That's a late 70s bike in the shot. Betcha. Not the new one. Spindly forks, genny on the end of crank and clutch pushrod adjuster cover are giveaways to me.
Plus its air cooled and has the brake caliper mounted in front of the fork.
That's what I miss about late 70s bikes, you bought a bike and then put a touring fairing and panniers on if you were a tourer, Raask rearsets and clipons if you were a fast bastard, apehangers and a K&Q seat if you were a cruiser. Same bike.
For balance, there is a shitload I do not miss too. Taking it for granted if it was raining that you'd lose a cylinder (tough shit if it was a single), seriously frightening brakes, speed weaves that would go lock to lock, the tyres......
Yeh but we survived and it built character......and the ability to not crap yourself when you grabbed a handful of shit brake (disc drilled by a mate) on plastic tires in heavy rain.........ahh them were the daysFor balance, there is a shitload I do not miss too. Taking it for granted if it was raining that you'd lose a cylinder (tough shit if it was a single), seriously frightening brakes, speed weaves that would go lock to lock, the tyres......
It's a bloody long list
The forks were slightly twisted in one direction and the bars slightly twisted in the other, spokes were seriously rusted (I had two wheels collapse and I replaced them for ten quid a throw from the breakers in Ayr), the tyres were full off road knobblies, brake lever was snapped so was only about two inches long and the exhaust was a conical piece I cut from a silencer from a step-thru with a washer and a half inch of tubing welded on the end (no baffles) to make it look like a silencer (sounded like a Panzer on manoeuvres). The thing would do about 80mph and was incredibly docile. I frequently raced the wee dafties on their NSR125's etc. and left them in the dust and they often shit themselves when they saw me sticking a foot out in the bends to keep her upright when that big knobbly shod front wheel let go at speed. I swear that the few honoured people I allowed to have a shot on her (ZXR, GSXR, VFR pilots) suffered hair loss and hair whitening after just a short ride. How that bike got through an MOT I have no idea but I loved the thing.
My point was more of an observation than a criticism. It has just changed the nature of the average buyer and what they have come to expect. The average franchised dealer likely sees home mechanics as having a hand in their till. The average independent probably sees scope for profit from rescuing people who got in too deep!
I remember being staggered the lean angles you could achieve on well inflated Trials Universals if you abandoned all concern for tyre life.I've got to say that all the electrickery on new bikes really turned my stomach when I came back to biking. ABS, Rider Modes etc. and a host of non-user serviceable 'black boxes' ain't what I want in a bike. I want that fly by the seat of yer pants feel that bikes of my youf had. Back in the day I rode bikes that were absolute basket cases and never had a problem. One of my favourites has to be a really beaten up 1981 (or at least some of it's parts were) Kawasaki KL250 which I bought from a fella called Knoxy from Kilmarnock. He had put this bike together because he was on the verge of losing his licence on his GSthou and promptly got done for doing 40mph in a zone which had recently changed to a 30mph zone without his knowledge on her and decided to sell her on. The bike was started with an old car toggle switch that, for security was plugged into a pair of crimp terminals so that it could be removed to stop people stealing the bike
I adore the fact that my 2001 Bonnie's are absolutely simple, apart from feckin bucket and shim valves and even my Sprint and Daytona are fairly simple apart from the Fuel injection system and basic on-board 'brain' and, once again, bucket and shim, pain in the ass, valve adjustment.
