Still There, Long After The Competition.

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hobot said:
Seriously so dead still air pocket I indeed lit most cigs over 70 hands off before zooming back over the ton to work. Some the most pleasing times of my life I want more of before gone. Air blast was a bit over top of helmet so could look over screen [sunglasses as big bugs don't deflect] and leave lid up to smoke w/o buffeting of blowing ashes in my own eyes like it does w/o a screen. I did not have to be a tough young buck enduring the chill. Exhaust sounds disappear by the ton so might as well buggey wooggy on hard acid rock and roll - which is another thing I could do on Ms Peel but not other cycles, kick rear with throttle and butt steering to dance with the base beats - very similar to chase freaked out zig zaging deer in my passtures - which do remember my wife Alicia says, about 1/2 mile away they now stand stiff legged alert then 100 yr or so the SNOT and race up Mt side.

Well I just can't match any of that hobot. Your riding skills on a Norton are far beyond me.
I might have given you a chase when I was younger, when the road used to tear a thong off
my foot on hard leans.

Life was fairer when we were younger. At least then the cops had to see you, chase you and
if they were lucky, catch you. There was many a Norton rider the police couldn't catch. Myself
included on at least one occasion, maybe two. It was fair game if you got away. Nowadays, you
get an infringement notice in the letter box for something you don't even remember doing.

These guys I see at the pub talking about how fast their Yamahaha XX18 whatever will go, just where
do they do these speeds? I think they are full of bullshit. I think someone told them that's how fast their
bike can go, on a race track. And who would care anyway?

Travelling on my Norton at much over 60mph, I find bothersome. Certainly it rips the ciggy out of your
mouth but just gives me the shits in general. And you spend more time looking out for cops and cameras
than watching the road. It's getting to 60mph that I enjoy, or a lot less around town. Acceleration is hard
to appreciate unless you are pitching it against something else, like a car.

And speaking of cars, in my day Holdens, Cortinas and Hillmans were the competition and you went past
them like they were telegraph poles. And around corners, bye bye motor car. Not so these days. The average
modern car goes and handles (and stops) like nothing ever did in 1972. I'm not saying you can't beat one if
you really want to, but you have to really want to if they are trying. In 1972 it was no competition.
 
hobot said:
Seriously so dead still air pocket I indeed lit most cigs over 70 hands off before zooming back over the ton to work. Some the most pleasing times of my life I want more of before gone. Air blast was a bit over top of helmet so could look over screen [sunglasses as big bugs don't deflect] and leave lid up to smoke w/o buffeting of blowing ashes in my own eyes like it does w/o a screen. I did not have to be a tough young buck enduring the chill. Exhaust sounds disappear by the ton so might as well buggey wooggy on hard acid rock and roll - which is another thing I could do on Ms Peel but not other cycles, kick rear with throttle and butt steering to dance with the base beats - very similar to chase freaked out zig zaging deer in my passtures - which do remember my wife Alicia says, about 1/2 mile away they now stand stiff legged alert then 100 yr or so the SNOT and race up Mt side.

Well I just can't match any of that hobot. Your riding skills on a Norton are far beyond me.
I might have given you a chase when I was younger, when the road used to tear a thong off
my foot on hard leans.

Life was fairer when we were younger. At least then the cops had to see you, chase you and
if they were lucky, catch you. There was many a Norton rider the police couldn't catch. Myself
included on at least one occasion, maybe two. It was fair game if you got away. Nowadays, you
get an infringement notice in the letter box for something you don't even remember doing.

These guys I see at the pub talking about how fast their Yamahaha XX18 whatever will go, just where
do they do these speeds? I think they are full of bullshit. I think someone told them that's how fast their
bike can go, on a race track. And who would care anyway?

Travelling on my Norton at much over 60mph, I find bothersome. Certainly it rips the ciggy out of your
mouth but just gives me the shits in general. And you spend more time looking out for cops and cameras
than watching the road. It's getting to 60mph that I enjoy, or a lot less around town. Acceleration is hard
to appreciate unless you are pitching it against something else, like a car.

