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Messages - Allington (Steve)

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1
Misc / Open / Re: Whats the crappest bike you've ever owned and why?
« on: April 21, 2020, 06:00:01 PM »
A mate of mine still has his Interstate Commando bought new in 1972. Not entirely original now or without it's problems, but even with the Combat engine he has still singularly failed to blow it up. Here it is with my old CB175 and another friends Suzuki 500 as usual outside a pub in the rain. :(
(Attachment Link)

If it's a combat it will be about the only one in existence that hasn't. He deserves a medal  :-\

2
Misc / Open / Re: Whats the crappest bike you've ever owned and why?
« on: April 21, 2020, 02:00:08 PM »
I think I came into road biking just as the British factories were having their last gasp.   As a 17 year old in 1975, there wasn't any Brand new British bikes to be had under 250cc (I'm happy to be corrected on that point if anyone knows better).  So to ride on L plates, it was either a used British C15 or a Bantam or similar or something of Japanese origin. There was the Ducati Desmo 250 single and AMC Harley had a 250 single too, but they were out of my budget new.

I ended up getting a brand new Yamaha RD200 as they were quite a bit cheaper than the 250's at the time, £408 as I recall, against about £525 for the RD250 - Happy days Lol.    The only new British bikes left by then were Triumphs Bonnevilles, the Trident and Nortons Commando 850.  I think even the BSA version of the Trident, the Rocket 3 had gone by early '76.  Didn't Triumph and BSA have a last gasp at a 350 twin, the Bandit? but I don't think it got into showrooms before they folded.   

So really there wasn't much choice for a 17 year old learner rider outside the Jap 4 companies at that time.

I had both a C15 and a Bantam but really as having a bike was your only form of transport and easily accessible HP by then it just meant you could get to work and have biking fun with the reliability. The 70's saw a new breed of biker with L plate usable bikes that were great fun.

3
Misc / Open / Re: Whats the crappest bike you've ever owned and why?
« on: April 21, 2020, 01:53:55 PM »
I remember a lot of jap hating in the 60s and 70s came from still recent memories of what the Japs did in WW2 passed down from the older guys. Strangely I don't recall those guys having it in for BMW. Plus a sense that the Orient was going to take our jobs as the bikes and cars from Japan were clearly superior. Fair shout really.

In defence of the British it was pretty hard to work to fine tolerances on old clapped out machine tools that spent their best days churning out bombs etc. Thanks to the Marshall plan the Japs had the brand new latest machinery.

In 1980 I owned a Norton Commando 850 roadster that was good except for stripping the exhaust rings out of the head. A local guy machined them out and made phosphor bronze rings for it, they never went again. Even the electric start worked reliably though it did kill batteries.

My friend Mick had a much modified 850 Interstate (he was an engineer) and it was a much better bike but he enjoyed the fixing as much as he did the riding which is possibly why. Fixed the constant exhaust problem in the end by drilling a fin either side and then the finned exhaust screw and wiring them.

4
Apart from tinkering with bits I can't do much to the 500 as I'm waiting for bits at the chrome platers. I think it could be some months...

5
Misc / Open / Re: Whats the crappest bike you've ever owned and why?
« on: April 21, 2020, 08:28:08 AM »
Only thing that kept it going was nostalgia

I guess people had a lot less money (although not clever enough to budget in constant repairs), people were a lot more tolerant and older guys seemed to think that Jap bikes were the work of the devil. I remember being on an almost new gleaming red 750 kettle and an old guy on an old rat infested ex police 650 Triumph pulled up next to me at traffic lights and shouted over "I wouldn't have one of those f@*£ing things if you paid me!"

The change came and it came quick thankfully

6
Misc / Open / Re: Whats the crappest bike you've ever owned and why?
« on: April 21, 2020, 08:15:11 AM »
Hey my Sportster has good brakes! I insisted on buying the ‘R’ model with twin front discs after doing a bike swap with a friend’s Dyna Glide. Following me on my Triumph Daytona 1000, his first words were ‘God you were taking those corners fast!’ I explained that was only because there weren’t any brakes to speak of, I had the lever back to the bar!

Same guy later lent me a Commando, I asked the passenger to put his feet down when he saw me squeeze the lever, I was joking but the brakes were pretty much useless. I remember the 750 was the MCN Machine of the Year at the same time as they were being recalled as the Combats were blowing their main bearings.

At one time if you had a Ford key you could get in any other Ford, but not necessarily free the ignition switch,  I once moved a Granada blocking me in to the middle of the road at a funny angle, as I couldn’t get the steering lock off. I locked it up again and pictured his face when he came back.

I also had a Vauxhall Victor with a sun floor and brakes on one side only, but hey, it cost £30.

