A small local classic bike show...

took place here in Newmarket today.

It's been going on for the last few years. I didn't see any
advertising but as it takes place less than three hundred metres from
my house, it's difficult to miss!

Of interest (to me) were various current sportsbikes - I'm toying with
the idea of replacing the TL - as well as some nice classics and a
couple of oddities.

One oddity was a Harley-engined Norton - apparently in a Manx frame.
it was well done with an alloy tank and cafe-race styling. But *how*
did they cram that engine in there?

Other interesting bikes included a rather used-looking Hesketh, a Manx
Norton (I compared frames with the special above), a Rocket III and a
Guzzi Centauro.

There were also a couple of TLRs, in fact, a TLR won one of the
classes. I was a bit miffed to find that they were both pretty well
immaculate. TLRs are prone to stone chip damage on the nose and
fairing lowers and in comparison mine looks like it was hit at close
range with a shotgun.

The show was small and quiet but pleasant enough to wander round, but
doesn't make up for an earlier custom show that used to take place in
the car park of one of the high-street pubs a few years ago.

This had live music and grew to the point when the high street was
full of bikes and bikers. Unfortunately it grew too successful for its
own good and AIUI the sheer size of the event, along with some riders
getting carried away and showing off (on a busy shopping street)
resulted in the powers-that-be getting it banned.

 

Pip Luscher wrote

I ain't been there in years. Closed it have they?

<Whistles nonchalantly>

He ho, shit happens.

 

Well-known fact that you can fit almost *anything* in a featherbed Norton,
including the Vincent 1000, which is hardly a small lump.

Hence the once-popular phrase, on observing any large engine "That'd go
nicely in a featherbed frame"

 

Hmm, fary nuff. But this engine seemed to overlap the frame rails top
and bottom - they must've taken bits off to get it in, I reckon.

 

<snip>

There was an abortion called a HarBSA [1] at Cassington a couple of months
back.

[1] Harley engined BSA

--
Dan L (Oldbloke)
My bike 1996 Kawasaki ZR1100 Zephyr
M'boy's bike 2003 Honda NSR125R (Going)
Spare Bike 1990 Suzuki TS50X (Patio Ornament)
BOTAFOT #140 (KotL 2005), X-FOT#000, DIAABTCOD #26, BOMB#18 (slow)

 

Combine a Harley with a BSA, eh? That'll make a Never Moving,son as opposed
to a Hardly Moving.son.

 

IIRC Bike did a test of one with a Rover V8 in about 1985.

 

IR seeing one on the Island (parked up on Douglas Prom) in about 1976.
I distinctly remember the huge end casing and the primary drive being
connected to a wee Burman box.

Utter madness.

 

The Bike one managed to drop a couple of valves during the test. Apart from
that, it was a perfectly useable piece of kit. The article writer was moved
to wonder what the hell Rex McCandless was doing, designing a frame that
would cope with a ****-off enormous V8.

 

One of the most eye-boggling trikes I've seen consisted of a Yank V8,
clutch, axle. That was it. No frame - the headstock was mounted on the
front of the engine. The rear axle was bolted to the back of the engine
via a set of 4 trailing arms. The seat was mounted on something, but not
much.

Basically, you just started it and went.

 

If this was black with yellow bits, I may have seen it in BSH.

 

It probably was. In fact, I'd be surprised if it wasn't. At the same
show (Kent Custom, 1990ish) there was a nice Alfa Twincam trike that had
much the same setup, though I think it had a VW transaxle, so a bit more
sensible.

 

If I was going to build a trike, it would be something compact like that.
The sprog, OTOH, prefers Rich Ireland-style 3-wheeled land yachts with huge
Yank V8s.

 

I had a 1957 ,"Dominator" 88 500cc.On the inside of the ,"Wide-line)
frame under the tank there was what looked like a hammered large
dent.In a conversation one night an,"Old-hand" informed me of why it
was there.Norton started doing in the factory to help people who were
making,"Norvins"

God did that bike handle!Undertook me mates 380 GT water cooled on a
bend.Well Pi**ed of was he<grin>

 

There's a chap round here has a rather tidy pro-built V-Max trike. Uses
ISTR a sierra diff, shafts and hubs with a cunning 4-link suspension setup.

 

Good GT380 site here http://www.suzukicycles.org/GT-series/GT380.shtml

They seem to not know about the water cooled version. Praps you'd
better let them know about it ;0)

 

Could've been raining :^)


Regards,

Simonm.

 

I very nearly (as in someone was there with the money faster than me)
bought a Norton with an Imp engine.

 

I very nearly bought[1] a NorDa back in about 1978. 500/4 engine in a
wideline frame with mainly honda running gear, disk brakes, etc.
Wouldn't tickover[2] but it went like shit off a shovel and handled
_way_ better than anything else I rode up until about 1990, when I got
a GPX600.

I always regret not buying that bike...

[1] As in, dad wouldn't let me change the HP I had on the XT500 at the
time
[2] Dunno why, but the owner/builder had[3] deliberately set it up
like that, so you just had to keep blipping the throttle.
[3] Allegedly

--
_______
..'_/_|_\_'. Ace (brucedotrogers a.t rochedotcom)
\`\ | /`/ GSX-R1000K3
`\\ | //' BOTAFOT#3, SbS#2, UKRMMA#13, DFV#8, SKA#2
`\|/`
`

 

The only bikes that tend to get set up like that are racers. Or maybe
wannabe racers. is that allegedly referring to the owner, builder or setup
parts?