It's the little things . . .


1952 K Street Bike: Good Rear Brake, Poor Front Brake, Mushy Front End(little rebound), Stable handling at speed, Greasy rear tire, Sticky front tire, Good power band 20mph-55mph zone, lightweight, easy starting, low maintenance. Left Hand Clutch/Right Foot Shift, CV Carburetor

1952 K Flat Tracker: Good Rear Brake, No front brake, Mushy Front End(some rebound), Stable handling at any speed, Good tires, Good power, Very lightweight, ok starting, Left Hand Clutch with Right Foot Shift, Dellorto Carb.

1952WLA: Good Rear Brake, OK Front Brake, Bouncy front end(no rebound), Twitchy handling at speed, Solid, Sticky tires, Great low-speed torque, lightweight, easy starting, low maintenance, Left Foot Rocker Clutch/Left Hand Tank Shift, Linkert Carburetor

1952FL Chopper: Great Rear Brake(but it can lock up rear wheel), No front brake, Good front end, Stable handling at high speed (but wobbly at about 30mph if you take your hands off the bars), Solid tires, Great power band, Ok starting, Left Foot Rocker Clutch / Left Hand Jockey Shift, Super E.

1961XLCH: Good Rear Brake(touchy), OK Front Brake, Mushy Front End, Stable at all speeds, Great Tires, OK Starting(but it is an XLCH, so that can change), low maintenance, Left Hand Clutch and Right Foot Shift, DC Linkert Carb.

1964XLH: OK Rear Brake, Grabby Front Brake, Ok Front End, Stable at speed, Great tires, Good Starting, normal maintenance, Left Hand Clutch, Right Foot Clutch, Super E.

1965XLCH Stroker: Good Brakes (front and rear are good), Stable at all speeds, Good Tires, Hard Starting (you probably couldn't start it), some maintenance, Too fast for braking (but they're all a bit like this) Left Hand Clutch / Right Foot Shift, Super E Carb.

I guess if you ride old bikes (which you do) you adjust to the conditions of the motorcycle?  It's a sub-conscience ability to know what's happening under you.  If you have multiple machines, and you ride them all regularly, you can jump on one and not miss a beat.  The more you ride it, the more you get in-the-groove.  There's not a (new or old)motorcycle that you'll just jump on and everything will flow perfectly.  I'll let someone ride my bike, and they're like - "That was fun."  We didn't go real fast, and we just cruised around. 

Vintage motorcycles, it's just a great way to spend your day.





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