classic motorcycle forum
Motorcycle Discussions => Identify these bikes! => Topic started by: dykas on July 10, 2006, 08:40:38 PM
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Does anybody know what kind of bike my mother and father are sitting on in the early 50's? This photo was taken outside of Melbourne, Australia. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Peter.
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;)engine looks velo to me but P M is just on the cards
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It's a Panther (Phelon & Moore) 350, there's a similar one in the pictures section:
http://www.vintagebike.co.uk/Bike%20Directories/Panther%20Bikes/pages/Panther-Stroud-350-1950s.htm
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Yes, its a Panther but that particular model was produced in both 250 and 350 versions. They were identical machines but the 250 had a smaller bore in the identical cylinder casting.
In Victoria you paid less for 250 rego in those days so the standard ploy was to search out a 250 model and have it rebored to 350 when the time came. Keeping the 250 rego of course.
The major annoying factor about them was the Dowty front forks. These were an early pneumatic fork but the seals let them down so sooner or later so your front suspension slowly disappeared. There was a red dot on the fork slider and the idea was you put air in the forks until this dot was level with the bottom of the fork shroud. It was then just right.
I had a Panther outfit that had Dowty forks. I worked in Morwell and if I pumped them up to their full extent I could get to Dandenong on the outskirts of Melbourne before they got so flat they would start to bottom out. That was about 90 miles in those days, the road has been somewhat improved since then.
Cheers, Bob