Show your other bike(s) - What else do you ride?

When my wife wanted to ride pillion a couple of years ago we opted for a Hinckley Bonneville. Both my Nortons are 'caffed and thus only for solo riding. Rebuilding them to original was not an option at the time.

A few years ago we got a dog (Called "Norton") and in order to be able to bring him with us as well I sourced an old Bender sidecar. It was hastingly attached to the Bonnie.

Riding with a sidecar isn't really my cup of tea and will never be. The bends feels like wrestling and it's rather nerve wrecking having your two most beloved at the side only a couple of inches above the ground. The Bonnie was quite fun in the twisties (Not Featherbed fun, but fun, never the less.) Fitted with a sidecar it's a totally different story... As soon as you get carried away there's usually a tight right hander firmly warning you to slow down.

Anyway, here's a few shots of it:
[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0LO9FQs7oI[/video]

I sold the Griso and got these instead

speirmoor said:

I sold the Griso and got these instead

Click to expand...

Why did you sell the Griso?

I still look at them from time to time so would appreciate your honest ex owner feedback...

Eddie,
The Griso was bought mainly for my wife and I to ride two up. She said the Commando was too fumey when stuck in traffic so I looked for another two seater bike. I bought the Griso and all was well. We used it often until we had a child this summer. We both agreed it would probably be a while before she'd be a pillion again so I opted to sell it. The Morini was to be finished after a 2 year refurb around the same time so all aligned perfectly
Overall I enjoyed the Griso. Its comfortable and handles well. Brakes and suspension are top notch. Engine is sweet. Low down power and fast when you need it. Gears shift fine. My biggest problem with the bike was mostly due to city riding. Most Guzzi riders say the Griso doesn't get hot enough but my problem was it got too hot while city riding. When it got too hot the fuel injection got weird causing erratic engine behavior. Mostly sandbagging, surging backfiring etc. The Griso forums suggest pulling over or shutting engine down but this is impossible when you are in stop and go traffic in NYC. My solution attempt was to put a fan on the oil cooler to help things but I never got that far. Some other members reported the same issue but we were few and a solution to the issue rarely arose. Like I said this is in the city if you are out in the country you would probably never experience this.

speirmoor said:

I sold the Griso and got these instead

Click to expand...

Maybe not everyone can appreciate this bike, but I DEFINITELY DO!

It just looks beautiful to my eyes. The fact that it is ultralight means the Power-to-Weight ratio is reasonably high; not too wimpy for a sub-150# prider such as myself...

Nice.

Got me thinking of the lovely aroma of Blendzall...

speirmoor said:

Eddie,
The Griso was bought mainly for my wife and I to ride two up. She said the Commando was too fumey when stuck in traffic so I looked for another two seater bike. I bought the Griso and all was well. We used it often until we had a child this summer. We both agreed it would probably be a while before she'd be a pillion again so I opted to sell it. The Morini was to be finished after a 2 year refurb around the same time so all aligned perfectly
Overall I enjoyed the Griso. Its comfortable and handles well. Brakes and suspension are top notch. Engine is sweet. Low down power and fast when you need it. Gears shift fine. My biggest problem with the bike was mostly due to city riding. Most Guzzi riders say the Griso doesn't get hot enough but my problem was it got too hot while city riding. When it got too hot the fuel injection got weird causing erratic engine behavior. Mostly sandbagging, surging backfiring etc. The Griso forums suggest pulling over or shutting engine down but this is impossible when you are in stop and go traffic in NYC. My solution attempt was to put a fan on the oil cooler to help things but I never got that far. Some other members reported the same issue but we were few and a solution to the issue rarely arose. Like I said this is in the city if you are out in the country you would probably never experience this.

Click to expand...

Thanks for that. Overheating is not likely to be a huge issue here in UK me thinks !

1996 Buell S1



1973 Triumph TR5T Trophy Trail



1954 Velocette MSS

That Trophy Trail is just about the best-looking Triumph ever produced, IMO. I missd a chance to buy one years ago and am still kicking myself.

Danno said:

That Trophy Trail is just about the best-looking Triumph ever produced, IMO.

Click to expand...

EXCEPT for the muffler.

I am having trouble posting so this might take multiple posts.

First picture is of my shovel. I built this bike starting with just a motor and gearbox. The second picture is my dirt bike. I load it with my fly rod and go into the mountains to fish.

Kber45

This is part 2.

The black bike is my wifes and the yellow was mine. I sold mine. She still has the black one.

This is post 3

This is my newest bike. My wife has a second bike also but I dont have a picture.

