As a young boy in the '50s, my dad had a Panther Model 100 and Watsonian double sidecar. I remember my excitement of going on our annual holiday to the TT, dad riding, mam pillion and my brother and I in the sidecar!
Theresa Wallach and Florence Blenkiron rode their 600cc single-cylinder Panther motorcycle - complete with sidecar - from London to Cape Town in 1934. They were the first women to cross the Sahara on a motorcycle.
@@bikerdood1100 I read Theresa's book The Rugged Road about her ride to Cape Town. There were a number of breakdowns. She an Blenk had a falling out in Cape Town so she did not make the return ride. Theresa is one of my favorite people. She toured the US in the late 40s on a Norton.
Longevity in production is usually because the firm is cash strapped. Which means changes are progressive and can often be retrofitted to existing machines ( triumph 9 Stud and 10 Stud heads &barrels , five speed boxes better forks discs etc) so good for spares and long term secure ownership. Guzzi big vees and fj 1100 yams also fit into this category. Ditto Austin taxi cab fx4 and series Landrovers. Had them all.
Oh it isn’t a bad thing for prospective owners today Ultimately spared supply for many such machines is helpfully very good Cutting edge isn’t much use if it’s replaced after a couple of years and you can’t get parts even for a basic service are hard to source
Should it surprise History says otherwise Not a comment on individual bikes after all is it Circumstance dictated that Honda produced the bike a few years longer than they would have liked Honda needed to develop their car brand so had to cut the bike division’s development budget Even Honda can’t do everything Same thing happened recently when the financial fall out of taking part in F1 effected other areas of the company Even Honda doesn’t have unlimited funds
@@bikerdood1100 I agree with you 💯 %. It was my first "big" bike tho so I would be quite happy if they were still making the SOHC today 🤣 Like 8 said "heavily biased". A friend had a 900 Kawasaki and I didn't see him much. Kind of disappeared. Then later another friend bought a Z1. Also missing. So yes it was a tad slouchy to begin with and got increasingly so with every passing year. 🤣
I predicted 4 out of 5 (I didn't consider Indian). Panthers were really a niche product for which the market disappeared, however much I quietly like them. It's possible to say the same about the AMC singles (at least the 350, which was a vanishing market), which is a shame because they are beautifully made and very enjoyable bikes (I have a lightweight 350). I honestly believe that the top management of AMC were on another planet in the 1960s, bad news for the workforce who continued to make quality machines. The T140 is almost a metaphor for the whole mismanagement of the industry in the UK. I agree about the CB750, which shows that no manufacturer is immune.
Point is those big singles became niche They certainly didn’t start out that way When the market changed, Panther lacked the funds to go with the market AMCs reasons are less obvious
@@bikerdood1100 I worked at a Triumph dealership in the 80s. We got a TSX, a TSS, and a Triumph Executive. It was smoke red with bags and a small fairing. I have never seen another one.
@@JR-bj3uf I have seen several Triumph Executives, all with the smokey red paint. I own a very last model T140ES built in 1982 with smokey blue paint. I have only ever seen two and I have owned both of them. There must be a few more around , who knows?
The T140 a great bike that as you say lacked development funds , if they had gone to horizontal split crankcases and overhead cam even in a similar style chassis bodywork combo it could have at least boosted their fortunes , but then the Yamaha XS650 wasn't a big UK seller in the age of multi cylinder bikes , bur look at things today twins are defiantly back singles too .
In fact horizontal split crank cases is something of a myth really Many modern machines still use vertically split cases in fact Definitely would have been much better for the triples no doubt there XS isn’t a bad bike if a touch heavy but it’s OHC aside isn’t a huge upgrade on the British twins, still a 360 crank after all and not especially quick
Indeed you could and a few others Of course BMW did try with the K but people likes the simplicity of the air head boxers In stark contrast to the gadget filled monsters they make these days
If Panther had lasted a bit longer, it could have become the Morgan of the motorcycle world. Completely anachronistic low-volume eccentric's bike of choice. None of the modern retro manufacturers have made a sloper so far, I reckon there's a market for once a lamp post banger.
