Most exciting motorcycle you ever ridden

[thaiguzzi]

2 hours ago, xylophone said:

clunky tickover and timing chain rattle.

Tickover shoulda been fine if a single carb.

Knackered or out of synch (easily done on a Brit bike) twin carbs will give you a "clunky" tickover.

Brit twins generally do not run a timing chain. All Triumph twins have timing gears driving the cams.

Perhaps you meant primary chain - engine sprkt driving the clutch sprkt.

[Kwasaki]

8 minutes ago, thaiguzzi said:

Tickover shoulda been fine if a single carb.

Knackered or out of synch (easily done on a Brit bike) twin carbs will give you a "clunky" tickover.

Brit twins generally do not run a timing chain. All Triumph twins have timing gears driving the cams.

Perhaps you meant primary chain - engine sprkt driving the clutch sprkt.

Have you had the exciting ? chance to test ride the new Triumphs yet, be interested in your opinion.

[xylophone]

42 minutes ago, thaiguzzi said:

Tickover shoulda been fine if a single carb.

Knackered or out of synch (easily done on a Brit bike) twin carbs will give you a "clunky" tickover.

Brit twins generally do not run a timing chain. All Triumph twins have timing gears driving the cams.

Perhaps you meant primary chain - engine sprkt driving the clutch sprkt.

Thanks, but noisy whatever it was!! And could have been all of the above!!

[Justgrazing]

5 hours ago, lvr181 said:

Was that Bloor's version? Is he still the Triumph name owner?

 

I just had a feeling someone else had become involved in the resurrection of the brand - but I stand to be corrected. 

Check out the wiki page on it Ivr they have a fairly comprehensive account of their resurrection ..  

[DILLIGAD]

Have you had the exciting [emoji4] chance to test ride the new Triumphs yet, be interested in your opinion.

I’ve test ride the 900 scrambler and 800 Tiger XRt. Both really great in different ways and Top finish!!


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[thaiguzzi]

7 hours ago, Kwasaki said:

Have you had the exciting ? chance to test ride the new Triumphs yet, be interested in your opinion.

No.

Not ridden any Hinkley twin.

And i'm a Triumph man through and through. Been working on the Meriden engines since i was 23. Had a well known Triumph shop in the UK for 15 years. Bloor was just starting out when i still had the shop and he drew a BIG LINE (capital letters, won't go into it all here ) between the new product and new dealers and old product and old dealers. Pissed a lot of us off.

I'm a bit old skool as are most of my mates back in England and we are pretty much all Meriden freaks. A couple have a Hinkley twin as a winter hack or 2nd bike, a couple have bought them for their wives.

But a stock old air cooled Hinkley 865 or worse the earlier 790's make around 60 bhp. But they weigh min. 50 kgs or 110lbs in old money more. That's like having a 50kg sack of fertilizer permanently riding pillion. A well sorted 650 or 750 Meriden twin makes around 50-54 bhp, is light and nimble and is just terrific fun on country roads, A or B. A motorway hauler they are not. I have ridden my T140 many a time from Norfolk, England to Bavaria and the Austrian border - lets be honest, Autobahns are not their forte.

***************

Having said all that, there are a couple of American company's that have been doing way out there stuff with these bikes - 950, 1050, 1150cc bored and stroked monsters. With reliable 100 bhp and 100 lbs ft torque. Fantastico!

***************

The new water cooled models 900 and 1200cc, are getting rave reviews, the motors look more "realistic" than the old air cooled ones, the Thruxton makes decent torque and power, but i'm not a fan of all the electronics. Do you really need riding modes and TC on a 76 bhp bike? If i bought a Hinkley twin it would probably be one of the A/C 865 Thruxtons that made a bit more power stock than the T120 et al.

 

*********   ******************   ********************

 Pre bug eye 2011 Speed Triples - now you are talking!

As you know i'm not a big fan of water cooled or FI bikes, but i have always had a soft spot (or is that a hard  spot?) for pretty much all the Speed Triples including the 955i's.

Would have one tomorrow if i had the spare cash. And i still might one day (2008-2010 models).

*************

Below is my beloved 830cc 1979 Triumph T140E Bonneville, owned from new, 40 years together next year;

 

[xylophone]

12 hours ago, thaiguzzi said:

No.

Not ridden any Hinkley twin.

And i'm a Triumph man through and through. Been working on the Meriden engines since i was 23. Had a well known Triumph shop in the UK for 15 years. Bloor was just starting out when i still had the shop and he drew a BIG LINE (capital letters, won't go into it all here ) between the new product and new dealers and old product and old dealers. Pissed a lot of us off.

