European lightweight Motorized Bicycles
- Thread starter Ludwig II
- Start date
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- motorized bicycle
Re: European lightweights
i was watching this he has so many nice bikes i bet they are sitting on a large fortune in motorcycles
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hDRApV-aFw&feature=colike
so jealous im on the wrong side of the pond
i was watching this he has so many nice bikes i bet they are sitting on a large fortune in motorcycles
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hDRApV-aFw&feature=colike
so jealous im on the wrong side of the pond
Re: European lightweights
Too many pics to transfer, enjoy.
http://www.motohistory.net/news2011/news-july11.html
Too many pics to transfer, enjoy.
http://www.motohistory.net/news2011/news-july11.html
Re: European lightweights
Since I started riding Motor Bicycles, the thought has crossed my mind more than once about how in the past, people in this country have sort of been conditioned to consider a vehicle like a MB, as a sort of loser mobil lol. Of course I don't think that at all, and give no though to what others might think about me for liking MBs. I'm kind of used to it anyway, because it used to be common for people to think just being a motorcycle rider makes you a low class thug. The kind of guy you need to hide your daughter from lol.
Now I consider it sort of an honor when people come up to ask about my MB, and when I tell them I made it, they marvel at how well constructed it is, and say they thought it came from a store. In most cases I get the feeling they're dissapointed, because they were hoping they could find out where they could buy one.
I think things are starting to change though. With gas prices getting so high I see all kinds of people riding motorcycles, and scooters that never would be seen riding a few years ago. Motor bicycle will start catching on as more people become familiar with them. I'm doing my part.
Since I started riding Motor Bicycles, the thought has crossed my mind more than once about how in the past, people in this country have sort of been conditioned to consider a vehicle like a MB, as a sort of loser mobil lol. Of course I don't think that at all, and give no though to what others might think about me for liking MBs. I'm kind of used to it anyway, because it used to be common for people to think just being a motorcycle rider makes you a low class thug. The kind of guy you need to hide your daughter from lol.
Now I consider it sort of an honor when people come up to ask about my MB, and when I tell them I made it, they marvel at how well constructed it is, and say they thought it came from a store. In most cases I get the feeling they're dissapointed, because they were hoping they could find out where they could buy one.
I think things are starting to change though. With gas prices getting so high I see all kinds of people riding motorcycles, and scooters that never would be seen riding a few years ago. Motor bicycle will start catching on as more people become familiar with them. I'm doing my part.
Re: European lightweights
This bike is very similar to a china girl. Dual drive and all.From Sweden, 184cc Wide.
Re: European lightweights
Most people here know nothing about American bikes apart from the Milwaukee Monster, and there were so many ephemeral companies across Europe that it's almost impossible to track them all down. Here in Birmingham, over the years, there were over 100 companies making motorcycles, and that discounts the contiguous towns of the Black Country.
Some of the bikes I find will raise a smile, others will provoke thought. I even found one with the engine behind the back wheel, like a VW Beetle.
Most people here know nothing about American bikes apart from the Milwaukee Monster, and there were so many ephemeral companies across Europe that it's almost impossible to track them all down. Here in Birmingham, over the years, there were over 100 companies making motorcycles, and that discounts the contiguous towns of the Black Country.
Some of the bikes I find will raise a smile, others will provoke thought. I even found one with the engine behind the back wheel, like a VW Beetle.
Re: European lightweights
In 1974 I bought my first big bike. A brand new 850 Norton Commando. That bike was the most undependable pos I've ever had, but I loved better than any bike I owned until 1988 when I bought my 1200 Sportster. It's still a clost second.
In 1974 I bought my first big bike. A brand new 850 Norton Commando. That bike was the most undependable pos I've ever had, but I loved better than any bike I owned until 1988 when I bought my 1200 Sportster. It's still a clost second.
Re: European lightweights
There were several factors at play in late model British bike unreliability. First was the relentless insistence on opening out 500 twins bigger and bigger without beefing up the engineering or modernising it. Second was a genuine belief among the top brass that "motorcyclists enjoy spending Sundays rebuilding their bikes", so why make them reliable? Third, investors wanted quick profits now instead of planning for a future with even better returns. Fourth, many of the workers, now they could afford to buy a car, no longer cared about the quality of their work. Add to this the industrial animosities between workers and management of the 1970s besides the petty infighting and politics of the companies within AMC and BSA/Triumph, and you have the whole picture.
The customer very much came second. The dreadful thing now is that aftermarket parts which are not great leaps of logic to make, nor would have added much to production costs at the time, are available easily to transform oil leaking wrecks into viable motorcycles. They still don't have Japanese reliability, but at least they can be trusted for a decent distance.
There were several factors at play in late model British bike unreliability. First was the relentless insistence on opening out 500 twins bigger and bigger without beefing up the engineering or modernising it. Second was a genuine belief among the top brass that "motorcyclists enjoy spending Sundays rebuilding their bikes", so why make them reliable? Third, investors wanted quick profits now instead of planning for a future with even better returns. Fourth, many of the workers, now they could afford to buy a car, no longer cared about the quality of their work. Add to this the industrial animosities between workers and management of the 1970s besides the petty infighting and politics of the companies within AMC and BSA/Triumph, and you have the whole picture.
The customer very much came second. The dreadful thing now is that aftermarket parts which are not great leaps of logic to make, nor would have added much to production costs at the time, are available easily to transform oil leaking wrecks into viable motorcycles. They still don't have Japanese reliability, but at least they can be trusted for a decent distance.
Re: European lightweights
Bjorn's story, site with pics & links.
http://www.bjorns-story.se/private/Torsong_MC_museumhtm/Motormuseet-Torsong_eng.htm
Bjorn's story, site with pics & links.
http://www.bjorns-story.se/private/Torsong_MC_museumhtm/Motormuseet-Torsong_eng.htm
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Re: European lightweights
Why? It's what they were designed for. Over on the Other Site I did some research and turned up the possible ancestor, or at least model for them. A 98cc Sachs from the 1930s, and the was a very similar JLO of the same time.
Why? It's what they were designed for. Over on the Other Site I did some research and turned up the possible ancestor, or at least model for them. A 98cc Sachs from the 1930s, and the was a very similar JLO of the same time.