Hairy Bikers and Other Petrol Heads

[Osgood]

Looks like the tax disc has been severely traumatised by high-speed manoeuvres

 

[simond]

Zoom in, says “Guinness”

 

[Scale7JB]

Before I get too old to do it I've gone and done it , got back on an iron 'orse.
Collected today, with grateful help from Tony @Osgood , we returned home with a '55 Triumph 5T 'Speed Twin'.
Triumph twins have always been my thing, re-built more than half a dozen of them in the past, unit and pre-unit, including two Tritons and a couple of Bonneville's.
Now have the pleasure of looking after this pre-unit 500.
View attachment 248614

Col.

That’s lovely, Colin. What is Unit and Pre-Unit?

JB.

 

[JimG]

That’s lovely, Colin. What is Unit and Pre-Unit?

JB.

Wasn't that separate crankcase and gearbox or combined crankcase:gearbox casting?

Edit: "Unit" was combined casting.

Jim.

 

[Eastsidepilot]

That’s lovely, Colin. What is Unit and Pre-Unit?

JB.

As Jim above says, the earlier machines had separate engine cases and gearbox mounted on a pair of metal plate frames in turn bolted to the main frame of the bike. Unit construction means the gearbox and crankcases are all one casting.




Col.

 

[ovener]

Looks like the tax disc has been severely traumatised by high-speed manoeuvres

View attachment 248687

I cannot confirm if that is true. But I did have to fiit a 2-1 upswept exhaust pipe to avoid grounding the original straight through ones...

 

[Osgood]

Plausible deniability then.....

 

[JimG]

I cannot confirm if that is true. But I did have to fiit a 2-1 upswept exhaust pipe to avoid grounding the original straight through ones...

I remember noting scrape marks on the underside of my Boxer cylinder heads and was quite surprised at the tilt required to get them to hit the tarmac.

Jim.

 

[simond]

I don’t want to even think about grounding mine (and I’ve got crash bars anyway)

 

[RichardG]

I remember noting scrape marks on the underside of my Boxer cylinder heads and was quite surprised at the tilt required to get them to hit the tarmac.

Jim.

I touched them a couple of times on my R80/7. I don't think the bike was really built for this kind of behaviour but it was very satisfying.

 

[Eastsidepilot]

I had an R90s in '85 and used to wear flats through the stitching on my boots ! got a bit expensive



Col.

 

[Osgood]

For when you get older:

 

[alastairq]

Posh Space Hoppers?

 

[Giles]

Nah....... this is how you do it.......

https://flic.kr/p/2rzmf4x

 

[Eastsidepilot]

For when you get older:

View attachment 249576

You know when your getting old when you can't start the rocker !

 

[RichardG]

Saturday 8th November 2025.

It is years and years since I have seen one of these! I remember when they were brand new. There was one in and around Shrewsbury in the mid 1970s.

 

[Rob R]

There are still a few around.
Came across a "day out" at Snugburys Ice Cream Farm near Nantwich August BH last year.
Can't remember exactly how many there were but well over 20.
One side of the "bug" park.

 

[Osgood]

My room mate at college had one - that too was orange.......

 

[Boyblunder]

That looks like Hatfield Peveril Richard. As we are running into the winter stay-at-home season readers of this thread may find "Richard Hammond's Workshop" on the TV of interest. In I think the first episode he restores a Bond Bug, probably available for most of us on Freeview Quest TV.

 

[Eastsidepilot]

I recall when these first appeared, being hairy bikers we all thought the best thing that could be done with a Bug was to bolt a motorcycle on the side of it