kylohere

Well, it seems that more M20s were sent down to India as compared to Ariels, Nortons and Enfields. The number of M20s that have survived here in India certainly far exceeds the 16Hs, or at least that is what appears to be the case.

One of them is here snoozing in my shed. Sunday's still few days away, so she'll need all the rest she can get.

Well, I don't know about out there, but here in India, 16Hs are generally in high demand by the 'collector' folk and they trade hands for exorbitant lumps of money. The M20s are fast gaining value as well, but less moneyed folk like me can possibly save up for a few generations and plonk one in their sheds. But whenever I speak to owners who've ridden and owned both motorcycles, they seem always to be fonder of the BSA for the simple fact that they broke down less often and were easier to bring back to life (read as 'start') than the Nortons. But with like all these machines, it's the heart that prevails. In my personal experience, albeit limited, my BSA plods whenever I want. Sure, I haven't traversed the continent on the slide-valver, but the bike has never disappointed me on Sunday rides. But in terms of the sheer thrill factor, my good old Triumph 3HW is where it is at. Keeping up with traffic is a cinch and she's so darn good looking as well.

Greetings! Hmm, it's funny that my clutch cover is minutely different. The dome that fits onto the clutch bell is shaped differently. Oh well...

Thanks a tonne for the pat on the back, guys. Stefano, thanks for the numbers. I'll have to check because, here I am, at office, trying to work and the James is at home! Ha! I don't think the boss would mind though, he loves old motorcycles and adores the Vespa I built for him! Snickers wickedly! Since I'm now all fired up with enthusiasm, here are a few pics of my Brit oldies. The AJS is a civvie 1954 model but I'm sure you guys wouldn't be averse to me putting up a photo of it here. Cheers! Kyle.

Greetings... Here's a photo of my little Clockwork Mouse. I'm not too sure whether this bike was actually flung out of a transport aircraft in WWII or not, because I bought this bike off the son of the original old timer who unfortunately is no more. The bloke wanted to get rid of the old man's things since his passing and was rather glad that I was to unburden him by taking this piece of 'junk' out of his yard. It's taken me about eight months to do up, and something tells me I ought to have picked up the olive drab paint at the hardware shop. In retrospect, it's good I didn't as military colours are banned on private vehicles here in India, irrespective of their history and getting stopped every 5 feet by a constable is no fun at all. There was no provision for the speedometer, the petrol tank cover was missing when I brought the bike home and the foot-rests fold in. So shhot me, which model do I actually have - a civvie or the war veteran.

Hey abn deuce! Well, Indian cooking is a long drawn affair - more like an elaborate ritual rather than a process to prepare food. But its nearly always worth the effort, really. We like it hot, very hot. Especially the meats cooked up in the North East regions of the country that employ the use of the legendary 'Raja Mirchi' - Hindi for King of the Chillies! Two of these tiny things can make nearly 4 kg of meat as explosive as a keg of TNT or something. It's great, the watering eyes but tasty as hell (no pun intended!) to devour with rotis. We do have some less combustible fare as well, like the tandoori dishes that are cooked over coal fires and which have been marinated in spices and curd for awhile, sometimes even a full 24 hours. But yes, a cook off sounds great! A long ride/drive and then much frolic amid cooking food and plenty of beer. What say? Kyle.

Hi Paul! What you clicked coming in was the missile Frigate INS Brahmaputra of Russian origin. Eddie, Thanks for the peek at that Matchless. I would have loved to paint the old girl in WD colours, but I'd be pulled up at every stop light as it's illegal here. Bah! Tony, Ah, madder the merrier, right? Ha! Chris, Thanks for the warm welcome. I feel at home already! Kyle.

Thanks for the warm welcome guys. I will be posting up photos as soon as possible. For now, I've put up a pic of my Matchless G3L before it got its much needed coat of paint. Painting vehicles, even if they're ex-military disposal, is banned by law in India as the colours are reserved for army vehicles alone. So sadly, all the machines can only be painted in civvie colours. Sigh!

Yep, there is some pretty interesting stuff here in India, especially of the two-wheeled kind. But honestly, I haven't looked around for four-wheelers, really. I've heard plenty of stories regarding a couple of Vincent engined cars being raced in India in the years gone by. Goldstars are less rare - I know of about 5 people who have at least one of them. India's quite large, as you already might know. And everything from a Brough Superior to downed Lancasters have been unearthed through the years. Where the land up is anybody's guess, really. Delhi used to have WLA Harley engined home-made trikes plying on the roads till very recently. These were used as cheap transport but then, they weren't registered and had to go off the road when the legislation got tighter. Sadly, almost all of them landed up being hacked to bits at the scrapers. Sigh, such is the story the world over, I guess. People don't know the value of what they have and to them, it's just another pile of junk that they need to rid themselves off. With regard to my bikes, all of them were picked up in rather horrid condition. My 3HW was literally dug up from the ground. All I could see of the bike when I entered the bloke's backyard was the rear wheel and a bit of the clutch cover. But I guess what applies to all of you applies to me as well - harder the challenge, sweeter the reward.

Hello! I'm Kyle Pereira and I signed up just last evening. In India (where I reside), we've got plenty of ex-WD machines, mostly British but a sprinkling of American iron does exist as well. My garage consists of a few classic motorcycles, including a Triumph 3HW, a James ML, a Matchless G3L, a couple of BSA B31's and a BSA WDM20. Of the lot, the Triumph is off the road and is currently a work in progress. I 'work' on the bikes myself and Sundays are the only days I can actually take some tools in hand and get about doing what I love doing best. It's great to see such enthusiasm about these old machines and as far as my experience is concerned, it is certainly contagious. I come from a family of avid motorcyclists - my dad raced his old JAWA 250 model 353 (which we still have) and he courted my mom on that same very machine. I guess that's the reason why they'd rather send me to the coal mines than sell off the JAWA. I learned to ride on that smokey twostroke at the very illegal age of 8 (yeah, so hang me!) and some of my greatest motorcycling antics have been aboard the Czech single. I guess that's all about me and I look forward to some great times here at the HMVF. Cheers! Kyle.