What should I get?

Some one wrote

25 x 4 (minimum - if a CB500T gets 3) x 1.5 (Hey, it's a Frankfurt bike)"<

Wahoo my TZR easy makes it, 17*10*1, and you'd get a perfect one for £1500.
Admittely its not British and the 10 rating might be a bit bias but what the
heck it's mine
Vin

 

<FX: pants>

Sorry, I meant: Pants!

And I'm older'n'im too and the only Brit I can remember was a friend
with a Super Rocket (and a sore leg). Why on earth did something that
recent (and it was, really), have manual advance?

Regards,

Simonm.

 

I only knew one other C15 and a bantam among my mates. Most had 250 or
smaller japs. And the C15 was good fun amongst em - it went round
corners like it was glued to the road and it got a lot of respect. When
I graduated to 650s etc I hung out with a core who were on the
aforementioned BSAs, Triumphs, Tritons. Is that fucking clear enough
for you now or do i have to speak slower?

 

I remember back in the 1970s misguided souls would bang on about Brit bikes

Blimey, even I never heard that kinda tosh. In fact cruisin at a ton
was a subject that never came up, even among my pea-in-a-tin-can or
dull-four riding friends. Who would go all the way to stratford along
the white line was a more likely subject.

 

And I'm older'n'im too and the only Brit I can remember was a friend

I guess I was just lucky. There were plenty of Brits to be had where I
lived. First bike was a Bantam which I rebuilt and then swapped for a
C15. They were cheaper than Japs then AFAIR.

 

I've spent most of today refurbishing the Comfy Chair. It's a perfectly
reasonable, reliable bike, but a pain in the arse to work on. Nothing
technical, but - for instance - to change a rear indicator required the
removal of the saddle, the rear mudguard, the tail light etc. And the
replacement indicator cost me forty quid.

I was reflecting, as I laboured, that the CB250N I saw in Whitby on Thursday
would go, stop and handle as well (at least), get better mpg, carry more
fuel, be more comfortable for rider and pillion, handle luggage better, be
easier to work on and cheaper to get spares for...

 

I took the indicators off mine. I always rather fancied the 400 superdream,
but the only one I found at the time I was looking to buy such a bike had a
knackered 2nd gear, so I bought a GS550 instead.

 

On or around Sat, 6 Aug 2005 08:14:50 +0000 (UTC), Andy Clews
<> enlightened us thusly:


and straight

^^^^^^^^^^^^^

 

ah, now, yer not allowed to bias the "how good when new". Although the TZR
wasn't a bad bike when new, at all. at 17 yo, it'll get in easily with less
than 10/10, so why worry. Even with an increased threshold level of 140
such as I was wondering, a 17-yo bike only needs to be just over 8/10 when
new.

 

And I'm 47, been riding since I was 20 (so started at the same time as
Champ) and almost all my mates rode Bonnies, with the odd BSA, Norton,
Harley, Ducati, and Kawasaki thrown in. I currently own both old and
new British bikes, and a couple of elderly Japanese bikes too.

 

Did you happen to know any of the 69 or the Tramps then?

 

So what do you do about the appalling vibrations? Not starting it up
would seem to be the best approach for that...

 

Thus spake unto the assembled multitudes:

Temper, temper.

I had a C15 before my Triumph. It went around corners (bends) fairly
nicely, but I wouldn't say "glued to the road" - Avon Skidmasters just
didn't work like that. I had a lot of fun on my C15 but it was a terrible
bike when all is said and done: slow, shaky, terrible electrics, lethal
brakes and an engine that pissed oil all over the place and with a weak
bottom end.

 

Because that was what racing bikes of the time had. Velocette fitted
the Thruxton with a manual advance when their commuter bikes had
automatic advance.

Ken Young

 

That was one thing BSA were good at. The road holding of a mates BSA
twin was always better than my Bonnie (pre oil in frame). However the
C15 was not designed as a learner's bike. It was intended to be a
better commuter than the Villiers engined grey porridge. If you wanted
performance you got something bigger.

High performance 250 engines date from the limiting of learners to
250cc. A similar thing happened with mopeds when there were further
limitations on what learners could ride. I seem to remember 6 speed
mopeds.

Ken Young

 

No, but I knocked around with a few UBs for a bit.

 

Mine was a little cracker. Dunno what tyres were on it but wearing down
footpeg rubber was a nice little hobby. It looked nice too - red n
chrome tank with the later chrome mudguards. I never had an ounce of
trouble from it, mechanically.

Mind, you I dind't own any Japs to compare it to until later. And when
I did get a Jap (had a KH250, CB250, GT380, RD200 a couple of years
down the line) it was invariably knackered, smokin, oily and shite
handling.

 

Upon mature contemplation, I realise that I'm still better off sticking with
the old, aircooled, shaft-drive, pushrod Hun.

Sigh.

 

Remove the head steady. Piece of piss.

 

"Lucky? That's more than lucky."

Sounds like you've never got over the trauma these first experiences
must have created. Therapy is available, however, in the form of
almost any modern sportsbike (Jap, Brit, Italian or whatever - they're
all good). You owe it to your youth to sort yourself out before it's
too late.

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