Harley actually make some good stuff which you have to shell out for after you buy it new. I did some quick sums with mine to work out how much it needed spending and I just got rid of it  :)

7
Misc / Open / Re: Whats the crappest bike you've ever owned and why?
« on: April 21, 2020, 08:13:18 AM »
You didn't like the commando then Steve. That Combat engine should never have been put into production.

The combat engine was either a drunk pub bet or Honda paid them to use it. It was like going from a Massey Ferguson barn find to a Porsche when I picked up my 500 four straight after. The tolerances and manufacture quality of most Norton parts are a lot better now and I would actually have a Commando back now as a toy to play with (NOT to ride!) and I think the virus is going to make them much more affordable so you never know.

My clutch hand has still never recovered  :-[

8
Misc / Open / Re: Whats the crappest bike you've ever owned and why?
« on: April 20, 2020, 10:36:08 AM »
In 1974 (I think) bought a year old Norton Commando. No idea why, sold my beloved Yamaha 2-stroke and spent the next year inside many workshops and garages keeping a 750 Fastback (Combat engine) in one piece. The thing never broke down, it just "grenaded" itself for fun on a very regular basis. Pistons breaking up, it would go through crankshafts and bearings like my Yamaha went through 2-stroke oil, exhausts fell out of the head, carbs fell off of the head, center stand fell off at just about flat out and bounced over a car, the brakes came off a bobsleigh, the electrics were designed by a blind monkey, you would have needed Red Adair to stop it wee'ing oil like a 50 year old incontinent dumper, every possible nut, bolt, fastener and everything else would fall off on a weekly basis and I think the Japanese paid the British Bike industry to keep going just to catapult their own bikes into the world.

Unless you are a true biking masochist the Commando was a complete and utter horror story compared with what was available from the land of the rising sun at the time. Gave it away when it was about 2 years old to some idiot that came along and told me that it looked a lovely bike! The British bike industry up until around about the time of Hinkley had nothing at all to do with biking. It was just keeping the spanner industry going.

Funny enough if you ride a new Harley Davidson Sportster back to back with a 70's Commando now with your eyes closed (you might as well as both have no brakes) apart from the fact that the Harley starts easy and is quite reliable you would never tell which bike you are on. The riding experience is pretty much identical.

No idea how the Brit industry of that era managed to limp along for so long. The pleasure of giving the thing away outweighed the excitement of buying it!

9
Misc / Open / Re: AGV X3000 Helmet thoughts
« on: March 21, 2020, 10:58:38 AM »
Black / white as below ......

(Attachment Link)

Here's my old AGV X3000 from the mid-70's I had painted in Steve Baker Yamaha racing colours, next to Sheene he was my favourite rider on the Transatlantic Trophy series, better than Kenny Roberts in my book.

He certainly was at Brands Hatch

10
CB500/550 / Re: Honda cb550f2
« on: March 04, 2020, 01:02:11 PM »
Both Menno and kent400 are great people to work with and and just about the best there is out there as well

11
Other Bikes / Re: Any Triumph love out there?
« on: December 23, 2019, 01:53:46 PM »
Same here, not original at all, so different forks/wheels/brakes didn't matter, but still the right style. Recently I saw a photo of a Featherbed frame/pre-unit Triton with upside down forks and a Ducati 916 rear end, it looked so wrong. Back when I put the GT250 forks in my 500, some self proclaimed Triumph expert complimented me on switching to Trident forks to use disc brake set up, which in a weird way was a compliment.



That looks great actually and without the added bonus of a heart attack every time something stops or pulls out in front of you too

12
Project Board / Re: Wise words before assembling.
« on: December 19, 2019, 01:54:11 PM »
.... I can often remember helping my dad out (as a small kid) and ending up with grimy oily hands. He’d make me hold ‘em out, sprinkle VIM (a white coarse Kitchen scouring powder) and then petrol - to make it a paste. Dear god it cleaned well, probably because it removed a few layers of skin...
Oddly I’ve never had ‘girly hands’ - can think why 🤔.

Vim and washing up liquid, always used that when the Swarfega ran out. ☺

Only rich people had Swarfega. Vim = Instant dermatitis. I remember it well  :-[

13
Member 4 Sales / Re: CB500 Air filter cover
« on: August 01, 2019, 12:46:30 PM »
PayPal sent Rich and thank you mate

14
CB500/550 / Re: Exhausts...End of the line.
« on: June 15, 2019, 10:48:21 PM »
Thank goodness I bought a set about 3 months back.

15
CB350/400 / Re: Trigger & Nurse Julie
« on: May 24, 2019, 02:05:41 PM »
Trig and Julie are two really great and genuine people and a few of your engines here are late coming back because of us holding them up over numerous cups of tea :)

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