[Marcosgt]

Greetings from temperate Bristol UK. Am Septuagenarian ‘custodian’ of 14 CGT, with 20,000 clicks of baggage behind her. Was a toss up late last year whether to go retro or fully nostalgic and the hideously expensive BSA A65 Spitfire lost out.
Motorcycles came into my life big time Summer 1964 when on holiday in Brighton during the much publicised mods & rocker run in on the beach I was overwhelmed by the battalions of 60’s British iron squaring up to Lambretta Li 150 and Vespa ‘p*ss tank owners. I came down firmly with the greaser theme simply cos their kit sounded great and was nearly twice as fast (very important to impressionable 11 year old).
After starting out with a wholly unreliable second hand Ariel Golden Arrow (£29) I progressed through ownership of many classic bikes including BSA B40 and Matchless G5, so fettling (make or repair something) became a normal pastime with these machines.
I am 3rd owner of my CGT and on purchase it was obvious, to me at least, that many of the traditional RE problems had been sorted which only left me with the delights of Hitcocks accessory store to plunder. So now we are in the ‘all show and no go’ scenario. That said, the potential for fettling this bike is boundless and I look forward to scratching around local lanes scaring the wild life.
Ride safe

[Richard230]

I started riding on a new 1962 unreliable Vespa 125, followed by an equally unreliable but much better looking 1963 Lambretta 150Li. That was the end of my motor scooter riding. Then I jumped onto an unreliable 1962 Yamaha YD-3. After that I stuck with motorcycles, which kept getting better every year and by the 1980's they were a lot more reliable.

However, I will add that only all-British motorcycle that I have owned was a 1971 Triumph Bonneville (the first year for the oil-in-the-frame) and that was the most unreliable motorcycle that I have ever owned.    My current Bullet is a lot better at keeping running and maintenance is easier, too.

Welcome to the forum, Marcosgt. 

[Marcosgt]

Thanks

Oddly my first and only Triumph experience was an US export (California) return T150T in green. Never did get the three carbs synchronised but did convert to electronic ignition. I later got my hands on a Honda CBX (1979) which ran faultlessly for the 18 months I had her, Nuff said.

I would get out more, but still ploughing through the 23,000 odd ‘535’ postings for top tips and fettling ideas.

[symmo]

Well here is another septuagenarian from temperate Bristol UK, who used to knock around all the usual haunts, like all the biker pubs (mainly the Mardyke) and go on all the rallies and runs. I mainly do more sedate and gentle riding now that is when can find the fast disappearing energy to get the Enfield out of the garage.

[Nasher]

Thanks for posting guys and as a mere 68 year old, making me feel young  😀

I bought mine as a 3 year old 1,800 miler and, like the OP's, it had already been fettled & sorted

I was thinking of part exchanging her for the new BSA Goldstar, but the weight of the Beezer has put me off

So, as previously posted, I finally got rid of those hideous yellow & gold rear shock absorbers and she is now a keeper

Her main role is blatting down country lanes and going to the cafe

Despite having a 2019 Suzuki GSX-R1000R, a 1972 Honda K4 race bike & a 1974 Yamaha TZ lookalike, the Enfield still atracts the most attention - which is some feat considering she is worth way less than the others
Despite the massive financial differences, I love them all equally !

[gizzo]

Welcome aboard, marcosgt. Nice genesis story and congrats on the "new" bike. Do you drive a Marcos? That'd be a suitably quirky companion for the GT 😎

[Marcosgt]

Prynhawn-da Nasher,  G’day Gizzo and not forgetting Symmo.

My dilemma late last year was deciding whether to risk marriage and blow some of my Civil Service retirement pot on an immaculate BSA Spitfie Mk4. Although weight and kick start issues at my age were some deterrent the cute and much much cheaper CGT got both our votes. To compensate for my dodgy hips I got single seat heightened and adjusted rear sets so I am not so ‘scrunched up’ when alighting at end of journey. Also junked my heavy riding boots, which made gear changing a bit of a lottery. Is she a keeper? Probably but history to date dictates I change my bikes and cars on average every two to three years.

