Tach Sensor...

sailaway78 · Apr 25, 2008

Ahhhhhhhhhh the memories

Lucas electrics, Amal carbs, drip pan in the garage. The first Triumph I ever got on was a 650 TT Special. WOW what a trip. Had a Square 4 one time too. I loved the sound of it. Never owned a 441 Victor, but did own a Gold Star once. I started riding in the mid 50's on a AJS 500 single. Had a Velocette 350 too. That damn thing would get you anywhere you wanted to go, except home.

Timo42 · Apr 25, 2008

Riding home from the rockstore

after dark on the BSA with a 3 position headlight switch,off, dim, and flicker, having to bumpstart the Norton 850 commando production racer replica and jump on with clipons, rearsets and a solo seat, you didn't miss more than once. *yks nowadays I am content to keep her Met running

Tim

Fred Ficarra7897 · Apr 27, 2008

Now that Rich's tach is fixed,

I can feel free to join in with more MOTORCYCLE stories! ;DBack in the 60's one of the guys in the neighborhood bought a new Triumph 650 Bonneville. It was suppose to be really cool because it didn't have a redline on the TACH. (see Phil? still on topic!) Anyway, no redline meant that Triumph was just too afraid to admit how low the engine could be safely rev'd. And it didn't take long for me to figure out that I DIDN'T want one. It, of course, was a leaker. But it always seemed to need service or repair too. Then the owner made grandiose plans to tour the U.S.A. on it. He left with a big sendoff and was back the next day. Made it as far as Portland Oregon. A rod went right through the front of the crank case. He sold it.I bought a Suzuki 500/5. Took it to San Diego via the coast hiway. Just like "And then came Bronson". Remember the TV show? My brother went with me on his Honda 350 Scrambler. He blew his engine twice in ONE WEEK. I TOWED him 70 miles on I-5 to a city so as to take it apart and ship it home. He rode home on the back of my Suzuki. Great bike! Oil injected two stroke. Two quarts of oil in the tank took me all the way. Down and back. It used far less oil than a four stroke.Sold it after the Kawasaki 500 came out. Kept that bike for 9 years and it never even tipped over on the side stank. I went everywhere on the rear tire. Wheel stands galore. It was a three cylinder two stroke. It was so easy to start that it didn't have electric starting. All I had to do was push down on the kick starter with my HAND. Nobody with a 4 stroke could do that. And that bike was zero maintenance too. I replaced the chain with one of those permanently lubricated types. There was nothing to do to it except open the throttle and hang on! I'm so lucky to be alive.

Timo42 · Apr 27, 2008

Popcorn machine

I remember those things Fred,I also remember there was nothing faster, but you couldn't turn at speed *pop I think this thread is well and truly hijacked

RAD · Apr 27, 2008

What the heck.

Like Fred said.. you fixed the tach so now its ok to hijackCause I'd love to tell ya about my new 75 750 Honda that went from New Mexio to San Diego then up US 1 to San Francisco

LANCE ON CLOUD NINE · Apr 27, 2008

What the heck, as long as were bench racin.

I used to have a sweet little cafe racer. Honda sohc 750 engine,bored to 850, sitting in a factory Rickman nickle plated roller frame. Used to scream it between Topanga Canyon and the Rock Store. It was FAR more capable than myself. One day I had it layed over and going good through a blind sweeper. An id in a 911 is coming the other way and creeps into my lane,each of us doing probably 75. My leg was so close to his car you would have to measure the gap with a feeler guage. After I settled down, I rode slowly home. I sold the bike to a fellow on an "installment plan". He never paid the balance. To this day, I consider the loss an investment in atleast living to 48.

sailaway78 · Apr 27, 2008

I remember well

I remember most of these things well. The 500 Suzie, was truly bullet proof. Not real fast, but as dependable as an anvil. The 500 Kaw. Yeah, you it would outrun just about anything, and the fact that you couldn't turn it was due to the standard equipment hinge, directly under the seat. The 350 Honda was not an exceptional bike, but the 305 was. I had the first 305 scrambler in Dallas. First thing to go was the muffler. Sweetest sound around, but around 7 grand the neighbors started complaining. Used to run a 160 Honda twin, turned into a twingle, with the engine out to 190. Ran it in the 200 class, and when the dirt was slick, it was awsome. Lance, the Honda 4, in a Rickman frame, was a really sweeeeeeeet ride. I was at Daytona the first year they came out with the 750, and Dick Mann won the 200 on one. If memory serves, there were several entered, and all but the winning one broke the cam chains.

LANCE ON CLOUD NINE · Apr 27, 2008

Nice N Easy- If you used to race on dirt,

you might remember the name Sonny Nutter. He was once the fastest speedway flat track (brake less style) racer on the West Coast. He was my land lord in Topanga Ca. I rented a guest house that was a cute little cottage made from a garage. When he saw the Rickman, he allowed me to keep it in my bedroom to keep it nice. I had a direct door to the street and the bike was narrow enough to roll right through. Sonny and his wife Anndre were such nice people. It was a fun arrangement for a 24 year old gear head. Sorry to ramble but have lots of fun memories from California that I seldom take time to revisit. When those 750/4s first came out, it was similar to the first small block chevy. Sort of shocked people and changed everything from that point on.

Jim Seamans · Apr 27, 2008

Ah the Rambler

Fold the seats back and direct the air conditioning just right *yks

Jim Seamans · Apr 27, 2008

Now I have a tack question

How does one find out if the tack is reading correctly. Is there a calibration tool, call a mechanic. This something I haven't thought about.Owned Spitfire, Austin Healy(Bugeye and 3000), 49 Dodge(fun car for dollar night at the drive-in)

Timo42 · Apr 27, 2008

If you are on the starboard tack...

But seriously folks, a photo tach is cheap from harbor freight, but remember that "man with one clock always knows what time it is, man with two clock can never be certain." ;D edit. a toofer, chinese tach and chinese wisdom ;D Tim

RAD · Apr 27, 2008

Jim

you said"How does one find out if the tack is reading correctly. Is there a calibration tool"Yes there is a mechanical hand held tach that I borrowed when I replaced my tach. you hold it onto the front of the crankshaft at idle.My new tach had multible settings on the back so I had no idea what the engine idled at,the book said 700 rpm and thats what I used by changing the settings till it read 700 rpm and just to make sure I used the mechanical hand held tach and got the same results.

Dan Johnson · Apr 27, 2008

Nice...

Still have a custom mildly worked 160 (oversize bore, mild cam, Barnett clutches, megaphone exhaust) sitting in my garage under wraps--great little city bike but is regeared too high for the highway. Wanted a Rickman frame for it with clip-ons and fairings in the worst way after seeing one done up in an issue of Cycle mag in the 60's. Then wanted to upgrade to a 305 until the 750 came out. Did one novice race on a Yamy 250cc and switched to racing sports cars--my reason for living long enough to pass 60!