Just for fun.....

jayel · Posted: January 29, 2009, 10:02 am Post subject: Re: Just for fun.....

Always Trailered, Unridden.... ATU...Automatic Timing Unit....

Advance Timing Unit.....

gggGary · Full Member Joined: Jan 07, 2009 Posts: 114

OK I am getting an 83 running, tapered bearings swing arm bushings, the buckhorns were pretossed. Now; I got a parts bike today and I am thinking of putting dual disks on it. you know like the brits got from the box. Seems like a reasonable wiggle to me, what say you? I may not need speed anymore but I sure do like my stopping. Semi monster XS SV 650 bike is a separate project. Details to follow.
gggGary

Snake · Posted: January 30, 2009, 6:06 am Post subject: Re: Just for fun.....

xs1961..i know what you mean, there used to be a number of these bikes around, but in the last few years they seem to have gone..or been chopped or bobbed. i think a restoration to look original is where we are at now..just depends on the state of the parts when you find one

Barbara · Posted: January 31, 2009, 4:31 pm Post subject: Re: Just for fun.....

Hi Guys,

Just thinking of past bikes and eras, and remembering. I can remember when I could pick up a decent Triumph Bonnie for a couple hundred dollars, and the 500cc Daytona's were going for fifty bucks. It was hard to give away a BSA unit twin, and I got a Norton 650SS for $350.00, I think it was. That time is long gone, and almost forgotten. How does this apply to the XS? Well, it seems that we are going through the same evolution from scrappy ride-it-until-it breaks and then repair it bikes to carefully restored classics. Is this a good thing? Who knows, but it is here, and the prices reflect the difference.

We've gone from "How fast will it go?" to "What's it worth?"

People ask me why I ride "such an old bike" on long rides, and in nasty weather. To me it is still a functional, viable machine, and worthy of being used in the manner for which it was built.

We seem to be right on the edge of tilting from "funky rider" to "classic bike", and for awhile still there will be bargains, but the trend is clear. Just the fact that we are talking about the issues surrounding chopping up a frame is proof.

So where is the future? I love original bikes. I tend to believe that the engineers were smarter than I am when it comes to steering geometry and things of that nature. But I also adore a nice cafe bike, and I think there will be room for well-built XS versions of the old British cafe bikes--Norvins, Tritons, all of the creations happening in the dusty sheds and professional garages.

I'm just musing, but I do know one thing for sure: no matter what happens, the day I trailer a bike rather than ride it, that's the day the bike gets sold! "Original" is one thing, and good. "Original, Unused" is quite another, and in my world, not so good.

Just my ever-humble but invariably correct opinion....... Rolling Eyes

xsjohn · Posted: January 31, 2009, 4:55 pm Post subject: Re: Just for fun.....

""""So where is the future""""

Removing the PO's dicked up fashion statements will just be part of the expense........ Laughing

Once the hacking is complete then getting it running right begins....... and so does the whining... Laughing

But I am just an old fart.........but the kids go to town in their ass pants..........and get mad at me for mentioning it........ Shocked

CHECK OUT THIS ENGINE KILLING...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Or5qif80xQo

xsjohn

xs1961 · Posted: January 31, 2009, 10:11 pm Post subject: Re: Just for fun.....

Babs... With you absolutley on every point...Almost as if you'd read my mind & raced/beaten me to the keyboard..
John..Whats a PO ? Have you been drinking ? P.S. .I hate cars/young people too.. ... Wink

xsjohn · Posted: February 1, 2009, 12:19 am Post subject: Re: Just for fun.....

xs1961.....PO...=...Previous Owner...........No I'm sober.......Batch of those young people just left here with their ass pants.........my son included......I am pissed......Had to turn the news off too....way beyond the Tower of Babel.......what a fricken mess.....60 degrees here tomorrow......that's the good news.....

xsjohn

Snake · Posted: February 1, 2009, 6:24 pm Post subject: Re: Just for fun.....

hey guys, i went for a ride with some mates yesterday, did about 140km, was a great ride...but it got me thinking...here i was running with a tool kit and thinking about what "could" happen, my mates had new bikes and didn't have a worry. made me think why i ride these old bikes...as i was riding yesterday i was thinking about the bike, how the carb was working, the oil, the electrical...the handling....etc etc.....and knowing that here i was riding something that i had worked/built/rebuilt and keep going...that is the fun. for me anyway...and i agree with everyone else here...no point if you don't ride it...might as well collect books.....

xs1961 · Posted: February 1, 2009, 7:28 pm Post subject: Re: Just for fun.....

Good point mate. To add to that - I cant/wont ride a bike that I havnt built/modified myself ,just not intrested in anything that someone else could or might own , to me at least half the fun/intrest is in the building ..anyone can go out & buy a bike 'off the shelf' ..doesnt make them a 'true' 100% biker in my eyes...I know wherever I go my bikes are one-offs.. Cool

Snake · Posted: February 2, 2009, 3:52 am Post subject: Re: Just for fun.....

i hate to ask really........xsjohn......what are ass pants??.....i have two aliens here and when they bring other aliens around....thats when im glad i have a bike..........