Perhaps Velocette would have been the two wheeled Morgan Both companies of cares shared the same problem.Too small A modern Panther would be an interesting idea to be sure Especially if it had a larger V-twin along side it
@@bikerdood1100 Thank you, in 1974/5 I had a 250 MZ ISDT ''factory replica'' (£600 OTR c/w a huge box of spares) a wild bird indeed, a friend summed it up thus ''East Gemany's cure for constipation''
Virtually every British bike was in production for decade too long. Most were a concept in the 30s, in production in the 50s and obsolete by the 60s, but idiotic Management and Accountants kept polishing a turd. 😮😊
@@bikerdood1100 I was hoping that there was a possible lifeline but the numbers are so staggering that I'm not holding my breath. Also they did their brand no good with their approach of using lego oil pumps/oil systems on their adventure range. Hopefully I'm wrong. Happens at least 50% of the time 🤣
Up until 1982, Honda was "dumping" motorcycles in the US. The Japanese government subsidized them so much that you could buy a CB750 in the US for less than it cost Honda to build one in Japan.
@bikerdood1100 I remember reading back in the late 80s. One of the reasons they made the old 754s for so long had something to do with the way the laws in Japan were written.
8.38 The Triumph twins were without doubt the best British bike of the day however the company was ruined by the cursed BSA group takeover and the likes of Bernard Docker and his Floozie. The early 5 speed gearboxes are regarded as "glass" gearboxes by the cognoscenti and in the US particularly many bikes were converted back to 4 speed under warranty. By all accounts the later 5 speed gearboxes were brilliant.
No no Bernard Docker was out of the picture long before the downfall of the company 🙄BSA invested far too heavily in far too many industries Spread themselves too thin and left them selves short on investment capital People always like to blame BSA but a massive oversimplification as always Triumph the best Hmm 🤔 Naaaaaa 😂
Dont really agree about the CB750 which was in production in its original K0 to K6 style for only 6 years (69 to 75) The styling upgrade to the F1 model from 75 and the F2 from 77 to 79 with the comstar wheels did justify keeping it in production for a few more years imho I always thought it a bit odd that Honda introduced the often overlooked CB750K7 model for one year only (1977) two years after introducing the updated F1 of 1975. Also,I think the Kawasaki GTR1000 tourer and the GPZ900R had a very long innings being available from the mid 80s to well into the 2000's in some markets And what about the Suzuki Hyabusa turning 25 this year?
Well that’s what Honda themselves believed The later models were only ever light remodelling exercises People get vey precision about Japanese bikes for some reason This is not a criticism of the CB but a statement of historical Fact wether you like it or not 🤷🏻 Honda did cut their R&D for their bikes in the 70s fact Even Honda can not do so much Why do you think they pulled out of GPs ?? Or do you disagree that that happened too 😂😂
It’s all relatively and often a matter of perception. A product only becomes a liability if nobody buys it anymore. As long as it is still acceptabele for security and / or environmental reasons anything goes as far as I am concerned. There is already too much fashionable stuff with inbuilt redundancy in the world as it is anyway. An example: I used to look down on it for years myself but I think that a modern version of the MZ ES250/2 could still / again be relevant today. Some new electric bikes even revisit some of that ground. The IAm and Flying flea actually have girder forks. Considered to be ancient for years new incarnations based on today’s casting technology suddenly make a lot of sense. Not that I expect you to agree. Most of these designs are too easy to clean and practical for your taste. And they don’t stink enough. 😁
The video does not describe any of the machines as a liability But in the the 70s the market changes happened quickly and there’s no doubt Honda would have liked to replace the CB 5 years earlier than they did Honda wouldn’t have liked being slightly behind the curve let’s face it
Well they were very good Known to take their clutches out on occasion You do get that the video isn’t actually criticising any of the bikes mentioned Right ? P&M would have produced a more up to date bike had they had the option to Let’s be real about that
Panther was perfect for the job it was designed for and that is why it was around so long. (note avatar, I do have a sidecar problem). Dang those cheap cars. CB750, do what? It was so far ahead, others were still behind when it went out of production, please. Brit jealousy...it finished off your bike industry...almost did ours in too T140 too, geez. The 2018 T120 in my garage says FOOEY and would spank a T140. The original killed by British economics (and CB750) & not fully developed until resurrection by Mr Bloor! Indian. Post 1953 until recently, truly sad. Harley wanted to save them in 1953, did not have the money, it was a friendly competition, especially after WW2. That RE Engined Indian was junk. Matchless/AJS/ABC another sad end to the mighty British Motorcycle industry killed off by trying to rebuild a post war economy with socialist ideas when capitalism was needed... Odd that only RE, and that because production moved to India for the war effort, is the sole continuously made British bike...because it left England so it got to keep being a British.
