5 More Classics British 250s of the 1960s

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  • เผยแพร่เมื่อ 26 ธ.ค. 2024

ความคิดเห็น • 160

  • @williamgregory6684
    @williamgregory6684 ปีที่แล้ว +7

    A great video again!!! I'm 68 and learning about cool bikes I never existed!!! Thanks again!!!

    • @bikerdood1100
      @bikerdood1100  ปีที่แล้ว +1

      There is a huge world of bikes out there

    • @richardortiz8704
      @richardortiz8704 8 หลายเดือนก่อน

      75 and 1/2 bikes like that high maintenance old liquors piece of junk compared to the oil leakers high maintenance motorcycles how do 😮😢😢 Japanese number one play British breakfast is a piece of s*** to

  • @kingsfleet21
    @kingsfleet21 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    I had a Greeves sports twin in 1964 and love the 2T engine to this day. I had many conversations with Bert Greeves and had a lot of respect for him. Thanks for the wonderful memories of our beloved british 250s.

  • @terrykirkby2667
    @terrykirkby2667 ปีที่แล้ว +5

    Great video. Thanks for showing these iconic bikes of the past. I had an Ambassador 250 cc twin Villiers engine with drop handlebars painted in electric blue. To date, Ive not seen another like it. Im 81 and would still be riding it, if only!

  • @rickconstant6106
    @rickconstant6106 ปีที่แล้ว +8

    A friend used to race a 250 Greeves Silverstone in VRMC race meetings. It was owned and prepared by a local 2-stroke tuner and was frequently the fastest in its class.

  • @vernontaylor568
    @vernontaylor568 ปีที่แล้ว +5

    I had a James flying cadet, a Suzuki Sportstman and then a BSA C12 which was good for 55mph in 3rd gear and 50 in top, a speed almost matched by the little Suzuki on a good day with the silencer baffle removed, though the Beezer was less bothered by hills or head winds.
    An old guy visited a neighbour regularly on a C10 that most of the cooling fins had rusted through and fallen off. The stand didn't work or had dropped off so he just laid the bike down. It never failed to start. The neighbour being visited had a Bantam D10 and a workmate had a D14/4 - the throttle cable broke while on a jaunt and so we rode from Scunthorpe to Newark with me on the pillion controlling the engine speed with the short bit of cable sticking out the carb while the guy up front did everything else.
    At the top of our street lived a very nice BSA C15.
    A former school friend had a Norton Jubilee that sounded like a bag of bolts - the rattling could be heard long before the exhaust note, approximately 2 streets away. It required more oil than petrol due to leakage. He soon swapped it for a Honda Benly with oval brake drums - an infinitely more exciting machine...
    Another friend had a C12 and his brother-in-law a Royal Enfield Turbo Twin. A neighbour of theirs had a lovely Continental GT and another a Crusader while another had a whole garage full of bikes, including a Corgi and one I have never seen since - a 175 Aermacchi. To us kids in the mid-60s it looked like a weird Honda 50 sport on steroids...

    • @bikerdood1100
      @bikerdood1100  ปีที่แล้ว

      Great mix of bikes there
      Thanks for commenting

    • @PaulP999
      @PaulP999 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      I had a throttle cable break on my B175 Bantam and I clamped the broken end into the brake lever mount and got home pulling on the cable sleeve. I think that Aermacchi 175 (also carried the Harley name) could be the Ala Rossa which was supposed to make 81mph!

  • @robertroe1956
    @robertroe1956 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Thank you for a great video. I learnt a lot about the Starmaker, IMO the best ever Villiers engine. I only ever had a 2T, but enjoyed it immensely.

    • @bikerdood1100
      @bikerdood1100  ปีที่แล้ว

      No doubt the Starmaker was their best. The only real modern engine they had.
      It should have been successful but the UK bike market was vanishing by then

  • @bristolfashion4421
    @bristolfashion4421 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    I watched the first vid. on the British 250s and now this - I'd forgotten that there were so many. That Cotton, with the Starmaker engine looks super ! 🙂

    • @bikerdood1100
      @bikerdood1100  ปีที่แล้ว

      Could make another with those missed out but then we are looking at the rare and unusual end of the market

  • @aswclassicsiow8588
    @aswclassicsiow8588 8 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    Another great video remember all of these, from late 60s early 70s, there is a great museum in Dorset Sammy Millers motor cycle museum

    • @bikerdood1100
      @bikerdood1100  8 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Glad your enjoying our videos

  • @davidprocter3578
    @davidprocter3578 ปีที่แล้ว

    Another great trip down memory lane thank you.

