Quote:
Originally Posted by Ariel Red Hunter
Someone asked me about my riding experience. I think I will start by telling you all the motorcycles I have owned, or had considerable experience with. First bike was a Francis-Barnett 125. Three speeds. Slow, slower, and damn near stopped. Topped out at just over 40 mph. Then I finagled my way into the ownership of an Ariel Red Hunter 350. Wonderful bike. Had good tele hydraulic front forks, and Antsey Link rear suspension. Came with a well tuned engine, like all Red Hunters. Wonderful handling, and beautifully built. 1949 year model. Had a Lycette saddle. Topped out at about 84 mph. Rode my first TT race on it. (Southern California TT's). Then a 350 AJS. Why? It had SwingArm rear suspension. The engine wasn't as powerful as the Ariel, but the swing arm rear meant the rear wheel was "hooked up" more of the time on the TT tracks, so it was actually faster around the course. It also jumped better. 3.50X19 front and rear. I ran a Pirelli Universal on the front, and a Goodyear Grasshopper on the rear. I did pretty well with that bike, usually finishing in the top 4. I was considered crazy because I used the front brake. Then there was a short romance with a H-D 74. It was a good highway bike, but a hard starter. Then I lucked into a 1938 Indian Chief that had been brought up to Bonneville specs. 80 cubic inches. Would really stroll. Ate H-D 74's for breakfast. Mucho fun.
|
And it had that strange (to modern eyes) leaf spring front suspension. You guys would be amazed at how well that front suspension worked. And how beautifully it steered. That year was either the last or next to last year Indian Chief with 18" tires, front and rear. I bought that bike for $400.00. Check what they bring now. I sold the Indian in order to buy a pick-up so I could haul a BSA Goldstar flat tracker back and forth. I wasn't good enough to compete in that league, so other people rode it. 60-40 split. Bike owner got 60% of the winnings. That bike was too expensive for me to keep competitive, so I sold it and bought a 250 Ducati bevel drive single for road racing. Did OK with it until the Moto-Parilla's and the Aermacci Harley-Davidsons started to show up. Those were both push rod singles, and were considerably faster than the Ducati's. I eased out of road racing when the Yamaha strokers started to come on. I didn't have a bike for a couple of years (I was involved with an Offy powered sprint car.) so I bought an AJS Model 14 CSR. That's a 250, and a very fast (and Light) one. Eventually, after I got married, I had a BSA Thunderbolt 650, then a Triumph 500 along with a Triumph Trophy 250. A couple of more years went by, then a Honda XL 125 (one of the hardest starting bikes I've ever owned) but fun to ride, a BMW R90S and that's about it. Oh yeah, a Yamaha DT175 and an iron head Sportster.