Panther was around so Long because they couldn’t afford to replace it The Honda was ahead of the game for under 5 years Who says it ran too long ? Honda for one The video clearly gives reasons for each bike to make it abundantly obvious The market of the 70s was very dynamic, unlike today remember
Should probably watch my video on the demise of the British industry Your time line is hopelessly incorrect AMC ran at a loss from 60 onwards gone completely by 66, that’s before the 750 of course and has far more to do with cheap cars like the mini Your understanding of motorcycle history is more pub culture than historically accurate I’m afraid RE factory was closed by Denis Poore despite a full order book because the land it stood on was worth more than the plant see history rather than pub talk FYI the Enfield India factory was established after the war, it has nothing to do the the war effort, no idea where you heard that, it’s nonsense. Bikes were ordered to patrol the India Pakistan border, those countries did not exist as separate entities until after the war and the whole partition tragedy Bloor family just sells Malaysian bikes with an English badge, only a tiny percentage are actually built there, it’s essentially a warehouse, went there last year, we were Very unimpressed It’s a good con I suppose 😂😂 And socialist ideals In a private company now I know your stupid The British sales collapse under the Tory government of the early 60s What a bloody stupid observation based on Zero historical knowledge Learn you history 😂😂😂
Maybe if the financial constraints of the “ special relationship “ hadn’t been quite so punitive we could have made a better go of our postwar industries.
You probably don't realise that no money was available in Britain to invest in new ideas and machinery. A huge bill had to be paid to the American government for the Second World War with compound interest which was not settled until 2016.
@@highdownmartin Especially as President Truman was determined to undermine Britain as a global power so the Yanks could become the big player. It hasn't worked out so well so far Uncle Sam, what are you going to do about it?
Too long for whom? The manufacturer? The customer? Generally production machines have a finite life, they get upgraded or replaced with a newer model, but this is the normal capitalist business model, evolving novelty, consumption ideology. I would argue that a motorcycle cannot be in production for too long. It is either in production or it is not. It is in production for exactly as long as the customer wants to buy it. Of course factors like govenment handouts skew the market, (Triumph) but then that is the normal effect of govenment support or handouts, the market is free no longer. If a company wants to continue to produce a machine at a loss, that cannot continue for very long. P&M didn't sell hundreds of thousands of bikes every year, it didn't need to. It was a small company with a small dedicated workforce, making the same bike for years. The same could be said for Velocette. Look what happened when it tried to modernise with the LE, it broke the company. Without that sorry chapter it might well have carried on selling Venoms until the 80's. There's a thought. Thanks for an interesting video. I just think it should be entitled 5 motorcycles that were in production for a long time. Maybe I missed something.
Well that depends The manufacturer Yes in most cases The market at the time Yes Owners No Especially not owners of today because it’s good for parts supply You do understand it’s not a criticism of the machines themselves Right ? It’s just industrial history
Having owned a triumph , fun fragile and rattly , a bitza ajs single and through norton bsa bmw harley and for the last 20 years a panther , none perfect but all have 1 thing .odern appliances lac k completely , character , soul , fun factor ,
As a young boy in the '50s, my dad had a Panther Model 100 and Watsonian double sidecar. I remember my excitement of going on our annual holiday to the TT, dad riding, mam pillion and my brother and I in the sidecar!
Used one for a few days a while bike
Brilliant fun
Sometimes think that in our haste for big performance we sometimes forget to just have fun
Theresa Wallach and Florence Blenkiron rode their 600cc single-cylinder Panther motorcycle - complete with sidecar - from London to Cape Town in 1934. They were the first women to cross the Sahara on a motorcycle.
Indeed they did
I think Deb covered it in her women in motorcycling video
And they old bikes aren’t reliable
No one asked those ladies clearly
@@bikerdood1100 I read Theresa's book The Rugged Road about her ride to Cape Town. There were a number of breakdowns. She an Blenk had a falling out in Cape Town so she did not make the return ride. Theresa is one of my favorite people. She toured the US in the late 40s on a Norton.
Longevity in production is usually because the firm is cash strapped. Which means changes are progressive and can often be retrofitted to existing machines ( triumph 9 Stud and 10 Stud heads &barrels , five speed boxes better forks discs etc) so good for spares and long term secure ownership. Guzzi big vees and fj 1100 yams also fit into this category.
Ditto Austin taxi cab fx4 and series Landrovers.
Had them all.
