Nostalgia

[Lucky Phil]

1 hour ago, docc said:

Heh, well, so I thought. Maybe the old thumper will become my sons' nostalgia.

All my "nostalgia" goes back to 60s to early 70s "muscle cars."  Dear God, their brakes and suspension were awful. My brother (briefly owned) an Austin-Healey 3000/MkIII that set the motorhead hooks in me forever. Back in those days, I thought the motorcycle guys were complete nutters and crazies. (Hey, now I "resemble" that remark! )

Living in Bavaria as wee lad, I grew up thinking the BMW opposed-twin would be the ultimate. Then, one evening while in college, a friend started up his white, pin-striped loop-frame Guzzi; maybe an Ambassador, IDK. My other nutter-crazy motorcycle buddy was there - he could ride a wheelie on his Kawi triple clear to the ferrkin' moon, but it was a loud-crazed-violent affair. 

In the apartment complex parking lot, the fellow lofted the Ambo like a dance with an Angel. It was so elegant and effortless!

There is the matter of taking the bait, but I swallowed the hook.  

Looks like I'm the only one who hasn't owned one of these:)

Ciao

[LowRyter]

1 hour ago, Lucky Phil said:

Looks like I'm the only one who hasn't owned one of these:)

Ciao

I never owned one but one my dad's friend did (3000 Mk iii).  It was 2+2 so there was a little bench seat in the back.  The car would wind out pretty good and had a little kick to it to be fast.  His had wire wheels and when going into high double digits it would buck and shake. 

A few years ago I was talking to fellow that restored a big Healey (4 cyl) and said the same thing about the wire wheels.

[Lucky Phil]

8 minutes ago, LowRyter said:

I never owned one but one my dad's friends did (3000 Mk iii).  It was 2+2 so there was a little bench seat in the back.  The car would wind out pretty good and had a little kick to it to be fast.  His had wire wheels and when going into high double digits it would buck and shake. 

A few years ago I was talking to fellow that restored a big Healey (4 cyl) and said the same thing about the wire wheels.

Ok well everybody seems to have a AH3000 story so here goes mine. I was filling my car up at the servo about 6 weeks ago and there was one filling up there also. As I walked out from paying it's owner was going in to pay. "Nice Healy" I said, a 3000 is that right. Yep and thanks he said and kept on walking. A metallic powder blue it was. That's all I've got.

Ciao 

[guzzler]

Well here we go down memory lane again folk's.

I'm blaming Doc for posting his Big thumper!

Here's a shot from 1990 trip Melbourne to Darwin and Kakadu National Park on a Yamaha SR500.The road to the Olgas from Ayres rock was unsealed and ROUGH AS GUTS back then,so much so that we lost a footpeg ( had to share pillion one with GF ) header and muffler went separate ways blah blah. We effectively had a straight pipe from there on.

This shot is at Fogg dam, a local  and popular wildlife viewing spot not far out of Darwin on the way to Kakadu.When we got there the LOUD bike scared off the wildlife much to the amusement of the locals.Now the ole SR was kick start only and a bugger to start when hot  sometimes.This is the tropics and we're  two up, heavily laden and she's a little warmish! The look on the locals faces seemed to give my right boot extra grunt and she fired up straight away, so we bounced off down the track over the monster snake that was stretched out over the track and off on our merry way before the mood changed too much more for the worse! Ha ha hell of a trip that !  Cheers  

[guzzler]

Bugger, not sure what I did to the above post but it didn't quite come out right ?

Anyways meant to add that I don't recall seeing any Austin Healey's on the trip eh!

Cheers Guzzler  

[docc]

On 3/30/2021 at 7:22 PM, Lucky Phil said:

 . . . Nostalgia...a sentimental longing or wistful affection for a period in the past. I sometimes like the period but try and separate that from the "engineering" The engineering is "of it's time" and locked there forever. Hard to get too sentimental over the mechanical abominatios from the past I've had to engineer my way around at times. I see old bikes getting around these days and they get my attention and I like the fact that people still restore and fettle them, just glad it's not me is all.

Ciao  

Right. This is me all gooey over the old LoopFrames.  I recall @pete roper saying, (and I paraphrase heavily), "What's all the bloody arse-up with Americans looving the Loopers? They are bloody awful bikes with brakes like wet roller skates and heavy as a lard sandwich with greasy chips." (That's not at all exactly what Pete said, but he left me with this, er, >impression< )

                                                                                 The answer, of course, is: "Nostalgia."

[Kane]

I’ve got a buddy with a V85 and a drum brake Eldorado loop frame. He rides the loop the most. He was going to buy a new V7, but when he found and rode the loop he fell in love and passed on the V7.