Old Bike Photos

[Enfield]

I see that many of the Pashnit Members have some old bikes or scrap iron in the back of their garages. I think this would be a good place to post photos of them with a little incormation to educate the new riders and let them know that riding did not always involve disc brakes, Olin shocks and oil free machines. All you Bonneville, Commando, Matchless, Gold Star and Indian owners step up and download.

I will start with my Royal Enfield Interceptor (series 2) originally purchased in 1969 and ridden somewhere over 80,000 miles before the speedo broke. Specific info concerning the bike: Norton Roadholder forks, twin leading shoe front brake (very cool in 1969), Girling shocks, top end around 125 mph, 750 cc, RE "neutral finder" that allowed transmission to go from 2nd, 3rd or 4th directly to neutral. I went to the Enfield from a Norton Atlas and a late 40's HD 45 (perhaps the worst bike I ever owned). I never found a bike with quite the soul or appeal of the Enfield - but I'm still looking.

[wa.tarider]

Some bikes at the VME (Vintage Motorcycle Enthusiasts)Vashon Isl.TT

[flying_hun]

Wow! So much to love! The barrel and head finning on RE Interceptors always looked cool to me. The Triton is fab too. But what I really love is the photo of the contrasts in V-twins. I'm guessing that 50+ year old Vincent will still run away and hide from its newer neighbors

Thanks for posting,

Kurt

[Enfield]

The Vincent is my dream bike. Why did the owner destroy the look with a modern seat?

[Steve1962]

Here's a few I took recently at a classic bike show at Stow in the Wold .........

This beauty is the most gorgeous bike I ever saw ....very rare ...........





and a couple of others ...........





Steve

[cbrjules]

A couple of my mates ride Norton Commandos, approx 1969 plus some old singles. These are not display bikes but bikes that are ridden quite regularly.









I came across these guys in the south of France who have made a business out of running tours on old British iron.


http://www.motoprovencale.com/classicbikerentals.php

Jules.

[flying_hun]

Originally Posted by Steve1962

This beauty is the most gorgeous bike I ever saw ....very rare ...........

Attachment 28779

Attachment 28780

Steve, what is it? When I first saw the sloping cylinder I thought it might be a Panther, but I thought Panther's were singles and the bike in the photo appears to be a twin. It is quite striking.

Jules, I love the Fastback Commando. It reminds me of those old Norton girl ads.

Thanks,

Kurt

[Steve1962]

Originally Posted by flying_hun

Steve, what is it? When I first saw the sloping cylinder I thought it might be a Panther, but I thought Panther's were singles and the bike in the photo appears to be a twin. It is quite striking.

Jules, I love the Fastback Commando. It reminds me of those old Norton girl ads.

Thanks,

Kurt

Kurt,
That is the only one of it's kind still running ...............
It's a 1931 Cotton , using a 500 cc Rudge engine ........genuine 14k on the clock ... when he bought it , it had not been run since 1949 ........... you should hear that baby now ..................
The weekend before I saw it , it was entered in a competition .and came in second .....I can't believe anything beat that beauty .









Steve

[flying_hun]

Cotton! Wow! My only recollection of those were trials machines running Villiers engines. Agreed, it's really something! Thanks for the info.

Kurt

[Enfield]

Jules:

Thanks for the website to the French classic bike rental. If I was going to southern France this summer like Kurt I would be on the phone immediately to rent the beautiful BSA Lightning.

I too love the Nortons (esp. the red fastback). I forgot about the Norton girls - thanks to Kurt for reminding me.