You can find our The Lost Biker Stories book, tool rolls, stickers and prints here: https://www.thelibertatia.com
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Please do leave a comment and share your thoughts. If you’ve got a story, insight or pictures to share, you can also email [email protected]
Instagram: www.instagram.com/@tuesday_at_dobbs
My other YouTube channel: @FreddieDobbs
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Time Stamps:
0:00: Intro
1:30: The bike that doesn’t know the meaning of a breakdown: Honda VFR800
7:00: A Bike So Rare and Undesirable, it’s almost extinct (BSA Dandy)
16:52: Triumph Bobber and a Gold Top Jacket
19:54: Motorcycle Sales are Up
22:38: The Original Six Cylinder Beast (Benelli Tre)
29:20: Bike of the Week: Honda CB1000 Hornet (Kawasaki Z900, Triumph Speed triple)
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Frreddie, are those "sales" figures you detailed actual dealer sales or do they include pre-registrations? The Mindful Motorcyclist had to backtrack as he did something similar and realised the figures he was qiving out didn't refer to sales to customers "out of the door" but included a lot of pre-registrations that are sitting in dealers gathering dust. Stil plenty of doom and gloom.
The first 6 cylinder motorcycle ????????? Stuart Graham rode the Honda rc166, six cylinder racer to second place in the 1966 250 Isle Of Man TT, amazing sound, the Japanese were about to decimate the British motorcycle industry for decades to follow, lead by Suzuki ,Kawasaki, Yamaha and Homda themselves.
As I remember the first Honda 50 step thru’s I seen in early 1960 ‘s were just called Honda 50 ‘s or Scooterettes . The early models were 49 cc OHV push rod engined known as the C 100 model . They could do 40 – 45 mph on clock on flat & sometimes more down hill with following wind . They were reliable unlike the BSA bantam , which I more often spotted riders pushing than riding . At the time the nearest rival to the Honda 50 was the NSU quickly 3 speed twin seat pedal & pop moped some of which did 35 – 4O mph on a good day . Around 1967 Honda upgraded the Honda 50 step thru’s engine & look with 49 cc ohc ( cam chain ) engine & better styled headlight & inductors & clock C 50 model . This was known as the Honda 50 , often referred to as scooterette by some or a Honda plastic . I bought a brand new Honda c 50 OHC step thru circa 1971 to get to work , also owned the C70 version both had the same top speed , but the 1973 C70 pulled away & climbed hills slightly better & had the best dual seat , ever seen on any of the Cub type bikes . The first time I heard them referred to as cubs , was circa late 1980’s maybe early 1990 ‘s on the square headlight C 90 models known as economy cubs . Some Brit bike riders at the time were in denial saying the Japanese bikes were crap , but unlike the earlier Chinese bikes a few years back , the Japanese bikes were actually reliable & often outperformed British bikes of larger cc capacity .
My dad had a dandy it lay in the back garden for many years i think it fired up once the day it sold
My VFR800 did leave me stranded at the side of the road luckily just 20 miles from home and it was only the battery
I was given a BSA Dandy by a friend of my father back in 1970 ( I was 13 at the time). Red frame with a white legshield which was very rusty. Never got it running properly but had a lot of fun playing with it. Don't know what happened to it but it got me started with motorcycles so I am thankful for that.
3:14 emission regulations are counter-productive, all the excuses used to enforce such regulations doesn't actually exist!
Re; the Dandy….about 40 years ago, someone gave me an Ariel Pixie, a very similar machine…..I could never get it to run properly…..I cannot remember what happened to it, but I thought it was a shame, when it could have been the UK's answer to the Honda 50
Freddie, nothing at all wrong with Gold Top but for the real deal it's still possible to buy the original Irvin flying jacket, as developed by Leslie Irvin in 1926. Be prepared to shell out around £1200 though 🙄
Great episode, Freddie. Your comments about twist grip gear changing being confusing amused me. It was normal on scooters, including the ubiquitous Lambrettas and Vespas.
When I started riding, we all rode old bikes ’cos they were all we could afford unless a parent would act as guarantor on a hire purchase deal. Back then, controls weren't as standardised as today, so we got used to different layouts as we borrowed each others' bikes. Even in the garage at home were hand and foot shifters, with the foot change on different sides and with different shift patterns for 2, 3, 4, and 5 speeds (and later 6), as well as hand shifts as handlebar mounted twist grip, or tank mounted levers in different patterns/sequences. Even clutches varied, from left hand lever, twist grip, automatic centrifugal, or foot operated rocker pedal (in either direction). Throttles were mostly twistgrip, but there were lever throttles too (sometimes separate air and fuel levers).
On top of all the controls familiar today, were those which modernity has done away with, like choke, magneto advance/retard, valve lifter, and the multi position lighting and ignition switch. We also had petrol taps, with a reserve position.
