Thank you, a very enjoyable video. I have never owned an old British twin, but I did own a Kawasaki W650. A very nice twin with turbine like running. The problem was that I soon realized that I much preferred my Enfield 500 single with the exhaust coming back at me from the hedgerows. I also rode them both at the same speeds, around 50-55mph, around the country lanes. So I do agree with your son, for the kind of riding that many of us do high speeds are not needed, but the correct noise coming from the engine is.
I'm 67, when younger I rode British bikes, I was a Norton rider, now have a 750 atlas café racer and a concours 650ss. I had two friends with Rocket Gold Star replicas. WoW they looked and sounded great. You took a stock A10, put on the right head, spitfire cam then right tank and chrome, a work of art. OK, my Nortons had 10+ MPH, my mate who was an A65 enthusiast said they were slow dogs BUT they were beutiful. OK if you were looking for a wife, which would you choose?
I had a gold flash, after 2yrs the engine which was tired, expired whist towing a B33. I had a slighty breathed on alloy head DA10, fitted a new concentric and rode it for quite a while. Bit more performance about 105 on the flat ( closed road honestly officer). I think an alloy head A10 ( low compression) dressed up a little bit would be my go to bike in my more mature age. The handling was reasonable but the brakes were very poor. Three hard brakes from 70 and the front and rear brake faded and had a long way to pull the brakes on.
@@bikerdood1100the B33 had a reconditioned crankshaft but in cleaning out the oil gallery in the big end some idiot had drilled through the other end of the crankpin reducing oilfeed to the big end. This ended up causing a sudden seizure of the big end. As we were travelling together I towed the B33 using a rope tied to the rear subframe of the Gold Flash and the rope was wound round the steering tube of the B33. The guy on the B33 had the end of the rope in his hand on the handlebars. The thought (?) was he could let go of the rope if we had problems . After successfully towing him about 10 miles the A10 lost power and we had to stop. Eventually we borrowed a 5 cwt van. Stuck the back of the A10 and B33 in the van with the front ends sticking out the back doors with an elastic stretchy holding the doors in. Drove home about 40 miles with a somewhat light steering asmatic old van. Later discovered that the nearside piston had split and the leftovers were in the crankcase. The other piston was seized in the bore so it would have meant a major rebuild. However I had the spare grass track modded DA10 sort of road rocket engine. Surprised we were never stopped by plod. I blame the ignorance of youth, lack of any fear and the "I'll get home at any cost " attitude we had. Only one of three major roadside adventures on my Gold Flash which was bought for £100 in kit form, bare frame and two tea chest of bits with a spare motor. 😊
We did explain this We tested the RGS but We don’t own it he only rode it for 1 day We do own a Golden Flash 🤷🏼 And does it matter Could have done the talk in the garden for that matter but our own BSA seemed more appropriate
Dood! One more time. The bike in question is a Mahindra. It wears borrowed BSA tank badges. It weighs 470 pounds. If you are into sport bikes with taut handling this last detail is all you need to know.
@@bikerdood1100 O Dood! I cringe! I abuse myself. I perform a Novina. I recite the 99 most beautiful names of Allah. You were showing the RGS, yes? I think it was a derivative of the A10. Did it have the Goldie frame? Contrition and apologies!
Why do Handlebars come in different heights? If you like to cruise in comfort, and take in the scenery, semi ape hangers are the ones. If you like to travel at high speed, then the clip on bars are fixed to the fork legs, like the Cafe racers. The standard bars fitted by manufacturers are the best for general purpose. The reason for these is: "Wind resistance". Cafe racers, due to lying across the tank cut's down on drag when moving at speed. But, try riding at slow speeds for a long time, your arms will get tired. Your choice of bars, all depends on what type of riding you do the most of ? Thought, any would-be bikers may find this useful? 🤪🇬🇧👍
Riders also come in different heights and you can’t ignore personnel taste and all important ergonomics One man’s comfort is another’s torture That clip ons reduce wind resistance is blindingly obvious of course but is not necessarily the main factor It’s often as much about the look Even for GP racers fashions change with riders in the 80s sitting more upright than today Further input for would be experts 😂
High bars contrary to popular belief, (non bikers) are not at all that comfortable for cruising. Blood drains out of your hands after a few miles, the wind blast is similarly a pain and you get a slightly falling backwards feel which is quite uncomfortable and sitting bolt upright frankly is a pain in the ass Most bikers who have ridden any distance should be aware of this
Clip ons look so much better on an RGS (or a goldie) and looking at the video the positioning, if the clip ons were at the top of the yoke, wouldn't be much different at all. Back in the day my own bike was a Dominator 99 with clip ons at the lowest position possible. Oh the memories!
My best mates boss had or maybe still has a Rocket Goldstar lovely looking bike & I remember it being worth a bit back in the 90's so I'm betting these days to buy one I'd probably have to donate a few body parts to own one now.
Now... if you use a Plunger Flash gearbox mainshaft, the three - spring Norton clutch can be fitted into an A.10 Super Rocket or whatever.... Easily the best clutch in the world for several decades....
@@bikerdood1100 It sort -of is, but the result is the best clutch imaginable . Puts the Triumph four spring item in the shade, and is even a slight bit better than the BSA semi-dry six spring..
One thing I think would improve the looks, the same headlamp nacelle but chromed rather than painted black. Dad had a Super Rocket with that nacelle in chrome, same forks as this and i think the same mudguards but it was 45 years ago so..... It also had a custom made steering damper, polished aluminium rather than Bakelite.
I'd be interested in hearing a comparison with the Super Rocket and the RGS as other than the compression ratio (9:1 vs 7.2:1)I believe the motors are identical.
Well I think the super rocket was available with higher comp pistons as an option, they just chucked all the options in an RGS We think given the same riding position the differences would be minimal
Yes I have a Super Rocket on 9:1 but I’ve often wondered if all the other differences are largely cosmetic. They are certainly a very pleasant machine to ride
@bikerdood1100 the RGS used the WestCoast HHC late Super Rocket engine unchanged. It did use the RRT2 gearbox as did most DBD34s. The SR used an STD. B gearbox, which is a lot nicer for road use and certainly better for acceleration. The RGS also used the same frame as the Super Rocket however the RGS prefix is different. West Coast SRs in 62 and 63 were 9 to 1. East Coast and UK were 8.2 or thereabouts, so not greatly different. The Super Rockets and Road Rockets are also very lovely to look at.