  • @andrewpeacock4695
    @andrewpeacock4695 ปีที่แล้ว

    I love hearing about bikes that were lesser known when I was growing up in the 1960s. More like this please.

  • @johnscotcher9753
    @johnscotcher9753 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    A great video illustrating why the Japanese sold so many reliable bikes. The Honda CB72 250cc was the benchmark in the 1960s.

    • @bikerdood1100
      @bikerdood1100  ปีที่แล้ว +3

      Not about Japanese bikes
      Clues on the title
      As someone who commuted on small Japanese bikes I can testify that they ain’t always that dependable
      Many a happy Mike pushing a Suzuki etc

  • @edwardwest5035
    @edwardwest5035 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Enjoyed the video. The Jubilee at 4.12 is a 350 Navigator. The Roadholder forks give it away. I had a Talisman Twin in about 63, it was the worst bike I ever had but at that time, like many of us then, all I could afford was worn out stuff. Regards Edward.

  • @steveparkes1
    @steveparkes1 ปีที่แล้ว

    Have just come across your channel and am glad I did! Excellent content, I can now catch up on your previous videos, thank you. you have a new subscriber!

    • @bikerdood1100
      @bikerdood1100  ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Glad you enjoyed the video
      And welcome

  • @SSV-i-c-e
    @SSV-i-c-e ปีที่แล้ว

    Great video thanks.hi from New Zealand 🇳🇿

  • @7omly
    @7omly ปีที่แล้ว

    Thanks for another great video. Please keep them coming.

  • @ktm42080
    @ktm42080 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Another great video! Those Greeves bikes look interesting, look like a good ride for the time. 😁

    • @bikerdood1100
      @bikerdood1100  ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Suspension looks weird but they worked very well

    • @kingsfleet21
      @kingsfleet21 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      I absolutely loved my 250 sports twin, feeling very nostalgic looking at them.

    • @kingsfleet21
      @kingsfleet21 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@bikerdood1100 I remember using a clothes peg on the choke shaft because the little d clip would wear out and the choke would drop down.

  • @bobjohnson7207
    @bobjohnson7207 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    I love the sound of those ole Greeve's.

  • @sofalugger
    @sofalugger ปีที่แล้ว

    Great Vid, I Had a C15!! Halcyon days...

    • @bikerdood1100
      @bikerdood1100  ปีที่แล้ว

      Glad it brought back some good memories

  • @russcattell955i
    @russcattell955i ปีที่แล้ว +4

    I was that spotty faced 17yr old with an aging Greeves trials bike. It was also my transport for work. Monday to Friday it ran a smaller rear sprocket & shorter chain, kinda scrambler gearing, weekends reverted to shorter trials setup. Not ideal but best I could afford.

    • @bikerdood1100
      @bikerdood1100  ปีที่แล้ว

      Trying to commute on any old bike is always a challenge
      Certainly pushed my Suzuki a few miles

    • @benw-king3380
      @benw-king3380 ปีที่แล้ว

      This all sounds very much like my early teens. We all competed in local trials on the weekend - a mate had a very noisy Greeves Pathfinder, I had a Montesa 172 - by the time I was 16/17 I had a Yamaha RD 250....how we survived those completely potty weekend 'burn ups' is a mystery.

  • @chrisjohnson4165
    @chrisjohnson4165 ปีที่แล้ว

    When I was 17 I bought a job lot of 3 little Nortons, mixed them up and made a 350 Jubilee, which I passed my test on. Naughty boy!

    • @bikerdood1100
      @bikerdood1100  ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Smart I’d say

    • @chrisjohnson4165
      @chrisjohnson4165 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@bikerdood1100 Yes. The examiner said "I'm pleased to tell you you've passed, but I'll be reporting you to the police!". He never did, thankfully.

  • @upsidedowndog1256
    @upsidedowndog1256 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Interesting group of bikes! Again, most I have never seen or heard of before. Some may have been able to become something greater today. A pity none did.

