What would

[HisNibbs]

I would add that I was riding those british twins in the early seventies which probably meant examples manufactured in the late 60's not 59.

[HowardQ]

I owned and rode Brit twins and singles in the 60s and 70s, including the following -
Velocette 350 MAC, 500 Venom,
BSA A7 500 twin,
Matchless 350 single,
Matchless 650 G12 CSR Twin, (sports version of the one Samray shows, and first love of my life).
Triumph Tiger 110 1959 (single carb Bonneville).
Norton Dominator 99 600 twin, Paul Dunstall Dommie 650 SS 1965.
First thing to do is take off the rose tinted specs and put on the clear goggles.

The Matchless and particularly the Velocette singles were probably the most reliable, but plodders, and were quite oil tight. They had character in a pleasant cruise around slowly way, but usually got you to work.

The BSA A7 and Dommie 99 were fairly reliable, (for thr 1960s!!), had iffy electrics and leaked oil no matter what you did.

The Matchless G12CSR was brilliant in so many ways but fell apart literally in another. It had gear driven cams so no flappy chains like the rest. the two halves of the crankcases had flanges so were much more oil tight than the butt joints that all the rest seemed to have. Never lost much oil, so jeans stayed cleaner!
It had a sports magneto and a dynamo, so lights were not much cop but it always started eventually.
Brilliant in so many ways other than the nodular iron crank. It's a wonderful experience having the crankshaft break on the central pin, whilst flat out in top, (TWICE!). Having said that the rest of the motor was still well enough built to not blow apart both times. Just a heavy knock where the crank hit the central crankcase each stroke. You could still start it up like this!
Eventually put the Norton Dommie 99 engine in, worked, but never had the same performance so got rid.
And then to the Triumph T110, (even with the rose tinted glasses back on), I did really want to love it as I had always wanted a Bonnie. I modded it to look like a Bonnie, but it was actually the most unreliable bike I ever had.
The electrics worked only when they felt like it, which was good as I worked three shifts at a steelworks at the time, (remember steelworks), and this was my transport. I used to take cycle lamps with me to make sure I got there. Travelling down the M1 at nights with failing 6 volts electrics, or a cycle lamp was such fun, character building. Lets not talk about when it rained. The other good bits were the inspection covers for the rockers and the primary drive side. You had to check them every trip and carry spares, in case you lost one on the way in for a night shift. Oh yes lose a rocker inspection cover and you end up with oil soaked jeans, but then again there was always the normal drip feed from somewhere making sure you were a real greaser!
The primary chain case also finally gave in to the vibration and cracked in two or three places, letting more oil out. The vibration gave you a bit more than "Vibration White Finger", it covered lots of other body parts as well.
The Dunstall SS was brilliant in many ways and looked the Mutts Nuts. It was pretty reliable, but always seemed to be a bit too rattly on the timing chain for me. It had to go when I decided I needed a car, if I wanted a sex life. Rockers were not too popular with the girls by then. Some females at that time were not too keen on the smell of jeans soaked in Castrol R40. Sometimes still dripping whilst you sat in the pub.
Oh how we used to laugh at those silly little Jap bikes when they first came out in the 60s and take the piss out any mates who bought them, even though it was already apparent that they were much more reliable and bloody quick.
A 250 Yam 2 stroke or CB72 250 Honda were very close on performance to a BSA 500 Shooting Star or even a 500 Triumph T100 SS.
A CB77 305 Honda would probably stay with a BSA 650 Gold Flash or Thunderbird. Then they brought out the Honda 450 Black Bomber, and eventually the CB500/4.
Bas***ds
Quick enough to blow off any Brit 650s and you would get to work every day, we never stood a chance.
I bought my first Jap a Suzuki T350 Rebel stroker twin in the early 70s.
Couldn't believe how reliable it was, it also had lights that worked, (so I started using the headlight in daytime), always got to work and it was the first bike I ever wheelied on, (not planned). Then came a GT380 ditto, Kwack KH250s and 350s ditto.
Glad I owned every Brit bike I had, but to be honest the character was all about having to bloody live with them the hard way, so it was pain really.
(Then moved onto an early 1960 Mini Van, a nice unreliable Brit car, that you could NEVER take out in the rain).
Oh the joy when they invented WD40.
(Great for bikes as well!)
The character the Falco has is rather different.
Nice to get on an old Brit bike now and again for a plod around, just don't like to go very far.

[fastasfcuk]

nice read howard.

you only look 50.

[HowardQ]

At work today I feel 90!

[D-Rider]

At work today I feel 90!

