Bikes Not Wanted

Post by **minetymenace** » Fri Dec 19, 2014 6:25 pm

OK, Everyone on this planet and maybe a few others wants a B50, but you all know that. So what bike would you NOT want (lets try and keep ot to Brittish bikes to start with).

My "Bike not wanted" is the AMC CSR G2, (and I speak from experience here). What were they thinking? Soft aluminium, poor handleing, ancient design and performance to match.

midgie · Post by **midgie** » Fri Dec 19, 2014 7:12 pm

ariel arrow yuk!

AWJD · Post by **AWJD** » Fri Dec 19, 2014 7:12 pm

My "Bike not wanted" is a mid-1970's era Triumph twin (Tiger or Bonneville) from the infamous Triumph Meriden Cooperative. Bought a Tiger from new but can't remember anything good about it. Worst feature was the peeling chrome plated brake discs, front and rear, which provided zero braking force when wet. Managed to survive a year with it by which time it was only fit for the scrap yard!

HPbyStan · Post by **HPbyStan** » Fri Dec 19, 2014 8:01 pm

Anything Brand T or with a Brand T transmission.

packw · Post by **packw** » Sat Dec 20, 2014 1:26 am

Norton Jubilee, Navigator, or Electra.

bacigalupo · Post by **bacigalupo** » Sat Dec 20, 2014 8:29 am

Ariel 3
What a way to end

midgie · Post by **midgie** » Sat Dec 20, 2014 10:19 am

ariel3 its not a bike, its not a car, but its fun. well that's how the ad went anyway. bsa might have sold more calling them what we all did 'granny killers'. I must confess I own one it is the highly desirable orange model with all the motoplas extras. its great when your pissed off just to go and have a laugh at it!

Richard Hunt · Post by **Richard Hunt** » Sat Dec 20, 2014 2:53 pm

We will talking about Sinclair C4s next

A few years back I remember seeing a hotel at Lynton and Lynmouth (can't remember which) had a few C4s for guests to play with

Rich

Post by **minetymenace** » Sat Dec 20, 2014 3:16 pm

Think you mean a C5, but that is not a bike by any stretch of the imagination

midgie · Post by **midgie** » Sat Dec 20, 2014 5:58 pm

that's you told mr hunt! next your be telling us dick mann won Daytona in 71 on a bsa ariel3. easy mistake though!

Richard Hunt · Post by **Richard Hunt** » Sat Dec 20, 2014 7:40 pm

minetymenace wrote:Think you mean a C5

Oops..... silly me C4 is explosive.

minetymenace wrote:but that is not a bike by any stretch of the imagination

and in the same vein you will be saying a Quasar is a bike

midgie wrote:next your be telling us dick mann won Daytona in 71 on a bsa ariel3

didn't he

Rich

HPbyStan · Post by **HPbyStan** » Sat Dec 20, 2014 7:53 pm

I think Bugs would have won again in '72 had the porcelain not blown out of his center Champion spark plug. He was the fastest guy there before and after they replaced the plug.

beat · Post by **beat** » Sat Dec 20, 2014 8:41 pm

I dit not knowing what it is, a BSA Ariel 3
Google enlighted me, - and I must say: it looks not so bad , isn't it ??

: Bild 1.png (134.17 KiB) Viewed 5817 times

: Bild 2.png (134.47 KiB) Viewed 5817 times

most of it looks like the H.o.n.d.a Gyro UP. I have seen this vehicules in Greece and I must say: ----I wantd one.

: nice project to get one running on electrical engine....

could be a nice project for the time after the B50 periode of live.
but I should start soon because I would like to have it electricaly driven, so it needs some smal modification on it. - no more 2 smoke please

beat

Post by **minetymenace** » Sat Dec 20, 2014 9:00 pm

Quasar IS a bike (bicycle = two wheels)....C5 definitely no, Ariel 3 or Segway don’t definitely know?

Richard Hunt · Post by **Richard Hunt** » Sat Dec 20, 2014 10:30 pm

Yep, C5 has three wheels same as Ariel 3

Anyone admit to having owned a Bond Bug

Rich

Post by **minetymenace** » Sat Dec 20, 2014 10:39 pm

Ah, yes, well...I do!

Chris Pellett · Post by **Chris Pellett** » Sun Dec 21, 2014 5:32 pm

Well if we are digressing onto three wheelers, here is one of my early projects:

I wanted to turn it into a helicopter but it never got off the ground. Boom Boom!

