My new "motorcycle"

[the Ferret]

Can you imagine riding on those skinny wheels and keeping the bike between 14,000 and 16,000 rpms? Lol

Van Veen was the Dutch Kreidler importer but he built his own bike a 1000cc jobbie using a Citroen car engine. It actually looked pretty good.

[Houtman_imp]

Does any one remember the 50 cc Jamathi ? , they had many GP wins with great riders from Holland. I loved seeing them in races in Holland in the sixties and early seventies.

[Inhouse Bob]

My motto is : IF YOU AIN'T DUTCH , YOU AIN'T MUCH !

I learned it this way... Als je geen Texaan bent, ben je niet veel. But maybe something was lost in the translation

[the Ferret]

Hmm do not, but will look them up.

[peterbaron]

Does any one remember the 50 cc Jamathi ? , they had many GP wins with great riders from Holland. I loved seeing them in races in Holland in the sixties and early seventies.

Yes, and also Dutch racer Jan de Vries became two time 50cc world champion in 1971 and 1973 ..think was Kreidler

[the Ferret]

Interesting story about Jamanthi

[Django]

Cormanus, Great Britain's Brexit issue has mainly to do with economics. It's not a cultural thing. Yacht salesmen on the Costa Brava and hedge-fund managers in Zurich share no cultural brotherhood with beet farmers in Estonia, yet they're all still Europeans. It's the same with Hugh Grant and a family of Moldovan gypsies.

This isn't merely some provincial American point of view, either. People in South America, Africa, and Asia recognize that the UK is in Europe, and that the UK's citizens and exported goods are European.

Stichill, the UK was deeply rooted in European affairs long before WWII. Case in point: WWI! The UK does not come to France's aid in both World Wars (the first, ostensibly over an Austrian dispute; the second, over the invasion of Poland) were it not for their long-standing European member-nation alliance treaties. The UK isn't compelled by treaty to go to war when Senegal, Mongolia, or Bolivia are attacked, but they are called upon to go to war when France, the Low Countries, or any of their other European allies are attacked.

That's because the UK is and always has been one of the bulwark member-nations of western Europe.

Always? England has a history of waging a litany of [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglo-French_Wars]wars with France during the time period of 1109 to 1815, which seven centuries of conflict.

I don’t think the British consider themselves European culturally. That’s where the phrase “Continental” comes from: to distinguish those on the mainland from those on the island.

Speaking as a Brit, that’s a nonsensical generalisation.

I’m both British and European.

Minority Remainer?

Well, Germany has also a long history of wars with France. That's not a measure of being Europe or not.

The last 3,000 year, the British island was overrun by the Celts (Germans), the Romans, the Angels and the Saxons (other German clans), the vikings and the Normans. If that's not a European mixture, I don't know. You can see that mixture also in the English language, roots in German, Latin and French. Just look at the weird orthography resulting from that mix...

[Houtman_imp]

My motto is : IF YOU AIN'T DUTCH , YOU AIN'T MUCH !

I learned it this way... Als je geen Texaan bent, ben je niet veel. But maybe something was lost in the translation

I learned it this way... Als je geen Texaan bent, ben je niet veel. But maybe something was lost in the translation Bob, the only thing lost in the translation was that they replaced Dutch with Texaan !

[Guth_imp]

Can you imagine riding on those skinny wheels and keeping the bike between 14,000 and 16,000 rpms? Lol

Van Veen was the Dutch Kreidler importer but he built his own bike a 1000cc jobbie using a Citroen car engine. It actually looked pretty good.

I know that on Honda's RC116 (their 50cc GP race bike that could reach 22,500 RPM!) they actually used rim brakes (appropriate for the bicycle sized tires I suppose, lol). It seems so out of place these days to think about 50cc world class race bikes, but when you hear them run you realize that despite their incredibly small displacement, they were truly beasts.

Here's a video covering the RC116 (50cc), RC149 (125cc) and RC166 (250cc).





Here's an extended video of the RC116 (I love the faint voice of the camera man popping in once in a while when the engine dies). Towards the end of the after the engine is more warmed up, you can hear the rider start to get on it a little more coming down the back straight on his last pass. Wicked, just wicked.





I can say that the personality of the S2000 has more in common with these motorcycles than that of the CB1100. This works perfect for me. I realize that is backwards compared to the way many others think, but for whatever the reason I have more fun revving the snot out of an engine in a car than I do in a motorcycle. Thats likely one reason that I've been so incredibly happy with the CB1100 and the S2000 both. In effect, I am just the opposite of a guy that owns a big block muscle car and a crotch rocket, lol.

[the Ferret]

I have been following GP since 1972 and remember well the 50 cc GP races. Sounding like a bunch of bumblebee bees and passing at seemingly impossible places.