I'm looking to pick up a classic motorcycle and just wonder

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Tocsik
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Post by Tocsik »

This has turned into a fun thread!

My first was a Yamaha RD200. 2-cylinder 2-stroke. Amazing power band. This isn't mine but an exact picture:
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The next was the Yamaha XS400 that I cafe'd-out with black chrome drop bars, chopped pipes and a quarter-faring. Fun, fun, fun (but not as pretty as the RD200 was)! I need to look around and see if I have an old picture of that bike...
.::I know the voices in my head aren't real, but man do they come up with some great ideas::.
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Post by PeteH »

I had this blue CB550F:

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Post by Mulliganal »

PeteH wrote:I had this blue CB550F:

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Someone has one of those available for $800 near me; granted it needs work.

http://atlanta.craigslist.org/atl/mcy/2294018255.html
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Post by polianarchy »

1965 Honda Dream.

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Post by ericalm »

babblefish wrote:Eric, I've seen examples of all of those motorcycles you posted on my local Craigslist including that Gilera and Benelli! :)
That's why I stay off Craigslist!
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Post by ericalm »

polianarchy wrote:1965 Honda Dream.
The CA305 is The One for me. :) I didn't post because it's outside my "under 200cc" range for previous post. Krustyburger has one.
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Post by Mulliganal »

Just found one of these on Craig's list and apparently it's been in his garage for years and only needs to have the carb rebuilt an a little bit of TLC. He's asking $1,250 but I'm thinking he will take less. I'm waiting for some better photos to see how clean it is.

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Post by easy »

I use jaxed mash to look up stuff its great. It combines everything
what did you trade the day for?
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Post by babblefish »

Mulliganal wrote:Just found one of these on Craig's list and apparently it's been in his garage for years and only needs to have the carb rebuilt an a little bit of TLC. He's asking $1,250 but I'm thinking he will take less. I'm waiting for some better photos to see how clean it is.

Image
Jump on it!!! That bike looks great! It's also very collectable. :D
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Post by babblefish »

easy wrote:I use jaxed mash to look up stuff its great. It combines everything
What? :?
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Re: I'm looking to pick up a classic motorcycle and just won

Post by jrsjr »

lmgreco wrote:Here's my CB200T. Pretty much stock, except new seat cover, missing air cleaner covers, and bar end mirrors. It was sitting since the late 70's and only had 800 something miles when I got a hold of it!

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Very nice! Many thumbs up! :D
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Post by jrsjr »

babblefish wrote:Image

Jump on it!!! That bike looks great! It's also very collectible.
I'm not sure that photo is of the actual bike he's looking at. Did you notice the foreign license plates?
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Post by Shiner1 »

I'm a brand new member, and I saw this post. I'm really a motorcycle guy who just bought a scooter, and I am loving riding it. Anyway, here is my motorcycle.

This is my second Norton, and even though I love these motorcycles more than anything ever made, I wouldn't recommend them to everyone. You have to be ready to tinker and work on them every week almost. Then there are the oil leaks, etc.

Even with all of that, it's still the most inspiring ride I have ever had, and I have ridden just about every brand of modern motorcycles.
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Post by Mulliganal »

Shiner1 wrote:
This is my second Norton, and even though I love these motorcycles more than anything ever made, I wouldn't recommend them to everyone. You have to be ready to tinker and work on them every week almost. Then there are the oil leaks, etc.

Even with all of that, it's still the most inspiring ride I have ever had, and I have ridden just about every brand of modern motorcycles.
Question, I've read many posts out in cyberspace that also say exactly what you’re saying about Norton bikes requiring a lot of tweaking and maintenance. With this being said, why do you think they are so sought after?

Also, beautiful Norton you've got there.
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Post by jrsjr »

Shiner1 wrote:I'm a brand new member, and I saw this post. I'm really a motorcycle guy who just bought a scooter, and I am loving riding it. Anyway, here is my motorcycle.

This is my second Norton, and even though I love these motorcycles more than anything ever made, I wouldn't recommend them to everyone. You have to be ready to tinker and work on them every week almost. Then there are the oil leaks, etc.

Even with all of that, it's still the most inspiring ride I have ever had, and I have ridden just about every brand of modern motorcycles.
Shiner1, welcome to Modern Buddy! Great first post, too, btw. That Commando of yours is a beauty. It's great to know that we have a member who speaks Isolastic. Hope you ejoy your B125, which (I hope) will require a little less wrenching than your Norton.
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Post by babblefish »

Welcome aboard Shiner1! That's one heck of an entrance showing us your beautiful Norton. :) I've always wanted one, but could never seem to come up with enough money even though used ones' could be had for less than $1000 when I was attending high school in the late sixties. Now that they're selling for around $6-8000, I still can't afford to buy one. :(
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Post by ericalm »

babblefish wrote:Just to drive Eric crazy:
:cry:
I already had a chance to buy a SWEET CA77 earlier this year for under 1K. I had to pass on it, though. I'd just gotten the Stella and was coming off 2 of the worst years of my career as far as income. Just couldn't justify it. SOMEDAY.
Shiner1 wrote:I'm a brand new member, and I saw this post. I'm really a motorcycle guy who just bought a scooter, and I am loving riding it. Anyway, here is my motorcycle.
Welcome!
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Post by babblefish »

Mulliganal wrote:
Shiner1 wrote:
This is my second Norton, and even though I love these motorcycles more than anything ever made, I wouldn't recommend them to everyone. You have to be ready to tinker and work on them every week almost. Then there are the oil leaks, etc.

Even with all of that, it's still the most inspiring ride I have ever had, and I have ridden just about every brand of modern motorcycles.
Question, I've read many posts out in cyberspace that also say exactly what you’re saying about Norton bikes requiring a lot of tweaking and maintenance. With this being said, why do you think they are so sought after?