Oh it isn’t a bad thing for prospective owners today
Ultimately spared supply for many such machines is helpfully very good
Cutting edge isn’t much use if it’s replaced after a couple of years and you can’t get parts even for a basic service are hard to source
CB 750 was a surprise 🙂It's paying off now tho - can still get bits. I am heavily biased 🙂
Should it surprise
History says otherwise
Not a comment on individual bikes after all is it
Circumstance dictated that Honda produced the bike a few years longer than they would have liked
Honda needed to develop their car brand so had to cut the bike division’s development budget
Even Honda can’t do everything
Same thing happened recently when the financial fall out of taking part in F1 effected other areas of the company
Even Honda doesn’t have unlimited funds
@@bikerdood1100 I agree with you 💯 %. It was my first "big" bike tho so I would be quite happy if they were still making the SOHC today 🤣 Like 8 said "heavily biased". A friend had a 900 Kawasaki and I didn't see him much. Kind of disappeared. Then later another friend bought a Z1. Also missing. So yes it was a tad slouchy to begin with and got increasingly so with every passing year. 🤣
I predicted 4 out of 5 (I didn't consider Indian). Panthers were really a niche product for which the market disappeared, however much I quietly like them. It's possible to say the same about the AMC singles (at least the 350, which was a vanishing market), which is a shame because they are beautifully made and very enjoyable bikes (I have a lightweight 350). I honestly believe that the top management of AMC were on another planet in the 1960s, bad news for the workforce who continued to make quality machines. The T140 is almost a metaphor for the whole mismanagement of the industry in the UK. I agree about the CB750, which shows that no manufacturer is immune.
Point is those big singles became niche
They certainly didn’t start out that way
When the market changed, Panther lacked the funds to go with the market
AMCs reasons are less obvious
Another great video , that last triumph looked good,
shame they didn't quite get the new motor into production .
Such is life, in the late 70s and early 80s in particular no one wanted to invest in manufacturing so Triumph had little chance in the end
@@bikerdood1100 I worked at a Triumph dealership in the 80s. We got a TSX, a TSS, and a Triumph Executive. It was smoke red with bags and a small fairing. I have never seen another one.
@@JR-bj3uf I have seen several Triumph Executives, all with the smokey red paint. I own a very last model T140ES built in 1982 with smokey blue paint. I have only ever seen two and I have owned both of them. There must be a few more around , who knows?
@@JR-bj3uf A friend of mine had the same model, he bought it for a service at the brit bike shop I worked at. He had it for many years.
I guess you could throw in the Harley Sportster as well.
Possibly so
Theres plenty of material for further video
@@bikerdood1100 Plenty! The problem with the Sportster is it kept selling. It filled a market niche.
True I can last you a lifetime its not fast but it will get you there what more do you want
These things inspired “iron pigs” back in 2002…
There’s a good argument that they stopped too soon. Maybe every critic should try riding a late model.
The T140 a great bike that as you say lacked development funds , if they had gone to horizontal split crankcases and overhead cam even in a similar style chassis bodywork combo it could have at least boosted their fortunes , but then the Yamaha XS650 wasn't a big UK seller in the age of multi cylinder bikes , bur look at things today twins are defiantly back singles too .
In fact horizontal split crank cases is something of a myth really
Many modern machines still use vertically split cases in fact
Definitely would have been much better for the triples no doubt there
XS isn’t a bad bike if a touch heavy but it’s OHC aside isn’t a huge upgrade on the British twins, still a 360 crank after all and not especially quick
it says something that i actually have 3 of these 5 bikes in my garage right now, panther m100, T140 and an indian chief bobber lol
Well
Doesn’t say they are bad after all
It’s certainly a big plus for spares availability
I can't help loving the Panther nearly owned one once but never quite got there, to late now sadly
They are very striking
Always wanted one myself, rented one for a few days one time, of course attached to a side car. Was a ton of fun
Of course
I would add Harley Davidson sportster and the BMW R flat twins.
Indeed you could and a few others
Of course BMW did try with the K but people likes the simplicity of the air head boxers
In stark contrast to the gadget filled monsters they make these days
If Panther had lasted a bit longer, it could have become the Morgan of the motorcycle world. Completely anachronistic low-volume eccentric's bike of choice. None of the modern retro manufacturers have made a sloper so far, I reckon there's a market for once a lamp post banger.
