing that the V twin is possibly the ideal engine layout for a motorcycle, but the parallel twin had a lot going for it, if only the manufacturers had paid more attention to vibration reduction. I wouldn't say that it was a developmental dead end, but that the manufacturers ran out of development budget.

This is a discussion that could go on for decades, it's already been going on since the mid thirties!

cheers

Bill

Forgot to say, lovely looking bike Nick, enjoy it, well found!!

cheers

Bill

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I think that Edward Turner deserves much of the credit for the change of direction.

... and, of course, the rather incestuous nature of the British motorcycle industry.

MichaelG.

Hesketh built a V twin for a while, not in huge numbers though.

Mike

The triple has a lot going for it as a bike engine, the sound of a works Trident or Rocket III has to be one of the best sounds ever from the 60/70s.

Mike

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Agreed 100%, Mike

... I still remember our visit to the BSA factory [pre-launch], when they had a Triple on the Rolling-Road dyno. [Edit: correction - I don't think it was a proper Rolling-Road, just rollers]

... Spine-tingling.

MichaelG.

Edited By Michael Gilligan on 08/10/2014 08:02:58

Beautiful bike, and not a common one either. The question is, where does the Queen keep her chickens? Micheal Gilligan, You lucky lucky man! a visit to BSA! My dream bike was the rocket three, but I had to make do with an old plunger A10 Gold flash. Our local motorcycle shop was Watkinson Motors in Scarborough, and the owners son had a Rocket 3, he used to barrel through our village playing tunes with the gearbox! The best school trip I got was Parkgate Steelworks in Rotheram, then on to Moore and Wrights in Sheffield!

Phil

A nice bike and well travelled, going by the number plate, registered in the highlands of Scotland Inverness or Nairn.

Those were the days when you could tell where vehicles came from by their number plates.

Mike.

Edited By Stick on 08/10/2014 09:13:25

Drool drool drool!

What is that chrome disc for, RHS on the petrol/oil tank?

Makes my CB350 Twin look like very plain indeed.

MichaelP,

Talking about the Trident, a chap living opposite us in SA had one, and the sound it made reminded both brother and I of the BRM F1 car. (not the H16 of coarse, which has a sound all of its own)

My 350 twin had an odd sound as well.

Geoff - Trying to decide what to do today.

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... They did, of course, in the wonderful little Ariel Arrow [an innovative, and very cleverly production-engineered machine] ... but that was a two-stroke.

MichaelG.

Just to stir things up a bit- I used to own and run a BSA V twin, 500cc.

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Geoff,

Whilst you are drooling; I hope you saw the Austin pics. that I posted via the "What did you do today" thread.

[ that thread is quite busy, so you may have missed them]

MichaelG.

Hello all, if you like Nortons, this ones mine. Please look in my photos !!

Edited By Roger Williams 2 on 08/10/2014 10:32:15

Edited By Roger Williams 2 on 08/10/2014 10:34:17

Very nice, Roger !L

No balance problems with that one, I presume.

MichaelG.

Maybe you motorbike nutters would like this thread on another forum i use ? **LINK**