Also, beautiful Norton you've got there.
You're either less than 50 years old or just got into motorcycles in the last 25 years or both. :D
Nortons to us wiser, ok, older guys are what classic Ferraris' are to car nuts. Back in Norton's heyday, they were one of the manufacturers to beat in European GP racing. Their main competition came from Italy. The Japanese brands were only building cheap, small displacement motorcycles meant mainly for cheap transportation - very much like comparing Ferrari and VW Beetles. Compared to other British bikes like Triumph, BSA, AJS, etc., Nortons were very expensive to buy so fewer were sold, plus many were raced which makes finding clean examples of stock bikes harder to find. So for us older, er, I mean wiser guys, a Norton is more than a motorcycle, they're history, art and our past all rolled up in one. :) And we also like wiping up oil from the garage floor...
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Post by PeteH »

There's just one thing to remember when considering the purchase of ANY British motor vehicle:

The English have NEVER mastered the art of Fluid Containment.

The manuals say "some weepage is to be expected."

Corrolary: nor the art of Electrical Distribution. Miserable Lucas shite.
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Post by babblefish »

PeteH wrote:Corrolary: nor the art of Electrical Distribution. Miserable Lucas shite.
Well Lucas made one thing that never sucked - a vacuum cleaner.

...sorry... :oops:
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Post by babblefish »

Last edited by babblefish on Sun May 08, 2011 8:06 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by Skootz Kabootz »

PeteH wrote:The English have NEVER mastered the art of Fluid Containment...
I beg to differ, so long as it's poured in pints and served at room temperature, we can contain copious amounts. :wink:
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Post by Mulliganal »

babblefish wrote: You're either less than 50 years old or just got into motorcycles in the last 25 years or both. :D
Well, I was under 50 a few years back. I guess the 25 year part has some merit since I drove around New York City on a Suzuki GS650e over 25 years ago. But I know more about the history and mystique of Harley Davidson than I do the British bikes, but now that I'm in my 50s I like the smaller size of the British and Japanese bikes than I do the HD FatBoy type bikes.

My question about the Norton had less to do with the mystique of the bike and more to do the maintenance history that I've read about. Perhaps the need for constant maintenance or repair is more hype than reality, because I love the look of the bike. The Commando has been one of my favorites for years but I just didn't want to deal with what I thought was constant maintenance.
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Post by ericalm »

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Post by Shiner1 »

Thanks for the welcome everyone! I like to think that I am not that old at 38. My Commando and I are exactly the same age. We both are still rocking along!

Maintenance is not that bad, really. It's significantly more than a Japanese or modern Harley. Everything tends to rattle loose at some time or another, so there is always that to deal with. Mine has all been changed to standard, so no more Whitworth tools to deal with.

I agree with Babblefish. There were not a lot of Nortons around, and in the day, they were THE bike to have. They were nearly as fast as anything around. My dad had a Norton Commando when I was a kid, so that was the first big motorcycle I had experienced. It was love at first ride.

They do ride and handle extremely well if the isolastics are in proper adjustment. Mine is completely rebuilt and restored, so it rides better than it did new. Hard to explain the infatuation with them, but they are something.
TVB

Post by TVB »

Skootz Kabootz wrote:
PeteH wrote:The English have NEVER mastered the art of Fluid Containment...
I beg to differ, so long as it's poured in pints and served at room temperature, we can contain copious amounts. :wink:
Och, ye learnt that from the Scots. :)
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Post by babblefish »

Shiner1 wrote:Hard to explain the infatuation with them, but they are something.
It's the sound...the sound. The synphony that comes out of those chrome horns is music to any gearhead. Don't need no stink'n IPod. :)
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Post by babblefish »

Eric,
If you like that early Honda 750 based cafe, then you're gonna like these:

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/pen/mcy/2362004935.html
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http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/mcy/2357695692.html
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http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/mcy/2365363701.html
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I've been seriously eyeballing that first one; '77 550.
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Post by ericalm »

I bet those prices would be higher in LA right now (not that I've looked). The cafe trend has caught on in the fashionable eastside 'hoods. I think all these guys traded their mopeds in for cafe bikes.
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Post by babblefish »

Cafes' have been popular around here for years. Long as I can remember. There are tons of them on the streets. Must be the awsome roads we have along the coast and into the local hills. Or it could be that we have at least three road race tracks in the area.

Oh, and there's still plenty of hopped-up mopeds running around SF. :D Sometimes they sound like herds of angry bees. :)
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Post by gearhead »

The late 70s and early 80s yamaha xs650 bikes come out to good looking cafe bikes

Not to mention all the available parts for them
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Post by babblefish »

gearhead wrote:The late 70s and early 80s yamaha xs650 bikes come out to good looking cafe bikes

Not to mention all the available parts for them
Yeah, one of my favorite bikes. Too bad I can't find a good example of one. All I come across are "parts" bikes. :(


Though not a Cafe, I'd take this flat track style XS650 in a heartbeat!
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Post by Beamster »

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Had this Bonneville since new back in '76.

Old Brits can be fun but you need to be a tinkerer and fuel requirements on any old bike can be demanding. No lead and low octane, not to mention alcohol in modern fuels can be a problem.

You might find it's one of those "nice to look at but I wouldn't want to live with her" situations.

And no, it's never leaked a drop of oil. Don't buy into that fallacy; it just applies if the engine had been disturbed and not put back together correctly.

And the Prince of Darkness never caused me a bit of trouble on all the Triumphs that I have owned. The MGB was another matter.

And Brando and McQueen found them the ride of choice.
Last edited by Beamster on Thu Jun 23, 2011 1:05 am, edited 1 time in total.
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