more ebay madness...

I noticed that Message-ID:

My dad had one of those. Loved the sound..pop..pop..pop...

 

didn't they go backwards by turning the engine all the way round, rather
like a bumper/dodgem car?

 

I had one once - the van type - but mine had a 250 Villiers, I think. Bloody
awful thing. Turned it on it's side once. Bloke stopped to help and was
horrified when I said "Give us a hand to get it down" and promptly started
to pull it upright again. Used to change back wheels by grabbing the wheel
arch and lifting whilst a friend shoved a brick underneath. And no, I'm not
Mr Atlas. The damn things were so light I nearly got blown off Menai Bridge
in it one day.

Steve and the dogs

 

Austin Shackles wrote:
{bond}

a college fiend had one with bidirectional electric start. The points
closed twice per rev, so you got a useless spark and a good one, but if
you started it in the other direction it used the other spark and all
was well. 4 forward and 4 reverse gears, really. Very odd. Of course
you had to stop, and make sure the engine was stopped, before starting
it again in the other direction.

It broke down terminally on the ramp of the woolwich ferry, so (with his
permission) the ferrymen picked it up and dumped it in the river.

 

Not as sad as
http://www.lawnmowerworld.co.uk/Rich.htm

 

I've got an engine that'll run both ways.
It's a 49million cubic milli-inch single cylinder jobbie.

 

It was something odd, the whole injun turned wiv the stearage, so it's a
possibility. There was something where you hadter stop the injun and start it
backwards for reverse, but I goove it was something else. It was quite a few
fortnights ago, and unforgettery fades.

 

A friend who owned a CZ175 once, through simple clumsiness, started it in
reverse.

Stylish.

 

It was somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the

Close enough for argument's sake, though. I had a vision of it being
surrounded by whippets and flat caps as the avid visitors poured through
the turnstiles to gawp at the amazing motorised relic.

--

Dave

GS 850 x2 / SE 6a
SbS#6 DIAABTCOD#16 APOSTLE#6 FUB#3
FUB KotL OSOS#12? UKRMMA#19 COSOC#10

 

I bet that surprised him when he let the clutch out.

 

No. You can turn the engine and front wheel by an ickle bit over 180
degrees so the thing will turn about a point in the middle of its back
axle, but to reverse you ran the engine backwards. An experienced
drive could stall the engine and wiggle the advance/retard as it
bounced off compression so it restarted in reverse.

 

I had an MZ that did that. I ended up putting a bloody great dent in the
Saab door.

 

And me.

 

sweller wrote

On the odd occasion my CZ175 did that it was fairly plain something was
not running right from the sound of the engine. The obvious solution
was, of course, to wring the nuts off the throttle and dump the clutch.
Not necessarily the wisest choice of method I grant you but I was much
younger then and besides I survived, more or less unscathed.

 

The Older Gentleman says...

And my mate

http://www.google.co.uk/groups?q=RD400
+running+backwards+group:uk.rec.motorcycles+author:lozzo&hl=en&lr=&selm=
MPG.1aa43531742e8e16989718%40news.individual.net&rnum=1

 

I borrowed a Bultaco 350 to ride to work when I was living on a housing
estate which consisted of 2 inches of sheet ice. It started forwards,
I rode to the junction with the main road (also covered in ice), stopped,
started - backwards. The engine never even stopped, it reversed direction
while running. Disconcerting, but no damage as there were no other
vehicles around and you can't damage a well used Bultaco without a
sledgehemmer. And possibly not with one.

Regards, Ian

 

We were hanging around in our farmyard, talking the usual bollocks. He was
sat astride it, idly rolling it backwards and forwards, clicking it in and
out of gear, when it set off backwards. So I'd guess he'd already let the
clutch out...

 

Unforgets me of the story of a chap who abeznily druv a oFdr Angular
105E, but had borrered his fiend's Popular one night. Coming back from
the BA-house after a few pints, he stoppit at a junction, and put the
gear lever into wot he eggspected to be first gear. Road clear, wellie
down and clutch up - BNAG backwoods into car behind.

Regards,
Andrew

 

I had a descendant of an MZ do that to me....

BSA Bantam D14/4
--

Cheers!
Fr Jack
96 Tiger.
FRJACK AT GMAIL DOT COM

 

Lucky it wasn't a Triumph Trophy :-/