If you were in the market

You guys don’t clean your bikes after each ride?
Nope, not me, never have. If my bike is lucky it will get a quick wipe down (to remove the Sahara dust) before a ride and I will polish bare alloy as regularly as I think it needs it. My cars are better treated, they get a hoover and a wash/wax once a year!
 
The silver bike was built in my shop in 2011,guess that's why it looks modern. I used a GSXR 600 front fork and wheels.
The 1360 engine that's in it now was built almost entirely from new parts in 2014.
My Rapides ( not pictured) are originals, one is a 47, the other 49.

Now if you really wanted to, you could build a complete new replica Black Shadow, Rapide or Black Lightning from the VOC Spares parts catalogue.
The Spares Co. actually went thru the exercise a few years back. They assembled a complete Black Shadow from their parts shelves. A Spares Co. employee rode it for a year, then it was auctioned off.

Glen
Well I’m getting closer on these Vincent’s ,this are definitely circa 1950
 
Yes, that was the last series built, the Series D enclosed. Vincent started with the Series A pre war, made munitions 39-45, came out with the much improved Series B in 1946, then the SeriesC in 49 ( improved suspension) and finally the fully enclosed Series D in 55.
The series D are love them/hate them bikes depending on viewpoints.

The Vincent engine is a lovely thing to look at and it's gone from view with the enclosed D.

Here's my 1949 Series C Rapide 1000.
Vincent also built 500 singles, essentially half of the twin engine.

 
Just beautiful Glen , wow ! .... that black Prince ? Looks like a war horse from days of Lancelot etc. .... think maybe I like it ...
 
I was offered a locally for sale Black Prince at a very fair price in 2003 when shopping for Vincent #1.
I declined because I found the appearance strange.
Like you, I really like them now, so it's truly an acquired taste.
Too late tho, the Princes bring huge money now.

Glen
 
Nope, not me, never have. If my bike is lucky it will get a quick wipe down (to remove the Sahara dust) before a ride and I will polish bare alloy as regularly as I think it needs it. My cars are better treated, they get a hoover and a wash/wax once a year!
You’re killing me.
 
Just beautiful Glen , wow ! .... that black Prince ? Looks like a war horse from days of Lancelot etc. .... think maybe I like it ...

Never mind war horse what you are looking at is a superbike!! Wandering round the National Motorcycle Museum (plug) and looking at the performance figures of these 'top - end' bikes from the 30s on they are quite remarkable even by today's standards.
 
You’re killing me.
For most of my riding life when the bike was main transport I had a routine of buying a new bike, put around 15k miles on it then part-ex for a new one the following year, I wasn't at all interested in the condition it was in so long as it was maintained in road worthy condition and did the job it needed to do. That was true for the many 850 Commando's, a long period of Kawasaki/Honda ownership followed by a 10 year period of H-D ownership. I started to take a little more pride as the bike became more of a big-boys-toy (hence the period of H-D ownership) but even so, I rarely washed them, just a quick wipe over, life is too short to worry about what the next guy thinks of my bike, chances are he probably spent far more money than me on accessorising the bikes (Harley again) so no point in competing with them. Ride them, personalise them a little, maintain them, ride them some more until the novelty wears off then sell 'em, that's been my philosophy. I've never seen the point in trying to keep a bike in 'as new' condition, when it is time to sell then most buyers either want a good used bike at the right price or they opt for a new one in preference for a 2 or 3 year old in 'as new' condition with a 'as new' price tag. :)
 
I am very envious Mark.

I wish I could have your philosophy.

Or Voodoo’s...

My problem is that I share Voodoo’s OCD in wanting clean bikes... AND your aversion to cleaning them...!
 
