View attachment 225363
1960 Speed Twin
The bathtub was not a sales hit in the UK either. A bit 'Marmite' - you either like it or you hate it. Not enough people liked the full enclosure.. . . they were a sales disaster in the USA and most dealerships removed and discarded the front fender and rear “bathtub” and replaced them with chrome fenders for a more traditional appearance . . .
The bathtub was not a sales hit in the UK either. A bit 'Marmite' - you either like it or you hate it. Not enough people liked the full enclosure.
I always wondered why while the Lotus JPS's were black and gold, the Norton's were red, white and blue. Beautiful bike.View attachment 225421
1974 Norton JPS
They languished in dealer showrooms, very limited lock to lock, and a riding position that no one would put up with "back in the day" and well, can you say CB750?View attachment 225421
1974 Norton JPS
That is so true. It's been said so many times but the buyer in the early '70s faced the choice of spending his hard-earned on some tarted-up old tat or buying a fast, reliable, sophisticated, CB750 or Z1 which didn't leak oil.They languished in dealer showrooms, very limited lock to lock, and a riding position that no one would put up with "back in the day" and well, can you say CB750?
This was when the BSA group started to experience the dark side of Edward Turner. The 3TA was the first in the range, nobody thought to harden the TS journal on the crank for the first 750 bikes with predictable results.View attachment 225363
1960 Speed Twin
And, the vast boomer market in North America was just stepping out and the likes of the simple,easy to ride Honda Cub (step through 50) was reliable and oil tight.This was when the BSA group started to experience the dark side of Edward Turner. The 3TA was the first in the range, nobody thought to harden the TS journal on the crank for the first 750 bikes with predictable results.
Even when that was fixed, you still had a primary chain running between two fixed centres with no tensioner at all.
When Turner designed the C15, he ordered it into production with no prototypes built or tested.
Not really surprising that the British industry failed with idiots like that running it
Agreed Gary, a fantastic concept that became reality.View attachment 225458
GTS1000, way ahead of it's time. As it turned out, too far ahead for most buyers.