Youngest and Oldest

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One of my grand daughters is now 4 years old. She loves to get into my shed and sit on the Seeley. She knows what the spanners are for and gets an armful, then tries them on the various nuts and bolts. One day she approached my aluminium fuel tank with a hammer. I took it off her and chucked it up onto the workbench. She was only going to do a performance modification with it.
 
acotrel said:
One day she approached my aluminium fuel tank with a hammer. I took it off her and chucked it up onto the workbench. She was only going to do a performance modification with it.
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It's obvious from your avatar that the tank needs knee indents. Smart kid.
 
The Seeley is not like a featherbed, it is narrower. I had to laugh when I saw her about to do that - just caught her in time.
 
I am 63 years young. My Original bike was a 1953 AJS Springtwin 500cc. This bike was stolen but was recovered with little damage. Very lucky! Bought a 1971 750 Roadster new in March 1972 at 18 years of age. Great bike but unfortunately I sold it . Bought an 850 Roadster second hand in 1978, which was stolen, and luckily like the AJS , had little damage. Currently restoring another 1971 Roadster which I will put an Intersate tank on for greater range.

Bikes I have had over the years are

!953 AJS 500 Twin sold
1971 Norton Commando 750 sold
1954 AJS 500 twin
!975 BMW R90S
1948 Royal Enfield Model J 500 twin port and Dusting sidecar sold
1959 BSA Super Rocket 650 sold
1969 BSA Starfire 250
1937 Matchless Model X V-twin 990
1962 Royal Enfield Interceptor 750
1964 Royal Enfield Interceptor 750
1959 Royal Enfield Super Meteor 700 and Swallow Harvard Saloon sidecar
1969 Royal Enfield Interceptor 750
1970 (allegedly) Changjiang 750 ohv and sidecar
1971 Norton Commando 750

Yes I still have 10 left and I wish I had never sold the others.

David
 
Changaroo said:
Bikes I have had over the years are

!953 AJS 500 Twin sold
1971 Norton Commando 750 sold
1954 AJS 500 twin
!975 BMW R90S
1948 Royal Enfield Model J 500 twin port and Dusting sidecar sold
1959 BSA Super Rocket 650 sold
1969 BSA Starfire 250
1937 Matchless Model X V-twin 990
1962 Royal Enfield Interceptor 750
1964 Royal Enfield Interceptor 750
1959 Royal Enfield Super Meteor 700 and Swallow Harvard Saloon sidecar
1969 Royal Enfield Interceptor 750
1970 (allegedly) Changjiang 750 ohv and sidecar
1971 Norton Commando 750

Yes I still have 10 left and I wish I had never sold the others.

David
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Nice Brood 8)
 
Grew up in southern Ontario, Canada thinking that Norton Commandos were the cat's meow. I particularly remember lusting after a yellow one. 54 years old now. Had a couple Honda 750's in college for transportation but got into old British bikes in 2004, six years after I moved to eastern Washington to take a job. Was looking around here at the great motorcycle roads with very few drivers on them and thinking "this is a great place to get back into motorcycling"! First restoration was a 1972 Triumph TR6C bought locally. Acquired my Commando a few years later in excellent condition and have slowly made several modifications over the years. Have now restored 6 bikes from the ground up. Mostly old British but have gotten interested in Guzzi and Airhead BMW as well. I ride a modern Guzzi ('08 1200 Sport) as my touring bike. The Commando is still my favorite bike by far! Always puts a big smile on my face when I ride her.

Tobin
 
tpeever said:
Was looking around here at the great motorcycle roads with very few drivers on them and thinking "this is a great place to get back into motorcycling!"
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You got that right! My dad had some old college mates in Tekoa and Palouse that we would visit while up north. Even as a youngster, I remember thinking those would be great roads on a motorcycle.
 
Nater_Potater said:
tpeever said:
Was looking around here at the great motorcycle roads with very few drivers on them and thinking "this is a great place to get back into motorcycling!"
Click to expand...

You got that right! My dad had some old college mates in Tekoa and Palouse that we would visit while up north. Even as a youngster, I remember thinking those would be great roads on a motorcycle.
Click to expand...

Someone earlier in this string mentioned his first bike was a Bridgestone 175. My third one was a '69 175 Hurricane Scrambler I bought new from the Two Cycle Shop in Spokane, living in Moscow at the time. I rode the above roads in those days. The first Norton didn't come until 1973 while stationed at March AFB in Riverside, Ca.
 
Got my first bike when I was 21 and in college. That was in 1969. It and other bikes I own or have owned over the years are in the order which I acquired them. My absolute favorite amongst them is my 1974 Norton Commando followed by my 2016 Yamaha FZ-07

1965 Triumph Bonneville
1971 Yamaha RD 350
1969 Kawasaki W1
1970 Triumph Tiger
1974 Norton Commando
1970 Triumph Trophy 250
1969 BSA Lightning
2006 Triumph Bonneville T100
1969 Norton Mercury
2008 BMW R1200R
1975 Norton Commando
2016 Yamaha FZ-07
:mrgreen:
 
I just turned 59 last week.. my combat keeps me feeling a lot younger.

