The Glory Days of British Motorbikes - BBC Cafe Racers Part 3
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 28 ต.ค. 2013
- But it wasn't all thrills and spills - the motorbike played a key role during World War II and it was army surplus bikes that introduced many to the joy and freedom of motorcycling in the 50s, a period now regarded as a golden age. With its obsession with speed and the rocker lifestyle, it attracted more than its fair share of social disapproval and conflict. Narrated by John Hannah.
When I was 16 I borrowed my friends BSA Lightning and went a 100 miles an hour down the freeway in La Mesa CA -- 1965. What a thrill, what a machine!
I had a BSA Lightning Rocket in 1965...sold it in 1966 when I went into the Marine Corp...
Cycle world tested this bike at 133 mph.....
In the 80s we'd ride from motorcycle shop to motorcycle shop to stare at bikes we couldn't afford, I refused to go down the HP route as I was so much happier when not in debt 😄
yup. built all my bikes from scrap until '89.
now people give me dead bikes that are easy fixes because youngsters spannering in bike shops don't know anything and bikeshop prices are silly for real repairs.
That American guy riding the Vincent wore an extra pair of trunks to protect himself just in case he came off! Can’t be too careful at those speeds! 😉😉
I remember as a kid "riding" up from London to Edinburgh in the late 50's. My uncle rode a BSA Golden Flash with side-car. The sidecar was like a cockpit and because I was the bigger brother, I got to sit at the front. It pissed down the whole day on the A1 and I felt sorry for my uncle, who only wore his R.M.Commando beret and a pair of goggles. My aunt only had her scarf.
I gotta say....The British era...1930s thru the 1960s were fabulous motorcycles!
I luvved me my Norton 850 Commando. A canary yellow beast. The lady who helped develope the carburator on the Spitfire rode a Norton.
If you,r not impressed or not on Fire by this Dokument of Motorbike Spirit , you will never be a Biker - thank,s a lot , and peacefull Greattings from Cologne Germany
Interesting comment about leather jackets. My first motorbike jacket was PVC which was cold and leaked at the seams, my second was waxed cotton (Belstaff) which was less cold and leaked a bit less but was a dirt magnet. My final jacket was black leather with fold over front that kept the wind and rain out. To keep it looking good every now and again on a Sunday morning it would get polished with black boot polish which also helped with water proofing. Then after lunch off for a blast down the bypass on the Goldie. Leather also resisted the road well when (not if) you fell off and the scuffs covered with boot polish. So function not fashion was the main reason for leather jackets for most serious bike riders and still is.
Ditto to all you said even the Goldie. Still riding @ 72 BMW 1200 Cheers
Well I remember my biker days 1962 Triumph Bonneville, 16yrs old not legal ( no one give a stuff them days) and soon learned that the only decent jacket to have was a denim jacket for dry days & Barbour for long rides or wet days. Waterproof, so many much needed pockets for tools screws gaskets, blue gasket paste, plugs, puncture kits and god knows what. If you came off the bike you rolled along the road like a bag-o-hammers and demolished anything you came into contact with. As for oil...if it was not leaking oil there was no oil in it!. It all came to an end when I got wed Right now some 50 yrs + I would give my right knacker to have another one, never had so much fun with me pants on! wonderful days
I went the same route with the coats in the 60s they were vinyl, cotton oil, and then finally my "leather coat" which I love. i've always rode couldn't afford a Harley so I rode Suzuki then the Kawasaki drifter which looked like an Indian, then a Russian Ural with sidecar, then a Can-Am Ryker three wheeler. I sold each one to buy the next now I own a Vanderhall which I love driving. it's like the Morgan but better engineered
"A helmet...would muck me hair up! The wind never did that to me hair!" Lol.
85 years old now just sold my 750 cc intruder.
Rode 350 matchless in the army and when I could borrow it a 650 AJS. Great hobby if you ride defensively.
Only had one accident. 1953.