I'm a bit old skool as are most of my mates back in England and we are pretty much all Meriden freaks. A couple have a Hinkley twin as a winter hack or 2nd bike, a couple have bought them for their wives.

But a stock old air cooled Hinkley 865 or worse the earlier 790's make around 60 bhp. But they weigh min. 50 kgs or 110lbs in old money more. That's like having a 50kg sack of fertilizer permanently riding pillion. A well sorted 650 or 750 Meriden twin makes around 50-54 bhp, is light and nimble and is just terrific fun on country roads, A or B. A motorway hauler they are not. I have ridden my T140 many a time from Norfolk, England to Bavaria and the Austrian border - lets be honest, Autobahns are not their forte.

***************

Having said all that, there are a couple of American company's that have been doing way out there stuff with these bikes - 950, 1050, 1150cc bored and stroked monsters. With reliable 100 bhp and 100 lbs ft torque. Fantastico!

***************

The new water cooled models 900 and 1200cc, are getting rave reviews, the motors look more "realistic" than the old air cooled ones, the Thruxton makes decent torque and power, but i'm not a fan of all the electronics. Do you really need riding modes and TC on a 76 bhp bike? If i bought a Hinkley twin it would probably be one of the A/C 865 Thruxtons that made a bit more power stock than the T120 et al.

 

*********   ******************   ********************

 Pre bug eye 2011 Speed Triples - now you are talking!

As you know i'm not a big fan of water cooled or FI bikes, but i have always had a soft spot (or is that a hard  spot?) for pretty much all the Speed Triples including the 955i's.

Would have one tomorrow if i had the spare cash. And i still might one day (2008-2010 models).

*************

Below is my beloved 830cc 1979 Triumph T140E Bonneville, owned from new, 40 years together next year;

 

Nice one Thaiguzzi……….the Bonneville was the only bike (beside the BSA 500 Gold Star) that us young bikers/rockers would pay reverence to in those days.

[lvr181]

18 hours ago, Justgrazing said:

Check out the wiki page on it Ivr they have a fairly comprehensive account of their resurrection ..  

Checked it out - interesting reading, thanks.

 

I remember that the Bonneville was being built after the factory collapse and it seems that Bloor did that as a stop gap measure pending tooling up for his new machinery. Hence my thinking of "someone else' being involved. 

[lvr181]

And I had 1963 Bonneville T120R (first of the unit construction twins) with some small modifications available ex factory (HC pistons and high lift cams - if I remember correctly). The Triumph held the world speed record for motorcycles for 15 years (bar 33 days) and I do not think any other manufacturer has equalled that. I was the local "king" hehehe................. 

 

Wish I had kept the bike (as thaiguzzi has done) would be worth a few $ today. But got married, started a family and the rest is history, as they say.

[Kwasaki]

14 hours ago, thaiguzzi said:

Below is my beloved 830cc 1979 Triumph T140E Bonneville, owned from new, 40 years together next year;

Good stuff thanks for your post and pix, can feel the passion of a motorbike enthusiast.

My dad had a Rudge for many years and then change to a Triumph speed-twin until he sold it when he retired.

I had a 750 bon for a while when they came out with disc front and back, forgive me OK maybe not,  my dad wasn't happy also some of my mates when I exchanged it for a CB750,  I 've always been a maverick and much later on I liked speed so bought what people call a plastic bullet CBR1000F and in 1992 my beloved Black/gold CBR900RR not the blase red/white/blue one.

[poanoi]

i think most can agree the more cubic the merrier,

so the simple answer is: the most exciting bike was

the biggest bike

[Kwasaki]

18 minutes ago, poanoi said:

i think most can agree the more cubic the merrier,

so the simple answer is: the most exciting bike was

the biggest bike

Not for me depends on what a person thinks is exciting.

Speed for me is only a 998 c.c bike not counting the silly tomahawk thing. 

I would say others go on looks, comfort, type of bike or just nostalgia. 

[xylophone]

29 minutes ago, Kwasaki said:

I would say others go on looks, comfort, type of bike or just nostalgia. 

Yep...…...I was in love with my 2 stroke twin!!!!?

[Nemises]

Anyone else ride a Kawasaki H2 Mach IV 750cc 2 stroke back in the day?

 

Wow. One very fast, exciting to ride, bad boy.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kawasaki_H2_Mach_IV

 

 

[DILLIGAD]

Checked it out - interesting reading, thanks.
 
I remember that the Bonneville was being built after the factory collapse and it seems that Bloor did that as a stop gap measure pending tooling up for his new machinery. Hence my thinking of "someone else' being involved. 

