Paul the 6th
27-08-08, 08:56 PM
Bit random and probably just one of those things I'll think about for 5 mins then find something else to occupy me, but, my dad is 60 next year and he used to ride year and years and years ago. He always talks about bsa's, matchless g2's and royal enfield something-or-others...
I've caught him having a sit on my bike and also looking at it longingly on quite a few occaisions. I've also caught him putting random bids on ebay for bikes from his youth but he's never won anything. One thing he always says when I tell him to have a look at some of the modern bikes is "The gears are on the wrong side! All the proper english bikes from back in the day had back brake on the left foot and gears on the right foot".
The royal enfield 500 classic bullet has this setup and is still built to the exact same spec as something like 1955 (albeit in india). It will probably have all the oil leaks and gasket problems he's looking for, and I'm tempted to buy him something like this as a gift.
http://search.autotrader.co.uk/es-uk/www/bikes/ROYAL+ENFIELD+500+CLASSIC/Ne-2-4-7-8-27-64-104-133-146-236,N-120-239-4294958056-4294967239/search.action
this one is just down the road from us and would be mint but I'm not sure how serious he is about this kind of thing. Anyone done owt like this for a relative/friend before? And does anyone have any experience with these nostalgic uber-retro bikes?
I've caught him having a sit on my bike and also looking at it longingly on quite a few occaisions. I've also caught him putting random bids on ebay for bikes from his youth but he's never won anything. One thing he always says when I tell him to have a look at some of the modern bikes is "The gears are on the wrong side! All the proper english bikes from back in the day had back brake on the left foot and gears on the right foot".
The royal enfield 500 classic bullet has this setup and is still built to the exact same spec as something like 1955 (albeit in india). It will probably have all the oil leaks and gasket problems he's looking for, and I'm tempted to buy him something like this as a gift.
http://search.autotrader.co.uk/es-uk/www/bikes/ROYAL+ENFIELD+500+CLASSIC/Ne-2-4-7-8-27-64-104-133-146-236,N-120-239-4294958056-4294967239/search.action
this one is just down the road from us and would be mint but I'm not sure how serious he is about this kind of thing. Anyone done owt like this for a relative/friend before? And does anyone have any experience with these nostalgic uber-retro bikes?