Good on ya fella did me first track day at 60 still ride me bikes you have given me hope yep hope !!! Bikes mean life also mean death but what the hell
life is more important than death but and a big but there is a fine line if you don't ride you are dead if ya ride you stand a good chance of dying so up
to the individual i guess but in this health and safety state we live in kids will never ever really live will they not.. Give a child a knife if they cut themselves
they will learn knifes can cut don't give them a knife and they will never know until one day they cut themselves and blead to death ??????
Thanks for your in put as i said gives me hope to be riding when if i reach your age if i ever get there .. Keep trucking and more important keep riding !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
P.S. I was born in 1953 so quite an important year to me L.O.L.......................
glad to meet a legend rider
I owned a Matchless 500 single banger in my younger days. I saw the 350 version in the Bristol motor museum in the 80s, and it was pretty near identical. It felt like a real motorcycle!
@@dunruden9720 They Also sounded How a bike should n had the break petal n gear change where it should be 1 up 3 down break on the left glorious, the 650 Matchless/AJS where pure magic sounded heavenly you just felt you was a King riding the 650, even my Dad was a BSA man through n through, Japanese bikes didn't handled at all them days but their engines where Reliable OIL TIGHT n even had indicators n electric start, I thought No way electric start LOL Bikes are RnR so why not "shaking all over" the best RnR song ever by an English bad 100% fit for English British bikes
Just looking at old motorbike videos that's amazing love bikes as u doling may it carry on
For me, A triumph 650 or 500 with open megaphones is still the best sounding bike around. Had them both in the late 50s and early 60s when the law didn't pay much attention to the noise.
Patrick van meter jealous mate
For me the best sounding bikes were the big singles like the Velo's
The current #2 (excellent) condition value for a 1950 Series C Black Shadow is . In 2018, the only Vincent Black Lightning that we have record of selling at auction fetched .
In America we had to wait for Ichiro Honda to come along with affordable bikes. British iron was beautiful but a little spendy. You had to be a resourceful professional mechanic that could rebuild a motor on the side of the road to ride a Harley, as that is where you found most of them, on the side of the road.
I had the Ace Cafe, the Busy Bee, the Dug-out, the Cellar, the 59 Club, the Salt Box - all innocent in their way but bloody good fun!
Obviously you lot didn't get to the copper kettle cafe in, Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, as kids we used to see loads of English 🇬🇬motorcycles parked up along trinity Street 😛👍
@@kevinruddy448 - yes, I’m afraid that in those days a trip from Watford to Gainsborough would have been a daunting proposition. Nowadays, on my GSA, yes I would be up for it!
Love this! my neighbor's father was the mechanic for Rollie Free the rider.... So I have the original photo's of this day! I had copies made into two canvas prints (one each way) original signatures and memorabilia.. The large prints adorn my living room wall!
Thanks board video old-timer here still love Triumph always will
Memories are made of this... Early '60s, I lived in England. I bought a NorVin in quasi-Black Lightning tune for 600 pounds...and everyone I knew said I should be committed. But it was the fastest thing on two wheels, or 4 for that matter as only a VERY few exotic cars were faster (and none of them had the NorVin's acceleration). I rode it for 3 years, bringing it back to the states with me. It was a long time ago, but I don't remember having much trouble with it once I'd gotten the electrics de-bugged (damn you, Joseph Lucas, Prince of Darkness...the English drink warm beer because they all have Lucas refrigerators!). Stateside, the NorVin was even more remarkablek, as it just gobbled up freeway miles, and this was the era of vast expansion of the Interstate highway system. Funny thing is, I can't for the life of me remember what happened to it... And, yes, I'm an old fart now (86 and still riding), but I still remember many lesser bikes I've owned and sold. I think the NorVin may have been part of the trade than netted me a beautiful '57 Corvette with newer brakes and a ton of rare go-fast parts...but I'm not sure. If I'd kept all the bikes and cars I've owned over the years, I'd have a collection worth many millions of dollars, but I've got my memories...and those are priceless (and I don't have to store them)!
JUST got a Triumph 900 Triple. Beautiful bike. Had a new trailer built, we'll tow it behind our 'brand new' 71 Revcon motorhome. SIX THUMBS UP EVERY DAY!!
