1970/71...MACH III Style !!!!!

[MikeyG]

Those are somw nice pics. Look really good in b&w. Wouldn't mind some copies for the office wall

[roogazza]

Full face helmets were around,but they were harder to find than Levi jeans (when a pair of Levi's wore out the label would be picked of and sewn onto a pair of Wranglers,label slaves even in the '60's),they cost 3 weeks wages or more too.But we didn't need them on the street,so who cared?

I had some of the first Bell's in NZ and I can remember returning from Aust with white "Stagg" brand leathers. At the time I can only remember a few in white, Perry, Discombe and some guy on a Mach 3 , Kingston or some such name.
Anyway, I had to make the Bell's look second hand or used to get them into the country. Some may remember , they came in orange or white ! Gaz.

[Motu]

I had a white pudding basin - I don't care if Stirling Moss had one,even back then I knew they looked bloody stupid.My first full coverage helmet was some white locally made thing,I used that off road and when helmets became compulsory on the road it got a flat black paint job with pink flames....we did anything to make the helmet look uncool.My first full face was a Centurion (very fitting,because did you know I was a Roman Centurion in a past life?) it was just an open face with a chin guard stuck on and checkered tape to cover the join.

[slowpoke]

Sigh. Racing was FUN back then. No plastic anywhere, howling two strokes engines, smoke, no brakes. They don't even have tape over the lights.

Just jump on y' bike, ride to the track, race y' mates, and ride home.

The next day jump on the same bike, ride a few miles, head off road, spend the afternnoon trail riding, and ride home.

The next day, jump on the same bike, and ride to work.

Somehow it was so much more fun that way.

There's nothing stopping us doing it now, we've just gotta get the right bike.
I think nowadays the bikes and tyres are a bit more specialised, designed for a more narrow intended purposes (did someone say "niche market"?) making it a lot more difficult to use it outside their intended design....but it can be done.
It used to be a "jack of all trades, master of none" approach to a certain extent, whereas now I reckon they aim to master one trade and bugger the rest.
Ducati Hypermotard anyone.....?

Oh yeah, love "ye olde tyme" pic's

[merv]

I had some of the first Bell's in NZ and I can remember returning from Aust with white "Stagg" brand leathers. At the time I can only remember a few in white, Perry, Discombe and some guy on a Mach 3 , Kingston or some such name. Gaz.

Alan Collison was another that had white leathers that I remember.

[Paul in NZ]

Remember Line 7 motorcycle gear?

What - the PVC stuff you wore and got drenched from the sweat?

[Pwalo]

What - the PVC stuff you wore and got drenched from the sweat?

That's the stuff. Worked really well if it was pissing down but really cold. Otherwise it was a toss up if you were going to get wetter because of your own body heat.

Another reason it's good to be a biker today. Who'd have thunk it. Bikes that handle (Mach 111 - ahhh I'm going to die), tyres that grip, disk brakes that actually brake, and wet weather gear that works (mostly). Oh happy days.

[nudemetalz]

In my generation, Belstaff's were what we wore. They weren't that waterproof....

[Motu]

But I didn't ride Jap bikes in those days,so had none of those problem....and wet weather gear was soft core.

[Paul in NZ]

But I didn't ride Jap bikes in those days,so had none of those problem....and wet weather gear was soft core.

True - Line 7 gear was waaay to expensive (and a bit too flash) for me so I had a yellow PVC parka and leggings a guy on the wharf got me a five fingered discount on. A bottle of meths got rid of the 'Union Steamship Co' on the back. (still got them too)

Besides - if the rain got through the two pairs of greasy jeans you knew it was time to go home.

[Edbear]

Men were men...

Awwww mate! We still are...

Great pics, you realise us old beggars'll start reminiscing and sound really sad...

[Macktheknife]

My brother had one of the old Kwaka triples, he loved it, to start with, then he started to realise the 'complications' of the design. He eventually got fed up with it and sold it, bought a J.A.P. 600 single and built a bike around it, my god that thing could boogie.

[Motu]

Besides - if the rain got through the two pairs of greasy jeans you knew it was time to go home.

It took a lot of rain to get through an Army great coat too,and the
Air Force ones were even better.You could turn the collar up and button that thing from the inside of the coat to both sides of the collar - you felt like some girl from the Congo with bangles on her neck....but no rain went down there.

[nudemetalz]

My brother had one of the old Kwaka triples, he loved it, to start with, then he started to realise the 'complications' of the design. He eventually got fed up with it and sold it, bought a J.A.P. 600 single and built a bike around it, my god that thing could boogie.

The very first ones had CDI but don't believe it was very reliable so after that they got points ignition.
The drum-braked ones (H1-H1B) were the fastest and I think the last model KH-500 was the slowest.
Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.

[kiwifruit]

awesome photos, thanks for sharing.
my old man had a widow maker, from what he's told me it sounded like a crazy machine