Hairy Bikers and Other Petrol Heads

[Peter Cross]

.....and if you fancy a new bike in 2021 here's a few from the cheaper end of the market if your not into replica Grand Prix road bikes

I'm leaning towards the Enfield GT for some reason but, but they bolted the clip-ons on upside down the Triumph and Guzzi also appeal.

Col.

I quite fancy one of these. Only trouble for me is, the dealer for Brazil is in the south. Which means buying without having a test, and sending it here which would cost a lot. Or fly down to get it and have a four 12 hour day riding it back, with the first service half way home.

 

[Boyblunder]

Oh Colin you have set me off looking at new bikes again, I must give myself a good slapping. I agree the Royal Oilfield GT looks good and is sensibly priced. Autotrader’s review says “As a pleasant Sunday toy it’s fine. But it’s not long-legged enough to be a credible tourer and is too small for long pillion trips.” In 1970 or 71 I did the ACU National 24 hour Rally covering 650+ miles 2-up on a 500 Triumph then had to ride home from Stoke on Trent to Cambridge in time for tea with no problem. So they are talking rubbish. On a more serious note now I’ve shrunk, seat height is important and at over 800mm I think the RE will be too tall.

 

[Eastsidepilot]

But it’s not long-legged enough to be a credible tourer .............

I did a lot of touring on Triumph T120's with no real problems apart from Mr Lucas the 'Prince of Darkness', but I must admit a lot of it was solo.
I don't think you'd have a problem with touring on the Enfield but at the same time it needs to be comfortable for distance riding and I must admit out of all the bikes I had the most comfortable was the Beamers, the KZ 1100 and the HD. My real love, Tritons etc. were getting to me when travelling over say 100 to 150 miles ( that's not per hour either ).
I could sit at 90 all day, on the R100RT and the KZ, and did enjoy the long runs on those, they didn't handle badly through the twisty stuff , the Beamer came out on top though especially in the wet ( although a lot of that is down to tyres ) . The KZ tended to drift, even in the dry, if you gunned it coming out of roundabouts and sharp turns, almost sometimes to the point that you wished you had a steel soled speedway boot ! .....but now I've drifted off the subject .
As you get older I think you'd need the comfort, I don't think my joints would take the punishment from clip-ons and rear sets on a long distance run nowadays so things like seat height and style of handle bars would be important now.

Col.

 

[Max M]

I don't think you'd have a problem with touring on the Enfield.

I think that provided you recognise the limits of the bike and yourself it is possible to tour on anything.

I've heard rumours that some people even tour on bicycles!

 

[Wagonman]

Between us we all managed to have a laugh over a few beers..........the waitress ? well that's another story I might tell another day .

Reader, I married her ... (?)

 

[simond]

Guzzi update.

five mile test this evening after putting it all together on Friday afternoon & Saturday morning, seems fine, certainly sounds nicer than it did, and seems to idle rather better. I may still have a play with the timing, and it seems to be running rich. Not sure why that should be, and I need to try to give it a good thraping and then pull the plugs to see if it’s still rich at wide throttle openings or only after driving through town. That requires a bit of planning…

I’ll get a 40 mile trip to the EKAM club meeting on Tuesday after work, and a 50 miler a week Wednesday to the Kent Guzzi club meeting, by which time I’ll have a better idea if everything is ok.

I had a test ride on a Guzzi V85TT ten days back. Nice bike, comfortable, adequately quick, looks nice too, but not inclined to flog my BMW to get one. I’d certainly recommend a test ride if you fancy a modern Guzzi.

I think we are concluding that the trip to Mandello del Lario for the Guzzi centenary is unlikely to be viable. I doubt Brits would be particularly welcome & there’s always the potential for the entertainment of unpredictable quarantine on the way back.

atb
Simon

 

[Eastsidepilot]

Reader, I married her ... (?)

 

[Susie]

Hi Simon,
By way of encouragement:





Robin: We did the National Road Rally again this year , a total of 729 miles over the two days. Sadly no overnight riding at the moment due to Covid!

 

[Eastsidepilot]

Guzzi update.

five mile test this evening after putting it all together on Friday afternoon & Saturday morning, seems fine, certainly sounds nicer than it did, and seems to idle rather better. I may still have a play with the timing, and it seems to be running rich. Not sure why that should be, and I need to try to give it a good thraping and then pull the plugs to see if it’s still rich at wide throttle openings or only after driving through town. That requires a bit of planning…

I’ll get a 40 mile trip to the EKAM club meeting on Tuesday after work, and a 50 miler a week Wednesday to the Kent Guzzi club meeting, by which time I’ll have a better idea if everything is ok.

