James 98cc

[dannymassive]

On Monday afternoon I visted a friend who has a particular interest in classic motorcycles. He has spent many hours restoring Ariel's and has recently turned to low capacity James' machines. He recently acquired a James Comet 98cc from the 50's and gave me the opportunity to have a go before he fettled with it.

It's a 98cc two stroke engine, with two gears - Low and High. Gear change is on the handlebars (accelerator side) up is low, down is high - with Neutral in the middle. Clutch is in the usual place, however rear brake is on the left side as with other classic bikes.

With one swift kick on the kickstart, it fired straight up and off I went. It felt reasonably stable considering the width of the tyres - do bear in mind that although there is no speedo fitted that max speed is probably only around 35mph.......with the wind behind! As soon as it got to a reasonable speed I slipped it into "high" and built up a bit of speed. Makes a wonderful sounds and does get some looks!

Headed back after a few miles and upon approaching the driveway I slipped back to "low".....started the accent then had to hop off and push it up the high gradient. No problem as it was as light as a feather - did amuse me though!

I was particularly impressed with the little details that were engineered into the machine. The petrol cap turns upside down to create a measure so that you could pour two stroke oil into it and add the correct measured amount to the tank before filling with petrol. Genius!

Was indeed an interesting first encounter with a classic motorcycle and I most enjoyed it.

https://i1208.photobucket.com/albums/cc378/dannymassive/a061e15c-68c0-4eae-82bb-a39a37028634_zpsf39d9eea.jpg
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Previous Ride's - '01 Aprilia SR125 (Sold) '08 HONDA CBF600n (Sold) '96 CB500 (Sold) '01 FZS 1000 (Sold) '06 CB1300SA (Sold) '07 CB600F Hornet (Sold) - '93 Suzuki Savage LS400 (Sold) '98 Honda VTR1000 Firestorm (Sold) '05 CB600F Hornet (Sold) '01 FZS1000 Fazer (Sold) 2016 Harley Davidson Street Bob SE (Sold) '02 Kawasaki ZX9R (Sold) '98 CB600F Hornet (Sold) '04 Suzuki Bandit 1200s (Sold) '13 Yamaha FZ1-N

[pepperami]

It was good that your first encounter with a classic/very old bike was a positive one

Are we going to find out that the Classic bug has got under your skin?
Will you be trawling thief-Bay for a tidy C15 or an Ariel Arrow
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I am the sum total of my own existence, what went before makes me who I am now!

[dannymassive]

[pepperami]

[dannymassive]