Certainly has a style of its own, pity he didn’t have the capacity to make them in larger numbers
@davidmacgregor5193
5 ай бұрын
All the fasteners on the Silk were made from high tensile stainless steel, that added about £200 to the cost of the finished machine.
@peterjohnson653
5 ай бұрын
The orange Rickman Interceptor featured here may possibly be my old bike. I bought my Rickman new in February 1974, one of the last to be sold by the sole dealers Elite Motors of Tooting. My wife and I soon after gave up our jobs and spent the spring and summer of 1974 touring France, Spain, Andorra and Corsica on that bike loaded up with camping gear. On return to Britain, I re-started work as an evening newspaper reporter, using the Rickman for commuting, covering breaking news stories and going off to interview people. The Rickman was as light as a typical 250 and had a vast amount of torque for pulling us up mountain passes. It handled like a dream, braked superbly in the dry and was very smooth. But those open bell mouth carbs let in a lot of dust and I had to have it rebored twice. The long-stroke engine was a really tight fit in the nickel-plated Reynolds 531 frame and you had to undo the engine mounting bolts and tilt the motor to each side to remove the two separate cylinder heads. I sold it in 1977 to wealthy businessman Roy Richards (local to me in Solihull) who told me he was building up a collection for his dream of opening a national motorcycle museum. I know a lot of the collection was destroyed by fire in 2003 although I see on a DVLA registration check that my old Rickman’s last logbook was issued in 2005. In my motorcycle owning history, I continued with Morini, Ducati, Laverda and BMW before moving onto Japanese bikes, while I was also lucky enough to test pretty well all the top bikes of the day in the 1980s as part of my job.
@bikerdood1100
5 ай бұрын
Very likely The majority of the collection has now been rebuilt
@TheOmniscientAtheist
5 ай бұрын
I love motorbikes! I failed my car test again last month so instead of going for more lessons like a sensible person would, I traded my car and scooter in for a Varadero125 on finance - even though I've never been on a bike with gears before (did my CBT on a scooter). So far so good! People even nod back at me now as well🤣
@bikerdood1100
5 ай бұрын
I was almost 40 before I went anywhere near a car, never needed the dam things either 😂
@brockett
5 ай бұрын
Thanks for reminding me about the Silk. A machine that was often discussed in my favourite ( back in the day) magazine "Motorcycle Sport". I could afford the magazines but none of the bikes.
@bikerdood1100
5 ай бұрын
Can’t help but live the Silk Just so different
@davidmacgregor5193
5 ай бұрын
I've only ever seen one Silk 700S on the road, it was parked outside Huddersfield Auto Jumble in 1998.
@peterunderdown4374
5 ай бұрын
Wonderful episode.
@bikerdood1100
5 ай бұрын
Thanks Just glad people enjoy them
@TheAshfishman
5 ай бұрын
Nice. A real surprise in there with the Silk. Luscious.
@bikerdood1100
5 ай бұрын
We like to throw in something unusual every now and then
@chrisweeks6973
5 ай бұрын
Ah, the memories! Some nice bikes there, that's for sure! Back in 1959/60 there was a bloke in our street who had an early ('58/9) Enfield 700 Constellation; it was quite a rarity, even then.
@bikerdood1100
5 ай бұрын
RE were a small company compared to Triumphs so their bikes were always less common
@chrisweeks6973
5 ай бұрын
@@bikerdood1100 Agreed, though in our street there were two Enfields, the Connie and the other being a Clipper with Airflow fairing. Surprisingly, perhaps, given the Coventry location, there was only one Triumph, a Tiger Cub. The owner of the Cub later upgraded to a 3TA. At a later stage, another lad in the street bought a '51 6T Thunderbird, complete with the 'interesting' sprung hub. Unsurprisingly, he didn't keep it long.
