Vintage(ish) motorbikes

evertony · November 27, 2014

Looking for a new hobby and after much thought I've decided I want an old motorbike to polish up and ponce around on every other Sunday. I know jack-sh1t about bikes and never had one before but really fancy a Triumph Tiger Cub Trials bike pre-1965 model. My old man used to ride them, Royal Enfields, BSA's, Greaves etc.....anyone know a good place to look for one in the North West?

Tramps_mate · November 27, 2014

Have you a bike license?

Tramps_mate · November 27, 2014

http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/cat/15/

evertony · November 27, 2014

Tramps_mate said:
Have you a bike license?

Not yet.....but I will....would need to get it v5 registered too I guess.

Reidy's Bottle Of Grecian · November 27, 2014

Wrong time of year I think for the bike shows where you can buy a box of crud to put back together...

Father-in-Law (when alive) was a biker, he restored a Velocette & a Francis Barnett, he bought a battered arl Jawa just for something to do and when finished it was in better nick quality wise than when they used to come out of the factory. He had a paratroopers bike as well that folds into a tube to be dropped from a plane. Mother-in-law still has them all.

He did 'em all proper like and spent a fair whack on stuff, things like rechroming of rims etc costs a fair bit as well as any hard to get parts.

Mate did a Yamaha FS1-e ...... Fizzer, the hardest thing to get for it was a seat. He had about 5 that he bought online and went to France, Belgium & Holland to collect them with a van, used all the bits he needed to do 2 of them and sold all the other bits as well. The Dutch 1 had grasstrack bars on cos someone had been racing it years ago.

A lot around here have scooters of all ages and whilst in Italy it was always in my mind that you could find old ones there to bring back and flog, there were scrap yards full of arl military stuff so there may well have been some of these

they do of course have 4 reverse gears.

AndyC · November 27, 2014

You'll struggle to find a Tiger Cub these days, they are highly sought after.
If you just want something to tinker around with, you might be better trying to find an early Honda 125 or something like that.
If you really want a British bike, nothing comes cheap these days except maybe an old 250cc Norton Jubillee, but they are almost as rare as rocking horse droppings.

arch stanton · November 27, 2014

ive got a 70s cb200, restored, nice little thing, not worth much and not terribly special. My bro has a moto morini 3 1/2, thats much nicer, gears are on the right though. My bro in law has just picked up a vincent something or other. Not really my thing tbh, i race modern bikes bit i was given the cb

Dharma · November 27, 2014

Old British bikes cost a fortune, even knackered ones. Spares are expensive and at the end of the day you'll still have
an unreliable bike that won't start, breaks down and drops oil everywhere.

My advice..go modern retro, perhaps something like This beauty.

Along the same lines these are COOL.

A much cheaper chinese option but japanese based technology.

There is a guy who deals on Ebay who is based in Chorley and specialises in old british trial bikes and the such,
he goes by the name of STAV. Always seems have various bikes for sale.
BTW heres a cracking Youtube vid to keep you inspired.

Reidy's Bottle Of Grecian · November 30, 2014

Get a Laverda, father-in-law went on 1 of his 'Down the Rhine' trips with his club and 1 of the fellas took them to meet a fella in Italy that he'd met, turns out that he IS Laverda, they went to some race & this arl fella did a lap on some big thumping thing, he said it was like Barry Sheene appearing & doing a lap over here. Said the whole place went absolutely Barmy.

He said it was the bike they were cheering but his mate just shook his head and pointed at him, he said they regard him doing a lap like Enzo Ferrari doing 1.

evertony · November 30, 2014

Cheers lads , all top stuff. I know very little about bikes (other than the speedway variety) but I'm fixed on a Tiger Cub.....need to save a few moe pennies and keep looking for the right one.

AndyC · December 1, 2014

arch stanton said:
ive got a 70s cb200, restored, nice little thing, not worth much and not terribly special. My bro has a moto morini 3 1/2, thats much nicer, gears are on the right though. My bro in law has just picked up a vincent something or other. Not really my thing tbh, i race modern bikes bit i was given the cb

The Moto Morini 3 1/2 was a terrific little bike in its day, nice lines and quick, very quick in the right hands. A bit small for me, but a nice bike.

Chewbacca · December 1, 2014

evertony said:
Cheers lads , all top stuff. I know very little about bikes (other than the speedway variety) but I'm fixed on a Tiger Cub.....need to save a few moe pennies and keep looking for the right one.

You a speedway fan then? Not many of us about these days.

Milk · December 1, 2014

Unless you're handy with the spanners, do NOT buy an old British bike and certainly NEVER an old Laverda.

If I was in the market for a 70s bike, it would be something like a Honda CB400-4 with a yellow tank or a CX500 water cooled. Both are fairly bullet proof.

Best advice if you're set on a Tiger Cub is join a Triumph forum and see what's out there: http://www.tigercubclub.co.uk/

evertony · December 1, 2014

Chewbacca said:
You a speedway fan then? Not many of us about these days.

Yep, just got back into it the last 2-3 years....used to go to watch Belle Vue Aces in the 70's when it was Peter Collins, Ivan Mauger and Soren Sjosten.....mate of mine is a Peterborough Pirates follower and got me interested again.....used to love the noise, the flying grit and the smell of burning methanol back then. Seen a company that do speedway riding day where they get you on a bike, out of the gate and even cornering even if you've never been on a bike before.
Belle Vue used to have the Wall of Death too in the mid-70's.....few seaside resorts had them but they died away before the end of the 70's.