I used to love those bikes when I was a teenager, a group of us bought a 350cc Norton which was made around 1937 for £15-00 pounds which was a fortune in those days, as none of us had a licence we used to ride it on farm land with the farmers permission of course. On one part of the field there was a deep brook, we had that bike for ages until one lad lost control and drove it into the brook, we never got it out because of its weight and I often wonder if it's still there, that was 60 years ago. My last bike was a BSA Golden Flash 650 with the iron head what a great machine, wish I still had it.
i'm too young to have experienced that, and wish i had the chance to get some of those machines, i had to slum it with japanese machines in the early 80's onwards, but they were cheap, i wasn't old enough to ride legally, and hardly had any money but still managed it! Even my parents didn't give a shit, nobody did. Completely illegal, and great!
Thanks for the fast hour and a bit of viewing pleasure. Great knowledgeable commentary by Gerry Burr and supurb camera work by Martyn Victor. I've had 12 bikes over the past 45 years. my current baby is a Velo Venom. I am still in heaven on Earth.
Around 1959 ,I aquired a badly misfiring Sunbeam S8 from a family friend while on leave from the RN and based at Rosyth and soon realised the single over head cam was badly worn causing the rockers to bounce up and down the grooves. By dint of grinding the cams shape by eye to my view of original shape and adjusting the tappets to the new settings ,the old bike served me very well commuting to and fro from Cheadle cheshire to Rosyth several times when someone swapped me an Austin 16 for it!
How nice it is to hear such compliments and happy nods to so many manufactures around the world! It really doesn't matter where its made, its how much we all enjoy all differences in all of these machines - and the people that ride them! Cheers!
What a great video! I live in Canada and we don't see too many British bikes on the road. I really like that old Douglas at 20:00. That bike looks like it is very well built. I could just sit and stare at some of the old British bikes for hours because they are so beautiful.
My Dad rode a 500cc Twin cylinder Matchless, among other things, BSA's AJS'S and Jawa's, Bike people are down to earth, thanx for sharing this collection of beautiful English machines.
Where I live we have meet up's in summer, all kinds of people all getting along, old timers, women, children, 1% bike clubs, and the retro british fellas all together, never any hassle, and just a great time. You're right, bikers are the most down to earth people around, and i haven't really got a bad word to say about any of them.
I got my first Norton, 500 Dominator in 1967 when I was 14 In Canada we could ride up to 100cc at 14. I would ride away from the house on my Honda 90, stash in a bush, go back put it's plate on the Norton. Then I had to push the Norton out of my parents hearing range and then I was off to be king of the road. Went from the Dominator to a 750 Atlas and then a couple years later started my never ending love affair with an early Commando. Finally bought the 1975 Commando and have had one ever since. I've covered literally all of North America several times on Commandos. I bought and sold dozens of them over the years. A couple years after Norton went out of production they were almost giveaways sitting in back alleys all over the place. People that had bought them and didn't learn how to maintain them sold them usually with almost nothing wrong with them for next to nothing.
Thanks for this. Great video to take it easy with, while laid up on the sofa with a lower back problem and unable to take out my bike. Nice to hear that West Country acent, too, after being in Japan for 7 years. Good on ya.
Thoroughly enjoyed this video. Really wonderful to see all those old bikes still running. Still hoping to see a working DKW opposed piston bike someday. Rarer than hen's teeth that one.
Very entertaining, if not a look at old Brit steel through slightly tinted lenses; though hats off to the narrator, he knew what he was talking about. I had to laugh when a fella said that he had ridden all the way from Bristol to Bournemouth once. That old 'Irish' Harley had some amazing history; material for a film there. Shame the video ended with that man who, although the proprietor, didn't seem to have clue about anything; when asked the price of a back tyre, he basically changed the subject. Wonderful video, but I can only wonder how long it took to mopped up all the leaking oil from the concrete of the forecourt after the event!
the presentation was first class and very informative top marks to the very distinguished gentleman with the microphone and am sure that murray walker would agree,i am looking forward to more of the same! thank you regards J.T.
Really enjoyed this film. I live in the US (Indiana) currently I have a 66 BSA A65 Lightning. Not a Harley fan. I wish you could have shown more Royal Enfields. Used to have a 47.
Those BSA Bantams, with the coal scuttle leg fairings were most noted for being painted red, and used by the GPO postal service for delivering telegrams in person. btw, one of my first bikes was a 225 villiers Warewell, with twin fishtail exhaust.. wish I still had it.