Plumbers nightmare delivers a lot of performance in minded craftmens hands
The Vincent used to be called "The Plumber's nightmare" due to so many pipes all over the place.It was a really lovely bike though.A friend had one and he used to tease the ton up kids by riding alongside them in third gear about 90 mph and making a great show of changing up one more gear then leaving them in his exhaust as he pulled ahead.
robinaxeman ii
The A series was the plumbers nightmare...pre-war. only 88 built I believe. Post-war B & C series were better.
We proved it many times.
My 750 Comando was faster!
American Cylinder- Head👺
I don't believe the hype about Vincent they were cumbersome very difficulty to maintain and clean very expensive .For going 10 miles to town a BSA Bantam or a C15 was better
Been into British bikes since the early 70s at around 7 or 8 years old a couple of guys from a local bike club that worked for my dad used to take me to speedway on the back. I'm 55 in a few days and now ride a 1995 speed triple.
I had a 1965 BSA.
It never started cold.
I lived with my parents when I was 19.
We lived on a hill so every morning I had to coast start the blasted thing.
My cousin had a 1963 BSA.
It was rare for us to get both bikes to run at the same time to go riding.
Mine got stolen about a year later.
Probably all for the best.
Lol.
Got a job at the Ace Café. It's amazing to work for a place with such history innit. And amazing bikes to look at as you work!
It ain’t the original ace cafe !!!!!!!! So no history, u have been sucked into a boss looking to make a packet from disillusioned fools who turn up every day thinking it’s the real thing, just see what posh motors your boss turns up in , taking the piss, bet you’re wages are round about minimum wage
Just in it for the profit ,,,,,
Enjoy the bikes
A very brave American on a very great British bike Braking the speed record what a combination Love it all except ONE thing Not to include the Best RnR song of all times n its English too Shaking ALL Over featuring Great British bikes deserve a great British r n r song for sure
Everyone always talks about the Ace Cafe in North London, Johnson's Cafe on the A20 near Brands Hatch is never mentioned, even though it was the bikers cafe that everyone south of the river went to. The A20 was dodgy - three lanes not dual carriageway then. An almost straight run from Wrotham to Farningham around 7 miles. If you had the bike you could get to a ton going past Johnson's. I had a 350 BSA Gold Star top speed 105 mph. The problem for a lot of bikers was coming back into south London the straight run from the Sidcup round-about to the Dutch House pub was too tempting and many a rider came to grief in the forecourt of the Dutch House trying to take the bend at speed, often resulting in death. Not for the faint hearted.
Growing up in rural Arkansas. There was a retired high school basketball coach who loved British bikes. He converted a barn into a Norton dealership. Upstairs, he laid down a basketball court and let any of us come and play at night, just be sure to turn out the lights when we left. It was maybe a 2/3 scale and had hay bales lining the sides and ends. No heat and cold, cold but lord what great memories. I dont know if he sold many Nortons, I dont think he cared as long as he had his Norton. This was during the late 60's and early 70's.
My first bike was a BSA C11, then I got a BSA RGS and I still have it today along with five others and my latest is a 675 street triple and I’m 70 now, great days
Distant and fond memories for an old 'geezer' like me-self :)
Beautiful motorcycle....
Hi guys, when I saw for the first time a 1967 triumph- Bonneville I went crazy for one of them, down the road of life I came across with a used one that had mechanical problems, the owner sold it to me for a very real good price, that Triumph was practically new, with very little money I got the parts, fixed it myself, took it for a ride, that was like going to heaven, that toy was marvelous, I keep it for many years on perfect condition, at my 71 years of age I still regret the day I sold it.
Dave Croxford, saw him so many times racing at Castle Combe, with Percy Tait, and so many more.
I remember them well and Paul Smart, Ray Pickerell, Peter Williams, et al at Brands.
Ton up boy ...,1st gear on the R1 ...60 years old ... Still hooked
Awesome film 🎥 ..!
if a documentary can age badly, this should be the poster child!
HRD Vincent, oh so beautiful.
