Although still not 'perfect', here we find this machine running well enough to go out for a short test ride and to get everything warmed up, prior to an oil change.
Easy to see why Paul wasnt in a huge hurry to get back to the workshop! Motorcycling perfection, what a beautiful route, and not known to many Id say. Possibly even more glorious in summer. Im sure the oils were 'proper warmed oop' on return.....
I love watching you guys riding on the wrong side of the road! Thanks for taking us along. The countryside is beautiful, as is the narrow, winding roads!
@savage22bolt32 Yeah, it was the same as me when visiting relatives and hiring cars, but I've done it so often now that I'm used to it. The reason that the UK chose to drive on the left goes back to ancient times when it was proffered that "most" men were right-handed, so it was better to hand on to a horse with the left and have the righthand for your sword. 🤣😂 yes, England was a jolly place back then!
i bought a new bs aspitfire in the late 60s from bennett and woods in sydney and put the race kit in it. beautiful bike, very fast and handled beautifully. no oil leaks. its still in the shed with 3500 miles.
Again. Thank you Mr. Henshaw. If I can keep my old internal bits from killing me, I'm coming over !! I gotta try your amazing roads.Now we know why British racing suspensions were the best. { I always knew. LOL. }
That sounded absolutely gorgeous, thanks for that. Looking forward to the A65 (Red) rebuild you have parts being worked. Prolly a couple of weeks yet, but that ride was lovely :)
Hornets were rare in my neck of the woods (suburb of N.Y.C.) but did have a chance to do a repair on one with a sour Energy Transfer ignition system. After some head scratching, I retimed the alternator rotor and it totally fixed the problem. It was the 500 cc version, I recall that being a "Hornet" only. Edit: Correction, the one I helped was called a "Wasp".
Hi Roy - that is what we call the 'Roman Road' and it links our two villages, Llansadwrn and Llanwrda. It was de classified by the council quite a few years ago and gradually fell into decline. Until recently, Satnavs were still sending people down it in cases where the main road was closed, which could get interesting!
Yes, lovely sound. People who say that twins with a 270° firing order sound good cannot have owned or a 360° twin or ridden one hard (I had several including a glorious A10 Super Rocket). Mind you I think the reduced vibration is probably a price worth paying. ;-)
Now THAT was a pleasant ride...no good saying it wasn't ! Clawing our way down the lanes & tarmac, inserting ourselves into the regions scenery. Not in a whimsical vicarious manner I use the plural pronoun, you see, as I was piloting this bike also. I was able to do so, engaged in this adventure, via a heroic imagination, as well as having my 12 in. floor fan blowing a volume of air onto my torso and at my face and hair. Alas, the H-bars were a bit too 'tallish' for my liking. Also, I missed having a Tach.
The genuine sound of a british parallel twin is unmistakable . I really don't get the point of having a 270 degree crank which seems to be the standard today - they sound more like a V-twin.
they are very rare. My grandfather has one that his brother bought new in 1965 and its being passed down the family. I'm grateful i've ever even gotten to see one of those bikes let alone own it some day. It's a 1965 A65 BSA Spitfire Hornet 650 all original
Almost seems like it could do with a fifth gear or a smaller tooth rear sprocket. I had a '64 model thunderbolt and ran that on a 36 tooth rear sprocket. This seemed to be better for hwy speeds. I realize though that for the purpose for which it was designed the gearing is probably great. I loved mine.
Hello Mr Henshaw, in the past year or so I have been watching several of your videos. I have three Triumphs (48; 79 in a 67 frame and 79 with dual plugs head) no car. I am from Uruguay in S America. I have two questions if may I; One is what s the way you hold the camera in your chest without vibration and most important, without pointing too low? I tried with the harness that a mate lend me but could not point the camera right... The other question out of curiosity, is if in UK or at least in your area, when some one takes the road in an old bike is that something strange? or there are plenty of old iron running around in daily basis? I guess that with all that industry with cars and motorcycles of years gone, could be a plenty? Thanks
To answer the first question, see this video I made ... ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-okExHYdMEs4.html there are quite a number of old bikes still in use around here, but most are for sunny weekends, shows and so on. There are one or two still in regular use as well.
Coolist bike in the world. I owned a 65 thunder bolt.I was 18 Yeats old.. The spitfire and hornets where beyond my means, but that was ok.They were balanced and blueprinted as far as we were concerned.You had to be there. Those were the days boys.
yes those were the days 16y/o had a 65 t-bolt for 6 months before l got my license did wheelies in the driveway while l waited bought it for 600 rode 50,000 miles spent 50 bux on it sold it for 650 dark blue and chrome tank last yr of the metal cans that tach and speedo sit in...
I wouldn't know about ignition keys or not - this one was a 'Spitfire Hornet', if that makes any difference and it had a full battery powered ignition system. Perhaps specs might have varied depending on which part of the world they were made for and when they were made, or maybe someone converted this one? I, for one, don't know.
@@paulhenshaw4514 In California and most of US they were specific engine numbers and sold as ET off road only like the 441 VGP there are a few around me if numbers match they are $12-15k. That sounds like the cams in the MX Hornet maybe a bit advanced had that adds to the bang.