    • @bikerdood1100
      @bikerdood1100  ปีที่แล้ว

      Most were pretty big names in the 1960s
      Colton was somewhat smaller but kept going for years

  • @freddix3121
    @freddix3121 ปีที่แล้ว

    250 norton jubilee my first bike didn't realised how much freedom it gave me

  • @martinpook5707
    @martinpook5707 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    A friend of mine who worked on the development of the Starmaker reckons the works engines were producing up to 40bhp

    • @bikerdood1100
      @bikerdood1100  ปีที่แล้ว +1

      That is correct according to my research

  • @Antient.Briton
    @Antient.Briton ปีที่แล้ว

    In December 1965 I took my test on a borrowed Jubilee. On the way to the test centre I dropped it on black ice. Kicking the bent footpeg back into place, I carried on to town.
    It snowed throughout the test, and I don't think I got past 20 mph, but I passed anyway!

    • @bikerdood1100
      @bikerdood1100  ปีที่แล้ว

      If only it was that easy today

    • @Antient.Briton
      @Antient.Briton ปีที่แล้ว

      @@bikerdood1100 Yeah, dead easy! Shaken and bruised from the prang, wondering if it would happen again while on test, and freezing.

  • @jonathanpardoe8722
    @jonathanpardoe8722 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    After a brief spell on a Yamaha FS1E at 16,, as soon as I was able , I jumped on to an old Enfield Crusader and didnt look back . Sure I had a BSA Starfire and a C15 , also a Bantam , but the Enfield was the fastest , the sexiest , the noisiest and the continetal GT was just pure adrenylin . Progressing onto a Bullet , and then a Meteor , and finaly a Constellation 700 . The make attracted the sort of girls that I dare not take home to meet mum ! and there was this one young lady that ....err best not go into that ! I am very pleased that Royal Enfield has survived to become one of the top bike makers in the world . Only Enfield saw the threat of the Japanese and responded with 5 speed gearbox and 4 valve head which was at least fashionable . Only sorry that the bikes are not still made in Redditch .

    • @bikerdood1100
      @bikerdood1100  ปีที่แล้ว

      They are very pretty bikes indeed

  • @walkerhjk
    @walkerhjk ปีที่แล้ว

    My very firdt bike was a 1951 Excelsior Talisman Twin, It had plinger rear suspension like the one you show. It was a good bike, comfortable but rather slow when compared with today.

    • @bikerdood1100
      @bikerdood1100  ปีที่แล้ว

      Actually a talisman was slow in it’s day, the single carb model in particular was very pedestrian even for the 50s. Very smooth an£ refined however

  • @mickboakes7023
    @mickboakes7023 ปีที่แล้ว

    You missed my favourite twin. The Norman B3 in roadster and sport model. Originally fitted with a British Anzani two stroke twin then the Villiers 2T and fitted with the Armstrong leading link suspension. Ah! Those were the days.

    • @bikerdood1100
      @bikerdood1100  ปีที่แล้ว

      Can only fit so many in
      Considered the Norman actually but there isn’t much good quality video o& 5hem out there
      Rare beasts after all

  • @windyworm
    @windyworm ปีที่แล้ว +1

    I had the Norton Navigator. Oh dear… the frame used to unbolt as you rode it!

    • @bikerdood1100
      @bikerdood1100  ปีที่แล้ว

      Was never meant to fit that motor
      So not surprised there were problems

    • @neilurquhart8622
      @neilurquhart8622 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Me too, couldn’t fix oil leaks! A lot of noise but not a lot of speed (not as fast as a friends Arrow). Recall racing around a housing estate block in Cambridge…..until stopped by cops.

  • @petershepherd6889
    @petershepherd6889 ปีที่แล้ว

    Back in the early seventies I had a Honda CB 250 and my mate bought a Norton Jubilee 250 which was a money pit.
    Let him loose on my Honda one day and I rode his jubilee.
    Well that was an experience for the both of us.He loved the Honda and I hated the Norton.Vibrated, wouldn't go around corners and it wouldn't stop when the brakes were applied.
    After pleading with his dad to get another bike he turned up at my home one day on a brand new Suzuki Hustler 250.

    • @bikerdood1100
      @bikerdood1100  ปีที่แล้ว

      The Norton was a poorly funded project
      And to be fair comparing a machine with something much newer is a bit of a nonsense
      Like saying my new tyre corners much better than the bald one I replaced

  • @barryjones872
    @barryjones872 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Greeves had the silverstone Racer ,which was very good .

    • @bikerdood1100
      @bikerdood1100  ปีที่แล้ว

      True not a road bike though
      Was in use by race schools for many years

  • @carlatamanczyk3891
    @carlatamanczyk3891 ปีที่แล้ว

    I had a 1961 Greeves 250 Hawkstone. With some porting work, milled head, better expansion chamber and an Alpha chrome moly racing crankshaft added, that machine would scream!

