Retro Bikes

[Ixion]

GREAT-looking bike, Estrella! Luv my bikes too, but they aren't retro - just old .......

'72 T120 ain't old - it's immortal [ need an emoticon for green eyed envy]

[Brian d marge]

Don't think they'd get 120mph (Classic Bike magazine test figure Oct 04) from39.6bhp on a road bike unless they got the weight down to around 140kgs and fitted fairings. Even that would be borderline. Norton 650ss apart, all Brit 650s sports were around 46bhp and none were capable of 115. Norton reached 123mph with 52bhp.

(45bhp figure is from the Nov. 04 Classic Motorcycle Mag. Advert.)

ok I will say it again 41 Hp is around /if not the most you can get out of a madrass bullet . ( DRS got around 46 Max but were using very special fuel and it was a time bomb )
Back when he was Racing at beaver falls on the way to the champ he Emailed me to say that they were hoping to break the 50 hp barrier but it didnt happen , It was to unreliable but they did get a race reliable 46 hp rear wheel , click

Note I did not say 120 mph BUT Allan hitchcocks 612cc bullet has been officially timed at 120 mph with a fairing ( page 24 of his catalouge )
Now I have had a LOT of dealing with alan and he IS a genuine guy ,,,can be a litle bit of a showman !!But ...,

When you compare bikes ,,the Velo was a fair comp , but a Twin has a greater valve curtain area ( that why Japs went to 6 cylinder , in order to maximise the valve curtain area ,,,while retainng low inertial wieght of the valve!)
Posted below are 1 the compariison ( or stages to tune an Enfield ) and Some photos of the Ama winning bike ! my bits are inside that brake,,,in order to stop the F%& thing flexing and fading .

Once again the Dow goldstars were more than 40 ( I think ONCE he got a figue of 53 Hp BUT please dont quote me on that as I havent the info to hand ! ..but that really was a pukka race bike !! and I cannot find my data on the dow gold stars sorry its around somewhere .. ,,,hence my loose figures )

So come back to your original thought no the Enfield cant and never did make more power ,,, But if you increase the bore to 612 cc then yes they stand a chance against the Goldstars

Stephen

[avgas]

..........4 pot leading shoe on my enfield if i ever get one..............oh and none of that shambles rear suspession and fugly seat they all have...........ah screw it, may as well get the new 954 Norton.

[mstriumph]

thank you ...

'72 T120 ain't old - it's immortal [ need an emoticon for green eyed envy]

[mstriumph]

...... although previous posts have been right - I wouldn't get 120mph out of her in a pink fit.... evon on a good day, down a steep hill and with a following breeze

.... she does sound marvellous when she's 'not doing' it though

[SDU]

mine is a semi retro cafe-racer type thingi..
goes good. nice and torquey i'm discovering what this means...
when i bought it i had to steer away from buying a 1969 250cc ducati..wishing i had a partner that could maintain it for me... was loverly, but not the kind of no-brain bike you need when you as learner as me...

Great wee twin. Where did you find it? Can't be too many around.
I saw a picture off some on an overseas forum a couple off years ago and as I twins, decided that would be the bike I'd get for my learners. We couldn't find any around at the time especially in the south. Oh well...
I'm sure it's great fun ride

[inlinefour]

1970 on, CB350/4. Its the only bike that I owned, restored, sold and really now I feel that I sould have held onto it forever. Oh well. One day I'll probably pay some stooopid large amount of cash just to have another one in mint condition.

[Brian d marge]

Great wee twin. Where did you find it? Can't be too many around.
I saw a picture off some on an overseas forum a couple off years ago and as I twins, decided that would be the bike I'd get for my learners. We couldn't find any around at the time especially in the south. Oh well...
I'm sure it's great fun ride

the 250 duke is a single see image section for a picture of one ,,the red one next to a blue bantam

They were/are a very nice little bike .....( my one was good for a genuine 100mph ,,( well 95 and a bit of speedo bounce !!!) but still very good for a 250 of that age ...

Stephen

[Motu]

True,none of the 650s could really do more than 115mph,but nearly all in good tune could do it....in time.They were geared for 125mph in top with a 4 speed box,you would have to red line in 3rd,then slowly build the last 10mph if there was enough road,that was the challenge,finding the road and having the nerve to do it.Funny you should say that about the Norton clutch Ixion - I always knew it was time to have a look at mine,because it would start to slip at 95mph,I always thought that was a bit strange,why only at speed?

But I remember when one of the American mags got 125mph out of a Lightning on a long downhill.Although it only made a couple more HP than a Triumph the A65 was short stroke for it's day and could over rev,same as the unit 500 Daytona...I know the T100C could do over 10,000rpm because I've done it myself many times,but have heard of guys reving the A65 Lightning to 10 grand as well....given time and no load 125mph would be easy.

It was also rumoured that the Yanks could get 60hp out of a Goldstar when they were using them as flattrackers in the 60s,wishful thinking maybe - but if anyone was getting the most HP out of a Goldy it would be them.

[Big Dave]

...... although previous posts have been right - I wouldn't get 120mph out of her in a pink fit.... evon on a good day, down a steep hill and with a following breeze

.... she does sound marvellous when she's 'not doing' it though

You live in the dark universe don't you? - switch to light and try and read yer post.

[BJ250]

sorry to bump an old thread up folks but another Estrella user here so thought I'd check if there are any more of you out there.

oh, and first post too..

[BADGRL]

Hey Estrella! Jeeez I'm 5yrs behind on the uptake roflmao!!

WOW you seem to have got all the guys attention VERY nice 'old girl' you've got there.

After the quakes here I went and rescued my oldie out of lock up, decided to grab wof/reg while I was at it now she's all go for summer rofl... Sorry Grandad - he would kick my a*se for riding it lol

[Eurodave]

Here's a couple of progress pix of one of my latest projects, my Norvin/Triton inspired 60's styled cafe racer...I started with a BMW R80 frame & added a jappa swingarm,back wheel & Moto Guzzi forks. The motor is a 726cc american industrial Kohler & the 'box is 4 speed pre unit Triumph.
The front wheel & tail light mount are off a Benelli 250 2C & the tank,seat & rear guard are all Norton based. The muffler is off a BSA Goldstar & the carbs are Amals