Erm !! Classic/ Brit Iron/Old / Terminoligy seems to present a promlem with me these days.

I thought that a classic was a bike that was 30/50 ish 't'ears old, ok brit Iron seems sensible to me, vintage well any thing goes 5o years + to my reconing but how things have changed terminoligy speaking,  eg Exhaust can = silencer. split pin = cotter pin. olive = tubing sleeve the list is endless.

Any way back to the question..

I was refering to the 1950/60's era when bikes were bikes as it were in their hay day and now I realise Jap bikes are becomming a classic as time progresses.
I have ridden over the years and owned some of the 50/60's classics, I have ridden a large  large amount of them, some good others ??

My all time fav was the BSA Rocket Gold Star along with my old Tri Bonnie.

And yes I did ride a Gold Star as zombie mentions in his post
but you were always tuning them for reliability as to eratic tick over when stopping.

So from the response some of you would like to ride a classic,
they are a real turn on for a tootle about on a nice warn sunny day..then Mr scud missile passes you  :idea: then its back to I WANT ONE OF THEM.

Not knowing many of you personaly regarding age, the discussion of these new concept bikes seem to be at the front, but how many of you have ridden an old classic?? not for speed as we all know it would be a loser but just for the hell of it or just to say you have riden one, and  forgot for a momment about these so called missiles of modern day technology and tried one out to see how they handle, how many of you own a classic??

Answers on the back of an old pressed out alloy number plate please..

I've never had the chance to ride, what you could term a classic bike, although some people would say of the bikes I've owned are old enough to be classics.  :laughcont: I'm quite taken by the idea of buying a classic, however I'll probably end up buying a retro but then again, the yearning for an old bike seems to be growing rather than easing off. It not about going balls out everywhere. Most off my summer trips are spent at reasonable speeds taking in the scenery anyway. So the speed wouldn't be an issue. It would miss a decent fairing but the character that the old bikes seem to have would more than make up for it.

Depends what you mean by a classic - some folks mean an old Brit bike.

Three of mine qualify for VJMC membership - and the fourth soon will!  But I have to admit they are 'old' rather than 'classic'.

I hope one day the 400/4 will be suitable to be called classic instead of Yuck!  But I haven't ridden that yet.

have a swatch at this Plug.

essex Biker's old BSA

After my off with the ZX9 last year my mate lent me his GPZ900. After the ZX9 the GPZ felt like a barge but it could still motor. You just had to plan your braking a little earlier and make sure your lines were good round the bends. I loved it. In fact at one point I was considering buying it. I know where there is another one for sale too and it's been rebuilt and tuned.

Prior to that he had a CB750KZ which he did up and put back on the road. 1976 or there abouts. I was impressed and once I had ridden it I was of the opinion that every crotch rocket Power Ranger should ride one before buying a Fireblade, Gixxer1000, R1 etc.
Nae brakes, bendy frame, skinny tyres, no cornering ability but still fast enough to induce an adrenalin rush. Brilliant!!  :nod:
He has another which he intends to rebuild and turn into a classic racer and do a few track days on it.

I can't wait, but I still love(and will have) the Z1

Hmmmm I fear I may be the worst here ... I'm almost 26 and I've never ridden a classic  

I was speaking to the guys at work about this, cos I'm keen to take part in events/trackdays this coming year ... there's a lot I have to learn, and it's sometimes difficult to design if you dont know what's come before.  

I'm fair looking forward to it  I have no idea what I'm gonna ride tho.

I don't think I've ever ridden a bike THAT old.

I had a wee go of a 250 Matchless once but that was about twenty years ago. It was fast and noisy but that's about as much as I remember.  :rolleyes:

as zombie pointed out i did a thread on my 1961 BSA gold star a while back. i also have a 1955 BSA A7ss (500cc twin) and a 1956 BSA B31 ( 350 single ) i have also restored and owned..


1964 BSA A65 (650twin)
1958 ariel arrow ( 2-stroke twin )
triumph 3ta
bsa c15


will get some pictures sorted later tonight  :D

my grandad taught me to ride on his BSA bantum i was only 8 & being a short arris  i could not reach the floor so he had to catch me when i stopped.

he also had a ariel square 4 & a bonnie but he never let me on them till i was 14.

as promised some more pictures

BSA gold star, before and after restoration

BSA a7ss before and after photos

BSA a65 photos.. believe it or not it was all there!

4 of the bikes together, including the B31 on the right

That's impressive EB

I take it you restored them all yourself.

yep! .. well with a lttle help from my dad, but spent many a evening in the garage working on them. still have 3 of them, the A65 was sold a few years ago as we needed the space!
there kept at my dads house cos i dont have a garage, but there fun to take for a spin in the summer.

if you want to set off alarms try the goldstar, louder than any modern bike!
:p

Wish I could post piccis of my o'l triumph but Im not that pc literate but it will come one day  :idea:

Wish I could post piccis of my o'l triumph but Im not that pc literate but it will come one day   ..