Yamaha's 1970's dreary librarian of a 750 the XS letting her hair down a bit .. and at a guess she's a Rossi fan .. 

 

 

37 ltr RR Griffon that came after the Merlin towards end WW2 .. Pretty much the same as Merl' only bigger and more powerful .. This one is the counter rotating prop' version that they all fiddled with Spit' included .. 

P51X ( experimental ) fitted with a crp Griffon spitting back under starting .. 

 

A customised 2006 Speed Triple 1050, by French outfit Creativ Garage.  Nice retro look to it, but I'm not sold on the knobblies though.

The latest Speed Triple update was last year, in S and RS editions.  Hopefully another will be along sometime.

Recipe of the day:

Take one stripped down Daytona 675...

 

Add a 3D printer...

 

Mix well...

 

Enjoy...

 

On 9/17/2019 at 3:11 AM, Justgrazing said:

1959 Mitchell 50cc 4 cyl stroker .. 

Check out the size of the carb's and hanging piston compared to the size of a plug , the fledgling expansion chambers and the clutch assembly .. Oh and the tank ..

 

 

 

Best thing about this is that it actually looks as if it was cast in someones garage. ????

22 minutes ago, VocalNeal said:

Best thing about this is that it actually looks as if it was cast in someones garage. ????

Hahahaha .. yea they do have a bit of T34 tank grade finish about them .. 

Some new breed Triumph 3's .. 

Bottom shot is class against that backdrop ..

 

1/3 scale R/C FW190 coming in for a controlled crash landing after undercarriage malfunction .. 

And the Moki 5 cyl 250cc radial that powers it .. Sounds the part as well .. If ye'z like engineering stuff check out some of the r/c models .. faithfull replication and attention to detail is everything on the bigger one's .. 

 

17 hours ago, Justgrazing said:

And the Moki 5 cyl 250cc radial that powers it

My Dad used to being into all that, before he got into the real mcoy, ie big (real) ones. He's still got a brand new boxer twin in it's box - worth nearly 2k GBP new!

Some of those Japanese RC model engines cost in their 1000's..

18 hours ago, Justgrazing said:

Some new breed Triumph 3's .

Indeed.

Hinkley Thunderbirds and Thunderbird Sports.

Would'nt mind one myself.

Like them more now than i did when they first came out.

The Sports were knocking out around 82 bhp and goodly amounts of ooomph.

On 9/17/2019 at 3:38 AM, Justgrazing said:

Yamaha's 1970's dreary librarian of a 750 the XS letting her hair down a bit

I don't think they were.

I always liked them - different. As Yamaha often were.

Shaft drive and a lack of weight obsessiveness made them a bit portly. They certainly were not known as sportsters, but reliable bikes.

Liked the XS1100 too.

19 hours ago, ballpoint said:

Nice retro look to it, but I'm not sold on the knobblies though.

Jesus!

Concur.... bigly.......

 

Found this, researching Cali torque figures, as i was out on mine by the mighty Mekong yesterday.

Interesting bike review (pretty spot on) on the first of the mk 3's in '88. Mine is an 89.

And it looked, bar the screen, identical to the one in the article - horrific.

 

https://www.motorcyclespecs.co.za/model/moto guzzi/moto_guzzi_california_III 87.htm

 

 

 

2 hours ago, thaiguzzi said:

My Dad used to being into all that, before he got into the real mcoy, ie big (real) ones. He's still got a brand new boxer twin in it's box - worth nearly 2k GBP new!

Some of those Japanese RC model engines cost in their 1000's..

Indeed.

Hinkley Thunderbirds and Thunderbird Sports.

Would'nt mind one myself.

Like them more now than i did when they first came out.

The Sports were knocking out around 82 bhp and goodly amounts of ooomph.

I don't think they were.

I always liked them - different. As Yamaha often were.

Shaft drive and a lack of weight obsessiveness made them a bit portly. They certainly were not known as sportsters, but reliable bikes.

Liked the XS1100 too.

Jesus!

Concur.... bigly.......

 

Found this, researching Cali torque figures, as i was out on mine by the mighty Mekong yesterday.

Interesting bike review (pretty spot on) on the first of the mk 3's in '88. Mine is an 89.

And it looked, bar the screen, identical to the one in the article - horrific.

 

https://www.motorcyclespecs.co.za/model/moto guzzi/moto_guzzi_california_III 87.htm

 

 

 

Oh for sure XS wasn't a bad motorcycle by any stretch .. It came across as a bit underwhelming next to the Z650 , new GS and CB's ( though by then Honda had gone for the Marmite " Euro " look thing ) .. It also seemed to be one nor t'other with shaft drive and a 3 pot engine and the all black finish against the polished all'y of the rest was brave .. But when I look at one with the passage of 40 odd yrs they look cool in the retro way that makers try and create now .. and the XS11 when they did come back with a 4 was more like it .. apart from the headlight .. Though I would still loved them to have made a better job of their first 750 the TX as that was a good looking bike .. 

