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Royal enfield was another britt bike made by a firearms company. I had three royal enfields. One was made for indian and carried the indian logo. I think it was a 1958 700cc. I later read that I think only 11 was imported for indian and then indian was gone for good. ( Someone else made a version at gilroy california) I also had a 1965 royal enfield intercepter 750cc. It was really the same as the 58 indian but 50cc`s more and had twin amiel carbs to the 58s single carb. I also had a 650 BSA single carb 1963 I think. Later I think it was yamaha that bought the rights to build a model with almost the same engine etc. Bsa`s did have a worse rep than triumph for blowing the lower end. I also had I think, a 1958 650 single carb triumph T-110. Another I had for awhile was a 1964 or 1965 norton commando. Those brit bikes all had sole. Bad lucas electrics. They were fun to ride. (Right now I AM a shutin.)
 
Iver johnson did it backwards. They started out as a bycycle and motorcycle company and then got into buiding guns. (At least I think that was the order of it)
 
I had two Brit bikes...both BSA...a 250cc Starfire and a 441 Victor.

Pretty sad...last I knew, the BSA name was used on cheap, Asian rifle scopes.
 
several friends of mine had BSA Lightings when I was stationed at Rhein Main AB in Germany. I don't remember how much they cost at the time but they went down to the Canadian PX to buy them. they always seemed to be changing throttle cables. they also vibrated like crazy as they had to put some rubber in the handle bar clamps. my roommate and I wrecked his Lightning in downtown Frankfurt one night.
 
Didn't Yamaha start out manufacturing musical instruments? I believe the emblem on their motorcycles is a tuning fork.
 
I had a BSA Rocket III when they first came out. It vibrated so bad that the license plate would tear itself in half...
That sucker was F A S T though

Why do the English drink warm beer?
Lucas makes their refrigerators :)
 
I knew a guy who had a BSA. He told me he thought even the headlight leaked oil.
 
In my teens I had a good looking BSA Lightning ............. it was **** .

Sold it and bought a Kaw Triple . Fast AND was reliable .


Regards ,
George - oh my , c*r*a*p is a 'bad' word ?!
 
AMF is an American company who made bicycles and all sorts of sporting equipment that should have stayed out of the motorcycle business. I bought a brand new "iron head" Harley Davidson / AMF Sportster in 1973 that never leaked a drop of oil. I always thought there was something wrong with it because every other Harley from that era had a piece of cardboard under it to keep the oil off of the garage floor. I believe I paid $2,995.00 for it which included $100.00 extra for the "new" electric push button starter! I rode from PA to Denver and back on that thing the summer of 1974 and wanted to put it in a crate to ship it home once we got out there :eek: !
 
I owned three harley dressers. 1963, 1964, and a 1969. I bought all of them used but all had very low mileage and were in fine shape. Seems I bought all three at the bottom of the market and they went up in price by the month. I made money on even one I about totaled out. In those days I thought I would still own one when I went to the rest home. It didnt work out that way. Now its our quad. I have more MC rideing storys than you can shake a stick at. Three wrecks that should have killed me, many more close calls. Once a car driver tried his darnest to kill me and a buddy. The "excuse" that they are cheaper to ride is a lie. I wouldnt doubt that I had rode over 200,000 miles. I do miss them. Personaly, I never could see all these "riders" that trailer their bikes to stugis etc. I definetly wasnt the type that spent more time polishing them than rideing. I practicly lived on them for about 15 to 20 years with seldom fireing up my truck or a car. Back around the 1920s my grandpa worked for the harley davidson factory and one of my uncles that I never knew I understand was in corporate there.
Looking back at my rideing its strange but I seldom remember the rides or trips where everything went just right and the weather was good. Its the breakdowns, accidents, near miss`s, and rideing in snow storms and cold rain rides that I recall. I still want another harley but wont pay what they ask for one now.
 