And speaking of cars, in my day Holdens, Cortinas and Hillmans were the competition and you went past
them like they were telegraph poles. And around corners, bye bye motor car. Not so these days. The average
modern car goes and handles (and stops) like nothing ever did in 1972. I'm not saying you can't beat one if
you really want to, but you have to really want to if they are trying. In 1972 it was no competition.
 
phil yates said:
These guys I see at the pub talking about how fast their Yamahaha XX18 whatever will go, just where
do they do these speeds? I think they are full of bullshit. I think someone told them that's how fast their
bike can go, on a race track. And who would care anyway?

Those are the same guys who did all the cute girls in High School too. :D
 
So I guess we have something in common hobot.
We are both as weird as each other.
Maybe Alicia and Jenny should have a quiet word together.
Modern medicine could surely help us.

Hobot is seriously weird. You Phil, only play at it.

I mean this in only the nicest way.
 
dennisgb said:
phil yates said:
These guys I see at the pub talking about how fast their Yamahaha XX18 whatever will go, just where
do they do these speeds? I think they are full of bullshit. I think someone told them that's how fast their
bike can go, on a race track. And who would care anyway?

Those are the same guys who did all the cute girls in High School too. :D

I think most of them never even got on a bike until they were 40 or 50 yrs old. They don't know what to think or say about
my Norton out front because they have never seen or heard of one. Imagine if they had to learn to change gears with their
right foot!! Not that I do on the MkIII, but either side is fine with me, and up or down.
 
Fullauto said:
So I guess we have something in common hobot.
We are both as weird as each other.
Maybe Alicia and Jenny should have a quiet word together.
Modern medicine could surely help us.

Hobot is seriously weird. You Phil, only play at it.

I mean this in only the nicest way.

Many many years ago, as a First Officer, the Captain (who was a good mate) turned to me and said:
I'm not the full quid Phil, not even 70 cents in the dollar. But because I know this, I can compensate,
even this Airline thought I was normal and made me a Captain.
 
phil yates said:
I think most of them never even got on a bike until they were 40 or 50 yrs old. They don't know what to think or say about
my Norton out front because they have never seen or heard of one. Imagine if they had to learn to change gears with their
right foot!! Not that I do on the MkIII, but either side is fine with me, and up or down.

My new neighbor stopped over one day last summer...he rides a Suzuki. He looked at my MKIII and said "I didn't know those were 2 strokes". I honestly didn't know what to say, but I think he is pretty much dumb as a post so he probably wouldn't have understood me anyway.
 
Ya know the truth is the better we get to know one another the more weird we all are and few of us would have much to do with the others but for the cutie pie Commandos. I would not underestimate the weirdness Phil contains if triggered. I ain't hardly ever crashed going fast but boy howdy about all other conditions, more than once a double crash on Gravel that saved us and so fast felt like UFO flash beam abduction, probed, implanted then spit back into saddle, wondering did that just really happen to get home and find the new holes/scuffs. By far most my crashes have been so calm collected with praising self talk that I was so wise refraining form any sense of risk taking, SPLAT>

I"ve been thinking about Phil mention of Commando and pillion's delight. Still handles nicely but traffic light wheelies are too easy. A survey on other lists revealed most women preferred a Commando over the others in stable.

Paint ball blunderbusses will scatter deer and cattle but dang dogs run up from behind as well as from the side so think explosive spray of Bear pepper spray at each corner will repel them and break tire chasing habit.
 
dennisgb said:
phil yates said:
I think most of them never even got on a bike until they were 40 or 50 yrs old. They don't know what to think or say about
my Norton out front because they have never seen or heard of one. Imagine if they had to learn to change gears with their
right foot!! Not that I do on the MkIII, but either side is fine with me, and up or down.

My new neighbor stopped over one day last summer...he rides a Suzuki. He looked at my MKIII and said "I didn't know those were 2 strokes". I honestly didn't know what to say, but I think he is pretty much dumb as a post so he probably wouldn't have understood me anyway.