I think I was 14-15 when I bought a used Honda SL100. After thee years of that little noisemaker I got a '72 CB450; back then you couldn't legally ride over 150cc if you were under 18. After a year or so of that 450, I found a '69 T120R... WOW a real bike! I rode that beauty till I was broadsided by a drunk in a Buick in early '79, breaking my left leg in 5 places.

I stayed away from motorcycling for 15 years after that, but it never left my blood, I found my '72 combat in pieces in '94, it took me a couple of years to get it all together---not much internet back then and even less Brit bike sources locally. 20 somethin years later I'm still riding that sweetie as much as I can, despite arthritis and PHN... good thing its (usually) a one kick starter!

Youngest and Oldest
 
Youngest and Oldest


Hey, look what I found! Not the bike; the picture. Here's the first real motorcycle I was allowed to ride. It was my dad's '72 BSA B50MX, converted to street use. Granted, since it was essentially a Goldstar with the lights removed, all that was needed was to put lights back on it. I replaced the steel fenders with aftermarket plastic items, and the goofy twin mufflers with a Supertrapp. That's another bike I'd really like to get back. 'Still searching for the only picture of the Norton when my dad owned it, right after he had the Vetter fairing installed. Hideous...
I'll update the graph this weekend as we've had a number of people chime in with their ages (thank you, all).

Nathan
 
Well, I'll be the first 35 year old on the graph (36 next month).
I got my start into British bikes from my dad. He had a 68 BSA Thunderbolt when he was in the Navy in the early 70's. After he sold it, he moved on to a 71 Triumph Tiger. He sold that soon after he found out I was on the way. When I was 15, he started getting into restoring pretty much anything British (mostly BSA and Triumph w/some Norton's in there too). It didn't take long before I was out in the garage helping him out. Over a winter we restored a 70 Triumph 250 (TR25W), that was my first bike and got my license on it at 16.
We then found a 72 Norton Combat basket case and restored it. My first ride on it and I was hooked...it pulled like a freight train in comparison to my little 250! We soon found another basket case, a 73 850 that we quickly restored. Before I knew it, we were touring around quite a bit of Western NY on them. I joined the Air Force when I was 21 w/8.5 years in Florida and now 6 years stationed in North Dakota.

I haven't lost my love for the British bikes. I bought a 2004 Triumph Speedmaster new and have been modifying it ever since. I've been collecting over the years various parts for a café build that has been a dream of mine for a long time (this includes a 5 gallon Manx tank I picked up on fleabay from one of the mechanics that work at NYC Norton that raced w/it on his Triton...thanks Jon!). I have a 65 featherbed frame that I plan on putting a 920cc Maney engine into it (the bottom end is about 75% complete). It has been a long haul with juggling garage time and family time (a 5 and a 3 year old will let you know just how old you are at any time of the day).
 
Hello,

I am 64 years old, I run in Norton for 48 years: 88,99,650 SS Rickman, commando MK2, MK4 (no combat,the best for me) and for 26 years 850 MK3.

We travel in all Europe with my wife since 44 years.
 
Hi All,

39 here. I always wanted a Commando since I was a child, and I finally got one. I started riding last summer.
Gatsby
 
Here's a bump for this poll; it's a bit short of 100 riders ages represented, which would make it a bit nicer...
 
59 young.
Still ride the '75 I bought in March 1975 from Ron's Cycle in Massachusetts - Ron Fratturelli is still out there of course. Now have 3 other C'dos.

Though my son isn't on the forum, he won the award at the North Carolina Rally for Youngest Rider at age 19 last summer. He's 20 now and headed to Ireland next week for the year abroad (University of Dublin in case there are any Irish Norton enthusiasts - and he can bar tend!).

I actually started riding on a friend's Vespa in the dirt at age 10, then a Hodaka then my first purchase - a 180 Suzuki trail bike. Traded that for a Bultaco Alpina (awesome bike) and then bought my Yamaha IT 250 in 1979 (still have that too). Of course, my '75 has been Mr. Dependable all this time.

Having said all that, my "go to" long distance bike is my 2005 Yamaha FJR 1300. I'm 6'8" or a bit over 2m for our Euro friends and it's funny how the Norton is so much smaller and not quite as comfy as the Yammie. BTW, I still love the dirt and have a Honda CRF 450X which is almost at good as my IT 250...

Ride safe,
K
 
I had to go back and re-read the thread because I couldn't remember if I posted in it earlier. NOW THAT'S SOME OLD PEOPLE S#!T. (Where's that blasted old fart smiley?) 8)
 
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