@phillipchandler8862
5 ай бұрын
Lots of researched detail in there that was very interesting and informative. A great video that I really enjoyed a lot. Thanks for the all the time and hard work involved bringing this for us to enjoy👌👍
@bikerdood1100
5 ай бұрын
Thank you for your kind comment Much appreciated 👍
@kennethbowry1521
5 ай бұрын
Great work well researched, God I loved the Silks and Mettises but could never afford either.
@bikerdood1100
5 ай бұрын
Well no me neither Oh to be an internet millionaire 😂😂
@michaelarchangel1163
5 ай бұрын
I had my written off Kawasaki Z900 built into a black and gold Rickman CR in 1978. I think some guy in Llanelli owns it nowadays. With regard to scrambling, does anyone recall Chris Horsfield and Martin Lampkin on World of Sport on Saturdays ? Greeves two stroke bikes I think. Happy days, black and white telly with sh sh shaky vertical and horizontal hold, and bars of Galaxy in blue and cream wrapping from coin machines on the wall.
@bikerdood1100
5 ай бұрын
Greaves did build some bikes with Bultaco engines for a while
@borderlands6606
5 ай бұрын
Scrambling as a TV sport took off in the harsh winter of '63, when it was one of the few activities that still took place. World of Sport treated scrambling as a novelty, interspersed with other minority spectator sports. Something to fill screen time before the wrestling and football results, basically.
@jacketrussell
5 ай бұрын
It was Arthur Lampkin who rode in TV scrambles. Martin Lampkin rode trials.
@michaelarchangel1163
5 ай бұрын
Ah, yes indeed. Both brothers often got a mention, no matter which was being featured at the time.@@jacketrussell
@jamesweber4938
5 ай бұрын
Several of my friends used to race scramblers in the 70's at tracks (AMCA) in the Northwest.
@jamesweber4938
5 ай бұрын
I bought a brand new Rickman Bonneville 650 in 1974. It was 800 quid.
@orwellboy1958
5 ай бұрын
I'm not jealous at all 😭
@bikerdood1100
5 ай бұрын
800 quid was a fair chuck in the 70s
@borderlands6606
5 ай бұрын
A BMW dealer had an R75/5 in the window on my way to school, c1972. It was over a grand, so an 800 quid custom Bonnie was thereabouts.
@jamesweber4938
5 ай бұрын
@@bikerdood1100 In 1974 I was taking home about 30 quid a week. The Rickman was bought complete with a brand new engine from Allan Jefferies, a Triumph dealer in Shipley. He was stripping brand new Triumphs for parts and was also a dealer for Rickman chassis kits. I put a 750 kit (Morgo barrels and pistons) on the 650 engine.
@jamesweber4938
5 ай бұрын
@@borderlands6606 In 1968 there was not much difference in price between a new Bonneville and a new Austin Mini, around 380 quid versus 470 quid if I remember correctly. A brand new Honda 50 was around a 100 quid in 1967 !
@davidmacgregor5193
5 ай бұрын
How about featuring George and Tim Healey's 1000/4 in a future video? The Healey 1000/4 was created in 1971, it was powered by a tuned 997cc Ariel Square Four motor which was capable of 120mph, the motor was housed in Healey's own frame and rolling chassis. Tim later left the Healey company to concentrate on tuning Laverda's, George carried on with the 1000/4 until 1977, only 28 of these wonderful machines were built, so they are very rare and highly sought after by enthusiasts.
@bikerdood1100
5 ай бұрын
Well you may notice that this video has more in the title This is because it’s the second video Cam you guess what’s in the first. Should probably have checked out the links 😂😂
@billmago7991
5 ай бұрын
explains why the RE interceptor 2 has the Norton Roadholder forks and front wheel
@bikerdood1100
5 ай бұрын
Yep Strange given RE made breaks themselves
@AA-nt5qw
5 ай бұрын
The Series II took the whole Norton front end, so forks, wheel and brake. The Enfield front brake would not fit. This was good news for the underground factory wheel maker, only needing to build the rear wheels! He’s still around, sometimes posting on the Interceptor group site!