Yes it is very sad. I wonder when you start it up and it sounds like no other bike he has ever heard, will he still think
it is a two stroke? Does he know what two/four stroke even means?/
 
hobot said:
Ya know the truth is the better we get to know one another the more weird we all are and few of us would have much to do with the others but for the cutie pie Commandos. I would not underestimate the weirdness Phil contains if triggered. I ain't hardly ever crashed going fast but boy howdy about all other conditions, more than once a double crash on Gravel that saved us and so fast felt like UFO flash beam abduction, probed, implanted then spit back into saddle, wondering did that just really happen to get home and find the new holes/scuffs. By far most my crashes have been so calm collected with praising self talk that I was so wise refraining form any sense of risk taking, SPLAT>

I"ve been thinking about Phil mention of Commando and pillion's delight. Still handles nicely but traffic light wheelies are too easy. A survey on other lists revealed most women preferred a Commando over the others in stable.

Paint ball blunderbusses will scatter deer and cattle but dang dogs run up from behind as well as from the side so think explosive spray of Bear pepper spray at each corner will repel them and break tire chasing habit.

Sanity/Insanity are reversible. And not even definable. It is all a matter of perception. I practised being sane for
most of my life but never did get the hang of it.



I have a mission for you hobot, given your propensity for charging animals on the Norton. I want you to ride high speed on
a black night in the direction of the lost town of Joadja, and see if you can miss hitting a wombat, maybe even two. I tried
it one night and did $3000 worth of damage. And made the wombat very very sick. But I was in the car.

If anyone can do it, it is you hobot. Report back with your findings.
 
I used to ride at night all over all the time but what it took to survive killing a deer with my head light and helmet breaking my neck made me change my night time ways, trying to stay above 80 mph in rural Mt hwys - so will never ever have one hit from behind or side again, for instant death of deer or me coming apart. Ever see the old biker movies of them aiming at each other WOT and resulting carnage - well that's how it feels to me after dark. I used to think city traffic was most dangerous but not no more. One the most crazy ride I did on Peel was wearing just moccasins and undies to go 1/2 mile to mail box and back at night with barbed wire on one side, bluff face rocks on the other, lumps bumps on two rut twisted lane that deer leap across like machine gunned out torpedos...
If ya ride you must be crazy to me so hope we all get away with it forever.
 
hobot said:
I used to ride at night all over all the time but what it took to survive killing a deer with my head light and helmet breaking my neck made me change my night time ways, trying to stay above 80 mph in rural Mt hwys - so will never ever have one hit from behind or side again, for instant death of deer or me coming apart. Ever see the old biker movies of them aiming at each other WOT and resulting carnage - well that's how it feels to me after dark. I used to think city traffic was most dangerous but not no more. One the most crazy ride I did on Peel was wearing just moccasins and undies to go 1/2 mile to mail box and back at night with barbed wire on one side, bluff face rocks on the other, lumps bumps on two rut twisted lane that deer leap across like machine gunned out torpedos...
If ya ride you must be crazy to me so hope we all get away with it forever.


You can simulate "Norton meets wombat" in your country by putting a 2ft by 1ft rock in the middle of the road then gunning the Norton at it head on at 60mph plus. The rock is not quite as hard as a wombat, but close. I kid you not! And here in the Southern Highlands the fury little fellas are everywhere at night. And kangaroos.

Between home (now) and the pub, wombats are not a problem. But living out at Joadja post divorce, contemplating the meaning of life, it was terrifying getting home at nights.

The Commando frame was not designed for colliding with wombats. Nothing was or is.
 
Yeah animals are my main hazard but the big rock analogy reminds me of one night coming down the long mostly straight Gravel 20-30% decent I saw what looked for all the world as dark streak from locked car-truck tire or trailer wheel braking before the sharp turn at bottom so didn't think to slow down till close enough paralax shifting revealed it to be a telephone pole size log stuck in a small hole to warn people around it!!! With spikes of fear in groin braking and not crashing I missed it and put a whitish rag form side of road on it for others. This post in middle of road was same place the 3 big dogs took me down last fall while trying to slow on both brakes dragging for 50 yd till last dozen bike on its side with me implacted by kick stand peg bounced to standing upright watching it end in ditch and dogs escaping w/o injury. Then a time where I waved at a logging trailer going 60 200yd+ away about to pull into hi way who nodded in recognition but pulled right out any way... or having jeep try to enter road in front of me with plenty of time/space but jeepster nailed in too much so just spun tires barely moving to end up blocking my lane... or me following a Harley group 200yd+ behind around a blind to have postal truck pull out to block lane then hesitate seeing me so I had to decide w/o time to brake to fly into oncoming or try to clear between his tail gate and the ditch, which I did riding pain line missing him by a yard... Crazy making no skill involved just pure luck to stay in denial of to ride anymore.
 
