I had a whole bunch of Limey bikes in the 60’. Triumph, BSA, Matchless, JAP, etc.
Wish I still had some of them.
I recently saw a fully restored ‘72 Norton Commando with modern and fabricated parts on Youtube and it was a thing of beauty. I think the restoration cost was around $35K.........
I still have a 1977 Triumph Bonneville 750 in my basement. It’s kickstart-only. Every so often, when I have a bunch of guys over and we’ve had a few drinks, we kick at it until it starts. It takes a LONG time.
> “Triumph, BSA, Matchless, JAP, etc.”
The only English one I owned was a Matchless G80-CS. 500cc single cylinder. The entire electrical system was a magneto, a foot-long piece of wire, and a single spark plug. I had nothing but problems starting it.
My dad was an electrician and spent some time checking it out. Seems that the piece of wire was carbon filled, not copper. It had dried out and there were four gaps in it. After jumping enough electricity across the gaps, the carbon would expand and join together — allowing it to start.
He replaced it with a copper wire. The bike started easily after that. However, I could hear the static in the nearby car radios that were anywhere near me at stop signs or stop lights. That was what they were trying to get away from with the carbon wire. I preferred the easy starting myself.