Perhaps Velocette would have been the two wheeled Morgan
Both companies of cares shared the same problem.Too small
A modern Panther would be an interesting idea to be sure
Especially if it had a larger V-twin along side it
New Honda Rebel is mighty close to a sloper...
@@JamesAllmond If you owned a Panther you wouldn't say that, they both have two wheels.
Heres a subject for you (apologies if you've already covered it) ;- Iron curtain ISDT and enduro bikes.
Already working on ISDT bikes
Did Eastern Europe bikes previously
But will again
I find them fascinating
@@bikerdood1100 Thank you, in 1974/5 I had a 250 MZ ISDT ''factory replica'' (£600 OTR c/w a huge box of spares) a wild bird indeed, a friend summed it up thus ''East Gemany's cure for constipation''
I had a Model 100 Panther and thought it was a great bike. Very heavily built but of course, a bike that dated back to WW1.
Well the 100 really is a 30s bike
But I know what you mean
Brilliant things
Virtually every British bike was in production for decade too long. Most were a concept in the 30s, in production in the 50s and obsolete by the 60s, but idiotic Management and Accountants kept polishing a turd. 😮😊
Well someone doesn’t know their history 🙄
Strart preparing a video on recently discontinued brands - KTM 🙂
Ohh
Careful you don’t go too soon
Who knows what’s going to happen there
Chinese/ Indian take over seems not unlikely
@@bikerdood1100 I was hoping that there was a possible lifeline but the numbers are so staggering that I'm not holding my breath. Also they did their brand no good with their approach of using lego oil pumps/oil systems on their adventure range. Hopefully I'm wrong. Happens at least 50% of the time 🤣
Up until 1982, Honda was "dumping" motorcycles in the US. The Japanese government subsidized them so much that you could buy a CB750 in the US for less than it cost Honda to build one in Japan.
The US was a major western market at the point
Not rely relevant to this video
A subject for another day don’t you think 🤷🏻
@bikerdood1100 I remember reading back in the late 80s. One of the reasons they made the old 754s for so long had something to do with the way the laws in Japan were written.
8.38 The Triumph twins were without doubt the best British bike of the day however the company was ruined by the cursed BSA group takeover and the likes of Bernard Docker and his Floozie. The early 5 speed gearboxes are regarded as "glass" gearboxes by the cognoscenti and in the US particularly many bikes were converted back to 4 speed under warranty. By all accounts the later 5 speed gearboxes were brilliant.
No no
Bernard Docker was out of the picture long before the downfall of the company
🙄BSA invested far too heavily in far too many industries
Spread themselves too thin and left them selves short on investment capital
People always like to blame BSA but a massive oversimplification as always
Triumph the best
Hmm 🤔
Naaaaaa 😂
Dont really agree about the CB750 which was in production in its original K0 to K6 style for only 6 years (69 to 75)
The styling upgrade to the F1 model from 75 and the F2 from 77 to 79 with the comstar wheels did justify keeping it in production for a few more years imho
I always thought it a bit odd that Honda introduced the often overlooked CB750K7 model for one year only (1977) two years after introducing the updated F1 of 1975.
Also,I think the Kawasaki GTR1000 tourer and the GPZ900R had a very long innings being available from the mid 80s to well into the 2000's in some markets
And what about the Suzuki Hyabusa turning 25 this year?
Well that’s what Honda themselves believed
The later models were only ever light remodelling exercises
People get vey precision about Japanese bikes for some reason
This is not a criticism of the CB but a statement of historical Fact wether you like it or not
🤷🏻
Honda did cut their R&D for their bikes in the 70s
fact
Even Honda can not do so much
Why do you think they pulled out of GPs ??
Or do you disagree that that happened too 😂😂
It’s all relatively and often a matter of perception. A product only becomes a liability if nobody buys it anymore. As long as it is still acceptabele for security and / or environmental reasons anything goes as far as I am concerned. There is already too much fashionable stuff with inbuilt redundancy in the world as it is anyway. An example: I used to look down on it for years myself but I think that a modern version of the MZ ES250/2 could still / again be relevant today. Some new electric bikes even revisit some of that ground. The IAm and Flying flea actually have girder forks. Considered to be ancient for years new incarnations based on today’s casting technology suddenly make a lot of sense. Not that I expect you to agree. Most of these designs are too easy to clean and practical for your taste. And they don’t stink enough. 😁
The video does not describe any of the machines as a liability
But in the the 70s the market changes happened quickly and there’s no doubt Honda would have liked to replace the CB 5 years earlier than they did
Honda wouldn’t have liked being slightly behind the curve let’s face it
No Panther were the best, excellent sidecar bikes.