hobot said:
Yeah animals are my main hazard but the big rock analogy reminds me of one night coming down the long mostly straight Gravel 20-30% decent I saw what looked for all the world as dark streak from locked car-truck tire or trailer wheel braking before the sharp turn at bottom so didn't think to slow down till close enough paralax shifting revealed it to be a telephone pole size log stuck in a small hole to warn people around it!!! With spikes of fear in groin braking and not crashing I missed it and put a whitish rag form side of road on it for others. This post in middle of road was same place the 3 big dogs took me down last fall while trying to slow on both brakes dragging for 50 yd till last dozen bike on its side with me implacted by kick stand peg bounced to standing upright watching it end in ditch and dogs escaping w/o injury. Then a time where I waved at a logging trailer going 60 200yd+ away about to pull into hi way who nodded in recognition but pulled right out any way... or having jeep try to enter road in front of me with plenty of time/space but jeepster nailed in too much so just spun tires barely moving to end up blocking my lane... or me following a Harley group 200yd+ behind around a blind to have postal truck pull out to block lane then hesitate seeing me so I had to decide w/o time to brake to fly into oncoming or try to clear between his tail gate and the ditch, which I did riding pain line missing him by a yard... Crazy making no skill involved just pure luck to stay in denial of to ride anymore.

Hobot
Forget the rest and hit the best. One wombat will satisfy your curiosity.

The Southern Highlands is a most spectacular and beautiful place to own and ride a Norton. A mixture of small towns and rolling countryside. Endless wineries and restaurants dotted all over the countryside.
 
phil yates said:
Yes it is very sad. I wonder when you start it up and it sounds like no other bike he has ever heard, will he still think
it is a two stroke? Does he know what two/four stroke even means?/

Yes that's the point...he's heard it run and it has Dunstall pipes on it so it has a nice loud Norton thump to it...the guy seriously blew me away with that comment. If it was a little kid you could understand it, but this guy is in his 40's...but like you said earlier these guys haven't a clue...sometimes you wonder if they should even be on a motorcycle...or driving a car for that matter...or walking. For sure not walking and chewing gum...this guy would fall down. :D
 
dennisgb said:
phil yates said:
Yes it is very sad. I wonder when you start it up and it sounds like no other bike he has ever heard, will he still think
it is a two stroke? Does he know what two/four stroke even means?/

Yes that's the point...he's heard it run and it has Dunstall pipes on it so it has a nice loud Norton thump to it...the guy seriously blew me away with that comment. If it was a little kid you could understand it, but this guy is in his 40's...but like you said earlier these guys haven't a clue...sometimes you wonder if they should even be on a motorcycle...or driving a car for that matter...or walking. For sure not walking and chewing gum...this guy would fall down. :D

There are sooooooo many more people who don't know a spark plug from a lugnut.... it's the way it is. They have no knowledge, don't feel they need it, don't want it, the few times they tried to do something mechanical (no guidance from the Dad or Uncle) they failed, wifey humiliated them. So, off to the dealer everything goes, repair bills of thousands each time, "time to buy new honey, this ones eating a hole in the checkbook". :shock:

The saddest is repeatedly I see a young guy, or several (sometimes with ladies along!) , sitting on the guardrail(Armco) yakking on the cell phone (presumably to AAA Roadside Assistance) while the car clearly only has a flat tire. :roll:
 
dennisgb said:
phil yates said:
Yes it is very sad. I wonder when you start it up and it sounds like no other bike he has ever heard, will he still think
it is a two stroke? Does he know what two/four stroke even means?/

Yes that's the point...he's heard it run and it has Dunstall pipes on it so it has a nice loud Norton thump to it...the guy seriously blew me away with that comment. If it was a little kid you could understand it, but this guy is in his 40's...but like you said earlier these guys haven't a clue...sometimes you wonder if they should even be on a motorcycle...or driving a car for that matter...or walking. For sure not walking and chewing gum...this guy would fall down. :D

So it makes you wonder what his idea of a two stroke is?
Maybe he thinks anything with two pipes coming out the back is a two stroke.

