1960s...Riding the Ride On Great Bikes

[Mike Brown Barone]

I would like to thank those that work so hard to maintain this line for us....It is an amazing web site and and an accomplishment.

As a first time visitor I am also impressed passion everyone has for the old bikes/classics if you will and it is good to see.

I am also disappointed a bit to not see many posts about actually riding these wonderful old bikes and would like to see a few of these every so often.....so how about it...next time you go for a trip on your "classic" post it for the rest of us to enjoy.

To start this off a bit, here is a link to a story I wrote about riding my BSA Goldstar Roadracer on the streets way back in the 1960s.  

http://www.thumperpage.com/articles/rocket.html

I guess the message I want to leave with everyone is having a great classic for show with everything correct is one thing, but riding these bikes for the enjoyment they will bring which is the reason they were designed and built in the first plase is also part of your options.  

Sure rides today will never be like it was when all these bikes were still in production and no one cared much about "collectablity" but riding the ride today will bring you pleasure and rewards far beyond sitting at a show beside your bike day after day or worse yet having it sit in your garage under a tarp year after year waiting for that occasional yearly 100 mile jaunt to meet others on their same annual mission.

If any of you ever get to the USA/Eastern Pennsylvania send me an email ahead and we can meet up and talk about all this then go for spin in the mountains near here on some of my bikes and you can ride my 100k mile vintage "classic".    

Best now and email me at team222@paonline on the article or questions...whatever



Mike

[Razpootin]

Hi Mike,
Well, I must say besides a great memory, you do possess the flair of the raconteur.  I enjoyed your stories very much.  

I also agree wholeheartedly, with your position that they should be ridden/driven.  I get my old bikes/cars out whenever feasible.  I'm not much for going on long trips, on the bikes, but surely long enough to feel the spirit again.

Regards,
Bill
http://www.vintagebike.co.uk/Bike%20Directories/Royal%20Enfield%20Bikes/pages/Rickman%20Enfield.htm

[team222]

Hi Mike,
Well, I must say besides a great memory, you do possess the flair of the raconteur.  I enjoyed your stories very much.  

I also agree wholeheartedly, with your position that they should be ridden/driven.  I get my old bikes/cars out whenever feasible.  I'm not much for going on long trips, on the bikes, but surely long enough to feel the spirit again.

Regards,
Bill
http://www.vintagebike.co.uk/Bike%20Directories/Royal%20Enfield%20Bikes/pages/Rickman%20Enfield.htm

Hi Bill/All

Thank you for your kind comments.  I had to look up "raconteur" before I was able to reply here and thank you for that compliment also.  

Actually those long ago days on the Goldie RR are like yesterday to me now....I can feel the BSA, hear it and sure smell it with absolute accuracy.  

Today I can't find my car in the parking lot after work most evenings so I do have my problems, but rather it be this way than the reverse so I can remember realllly riding my vintage bike before it was ever considered a classic.

>>>>

I do not want to mislead everyone into thinking I road the Goldstar 100k miles or on long trips back then....far from it since a big trip then was 100-200 miles in one day.  The vintage bike I did put that 100k miles on was a 1980 CBX which is really not that great of an accomplishment.

>>>>

I guess I was disappointed no one but you took me up on giving us some stories about actually riding their vintage bikes.....I guess I will drop in every so often with hopes of reading some riding stories versus posts related to the ongoing search for that elusive oem chain guard decal with the correct dimensions and atomic weight.

>>>>

Come on guys.........let's hear about riding your vintage bikes...duking it out with another classic in the twisties vs riding your chair for days in the heat of summer sitting beside your bike at some show!!!!!

In the meantime, here is a sample story on riding classics and whooping up on newer bikes you might enjoy  

http://www.cbxclub.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1654


Mike

[lxmlvll]

Hi Mike and others,

I just found this site a day or two ago and spent a lot of time perusing the "For Sale" part before finding the forum, which I found interesting as well as nostalgia provoking. I agree with you that it seems to be a brilliant site and the administrators deserve much credit.

I have plenty of stories to tell (some might say too many) about my own experiences and the exploits of others, but the problem is I don't like typing (it's a PITA).

On reading some posts, two experiences of my own sprang to mind - the first being a ride from Illertissen in Southern Germany to Belfast in 1982 (I think) starting on the day of Prince Charles wedding to Lady Di at 1pm, which saw me passing through London at 5am the following morning and being home by 1pm in Belfast, the total time taken being 25 hours because of the time difference. The distance was a total of 1200 miles, with 2 ferry trips, the first being Calais - Dover, and the second Stranraer - Larne. The machine was a Honda Goldwing, and my cruising speed was 90mph where possible.

The second was a wet Friday night at 10:30 when I called at a friends house to see if he fancied a ride to a mutual friends house in the outskirts of Dublin. He couldn't, as he was hosting a shindig and had a houseful of visitors. He urged me to stay, but I had an errand to do in Dublin which couldn't be put off. I told him I'd be back, and rode off. I arrived back three and a half hours later at almost 2am dead after having filled up with fuel to check the fuel consumption on the '76 BMW R60 I was riding. I had spent a little over 30 mins taking care of business, so I had spent just under 3 hours in the saddle covering 238 miles, the bike using a hair under 4 gallons in the process. 60 MPG with an on-the-road average speed of 80MPH in the dark and in the wet. Simon phoned Spider because he thought I was pulling his leg, and even when spider confirmed what I said, he still found this run almost unbelievable.  

I appologise (a little) for blowing my own trumpet, but I will have a look at the links you posted. I could only ever have dreamed of having and using a Gold Star, although I have owned used and worked on many excellent motorcycles, British, German, Italian and Japanese along with many more less-than-excellent. At the moment I am virtually crippled with arthritis, so my wings are clipped for now. Two new hips would help.

All the best of luck, and as we would say here, keep between the hedges,

A.