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[Riggers]

Saw Alan R's comments on another thread and thought I'd start this - sorry it's not strictly techy but maybe just for fun.


Well I bought mine in 2001 as a redundancy present to me. I'm 58 and in my heyday just missed the day of the 'big single'. I did catch the end of BSA, Triumph and Norton but they all sold twins, and so I settled for Tiger 100, then Triumph TR6, and then Rocket 3. After that it was Jap, Jap, Jap.


Skip 30 years and hey I've got single! OK it's not a Gold Star or a Velocette Thruxton (now there's a bike) but I think they're nice little bikes that remind me of my teenage days.


It's a shame that young lads these days can't afford to have a bike like a Bullet. In my view it would solve a lot of social problems. We used to spend hours in garages pontificing over the lack of forward motion from our pride and joys.


It's a strange thing I reckon - there's an FJR 1300 in the garage, and a Bullet. And on a sunny Sunday I wake up and think shall I take out the Yammy? What do you think?

[simon]

I'm not sure if its the same in Blighty as it is here but from what I see no one without grey hair is riding bikes. The occasional juvenile on a scooter isn't a surprise but as far as the Rocker fraternity goes we all seem to be Baby Boomers. When I was taking to the road for the first time if you wanted any form of performance a bike was the only option. My four wheeled vehicle was a Bradford van and however beautifully tuned a sidevale eight horsepower flat twin was it never going to impress whereas the little Benelli 250 single was a baby rocket. Now you can by a 100 mph car for a thousand bucks so the only ones who seem to be taking up bikes seem to be advertising execs and real estate agents discovering their inner Hells Angel on a Harley. It'ws a shame because however elderly the design in a clogged up city like Auckland a few more fuel efficient middle weight singles could only be a good thing.

[Norm]

Simon,


   Over the water here we do have a smattering of dark haired people with Enfields and then you have thousands of younger ones riding Jap rockets. Be interesting to see if they gravitate to Enfields in later years or if they have just missed completely the Brit bike experience

[rustygman]

It has nothing to do with nostalgia for me. Its about cheap biking - i got fed up of running old bikes that would generally land me with a big bill every year. A new enfield 5 years ago has proven my choice to be correct, no big bills to worry about and a lot of fun.


Also I enjoy not being one of the biker gangs. I don't want to pretend I am an american hitting the highway, a gp racer getting my knee down or ewan macgregor seeking adventure or put an overpriced british bike on a trailer to show it off and go misty eyed about the old days. I just want to ride a bike that is fun and gets me to work every day and it fits that brief perfectly.


 

[Alex.]

It is mostly nostalgia for me, although for riding not 'towing and showing' a high value classic.


I'm 58, last of the mods I suppose, and started with a Lambretta (I remember an incredible feeling of freedom as I went out at midnight aged 16 years and 1 minute). I then bought a 250 Royal Enfield, 500 Triumph, 350 Jawa (?), Suzuki GT185, 250 Honda CB72 then another Jawa. These were all cheap, old bikes that I fixed up, and at 30 having a car took over.


Like Riggers I missed the time of rockers/big singles, so now I have one!


Just out of interest, here in the UK you can buy a new Jawa again - like the Enfield it's a development of the original 350 2-stroke twin with added electronics and an electric start.  Strange bikes but surprisingly enjoyable to ride, totally recognisable ting ting exhaust, and at around £2995 new, they are probably nearer the price Enfields should be.....


Maybe I'll try one of those next?


What's your bike history?

[Jimmer]

One problem I have is that I don't get to meet any of the great people that put posts up here.


Doesn't seem to be many 'Wanna be's.' that Rustgman talks of.


 'Bikers' put me right off.


Alan R where's your shed, can you help me fix my front brake switch.


Anyone got ideas on fixing a front brake switch? 

[Peter]

I needed a valid excuse to drown my sorrows!

[Midge]

I used to have very new bikes, great for getting somewhere but having little character. The last one developed an immobiliser fault which decided to stop the engine and never start again until I spent £400 on replacing the electronic units and having it reset by a main dealer. Luckily I wasn't overtaking at the time.


I vowed never to have anything so massively unnecessarily complicated again. I really wanted to relive my youth by getting another Norton Commando Insterstate but couldn't afford it, so bought the 500 Bullet.


 Its nice to tinker with the mechanicals as well as ride, there's so much more involvement which is part of the enjoyment of having a motorcycle, I'm really pleased with it.

[wolf]

hi riggers, think you hit the nail on the head when you said it reminded you of your teenage years. it certainly does for me. wolf.

[apparently lucky eddie]

Jimmers, you probably won't fix your front brake switch - I've tried my own already. Just buy a new one from our hosts for about £5 and it takes two minutes to fit.


Why do we buy Royal Enfield? Cos Jap crap is just that!


Stupid, irrational, illogical, tacky rubbish.


I have no need of an engine in a motorcycle that is larger than that in my family car. 1200 cc etc, why???


I don't need to do 180+ mph - who does?


I need more than 30 miles per gallon.


I need a reasonably sensible seat for my missus or daughter to ride out with me.


I want a bike that does n't look like it was designed by a little boy who's  been reading too many sci-fi comics, modern japs are SO ugly.


I want to be able to fix the damn thing if need be, not pay hundreds of pounds for more disposable parts with a built in life expectancy.


Life's too complicated. Bikes have become too complicated.


Need I go one? No, the suns out, the daffs are out so I'll go out for a gentle hack around the lanes and maybe I'll pull in, lie back in a feld and remember the Spitfires and Messershmits chasing one another around the sky...