I get fed up hearing these folk talking about crap Britsh bikes. In their day they were wonderfull. As a 17year old I made my first of many rides to Motherwell Scotland from south London on a 1948 350 BSA B31. Apart from the HT lead coming no probe. At 19 myself and Roy Stopher with full camping gear on a 1950 Sunbeam S7 done South London to John O Grotesque and back. Apart from a wee bit of fiddling. We always carried a few tools and knew how to use them if need be. I still have my 1959 650 Triumph Trophy and a. Kwakisaki 500 Due to an eye prob I can't use them anymore. But it has been a great time to look back on as an Old Geezer
The first time I went off my bike I spent a few hours in hospital having pebbles picked out of my skin and quickly realized why motorcyclists wore leather clothes
There's a saying...."You dress for the slide, not the ride."
First bike was a James Captain with clip-ons and home made rear sets mildly tuned by a local racer it wasn't a Brough but I loved it.
Very cool documentary I love my 650SS even next to my modern stuff I ride she holds her own an is always the bike I end up drifting onto constantly an she doesn't drop any oil now to :)
When I was 10 I began wearing a brown leather fighter pilot jacket. It had lambs wool liner. In January 1960 Alamogordo was 14 Below zero! ☃️❄️, A record still. I wore that jacket and I was ok. It was too long but by High School it fit nicely. But by senior year I outgrew it, it was for a 5'8" guy and I was a whopping 5'9.5". Those were 8 long, good years
My Dad bought 3 wrecks, over the years. 1968 Tiger 650 was the last. I did the ton, slimming onto to tank, with a 69 Camaro at to front wheel. I dropped it off, and the car pulled into my lane. I had plenty of throttle. Cheers Memories now.
My father had a Matchless Single 500 cc (1938) which was ex- British Army. The gears were on the tank and the Army wanted foot gears. He bought the Army issue Matchless and he kept it until 1951 (April). They gave him a new Matchless 500 cc with foot gears for the whole of the war.
I had first a Triumph Tiger Cub Supersport, then graduated to a T120R Bonneville. Great bike but vibrated much more than my present bike - aged 70 I now ride a Honda CB750 1989 retro. Bikes - love-em.
my first byke was an ex ww2 16h norton t 12 years old ? in a field im nearly 70 now still love the old british bykes
yes i had one two wonderfall
I picked up ma 600cc side valve BSA. No idea where or when it came from, but what a bike!! Great to ride, idle at very low revs and gave a real good vibro-massage.
ALWAYS have a bike mostly British. Bought my OWN birthday present at 61.02 HARLEY WIDE GLIDE. Thank God I still have my 71 BSA A65L! TON UP BOYS INDEED!😜
Me to 75
jim wortham My. First road bike was a triumph cub put in for my test and license the same day past 6 weeks later then got a 1954 Enfield ballet slow but as good on corners as a Norton then a 650 thunder bird did my first 100 mph on my brothers BSA a10 down Chatham hill A lovely bike. Don’t think you can get away with that know days Great days. I did the same with my car test. Only 2weeks on L plats. I was lucky to work for Grays of Chatham early 60s all them wonderful bikes gold stars dominator and Bonevills. Smashing days
Soon as I added badges to my jacket it aged over night!
Brilliant 😊
I had a BSA Royal star. The good lord used to punish me with that bike. You can´t imagen the joy wenn the Honda cbr 550 and 750 saw the light
i was surprised to learn that "Triumph" is now made in Thailand. I guess that a lot of riders from the '60's wouldn't have heard of Thailand(no wonder it is the Land of Smiles).
No they are not.
They are made in Hinckley Leicestershire.
Without Googling to verify, no one would have heard of Thailand as back then it was called Siam. but better made in Thailand then made in China I suppose.
We're all witness' to the reincarnation of Triumph, Norton and potentially Ariel(?), not to mention the acquirement of our Bellstaff name (such a national shame, but at least the name lives on (I hope), but I feel this is just the start. However please.....SOMEONE (financiers and engineers everywhere) bring back the Vincent HRD 50 deg twin. I's a British work of art and an example of engineering that wouldn't be out of place in the Louvre or the north circular (circa any decade). I was born, grew up and still remember the stories of regret that his Vincent BS was stolen from my father (it seems reminded every every Christmas). Biking wise, he lost love of his life. Vincent is worth resurrecting so if you have the power to do so, tread lightly
The leather is just plain practical, and US motorcycle cops were wearing leather jackets by the 1930s. Also WWII bomber crews wore leather jackets too.
