Drifter wrote:

my first bike was a 47 tank-shifter ex-cop bike. i had to move the
throttle to the right. you may be too young to remember. clutch on
your left foot, shifter on the left side of the tank. 3 forward, one
reverse...

Well, seeing as we are discussing old bikes...

Back when I was around 14 or so, I started out with a Whizzer motor
bike, then a Cushman Eagle scooter, then a 165cc Harley (2 cycle!), then
a 1947 Indian (for the princely sum of 25 bucks), rigid rear end, spring
fork, almost identical to the one you described above including the
killer ('backwards') throttle, but it had no reverse gear.

Then on to an American built 500 cc Indian vertical twin, a clone of the
Brit bikes of the era. Then several Hondas -- a 350, a couple of 450s
and finally a 750 K-1 4 cylinder.

Sold the '71 Honda to buy a '74 BMW 750. It was just "OK" and a drive
shaft instead of a chain was nice, but the Honda was as smooth as an
electric motor compared to the Bimmer. Wished I'd kept the Honda.

One of my friend's dad is getting up in years and has three Brit bikes
he may have to dispose of for health reasons... a BSA, Royal Enfield and
a Norton.

I've -almost- considered getting one of them and starting to ride again,
but for one deadly thing -- the cell phone. Bike riding always was a
little bit dangerous ("Gee, I didn't see the bike"), but the cell phone
has taken the risks to a whole new level. You end up dead and they are
sorry...and 'dead' is the wrong side of the equation to be on.

To those of you still riding: Be Careful!