Our neighbour had a C5 after he lost his licence drink driving, I think that after pushing it five miles with a flat battery he learnt his lesson.

One three wheeler that was rather neat was the Stimson Scorcher

HPbyStan · Post by **HPbyStan** » Sun Dec 21, 2014 7:13 pm

The motorcycle I most did NOT want was my 1st, a '46 BSA C11. What I really wanted at that time, if you can believe it, was a Triumph cub. Growing up I didn't realize we were poor and my dad couldn't afford a cub. In 1955 that POS caused my most embarrassing moments on a bike of any kind. My friends from school came to Grass Lake to watch me "race" in the Wisconsin state championship side hack ice race. My dad and the manager of the local BSA shop gave me a shove at the start and I got into turn one 1st BUT I was just in the way. Riders were flying by me on both sides and despite not even cracking the throttle the whole lap, a couple of Cubs came by again before I made it back to the start / finish line. I held it wide open for two more laps and then just pulled in red faced by more than just the cold. My dad told me we couldn't hop it up because it was just too old to take it but the next week he had to make a trip to the East coast for construction products for his job and I tore that mess apart. I had my neighbor tig weld a crown on the piston that was so tall the motor wouldn't turn over and not being smart enough to know how to measure it I just kept taking it apart and grinding until it would. I never did know just what clearance it ended up with. I ground the camshaft on the bench grinder because I didn't know i couldn't and got a bunch more valve lift. I didn't have proper porting tools so I ground what I could reach and ended up, as it turns out, with a taper venturi intake even though I'd never heard of such a thing back then. Again the motor wouldn't turn over because of valves hitting the piston so back to taking it apart and grinding more clearance for them. Finally it turned over so I started it up and sneaked a ride down the street. it seemed a bunch more peppy but hard to tell without POing the neighbors. Sunday we're back to the lake and I went out for practice with the Cubs and the champ winning NSU and that old BSA was spanking the lot of them. I should have only ridden one practice and saved the engine but I was on top of the world kicking old guy butt and rode every session until,,,,,,,,,, that sucker exploded big time. When we got to taking it apart Monday and my dad saw what I'd done, he chewed my arse from end to end. Wednesday I rode my bicycle across town to the BSA shop and the head mechanic pulled me aside and told me that my old man had been in and bragging to high heaven about what I'd done to that engine. Only time I ever heard he was proud of me and it didn't come from him

It turns out that the older I got, the smarter my dad became. The C11 not being able to stand more HP wasn't the only thing he was right about that I didn't believe at the time.
Stan Millard

Ian Hingley · Post by **Ian Hingley** » Sun Dec 21, 2014 8:54 pm

Another great story Stan!

Keep them coming.

Ian

Post by **minetymenace** » Sun Dec 21, 2014 9:04 pm

steve m · Post by **steve m** » Sun Dec 21, 2014 9:29 pm

good one Stan.

skippy · Post by **skippy** » Sun Dec 21, 2014 11:12 pm

Ian Hingley wrote:Another great story Stan!

Keep them coming.

Ian

That's a complement coming from our resident travel writer. Well done

from me too.

beat · Post by **beat** » Mon Dec 22, 2014 7:16 pm

Ian Hingley wrote: great story Stan!

congrat stan, - a perfect start up it was

thanks for the story,
beat

Mark Cook · Post by **Mark Cook** » Tue Dec 23, 2014 3:20 pm

What a sweet tale Stan

Richard Hunt · Post by **Richard Hunt** » Sun Jan 04, 2015 11:14 am

Just seen this on ebay - anyone interested - or is it a bike not wanted

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/CLASSIC-BSA-A ... 27f5d8be45

Rich

Ian Hingley · Post by **Ian Hingley** » Sun Jan 04, 2015 2:42 pm

One went for £95 on ebay last week. Was almost worth a punt at that price...

Ian

Post by **minetymenace** » Sun Jan 04, 2015 3:09 pm

Ian I'd say that if you consider that an Ariel 3 is worth a punt at £95, you are amost

Post by **minetymenace** » Sun Jan 04, 2015 3:10 pm

Ian I'd say that if you consider that an Ariel 3 is worth a punt at £95, you are amost

and probably

midgie · Post by **midgie** » Sun Jan 04, 2015 3:25 pm

Richard Hunt wrote:Just seen this on ebay - anyone interested - or is it a bike not wanted

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/CLASSIC-BSA-A ... 27f5d8be45

Rich

at £895 I think he will own it a very long time Richard.