Barbara · Posted: February 4, 2009, 3:59 am Post subject: Re: Just for fun.....

xs'61, you called it! I don't trust a bike I haven't built, or at least been inside the engine. I like to know who to blame if something goes amiss, and I like it to be me. Besides, when it is nasty and rainy or snowing out, what could be better than a heated shed, a bit of beer or a nice wine cooler, and an engine needing attention? Ahhh---heaven!

I love working on bikes, especially once the engine is on the bench and the heavy lifting is over for awhile. (Don't like that part very much......) I have my son and his friends to do the heavy lifting, but I always worry until an engine is out and safely on the bench, or conversely, back safely in the frame.

That's one reason I love the BSA singles---I can move the engine around.... Rolling Eyes

xsleo · Posted: February 4, 2009, 4:57 am Post subject: Re: Just for fun.....

snake, when your riding with those folks on the new bikes. if yours breaks down, how long will it take to get going again? if one of your buddies break down, how long will it take them to fix theirs? now who has the better deal?

Retiredgentleman · Posted: February 4, 2009, 12:59 pm Post subject: Re: Just for fun.....

For sure Barb, you can't have more fun than when the engine is all in pieces. It gives you a chance to check out what the PO has done right or maybe wrong. He left out a clutch washer the last time he was in there.

Its pleasant to have a warm basement to spread parts and tools all over. There's nothing like the smell of motor oil and grease under the fingernails. Yes, we all need a beer (Canadian beer of course) once in a while.

My goal is to have an engine that does not burn oil and does not leak oil. That's not much to ask, is it?

xsjohn · Posted: February 4, 2009, 1:05 pm Post subject: Re: Just for fun.....

Snake......""""what are ass pants??.....""""

That's just what I call them when the male kids and the grown up male kids wear their pants drooping down low so their ass shows....not sure what they are trying to say with that ugly fashion statement....maybe they are just walking around looking for some toilet paper.....who knows...?

xsjohn

woodman · Full Member Joined: Oct 12, 2008 Posts: 256

They want to look like black prisoners from what Ive read. Just exactly why is beyond the depth of my knowledge. Mine went thru it for a brief period then grew out of it fortunately

xs1961 · Posted: February 4, 2009, 3:04 pm Post subject: Re: Just for fun.....

Bring back national service I say ..Little p***s..!

Evil or Very Mad

.

xsjohn · Posted: February 4, 2009, 4:20 pm Post subject: Re: Just for fun.....

Won't be long till we all will be working for the government...... Sad

Snake · Posted: February 5, 2009, 2:53 am Post subject: Re: Just for fun.....

i thought thats what you meant...just wanted to make sure...with you guys speaking american and all.........

650skull · Support Staff Joined: Jul 19, 2007 Posts: 1186

Watch those guys Snake, they seem to have a fixation on ass's Shocked

xsjohn · Posted: February 5, 2009, 7:05 am Post subject: Re: Just for fun.....

Female's yes .............. Very Happy

xsjohn

Barbara · Posted: February 5, 2009, 4:05 pm Post subject: Re: Just for fun.....

Hi Guys,

-----factory stock or Specials? Rolling Eyes

Oh, never mind---I know the answer: "Available"....... Laughing

Ranging far afield,

xsjohn · Posted: February 5, 2009, 4:16 pm Post subject: Re: Just for fun.....

I always avoided the ones with the adams apple..... Laughing

xsjohn

650skull · Support Staff Joined: Jul 19, 2007 Posts: 1186

Barbara wrote:

Hi Guys,

-----factory stock or Specials? Rolling Eyes

Oh, never mind---I know the answer: "Available"....... Laughing

,

The earlier models were a bit testy and inclined to buck you off, these issues were addressed and made for a smother ride as they were built for speed on the later models. The final offer had a hole new shape that had a look of comfort with less speed and a lot more curves, they tended to be a bit hard on the arse on long rides...........It is not easy to get what you are after at times and the waiting around can be frustrating, so if an opportunity presents its self you have to take what ever is "Available" and for the lucky few, having just one is never enough Twisted Evil

xsjohn · Posted: February 5, 2009, 5:42 pm Post subject: Re: Just for fun.....

The latest model I rode ....you could choke her without turning loose of either hand.....but she was dead .....just layed out ....nothing.....thought I had pushed all the right buttons.....even kicked her a few times......nothing......she was kinda leaning over on her side a bit.......that got me worried....no adams apple though....so I stood her up and heard a click underneath her...must of hit the right button there....off we went.....rode till we were out of gas......... Very Happy

xsjohn

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