I grew up in Vegas in the '70s. About '74 or so I knew what dirt bikes were, sorta. My uncle gave me a '73 GT 80 when he bought a '74 YZ 125. By that time the old school desert sleds were replaced by KTM, HUSKY, MAICO, CAN AM and the Japanese bikes. It still blows my mind that madmen railed the desert on those old British bikes.
Not going to mention the 9 bolt head and later rocker boxes?…. Jk Have been loving watching you ride this and share on the channel. Happy Trails! Troop
Isn't it interesting how we all tend to lean the bike into the hill on a single track trail that runs sideways to the hill. Where at some point the rear wheel loses traction and slides down the hill a bit. If we can see ourselves doing this it will be obvious to keep the bike vertical. My best soluion has been to stand-up and put more weight on the foot peg that is on the down-side of the hill. But I'm still working at it.
The bike looks great, Do you know how much ground clearance you have on the bike? I am trying to have an idea of what can be done with 6.5 inches that I have on my scrambler. Thanks
Looking forward to the teased long trip on the desert sled. I’m guessing you’ll wait till it cools off a bit! 106 here today north of you. Happy Trails! Troop
“C model” triumph had cast in pullback riders in the top triple lamp. This was opposed to the rubber mounted “R model” road going models which flexed and moved in a way totally unsuitable for off road duty.
Had the 441 Shooting Star, I remember it being a lot bigger, but back then I was 16 and smaller. The torque was unbelievable mind you so was the vibration
I really miss my BSA singles. They were great fun (when they worked) but 250, 350, 500 singles back in 1970 to 1978 were infuriatingly annoying for everyday transport. This is why i moved to large Japanese multicylinder bikes in 78. Strangely, i forgot all about this and let my heart rule my head when i purchased another B50SS Gold Star in 2017. I sold it, five agonising years later because it was so unreliable and purchased a real fun Royal Enfield (2020) model 500 trials. Comfortable Reliable Economical Easy to live with But no soul to the exhaust note
Loved it, what a great ride. Bike sounded good at 8000 ft so perhaps is a bit lean at lower altitude, try one notch up on the needle as a start. Would have been good to pull the plugs at the top but one hour to sunset and 1960's electrics, best head home fast😀
Absolutely love these videos Bill! Wish I could get my hands on a triumph, but they’re ridiculously expensive where I’m at so I’ll just stick to my weird Suzuki SPs lol
Thanks for the memories. A friend had a Hornet that was blueprinted and balanced to 10,000 rpm’s and it would fly. He worked at a BSA dealership as a mechanic while going to college. The sound was awesome while riding on that bike.
I can't believe you are riding in a short sleeved T shirt and what looks like every day jeans. You could suffer serious injury from the smallest spill.
I had a 74 VR 250 replica. great handling and powerful but fragile. Switched to Bultaco and then Husqvarna. I should have kept it just because it was so lovely.
A couple of Triumph dealers offered highly modified twins. Ted Lapadakis and Bud Ekins come to mind, but I'm sure there were others. I don't recall that BSA, Matchless or other brands had that advantage. Catalina was a Grand National, not a Grand Prix. Steve McQueen wasn't really an influence when he was riding Triumph. Bud Ekins influenced many from the Hollywood crowd much more.
@@johnmorris482 no problem. I’m no historian but try to learn where I can. My fathers shop parts manager in the 70s and 80s was Clyde Earl from JoMo. Wish I knew more.
@@johnmorris482 wasn’t the original name Catalina Grand Prix in 1951 but when the French heard about it they threw a fit? Officially afterward it was “grand national” but unofficially still called “Catalina Grand Prix”. thegrandfathersofmotocross.com/1952-5-3-web-ok-catalina-1st-nicholson-del-8-dnf/
I have a triumph metisse and I run a spare clutch and throttle cable and zip tie them to the working ones. This is an old school trick so when your out if you have a failure you just disconnect thee old ones and reconnect the new ones at the nipple ends. Really quick as they are already run through the bike.
Good job! Bitchen bike! Cool that you still got the Monobloc on there. Couple thoughts: Regular solder works okay, but many people recommend silver solder, which is stronger. Some folks avoid using torches, preferring large soldering irons instead, so as not to damage the cable strands with excessive heat. Mikuni and some of the other carb makers offer 90° bent tubes for where the throttle cable exits the carb. 'Nother trick: have spare clutch and throttle cables routed next to the normal ones in case one breaks way out there in the dez. Tape over the ends to keep dirt out. It's also a good idea to confirm that the stop on the throttle stop is stopping the cable from bearing the load when the slide is fully raised under full throttle. That is, if the cable continues to pull on the slide even when it's fully open that can result in the cable end being pulled off. When I was 16 I worked at Jack Baldwin's, a BSA, Norton, Montesa and Greeves dealer in Santa Monica. One of my tasks was to run down to Webco and pick up the various special parts they made.What you need next is the cast aluminum Webco spark-plug-and-spark-plug-wrench holder that could be mounted on a frame tube - super handy when you 'whisker' a plug out there in the middle of nowhere.
The Spitfire is my favourite BSA, I have a Mk II. It is an official record that a standard unmodified Mk II clocked 128mph on Conrod Straight, at Bathurst, Australia, in the 1967 Production Race. Neither Norton or Triumph ever built a standard 650 that went as fast.
I raced a 125cc Zundapp Metisse at an MX in Placerville for a dealer in 1970 to test it and give an opinion. Typical, it missed a lot of shifts. I normally raced a 250cc CZ and won often.
Ah the memories, growing up my dad had two 650's made by the Birmingham Small Arms Company. I can remember him pushing his home about as many times as he rode it home. But I guess if the people who make bowling balls can make Harley's then a British small arms company can also make a motorcycle..
I just found your channel today and I love it, great energy and a mix of old bikes! I've always been interested in 60's bikes but mostly of the cafe racer type. Thanks for introducing me to the off-road bikes of the era.
In the early 70’s here in Orange County Cal. i went to Jr High with a kid that belonged to a motorcycle racing club called the “Sled Riders” they did CRC races here in So. Cal. motocross/hare scrambles/ desert races, his name was Jimmy Helms, I think the famous Jim Fishback, he raced desert and motocross was also a member.
In the late 60’s and 70’s everyone I know growing up in So.Cal. always wanted to be Brad Lackey, we all had pictures and posters of Brad and DeCoster plastered on our bedroom walls, pic’s of Lackey on the CZ or the iconic Husky were always our favorites, thanks and cheers 🍻 to Mr. Brad Lackey for all the great & fond motocross memories you provided us fans in your pursuit over the yrs for the World Championship, we always cheered and held up the American 🇺🇸 flag for ya at Carlsbad, dude your the best I tell ya, simply the best! 😎🇺🇸✌️
