Paul's Rants - British bikes are not crap 2! 

Well said. You reminded me of something that happened back in the 1970s and before I had ever swung a leg over a bike. A lad I knew told the assembled crowd how his Suzuki 250 had "burnt off" a Norton Commando that he encountered at some traffic lights. I asked him whether it was possible that the Norton rider wasn't trying to race against him and was subjected to ridicule from everyone present who owned a Japanese bike. On another occasion, the same lad also described how he was riding in 4th gear (on a different bike, I think) at about 30mph and wanted to overtake something and he "shoved it straight into 6th and roared away". At that point, I think we all realised he hadn't a clue. They say an empty pitcher makes the most noise. Anyway, your A65 is in excellent fettle now.

I'm Aussie, 72 ( where did it go) British motocycles have been a big part of my life, They do need regular maintainence but when running well they put a smile on my dial. My favorite is my 72 Commando but today I rode my 70 BSA firebird into town today a 40 mile round trip, on the open road it will cruise at 70mph... And it does not leak a drop of oil.

We have a saying at work that they suffer from maintenance! We have Commandos driven all over Europe and the UK, nothing wrong with them just poor maintenance! Well said mate 👍

It’s all down to one man’s treasure is another man’s junk. You’re happy with your bike then that’s all that matters.

I say this respectfully and with the very best of intentions, Paul. It seems to me the keyboard warrior has won on this one. Just look at the amount of time and publicity you've given him. He's in your head and controlling your thoughts, and you allow it. Just think of how much more enjoyable that 4-video ride would have been if you hadn't been fighting this mental battle across every mile. Free yourself.

Thanks for your A65 videos, like always. Didn't want to take a part in you rantings, but remembered suddenly what comments about unreliability of British bikes make me smile - comments about Lucas being a "king of darkness" and it's products being "absolute crap". Personally I am in awe of Lucas motorcycle looms still working in my British bikes after 50 years of hard life and constant neglect, old generators and alternators working still when even buildings they were made in are not existing today. Nobody even imagined those product would exist and work 50 - 70 years after they were made. So very much not a crap after all.

The troll is missing the point. Truth is Paul you can make any bike good. End of.

In my 60s bought new a Kawasaki ER6 which had a fault with cheap wiring harness ( an engineering friend diagnosed the cause) . Three times the harness melted. I discovered this was not uncommon around the world. Here in France they denied any problem and sent me an insulting letter. In the USA owners were compensated.

I am 76 years old and have ridden bikes from the age of 13. As luck would have it my mustering in the army was dispatch rider and I spent 6 months riding Triumph Ariel and BSA and except for a snapped clutch cable never had a problem. In 1969 I bought a Honda CB 750 , the original sand caste block and found myself in a different world .at the age of 21 and full of bravado I thrashed that bike for over 60k Kms and besides servicing and the dreaded 4 into 1 throttle cable sticking it never missed a beat. I now own a 74 CB 750 and 2 CBX 1000 6 cylinder bikes all of which in perfect condition. My point is that all bikes can be fun and each to his own. Stay safe

Last month I travelled over 1625 miles on my A65 in 11 days, averaging about 150 miles a day. The only two issues I had were, 1, the ring that holds the ignition switch in place rattled loose and the switch touched the frame and blew the fuse. no problem, fitted a new swtich. second problem was the result of poor wiring by the dealer that I bought my bike from. Poor wire quality meant the only wire I didn't replace myself, broke down. Again, no problem I had some wire and terminals *just in case*. Nothing was actually caused by the bike itself, which ran exceptionally well the entire time.

nice to meet you.

Sunday morning I have a crumpet ,a cup of coffee and a rant to listen to. Perfect!.

In 2011 I bought a 2007 350 Bullet the last of the pre-units,I've still got it,still love it.

I was the owner of a 1961 RE 350 Bullet, was that ever a crap bike.

I remember back in the late fifties & sixties , lots of riders then were ordinary working class on not so good wages . Back then a lot of Brit bikes were old used bikes from the 1930’s & 40 ‘s ex military & all kinds of machines . They kept them running with any parts that would fit ,gaskets cut from Rice Krispie packets ,used everyday in all weathers snow ice ,the lot . There were also the boy racer ton up boys ,ragging the hell out of their adapted cafe racer bikes ,so not surprising some of the old Brit bikes ,tended to be prone to issues & needed more attention to keep them running & leaked oil . One thing they all tended to have in common,was they could be rebuilt & kept running as their seemed to be an abundance of spare parts or parts that could be adapted to fit .The proof of this is still with us ,today as many of these bikes are still running today . 👍

Happy with every British bike I’ve owned

Nowt like a ranty old Welshman. Well done Paul 😊

My crappy 1955 Ariel 500 single starts first kick every time, depending on how many people are looking of course, and does close on 90mph or 90mpg when I want it to, ,and the lights work as well. Just about the same as a Yamaha XT 500, but with more style and fewer revs. I also covered about 12.000 miles on it last year as well, but it's not about how fast you get to the cafe, but what you eat when you get there.😁

My crappy British 1967 British BSA thunderbolt, started the other day, on the second kick, after about a 4 months lay over. perhaps because it has electronic ignition, but for what ever reason, it starts almost 2nd kick every time.

"British bikes are only as good as the people who spanner them"... That hit home fairly hard (red face), but it's so true. Probably true of any classic, really.