1/3 scale Mitchell bomber with 5 cyl radials being hand started .. such is the level of replication with some of these planes that remote starters are also available for the authentic start up on its own procedure before take off .. 

9 cyl radial .. I think that's about $3500 plus ignition ecu .. 

 

The XS Yamaha  good bikes ,a friend of mine had one ,just got it and we went out for a run ,he noticed that it was use some oil ,he thought give it a week being new ,but it still used some oil ,took it back to the shop ,long story short,the piston rings where put in upside down ,after the re-build no problems ,

I looked at one ,not being a speed freak ,and with shaft drive ,and at the time of UJM's a bit different, but as said a fair lump of bike ,and me being a short person I said no and got a UJM  a GS550, a good bike .

Guazzoni 250 reverse cyl twin .. 

 

2 hours ago, Justgrazing said:

Guazzoni 250 reverse cyl twin ..

I think I had a plate of guazzoni at a little mom & pop restaurant in New Jersey (USA) one time. 

 

Very very good mate of mine, almost a legendary, mythical father figure, who taught me all the bad stuff, all the naughty stuff, all the best stuff to do with living the biker lifestyle to the max, had one of these for a while, as above, nearly new.

He sold it to get his long lived wish of owning a Harley, ca'nt remember, new or nearly new, a 1980 Sportster, one of the last of the Ironheads.

This was that period of time that HD quality control was shot to pieces, needless to say, after a year of ownership and breakdowns and heartache, he confided in me that getting rid of the Yam to buy the Sportster was the worst, regrettable  motorcycling decision he had ever made.

I had my T140 at the time he had both the Yam and the Harley, they were both long gone decades ago, i've still got the Triumph.

Funny old world.

Innit.

 

 

7 hours ago, thaiguzzi said:

This was that period of time that HD quality control was shot to pieces

Innit.

AMF years - dismal

AMF years - dismal

Only ever saw them as unsold in (UK) showrooms


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Another custom Speed Triple.  A 2008 1050, built by French outfit Badass Factory in a homage to the Rickman brothers' Avon fairings:

 

 

Trust the French to incorporate a cheese grater into the seat.

Speaking of the Rickmans, here's some of their work:

 

 

 

 

What could be more iconic than this?

 

 

And some dirt bikes...

 

1964 Eso Rickman Metisse

 

1966 Rickman 650 Triumph Metisse

 

1964 Rickman Matchless Metisse Scrambler

 

 

I got about a 5 minute ride on a Rickman Metisse MX bike with a Montesa engine.

8 hours ago, DILLIGAD said:

Only ever saw them as unsold in (UK) showrooms

Mid 70's the worst. Crank not balanced properly, heat treatment of journals wanky ...

Sportsters bad when they became 1000cc ...

Remember - you talking 40+ years ago ...

Panhead riders got a good chuckle at the Shovels !

12 hours ago, ballpoint said:

Trust the French to incorporate a cheese grater into the seat.

That is some Ugly engine bodywork, looks like they had some left over SS ducting that they have turned into a body panel! 

Wow those two in racing  green  are sweet!! I personally like the  66, 650 Triumph . But the Matchless sure looks nimble.

 

 

18 hours ago, ballpoint said:

And some dirt bikes...

 

1964 Eso Rickman Metisse

 

1966 Rickman 650 Triumph Metisse

 

1964 Rickman Matchless Metisse Scrambler

 

 

 

Honda 50 Dream DOHC .. The Japanese tuning shop's reckon to wring 20 hp out of these .. 

And an SS50 in the background .. 

 

Dragster of the skies the imperious Mosquito .. Check out the exhaust stubs for a stereophonic Merlin soundtrack .. 

auto loading 57 mm anti-tank cannon adapted for U-boat hunting missions .. 

 

Three more Rickmans, or should that be Rickmen?  All Matchless G50s:

 

1966 

 

1964

 

1962

A closer look at the engine on the last one.  A 496cc single potted beauty.

And for fans of 'Smoke on the water', a '66 Rickman Triumph G50 Metisse:

 

4 minutes ago, ballpoint said:

A closer look at the engine on the last one.  A 496cc single potted beauty.

Mag cam cover.

Still being made.

Check out AJS 7R/Matchless G50 engine prices - eye watering.

IMHO, not as pretty a motor as the Norton Manx.

But then cam covers never are. Pretty.

Or even as handsome as a normal run of the mill pushrod Velo...