Wow I've loved and ridden bikes most of my life and thought I knew a manufacturer or two but this video has been an education most I knew but alot from the early days first decade and the twenties I didn't love the passion and knowledge of the presenter
Nice video to watch while I recover from a hit & run while I was crossing a road carrying my 2yr old son. Due to head injuries I can’t drive for 6 months, great opportunity to strip my 1991 Kawasaki zr550 Zephyr except a broken arm & leg prevents me from working on it, sad sad sad😩
"Ever wondered why so many British bikes (and cars for that matter) leak oil? Well, I think I have worked out the reason. After a visit to England in the winter, I noticed that England suffers from the black ice on the roads in winter. To combat this effect, salt is spread on the roads. However, it rains most of the time in an English winter (well it did when I was there), and when coupled with the salt on the roads the combination causes bikes and cars to rust. However, those that leak oil tend to have the oil spread over metal surfaces, acting as a rust preventative. So it is not perhaps a design fault but actually, a clever design to leak a bit of oil. I welcome anyone to post a better reason (noting that when my Triumphs aren't leaking oil, like most other Triumph owners, I know it is time to add oil)." Crunch down 3 up , Britbike forum member... Answer from another member of the same forum: "Actually ONE reason for the leaks is crap crankcase breathing."
I had an ambassador supreme 225cc back in the sixty's, not sure what year it was, it was a great little bike, I rode it every day for a couple of years then I bought a car. I still ride bikes today only they're Honda's
Not sure of the year maybe 1968 I was at a Race meeting don't remember there but Mike Halewood stole the day over Agostini ,,, Halewood was riding the 250 6 and 500 4 ,, that day Honda had on show their 450 twin ,, ,, What an incredible era ,,
I'm surprised there aren't more comments! I remember the local biker gang had british choppers, then slowly started using japanese stuff from the late 70's, and only a few of the fellas had british engines then, i know a couple of them still have their bonneville chops. Nice to see the old bantam, had some great fun on a D14 as a 16 year old, would have the loan from a friend. I used japanese bikes as they were cheap and abundant, it seemed like there was a time in the early-mid 80's when nobody took any interest in them, and could buy one that's sat in someone's back yard really cheap, had some great bikes for around £20-50 I only wish i had kept them, RD175, RD200 RD250, GT380, GS550, and so on! Ah well.... The worst one was a CB250N, it was the most mundane, boring pile of crap ever, but it never let me down and was only £40. Happy days.
I love the part this man started complaining about the R1. That baby can put up more power than all the rest of the bikes together. Typical old man 😀. BTW, beautiful machines.
I am always amazed at how few firms ever developed liquid cooled bikes. The Scotts were liquid cooled from 1910 on. Never enough attention paid to the flying squirrels.
In the video, they said something about the Meridan Fire, that had happened a couple of months back. Didn't that happen in 1984? Might not have been released until later, because the credits say 2002, but I am pretty certain it's earlier than that. Would be interested to find out, since I was there in 1984, attached to USAFE. PS - I have a Harley. I also have a Triumph Tbird ABS. They're making a comeback now.
Must be plenty of old motorcycles in old farmhouses in Ireland in sheds they were plenty when I was there in the Eighties could pick them up for hundred pounds that time
Too much gammon who never ride their 'fabulous' machines but can't wait to tell you how much they're worth. I have a mixture of British and Japanese bikes and have owned more bikes than I can remember from a 1942 Hardly Ableson to modern superbikes. These videos don't half waffle a lot of guff.
these guys are a different breed, they hark to days gone by that we never experienced. It's probably like me telling my son about the lsd fuelled free festivals and then the ecstasy rave culture after that.... they just wouldn't understand!
Ridden since I was 14 in 1975 and still am , I have ridden many Japanese bikes and they al were great reliable bikes even my CJ 250 Honda ha ha I commute 50 mile round trip on my vespa 300 my 650 W kawasaki one off scrambler and when we get the weather my 350 tiger 90 Triumph I will stop riding when I can’t ride or when I am dead
Attention to all British gents that own a 1920s Indian "wall of death" examples. .... I am a fine upstanding young chap of 49.American citizen of British/German decent. I will gladly accept your wayward daughter as my bride. Wall of Death bike would look great in the chapel hedgerow. All I can offer is US living in the foothills of the White Mountains. Come in and visit your lovely girl and enjoy a visit with endless New England motorcycle roads. Hear your former 1920s Indian roar and howl in my new Wall of Death,and listen to your best girl being silent and satisfied. As well as the county murmurs of her years sowing her wild oats. A fresh start for all new ventures and pride in saying "Oh,she fell for a fine Yank.A motorbike man as yourself.Married & Merry. As you take a sip off a new pint just served.. 🇬🇧🇺🇸 Must meet age requirement of 18 to 80
The amc fanny Barnet on the cover picture. I can't count how many hours I spent trying to get it to go faster. Should have just thrown away the top half.
Some comments you can't repair some of these modern the honda is prodly 50year's young probably on original piston s etc 75 year's young biker just saying
yeah, most japanese bikes never need repairing! that's the appeal to me, cheap, commonly available, powerful, and great handling. my gsxr is nearly 30 years old, and is sweet as a nut.
