Which just goes to show you don't need a bike you need a stepladder to mount or all the fancy electronics. Sixty or so years ago l rode pillion on a Norton Dommie 99 on a long weekend trip from Southend to Brands Hatch then on to the West Country with a tent, Primus stove and change of clothes...The Norton never missed a beat... It was quite an adventure when just 17 years old....
Another well done video, thanks for the effort making them. Some comments about Nortons. i had a 1960 slimline 99 in the sixties. Never toured more than 400 miles trips on it, so I'm not good at touring. I regard the wideline very comfortable as a racing bike, but the slimline is more comfortable as a road bike. The first 650 Norton was the Manxman in 1960, majority of them crossed the pond.
I had a 1955 gold flash BSA that i really loved. Its the bike i enjoyed riding the most and had to commute nearly 40 miles a day between southall not far from heathrow airport to Mitcham a few miles from wimbledon. The magneto ignition was great but i timed it by using a pencil in the spark plug hole and cigarette paper between the points to see when they were just starting to open. Great on petrol and the single carburetor and iron head was no problem and in fact it would start on just the magneto, no battery and was simple reliable and ran great especially in icy weather. The cable operated rear brake was dodgy as was the front brake but the frame is the best made ive ever seen as was the chrome on the exhaust silencers. It was great at low revs and i regret big time selling it but i moved to switzerland so i had no money or place to keep it. So sad😢
Those 1950s models are great to look at and listen to, when they belong to other people, but for ownership, I find the 1970s Triumphs are more practical. They still have a similar sound and feel, but are oil-tight (or can be if you do it right), have modern(-ish) features like disc brakes and indicators, better lighting and less maintenance to do, especially if you have electronic ignition, with virtually all the parts available off the shelf. I'm glad some people still love owning these, though, so we can carry on seeing and hearing them around.
The gold BSA is mine and it is pretty dam oil tight smooth and reliable Remember those earlier bikes tend to be less vibey Only real world downside would be braking I suppose Incidentally in over a decade I’ve had to touch the points once 🤷🏼
A nice selection there! Back in the day, my mate had a 10-yo sprung hub Thunderbird, which he tried to sell to me, but my Jawa 250 was a lot more reliable, so the sale didn't happen.
I had a 55 Norton Dominator 600 bought in 1970 for 60 quid. I put a Thunderbird engine in it for a while and then sold the bike with the Norton engine back in it in 1972.
In 1997/8 l built a Triton using a Thunderbird engine swopping to a Twin Carb splayed head... British bikes required more spanner work, plus maintenance than most modern bikes. It was just the nature of engines back then...(My bike developed a problem with the Mag that was remedied by having a specialist overhaul)... They were reliable if maintenance procedure was followed, plus of course pride of ownership..
Really interesting video. I’m total new to classic bikes despite being in my mid 50’s and I’m wanting to buy my first ‘classic’ and have no idea what to buy.. I have considered a Golden Flash as I love the look of BSAs of the 60’s… thanks for all the info, it’s hard to k ow where to start!
Riding round on my tr5 yesterday, conscious of a few people noticing,and parked up with a pint looking at my bike and checking out other people looking at it as they walked by. That's not posing, because you know you're not the centre of attention. It's enjoying the ownership as you know the downside of it is greasing chains checking timing messing with carb tuning.