Retired and incontinent

[HowardQ]

No exactly, it's more..
W T F am I doing here trying to make these idiots see common sense.
Our Council's IT is run in a partnership with a company who used to use a female character called Beattie in their TV adverts years ago, (Maureen Lipman), you might just remember her Andy.
They don't have any common sense, but they will provide us with stu****ty at £1000 a day, whenever we need it.
Sadly the Council is not totally devoid of the latter anyway, so we don't need any more.
It's just a bad day at the office, (like every other day).
Better not say any more.

[HowardQ]

P.S.
I'm not yet retired!

But I do need to go for a ....................... OOPS


Too late.

[Willopotomas]

I've found over the years that some (ok, most) British made vehicles are unreliable bags of shite.. but in their standard form. After a tinker around and the odd fettle, they can be made in to reliable everyday machines. Another hobby of mine is a 1978 Reliant Robin Van. Used it every day for work for nearly 18 months and only let me down once when the head gasket decided it'd had enough. Bear in mind I was doing 200 miles a week.

I've not had a chance to fully stretch the leg's of the 6T just yet, but hoping the summer will give me plenty of oportunity to do so. I'm still sorting out a few teething troubles and other little surprises left by the previous owner(s).

The K100 i've got is brilliant. No nasty vibes at all. The old R100 of my dads is a little more viby, but that comes from it being an opposed twin. The R is a little less revvy so does give a more pleasurable ride, but the K is a brilliant work horse. Give it a task and it'll pass with flying (brick) colours.

The beauty of old Brit bikes and cars is their simplicity. It can't get any more basic.. which makes working on them and improving them such a dodle.

[Nooj]

Simplicity is good, but how do you cope with the oil running out everywhere and the rust and the dreadful suspension and the frighteningly inadequate brakes and the constant need for things to be adjusted to make them work and the archaic bycicle tyres and the ineffectual headlights and the novelty electrics and the wobbly bendy frames?

[AJFalco]

You just described character Plus, oh wait, there is no plus...

[D-Rider]

LOL - I'd never previously detected such widespread pent-up feeling against the former product of these isles (or in the case of a large number of British motorcycle brands, the city in which I'm sitting typing this).

Better not draw too much attention to the fact that 2 of the 3 bikes I chose started life in Stevenage and Coventry .....

[Willopotomas]

Simplicity is good, but how do you cope with the oil running out everywhere and the rust and the dreadful suspension and the frighteningly inadequate brakes and the constant need for things to be adjusted to make them work and the archaic bycicle tyres and the ineffectual headlights and the novelty electrics and the wobbly bendy frames?

Easy.. Fix um so they're nothing like the stereotype. The 6T, a mid-60's Triumph.. Doesn't leak oil, electrics work fine and the headlight is brilliant. A lot of people tend to see the stereotype rather than what they're actually seeing. It's nice to be able to park up on the 6T knowing that it wont leak, knowing it wont be an embarrassment when it comes to starting, and not worrying about getting home before it gets dark. A lot of the mod's I've done are as simple as the bike itself. Materials and technology in this day and age should mean an end to the 'old leaky Brit bike' saga, but most either can't be bothered to sort it or just dont know how.

I like fartin' around in the shed tinkering with me bikes.. If I didn't, I wouldn't have a Triumph. When the 6T was new it would've had to be looked at once a week to make sure everything was still on it and working ok. It used to be called 'maintenance', these day's it's done every 10,000 miles and called a 'service'. But as I say, it's all about modern technology coupled with better materials and working practices.

A properly looked after and set up old Brit bike will out see a lot of modern stuff. The other beauty is I can still get spares for it.. Unlike some Jap riders i know who have trouble getting hold of even the most basic thing, like a clutch lever or speedo cable. Also, I dont have to wait weeks on end for stuff to arrive from Italy because the factory's closed for a month..lol..

[D-Rider]

Easy.. Fix um so they're nothing like the stereotype. The 6T, a mid-60's Triumph.. Doesn't leak oil, electrics work fine and the headlight is brilliant. A lot of people tend to see the stereotype rather than what they're actually seeing. It's nice to be able to park up on the 6T knowing that it wont leak,

Ah yes .... yours stopped leaking oil didn't it ..... wasn't that after it had all leaked out


(only kidding BTW)

[Willopotomas]

Ah yes .... yours stopped leaking oil didn't it ..... wasn't that after it had all leaked out

Yeh.. It's a good indicator as when to stick more in it..

[Samray]

The old Brit bikes lost a lot of character after they had to compete with those boring new jap imports that didn't pack up every 10 miles.