    • @bikerdood1100
      @bikerdood1100  ปีที่แล้ว +1

      That ain’t no road bike
      Beast of a scrambler
      Live a couple of miles from Hawkstone incidentally

  • @andrewpreston4127
    @andrewpreston4127 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Between about 1966 and the early 70's, as a young teen thru to my early 20's, I was really into bikes, and the mags of the time. All the names here, very well known to anyone interested in bikes at the time. But really, I hardly ever saw any of these bikes on the road. I think I saw a Norton Jubilee once. All those disposable commuter bikes, Fannie Barnett, James ... very very occasionally I'd see some already clapped out one. Greeves, Cotton, Excelsior... Nope. Already the British motorcycle industry was imploding, the roads were full of Hondas.., the scooterettes, and bigger. Loads of Lambrettas, and Vespas around. Plenty of the bigger Triumphs and BSA's. But for smaller bikes, Villiers engines really didn't cut it in comparison with what was coming in from Japan.
    My first actual owned bike was a 1962 BSA C15 250, bought in 1971, for £50. I really enjoyed it, stable and good handling. I've always liked single cylinders. 20 years later, I bought a Suzuki DR 650. Loved that.

    • @bikerdood1100
      @bikerdood1100  ปีที่แล้ว

      For a first bike and indeed any bike simplicity is key

  • @Luppy-v8f
    @Luppy-v8f 13 วันที่ผ่านมา

    I had a few talisman two fifty bikes very smooth ride

    • @bikerdood1100
      @bikerdood1100  13 วันที่ผ่านมา

      The talisman was a very unique machine And performance varied quite a bit between models, the single carb 250 was pretty sedate, the larger engine with twin carbs a fair bit less so
      A pity Excelsior didn’t have the cash to develop it further

  • @lauriebloggs8391
    @lauriebloggs8391 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    I gave my Jubillee to my older brother, who took and passed his test on it....with no clutch cable or oil in the forks!
    I didn't understand about things like that then !! 🙂

    • @bikerdood1100
      @bikerdood1100  ปีที่แล้ว

      How could it be ridden with no clutch 🤔

  • @martinburke362
    @martinburke362 ปีที่แล้ว

    Me and my mate Billy put a arrow 250 in a Bantam B175 that was the best British 2 stroke there ever was went like stink trouble was we couldn't stop it

    • @bikerdood1100
      @bikerdood1100  ปีที่แล้ว

      Has been done a few times
      Not an easy a fit as it appears

  • @G58
    @G58 ปีที่แล้ว

    In the mid to late 1970s there was a bike shop on Normanton Road in the Normanton area of Derby. That was where I saw my one and only Norton Jubilee. It was light blue. That struck me as an odd colour for a bike, especially a Norton, yet something drew me to its uniquely elegant lines and obvious rarity.
    So I asked the owner about it. “Not for sale” came the reply. I guess he was either very attached to it for some reason, or he was waiting for it to be worth more money. That probably never happened in his lifetime.
    At that time the latest Japanese bikes were already making even their own earlier models look somewhat dated. It was a time of rapid advances in power, style and of course reliability.
    I had one mate who swapped his Yammy AS1 for a BSA C15 with a Starfire tank, and another who even dressed in old fashioned clothes as he rode his BSA 650 twin (A65?). Another older guy who wrote some decent poetry, rode a Triumph Bonnie who’s crank he brought into work to finely balance.
    The test of us were either Suzuki GT or Yamaha RD two stroke devotees, or more serious Honda owners. Many of those who chose Kawasakis or scooters, tended to get planted with young tears, after a brief period of infamy and won races, then featuring, like a stark warning to us all - in a dire headline on the front page of the Derby Evening Telegraph.
    As things got more exciting, it was unspoken lore that we were all playing a dangerous game on the edge of something unknown.
    Mothers and girlfriends cried, but those of us who survived, shrugged feigned indifference to the risks and carnage, and saw the last of the greatest era in motorcycle history.
    After giving up bikes in favour of four wheels myself, the day Diana Spencer sealed the worst decision of her life, and married the faithless associate of the most notorious unprosecuted$€>< offender in British history, I leant my Vauxhall Viva to a mate so he could take some friends to a rock festival at Donington, and borrowed his lovely Honda CB750 Super Sport to take a borrowed girlfriend on a fast fun ride around the Peak District’s empty roads.
    Ode to the 250
    We will never taste these joys,
    Nor cut these winds again,
    With our great enthusiasms
    And our bold devotions.
    One down, four up
    We were boys with toys

