Goofy old Motorcycle pictures

Do you have any?
Here is one from about 1968. I'm 14 years old and on my 49 Matchless G80, the two friends have been sliding around on the C200 Honda 90s. The large STP sticker on the red Honda was good for an additional 3 mph.

Though it looks a bit rough, the Matchless ran well once I figured out the valve timing. At that time it was the 2nd bike I had built from a basket case, first was a 57 ES2 Norton I got a couple of years earlier. All done on a shoestring budget, of course, and no internet to find parts with. Even driving to the parts supplier was out, I was 2 years from getting a license!
So it was a lot of make do and fix what you have.

We are breaking many safety regs here, and the touques do not provide great head protection, even tho they might look pretty sharp.
But WTH, we are out riding motorcycles in the snow , so who cares about safety?

I started out with a brand new 1958 Vespa 150, because Mother didn't like motorcycles. After a brief foray into four wheels with a 1938 Austin Seven (750cc L-head four, 25 HP on a good day - and it didn't have many) I got back on two wheels with a 1962 Ariel Leader, then a 1958 BSA A7.

After a couple of years in the machine tools industry, and running a Heinkel 200 bubble car, I went to work for Norton-Villiers. My ride-to-work was a company 650SS with about 130,000 miles on the odometer. My first working days with N-V were spent riding the prototype Commandos, trying to break things! We tried to cover 500 miles in an 8-hour shift when we were doing the endurance testing and we made it most days. One rider (me, usually) took the bike out at 04:00 and got back at noon, The other rider went out at 16:00 and got back at midnight. Between rides, the factory mechanics fettled the bike and ran tests.

After the Commando became a production bike, Plumstead took over, and I got involved with the moto-cross program . I worked on getting the AJS Stormer turned into a street/trail bike for the RAF Motor Sports Association to run in the 1968 International Six-Days Trial. One of those bikes was registered as a 350cc Matchless and had the "winged M" badge on the tank. I think it was the first ever 2-stroke Matchless and probably the last of the make ever registered. I'd love to have it as a keepsake today!

Frank, you floor me with the Norton data and being paid to break things while the rest of us have to do it for 'free' now.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bubble_car
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heinkel_Kabine

Frank, it is good to know that a 650SS is capable of covering such a high mileage.

That lion in the velodrome picture is amazing!

Glen

frankdamp said:

After the Commando became a production bike, Plumstead took over, and I got involved with the moto-cross program . I worked on getting the AJS Stormer turned into a street/trail bike for the RAF Motor Sports Association to run in the 1968 International Six-Days Trial. One of those bikes was registered as a 350cc Matchless and had the "winged M" badge on the tank. I think it was the first ever 2-stroke Matchless and probably the last of the make ever registered. I'd love to have it as a keepsake today!

Click to expand...

Not to get picky Frank, or spoil good stories, but Matchless sold a whole series of 2-stroke bikes.
Weren't they called the Pinto or G1 or something, 1950s and 1960s ??

These Goofy enough for ya?

Now that is a goofy era photo with goofy grinning delight. Leather fringe and ape bars is proper attire too, just like Leisure suits were in disco daze. My riding pal wears a Capt. America flag helmet so don't look that goofy compared to us Ozark'rs.

A solid 8 out of ten on the Goofometer!

Glen

Oh ugh, just noticed a windscreen too, now that's considerrf as goofy as me too. Ughy ducklin's are suppose to turn into nice swans don't they?

Looks like a well traveled Triumph and with the swag on the back home away from home and he looks like hes enjoying it same as the loin in the veladrone

Ashley