Geez, I remember my own days in the US West Coast version of this culture... "traffic racing" - say you've got essentially a traffic jam moving at 70MPH which happens all the time on the 405 freeway between Los Angeles and Orange County. OK so you race through this, weaving through cars. The other guy might have a 750cc bike and you might have a 550cc, but this sets you equal because you might be more skilled, daring, or just plain foolhardy. And "doing the superman" on the bike, always fun esp. between opposing directions of traffic. Taking offroad bikes and making them look street legal and riding them on the road, taking road bikes offroad, coming up with all sorts of cool modifications and paint jobs, and just basically terrorizing the Newport Pier area. Good times.
My first bike was a 1949 DOT with a 197cc Villiers motor. Top speed 55mph. I passed my test on that then got a 350cc Triumph T21. Took the panels off it and customised it into a chopper when Easy Rider hit the screens. :-) I still ride a Triumph but it's a Speed triple now!
I own a Brough Superior! 1936,admittedly pre-cafe racer, but still a beautiful bike!
+Alan Thomas You lucky sod! I ride a Harley, but what I'd give for a Brough or a Vincent!
My uncle had an SS100 that he sold to the scrap man in the 70s for £1 without knowing the true value of it. Bad move!
I hope you do, my friend. Now that would be a rare sight!
Lucky you!!!
Wasn't Laurence of Arabia killed on a Brough?
My dream is to someday own a Vincent Black Shadow or a Brough Superior SS100....once I win the lottery, of course !!
Oh , days to remember , put a record on the juke box and race through the town , up the new bypass , before it finished . Bert,s and Joy,s cafe ,the Minnie diner and the Friar Tuck to see if any girls were about . Goldstar or Bonneville ? ride what you fancy and have fun , watch out for Ringwood the local police man on his triumph . 👍👍😉
a vincent black shadow and rollie free.... cant get better than that
The Filming is Great. The Commentry and however put the words to this is a pillock but the words from the real people in this production are Real People are spot on
In 1964 I rode an old Norton sitting on the pillion from London to Berlin. My mate, the owner and driver of the Norton was Fritz Koerner, the Antarctic and Arctic researcher and explorer.
Aug 13, 2008: Roy , more commonly known as , who has died aged 75, was one of the four members of Sir Wally Herbert's British Transarctic Expedition which, on April 5 1969, stood at the North Pole. The Guardian
My father was on a 1938 500 cc single cylinder Matchless (Gears on the tank). The British Armed Forces gave it him new (He was a motorcycle courier. He told me that when the war started they took it from him and put it output of service (he bought from the British Armed Forces at a great price) and they gave him a new Matchless 500 cc single cylinder with the gear change lever on the right foot. This happened because with the war they mounted a gun on the tank. I was born right in the middle of the war. My earliest memory of it was when I was four and he tried to put me on the back (much to my mother's discuss and anger). He used to ride it home from work and when he came home he blew the horn and mum went out the front with his ramp. She would place the ramp on the front step and across the kerb and dad would ride it straight up and into the lounge room. I remember the galvanise (tinned) steel tray under it to catch the oil. Totally a different life.
I had a ‘56 Tiger T110, ‘62 Norton 650SS, ‘67 Trophy TR6P ex police bike, ‘68 Norton Fastback, and a ‘72 T120RV...by today’s standards they were glorified lawnmowers on two wheels, but the styling was truly exceptional. Today, nearing 60, I have a KTM 1290 Super Adventure, and it’s so far removed from old British bikes that it’s almost a different life form...and it keeps all its oil where it should be.
I used to run a Triton 650 and a Norton 850 commando today at 62,I run a 2003 Suzuki GSXR 1000 K1,the Suzuki is so far removed from my earlier bikes with power that didn't seem feasible even 25 years ago,but starting the Triton and Norton was an event in itself.
