bought me a mo,sickle!

[shakyman]

at 55yrs old(dangerous age!) having not had a road bike since 1980,ive agreed to buy a honda cb500 twin cyl..i dont want anything too fast(no danger there then!)..get it tomorrow..must be lighter nights,boredom,or insanity ,dont know mutch about this model..but its 2003 reg only 14000 mls,it looks in good enough nick...i fancied an older triumph /norton/bsa but they are crazy money! anyway for under a grand cant go far wrong...anyone ridden one?..

 

[Fazerruss]

Not bad bikes to get you started again. Very reliable and reasonably quick.
Did my test on one ten years ago.

 

[Robotstar5]

Good commuter bike, cheap to run.

 

[TAITSIE]

Hows your hips , can you get your leg over ok

 

[shakyman]

Not bad bikes to get you started again. Very reliable and reasonably quick. Should be very reliable.
Did my test on one ten years ago

just read a buyers guide by mcn....they seem to like them anyway!

 

[julianthegypsy]

Mate of mine had one and we did John O'Groats to Lands End together. 1500 miles more or less. Never missed a beat and while not as fast as my tiger 955i or my other mates SV1000, it was certainly fast enough and didn't slow us down. And we weren't dawdling either.

 

[shakyman]

leg over...!fnaaar fnaaar..might need stabilisers..or is that a sidecar...!

 

[shakyman]

leg over...!fnaaar fnaaar..might need stabilisers..or is that a sidecar...!

just checking the spec...hmmm 58bhp same as my old commando 850 it felt ok..wont have the same torque though...!

 

[Pete.]

I was looking at one of those 850 Commandos on Saturday. Looked well-used, just parked on a London Street.

Granted, the CB won't have nearly the torque but it'll sure enough make it down the road and back

 

[cumbriasteve]

Hows your hips , can you get your leg over ok

He only showed you his new motorbike and you are asking about his sexlife...bit forward that

 

[shakyman]

I was looking at one of those 850 Commandos on Saturday. Looked well-used, just parked on a London Street.

Granted, the CB won't have nearly the torque but it'll sure enough make it down the road and back

hopefully wont vibrate its self to bits,or cover your boots with oil..!also wont have to wrestle with that kick start...!

 

[ronan]

There are very reliable electric starters for the old british bikes now, not cheap but they work extremely well. The cb is a good bike, as long as it hasn't had the plop couriered out of it , and yours looks clean. They are a good reliable bike.

 

[shakyman]

There are very reliable electric starters for the old british bikes now, not cheap but they work extremely well. The cb is a good bike, as long as it hasn't had the plop couriered out of it , and yours looks clean. They are a good reliable bike.

they fitted a elec start to later commandos..it was feeble..more of an assist for your leg..!

 

[ronan]

they fitted a elec start to later commandos..it was feeble..more of an assist for your leg..!

It wasn't that bad of a design though, it was something to with the brushes in the lucas (him again !) starter motor causing trouble. The motor they use now seems to be the unit off the kubota garden tractor. Triumph did an electric start version of the t140 bonneville and it was a cack handed effort, the motor spun the cam timing gears to get the motor going, and smashed the castings if anything went wrong.
You can even have an electric start Bsa DBD34 clubmans goldie now, not just easier to start, it won't break your leg if the ignition causes it to kick back.

 

[shakyman]

It wasn't that bad of a design though, it was something to with the brushes in the lucas (him again !) starter motor causing trouble. The motor they use now seems to be the unit off the kubota garden tractor. Triumph did an electric start version of the t140 bonneville and it was a cack handed effort, the motor spun the cam timing gears to get the motor going, and smashed the castings if anything went wrong.
You can even have an electric start Bsa DBD34 clubmans goldie now, not just easier to start, it won't break your leg if the ignition causes it to kick back.

who would have thought it..elec start on a gold star! ahhh the dreaded kick back..ouch! at least i wont have to worry about that...! or tickling the carbs!

 

[ronan]

who would have thought it..elec start on a gold star! ahhh the dreaded kick back..ouch! at least i wont have to worry about that...! or tickling the carbs!

Ahh now ! You are not a real motorcyclist unless your index finger pongs of unleaded !

 

[shakyman]

Ahh now ! You are not a real motorcyclist unless your index finger pongs of unleaded !

spend hours polishing the crankcase....then drip amber petrol over it!..closely followed by yet more oil leaks/bits falling off!

 

[ronan]

spend hours polishing the crankcase....then drip amber petrol over it!..closely followed by yet more oil leaks/bits falling off!

Its character building running a british bike . But seriously, if you avoid the temptation to tune the engines or go for one of the more sedate models like the triumph thunderbird or bsa golden flash, they can be surprising reliable. I used my triumph 500 for years popping up and down to work, it only failed me twice, once with a puncture, and the other with a broken clutch cable (my fault for buying crappy wassell stuff)

 

[shakyman]

my british tally is bantam,tiger cub,bsa A10,bonnie,two commandos,one ex police..i converted to a cafe racer,the nortons and bonnie always got me home...but you had to learn to wield the spanners! fun at the time though...

 

[pedrobedro]

There's a Triumph bath tub in the back of my friend's bike shop, quite a tidy machine.