Re: Gentoo Takes Good Care Of Its SOPHISTICATED Users

On 2024-06-02, rbowman <bowman@montana.com> wrote:

On Sun, 2 Jun 2024 13:41:25 -0000 (UTC), RonB wrote:
>

If that's the case, I would suggest you buy British cars and motorcycles
(if there are still any made in England). I liked my Sunbeam Alpine and
my Triumph Bonneville, but they definitely required constant tinkering.
Fun to drive/ride though.

>
You have to pick carefully to avoid Thairumphs.
>
https://www.bennetts.co.uk/bikesocial/news-and-views/features/bikes/where-
was-your-triumph-motorcycle-made
>
So what bikes are assembled here in the UK?
>
“The Speed Triples, Tiger Sports, Explorers, Rocket IIIs and Daytonas. The
decision of what to build where comes partly from logistics – if the vast
majority of the market is Europe or US based, it makes more sense to
manufacture in the UK. If the volume is elsewhere, it might make more
sense to build it in Thailand.

I haven't really looked into Triumphs for a long while, I didn't know if
they were still made in England or not. They still look good in the ads. But
the cost is absurd now.

I liked my Bonneville, but I would have to take the brake shoes off the back
wheel about every week and sand them down, otherwise it would squawk every
time I hit the brakes. But the chrome and paint were very nice, and it
handled great on the road. The weight was low and the wheelbase was long.
Accelerated very quickly.

My twin brother owned a Triumph Trident. That one had a higher top end, but
I only rode it one time. I opened it up and was driving about 90 mph when
the throttle stuck. Nothing like trying to stear it at 90 mph with one hand
while using the other hand to try to unstick the throttle. But my brother
rode that bike all over the west and got more use out of it than I got out
of my Bonneville.

Before the Triumph, I owned three different Aermacchi "Harley-Davidsons." I
bought a 125cc Rapido on time while working at McDonalds in Great Falls at
16 years old. It was originally an Italian race bike. The Harley dealers
weren't that fond of these small bikes that got foisted on them, but Harley
had their own financing (Kilborn Finance) and insurance divisions and they
were easy to buy. I rode that bike for awhile than traded it in for a new
350cc Sprint, which was also originally a race bike. (Relatively famous one
for its division.) The weight in these was low and they had a long wheel
base, so the handled extremely well. One time a guy at work wanted to try
out my Sprint as he owned a Honda 350. So we were going to ride each other's
bikes. I made it as far as a corner in the parking lot and almost tipped the
damn thing over — the weight was high and the wheelbase was short. I told
him you can ride the Sprint but that was as far as I was going on the Honda.

While I owned the Sprint, Harley cleared out the 100cc Bajas (which were
known as desert racers that did pretty well in the Baja 1000). I didn't ride
this one much, but did take it out in the Montana mountains a few times.
Engine was very high off the ground. When coming down the road I had gone up
earlier, a tree had fallen over the trail — I rode right over it without
crashing. The Baja was made kind of like a "trials" bike.

And that's all four of my motorcycles. Owned them all in about an 8 year span
(from 16 to 24 years old). Motorcycles weren't that practical as your only
vehicle in Montana (and later Nebraska, where I went to "college" —
glorified Sunday school).

The Norton relaunch ended in embezzlement and fraud. TVS (India) bought
the smoking wreckage and the Commandos are back in production made in the
UK.
>
https://www.cycleworld.com/story/bikes/norton-commando-961-first-
look-2023/

My dad almost bought a Commando when Norton went out of business (the original
factory). They were clearing them out cheap at the time.

I don't think they've made it to the US yet. I'm not sure about British
cars, or at least British badges. I'm not sure the Brits actually own any
of them, which may be an improvement. I never had a Brit bike but I did
have the requisite sports car, a AH Sprite. It was fun at the time.
>
That jogged my memory. I'd added two decals in front of each door, a US
flag upside down. Nothing has changed.

The Alpine was "hatchback" coupe but it ran like a sports car. It was
originally my dad's.

--
[Self-centered, Woke] "pride is a life of self-destructive fakery, an
entrapment to a false and self-created matrix of twisted unreality."
"It was pride that changed angels into devils..."     — St. Augustine