amerson said:Cool. I like the retro style of the Parilla's.
That's not "retro style" that's the way they're supposed to look.
It's a classic motorcycle, not a TU250.
amerson said:Cool. I like the retro style of the Parilla's.
That's not "retro style" that's the way they're supposed to look.
It's a classic motorcycle, not a TU250.
Matchless G50 all the way. Very powerful, lightweight & fast for the time. Plus a beautiful bike. I think they are very rare here.
Well he made up my mind for me. Says "I've got a Velocette Thruxton picked out for you." It's in excellent shape - full mechanical resto with original patina. It's 500 CC, about 42 HP, light and handles very well. One thing about this particular bike is that it doesn't have the customary big single vibration. Not sure exactly why, but it's smooth as if it were a well-balanced twin. I'm out of town this weekend, but will get you guys pics sometime next week. I'm very excited. It looks a lot like this:
Velocettes are fantastic bikes.
One of the 'Guzzi guys I know has a Velocette Venom (the bike they kitted out to make the Thruxton) and he's been making a ton of his own light weight parts for it. Should be impressive when it's all done.
The one in the picture has Worx shocks, same I I use on my bikes.
I knew nothing about Velocettes before speaking to an owner at a show this year. They are somewhat hand built at a bit of a higher standard than the usual brands. My Enfield 500 single is also surprisingly smooth. I think you'll really enjoy it.
Jay Leno actually did a segment on the model I'm getting. He spoke very highly of it except for the somewhat funky clutch, which sounds OK if you don't let it overheat.
Looking forward to it. I've been kinda looking for something new to focus on.
Shifter and brake will be on opposite sides of what you're used to on a modern bike.
My Matchless was the same way but it was easy to get used to, pretty much a non-issue despite what the internet thinks.
In reply to ShawnG :
I haven't ridden Motorcycles regularly since the 80s, so I shouldn't have to retrain my muscles much.
How hard is it to maintain classic motorbikes like the ones on this thread?
In reply to buenavides1 :
Let's just say that I wouldn't take on any of these bikes except the BMW, Guzzi, Norton or the Harley if I didn't know people who were very familiar with them. One benefit of going with the Velocette is that they have a remarkably large and active club, which gives you a community to be part of and a knowledge base to draw from. It would kinda suck to have the only Zundo-Arka 250 in North America and find that the sole guy in the hemisphere who knows the bikes thinks that the parts are solid gold and has an aversion to communication.
Guzzis are easy to maintain.
Parts availability is good, they're easy to work on and the owners are cheapskates.
They share some bits with Ducati so when I need Ducati pieces, I buy the comparable part from my Moto Guzzi supplier at 3/4 the price of the Duc part.
Also, because of their cheapness, guys will usually be able to direct you to the super cheap auto part that can be substituted.
My 2013 Stelvio needed O2 sensors this year. Guzzi parts were $150.00 each but the Fiat part was only $45 each.
Here it be. A 1965 Velocette Demon. The Peter Fonda bars were actually standard issue from the factory. It's no garage queen, but everything is new or refurbished. Very low cg. Man the brakes are tiny! Half the size of a Thruxton just a year or two later. Now I have to revive my motorcycle license so I can ride the thing.
The brakes are more like "retarders" they simply delay the inevitable.
Does it have a Smiths Chronometric Speedometer? Those thing are amazing if they're working.
That is a very good looking bike.
In reply to BoxheadTim :
Yeah, it's got some good upgrades also, such as 12v electrics and electronic ignition. It's got me pretty excited.
I imagine you'll need to learn the fine art of using a decompressor. 
I'm a commando man but that is a pretty bike.
Kreb (Forum Supporter) said:In reply to BoxheadTim :
Yeah, it's got some good upgrades also, such as 12v electrics and electronic ignition. It's got me pretty excited.
You'll like the electronic ignition.
The magneto in my Matchless would leave me stranded in random places.
Teh E36 M3 said:
That Commando's pretty bloody hard to beat!
Kreb (Forum Supporter) said:Teh E36 M3 said:
That Commando's pretty bloody hard to beat!
And beat on it I do. Regularly to 7k.... waaaaay too fast for a front drum. 
ShawnG said:Kreb (Forum Supporter) said:In reply to BoxheadTim :
Yeah, it's got some good upgrades also, such as 12v electrics and electronic ignition. It's got me pretty excited.
You'll like the electronic ignition.
The magneto in my Matchless would leave me stranded in random places.
Magnetos can 'age out'. Anything from the 60s or older is probably ready for a rebuild. Of course, finding a competent rebuilder isn't easy. I sent mine to an electrical engineer in Canada who rebuilds them. $600 later it makes really big sparks. 
Kreb (Forum Supporter) said:I'm in a kinda unique situation. A guy who owns over 100 vintage motorcycles owes me a BIG favor. Yesterday he said to me that I should come by and chose a bike from his collection and we'd be square. Now I haven't really ridden motorcycles since dirt bikes in the late 70s/early 80s. But I like the idea of getting something reasonably fast, reasonably reliable (I want to run rallies on it) reasonably comfortable, good handling and stylish. Honestly, I just don't know old bikes remotely as well as I know old cars. I'm not much of a mechanic, but he'll help me as long as he's around (He's old).
His collection is mainly European from the 50s and 60s, but he has some bikes back to the 30s. He has some American Iron and very little if anything Japanese. He likes to do runs with the Velocette club a lot.
Here are some of the bikes that he has:
BSA Gold Star, Aremachi/Harley 250 and 350, Matchless G50, Triumph Bonneville, Norton Commando and more.
Ideas?
Triumph Bonneville would be the winner for me.
In reply to ddavidv :
Condenser was going out on mine.
Fortunately, I'd had my fill of British bike ownership by then and had discovered Italian motorcycles. I passed the Matchless on to a gentleman who appreciated them more.
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