On Fri, 6 Nov 2015 02:00:24 -0500, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 11/6/2015 1:50 AM, wrote:
On Fri, 6 Nov 2015 01:22:02 -0500, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 11/5/2015 9:26 PM, Tim wrote:
On Thursday, November 5, 2015 at 6:28:18 PM UTC-6, John H. wrote:
On Thu, 5 Nov 2015 14:45:08 -0800 (PST), Tim wrote:

John, I think the 850t was the same engine as the old Eldorado with slightly larger valves, carbs, and maybe a hotter camshaft but not sure if that. At least the cam part. It was a great rock solid engine that was perfect for their sport format which they didn't really have...yet

Even that old 850T would leave Harleys in the dust in the twisties.
--

Ban idiots, not guns!

That's one thing about European motorcycles. They were build for handling. My 500 Triumph Daytona, was quite the dancer but light. The Ambassador was much heavier but regardless, it was really nimble.



The bigger Harleys were never designed for handling or to be "fast".
They are designed for highway cruising with a bit of comfort.

Other than a couple of small Hondas when I was young (a 305 "Super Hawk
and a Honda 350), the motorcycles I had were all Harleys .. a couple of
Softails and a couple of Ultra Classics. Then, about 5 years ago, I
acquired a completely restored 1974 Norton 850 Commando. (I traded a
1965 Volkswagon mini bus for it). I rode the Norton twice ... to the
guitar shop and back. Not for me. A Norton is a young man's bike, not
an old fart used to big, fat Harleys. I sold it to a Norton collector
who still rides it.


Ah a "Snortin Norton" We had one with a cracked jug ear we got pretty
much for free. I knew a guy with a "heliarc" shop who was able to weld
it and ground it down so it looked normal. We put it back together and
got a grand for it. I'm with you, not my kind of bike.



The one I had looked and ran great. It was fast, although I didn't have
it long enough to get used to the rear brake and shift pedals being on
the "wrong" side compared to the Harleys. It had been completely
restored to original except for a few modern improvements like
electronic ignition. But for me, it was too light
and rode like a brick. Plus, the seat and sitting position was horrible
for old farts. The Ultra Classics were like sitting on a couch by
comparison.


I just wrote that off to the driving on the wrong side of the road
thing. The controls are all on the wrong side on a RHD car too.
I really just rode it around the neighborhood long enough to get it
hot to be sure it wasn't blowing oil.

We had a Harley 45 chopper once that was a real death trap. We got a
deal on it too. It was a real pretty chopper but unrideable. This
thing was a WWII courier bike with a sidecar transmission (hand
jammer), foot clutch and no front brake (derby hub on a chrome
springer wish a 1/2" kick)
Coming up to a light was fun and trying to get it going on a hill
might involve backing up until the back wheel is hitting the curb.
Otherwise you needed one foot on the clutch and the other on the brake
and one hand on the car next to you ;-)

We ended up parting it out for more than we paid for it as a bike.
The chopper parts were hot sellers and the frame was pretty.
In the end a collector wanted the motor, just for the title and S/N.
That was how we figured out what it started as.
This is what it was supposed to look like in civilian clothes
http://gfretwell.com/ftp/Harley%2045.jpg

I think the collector was going to restore it to army style tho.