Well they were very good
Known to take their clutches out on occasion
You do get that the video isn’t actually criticising any of the bikes mentioned
Right ?
P&M would have produced a more up to date bike had they had the option to
Let’s be real about that
Panther was perfect for the job it was designed for and that is why it was around so long. (note avatar, I do have a sidecar problem). Dang those cheap cars.
CB750, do what? It was so far ahead, others were still behind when it went out of production, please. Brit jealousy...it finished off your bike industry...almost did ours in too
T140 too, geez. The 2018 T120 in my garage says FOOEY and would spank a T140. The original killed by British economics (and CB750) & not fully developed until resurrection by Mr Bloor!
Indian. Post 1953 until recently, truly sad. Harley wanted to save them in 1953, did not have the money, it was a friendly competition, especially after WW2. That RE Engined Indian was junk.
Matchless/AJS/ABC another sad end to the mighty British Motorcycle industry killed off by trying to rebuild a post war economy with socialist ideas when capitalism was needed...
Odd that only RE, and that because production moved to India for the war effort, is the sole continuously made British bike...because it left England so it got to keep being a British.
Panther was around so Long because they couldn’t afford to replace it
The Honda was ahead of the game for under 5 years
Who says it ran too long ?
Honda for one
The video clearly gives reasons for each bike to make it abundantly obvious
The market of the 70s was very dynamic, unlike today remember
Should probably watch my video on the demise of the British industry
Your time line is hopelessly incorrect
AMC ran at a loss from 60 onwards gone completely by 66, that’s before the 750 of course and has far more to do with cheap cars like the mini
Your understanding of motorcycle history is more pub culture than historically accurate I’m afraid
RE factory was closed by Denis Poore despite a full order book because the land it stood on was worth more than the plant see history rather than pub talk
FYI the Enfield India factory was established after the war, it has nothing to do the the war effort, no idea where you heard that, it’s nonsense. Bikes were ordered to patrol the India Pakistan border, those countries did not exist as separate entities until after the war and the whole partition tragedy
Bloor family just sells Malaysian bikes with an English badge, only a tiny percentage are actually built there, it’s essentially a warehouse, went there last year, we were Very unimpressed
It’s a good con I suppose 😂😂
And socialist ideals
In a private company now I know your stupid
The British sales collapse under the Tory government of the early 60s
What a bloody stupid observation based on Zero historical knowledge
Learn you history 😂😂😂
Maybe if the financial constraints of the “ special relationship “ hadn’t been quite so punitive we could have made a better go of our postwar industries.
You probably don't realise that no money was available in Britain to invest in new ideas and machinery. A huge bill had to be paid to the American government for the Second World War with compound interest which was not settled until 2016.
@@highdownmartin Especially as President Truman was determined to undermine Britain as a global power so the Yanks could become the big player.
It hasn't worked out so well so far Uncle Sam, what are you going to do about it?
Too long for whom? The manufacturer? The customer? Generally production machines have a finite life, they get upgraded or replaced with a newer model, but this is the normal capitalist business model, evolving novelty, consumption ideology. I would argue that a motorcycle cannot be in production for too long. It is either in production or it is not. It is in production for exactly as long as the customer wants to buy it. Of course factors like govenment handouts skew the market, (Triumph) but then that is the normal effect of govenment support or handouts, the market is free no longer. If a company wants to continue to produce a machine at a loss, that cannot continue for very long. P&M didn't sell hundreds of thousands of bikes every year, it didn't need to. It was a small company with a small dedicated workforce, making the same bike for years. The same could be said for Velocette. Look what happened when it tried to modernise with the LE, it broke the company. Without that sorry chapter it might well have carried on selling Venoms until the 80's. There's a thought. Thanks for an interesting video. I just think it should be entitled 5 motorcycles that were in production for a long time.
Maybe I missed something.
Well that depends
The manufacturer
Yes in most cases
The market at the time
Yes
Owners
No Especially not owners of today because it’s good for parts supply
You do understand it’s not a criticism of the machines themselves
Right ?
It’s just industrial history
Having owned a triumph , fun fragile and rattly , a bitza ajs single and through norton bsa bmw harley and for the last 20 years a panther , none perfect but all have 1 thing .odern appliances lac k completely , character , soul , fun factor ,
I would agree
But that’s not what the video is about