Forum

[Presto]

Such ‘fanatics for exactitude’ hover around all types of vehicle ‘shows’ – motorcycles, cars, tractors, steam engines, stationary engines, etc. Freud would tell us (probably correctly) that it’s the result of an over-exercised ‘super-ego’ – ‘that part of the psyche that aims for perfection. It comprises that part of the personality, mainly unconscious, which includes the individual's ego ideals ... that criticises and prohibits a person’s drives, fantasies, feelings, and actions’. Got it?!



Fact is often factories didn’t bother that much themselves! Wanting authentic paint for a Matchless G50 petrol tank I contacted an ex-Matchless worker who had worked building these machines. He pointed out that there was no ‘authentic’ colour – a lad would go to a near-by paint seller and buy the nearest colour they had at the time. (I guess some ‘fanatic for exactitude’ is bound to know that that wasn’t the case!)

[2cvandy]

Tigger, as many have said already, ignore em.

I've always believed you should build your bike / car / whatever to be what you want it to be.

My Enfield is a bobber, complete with flame paint job, not everyone's taste but I like it.

My immaculate, and otherwise standard CX500 has footrests and controls from a CX custom and Transalp handlebars. Because it makes it easier for my old bones to ride it.

My 2CV started life as a red "Special" and is now a Black & Yellow "Dolly", Citroen never made a Dolly in that colour scheme, but I thought it would look good, so I did.

I was a serial Humber owner for many years, here's one I restored earlier ;



It's a Series 111 Super Snipe and therefore it should have HUMBER across the bonnet and boot in individual chrome letters. They often break off, are a pain to clean round, and encourage rust. So I left them off. I fitted a HUMBER badge from a Sceptre on the bonnet and the Snipe mascot from a Series 11, just because I thought it looked better. Every time some know all started spouting off about it being wrong I stopped them dead with "it's a pre-production prototype, you won't see another like it, totally unique". Obviously it was no such thing, but I never met a know all who knew enough to challenge that statement !

Enjoy your bike, that's what you built it for after all.

[Chris [Stockport]]

Tigger I hope you are feeling better about the situation having read all these replies.

I did have half a chuckle and almost spilled my morning coffee while I was browsing 2cvandys story; got as far as "My 2CV started life as a red "Special" and then I glanced at the picture; I thought well that's perhaps going a bit far....

I was pleased to see a good reply to these fussy people, i.e. that the Humber was pre-production.
I've had one or two people ask me if my Enfields are real. I've sort of tapped the solid metal tank with my knuckle and said it seems to be, and gone on to explain about them being made in India now, and then... asked what a not-real-one would be. The guy looked a bit embarrassed and said he didn't know and shuffled off.

Any more helpful hints how to deal with these types (Legal hints, I mean)

[papasmurf]

I love "experts." I had one at a motorcycle rally looking at the CX500 Custom and Velorex 700 sidecar.
"But you can't fit a 5 inch wide by 16 inch rear tyre on a CX500 Custom." When he was stood there looking at the rear wheel and tyre.
In fact it can't be done UNLESS you slacken off the three nuts holding the final drive on the studs which gives enough clearance to fit the wheel and tyre then just tighten the nuts back up.

[Cleggy]

Yes, there are plenty of knobhead elitists in all these clubs. One has to learn to ignore them & only mix with the friendly types, who understand its YOUR bike & the personal effort you have put into the rebuild & any mods. All 3 of my bikes fail the originality nit-pickers scrutiny, but then I don't give a toss & tell them so. A pity for the club section, which I think you should name. Fancy putting new faces through the mill. These meatheads are cutting their own throats & the future of the club. Be ready for them next time out.

[papasmurf]

I marvel at the ingenuity of people keeping old motorcycles on the road, and old motorcyclists keeping themselves able to ride by modifying old motorcycles.
An electric starter on a Brough Superior being one I saw a couple of years ago, and ancient Indian Motorcycle unrestored I see at various rallies that has some modern bits on the electrics in order to keep it on the road.

[Adrian]

All mine are now anglo-indian Redditch-framed bitsas with some(?) glaringly non-standard bits, I wonder what Tigger's accusers would make of them! A.

[Gwilly]

I think these nitpickers are like bullies in a way, they revel in the fact that with a few words they can really make someone feel miserable or a failure..

Though we pretend to be thick skinned, many of us are not and remember the one bad review in preference to the ten accolades..

Same in all walks of life, if we listened to these feckwits a play would never be written or a picture painted for fear of some critic/troll making us feel unworthy..

I bet most of the membership are good people with help, encouragement and friendship given freely.

You were probably unlucky to meet those asshats, who if it comes down to it don't know their arse from their elbow..

[Wayne]

Mark M - I very rarely contribute on here but I feel that I must speak out ! - was it not you -( or your twin brother maybe ) who spent a good twenty minutes last Sunday telling me what was wrong with my newly restored beautiful ( in my eyes ) 1953 500 Bullet ???

[Mark M]

Wayne, I don't want to fall out with you but I must defend myself. I opened my comments on your bike by saying how good it looked and then asked if I could point something out, (which you did not object to,) that you had an earlier brake pedal fitted and that I could let you have the correct one if you wanted. These are hard to find but I thought you'd be the right person to give it to. I also commented that I, like you, had tried to fit the square air filter box and that it doesn't actually fit so you were right to try and stick with the one that was on the bike when you got it. That's all I said, which I think is constructive help. Given that there are so few of these early 500 Bullets around I thought the advice of someone who actually had one might mean something. I'd also remind you that when you got the bike I offered any help you might need and supplied you with a paint match. And by the way, it sounded very nice as you rode away, mechanically much quieter than mine!

REgards, Mark