Just out of curiosity?

[Otis]

Where did you go for the 50th anniversary? I went to the Ace café, the picture here is the only one I can find post computer crash, but I met Laverda Dave there too.

I went to the Auto Union event at the South of England Showground in Ardingley West Sussex. I took dozens of photos and cannot seem to find a single one. I will find them eventually.

[Otis]

Just another niggle that I would like some thoughts on.

There is a guy who has a crate built 350 twin. It has never ever been used and the 1 mile it shows on the clock is where he has wheeled it from his trailer to the stand. It is obviously in perfect and factory condition but he transports the bike from show to show all over the country picking up prizes and trophies.

For me that is a completely dishonest bike and should be disqualified at every event but the powers that be seem to happily give him accolades and rosettes week after week; year after year.

What do the level heads on this forum think?

[McCabe-Thiele (Ted)]

Back in the 1980s I went to a Classic Car Show at Knebworth Park.

A young lad had a 998 cc Mini Cooper on display, trailered in, it had a front wheel removed so you could see the as new front suspension & brakes. Under the bonnet it was as if it had rolled off the production line that day complete with a Bluecol paper label tied to the radiator.

I chatted to him for a while as I had owned a similar model a decade earlier. It transpired that he had never driven it on the road. The brakes did not work efficiently as he used WD40 on the discs to stop any surface rust.

It was great to see such an original vehicle, afterwards probably envy on my part I thought it was a rich man's toy,
There ought to be a separate class for these Show Ponies that are never used on the road.

[MCTID]

I owned a Triumph Stag many years ago........I hovered around the Stag Owners Club for a while before I eventually joined. The first meeting I attended was at Tatton Park where they were handing out prizes for this, that and the other.
One car took my eye as it had been the subject of a really nice rebuild.......by the Owner not a Specialist Garage. He'd done a really nice job of it and managed to keep it as original as he could make it, but it got marks deducted as he'd applied Underseal.

Considering the time and effort he'd spent on it, and his foresight to keep it protected for far longer that the Triumph Factory ever did, it just struck me that the Judges suffered from 'Elbow and arse disease' and that was the last time I went to any Stag Owners Club meetings.

[exvalvesetdabbler]

Going back to the original question, for me it's a case of what mid range bike I can reach the floor  on and feel safe pushing it backwards while sat on it.  Had mine since about 1980 and no plans to part with it any time soon.  Back then the alternatives were. 2 strokes that drank fuel and nipped up just for fun.  Lost count of the number of times I help my mate un seizing his KH250 by torch light  just so he could limp  home on a Friday. We were college students in lodgings Sun- Thur.

Also spares are still reasonably easily found when needed, though I do have to admit to being a hoarder back in the late 80s when DSS was starting up and other dealers were selling off NOS parts for peanuts.

If I were looking for a stable mate for the 400f now I would probably be on the lookout for a late model KH400 or a GT380/550 just to be able to smell the two stroke presence again. Second only to Castrol R.

Dave

[Mikep328]

I don't care at all for the "concours" thing.  I was at a Ferrari concours once and a regularly driven 308 GTS was docked points because the screws holding the fuel filler tube to the body, totally hidden unless you are fueling, were stainless instead of original type screws.  I agree that it is interesting and useful to see a vehicle "just as it left the factory," but they should never be judged in the same category as one that is actually driven.  It seems ludicrous to do so.