The old galvanised steel bin (and the old wooden water butt) would be just off to the left of the photo, but at least there is part of the old galvanised steel garage showing. But does anyone know what the bike was?
Looks like a villiers 2 stroke powerplant. Don't recognise the bike. Note the obligatory dropped handlebars for extra speed. One of my first mods I did on my first proper bike when I was 17.
Not a Villiers, but it is a 2 stroke, single cylinder, 250cc. 'Ace bars' is wot they were called. I was 17, too.
The original silencer had rotted away, which was probably a bonus because it was as ugly as hell....the twin things were something I had laying around after scavenging bits and pieces from a council dump. They were actually quite good, though, because they had discs with a hole in each, in the outlets. Gave some decent back pressure and kept the noise down (a bit). The performance for an old 2 stroke was pretty good though.....90mph was just possible......If it had been left as stock, it wouldn't have been so quick.........loads of heavy tin panels and parts got dumped.
Obviously you are all just puzzled; all dis-interested; or not knowledgable of old Brit bikes to know what it used to be...... .....I can't find a photo of it when I first got it in all it's rusty glory....... So here's more than a clue as to what it should have looked like in good condition......
Yep, Cruiser 80.....the AMC 250cc single 2 stroke. AMC owned Francis Barnett and Norton at some stage (probably James as well)..... Norton Navigator was another one with the same frame......I was daft enough to buy one very cheap in the early 70s......it would have cost me more (a lot more) just to stop the oil leaks (if they could ever be stopped).
My first road legal bike was a Red DT50M, the twin shock one, which I saved up for and brought used from one of my fathers work colleagues a few weeks before my 16th Birthday. But it was a little disappointing after the DT250 I'd worked my up to for riding in the Fields and Woods, and when riding it I looked like it was three sizes too small for my lanky frame. But living in a rural area of Buckinghamshire where school friends were spread far and wide, it really did give me the opportunity to have some independence. It also got me off the school bus and allowed me to smoke past the Girls school next door to my Boys school on the way home. The engine lasted a few months with the baffles removed and holes drilled in the airbox before it 'nipped up', and was replaced with the complete engine from an RD80, which made a surprising amount of difference. Unfortunately I don't have any images of it, but it was just like this: Nasher.