You are right. After the factory went bust, an ex employer called Harris (forgot first name) bought the equipment & rights to produce Bonnevilles in Devon. Very rare now and well made too. (Harris Bonneville or Devon Bonneville). Easy to identify by the rectangular indicators as opposed to round ones.


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[Kwasaki]

15 hours ago, Gregster said:

Anyone else ride a Kawasaki H2 Mach IV 750cc 2 stroke back in the day?

 

Wow. One very fast, exciting to ride, bad boy.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kawasaki_H2_Mach_IV

 

 

Impressive speed wise but 750 / 4 stoke much better bike. ?

[thaiguzzi]

On ‎7‎/‎18‎/‎2018 at 10:17 PM, DILLIGAD said:

You are right. After the factory went bust, an ex employer called Harris (forgot first name) bought the equipment & rights to produce Bonnevilles in Devon. Very rare now and well made too. (Harris Bonneville or Devon Bonneville). Easy to identify by the rectangular indicators as opposed to round ones.


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On ‎7‎/‎18‎/‎2018 at 9:32 AM, lvr181 said:

Checked it out - interesting reading, thanks.

 

I remember that the Bonneville was being built after the factory collapse and it seems that Bloor did that as a stop gap measure pending tooling up for his new machinery. Hence my thinking of "someone else' being involved. 

L. F Harris. Les Harris.

Meriden went tits up in '83, Les had been producing pattern parts for Brit bikes (mainly Triumphs) for a long while. Bloor had bought the name and allowed Les to manufacture whole bikes and spares termed as "Genuine Triumph Spares". Around about this time, the Triumph Logo was changed, old & new so as to not confuse and separate the two companies. Old Triumph and New Triumph. Part of the agreement was Les could not modify any of the castings or update or modernize the design. Horrible Bing carbs were fitted (emission stuff), horrible seamed tanks were made (in Italy), better German electrics were fitted inc said rectangulasr indicators and better Magura switchgear. Possibly the best thing about the Harris Bonnevilles were the fully machined crankshafts which were smoother and easier to balance.

 Some of his spare parts were very good, some iffy. But post '83 if you were a shop unable to get NOS, then the genuine parts you sold were made by Les Harris. To this day, his company is still running, doing very well and run by his children, the parts are probably better quality now than they were in the mid '80's.

 I fitted a pair of L.F Harris manufactured cams to my Triumph last year - as good quality as a pr of late '60's Meriden cams....

[DILLIGAD]

L. F Harris. Les Harris.
Meriden went tits up in '83, Les had been producing pattern parts for Brit bikes (mainly Triumphs) for a long while. Bloor had bought the name and allowed Les to manufacture whole bikes and spares termed as "Genuine Triumph Spares". Around about this time, the Triumph Logo was changed, old & new so as to not confuse and separate the two companies. Old Triumph and New Triumph. Part of the agreement was Les could not modify any of the castings or update or modernize the design. Horrible Bing carbs were fitted (emission stuff), horrible seamed tanks were made (in Italy), better German electrics were fitted inc said rectangulasr indicators and better Magura switchgear. Possibly the best thing about the Harris Bonnevilles were the fully machined crankshafts which were smoother and easier to balance.
 Some of his spare parts were very good, some iffy. But post '83 if you were a shop unable to get NOS, then the genuine parts you sold were made by Les Harris. To this day, his company is still running, doing very well and run by his children, the parts are probably better quality now than they were in the mid '80's.
 I fitted a pair of L.F Harris manufactured cams to my Triumph last year - as good quality as a pr of late '60's Meriden cams....

My last ‘trumpet’. 2 years older than mentioned above & with Norman Hyde seat.



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[thaiguzzi]

3 minutes ago, DILLIGAD said:

My last ‘trumpet’. 2 years older than mentioned above & with Norman Hyde seat.



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With the generally better & more reliable single carb Tiger TR7 head fitted....

Which LFH was not allowed to sell due to only being allowed one design - hence the T140, because the MK I Amal fitted to a TR7 would not pass emission stuff in the States - more to the point, The Californians would not accept ticklers on carburettors in 1983......

Incidentaly LFH as a company makes parts for all unit 650-750 twins 1963 on.

[sandrabbit]

I caught up with this topic tonight, I had posted early about owning a Honda VTR100sp1.

 

After reading through the topic I feel compelled to post about lower power machines which I learned how to ride properly on. My 1st bike was a Kawasaki Z250 Scorpion 2 cylinder 4 stroke twin. If I remember correctly 28hp and top speed about 87mph, the Yamaha RD250's & 350's used to leave me for dead and more so when the LC's came out and a friend of mine who was built like a brickhouse had a Suzuki X7 and again would leave me for dead in a straight line.  My parents house was on the radius of a roundabout and I used to go around this with my center stand and exhaust scraping along the floor.