I been never fond of harleys because of there reliability problems. Even today with there Porsche designed engines the primarys are still failing. I been eyeing a new Indian but the 37k price tag make me wonder if it's a quality motorcycle or just over priced more junk? I may go for a new suzuki hayabusa 1340cc. Or a suzuki 1250cc bandit. I average 15k to 25k miles per year. So it's got to have reliability and dependability. I really like the older inline 4 cylinder Indians. Maybe as a inbetween rider.

I do miss my husqvarna dirtbikes. My 78 390 CR, my '79 250 OR, my '86 400 WXC, my '81 250 CR, HECK ALL 27 of them that I restored. Today there still the fastest top speed on the planet for a dirtbike. My '98 husqvarna 250 WR beat a suzuki 600 GSXR off a red lite drag race.

My '86 husqvarna 400 WXC we clocked it at 120 mph at 3/4 throttle. It beat a kx 250 that topped out at 85mph.

You just couldn't beat the swede' s in that era.
 
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I do remember the square 4s. Loved the noise they made. A fellow I knew rode a old one to work every day about a 110 mile round trip. I can really only remember seeing about 4 or so of them.
 
BigBill said:
I been never fond of harleys because of there reliability problems. Even today with there Porsche designed engines the primarys are still failing. I been eyeing a new Indian but the 37k price tag make me wonder if it's a quality motorcycle or just over priced more junk? I may go for a new suzuki hayabusa 1340cc. Or a suzuki 1250cc bandit. I average 15k to 25k miles per year. So it's got to have reliability and dependability. I really like the older inline 4 cylinder Indians. Maybe as a inbetween rider.

I do miss my husqvarna dirtbikes. My 78 390 CR, my '79 250 OR, my '86 400 WXC, my '81 250 CR, HECK ALL 27 of them that I restored. Today there still the fastest top speed on the planet for a dirtbike. My '98 husqvarna 250 WR beat a suzuki 600 GSXR off a red lite drag race.

My '86 husqvarna 400 WXC we clocked it at 120 mph at 3/4 throttle. It beat a kx 250 that topped out at 85mph.

You just couldn't beat the swede' s in that era.
Click to expand...

"Reliability problems"? HD hasn't had reliability problems since the family and employees took the company back. Yes, like all products and vehicles made, they do have a few problems now and then which are well diagnosed and taken care of immediately. As for the Indian, I think the part of your post that says "the 37k price tag make me wonder if it's a quality motorcycle or just over priced more junk?" is about right. A buddy of mine bought one brand new a few years ago and, although he is "mechanically savy", he finally got tired of constant repairs and got rid of it. I suppose it all comes down to what one is looking for - attitude = HD or speed = the Suzuki you mentioned! As for me, I'll stick with attitude :cool: !
 
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Damn Yankee said:
Do any of you riders remember the Ariel Square Four?
Click to expand...
Wow, you're talking exclusive now. That's up there with the Vincents. I had a cousin who had one back in the early 60s. He said you could barely hear it run, but it was the fastest thing on the road. Luckily, he walked away when he totaled it. Darn phone poles.
 
The Yamaha 650s had nothing in common with BSA. Kawasaki did manufacture a motorcycle with an engine that appeared very much like a BSA. I believe they were imported here in 68 and 69. They continued building them in Japan for domestic use. Seems like I remember them being used by the police too. Most Japanese motorcycles (at least back then) were painted different colors than the U.S. models.
I was on the USS Oklahoma City (CLG-5) homeported in Yokosuka Japan from 1969 to 1973. Dean
 
One of their older logos should give a hint to the BSA heritage.

102044273.R2LqOXl9.IMG_E_5523a_resize.jpg


I first noticed that when I got a 250 BSA Scrambler.
 
I live on Long Island which is home for Billy Joel. He has a motorcycle museum in Oyster Bay that is opened to the public (free of charge) every weekend and the BSA that was restored by Rick is on display there. I was actually there about two weeks ago and was admiring it along with the other 70 or 80 bikes he has on display. Since I do ride I have actually run in to him and chatted from time to time at local M/C events here on the Island.

More importantly............. I have also run into his ex wife Christie Brinkley at a movie theatre. She's a lot nicer than the BSA! :)
 
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