You're very welcome. I just adore my '05 500 "Military." It's got
just enough oompfh to get the job done for the kind of off-the-interstate touring I enjoy. But I don't pretend (or truly care) for a second that it has more than a passing verisimilitude with a real military vehicle. In fact, I keep it just as shiny as I'm able. If anything, mine might most resemble what a wartime bike might have looked like
after it had been surplussed off by the War Department and been in private hands for a couple-few years, with a dash chrome and other blingy gimcracks bolted on here and there by a now long-demobbed and confirmed civvie-for-life, no longer worried about German snipers, who just wanted it to look "noyce." The most "military" aspect of my bike is the old Quantico Military Base Parking Permit on its left fender brace left on by the previous owner, a retired Marine. Most folks hereabouts know what "Quantico" means. Similar to a "Semper Fi" sticker I never earned, I've just left it on as a sort of faux biohazard warning to thieves and other fuckwits that messing with it might be harmful to their health, possibly resulting in their having the snot stomped out of them with brutal professional finesse by some imaginary buzzcut jarhead with more confirmed kills than they'd had steak dinners.
Having a 350 instead of a 500 would add a level of difficulty to the hijinx I enjoy, like thumping on up to that National Rally in Oley, PA
(This year from June 21st through the 23rd). Flat out a well-sorted 350 will get up to about the low 60s, compared with about 80 mph for a 500, but neither will cruise happily at those top speeds for very long before shaking themselves to bits. Still, those 350s have their own virtues: Being less stressed towards the limits of sometimes "dodgy" Indian metallurgy, they're probably a bit more robust. I've seen Indian YouTube videos with happily thumping 350s that looked like they'd been dredged up from the hold of the
Titanic. As for the kickstarting hurdle you mention, a 350's way easier than a 500,
as recently showcased on this Forum by this pretty lady. One imagines a fairly corpulent yet acrobatic squirrel could kick one over. So, there's that. And with
sensible routing, I'll bet you
could handily coax one from Oswego to Oley in a couple-few glorious days down that
Lincoln Highway, the
real "Mother Road" of America and Grandmammy of Route 66. You'd be one saddleweary cowpoke when I finally handed you that Yuengling Black & Tan in our little Enfield Ghetto there, but it's definitely an epic voyage worth making.
As for me, if I could have a wartime British 350 it would have to be a Norton Model 16H. My nearest neighbor in Scotland had one, and it was a thing of ratty primitive beauty. They're pretty exotic here in "The Colonies," but not so in Britain. They're no longer to be had for a few pints as they were back in the '70s and even '80s, when they were just widely considered as being worn out old "pre-Featherbed mules," but with patience unrestored "tatty" examples from the darkest corners of the sheds of Britain, even semi-running ones, can still sometimes be had for about the same as a similarly well-worn Commando or at least far less than a new Triumph.
Since you're clearly a fan of the art, if you've ever wanted to enjoy the very primmest and crispest expression of British Military Motorcycling, then you need tarry no longer: Let the Ministry of Defence instruct
you over the next hour and a half
how it's done properly. Enjoy!
Topic: Oil Filter Cap Gasket - US source or alternative? (Read 2414 times)