@assessor1276
5 ай бұрын
Great video…but I still like the old longer theme music.
@bikerdood1100
5 ай бұрын
Me too Unfortunately people they do complain
@borderlands6606
5 ай бұрын
The Rocket 3 variants look great, especially the Dan Dare exhaust one. The Triumph brand had more traction in the US, and even in the UK BSA were seen more as a cooking variety, everyman kind of bike, with some exceptions.
@bikerdood1100
5 ай бұрын
I have always felt that they should styles the two differently with the ray guns for BSA and traditional styling for Triumph from the outset
@marcbrasse747
5 ай бұрын
What about Dunstall? In the German Motorrad magazine catalogs I bought at the time they got equal attention as the Rickman’s. So I automatically assumed they where of similar reputation. I especially like the integrated glass fiber tank seat combinations. Top of my (theoretical) list was their version of Suzuki’s 750 2 stroke water kettle. Tasty that!
@bikerdood1100
5 ай бұрын
Only room for 5 Would also fit better in a video on 60s specials perhaps Now there’s an idea 🤔
@marcbrasse747
5 ай бұрын
@@bikerdood1100 Your welcome. 😁
@marcbrasse747
5 ай бұрын
@Turnipstalk Because it is made out of GRP? Only a rumour or a fact? The right quality glass reinforced polyester is actually excellent stuff for tanks. I even encased 2 steel tanks I built into an extra layer of GRP to provide extra protection against leaks on the long term. Works like a charm. And then there are the excellent tank sealants one can buy. Which adds even more security. In short: Don’t believe too many myths.
@marcbrasse747
5 ай бұрын
@Turnipstalk OK. That is VERY interesting stuff to read. I have also been active in the industry for years an also build my own motorcycle fairing designs. If you are interested Google my name. Anyway: Off course there are better alternatives but I ave always liked GRP because one can even built stuff out of it in one’s own “shed”. Epoxy and carbon fibre etc. are off course better but need extra curing technology. Furthermore I get severe allergic skin reactions from epoxy, which I found out during my time in the wind turbine industry. I am off course aware of all the disadvantages of composites but steel also has it limitations. Maybe you can therefore appreciate my aforementioned 3 layer approach for tanks. Nothing getting out of those, although there is of course a slight weight penalty involved. Oooh, I could go on like this for hours. 👍👍😁
@marcbrasse747
5 ай бұрын
About the submersible. That guy was so full of his own infallibility (I watched some video’s) that he most probably skimped on testing and quality control. He singlehandedly set back the acceptance of composites for marine applications for decades. No such qualms anymore in aeronautics. Again: Every material has it’s own pros and cons and quality control is always important.@Turnipstalk
@rover100bunson
5 ай бұрын
love the looks of the rickman metisse cafe racer, dont know if any have been sold
@bikerdood1100
5 ай бұрын
Well the chasis kit is still available under the Matisse name
@Phiyedough
5 ай бұрын
It is a bit misleading to say that Rickman used Honda and Kawasaki engines. They were supplying frame kits for home builders. I had a CR but a previous owner had removed the original Honda engine and bodged in a Suzuki GS750 lump.
@bikerdood1100
5 ай бұрын
Oh that’s nit picking now isn’t it 🙄
@sydallen4381
5 ай бұрын
I owned one of the 137 Rickman Interceptors in the 70's. Lovely bike with great handling. On the Rocket 3, there were 200 built in 1971, as with the Trident, with 5 speed gearboxes for racing homologation in the USA. So your figures are slightly out, understandably. I own one of the 200 Tridents.
@bikerdood1100
5 ай бұрын
Dam Americans Get all the cool kit first 😂😂😂😂
@billweiss9514
5 ай бұрын
good channel thanks.