There was a time when there were only BSA matchless, AJS, TRIUMPHS and Royal Enfields in India, British bought them all from UK and then came the Japanese and Czech built bikes like JAWA 350 and Rd350. Sadly there were no good roads to ride them, today there are multi lane roads and express ways in India but no good bikes to ride. I am a proud owner of JAWA 300 launched recently. I enjoy riding it everyday to work and on the highways in weekends.
Back in 1977 I bought a 1970 Norton 750 Commando in boxes for $100.00 half the parts where missing so I built it my way. Installed 8" high bars and cut center tube and seat mount lowered 5' and cut 10' off the upper frame tail. made it a single seater. Was a great bike. never should have sold it
Truth be told, when it comes to electrics, Lucas invented darkness!
so true
You never walk alone with a Britis bike.
british
Old man Lucas had a motto
"Never go out at night"
Lucas Electric is the prince of darkness
I had a 59 Thunderbird ex police still with the sidecar attached. We had a Matchless the same, ex police, with a sidecar. Todays riders have no idea of what it was like to ride these bikes and learning to deal with repairs on the run. To kick over the twin in the morning and listen to it idle while it warmed up ... baboombaboombaboombaboomba .... while you were finishing off your tea and toast then thunder off down the street heading to work. They were so satisfying to ride. I owned a CB750 K2 at the same time and there was no comparison between the two. Both were different and both were good.
My 1st helmet was so beat up I had pop rivets holding the strap to the inside of the helmet. Wow that was so raw.
Later on in my life when I began to feel afraid while riding I got a full face with tint tip up shield. Guess that happens when you get old. 🚵
British is a totally unique piece
In a good cloth coat you can slide about 7 feet across asphalt before it's gone while good leather will protect you for maybe 30 feet.
The wind goes straight through a good cloth coat too, so they're not good at all on a motorcycle, especially with UK weather.
We had a circuit to race from our local coffee bar that had to be completed in the time it took to play a record on the juke box, fun until one of the boys hit a factory wall and decapitated himself. The local hospital had a ward for bikers and we would visit there on a Saturday afternoon like it was a social event. All the beds were bedecked with biker photos and regalia, good times if you weren’t injured.
road & worked on about everything made in the 50's favorite was my Ariel sq 4,most dependable & easiest to repair was Jawa ,most to vibrate was my Harleys ( liked them but poor for field meets,enduro & scrambles)actually i like them all including w or wo/sidecars.also road year round both in USA & Germany.
never met a motorcycle I didn't like
We didn't have the Ace café but we did have Baz,s café in Queensferry North Wales
Just realized today how lucky i have been to live through the 60/70's as a youngster. Missed the wars the pain the slaughter etc and been present at the beginning
of the future as we know it. Bit of a struggle but not too much.Revolution after revolution Music clothing life in generally how lucky i/we have been I honestly do not
think today's youth will be so lucky they have everything but they have nothing !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Just makes you think does it not ????????? Or is this just old age ?? Do today's
youngsters think the same ???? Were we not the beginning or are we really the end I loved my youth I loved what it meant I loved what it gave me so so exciting
stones beatles presley etc etc etc Life really is and was worth living !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
allan hughes I was born in 63 and as I farther of 4 I agree with you,I'm a very active dad and have tried to inspire my kids throughout there lives but there lives seem so empty compared to my generation,we did have much more freedom and spaces (and less money) so that may account to a small degree but for me the difference is the bloody COMPUTER I see that as the major factor why I can't get my kids active etc.
600 Pounds, oh my... Still such lovely machines
Comparing 1955 wages with 2020 wages, that £600 Vincent would be nearly £50k now. 😯
still biking after all these years great fun just treated my self to a new bonnie
When I saw Honda's CB72 for the first time in the early 1960's, I knew British Bikes were quite deservedly obsolete...
And that's why my Norton 850 Commando are worth incredible amount of money compared to a Honda 750
childhood fantasy bike (magazine) would have to be Ogri s' Norvin
Had all sorts but got to admit that now i'm 62 my Fireblade is just the nuts!!!!!!
