FB Grey Ghost

Hey Tricky, is this not more ‘you’ ? ;-)
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Make repairs as you go ?



Isn’t that Tarka’s outfit......?
 
Go on........

Richard has very kindly put me on to his mate who owns the bike and we have spoken earlier this evening. It's not a T140V, it's a US Spec 78 T140E. One of the very first E's that Meriden made which reimported back into the UK a few years back :cool:

I am waiting on some photos over the weekend :thumb
 
I believe you may be thinking of the T140D Paul ?

They made them in US & UK Spec versions. Both had Lester alloy wheels with the US Spec bike having a 2 into 1 exhaust system
 
I believe you may be thinking of the T140D Paul ?

They made them in US & UK Spec versions. Both had Lester alloy wheels with the US Spec bike having a 2 into 1 exhaust system

You are of course absolutely correct. I've muddled my Ds and Es. Even my 'archive' verifies it.

I blame this flippin' virus....:D
 

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The American spec D is a funny bike for me - there's lots about it that's 'wrong', such as the 2 into 1, mag wheels on a Triumph... and yet I'd absolutely love to own one and always spend an age drinking it in if I see one parked up.

Weird.
 
I have one, got it years ago but only got it going last summer.
 

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I like that Bonni

I have to confess that in the late 70s early 80s my then impression of Brit bikes was they had severe reliability issues were sluggish, clumsy and suffered from very poor build quality, being born in 1960 I had been around a group of lads 2and3 years older than me who all bought fs1e’s in 74/5 then progressed to RD 125s GT185s and someRD250s and GT 250s, thus shaping my own choices toward the Jap manufacturers, I went from an AP50 to RD250 a400-4 a550-4 Z1000 Z900 followed by more Z900s and Z1000s. We also rode with a group of lads 5-10 years older than us who all had British stuff lots of banter between the Brit and Jap owners about pros and cons of each other’s choices of manufacturers. When out for group rides we always had 1 or more Brit bike with mechanical problems, something else which always stuck in my mind was the Brit boys had A thing about only riding at 55-60 mph as a group, whilst the rest of us preferred to keep speeds much higher often leading to the group splitting up and some friction when the Brit boys eventually arrived at our destination. Hence my overall impression of Brit stuff.
All that being said I now find myself drawn to some of the Brit stuff from the late 60’s early 70’s and might well own one sometime in the near future.
 
I like that Bonni

I have to confess that in the late 70s early 80s my then impression of Brit bikes was they had severe reliability issues were sluggish, clumsy and suffered from very poor build quality, being born in 1960 I had been around a group of lads 2and3 years older than me who all bought fs1e’s in 74/5 then progressed to RD 125s GT185s and someRD250s and GT 250s, thus shaping my own choices toward the Jap manufacturers, I went from an AP50 to RD250 a400-4 a550-4 Z1000 Z900 followed by more Z900s and Z1000s. We also rode with a group of lads 5-10 years older than us who all had British stuff lots of banter between the Brit and Jap owners about pros and cons of each other’s choices of manufacturers. When out for group rides we always had 1 or more Brit bike with mechanical problems, something else which always stuck in my mind was the Brit boys had A thing about only riding at 55-60 mph as a group, whilst the rest of us preferred to keep speeds much higher often leading to the group splitting up and some friction when the Brit boys eventually arrived at our destination. Hence my overall impression of Brit stuff.
All that being said I now find myself drawn to some of the Brit stuff from the late 60’s early 70’s and might well own one sometime in the near future.

I dabbled in British bikes about four years ago and bought a fully rebuilt BSA SS80 ( C15 variant) . It looked fantastic but would rarely go more than 10 miles without an issue. I paid top money for it and recovered 90% after I sold it but boy the lows more than outweighed the highs. If I was you I would go Jap or even Italian.
 
The Original Grey Ghost.
 

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Bargain spotted today on Warrs website.

Cheaper than a RKS and much more interesting. :thumb
 

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