@bikerdood1100
5 ай бұрын
Thanks for the feedback
@mc2594
5 ай бұрын
do we win a prize for guessing what bike is being ridden @ intro and outro? my guess is a *1955 Ariel Cyclone 650* .. which if nothing else provides an idea for a video - _5 (almost or completely) forgotten British Motorcycles__
@bikerdood1100
5 ай бұрын
Correct 😂😂 Good enough for Buddy I reckon
@rickh8380
5 ай бұрын
Nice bikes indeed. I really like the look of the Royal Enfield bikes of the 60's. Much better than the current crop of today's Royal Enfilds. The engines on the 650's look like squished toads. Thanks for sharing bikes I haven't ever seen. You can always tell a British bike by the oil spot or a drip pan. 😄 They also sound pretty amazing too. Cheers
@bikerdood1100
5 ай бұрын
Royal Enfields big problem was that they were a bit too small and always cost a little more than say a BSA or Triumph
@borderlands6606
5 ай бұрын
If you mean the new 650s, rickh, I agree. The rocker cover needs cosmetic fins or something to make the cylinders look longer.
@paulblouin6955
5 ай бұрын
I had a T160 Trumph. At the same time I had a Triumph Hurricane. (Vetter BSA) the T160 was uncomfortable and had poor ground clearance when turned. A 1971 Rocket 3 5 speed would have been best. More rare than a Hurricane though. My Interceptor was a Series 1 1/2. Concentric carbs tiny brakes and dry sump. Not fast, but for some reason you felt like a king riding on it. The transmission was in no hurry to shift. It needed the neutral finder.
@bikerdood1100
5 ай бұрын
Had an Enfield with the neutral finder Really good idea
@gntdriver2840
5 ай бұрын
As desirable as they were to many bikers in the 70's ive never regarded the Harris Magnum, the Japanese engined Rickmans and Dunstalls as genuinely 'British'. They started of as an exercise in mating a superior Japanese engine to a lighter more sturdy British made frame and bodywork with high quality Italian running gear and brakes and i think the majority were sold in kit form as opposed to ready assembled bikes
@bikerdood1100
5 ай бұрын
Well on reflection that puts them in a similar pistons modern CCMs and far more British than any modern Triumph 😂
@marcbrasse747
5 ай бұрын
In the late 70ties the Rocket 3 was about the only m manufacturer British production bike I liked. More actually then the Honda CB 750. Imagine the Rocket getting the Laverda treatment with alloy wheels and disk brakes. In todays conservative climate this would probably be called heresy but when I first got into motorcycles it was all the rage. And I still prefer tastefully designed cast wheels. The 80ties where full of them. And they are also easy to clean! 🙂
@bikerdood1100
5 ай бұрын
Would have looked pretty good I think Hondas styling is Very safe y that’s for sure
@stewartmckay9830
5 ай бұрын
You can see in British manufacturing the war cost Britain everything. A lot of these designs was just a case of a few dollars short
@bikerdood1100
5 ай бұрын
That is very true and demand for bikes in the UK tanked
@bikerdood1100
5 ай бұрын
Well it was a very expensive endeavour that’s for sure. But that’s war for you It had some weird effects on Britain, the empire grew, well temporarily but the country found itself in massive dept and unable to afford its massive navy. Companies were told to export or die. Many of the bike companies did recovery in the 50s but the end of the decade brought the rise of the cheap car, that’s when things really turned downhill
@wooisdebaanhoof
5 ай бұрын
The money and time put into the Norton Wankel should have been used to develop a production Triumph Quadrant. I better stop dreaming now. Next episode about the Hesketh?