I had a test ride on a Guzzi V85TT ten days back. Nice bike, comfortable, adequately quick, looks nice too, but not inclined to flog my BMW to get one. I’d certainly recommend a test ride if you fancy a modern Guzzi.

I think we are concluding that the trip to Mandello del Lario for the Guzzi centenary is unlikely to be viable. I doubt Brits would be particularly welcome & there’s always the potential for the entertainment of unpredictable quarantine on the way back.

atb
Simon

Running rich could be several things Simon, I know you'll know all this but simplest first check is plugs, correct gap, weak spark. I assume they are new plugs . Airflow good, clean filters again, new ? extreme case would be sticking carb. needle/s
Chokes ?

Col.

 

[Osgood]

Slightly different problem for me - a flooding carb on the '44 Ford GPW.
First time out since BC (no need to explain that one) and after a 5 minute run the carb is flooded with fuel running all over manifolds.
If I'm lucky, it's a bit of grit under the shut-off valve - if I'm unlucky, the wretched 5% ethanol fuel has eaten a hole in the brass float
I may find out tomorrow.

 

[Mike W]

I also did the ACU National 24 hour Rally, but in 1975 on a new Honda CB500. My award sits beside a similar one my father was awarded in 1938 when I believe he was riding an Norton International which I think was also a 500.

Mike

 

[simond]

Thanks Susie, Col,

the T3 is a pretty thing, and in lovely nick. You must be very proud of it!

Plugs are new, gapped, and the Rita seems to do its thing. LeMans don’t have filters, just mesh over bell mouths, I guess it’d keep a spadger out, but nothing much smaller. Whilst I was careful, I guess it’s possible I put the needles back on the wrong slot when I rebuilt the carbs, I’ll give it a few more miles then do an ignition cut from a fast run - that way I’ll get a decent idea of the WOT mixture.

Chokes on a Dellortos are an air bleed, and have a reputation for leaking, thus richening the mixture, I replaced them, and they are adjusted to have some slack in the cables.

The other option would be that the floats are way out. I did check them when I put the carbs back together, and I have fitted new needle valves. Now, that’s an interesting point. There were two fibre washers on each needle valve when I stripped them. That would lower the fuel level in the float chambers, by a bit less than a millimetre, and thus weaken the mixture. I put only one washer in, and set them by the book, and assuming I put the needles back where they were, they might well have been incorrect before….

That’ll be a challenge to sort out. Or I suppose I could just bung in a couple more fibre washers…

More soon!
Simon

 

[Yorkshire Dave]

Currently darn sarf in 't'ome carnties' and this is my brother in law's runabout he's restored (mine's the V70 behind).

 

[Eastsidepilot]

I had a Wolseley 16/60 version for a short while

Col.

 

[Allen M]

Why Oh Why
Now the hot weather has arrive the Air Con has decided to stop working. It did work in the spring for de-humidify but not essential but now.
Never mind it will be OK in the house with the fan on. After working for several days a burning smell and that stops. Is it right all problems come in threes?

Regards
Allen

 

[Susie]

Hi Simon,
I didn't realise it was one of these:



Neither are mine - I just know where they live!

 

[Eastsidepilot]

Mine was one of these.....



Col.

 

[Tim Humphreys ex Mudhen]

What's the word on the street about this, MV Agusta Superveloce 110, only 110 made, list price £32k, this was sold in a couple of hours.

Tim

 

[Eastsidepilot]

Very nice if you've got the money, like most limited editions there usually snapped up by collectors as investments and probably hardly ever, if at all, used for what they're built for. But with only 110 being built I doubt you'll see many going second hand in the near future.
From a personal point of view if I had 32 grand burning a hole in my back pocket I'd buy one of the older MV race replica's ....but that's the cafe racer in me

MV Agusta Classic Replica

Tim, you could by one to match the Alpine

Col.

 

[Boyblunder]

I was a scrutineer at Snetterton for the 1972 Race of Aces and had the honour of doing Ago's bike. It looked fantastic from a distance but on closer inspection a season or 2 of grand prixs had taken its toll on the detail. The engine castings appeared to have been used as a saw bench! It went alright, he won it. I'm with Colin, go for the genuine retro article Tim and put up with the oil leaks.