Jack Gifford · Post by **Jack Gifford** » Mon Jan 05, 2015 6:51 am

Any of you ever ride such a device? Just curious to hear a rider's comments. I'm not aware of anything similar ever being available here. What was the motivation for having three wheels?

beat · Post by **beat** » Mon Jan 05, 2015 9:00 pm

Jack Gifford wrote: What was the motivation for having three wheels?

I have seen a vew of them on greek islands where "streets" are as narrow as just two people can walk beside each other.
so, transporting suitcases, baskets of vegetables ore bread ore barrels of wine

and others ( like Fishs ore Pizzas ) - it is just the right thing.

: no side- ore zenterstand needet !!!!

three wheels is good to have for loading and unloading the vehicule, it never tendences to fall over.

: not so shure as the fish is realy fresh....

IMO, a perfect little Truck for short distances and loadings up to maybe 50 Kg ? --- ( so this would include a B50 engine ! )

beat

Post by **minetymenace** » Mon Jan 05, 2015 10:31 pm

beat wrote:three wheels is good to have for loading and unloading the vehicule, it never tendences to fall over.

I know you are biased in favour of three wheels, beat, but have you ever driven a Reliant Robin......

Chris Pellett · Post by **Chris Pellett** » Tue Jan 06, 2015 1:05 am

Triumph were guilty too

: Coventry Museum

Jack Gifford · Post by **Jack Gifford** » Tue Jan 06, 2015 7:01 am

It's the "pivot in the middle" that makes me ask about the riding experience; difficult for me to guess how that would feel- less tendency to stay upright than a two-wheeler?
What keeps the front section from tipping over when parked?

steve m · Post by **steve m** » Tue Jan 06, 2015 7:27 am

Jack Gifford wrote:What keeps the front section from tipping over when parked?

why, the two big blocks of wood do Jack, the two BIG blocks of wood. certainly decreases the size of the carry basket. so there's one for you MM. 3 wheels, no side-stand, but two blocks of wood.
if it ever came down to "you must choose one". between the Triumph POS and an Ariel3, the choice is quite clear to me..... pass me the Nembutal please, i'm outta here.

steve

roadplough · Post by **roadplough** » Sat Jan 10, 2015 4:38 pm

steve m wrote:Jack Gifford wrote:
What keeps the front section from tipping over when parked?

steve m wrote:why, the two big blocks of wood do Jack, the two BIG blocks of wood.

Really? ?
and I had believed it was torsion bars

kommando · Post by **kommando** » Wed Jan 14, 2015 7:05 pm

I seem to remember reading that the Ariel 3's downfall was the steering pivot.

Got this which may explain more

However, the Ariel-3 is meant to be ridden by leaning on bends, as for a conventional moped and for this type of riding, turning the bars as well is an unnatural act. Yet, because the Ariel-3 is a tricycle, albeit with the rear part hinged, leaning over on its own is not enough to initiate cornering by itself and it has to be steered as well, and this is done by steering the rear wheels to push the vehicle into a turn. The two torsion rods are adjusted up so that as the front leans further over, the rear wheels steer a tighter turn and provided that the adjustment is correct this all happens smoothly and gives the same results as would be expected with a normal bike. However, with the rods out of adjustment what happens is that when the rider first starts to lean nothing seems to happen and they continue straight on. Panic then sets in and the rider leans further, at which point the slack in the rods gets taken up and the Ariel-3, seemingly with a mind of its own, shoots into the bend far sharper than the rider intended. I feel that it is from Ariel-3s in this state that most of the "dangerous" reports come from.

http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~pattl ... rc0510.htm

Jack Gifford · Post by **Jack Gifford** » Thu Jan 15, 2015 6:54 am

Seems to me that even with everything "correctly adjusted" it still must have been "strange" to ride!

midgie · Post by **midgie** » Thu Jan 15, 2015 5:01 pm

strange indeed its nigh 0n impossible to steer in a straight line, when your laughing so hard! some years ago we were invited to xmas dinner by some friends not far from us, I suggested we supply the turkey, so just for a giggle I thought I would deliver it a few days before and transport the frozen bird in the rear basket on the ariel3. all going well until out of the corner of my right eye I caught a glimpse of something overtaking me, it was indeed the frozen turkey that skidded up the road as the basket had come adrift. much amusement all round. regards midgie and the fastest turkey in church crookham.

beat · Post by **beat** » Thu Jan 15, 2015 6:53 pm

fishs and turkeys seams to be the load for this lovely trucks....