Tony B Posted April 30, 2009 Share Posted April 30, 2009 Number one son, is getting ideas above his station. He's got this mad idea of getting an ex military bike. My knowledge *** all. Any suggestions as to how where and what sort of prices? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowtracdave Posted April 30, 2009 Share Posted April 30, 2009 Any ideas what sort of thing he has in mind Tony ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony B Posted April 30, 2009 Author Share Posted April 30, 2009 Not really. From WW2 on. He's turning twenty one so even the 1970's are ancient history. :sweat: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowtracdave Posted April 30, 2009 Share Posted April 30, 2009 Next question - what sort of biking experience does he have ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony B Posted April 30, 2009 Author Share Posted April 30, 2009 Currently on CBT, about to take his bike licence, he's thinking of taking a restricted licence for cost. Been riding five years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redcap Posted April 30, 2009 Share Posted April 30, 2009 From the 70s and 80s onwards, you're looking at the Armstrong, a VERY heavy 500cc rotary single cylinder bike. From the mid 90s, the 450cc Harley trail bike. Marked RMP road-wise, RMP used Triumphs and a shedload of other makes over the years. Given the above, I very much doubt he'll have the proper licence to ride them for a few years yet, so I'd say you can stop sweating for a while Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Farrant Posted April 30, 2009 Share Posted April 30, 2009 From the 70s and 80s onwards, you're looking at the Armstrong, a VERY heavy 500cc rotary single cylinder bike. Actually, in the early 70's the BSA B40 350cc would have been in service( into service c.1967 on ), a nice docile bike, good on and off road. Then came its replacement, the Canam Bombardier 250cc two stroke, the Armstrong then replaced the Canam. I would not say an Armstrong was particularly heavy, you want to ride a BSA M20, especially off road :shake:. I did some of the tracks around Normandy once and had to keep lifting it out of the ruts! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ford 369 Posted April 30, 2009 Share Posted April 30, 2009 M20s are heavy thats for sure but they are also pretty indestructable ,I got hit side on by a reversing vw golf on sunday whilst adjusting the carb on mine and once me and the bike were upright again a quick inspection revealed a bruised left leg and right ankle paint scratched on the clutch lever and a vw with a smashed rear light ,damaged rear bumper and several dents to the rear panel along with the drivers hurt ego.I also have to agree about the b40 it is a capable and enjoyabke bike to ride but not that easy to come by still in military trim as many have become trials irons and field bikes Nigel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
79x100 Posted April 30, 2009 Share Posted April 30, 2009 WD B40s are a pleasant and capable bike. There is a nice website which might go some way to explaining why there aren't many for sale. This bloke owns 'em all ! http://www.bsawdb40.com/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest catweazle (Banned Member) Posted April 30, 2009 Share Posted April 30, 2009 Funny thing is when i advertised mine,which was never registered since leaving service all i got was messers,gone to N/ireland now along with the TRW another nice post war bike but thin on the ground as well.The reason i sold them was to rent out the space to help out in these difficult times ,now the numpty gone to drive a mini cab,got no bikes no rent either,muppet:argh: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stefano Posted May 1, 2009 Share Posted May 1, 2009 You can't really go wrong with a G3/L, proper WW2, a nice easy bike to ride, very reliable once they're set up right, great on or off road and Russels still have most of the spares you'll ever need. Starting to be a bit pricey however, and can be an absolute pain to work on.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony B Posted May 1, 2009 Author Share Posted May 1, 2009 thanks for the help guys. I'll start him looking up information. Keep him out of my hair for a while. :n00b: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gareth Coe Posted May 1, 2009 Share Posted May 1, 2009 Does it have to be British? I was thinking that a Condor would make a nice machine for a newish biker. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowtracdave Posted May 1, 2009 Share Posted May 1, 2009 La Riche have some nice bikes advertised on milweb - one or more are Jersey registered and the prices don't seem too ludicrous . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony B Posted May 1, 2009 Author Share Posted May 1, 2009 (edited) la riches???? Blimey since when were they into bikes? Used to work for them in my Yuff one Christmas filling sheleves!! gareth, whats the tale on the Condor? Ah just loked on miolweb worked out who La Riche are (OOPS!) Any way whats the tale on the Harley MT350? Are they any good? Edited May 1, 2009 by Tony B Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swill1952xs Posted May 1, 2009 Share Posted May 1, 2009 Does it have to be British?I was thinking that a Condor would make a nice machine for a newish biker. Who makes the Condor bike? The engine looks very much like the old Ducati Desmo engine from the late sixties. They made a 250 with what was known as the "Desmodromic" because of the valve gear. I think it had camshafts that opened and closed the valves. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest catweazle (Banned Member) Posted May 1, 2009 Share Posted May 1, 2009 Desmodromic thats right mate,invented by an englishman,these Condors can be expensive people buy them for the engines as they are very hard to find in good order now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowtracdave Posted May 1, 2009 Share Posted May 1, 2009 Condor - Swiss . Wrong end of the country for you I know , but Brian Boys has got two for sale £1400 . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gareth Coe Posted May 1, 2009 Share Posted May 1, 2009 From Motorbike-Search-Engine: Approximately three thousand Condor 350s were produced for the Swiss army between 1973 and 1978. In the seventies the Swiss Army wanted a modern bike with a little more handling and power than the A250 had. Condor looked to the south and found Ducati. They again used only the engine with some minor modifications, it was detuned for more durability. An oil filter was added and the rear wheel could be removed without loosening the chain. Why Ducati never used the changes themselves is a mystery. The 350cc engine was rubber mounted to keep the vibrations low. Information from Mr.R.Schaller, the designer, says that the A350 was produced in Courvaivre and only the engine came complete from Italy. Rumors say that the complete A350 was built in the Ducati factory and imported through a backdoor of the Condor factory. These conflicting stories are probably due to the fact that the Swiss Army demanded a bike that was completely produced in Switzerland, so that in an emergency they could be assured of parts and service. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
79x100 Posted May 1, 2009 Share Posted May 1, 2009 Chap on this thread took a Condor engine out for classic racing. http://hmvf.co.uk/forumvb/showthread.php?t=10074&highlight=condor The fast boys have blown up most of the available wide-case Ducati lumps and what most of us consider expensive, racers are quite happy to spend for a weekend riding round and round in circles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowtracdave Posted May 12, 2009 Share Posted May 12, 2009 Has he had any more thoughts Tony ? And have you noticed that Hardyferret has a BSA for sale at the moment ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony B Posted May 12, 2009 Author Share Posted May 12, 2009 Don't go there!! Yes number one son is drooling as we speack. Trouble is HE'll have to save for it!. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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