    • @bikerdood1100
      @bikerdood1100  ปีที่แล้ว

      What you say
      Giving up bikes in favour of a tin box
      And you dare post on my channel
      The very nerve 😂😂
      I do actively dislike anything with four wheels
      German cars especially

  • @paulcarrington6254
    @paulcarrington6254 ปีที่แล้ว

    I mentioned in your previous video the conquest was fast but you said probably not !

    • @bikerdood1100
      @bikerdood1100  ปีที่แล้ว

      Well I don’t hear any actual figures

  • @kenh3344
    @kenh3344 ปีที่แล้ว

    The greeves, the dot, the cotton . Mmmm fantastic stuff.

  • @georgebullock7923
    @georgebullock7923 ปีที่แล้ว

    had a royal enfeild crusader sports 1959 s uperb handling bike l went on the 1960 acu rroad rally and my pillion rider enjoyed the rally
    on this superd bike beutiful to handle unforgetable experience on this bike

  • @williamnethercott4364
    @williamnethercott4364 ปีที่แล้ว

    I'm not a two stroke fan but it was good to see the Cotton in there. They are too often overlooked.

    • @bikerdood1100
      @bikerdood1100  ปีที่แล้ว +1

      That’s why I put em in

    • @johnbrereton5229
      @johnbrereton5229 ปีที่แล้ว

      ​@@bikerdood1100
      The Cotton Motorcycle company is still going and registered in Dorchester with all its accounts up to date to this year.

  • @haroldpearson6025
    @haroldpearson6025 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    What about the Arial Leader and Arrows?

  • @tonyshew3666
    @tonyshew3666 ปีที่แล้ว

    I think you got a bit mixed up with the 180 crank. Who ever made a 360 crank two stroke parallel twin? Simultaneous firing? The Japanese tinkered with 180 crank four strokes though...

    • @bikerdood1100
      @bikerdood1100  ปีที่แล้ว

      Scott
      Remember they were no Villiers parallel twins at that time
      So Scott was probably the only British Stroker twin available at that point

  • @TheBikerDodge
    @TheBikerDodge ปีที่แล้ว

    How about doing a vid about Ariel singles. First bike I Had on the road was an NH 350 (1954) having passed my test (such as it was in 1969) on a borrowed Vespa 160.

    • @bikerdood1100
      @bikerdood1100  ปีที่แล้ว

      Or post war Ariels 🤔

    • @TheBikerDodge
      @TheBikerDodge ปีที่แล้ว

      @@bikerdood1100 No, just as many of the singles as you can fit in a video. I have a thing about them. I still have an NH. Not the one I had when I was 16 of course.

  • @TheGathumpus
    @TheGathumpus ปีที่แล้ว

    Greeves also built a 500 single, which I was lucky enough to get to ride in about 76 but I don't believe it was never put into production. They were trying to get the army contract after the demise of BSA, but I think the contract went to Can-Am.

    • @bikerdood1100
      @bikerdood1100  ปีที่แล้ว

      Well could have been based on their own or a Rotax power unit, they were using them at the time

    • @TheGathumpus
      @TheGathumpus ปีที่แล้ว

      @@bikerdood1100 can't remember think it had a gear driven primary we tried it out at Halstead, then I went with them when they tried to sell it to the Jordanian army happy days all expenses paid in the Hilton in Aman.

  • @vernontaylor568
    @vernontaylor568 ปีที่แล้ว

    As a matter of diverse interest, the way I heard the end of Villiers story was third or fourth hand from someone there at the time. One of the first Japanese bikes in the UK in significant numbers was the Suzuki T10 250 2-stroke twin and at the time it was an attractive bike.
    At that time Villiers 250 offering was the 2T 2-stroke twin that was much loved by Villiers captive market - officialdom. The engine was a reliable slogger that started easily and was completely unfussy - uncomplaining when hauling a large police officer (for instance) around all day with his wet weather gear, large heavy radio and packed panniers. Sales to official bodies probably went a long way towards the wages bill of those building the engines.
    The Suzuki T10 worried the gaffers at Villiers and they responded by quickly developing the exhaust tuned 4T version that was a (claimed) match for the T10 and then put the entire manufacturing capacity over to the new engine - it was about that time the Suzuki T20 arrived in the UK along with several other Japanese 250 offerings.
    The Villiers 4T couldn't compete with the Japanese invasion and their captive market hated the fussy exhaust tuned new version and weren't slow in voting with their feet...