Kber45

Kber45 said:

The black bike is my wifes and the yellow was mine.

Click to expand...

No malice intended, but where's the Norton?

Lol, no worries. My house is kind of a gong show. I have two sheds out back and am constantly rotating bikes and parts from one place to another. About the only constant is that the bike, part or tool I need at the time will be locared at the back and underneath everything else.

I did not have any current picture of my Norton (I call the first one N1) so I just went to the garage now and took a picture. In the background on the bench you can see the motor for the Norton I am building (N2). I have been detailing the build of N2 under the thead "start of a build". It is going very slow, more of a retirement thing.

In the picture my bike is on he stand. I just put two new tires on and converted the back to an 18' rim. My first try at lacing a wheel. the picture quality is poor so I also included one from a few years ago taken in the back yard.

I have had fun going through pictures of my bikes. I have some old family pictures of bikes but I dont know what bike make/model they are. I may post the pictures under another thread

I've added a few bargain bikes to the stable recently, all in the $1000 range. I don't plan to keep them all forever, but it's fun to try something new now and then. I'll ride them a bit more, and then decide which to keep and which to sell. For each one I keep, I have to sell one of my other bikes, so I'll only keep the ones I really like.

This is a naked 1999 R1 Yamaha that was built up from a crashed bike. It's a serious hooligan bike, but way more power than I need (did I really say that?).



And this is a 1998 MZ Skorpion Traveller. It uses the Yamaha 5-valve 660 cc single, for which I have all kinds of engine hop-up parts left from racing that I'd like to use for something. Besides, I had one of these many years back and really liked it.



And then there's this 1980 Honda CX500. Not exactly the flashiest bike around, but at least it's a pushrod engine. I've been playing with modifying a CX500 engine for landspeed racing in the pushrod classes, and thought it might be fun to have one in a street bike for a while. It's also quite comfortable for an old guy like me for just putting around. That funky looking Corbin seat is really nice for longer rides. Still, I doubt if it turns into a keeper.



Last, but not least, a 1986 Honda VF500F Interceptor. These are really cool little bikes. I've actually got two of them, but the other one is more of a beater, and I'm planning to sell it as soon as I get it running again. I've already promised this one to my grandson (in the pic) as his daily commuter bike.



Ken

lcrken said:

I've added a few bargain bikes to the stable recently, all in the $1000 range. I don't plan to keep them all forever, but it's fun to try something new now and then. I'll ride them a bit more, and then decide which to keep and which to sell. For each one I keep, I have to sell one of my other bikes, so I'll only keep the ones I really like.

This is a naked 1999 R1 Yamaha that was built up from a crashed bike. It's a serious hooligan bike, but way more power than I need (did I really say that?).

Ken

Click to expand...

Ken, I have a seat in the garage off a 2004 Triumph Sprint ST that would look better than that upholstered oaken rail you've got on there now. It's yours for the price of shipping if you want it.

It is kind of ugly, isnt' it? Thanks for the offer, but the subframe has been shortened so much that I don't think the ST seat would fit. I'm thinking of doing something along the lines of a classic solo race seat.

Ken

Ken:

If I were to get back into biking (very unlikely at my age of 74 after 48 years away from them) a CX500 would be my choice. They'r beautifully engineered and have more than enough power for the in-town riding I'd be doing.

frankdamp said:

Ken:

If I were to get back into biking (very unlikely at my age of 74 after 48 years away from them) a CX500 would be my choice. They'r beautifully engineered and have more than enough power for the in-town riding I'd be doing.

Click to expand...

Well, I'll be 74 in a couple of weeks, and one of the reasons I'm trying different bikes, like the CX500, is to try and sort out what's comfortable for an old geezer. At least that's the excuse I use with the wife. I'm definitely limited to situp style bikes now, no more clip-ons and rearsets, except for very short distances. I can still manage the 7 mile run at Bonneville on that sort of bike, but that's about it. In the local canyons, on a comfortable bike, my limit is about 100 miles round trip. I'd like to find that magic bike that lets me do longer rides. Hey, at least I've got a goal.

Ken

Ken, Your comment :
'This is a naked 1999 R1 Yamaha that was built up from a crashed bike. It's a serious hooligan bike, but way more power than I need (did I really say that?).'

I'm 74 years of age and I've promised myself that before I die, I will ride an R1 at Winton Raceway. Most bikes I've ridden in the past have been old nasty garbage. And I'd just like to find out what a good bike feels like. I once rode a VFR400 Honda along one of our local winding roads and I was most impressed with the handling.