For the love of English 3 speeds...
11-26-19, 07:54 AM
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11-26-19, 08:03 AM
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I was working in a motorcycle shop at the time (1999), and bought the 160 and a 100cc 2T Yamaha enduro from the owner in a package deal for $600. They were both bikes that were brought in for service, then abandoned by their owners. I didn't know the problems when I bought them, but the Honda turned out to have a charging issue. I worked around that by riding either on high beam, or with headlight off. Seems Honda thoughtfully engineered a stator which changed it's output based on demand - demand being dictated by headlight switch position. Anyway, I knew little about old Hondas when I got it, and was riding it like one would drive a car. No tach, but I imagine I was shifting in the 4k range. Anyway, a neighborhood motorcycle guru convinced me that I not only could wind the thing out, but that the bike would like it. So anyway, I was riding the thing like a GP bike, and having loads of fun. I rode with a couple of friends to a party several towns away, under the condition we would take backroads, as I'm on a 160, and they were on a '79 T140 and a '00 CBR600. I got good and drunk, as youngsters often do. I was yelled at for dirt tracking the 160 around the house we were at, and later did a smoky burnout on a piece of plywood (I have a photo somewhere I'll add if I find it). Then the ride home. My friends without telling me decided to take the freeway home. As I had no clue where I was, nor any GPS or map, I felt (keep in mind my condition) I had no choice but to follow them on the interstate (a road I was well familiar with). Anyway, I felt they were going too slowly for my tastes (the guy on the CBR just got the bike, and was riding on a permit), so I logically felt the thing to do was to get into the inside lane, pass them, and make my way home as briskly as possible. So there I was, tucked down behind the bars on i84 on this little Honda, completely maxed out for 12 miles or so. No helmet, no jacket, probably no gloves. Occasionally passing cars (I think we figured out this thing would do 75 on flat ground with no wind). Made it to my exit, and the little Honda had the smell of a warm engine, and the pipes were making all kinds of clattering sounds as they cooled off. But the bike continued to ride perfectly for the rest of the time I owned it.
Last edited by blackbomber; 11-26-19 at 09:30 AM.
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11-26-19, 08:39 AM
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11-26-19, 08:41 AM
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Yeah, that's the key to making the CB160 a really fun ride!
...No helmet, no jacket, probably no gloves. Occasionally passing cars (I think we figured out this thing would do 75 on flat ground with no wind). Made it to my exit, and the little Honda had the smell of a warm engine, and the pipes were making all kinds of clattering sounds as they cooled off. But the bike continued to ride perfectly for the rest of the time I owned it.
...No helmet, no jacket, probably no gloves. Occasionally passing cars (I think we figured out this thing would do 75 on flat ground with no wind). Made it to my exit, and the little Honda had the smell of a warm engine, and the pipes were making all kinds of clattering sounds as they cooled off. But the bike continued to ride perfectly for the rest of the time I owned it.
11-26-19, 08:56 AM
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11-26-19, 09:16 AM
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It was just a matter of time
The fragile trigger face finally fell off.
It may have been on there since new.
I had a spare face in the garage.
Old reliable is ready for continued trips to the beer store.
The fragile trigger face finally fell off.
It may have been on there since new.
I had a spare face in the garage.
Old reliable is ready for continued trips to the beer store.
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11-26-19, 09:39 AM
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You may or may not wish to revisit THIS POST- I added pics. Seems when you try this on a piece of random plywood lying on the ground, it wants to kick back. So it helps to have a kind gent step in and provide ballast to keep the wood in place. I distinctly recall him quite perturbed that bits of my tire rubber found their way into his beverage.
11-26-19, 10:24 AM
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11-26-19, 11:26 AM
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11-26-19, 01:01 PM
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Rocket science...
"The Loved One" 1965
"The Loved One" 1965
11-26-19, 01:51 PM
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11-26-19, 02:13 PM
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This beautiful machine is currently on eBay. 1953 Lenton Sports Reg Harris model. All I can say is, hubbuh hubbuh. One day I would love to own an English lightweight. I'd prefer to find a frame in rougher shape, and build it up according to my tastes. Humber, Rudge, Raleigh, Fothergill, etc...
Last edited by Ged117; 11-26-19 at 02:20 PM.
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11-26-19, 04:22 PM
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Hey Gster, it's good to see another Superbe without braze-on pump pegs, I've had a few people over the years tell me that mine couldn't be a genuine Superbe because they all had them. Same with the common misconception that all Superbes came with a B66 seat, though mine came with a vinyl Brooks.