Honda Prices Globally : 🤡
Honda Prices In India : 👻💩
Honda Prices Globally : 🤡
Honda Prices In India : 👻💩
You made a comparison between the BSA Dandy and the Honda Cub but what really fascinates me about this period is, less than a generation after WW2, how Japanese products were accepted in former Allied countries. Undoubtedly more people lost their lives in Europe than the Far East theatre but arguably forgiveness in the UK towards their former enemies was slower towards the Japanese, perhaps due to their treatment of Allied prisoners of war and probably a racial factor. I don’t remember any equivalent term to “Jap crap” to describe German products when I was growing up.
A Japanese motorcycle wasn’t a product you could hide at home, it was visible to all every time you used it. Whatever the feelings of the general public were to the Japanese in the UK and USA, by the end of the 1960’s the quality and design of Japanese motorcycles had won the motorcycle fraternity over 🇬🇧
Pretty sure the Honda CBX six launched from 1978 and was in design well before that, going back to Honda 60s race bikes, the Bennelli is cool 😎🤔?
Hi Freddie – back in about 1964 my mate Bob had a BSA Dandy (his first bike) .I had a 60cc Puch Cheetah. I was following Bob once and the exhaust of the Dandy came loose at the engine mount and dropped down onto the road surface. It dug in and sort of pole vaulted the back of the bike , with bob on it, about 2-3 feet up in the air. He somehow managed not to crash, I very nearly did (crash ) because I was laughing so much – Happy Days. I'm 77 now and still riding.
I have a 2001 Gen 5 VFR800 as per the thumbnail, only 25k miles and in very, very nice order. I live in Switzerland so speeding tickets are problematic but the flip side being the bike has been very well cared for. I plan on holding onto it for as long as possible.
Freddie, with regard to your comments on the health of the motorcycle industry. Whilst dealerships seem to closing on an almost weekly basis recently, it was encouraging to see the 2024 sales results showed some growth. What I find interesting is the expansion of a dealership called Superbike Factory. I think they might already be one of the largest motorcycle dealerships in the Country and have just opened another branch down south in Crawley (replacing the large P&H dealership) The expansion of this company defies all the bad press and reviews they seem to receive. Most folks don’t seem to want to touch them with a barge pole, in yet they continue to expand? It makes me wonder it’s worth leaving reviews for companies anymore? Let’s see how they do in Crawley….
Keep up the great work – I really enjoy watching your content, but we need to see/hear more of/from Monika!
The 2000 VFR is a candidate for the best bike ever. Last a lifetime.
Just on the subject it’s funny how things change. In 1958 Honda didn’t have a reputation for build quality, far from it, in fact it was very much like Chinese bikes are today. In fact the Honda reputation as top Japanese really only came about in the late 80’s and 90’s. Until then Kawasaki had the reputation forbuild quality.
I’ve loved stumbling across your channel. I’ve always had it in my mind I wanted to ride but aside from some 50s in the past I just haven’t. But you and the story’s you have read out have kicked me up my 41 year old backside and I brought a Mutt Mushman 125 to do my cbt on. Since doing that I’ve been out most days and absolutely loved every moment. My only problem is knowing which royal Enfield I want to buy. Love them all. Currently leaning towards the scram, although do have a soft spot for the triumph scrambler 400. And not against the idea of a W800. Fear I’m going to need a bigger garage. Thank you and everyone who’s shared their story for putting me on this journey. I’m loving every minute of it.
Freddie, you ask why anybody in the 1950s would have chosen to buy the BSA Dandy over the Honda Cub. I agree, with hindsight and the decades of reliability we now benefit from regarding Japanese reliability & build quality, but in the 1950s, buyers in Europe didn't have that advantage and were still suspicious of foreign imports, especially from a country the Allied nations had been at war with only five or so years earlier. Which also explains the (what we now see as ) illogical preference for home produced vehicles.Patriotism was still a considerable factor in peoples' buying decisions then.
From airplanes to automobiles, the brits have made the worst designs and quality in all the world. Their motorcycles are the greatest example of this
Great episode and entertaining as usual!
my 750 sei was a great machine to own and ride & it was a daily ride & only needed routine maintenance
can remember the Benelli SEI when it came out the rear chain was a duplex to handle the power, never seen that before
I have had 4 VFRs so far. Two gen5 and two gen6. Three of them left me stranded. One on the highway, other one on a track day. Both electronic issues.
Well both were the gen five, so the one that supposed to be the best of all.. The Vtec left us stranded on a normal suburban road near Newcastle NSW. This was also generator, and rectifier issue.. Granted they all had 130 000+kms but still they have an Achilles and that is the electronics..
If someone figures that out, then they are good..