LoneRonin
Well-known member
keyword; unchanged...
Longest production unchanged motorcycle?
- Thread starter inreb
- Start date
keyword; unchanged...
How many do you or have you owned?
I82l8
Well-known member
...went from a 1L 4 cyl boxer to a 1.8L 6 cyl boxer...how is that 'unchanged' LOL
theraymondguy
Well-known member
Honda minis rule this range.
z50, z50r, xr50, crf50. Still in production and has been since late 60s.
Major design changes:
1971 from hardtail to softtail
1983 longer stroke, dome piston, still 49cc
1988 plastic fuel tank, modern plastics, CDI (either 86 or 88)
Shares engine cases with
ATC70
CL70
CT70
SL70
XL70
And many others models in other markets.
1976 to 2012 xr75 / crf 80
Same basic engine, add CDI in 1992.
z50, z50r, xr50, crf50. Still in production and has been since late 60s.
Major design changes:
1971 from hardtail to softtail
1983 longer stroke, dome piston, still 49cc
1988 plastic fuel tank, modern plastics, CDI (either 86 or 88)
Shares engine cases with
ATC70
CL70
CT70
SL70
XL70
And many others models in other markets.
1976 to 2012 xr75 / crf 80
Same basic engine, add CDI in 1992.
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Also do not malign the noble GS500, the best balance of low maintenance and sport that motorcycle scientists could produce
D
Dr. Luxurious
Guest
a lot of the patents obtained from the NR program were applied to later mass market models . money lost on the nr was made back many times over...
LoneRonin
Well-known member
none, I wasn't alive to have had them in their heyday, born on the wrong side of the world to have grown up around them and not enough disposable income yet to just spend 6-7 grand on one here when they sell for half that.
I have ridden a handful however as a teen/adult, and my grandpa never got rid of the two he bought in the 1960's and 80's, they had right side shift and left side foot brake and the 80's one is still ridden every year or two when him or my uncles go visit. He toured from Punjab (North India) to the Himalayan foothills a few times over his years and I always remember him talking about how ballsy the bike was compared to everything else on that market up until not too long ago. He told me countless times having to tow his buddies on rocky or muddy uphill sections or through rivers that spontaneously came out of nowhere, the guys on Bullets were the only ones who actually kept a tow chain handy.
He'd always laugh when he'd tell me how the little scooters were usually helpless (the original Vespa type ones, not the plastic crap we have nowadays) but the bikes with larger tires like the normal Hondas, Suzukis, Yamahas and all that could usually stay upright, they just never had the balls to get out of a sticky situation especially if loaded up. You have to realize that most bikes of the time that the general population had access to were 10-12hp and laughable torque. A Bullet at 30-40hp was a ****ing beast comparatively and because it was the only bike that could actually handle the type of riding it was used for it gained that social status of being a bad*ss.
The biggest problem he said was random bits and bolts shaking off on long rides but hell, that's to be expected, I guess they didn't have loctite. Engines have been solid, and two guys with the basic toolkit can pretty much pull it out the bike and you can service just about everything on it at the side of the road with primitive ****. That was another reason people loved it, it was a rugged bike compared to the fancy new Jap bikes that some random boonie mechanic in a tent at the side of the mountain would look at and have no idea wtf he's doing.
Its not fair to be comparing it to what we have available nowadays on OUR market 80 years after its initial introduction. Now its more of a niche product than an every man's bike. However doesn't mean it can't get the job done.
In many parts of the Himalayas its still the primary bike for touring, Take a look at these pics and take into account the structure and basic engineering of the bike. Yea, it might not be as impressive on a GS1200 but try that on a Sportster or a Scrambler.
Hey man, don't take it personally...I'm on a 250.
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Removing the rear wheel on a Bullet is sweet joy compared to the nuisance on the several Japanese bikes/scooters I've had.
The Ural might be in contention if the history is accurate--late 1930's to now, though the newer ones have a steering damper and updated electrics. Still, the vehicle itself seems the same. The original factory still makes them too, IIRC.
The Ural might be in contention if the history is accurate--late 1930's to now, though the newer ones have a steering damper and updated electrics. Still, the vehicle itself seems the same. The original factory still makes them too, IIRC.
Sabex
Well-known member
ex500 is more sporty. gs500 is more touring.
gs also likes to leak/burn up more oil.
I have heard these communist lies before - my 68,000KM bike neither sweats nor burns a drop.
I have seen some of the earlier Spanish GS500s that are leaking from the head gasket, but the vast majority of shabby GS500s I've seen are just beaten on, like a poor puppy that starts out life in the corner of a neglected junkyard
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You have to acknowledge though, that if you graph the build quality over time (and we're still using British build quality as a baseline) it will be U-shaped. It's like treating a Honda XR50R and a Baja DR50 as the same bike.
Plus if you start the clock on the last major mechanical improvement, and start playing the field of utilitarian motorcycles, then you start getting uncomfortably close to the Honda Cub and you risk drawing its acolytes into the conversation
(*I don't actually hate the Bullet)
(You called me a dummy and my feelings are hurt)
I'm not completely sure but I think the original factory and tooling was in East Berlin and right after WW2 the soviets packaged it up and sent it off the the Ural mountains. Was originally called Dnepr , but Ural sounded cooler. It was pretty much a BMW design from the 30's. Its got to be a contender for long production run in one of the versions.
The Chinese military have one that's very similar, when the Chinese and Soviets were all buddy buddy , they shared /50yr old technology......
