classic bikes

[Budgie]

as mentioned in the subject some time ago,i,ve recently bought a 2008 royal enfield electra bullet 500 but still after and old "british" bike and have been fancying a few from bsa,s to ,ajs,matchless,triumph etc.i,ve recently seen at a dealer a "restored" norton jubilee 1963 model and really like the look of the bike but when i,ve delved into the reliability of the model it seems that they had bad oil leak problems together with crank and gearbox issues.it seems that just prior to 1963 these were solved so i was just wondring if any members here could shed any light on the subject so to speak,also the asking price is £1595 does that sound a decent price?i don,t want to buy a pig in a pork so any info would be most welcome

[santadawes]

We have a chap (Stewart Shannon) attending our branch rally next month. Stewart will be bringing along a selection of classic and vintage motor bikes along with a few fellow friends. stewart is the sec. of the Gwent classic motor bikes. If you want me to PM you his details I will.
Raymond.

[irmscher]

The jubilee was a particularly bad model and doesnt fetch strong money as is not very desirable.They had a lot of gearbox and crank problems check the engine numbers as they are an amc parts bin model.i dont think that the price is that bad but if you decide to sell you could be stuck and it will not prove reliable as a regular ride

[mach2]

Could it not just be re-engined?

[Budgie]

thanks for that irmsher so what i,d read about is obviously true,don,t fancy fettling with it by re-engining as i want a reliable start and go bike bit like my minor with just the odd bit of maintanence now and again i can cope with that wot about a 1964 bsa bantam again restored £1295 same place for sale although i,d rather a four stroke but hey it looks good btw it,s a D7 model.

[chrisd87]

The Bantam isn't really a British bike though, if that's what you're after. It's a pre-war DKW design that was taken as war reparations by the various allied countries.

[Budgie]

oooh i didn,t know that i know that at some point they all mixed and matched as matchless,ajs etc succomed to the industries demise and amalgamated/got took/bought over i,m just after a good condition,as british as possible,reasonably priced motor bike to complement my moggie and my anglo/"INDIAN" enfield so wot about the bantam? just checked out wikipedia,you were right ,not that i didn,t beleive you,it seems the god dam russians had a hand in it aswell and the yanks [harley davidson apparently built them aswell,it must be a good bike then? ]

[MarkyB]

Bantams have 2 stroke engines that run pre mix (oil mixed into the petrol) they tend to smoke a bit naturally.
Have a look on you tube, there are plenty on there like this one;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=29rS96SIbmQ

I much prefer the sound of a 4 stroke engine myself.

[Budgie]

yeh i know the feeling thats whats puting me off the bantam my enfields got a cracking note to it,s engine/exhuast a two stroke,s smoky and put puting that youtube one says it all

[irmscher]

Triumph tiger cub you cant go wrong and hold there money very well alternatively a 350cc tiger 90.As chris said the bantam was a copy of ther pre war dkw the little wonder and and as Marky said two stroke and not reliable .Have you thought about a BSA c15 ? a nice cheap bike but i would look at a tiger cub first

[chrisd87]

Can't speak for the Bantam as I've never had one, but two strokes aren't necessarily unreliable. Apart from having to change the piston rings at 30,000 miles (half hour job), I've never had any engine trouble with my 100cc Yamaha. Due to the extreme simplicity of 2 stroke engines (3 moving parts for a single cylinder engine), repairs or rebuilds are incredibly simple.

Unreliability seems to come either from abuse or neglect (thrashing when cold, too much/little oil, weak mixture, rebuild intervals ignored), or highly strung engines which do seem very tempremental.

The sound is obviously a matter of taste/opinion . Exhaust smoke tends to be worst when the engine is started, but often clears up to a good degree when the engine is up to temperature. Certainly billowing clouds of white smoke when the engine is hot would signify trouble (too much oil or crank seals on the way out).

[irmscher]

I understand where you are coming from Chris as i have had literally hundreds 4 rd 500 36 kawasaki triples 22 lc 350 ,s 19 rd400,s including a multiple show winner and vintage scooters. Ihave seen countless machines nip up on the motorway but always due to tuning weak mixture etc crank oil seals blowing and i still love them and a tablespoon of castrol r

[Budgie]

coincidence or what,i was at a local vintage/classic car and bike show today and on the bike stand there was a guy selling a c15,he started it up for an interested buyer,ting ting,ting,ting,ting. put me off straight away.i to have had a two stroke my first bike at 16 was a yamaha 50cc fs1e dx [disc brake i was the bees knees] and yes they are easy to work on it,s just that i rather a four stroke.the guy next to him had a 1931 four stroke bsa for sale but he,d gone around the show for a look i waited for an hour to see if he,d come back but gave up and took his tel. no. instead .i,ll phone him later tonite.

[dp]

You could get an English Enfield and have all the parts availability and development from the companies that support the Indian ones

[irmscher]

Fizzy what a brilliant learner bike popsicle purple fetching £3000 restored now all nos malaguti 50,s they were quick and the fantic chopper,puch jps,garreli 50 ,ktm those were the days

[Budgie]

yeh hence i was the bees knees ,in our little group of 50cc leaners,one mate had the purple peril [drum brakes he was gutted] and the others had the honda,s and garrelies but i was the one the girls went for god them discs have a lot to answer for........ and then the alarm went off

[irmscher]

i didnt have an alarm on my fizzie you must have been rich

[Budgie]

that took me a while for that one to drop nice one

[irmscher]

just been offered a trials like enfield £1000 i dont want it its a modern one

[Budgie]

don,t like it cos it,s modern,modern or modern looking?