 

At this time (81) Avon tyres came out with a new version of the Roadrunner tyre which really suited the bike and living in Wales I could beat anyone in the wet, I still remember playing with a guy on a GS650 Suzuki down a country lane and watching his back tyre sliding before overtaking him and disappearing. 

 

The greatest feature of the Z250 was that it would do 110mpg genuine, when I sold it on to a colleague he was surprised that I hadn't made it up. For me that would be the best commuter bike going. I was going to talk about a few other bikes but realise I've almost written a novel. I'll post more about lower powered bikes later, sorry.

[sandrabbit]

[Nemises]

I had a Honda VTR1000 SP1 which Colin Edwards won the world superbikes championship twice with. Hand Made beautiful bike and I bought the last new one for sale in the UK at a cheap price. Bit of a handful on the road, the throttle was a bit sensitive in 1st gear and so much so that you needed both hands on the handlebars in in case you hit a bump. It could pull 90mph in 1st so was pretty fast from a standstill if you could stop the back wheel from wanting to overtake the front wheel but horrendous fuel consumption with a small fuel tank, riding sensibly the warning light would come on at 110 miles and using the performance it would come on at 80 miles or lower. Problem is bikes like these are licence killers, quite often on the m4 I would gently open the throttle in 6th gear to get past traffic to look down at the speedo and it would show 130mph with the bike so stable you didn't notice you were going that fast.

 

 

Ahh yes. My beloved VTR1000. The machine which gave me 200Kph membership. Survived our relationship with License intact, just.

 

[Rdrokit]

7 hours ago, sandrabbit said:

I caught up with this topic tonight, I had posted early about owning a Honda VTR100sp1.

 

After reading through the topic I feel compelled to post about lower power machines which I learned how to ride properly on. My 1st bike was a Kawasaki Z250 Scorpion 2 cylinder 4 stroke twin. If I remember correctly 28hp and top speed about 87mph, the Yamaha RD250's & 350's used to leave me for dead and more so when the LC's came out and a friend of mine who was built like a brickhouse had a Suzuki X7 and again would leave me for dead in a straight line.  My parents house was on the radius of a roundabout and I used to go around this with my center stand and exhaust scraping along the floor.

 

At this time (81) Avon tyres came out with a new version of the Roadrunner tyre which really suited the bike and living in Wales I could beat anyone in the wet, I still remember playing with a guy on a GS650 Suzuki down a country lane and watching his back tyre sliding before overtaking him and disappearing. 

 

The greatest feature of the Z250 was that it would do 110mpg genuine, when I sold it on to a colleague he was surprised that I hadn't made it up. For me that would be the best commuter bike going. I was going to talk about a few other bikes but realise I've almost written a novel. I'll post more about lower powered bikes later, sorry.

 I have ridden many big bikes but as I get older it is not as exciting but scary. I think when I was younger I had no fear of death thinking I would live to a ripe old age no matter what I did. That's why at age 14 my first bike was a Ducati 250 Diana which had to top speed of around 150kph which was REALLY fast for a 14 year old and VERY exciting.

[thaiguzzi]

10 hours ago, sandrabbit said:

You must be a tad younger than me, i remember well the above bike and all the bikes you quoted.

Me;

16 y/o Yamaha FS1E, Fantic GT, both 50cc mopeds.

17 y/o Dad's commuter Honda CD175 to pass my test on (not the CB 175 with quilted padding on the tank and twin clocks, but the Old Man's CD 175 with speedo in the headlamp, chrome tank panels and fully valanced mudguards - styled like a late 50's BSA - hated it at the time, in hindsight a lovely bike).

 Yamaha RD 350 - loved that bike.

 Yamaha RD 400 - seized on me after a month, never liked it as much as the 350,  had to trade it in for a

 Yamaha XS650 to get to work on, 1st big 4 stroke i owned, great bike.

18 y/o, went to Germany to work, sold the Yamaha and bought my Triumph new which i still own to this day.

The rest, as they say, is history.

Bunch of bikes from then to now,

a couple of Guzzi's, one of which i still own

an HD FXR - marvelous

Side valve Indian Scout basket case never finished

Rat 650 unit Triumph rigid frame with sidecar

a bunch of Brits inc Norton Commando, pre warTriumph 500 single, BSA B31 or 33 cafe racer, and a bunch of others.

The world's largest parallel twin 1060cc Triumph drag racer

etc etc etc.