Gizzo: My user name ‘Marcos GT’ is a nod to the first unhinged car I owned (Marcos GT coupe 1969 build).
Although she was the kit car from hell she was and still is a looker in yellow. I say still is cos a member in my local VW Mk2 Golf GTi club confirmed my car is still road registered! Powered by a trusty Ford Essex V6 on a good day downhill she could muster 135 hp at flywheel.

Symmo: Last time I cruised past the Mardyke PH on my then ride (Yammy  XJR 1300) it was full of hog riders. Not a RE to be seen!

[Bilgemaster]

Welcome aboard MarcosGT! That finely-written intro was a pleasure to read. Back in my sketchy youth I spent some time in Bristol and across the Severn in Chepstow (Wales), where I borrowed one of those little Honda 50 "step-throughs" to get around thereabouts while I was patching up my old ex-police Norton's worn out gearbox, and discovered I liked scooters and the like just fine too. In fact, I still have my old daily driver from Berlin, a '57 Zündapp Bella--a formidable vehicle that actually handles superbly and got me over the Alps four times for Italian vacations. My hunch is you're gonna like that GT just fine.

[Marcosgt]

Thanks Bilgemaster.

Bike booked in for annual Ministry of Transport (MOT) test next week. Not entirely sure if Mr Hitchcock’s ‘Goldstar’ silencer will find favour, being free flow in configuration (no cat)? Also noticed a loose spoke at rear wheel which I cannot tighten at rim. As ever, hoping for sympathy vote from test engineer who probably hasn’t seen too many spoked motorcycles through garage and likes loud music?

[symmo]

I took my C5 to a tester in Horfield who passed my bike that has a rather noisy Hitchcocks silencer, it passed with no comments. Before I went I thought shall I fit the original, but then thought what the hell no problem to change it back if it fails. The spoke might be a problem as it is a safety concern, can you not tweak it with a spanner?

[Marcosgt]

It appears that for some reason the spoke or rim thread has been corrupted? It will not tighten by use of spoke spanner. All other spokes, front and back wheel, are serviceable and equally taught. It had new rear tyre fitted by previous owner just before I bought her and wonder if this process has caused the problem?

How much of a safety issue would a single loose spoke cause folks?

[AzCal Retred]

One spoke won't be an issue. Possibly the threaded section broke off just inside the nipple. Unless you are really thrashing the machine around a race course, the other spokes will hold up just fine.

Hitchcock's show the front hub as using one size spoke and the rear as using two sizes. Personally I'd get 2-3 of each along with new nipples to have on hand the next time the tire needs to come off.

https://www.hitchcocksmotorcycles.com/partsbook-pages/4071
PART No. 585326; SPOKES - FRONT (6.3/4" overall) Stainless (EACH); £4.39

https://www.hitchcocksmotorcycles.com/partsbook-pages/4078
PART No. 585301; SPOKE INNER - REAR **Stainless** (EACH) (Use with 29206A nipples); £2.54
PART No. 585302; SPOKE OUTER - REAR **Stainless** (EACH) (Use with 29206A nipples) £1.87

Welcome aboard & good hunting! - ACR -

[symmo]

See if you can get hold of a strip of lead or a spoke wheel weight and attach it to the offending spoke nipple, so it just looks like a wheel balance weight, if the tester sees it just say it's a wheel weight. Or get the wheel spoke at 6 o'clock position and run some WD40 into the thread and let it soak overnight then see if the nipple might turn just enough to tighten. One spoke might not be a problem, but it depends on the tester.

[Marcosgt]

Thanks all.

Will revert to forum with ‘test results’ shortly.

[Deswelham]

Likewise am my seventies . Got two British bikes , triumph bathtub and bsa C15. Plenty of fettling on those two so wanted something a bit more reliable and less fettling. Nice just acquired the Gt 535

[Marcosgt]

Huzzah! Passed Ministry of Transport test without any remedial bollo*.

Had specialist dealer fit; extended fuel hose, 38t rear sprocket, new drive crushes and new chain so transmission all sorted.

Over winter will get ‘clip ons’ chromed to match headlight brackets, which I did earlier in the year.

Laters

[Adrian II]

Plenty of fettling on those two so wanted something a bit more reliable and less fettling.

OK. we'll call it tweaking, then!

A.