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honduhmatic said:
So I need to spend years in a shed fixing arcane problems with british bikes to have an opinion on the matter?

Evidently going through that process makes you bitter and gives you thin skin!
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You're absolutely entitled to your opinion

But if peoples opinions are based on only 'Hearing Stories" then maybe they should get some first hand experience
(not just you honduhmatic but people in general)

Just as having my OWN opinion and first hand experience doesn't make me Bitter nor have a Thin skin
 
Tripletrouble said:
If you have a vintage bike as it came from the factory you will likely have a few problems. If however you add a dab of loctite where necessary, modern gasket sealants, a few goodies like electronic ignition to replace the worn out points system and away you go. My Commando never lets me down and it has been quite a few places over the years including runs down into the Southern States. Nowadays I do longer rides on my modern bike because it is a lot easier on my body than the old girl. Now if you'll excuse me I have to go and do the daily tappet adjustment and loosen the head bolts. I would look inside the top of the oil tank to check the flow but it is more fun loosening the head bolts and I read it on the internet so it must be true.
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Ahh the age old argument
Points vs electronic ignition

I'm in the process of taking the Boyer out of my Firebird and going back to points
Put back the stock Single Phase Alt and zener diode

On the Triumph T140 the Sparx 3 phase with the Boyer works like a charm
The BSA? I'm just not convinced

Anyone comparing your Commando to my Bikes is like Comparing a Pan-head to a Hyabusa
unfortunately Norton set the Mark Way out of reach for any other British manufacturers

One day I hope to add an 850 to the Stable


One more thing
modern Triumphs are nothing more then Kawasakis with a British name

*Ducks head to avoid flying Pint glasses*
 
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My friends who did all this are CVMG members. One of them built a pretty cool chopper by hand-picking Triumph parts at swap meet parts.

He spent a lot of time tracing the short that started the fire!

I don't doubt it's rewarding riding and owning a british classic bike. If they weren't appealing, nice ones wouldn't cost the $5-8k that they do. Based on all I've known, seen and heard (which sure isn't everything), it seems like a lot more work than a popular Japanese 4, a reproduction Triumph, or a standard modern bike.

Even getting into the hobby, personally, riding a modern bike, I have been surprised by the amount of maintenance involved. My fiancee worries about how much she'll see me if I finally get my classic...
 
I know that when I installed my Boyer unit back in '82 all of my carb problems went away :p. I have the Lucas three phase alternator with a Boyer regulator/rectifier unit wired negative ground.
 
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