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#Post#: 97955--------------------------------------------------
Must be an age Thing.
By: nickjaxe Date: June 13, 2015, 3:56 am
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After a life time thinking motor bikes are dangerous bloody
things...what do I go and do at the age of 62.
Yes buy myself my first ever motor bike....but will I be able to
control the massive power and speed of my new bike after a life
time of driving series Landrovers at a very very sedate pace.
And what is this monster I have bought....A mighty BSA Bantam
175 2 stroke...Mmmm I hear you laugh be to me this is a major
change.
Dont know where the idea came from...but I love the little thing
to bits...its so quaint bit like me and my Landy I have owned
from new...best part of 50 years now...and the little bantam is
older than the S3 much older than my two daughters who dont
approve one little bit.
In some way it reminds me of an old Landy...first went into
production in 1948 not quite as long lived as the series line as
they ended production in 1971...but pretty dam good.
Modern bike leave me cold...you never know...if I get into this
bike thing I maybe looking for A nice old Bonnie.
All I have to do now is get myself a bike licence...now thats a
bummer....
Link to vid riding it down my street.
HTML https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjpOFmzRZRI
I wonder...any of you guys ever owned one????
Nick.
#Post#: 97968--------------------------------------------------
Re: Must be an age Thing.
By: niteram Date: June 13, 2015, 11:51 am
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nope, sorry never owned a Bantam. a couple of my mated did when
we were all younger! but I did own a BSA C15 or 2 and then a 500
Triumph followed by a 750 Triton amongst others. I've
owned/ridden many other bikes over the years including a few
unusual and a few rare ones, currently have a Buell Xb12s which
is quite fun! :rolleye0012:
#Post#: 97970--------------------------------------------------
Re: Must be an age Thing.
By: Dave OPal Date: June 13, 2015, 12:16 pm
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Joy of Joy!! I have happy memories of zooming along at 60 MPH
with the wind in my hair and flies in my teeth, then
suddenly....... silence! Usually followed by me imitating some
demented stunt-rider until I realised what was happening and
pulled the clutch, or sliding down the road on my arse if it was
wet! That little two-stroke engine has a propensity to seize if
thrashed unless, iirc, the mixture was adjusted from 25:1 to
20:1. This made for a pretty good imitation of HMS Hood laying a
smokescreen. Surprisingly, the bore rarely suffered much damage
as a result of the seizure, good old British engineering. Seeing
that we are are of a similar age you will have heard the one
about - 'what is red and throbs between your legs ... a Post
Office Bantam'. Enjoy the bike and don't kill yourself, the
roads are much busier than when we were sixteen and the bastards
just don't look out for bikes.
#Post#: 97982--------------------------------------------------
Re: Must be an age Thing.
By: nickjaxe Date: June 14, 2015, 3:44 am
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Thanks guys...cant wait to get going on it...going to always
wear a full florescent jacket and white helmet (open face) to
help the knobs see me...and ride very very defencelessly as I do
now when I drive....oh yes and keep my fingers crossed.
60mph...wow will a Bantam reach such a speed.
#Post#: 97996--------------------------------------------------
Re: Must be an age Thing.
By: johnpirate Date: June 14, 2015, 11:04 am
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I did something similar a few year ago.I bought a D1 125
Bantam.I put it on the road did my CBT .I went to work on it a
few times and had a couple of rides out,but a D1 has the pulling
power of a gnat and a top speed of about 35mph.The traffic
scared my witless.i put it back in the garage and sold it at a
loss a few months later.It looked really good though.I decided
to stick to four wheels minimum in future.
#Post#: 97997--------------------------------------------------
Re: Must be an age Thing.
By: nickjaxe Date: June 14, 2015, 12:03 pm
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What a shame...love the idea of a D1....but as for
commuting...your a brave man...I would never consider it.
Mine is purely a nice evening or weekend back road run
about....I may end up like you mate...as I feel very vunrable
riding my push bike...I cant ride it on the road and mainly
stick to the foot paths.
I'm going to fit a set of rear veiw mirrors to the Bantam so I
can get a picture of whats going on around me and hope that
helps....did yours have mirrors.
Mine is a 175...I believe its got quite a bit more go than the
125....maybe with the ability to keep up with traffic you may
have been better off with the bigger engine.
Those D1s do look the dogs ####### was it a single seat????
Nick.
#Post#: 98029--------------------------------------------------
Re: Must be an age Thing.
By: Peter de Dawg Date: June 16, 2015, 12:43 pm
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Top man !!...I had a few bantams when I were a lad ( 1970s )
great little bikes, nice to see a few still chuggin' around
:thumbs:
#Post#: 98037--------------------------------------------------
Re: Must be an age Thing.
By: rowehillmaster Date: June 16, 2015, 3:01 pm
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.... there is a Bantam 'Silver' on an hydraulic bench at the
back of my garage, has not seen the light of day for 12+ years
!, you can't even see it from 2 foot away. (it does have sheets
over it) It is a D10 model and was a one owner from new bike
before I had it, still has the dealer transfer on the mud guard.
It has some dodgy steel leg guards and a rear carrier with
extensions so the previous owner could carry tools down to his
allotment, balanced on the side of the bike ! - not sure when it
was last on the road, I think it was 1987, I got it in 93 or 4
as a non runner - little end had disintegrated, I was told that
was his bloody grandson though !
#Post#: 98038--------------------------------------------------
Re: Must be an age Thing.
By: nickjaxe Date: June 16, 2015, 4:32 pm
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Sad to think o it just sitting there...mine has not been on the
road for 31 years.
You ever though about bring it back to life...bit are quite
cheap.
#Post#: 98039--------------------------------------------------
Re: Must be an age Thing.
By: rowehillmaster Date: June 16, 2015, 11:13 pm
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.... I got the Bantam that's buried at the back of my garage
because I had fond memories of my first own bike, which was a
Bantam D7 - but .... when I asked my mum if she had any pictures
of it - she sent this ! ( we did some odd things in the 70's !
:WTF what am I wearing ! - summer of 76?)
[URL=
HTML http://s46.photobucket.com/user/kemplen/media/bantam_zps9ibtfpla.jpg.html][IMG]http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f137/kemplen/bantam_zps9ibtfpla.jpg[/img][/URL]
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