Maybe he saw a picture of a Kawasaki Mach III and someone told him it was a three stroke, so he extrapolated from there?
He sounds like a complete stroker to me.
 
phil yates said:
dennisgb said:
phil yates said:
Yes it is very sad. I wonder when you start it up and it sounds like no other bike he has ever heard, will he still think
it is a two stroke? Does he know what two/four stroke even means?/

Yes that's the point...he's heard it run and it has Dunstall pipes on it so it has a nice loud Norton thump to it...the guy seriously blew me away with that comment. If it was a little kid you could understand it, but this guy is in his 40's...but like you said earlier these guys haven't a clue...sometimes you wonder if they should even be on a motorcycle...or driving a car for that matter...or walking. For sure not walking and chewing gum...this guy would fall down. :D

So it makes you wonder what his idea of a two stroke is?
Maybe he thinks anything with two pipes coming out the back is a two stroke.

Maybe he saw a picture of a Kawasaki Mach III and someone told him it was a three stroke, so he extrapolated from there?
He sounds like a complete stroker to me.


Most often, they say "two stroke" thinking it means "two CYLINDER" . If you ask 'em, it's "oh, yeah, well, yes, that's what I meant.. " :P
 
concours said:
dennisgb said:
phil yates said:
Yes it is very sad. I wonder when you start it up and it sounds like no other bike he has ever heard, will he still think
it is a two stroke? Does he know what two/four stroke even means?/

Yes that's the point...he's heard it run and it has Dunstall pipes on it so it has a nice loud Norton thump to it...the guy seriously blew me away with that comment. If it was a little kid you could understand it, but this guy is in his 40's...but like you said earlier these guys haven't a clue...sometimes you wonder if they should even be on a motorcycle...or driving a car for that matter...or walking. For sure not walking and chewing gum...this guy would fall down. :D

There are sooooooo many more people who don't know a spark plug from a lugnut.... it's the way it is. They have no knowledge, don't feel they need it, don't want it, the few times they tried to do something mechanical (no guidance from the Dad or Uncle) they failed, wifey humiliated them. So, off to the dealer everything goes, repair bills of thousands each time, "time to buy new honey, this ones eating a hole in the checkbook". :shock:

The saddest is repeatedly I see a young guy, or several (sometimes with ladies along!) , sitting on the guardrail(Armco) yakking on the cell phone (presumably to AAA Roadside Assistance) while the car clearly only has a flat tire. :roll:

I think in fairness they were always with us, but maybe less of. As a youngster pumping petrol, I had people wanting the oil checked as well as fuel, but they didn't know how to pull the bonnet latch from inside the car, so I had to do it for them. One fat old bitch decided she wanted the battery checked as well so just blasted the horn to get my attention whilst I was head down under the bonnet checking the oil. I was so furious, I slammed her bonnet down so hard it nearly flattened the tyres.

But there are some good young kids still around. Chris at the local bike shop has just finished his apprenticeship as a mechanic and is a real nice kid. He's going to pull the forks off for me when we replace the stanchion dust covers. I just don't have the tools or facilities anymore. I don't even have a garage yet, just a carport.
 
I work in engineering and we have a lot of young engineers coming on our staff on a continuous basis. About one in 10 have any common sense or practical experience. Today everything comes from a book. They think they can solve any problem with formulas or charts. The thing is they don't know what the problem is in the first place because they have no trouble shooting skills. It's the way of the world. We told them they wouldn't get anywhere without an education so they all went to school and we bought them cars and gave them everything they wanted. They spent their youth playing video games instead of fixing the lawnmower engine or wrenching on the car.

I'm retiring this summer because I can't get anything done anymore. I spend most of my time either fixing the things that all these young engineers mess up or spinning my wheels because there is no one that can do anything anymore. They all put on the best dang meetings and talk about how they have the solution over and over though.
 
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