Classic Bikes

[G]

For all the classic lovers............The Classic Racing Motorcycle Club are racing at Snetterton all this weekend.

Its defo worth going if you like classics and the smell of Castrol R.

I would love to race a classic side car

Anyway I will be there, may see some of you guys there

[embee]

I've still got a T150V Trident cafe racer style, and a Triumph Tiger Cub in a Rickman Micro Metisse, and BMW R90S from 1975 which is probably a bit more modern than you're thinking. At least the BMW is a usable classic and pretty reliable.

Old bikes are a mixed bag. Many were dogs when new and don't get any better with age. I once had a New Hudson Autocycle because some friends and I had one as a field bike when we were youfs.........that was a mistake as it was the most awful thing to ride and nothing actually did anything (you know, things like throttle, brakes, light switch etc ).

Good bikes (models) tend to carry high prices.

For a start something like a Matchless or AJS single is a resonably cheap way to go. Spares for most old bikes is not a problem, though they do vary in quality (e.g. there's some rubbish oil pumps out there). Highly sought after models are frequently "fakes" e.g. DBD34 Gold Stars.

Triumph "unit" twins were one of the less nasty breeds, though steer clear (sic) of sprung hubs.

A lot of bikes had myriad changes to bits and pieces (Tiger Cub is a good example), very often because they were junk when they were made and had to be "fixed", so you need to read up a bit on what to use for the best.

Gear changes can be allsorts, one-up-three-down, one-down-two-up etc.

Personally I adopt the approach of improving if modern bits are easy to adapt, e.g. I put an ignition system (points/condenser/coil) from a Mini onto the Tiger Cub, good sparks and cheap bits from Halfords. Folks put modern batteries inside hollowed out cases of old rubber batteries. Magnetos are modded to be electronic ignition etc.

Don't expect decent brakes or suspension. Even the "good" brakes ("twin leading sponge") weren't a patch on modern ones.