At 73 so's mine love it ;-)
my dad's a triumph guy from that era
still got a TR2 cub ( its mine ) a TR5 trophy ( the same as fonzies ) an a TR6 thunderbird (the same as marlon brando's ) + other bikes ~ not telling
I know it's not a proper English bike, but I'm picking up a new Royal Enfield Interceptor 650 this Friday. It's got the style though. I MIGHT attempt the ton at some point, but not on the roads I'll be riding it home on. I've been on better roads in warzones.
Rollie Free - I took my clothes off to prevent my clothes getting sprayed by oil !!
Wow, a trip into the culture I took up as a new American motorcycle enthusiast and wasn't aware of the origins. Great video. My high school friend and I had some simple but reliable two strokes in '57 (Zundapp and Puch - Allstate). He took up the clothing and personal styles, I did not. I eventually became a dedicated motorbike (motorsickle) technician for the next 20 years or so. So many advancements in the machinery during those years, Brit bikes went into eclipse then.
"Costing near 600 pounds ..." Ahh yes ...
That`s the reason I still keep my Ariel NH dry and warm...
9traktor I had an Ariel Red Hunter 350 am I right in thinking it was a NH. Early sixties, wish I had it now.
I was just coming up as a 15 or 16 year old in the mid to late 60's and the drinkers were the fighters and the pot smokers were the peaceniks ✨👍🏻☮️✨
Is that a time-travelling Leon Haslam I see at 7min 22 secs? So he started out on Cafe Racers, who'd have thought it.....?
It was a sad time when The Japanese Bikes sent The Triumphs packing. A Triumph and a Harley have there own distinctive sound and was definately music to our ears in the 60's.
The mannequin head at 10:26 is the spitting image of Stephen Fry - spooky!
I've done 120 mph on a Honda, no windsheild, and the wind is a terror.
Well we all make mistakes! I know what heart in my mouth means now!
My BSA was real fun,when it ran.
and fucked when rainy day XD
6:30 tune is "Rumble" by Link Wray which was also banned !!!
my jaw DROPPED....on checking prices of Vincents....YIKES! 6 figure$$$$
What was once looked down upon by the public at large has now become the iconic brand from England!
When Triumph could manufacture a 'rounded seamless petrol tank!'
When was 19 years old i had A.J.S 500cc,i used to go to the Salt Box cafe in Biggen Hill, Kent,its not there now, it was not law then to wear a crash helmit,so i never wore one,riding a motor bike is all about freedom
Im lucky enough to be an age where i can remember the mid 80s, when you could pick up an old triumph 650,,b.s.a 650, or similar, for what they were actually worth!!!, i had an old 1954 bsa a10 hardtail, 2 hundred quid!!!, it ran, obviously wasnt original, (thats why it was still on the road),
I HAD A 1970 TRUMPET TR 650 BONNEVILLE IN 1994 IT WAS NOT IN GOOD LOOKING SHAPE BUT I USED IT AS MY FIRST STEPPING STONE TO LEARN HOW TO RIDE BUT I KNOW THESE BRITISH BIKES HAD BALLS AND WERE DOMINATING THE STREETS IN THOSE YEARS I ONLY WISH I COULD AFFORD THEM I LIKE ALL BIKES AND CARS BUT THESE 3 TRIUMPHS BSA & NORTONS ALL WERE DA RITE SIZE AND WIEGHT.
I had an old 900 Z1 in high school. I was the fastest guy in Old Fort by 10 miles. JfromOH
i love bikes like these over those fat heavy bikes
*Kristaps porzingis king of New York*
You laugh.
I have two street bikes, a '72 Norton Commando and '69 BSA Rocket III.
My buddy was laid up over the summer and loaned me his 1100 cc Moto Guzzi.
What a pig!
I had it for nearly three months and didn't put 125 miles on it.
It had a cramped riding position due to the (stock) stepped saddle; the floorboards vibrated _much_ worse than any English bike I've owned (and that would be about 12 over the years); it was top heavy and thanks to the (also stock) high bars was hard to push around; and I gave up trying to put it on the centre stand.