I wish I could have your philosophy.... Or Voodoo’s...
Spray on wipe off cheap window cleaner for headlight lens, mirrors, clocks, shiny plastic, carbon, paintwork and lacquered ally.... 10mins. I need to do this regularly as living in rural Lincs we get a LOT of dust in the air off the fields, everything gets a covering. Autosol etc. and elbow grease for ally that needs a shine.... for as long as it takes or for as long as my fingers can take the strain :) Most parts these days are so difficult to get to that you need an arsenal of shaped lolly sticks, toothpicks and other widgets or you need to disassemble/reassemble everything. Look at the 961 valve cover, 70% of it is under the tank and impossible to clean without removal of tank.... nah, clean what I can see and sod the rest, better things to do ;) I did make the grave mistake of putting the hose on my 961 soon after buying it to wash off any potential salt (first ride was last February with snow on the sides of the road), big big mistake as the underside of tank and seat got soaked, all the electric connections, the ecu, even the airbox took in water!
 
I have a major OCD problem with all my belongings lol.

Before and after each ride I wipe my entire bike down with a micro fiber and WD-40.
On the painted surfaces I use Pinnacle detail spray, on polished aluminum and stainless I use mothers polish.

I enjoy cleaning my bikes. Enjoy riding them even more. I feel guilty if I don’t. Their not garage queens, I ride them every fair weather chance I get. But I also enjoy them as rolling Art work.

I wish sometimes I could avoid the desire to clean / detail, but I can’t lol.
This habit is worse on my car Shelby GT350R.

Now on my daily driver, it’s lucky it gets a wash once a month.

Mark,
I hope my “you’re killing me” comment wasn’t taken as a insult. I didn’t mean it in a negative way.
 
Nope, not me, never have. If my bike is lucky it will get a quick wipe down (to remove the Sahara dust) before a ride and I will polish bare alloy as regularly as I think it needs it. My cars are better treated, they get a hoover and a wash/wax once a year!
Said the guy that picked gnats out of his oil cooler o_O
 
Spray on wipe off cheap window cleaner for headlight lens, mirrors, clocks, shiny plastic, carbon, paintwork and lacquered ally.... 10mins. I need to do this regularly as living in rural Lincs we get a LOT of dust in the air off the fields, everything gets a covering. Autosol etc. and elbow grease for ally that needs a shine.... for as long as it takes or for as long as my fingers can take the strain :) Most parts these days are so difficult to get to that you need an arsenal of shaped lolly sticks, toothpicks and other widgets or you need to disassemble/reassemble everything. Look at the 961 valve cover, 70% of it is under the tank and impossible to clean without removal of tank.... nah, clean what I can see and sod the rest, better things to do ;) I did make the grave mistake of putting the hose on my 961 soon after buying it to wash off any potential salt (first ride was last February with snow on the sides of the road), big big mistake as the underside of tank and seat got soaked, all the electric connections, the ecu, even the airbox took in water!

Seems you’re OCD too!

I’m embarrassed to declare my cleaning habits now.

Suffice to say... I chose the black chassis pack over the polished for very good reason !!
 
Mark, I hope my “you’re killing me” comment wasn’t taken as a insult. I didn’t mean it in a negative way.

Don't be daft, I knew instantly what you mean't, made me chuckle :)

Ok, ok maybe I do have a little ocd when it comes to cleaning the bikes but it only takes 30mins before I get bored with the chore and get on with something else.... so the full clean always escapes me :)
 
A “lick & a promise” never hurt any of my bikes after a ride ... clean road bikes make me smile ... in my shed
 
How was the Brutale? I always liked them and they seem pretty good value $ used.
I've had 2 of these...both 1078RR's...this the model to buy,if you can find one...and quite cheap when standard....a very quick,light and compact bike,handles great(if you can keep the front wheel down) ...this one i had set up by UK MV experts X Bikes, with an MV Corse titanium full exhaust system (extremely rare and expensive..£3864) and a microtec ecu (£1400)...150bhp and 85 ft lb torque at the rear wheel...with the standard gearing it was insane!.. a mate bought it off me who had 170bhp gsxr1000...he wouldn't believe me when i told him what the bike was like...he soon realised ! Most exciting bike i've owned by far !
If you were in the market
 
Very nice Al. And a beautiful, beautiful exhaust system !

Can I assume you’ll be investing in the titanium system for your SL ?
 
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