Royal Enfields

[Iain]

Why would anyone in their right mind want an antiquated design, noisy, slow, bad handling Harley????
And why do they persist in having both cylinders banging away at the same time, or is it that so the rider can enjoy the vibration.
Tell ya whats in vogue Benny, those little red Hondas, ex Aust Post

[bennylaird]

Wouldn't be a standard Harley

Spent too much time on Postie type bikes as a kid

[bennylaird]

Maybe some of these in my shed?

[Daddles]

Harley's? Hoggly Ferguson's - so called because they pull like tractors and handle like pigs.

Harleys used to come with four gears. Top gear was for cruising and looking cool. Third gear was for moving off, cruising and looking cool. Second gear was for moving off and slow traffic. Bottom gear was for pulling tractors out of bogs

If all you want to do is cruise around looking cool, Harleys are the bike to choose though

One of the advanced riding days we did out at Mallala was with the Harley Owners Group. I was on my GSXR1100 and felt a tad out of place with the full dressers and the like trying to learn what I was teaching them. They were a good group actually - we had more fun with the HOG boys than any other and that includes Ulysses who were bloody good fun in their own right.

But anyways, back to the story, at the end of the day, one bloke hands his keys to me and tells me to 'take her for a spin'.
'her' in this case, was a two week old, full dresser Harley that he'd just spent in excess of twenty grand on :eek: (this was in the mid nineties).

Well, I jumped on the brute before he could change his mind Pressed the 'on' button and the world started leaping up and down below me (they're right, they don't vibrate, they leap up and down). Moving off, this was far and away the easiest bike to ride I've ever been on. Seriously. They are wonderful. Twist the noisy grip and it ... got noisy. The surge of torque is fantastic, and equated to a moderate but satisfying acceleration. Now, bearing in mind that this bike was brand new and cost more than I could conceive let alone afford, I took it very, very easily ... and touched the footboards on most corners of the first lap. On the second lap, I scraped it on every corner while still trying to take it easy. I went back to the pits straight away before I did something a lot of people would regret. But for all that, a lovely bike to ride and I can understand people who love them ... and not at all understand why people talk about 'handling' and stuff when talking about Harleys.

If you want to go slow and be seen, a Harley is the way to go - they are the world's best cruisers. For anything else, yer nuts.

Richard

[bennylaird]

My Honda 750 F1 was great for scraping, when the pedals wore down then the exhaust started to go. Even got used to the rubber frame after a while but not as bad as the Kwaka 500 triple my BIL had, talk about dangerous.

[Skew ChiDAMN!!]

My baby. Up on blocks at the mo, but an everyday rider until a relatively recent misunderstanding with a constable.

[bennylaird]

Very Nice

[Christopha]

My Superglide was the nicest bike..... more comfortable than my Gold Wing LTD and the most fun at or near legal speeds. I did many, many miles on her with the throttle screwed down, leaning back on my gearsack with my arms folded watching the countryside slide past and relishing the lovely sound from the debaffled tapered turbos. I changed the front springs to "progressives" and did the same for the rear shocks, that made a big difference to her handling and on one particular trip from Albury/Wodonga across those big hilly things I wore the sides clean off of my boots..... glorious! Would I have another? No! The maintenance required was just a tad high and while she only let me down once it was a basic wiring design fault, she seemed to be a bloody nice bike with dumb assembly type faults. As for vibes, bugger all..... the motor was rubber mounted which was why they were sometimes known as "Rubber Glides"

[Doughboy]

Here are some of my girl. It is a Triumph Trophy 1200. Beautiful to ride and never missed a beat. Chews up the miles like the polite girl that she is.

[Gra]

but not as bad as the Kwaka 500 triple my BIL had, talk about dangerous.

My old man had one of those, was the bike that turned me off M/c for life.... That thing was scary fast, with a front wheel that wouldnt stay on the ground...

[TassieKiwi]

[bennylaird]

My old man had one of those, was the bike that turned me off M/c for life.... That thing was scary fast, with a front wheel that wouldnt stay on the ground...

Yes came up in every gear, the big tailight did stop the pillion from falling off though. The frame wasn't rubber, it was elastic.

[jmk89]

How about a Vincent Black Lightning 1952?

I can't afford to buy one, but at least I can listen to Richard Thompson's song about one

[macca2]

I had an old 1952 Triumph Tiger 100 with the sprung hub on the back.
When they got worn they became one scary bike to ride. Would dance all over the road.

[snowyskiesau]

Got one of these sitting in the shed awaiting a rebuild.
Rickman Honda 750