    • @bikerdood1100
      @bikerdood1100  ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Well villiers really were in need of a complete new engine
      But the 4t was a modification of the 2T with porting designed for use in microcars and the line
      The used a reverse cone exhaust to up the power but ended up with a revvy beast with only 17hp not a lot more than the more user friendly 2t
      The star maker was their one truly modern unit and they didn’t make good use of it. They even refused to sell it to client companies in the latter part of the 60s

    • @harwoods11
      @harwoods11 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

      No Government assistance at all and by allowing foreign goods to flood all our markets was an easy "earner" for them... until of course, the sh@te hit the fan.

  • @williamsmith1044
    @williamsmith1044 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    All two stroke twins are 180 degrees, not as you said some were 360. If a two stroke twin was a 360 it would be like a single because they fire every stroke.

    • @bikerdood1100
      @bikerdood1100  ปีที่แล้ว

      Well I was really referring to the four stroke twins
      But for the record the only other parallel twin I two stroke available in the Uk industry in 1950 was the Scott and it’s 360 crank.
      Remember Villiers twins were more than a decade away at the time

  • @Davidwright-du5el
    @Davidwright-du5el ปีที่แล้ว

    I had a Greeves Fitted with a British Anzani two stroke twin engine. I wish I had kept it 😕

    • @bikerdood1100
      @bikerdood1100  ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Quite rare the Anzani, seen their parallel twin engines on a few machines but never a popular choice

  • @keithmoore5224
    @keithmoore5224 ปีที่แล้ว

    I had a sun 250 2t red armstrong forks my brother older than me cleand up the ports paded the crank cases reset the ignition ( he was and is a very good macanic ) it was very reliadle good on petrol for a 2 stroke 98 svd reg i had it in 1966 hit a car in nov 5th 1966 i was ok broak my leg bike had to be put down 😂😂

  • @simon-oy6um
    @simon-oy6um ปีที่แล้ว

    I had a james commadore ,not fast but they had selecter problems ,kept slipping out of top gear 😢

    • @bikerdood1100
      @bikerdood1100  ปีที่แล้ว

      Wonder if it was a Villiers or AMC engine

  • @chrisweeks6973
    @chrisweeks6973 ปีที่แล้ว

    The first bike I ever rode, back in 1958, was a 98cc James Comet; it had a two-speed 'box (slow and slower) via a change lever on the handlebar. The road outside my school was on the Barnett's test route, so I saw a lot of them and my mate's Dad was their Transport Manager at the Lower Ford Street factory, until production was moved to the James factory in Greet. The Piatti engine was a disaster for AMC, who did a lot of strange things, including their well-known refusal to offer their machines for testing by the motorcycle press. How on earth they thought they would sell their products is something only they would know and it's no surprise that they collapsed in 1966.
    The Norton Jubilee was fragile, as was their 350 Navigator; the ES400 Electra was a bit better, but underdeveloped and didn't last long. Neither of these two were of interest to the learner, of course.
    My neighbour in early 1963 had a Royal Enfield 250 Clipper with the now-rare Airflow fairing and I had a new 250 Jawa. Later sub-250's I owned included a Bantam D14/4, BSA C11G, Yamaha RD250, a 2022 Skygo Earl 150 in the Philippines and my current Suzuki VL250LC Invader.

    • @bikerdood1100
      @bikerdood1100  ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Their poor relationship with the press was the stuff of legend
      Almost like AMC were trying to go bust
      Too much AMC interference at Norton didn’t help the Jubilee either

    • @johnbrereton5229
      @johnbrereton5229 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      My first bike was also a 98cc James Comet which I bought for £2.10shillings in around 1963. It had been advertised for £4 but the chap selling it let me have it for the price I'd offered, though I don't think his wife was very pleased about it. He was obviously a kind hearted chap and let me have it after he heard I had saved up the money from my paper round. I was only about 12- 13 at the time and when i finally learned how to pull away I remember the thrill of going up hill as fast as I could go down hill on my bicycle.

    • @chrisweeks6973
      @chrisweeks6973 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@johnbrereton5229 That was nice of him. Vis-a-vis the price, past (and very expensive) experience leads me to believe that our better halves frequently want more!