An old Guzzi T3 or a G5 would have been great, but this 'new' machine was bloody awful.
@@richardshort3914 Strange. I rode a Triumph 500 TT i bought new in '74. A left over '73. 5,700 miles out of that engine before the bottom end started going away. Good handling bike. Well built of fine materials and never had any electrical problems but the engineering was atrocious. My Tonti framed 1976 Moto Guzzi 1000 handles well. It's a bigger, heavier bike than the Triumph but at 55,000 miles it seems to not even be halfway to it's first rebuild and i LOVE the engineering on my Guzzi. Trans. that plugs into the back of the engine just like a RWD car and it's got a driveline. It all adds up to a bike that for the most part has the life span and reliability of a car. I mean a good car. Not some enemic long stroke tiny 4 pot Austin or some such rubbish. I know the problem i had as the owner of a brand new Triumph. I simply was not informed that the smart money changed the oil in a Triumph almost weekly. I was only told that maintainance was the key to everything. So true as applied to British bikes because without adhering to fanatical servicing habits one was left with a nice looking hunk of scrap but an utterly rebuildable one. Oh yes. The Triumphs first rebuild netted exactly the same engine life as it got from factory new to rebuild #1. 5,700 miles.
@@gregorytimmons4777 the problem wasn't engineering, it was lack of maintainance.
every old bike I rebuilt in the 80s had signs of wear from being run on knackered oil and the same oil filter for years.
still applies today. people give me dead bikes and it's usually silly stuff like completely corroded contacts or valve and carburettors that need resetting, but the dead oil is still popular..
I would trade my 3 Harleys to get any of my old British bikes from 1949 until the demise of BSA and Triumph. Even with the occasional pains with Lucas I loved them all from my first 250 single hard tail to my Goldies. At near 85 I still try to find a nice Brit bike from the 50-60-70's as I can still shift opposite foot.
I have one leg missing, but I would love a similar type of bike. 250cc or less would be nice, favourite being a tiger cub. The only non-pom I would consider is a Jawa 250, a very good bike at the time.
Attend a vintage bike meet or several and you might easily get your wish, depending on your location. Get an idea of value before swapping off a Harley. If you are in the USA old Britbikes are often quite reasonable. Owners clubs are the best way to get support and benefit from the collective knowledge base. You can buy modern Alton and other electric start kits for many old machines including Norton and Triumph. (The original Norton starter is even worse then its Harley sibling, as for some unknown reason Norton spec'd only two brushes instead of four.) In the US you should be able to snag a decent Commando for between five and seven thousand dollars. Shipping can be arranged. Visit the USNOA and GANOA websites if in the US or curious.
There are plenty of Cubs available. Custom shift or brake linkage is old hat (aircraft rose joints are cheap via Ebay). Have at it.
art1178699 I seem to remember that Joe Lucas was known as 'The Prince of Darkness'
God bless you Sir. I am 46, ride a HD 750 in India. Jawa has been bought by some Indian manufacturer but I dont know that they will produce 2-strokes.
The person at 1:05 could not find a road that was fast enough. Silly me, I always believed that roads did not move and he told me I was wrong because it was the roads that moved. Also, I never knew the Salt Flats in Utah was a desert, as mentioned. We learn something new every day. I bought my first motorbike for a fiver when I was at H.M.S. Dryad in 1957 - a 500cc Triumph WWII RN dispatch-rider bike that had a solid, rigid frame, no springs except on the seat, weighed a ton (at least that is what it felt like), and had a whopping top speed of about 65 mph going downhill with the wind behind it. Not built for speed or comfort but it was safe because nobody wanted to get in the way. Used to ride all over the place when I had money to fill it up Sadly, I was transferred to H.M.S. Centaur and the person who was going to look after it until I could ride it from Portsmouth to Essex sold it. Never saw him again either to ask for the money he got.
'nuf sed.
the chelsea bridge boys documentary is the best
Will there be an English language version of this released in the future? Seems, like it may be worth watching.
lol
Where do I get a video of this!