RealClassic – August 2019

(Nancy Kaufman) #1

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14 I AUGUST 2019 More old bikes online: Real-Classic.co.uk


RCRHYMES!


Fourteenyears old andVespabought
Noknowledgetoridemust be self-taught
Fivepounds paid ofpocket money
Adventures ahead for this schoolboy
brummie
Agallonoffuel andfieldstohand
Bump starttoheaven ain’t life grand
Rideround in circles till all fuel gone
Then push backtohomeand
worried mom
This wasthe startofmybikingcareer
Neverfailstobring smiles from eartoear
Sincethese early days manymiles
havepast
Over 65 bikes life’s beenablast
Racereps and cruisers offroad and on
Forall differentreasonsI’veloved

everyone
Seeit’snot just the thrill of ridingcarefree
It’s likemindedpeople likeyouand
likeme
Friendshipswereformed still goingtoday
Just go foraride let the bikeshow
theway

In between ridingmy bike,Ilike to dabble
in alittle poetry. Iwould be elatedift his
appeared in one ofyour magazines.
Keith

Delightedtooblige,Keith.Bytheway,we
couldn’tfigureout howtorespondtoyour
email viatextmessage:abit toohigh-tech
even for me...Rowena

THATCLASSIC QUESTION


Whatis aclassic?Whatis aperfect classic?
Ithink themain pointisy our personal age,
which means which generation. Forexample,
whenyoustartedbiking in the 1980s then
very oftenyou areinterested in Japanese
bikes.Theywereeverywhere. Istartedwitha
Yamaha XS400 andIalwayshaveasmile on
my facewhenIsee one (not thatoften now).
Of course very old iron is interestingtoo, like
old Brit bikes or oldGerman bikesand the
lovely Italians.SoIthink it isyour personal
view,whatyou callaclassic.Let the others
think inadifferen tway!
It is th esame with the question‘Whatis
the perfect classic?’It is againonly upto

you. Some likeasingle ortwin or whatever.
Ithink areal mixturemakes it perfect.
Look at the modernbikes; whenyouride
to abike meeting hereinGermany, it very
oftenlooks likeaBMW GS club.No, Ilike
the old bike meetings with the mixtureof
interesting bikes,somewith patina–and
somerestored so they arelike brand new.
Ithink everyone canbeproud thatsuch
an old thing runs.For most of theriders,
their ownbike is the‘best bike’, the one
they love (or sometimes hate,with nice
interesting names in thatspecial situation).
IlovemyBetty, aBMW R100S, now41years
old.It’snot original and has plenty of patina,
but Ilike to see other old bikes.Sit upright
and love your classic,and do notforget to
love your partner morethan your bike!
PeterWüster,member

Wecould discuss the ideal‘classic’until the
cowscome home!Everyone has theirown
definition, everyone iscorrectand no one
is everwrong.Tastes differ, as do riding
demands.All opinions arewelcome inRC.
FrankW

BEARING UP


DavidAngel asked if the BSA timing side
bush should beroutinelyreplacedby an
expensiverollerconversation.Ibought
alate 1950s A10 in 1970to perform sole
transportduties untilIcould affordacar.
It becamemy commutingtool until the
mid-1980s.Att hatpointasmall Ho nda
waspurchased and the A10wasretired as
ahobbybike.
It wastime forsome tidying up and
checking,which included some playint he
timing side bush.Itook thevarious bitsto
Charlie’s Motorcyc lesinBristol to disc uss
oversizebush versus expensiveroller
conversion.Thelate RegHallcrystallised
the dilemma with three simple questions.
Reg-How manymiles has it done on this
bush?
Me-Best partof60,000.
Reg-How manymiles doyouanticip ate
doing on the next one?
Me-Er, notmanyreally.
Reg-Shall Iput anoversizebush in then?
Me-Yes please.
Wasthis awise choice?Idonot know as Iam
notgoingto take the engine apartjust to
find outfor the sake of this letter.Ihavedone
nowherenear another 60,000 miles.Ihave
regularly changed the oil as it is cheaper and
alot easier thanreplacing bearings.
Resipso loquitur and caveat emptor.
NickCrook,member

Myview is slightly morecomplicated.Were
Itorebuild–forexample–thebottom end
of the engine onmyA65T,Iwould get the
conversion done.Iftherewas no needtohave
arebuild,then–obviously enough–I’d not.
FrankW
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