11-26-19, 08:52 PM
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Thanks - the color was a big draw for me, too. My previous 3spd lightweight was a '68 Schwinn Speedster in Sky Blue, which I really liked. The previous owner of the Dunelt (who gets credit for the refurb) indeed had a brown, Brooks-esque saddle and color matching grips prior to my acquisition. I like it better that way as well. Maybe next season.
Are you a Bike Karma podcast listener? Because I read that comment in a Sean Connery accent :-)
https://podtail.com/en/podcast/the-b...rk-bici-co-bi/
Anyway, here's a shot the PO sent me.
Are you a Bike Karma podcast listener? Because I read that comment in a Sean Connery accent :-)
https://podtail.com/en/podcast/the-b...rk-bici-co-bi/
Anyway, here's a shot the PO sent me.
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11-27-19, 06:34 AM
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Dunelt was the line sold by my LBS when I was a kid. I don't remember if they had Raleigh. I still can hardly believe how kind my folks were to get me one. The $45 cost was a major expense. Until I caught ten speed fever from my cousin in late '69 or '70, I couldn't imagine a superior bicycle, though, of course, I actually knew nothing.
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11-27-19, 06:35 AM
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11-27-19, 07:33 AM
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Dunelt was the line sold by my LBS when I was a kid. I don't remember if they had Raleigh. I still can hardly believe how kind my folks were to get me one. The $45 cost was a major expense. Until I caught ten speed fever from my cousin in late '69 or '70, I couldn't imagine a superior bicycle, though, of course, I actually knew nothing.
And Merle Adams considered the Shimano hub to be superior, as it was easier to tear down and repair. Oddly enough, I still have faint memories of how to dig in to an AW, but would really want to have a manual with me to back up those faint memories, as I haven’t torn into one (or needed to) in forty years now. A Shimano? I wouldn’t have a clue without a manual.
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“No one in this world, so far as I know — and I have searched the records for years, and employed agents to help me — has ever lost money by underestimating the intelligence of the great masses of the plain people. Nor has anyone ever lost public office thereby.”
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11-27-19, 07:52 AM
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Hey Gster, it's good to see another Superbe without braze-on pump pegs, I've had a few people over the years tell me that mine couldn't be a genuine Superbe because they all had them. Same with the common misconception that all Superbes came with a B66 seat, though mine came with a vinyl Brooks.
I think mine had a vinyl saddle when I got it.
11-27-19, 07:57 AM
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This beautiful machine is currently on eBay. 1953 Lenton Sports Reg Harris model. All I can say is, hubbuh hubbuh. One day I would love to own an English lightweight. I'd prefer to find a frame in rougher shape, and build it up according to my tastes. Humber, Rudge, Raleigh, Fothergill, etc...
There's a certain charm to these Club bikes that's
hard to define....
11-27-19, 08:37 AM
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If that bike was bought new, your folks caught one hell of a bargain. In 1972, at A.R. Adams Cycle in Erie, PA a Raleigh Sports sold for $100.00 (same as a Raleigh Record), the Triumph and Dunelt (we never knew which we’d get in the next shipment) went for $85.00, and a Japanese copy with a Shimano 3.3.3 hub (I think it was branded as a Kent, but my memory might be a little foggy on that point) sold for $60.00.
And Merle Adams considered the Shimano hub to be superior, as it was easier to tear down and repair. Oddly enough, I still have faint memories of how to dig in to an AW, but would really want to have a manual with me to back up those faint memories, as I haven’t torn into one (or needed to) in forty years now. A Shimano? I wouldn’t have a clue without a manual.
And Merle Adams considered the Shimano hub to be superior, as it was easier to tear down and repair. Oddly enough, I still have faint memories of how to dig in to an AW, but would really want to have a manual with me to back up those faint memories, as I haven’t torn into one (or needed to) in forty years now. A Shimano? I wouldn’t have a clue without a manual.
11-27-19, 08:47 AM
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11-27-19, 08:50 AM
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Another Kijiji Toronto Bike
Listed as a 70's Raleigh Sports @ $200.00 OBO
Closer examination dates it to pre 1962 as there's a stamped eye on the herons
The trigger is also an earlier version
A brazed on pulley?
A nice example but too small for me.
Listed as a 70's Raleigh Sports @ $200.00 OBO
Closer examination dates it to pre 1962 as there's a stamped eye on the herons
The trigger is also an earlier version
A brazed on pulley?
A nice example but too small for me.
11-27-19, 08:51 AM
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11-27-19, 12:13 PM
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Definitely makes sense. I got the impression you were talking early 70's.
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Syke
“No one in this world, so far as I know — and I have searched the records for years, and employed agents to help me — has ever lost money by underestimating the intelligence of the great masses of the plain people. Nor has anyone ever lost public office thereby.”
H.L. Mencken, (1926)
11-27-19, 04:35 PM
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