  • @peter7624
    @peter7624 2 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Bikes of that time were made for economical transport rather than sportiness. These were austere times with little cash around for luxuries. These bikes were really for ride to work transport

  • @IVAN-bs5bq
    @IVAN-bs5bq หลายเดือนก่อน

    What about the Greeves Silverstone racer , i always wanted one , i did have a Greeves Hawkstone but it was no good on the road , I had a Jubilee and that was rubbish , perhaps that's why called Norton Jubly .

    • @bikerdood1100
      @bikerdood1100  หลายเดือนก่อน

      Well the Hawkstone and the Silverstone are definitely not road bikes like the others featured in the video

  • @Phiyedough
    @Phiyedough ปีที่แล้ว

    One of my former bosses told me he had owned an Excelsior Talisman 250 but I had never seen one.

    • @bikerdood1100
      @bikerdood1100  ปีที่แล้ว

      I’ve seen em but not often

    • @neilurquhart8622
      @neilurquhart8622 ปีที่แล้ว

      Did they produce a model with an Anzani 250 engine?

    • @bikerdood1100
      @bikerdood1100  ปีที่แล้ว

      @@neilurquhart8622 not Excelsior
      Some companies did use RCA engines however
      DOT definitely did for example

  • @daystatesniper01
    @daystatesniper01 ปีที่แล้ว

    Ah apologies i said in P 1 no James commodore and here it is my bad lol,my dad had a 250 single Commodore from 1965 to 1980 ,did thousands of miles and he said only broke down once ,and that was due to crap in the carb

    • @bikerdood1100
      @bikerdood1100  ปีที่แล้ว

      Only fit so many in at the end of the day. I also covered Villiers powered bikes in the first video and pretty sure I cover the AMC engines which covers the James

  • @whalesong999
    @whalesong999 ปีที่แล้ว

    Very scant use of air filters.

    • @bikerdood1100
      @bikerdood1100  ปีที่แล้ว

      Open inlets are for heroes 😂

  • @lauriebloggs8391
    @lauriebloggs8391 ปีที่แล้ว

    Just hook it into gear with your boot!
    Take offs could be a bit iffy!!! 😊

    • @bikerdood1100
      @bikerdood1100  ปีที่แล้ว

      Very iffy
      Stopping would be interesting too unexpect

    • @lauriebloggs8391
      @lauriebloggs8391 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@bikerdood1100 Absolutely......but he managed to pass his test!! 🙂
      Getting going...and keeping going was more iffy on the Norton, lol!

  • @hirepgym6913
    @hirepgym6913 ปีที่แล้ว

    Jubillee was the worst bike going i had two the first one turned into a hand grenade part of the crank case hit me in the face i thought i was unlucky so got another and the swinging arm snapped going around a bend they looked a lot better than they were we only recognised them as AMC not Norton hahaha i later owned the very last Manx to leave the show room in 1963 i also had an Excelior Talisman as a track bike.

  • @tommillar2821
    @tommillar2821 ปีที่แล้ว

    had a 250 norton twin in 1965 what they called a [high camshaft] engine after it seized for about the fourth time, the shop said heres your money back why not buy a honda cb72 250 no wonder the british factories all went bust their bikes were total crap, good riddance. although i have a 1200 tiger now nothing wrong with that did, have a bmw 1250 gsa adv i prefer the triumph.

    • @bikerdood1100
      @bikerdood1100  ปีที่แล้ว

      The Norton definitely wasn’t the best of British
      I often wonder where all the super reliable cb72s went 🤔
      As I rider who spent the 80s pushing various Japanese bikes home I do find their reliability something of a myth to be honest. I’ve owned bikes from pretty much everywhere and found the Jap stuff no more reliable in all honesty especially when used, they can be total crap and a bloody nightmare to fix

  • @davidatkinson3887
    @davidatkinson3887 ปีที่แล้ว

    "Classic " the most over rated word in the english language if it's something made in U.K. Basically all had short comings but the manufacturers didn't care as they fostered these on every country in the empire til Japan give them a wake up call, but it was too late

    • @bikerdood1100
      @bikerdood1100  ปีที่แล้ว

      All bikes have short comings especially when we’ll used
      I often reflected on this pushing my 80s Suzuki home
      The British industry hit the buffered before the arrival of the Japanese in point of fact, something all to often overlooked in the drive to over simplify

