World's First 500cc Trail Bike...

[Brian Watson]

Yes...and all that talk about how stupid the 20" front wheel was....how clever were the Japs...they went and put a 23" front wheel in those Hondas..laugh....well we all nearly pooed our pants..

[EML]

Royal Enfield must have liked a bit each way as theirs had a 19'' at both ends. Very handy as you only need to carry one spare tube.

[Rosco86]

Was out riding the powerlines in Vic, when Ron Sisley turned up on his b50. Pulled it off the ute and had a couple of trailies on 400 suzukis having a bit of a laugh at the oil leaker. Laughed a bit more when it kicked back and just about threw Ron over the bars. (Was jockey size not a John Banks) Last laugh may have been with the drag race up the dirt road... saw Ron just fill them in and left them in his wake as he threw it ino a lovely slide around the bend. Aaah the love affair with big 4s had started. Still luv them, the sounds of my triumph, ccm, jawa or wessie are just hypnotic.

[Curly3]

I'm with ya Rosco & all the others.
Gunna raise the white flag yet Graeme?

[firko]

Japs...they went and put a 23" front wheel in those Hondas..laugh....well we all nearly pooed our pants..

And let's not forget those 17" balloon rear tyres that Yamaha thought to be a great idea.....hmmm, come to think of it, so did Husqvarna.

[Davey Crocket]

Geez MarC.....you've made that pommy jalopy look shit already.....how'd ya do it?.....gotta love the flatslide on the motor ......as you can see it's boring...much like this forum has become.

[firko]

It's only boring because you guys are sitting around waiting to be entertained.
Contribute.

[Brian Watson]

Just to continue a little off topic.. Those 17" rear wheels were a mystery....theory was that the "tall" sidewall would "add" or contribute to the rear travel.....similar left field thinking on the Honda 23"...wheel was bigger than the 21" / 18" / 17" / 20"... 19".. which created the holes..so it wouldn't fall into the holes either...supposedly to create a better ride / handling... Some guys must have been paid an awful lot to come up with those great ideas..

[cheapracer]

A few years back now I rode Barry Pattersons B50MX and it shocked me how fast it was and how hard it revved. 10 minutes later I was on Craig Eckert's CCM and totally different power delivery, massive grunt and no revs, could ride the whole track in 1 gear.

[Oppet]

Mark get youre bike dirty!
First test ride was good after second rebuild, little pinging on low rpm, but I think octane booster will cure it.
Fun machine

[Marc.com]

Geez MarC.....you've made that pommy jalopy look shit already.....how'd ya do it?.....gotta love the flatslide on the motor ......as you can see it's boring...much like this forum has become.

Mate you hvn't seen the Cheney at its best yet, anyway if thats boring give me an idea of what isn't.

I think the BSA motor is a real shit kicker and tiny and light compared to the TT500 motor. If BSA had fitted a post war clutch set up and steel rod we would still all be riding them. Plus look what is getting the iconic megabucks in the VMX world, yep BSA engined bikes, CCM, Cheney etc.

[grouty]

You either love em or hate em.
My love affair started in about 77 or 78 when I had a chance to ride the JWS BSA B50. Blew them all off until the first corner.

These day's just about all the bugs can be ironed out with them. Biggest let down was the weight. Either live with it (many do) or go for a CCM / Cheney etc. Prince of darknest ignition was an issue, but Interspan sorts that. Gearbox woes are a thing of the past as well as poor clutches.
My old thing will rev past 8000 without a problem. It's only my ears that tell me to change up one !

Oppet ..... that looks fantastic. Do the internals match that 1"3/4 primary pipe ?
It looks just like my old B50 from a few years back. I did stick with the Amal carb though.

The only issue I have never quite got to grips with is the forks. I can not seem to get the springing and damping just to my liking. Was the same on the B50 as it is on the CCM. Or is it just me getting older and more anal in my wants.

[crash n bern]

I drooled over those Beezers when they came out. But I was only 11 at the time. I always wanted one when I was young, but they were always out of my price range. I always thought they were a cool bike. But I did buy the TT500 alternative when they came out, and yes they were a pig, but I loved that pig and still do.  I think if a bike 'does it for you' you will live with it's shortcomings.

When I wanted to re enter modern dirtbikes in the '90's everyone told me to buy a XR600. Dirt Bike mag did a 600 shootout the ATK got a bad rap and the XR won the shootout as best bang for buck.  So on that info I went out and bought a new ATK anyway, DB was right and I lived with the idiosyncrasies because I loved it.  In hindsight I'm glad I never bought the XR although the 620 KTM may of been the better bike.  Still, I prefer the ATK.

[Oppet]

Grouty, this is 41mm outside dia pipe. I run still original sleeve, but next time may take bigger bore.
Has allready bigger valves.

Regards mr.Who

[dfisher]

1970 "Monark/Triumph 500 Scrambler" as purchased off Ebay    Currently in restoration back to it's original form.



Owner/builder John Leibl shown with the bike in 1972.