Old bike thread - 60+

[LowRyter]

Great photos Glawster. 

[JJ]

Yes...and just another vintage classic to add to the WANT LIST!!

[dsrdave]

Here’s one of my favorite guzzi’s an early lodola I restored, the coolest moped a parilla and the 1934 Terrot 350. The terrot is a blast to ride !!

[SED]

that Terot is cool!  Huge filler cap?   Clincher rims?

Beautiful work on the Ladola.

[dsrdave]

Yes, huge filler cap. Brass tank
Non clincher rims

[dsrdave]

the muffler in the photo was not correct when I got the bike. I’ve since replaced it with the correct, cast aluminum one. VERY Art Deco, very cool

[JJ]

I like that Terrot as well....   "Le French!!" I'll bet it's FUN to ride also!

[Canuck750]

This Ariel is more than 60 years old, would make a great - project, come TLC required



https://www.ebay.com/itm/1938-Other-Makes/254842023429?hash=item3b55c4ae05:g:~rcAAOSw6MBgC0nP

[Canuck750]

I like that Terrot as well....   "Le French!!" I'll bet it's FUN to ride also!

South of Paris I came across a fabulous private gear head museum, over 200 bikes displayed inside a Chateau, along with jet fighter aircraft, fire engines, agricultural equipment and race cars as well.

Plenty of Terrots on display including some very early flat tankers





Peugot as well

[Huzo]

Love the big 4-stroke scooters - they look so cool.  A friend has a Heinkle but never seen it run...


Most think of the Norge as a "new" -ish bike, but the name goes back to 1927.  This "history" was just published in an Italian group (machine translated).  Can't confirm any of it and there were no citations, but the info about personalities suggests Carlo and Naco were probably not easy to work for!

It all started with the engineer Giuseppe Guzzi, known as ′′ Naco ", older brother of the best-known Carlo (the founder of Moto Guzzi) and true technical supervisor of the house of Mandello del Lario. Giuseppe Guzzi was described as a grumpy at the limits of misanthropy, who suffered enormously from the heat in any season, so much as to regularly work on the technigraphy in a tank top and underwear. Maybe that's why he didn't like receiving visitors: they distracted him from his calculations and, above all, forced him to cover himself. During the summer months he made long trips to Austria, Germany or France, with the dual aim of testing his achievements and finding some cooling.
In 1927 Naco built the prototype of the GT 500 model, first Moto Guzzi with an elastic frame and, in honor of the Italian airship that the previous year allowed Umberto Nobile and Roald Amundsen's mission to fly over the North Pole, the new motorcycle is immediately renamed Norge. It was a promotional move that tried to ride the enthusiasm of the moment, but it sparked a choir of protests from competing motorcycle houses, who accused Moto Guzzi of unfairly taking advantage of the popularity of that company. The diatribe became a war with press releases that ended up burning the already hot summer of 1928, causing Carlo Guzzi to worry, who feared a huge ′′ image damage ′′ for the company. Regardless of the ongoing controversy, his brother Giuseppe was quietly preparing for his usual travelling holidays. But it was only appearance, he was actually planning another one of his findings: Norge fed up, he set off for his usual summer trip, which this time was over kilometers and took him to the North Cape. Reaching the Arctic Circle, on the roads and with the motorcycles of the time, was an incredible feat, and the news camped in newspapers across Europe, calling thousands of curious people on the way back. As soon as he returned to Mandello, exhausted more by the crowd baths than by the trip, Naco returned to the technigraphy, leaving his brother the task of juggling interviews, awards and convention. Legend has it that Carlo Guzzi, a man with little compliments, has entered his brother's office and, without even mentioning the accomplishment, discussed with him for a couple of hours about the changes to the suspension. But this time, because of the heatwave, even the austere Carlo put himself in a tank top and underwear; a singular and mute tribute that, between the two grumps, was worth a thousand praise. It was so that Moto Guzzi could fully use the name Norge, and North Cape became an important motorcycle goal.

Huzo should see this!   

Yes.
A good read. It’s not just the distance that begins to weigh on you after a while, but the realisation that a mechanical breakdown is going to be a pretty difficult thing to deal with logistically.
The countryside is raw and barren and the coastline begins to close in on both sides. The last 20 km just seems to be going up and up and.....Until you reach THAT cliff...!

[Canuck750]

Yes.
A good read. It’s not just the distance that begins to weigh on you after a while, but the realisation that a mechanical breakdown is going to be a pretty difficult thing to deal with logistically.
The countryside is raw and barren and the coastline begins to close in on both sides. The last 20 km just seems to be going up and up and.....Until you reach THAT cliff...!

I didn't realize the road to North Cape was paved, how they keep that asphalt maintained is an engineering marvel and at 71.17 degrees North it is I believe the farthest north all weather road in the world. AFAIK Prudhoe Bay Alaska is second at 70.22 degrees north and Tuktoyuktuk Canada is third at 69.44 degrees. The road to Tuktoyuktuk is over 900 km of gravel, 1st settlement / gas station is 380 km from the end of pavement, two more along the way, Fort Simpson and Inuvik and nothing in between but forest, muskeg and tundra. The road has gotten quite popular in the brief two months of summer but years ago I came across only two vehicles in 24 hours. I have dipped my front tire into the Arctic ocean and don't particularly feel inclined to do it again but..... North Cape looks interesting.

[SED]

South of Paris I came across a fabulous private gear head museum, over 200 bikes displayed inside a Chateau, along with jet fighter aircraft, fire engines, agricultural equipment and race cars as well.

Love the Terrot silencer! How do you find one of those???  Brass tank!!!

Is that Louis Climent bike a OHC V-twin?  That is way cool.  But probably a rattle trap and a pain to ride. 

Love the Ariel too.