@bikerdood1100
5 ай бұрын
Well should I cover the 80s then I’ll mention Hesketh The quadrant was never a serious proposal The 900 triple would have been however
@cbrider726
5 ай бұрын
I cant get over just how small the disks are on the Silk . Modern bikes have disks nearly the size of the front wheel. lol
@bikerdood1100
5 ай бұрын
There pretty big by the standards of the time, British Lockheed brakes were as good as anything else available back then
@bikerdood1100
5 ай бұрын
Of course the wheels were of larger diameter back in the 70s so this has the effect of making them look even smaller
@MrLeslloyd
5 ай бұрын
I'm trying to figure out the bike at 0.15? is it a RE? Just gorgeous tank scheme .Got to be a special i guess.
@bikerdood1100
5 ай бұрын
The one I’m on in the intro is an Ariel Cyclone ( as owned by Buddy Holly) Lovely machine that uses an A10 based motor
@MrLeslloyd
5 ай бұрын
@@bikerdood1100I would never have guessed it.
@johndonlon1611
5 ай бұрын
I still love the Rickman Interceptor-- a drop dead gorgeous bike that should have been a top seller. But--no engines + no money = no motorcycle. Horrid 1970s economic conditions saw to that worldwide. Alan Clews did get moving with CCM when he scored the last batch of BSA B-50 engines for his first bikes. The BSA Rocket 3s kept proving their mettle years later with riders such as Guy Martin thrashing the competition.
@bikerdood1100
5 ай бұрын
Well as I say in the video, they only had 200 engines to play with Clews was different as he also had the tooling to make more engines Don’t forget Mike the Bikes efforts on the BEEZA 😂
@johndonlon1611
5 ай бұрын
I remember Mr. Clews bought the BSA B-50 engines and tons of B-50 engine parts. I didn't know he also picked up the tooling for those engines.@@bikerdood1100
@user-is4tg6yt4d
5 ай бұрын
What about the '75, Triumph T-160. or Norton Comando. Front and rear disc brakes w/ electric start
@bikerdood1100
5 ай бұрын
You may notice it’s called More that would make it the second video 😉
@josephp5058
5 ай бұрын
When BSA started making unit construction bikes, l think that was the start of the downfall, they just weren’t reliable, l had an early 60’s A10 RGS and with a Triumph clutch conversion was a very good bike - l could be wrong of course, but lm going with other riders comments at the time who bought unit construction and had a lot of timing problems
@bikerdood1100
5 ай бұрын
For the down fall I’d look up why the move to unit construction Unit was cheaper and Uk bike sales were tanking, plus magneto systems were going off the market. So it was battery coil ignition which in the early 60s was problematic but it did improve dusting the decade. Unit bikes could be more vibratory but it’s often because they were revving more highly. But the unit engines were much cheaper to make and no small amount lighter Uk bike sails tanked after 1960 across the board. This has much more to do with the mini and Cortina than a move to unit engines.
@josephp5058
5 ай бұрын
@@bikerdood1100 your spot on - l actually went from the Beezer to a Mini funny enough
@rover100bunson
5 ай бұрын
hesketh?
@bikerdood1100
5 ай бұрын
70s
@rover100bunson
5 ай бұрын
joe biden moment, doh!
@54macdog
5 ай бұрын
The UK government should have bailed out BSA or even invested.
@kasperkjrsgaard1447
5 ай бұрын
And what about the other sinking brands? Including the combined car production.
@54macdog
5 ай бұрын
@@kasperkjrsgaard1447 Yeah, but there's a big difference between BSA and, say, Velocette. The cars, I dunno; that is a tough one.
@bikerdood1100
5 ай бұрын
It’s a fair argument because it was the only company large enough to remain competitive that had good foreign sales
@kasperkjrsgaard1447
5 ай бұрын
But it was, as far as I know, the management and board members who was the major reason for the demise of the previous great company. Should the government in such case demand a new board and management?
@timhicks2154
5 ай бұрын
I bought a brand new Triumph 750 Bonneville T140E in 1979. I have to say, it was not that reliable.
@bikerdood1100
5 ай бұрын
We had a TR7 RV and found it surprisingly good But is there a Bonnie feature in the video 🤔
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