Motorcycles, lets see em.

[epbrown]

Originally Posted by PD41

Picked up a 1982 Honda FT500 Ascot for $550.oo
500cc thumper, made only 2 years.

Nice! A lot of the appeal of the Harley XG500/750 is their resemblance to the later Honda FT500 with v-twin.

[MT930]

Could some one flip this is looks fine on my Ipad ???

[wswartzwel]

Helping my grandson get the motorcycle bug early in life today. I think he said Motorcycle over a hundred times during their visit today.

[lindbhr]

1975 Honda 750 Four. My last bike and sadly for sale soon.

[Geary]

Any Pelican here checked out the Royal Enfield INT 650 ?

[HardDrive]

Originally Posted by Geary

Any Pelican here checked out the Royal Enfield INT 650 ?

I recently sold a Bullet 500. I am interested. Love RE.

[Geary]

Thanks, guys .. I was always a Triumph man, but really interested in this RE for the retro look and feel (not to mention great intro price). Please do tell us your impressions, Peter ..

[flatbutt]

my cousin found this old pic of my 400 triple (before I got the 500) and his dune buggy. We used to tear up the jersey meadowlands garbage dumps before anyone knew how toxic they were.

[pavulon]

Is nostalgia the biggest draw to a bike like this? Are they nice to ride? I know very little about them and am simply trying to learn.

Originally Posted by Geary

Any Pelican here checked out the Royal Enfield INT 650 ?

[Geary]

Speaking for myself, at my age I'm not into a racing or scrambling bike. Just the occasional road cruise on uncrowded Idaho roads (where I'll be next year). The reviews I read on-line are good, but I value honest Pelican opinions.

["A"]

Been riding & working on bikes for nearly 3 decades.

My garage has a constant flow of occupants that are mostly 2-wheel, current stable:





Recent (2018/19) additions:

["A"]

Originally Posted by peteremsley

do you ride the scooter(s) most? I have a ruckus and ride it all the time while the big bikes sit

The Honda C70 & CT110 I ride the least.

Burgman 650 scooter is what I ride the most, triple digit speed capable, decent wind protection, large underseat storage, comfortable seating for rider & passenger, twist-n-go automatic or thumb-button shifting, easy to maneuver on its own power.
Only drawback is that it's heavy, more difficult to maneuver with human strength.

The rest of the fleet are mostly kept as entertainment.
You can't beat a Honda on reliability, they require very little maintenance and just runs regardless how much they've been abused or neglected.
Used to participate in a few track days a year, but haven't found the effort to do it for the last 4-5 years, since I started to pedal (cycling) more; I don't drive nearly as much as I pedal.

But annually, I take a few road trips with the bigger motorcycles.
Ride down to Daytona, FL.. up to Ann Arbor, MI or Boston, MA to visit relatives.
I haven't ridden to Bay area, CA or Seattle, WA for a few years, but that used to be a regular annual occurrence, too. Maybe getting old has something to do with it.

[Skip Newsom]

My Son's project... bought less motor 4 years ago. I've held off jumping in and working on it unless he was with me for a long, long time.
After a couple conversations and several hours working on it together he agreed he likes riding more than wrenching and I took the lead.

1971 Triumph Bonneville T120 with a '66 650 (T120) motor, new lighting, seat and a few other bits.
We got it running a couple weeks ago and between other projects and travel she's roadworthy.

Took it to my Sister's place yesterday (20 mi RT) and she only tried to rattle off one muffler. I call that success!

[Baz]

Originally Posted by Skip Newsom

My Son's project... bought less motor 4 years ago. I've held off jumping in and working on it unless he was with me for a long, long time.
After a couple conversations and several hours working on it together he agreed he likes riding more than wrenching and I took the lead.

1971 Triumph Bonneville T120 with a '66 650 (T120) motor, new lighting, seat and a few other bits.
We got it running a couple weeks ago and between other projects and travel she's roadworthy.

Took it to my Sister's place yesterday (20 mi RT) and she only tried to rattle off one muffler. I call that success!

Beautiful, Skip. Factory livery or custom?

[spuggy]

Originally Posted by peteremsley

beautiful. tires look frightening though...

I'm more scared of the comical hub (actually, "conical") brakes. Pretty when parked - but pretty useless when moving...

[plexiform]

Only 180 imported to the states.

[Bill Douglas]

Originally Posted by Skip Newsom

1971 Triumph Bonneville T120 with a '66 650 (T120) motor,

Good skills Skip. I'm [pleased you got it going.

My heart did a little flutter when I saw the Triumph 650 in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. A bit later than yours , and my sadly missed '66 Saint, (had a disk front brake) but a beautiful bike.

[Chocaholic]

Recently added this...don’t ask me why!

[Skip Newsom]

I suppose the livery would be described as "modified"... mismatching funky front fender paint, an oddly mounted fiberglass rear finder and pre-dented exhaust system.
The tabs are current now too!



Tires are stock sized matched Dunlop Gold Seals, shes a cruiser, not a racer... sketchy is generous for the tires she was sitting on, these are up to the tasks that will be asked.

Brakes?
Oh god yes, on the agenda after getting it running longer than the glorious 25 minutes or so the transplanted 750 motor did.



As part of a deal my Son cut on the short lived 750, he also got a set of forks, and wheel with disc brake set up that's supposed to "bolt right in".
I've heard those words before.
It's working it's way up the project list...

[spuggy]

Originally Posted by Skip Newsom

As part of a deal my Son cut on the short lived 750, he also got a set of forks, and wheel with disc brake set up that's supposed to "bolt right in".
I've heard those words before.
It's working it's way up the project list...

Triumph rarely changed anything they didn't have to... Pretty sure they bolt right up to the later triple trees (fork center spacing and threads changed, but that was '67, '68, IIRC). Before you fit the disk forks, glare hard at the studs on the base of the fork sliders, and the end caps that retain the wheel spindle. The studs tend to pull out, and the caps tend to crack - least, mine did...

I soured on reverse cone megaphones quite quickly (like, still in my 20's); a Trumpet can make beautiful noises, but reverse cones are mutually exclusive with "nice sound" for me. Can't stand drag pipes on my Harleys either.

Goldie (yeh, actual Gold Star pattern) mufflers on a Triumph have a lovely tone to the exhaust note, with lots of muted and mellow deceleration burble on the over-run. Mounted kicked up at the back, they look tidy as well. Just sayin'