You're omitting the whole pre-Honda US market

Post #56,129 by Ashton 10/11/02 1:18:02 AM 10/11/02 1:25:22 AM Reply	You're omitting the whole pre-Honda US market British bikes ruled. Period. And the testing ground was the GP race - Isle of Man in particular. In the '50s the "World's fastest Standard Motorcycle" == their sloan and a fact: was Vincent. But the ruler for handling, for 500 cc class racing was ever the Norton ('featherbed' frame and with Magnesium alloy goodies, as well as after-market race bits as would always appear - for any model). Migawd, there were.. BSA, Matchless/AJS, Ariel [square four and others), Triumph, Villiers, Velocette... and the 128 mph Vincent Black Shadow = in 1951 yet. (I owned several brands and several Vincents incl. the 500 cc single = half a 1000 cc Vee twin). These ARE the story of "actual motorcyles" appearing in Murica, after all the years of trucks - killing all those State Troopers and others. We always confuse Size with Good. British bikes were the group targetted by Honda et al (Yamaha, Kawasaki, Suzuki and a few oddities like a Japanese copy of a BMW (!)) Just as the MG TC brought to the attention of returning vets from WW-II, the Fact that a car could be light limber and Fun - so was the Brit bike invasion the corollary for 2-wheels. Freed from the evil-handling Harley trucks, natural Murican innovation occurred. One was for Show and oil stains wherever parked - the others were for actual superb handling and a bit fewer oil stains. Honda made the oil stains go away and Much More. (as Harley has now - on their 15-25 THOUSAND dollar Gucci gowns for those who want to be Seen). Most of the Brit bikes mentioned - outhandled the early Hondas. Tales of Norton Dominator 88 or 99 (500, 600 cc vertical twins) to confirm that-all. ie I'd opine that Honda would have had no market here, had not the British created one - via machines which acknowledged that the laws of physics are stern: and a bloated 700 # behemoth with girder forks and foot clutch - just won't cut it. (No, I don't know where this fits in with computer analogies; I rank M$ more simply): Machiavelli + G\ufffdbbels eat everyone's lunch via rapine, massive lies and the support of fellow Repos everywhere - who idolize 'success' of this kind - especially in Murica, where no one cares How you Win or who you kill enroute \ufffd Cheers, Ashton PS - I doubt the Yuppie Harley riders even adjust a chain = it's all Service Shop and.. detail it while yer at it. Wrenchers are poor, or racing - or riding Other bikes, which handle. (or a few ancient folks left from the early days = also poor. Still.) Edited by Ashton Oct. 11, 2002, 01:25:22 AM EDT You're omitting the whole pre-Honda US market British bikes ruled. Period. And the testing ground was the GP race - Isle of Man in particular. In the '50s the "World's fastest Standard Motorcycle" == their sloan and a fact: was Vincent. But the ruler for handling, for 500 cc class racing was ever the Norton ('featherbed' frame and with Magnesium alloy goodies, as well as after-market race bits as would always appear - for any model). Migawd, there were.. BSA, Matchless/AJS, Ariel [square four and others), Triumph, Villiers, Velocette... and the 128 mph Vincent Black Shadow = in 1951 yet. (I owned several brands and several Vincents incl. the 500 cc single = half a 1000 cc Vee twin). These ARE the story of "actual motorcyles" appearing in Murica, after all the years of trucks - killing all those State Troopers and others. We always confuse Size with Good. British bikes were the group targetted by Honda et al (Yamaha, Kawasaki, Suzuki and a few oddities like a Japanese copy of a BMW (!)) Just as the MG TC brought to the attention of returning vets from WW-II, the Fact that a car could be light limber and Fun - so was the Brit bike invasion the corollary for 2-wheels. Freed from the evil-handling Harley trucks, natural Murican innovation occurred. One was for Show and oil stains wherever parked - the others were for actual superb handling and a bit fewer oil stains. Honda made the oil stains go away and Much More. (as Harley has now - on their 15-25 THOUSAND dollar Gucci gowns for those who want to be Seen). Most of the Brit bikes mentioned - outhandled the early Hondas. Tales of Norton Dominator 88 or 99 (500, 600 cc vertical twins) to confirm that-all. ie I'd opine that Honda would have had no market here, had not the British created one - via machines which acknowledged that the laws of physics are stern: and a bloated 700 # behemoth with girder forks and foot clutch - just won't cut it. (No, I don't know where this fits in with computer analogies; I rank M$ more simply): Machiavelli + Göbbels eat everyone's lunch via rapine, massive lies and the support of fellow Repos everywhere - who idolize 'success' of this kind - especially in Murica, where no one cares How you Win or who you kill enroute Cheers, Ashton PS - I doubt the Yuppie Harley riders even adjust a chain = it's all Service Shop and.. detail it while yer at it. Wrenchers are poor, or racing - or riding Other bikes, which handle. (or a few ancient folks left from the early days = also poor. Still.) Collapse All History
Post #56,189 by Another Scott 10/11/02 10:51:06 AM Reply	Re your PS. I've seen Harley's that don't have chains... They've got [link\|http://www.nightrider.com/biketech/hdbeltdrive.htm\|cogged belts]. A useful innovation. I have no idea whether they came up with it first though. Cheers, Scott
Post #56,194 by drewk 10/11/02 11:07:46 AM Reply	Well, sorta The idea of belt drive is very old. Probably the oldest drivetrain, actually. And hugely inefficient as it slipped. The toothed belt was much more recent, and was first used on camshafts and other lighter-duty applications. They were made possible by advances in kevlar and nylon manufacturing (though there are other materials being used now, I'm sure). Harley were the ones who got the idea to try the huge ones for final drive to quiet the noise down. This is a company that does 3-D sound modelling of all new products to make sure they sound right. No one else would have cared so much about the noise from a chain. === Microsoft offers them the one thing most business people will pay any price for - the ability to say "we had no choice - everyone's doing it that way." -- [link\|http://z.iwethey.org/forums/render/content/show?contentid=38978\|Andrew Grygus]

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