  • @richardhorton25
    @richardhorton25 ปีที่แล้ว

    Norton Jubilee and Navigator were flawed designs, poorly executed. The frame was not made of tube but rather plate folded into an aerofoil shape and seam welded at the back. You could not hear the exhaust note for the cacophony coming from the camshafts/pushrods/tappets

    • @bikerdood1100
      @bikerdood1100  ปีที่แล้ว

      Do believe that pretty much covered in the video,
      The valve gear may not have been particularly quiet but louder than the exhaust?
      Heard quite a few of these bikes running and as you can hear quite clearly the valve gear is in no way drowning out the exhaust note.
      The frame construction was of Francis npBarnett / James type but the handling wasn’t bad even with the cheap suspension

  • @rudyberkvens-be
    @rudyberkvens-be ปีที่แล้ว

    DOOD is DEAD in DUTCH

    • @bikerdood1100
      @bikerdood1100  ปีที่แล้ว

      No
      Really
      Gosh
      It’s a coincidence by the way

  • @zenscapeUKmedia
    @zenscapeUKmedia ปีที่แล้ว +1

    We need to be sensible about what makes a bike a classic. Just being old isn't a qualification. Let's stop devaluing the term classic by restricting it to truly groundbreaking models of their era. Most old British bikes were just mass-produced simple transport for the working class - and pretty terrible at that. Classics are Vincents, Broughs, Sunbeams, Goldies, Manx Nortons, Velocettes, etc.

    • @rickconstant6106
      @rickconstant6106 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      They may not be best in class, but these bikes were also part of the history of the British bike industry. In my view, anything that has survived this long and is still running is a classic (I speak as a 68 year old who has had several heart surgeries and still rides every day on 40+ year old bikes).

    • @zenscapeUKmedia
      @zenscapeUKmedia ปีที่แล้ว

      @@rickconstant6106 I played club rugby when I was 16 to 25 very badly. I'm now over 70. But I would never be - nor deserve to be - called a "rugby legend". If you place a value purely on the basis of age, its ridiculous. A rusty old 1960 washing machine in a scrap yard is no less a classic to you on that basis. You demean the term for no good reason.

    • @rickconstant6106
      @rickconstant6106 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      @@zenscapeUKmedia That's a very tenuous leap of logic you have made to justify your argument. There is no need for insults here, we are all entitled to our opinion. I remember these bikes from when I was younger, and wouldn't want to own most of them, but I maintain that, if a bike has survived this long and is still usable, it deserves recognition.

    • @bikerdood1100
      @bikerdood1100  ปีที่แล้ว +3

      Oh so only the expensive stuff
      Bull shit would be my considered response
      Which Sunbeams ?
      Nothing I hate more than bike snobbery
      Brough
      A massively over priced bitsa
      Too expensive to be if any relevance what so ever to real riders

    • @bikerdood1100
      @bikerdood1100  ปีที่แล้ว +2

      To value everything by its economic value is to understand nothing at all
      Is a morris minor or a mini nota classic car because it’s not an an E type Jag? What a pathetic attitude to have
      Hate Rugby incidentally
      Toffs sport
      For non riders and arm chair fantasists

  • @kevinwilliams1602
    @kevinwilliams1602 ปีที่แล้ว

    I had a Greeves 250 twin villiers and it was terrible, totally unrideable

    • @bikerdood1100
      @bikerdood1100  ปีที่แล้ว

      Bikes are always dependent on what the last owner did
      I often reflected on this as I pushed my Suzuki home

    • @kevinwilliams1602
      @kevinwilliams1602 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@bikerdood1100 Thank you, I bought mine from a friend of a friend of a friend, you know that one. I was a penniless Apprentice at the time and thought it would be a good idea. However when I rode it home it just coughed and spluttered badly and knowing nothing about 2 stroke technology I sent it too a specialist (not the whole bike just the engine unit), when it came back I refitted it into the frame, connected the electrics and fuel, put the required mix in the tank, started it up and it seemed fine(no load). Later I decided to ride out to my girlfriends house, it went off fine but on the ten mile journey it ran rougher and rougher until the bike literally shook itself to bits on a roundabout busy with traffic. I sold the damn thing for scrap and didn't own another bike for about 15 years afterwards.

  • @davidlewis2055
    @davidlewis2055 ปีที่แล้ว

    I remember my triumph 250 blazer loved it but it was very problematic all the time