Up until the rise of the Japanese Motorcycle companies in the 60's British companies were dominating the market. Your challenge is to find a way to maintain that dominance. For example could developing light motorcycles such as the Honda Cub help?
AHC Save the British Motorcycle Industry.
- Thread starter Peg Leg Pom
- Start date
SwampTiger
Banned
1. Provide an ownership stake to employees. Thus undermining the unions and providing incentives for quality improvements.
2. Improve quality control within the factories.
3. Modernize factories and add modern equipment and manufacturing techniques. A Kahn style factory for any of the British marques may have saved them by reduced cost.
4. Improved style, see the Vetter BSA Hurricane.
5. Improved engineering. British cars had OHC before the motorcycle industry adopted it. Same with electric starters, as note above.
6. Introduce a modernized, improved variant of a step through cycle or Vespa style scooter for entry level, limited license riders. The industry had 250cc up models which could use modernizing.
Those are a few major issues.
I would have liked to see a Royal Enfield Interceptor with better styled Dreamliner, https://www.royalenfields.com/2014/12/royal-enfield-dreamliner-was.html, bodywork. This would have provided a true touring bike to compete with Harley-Davidson in the American market. It could also compete in the police bike market.
2. Improve quality control within the factories.
3. Modernize factories and add modern equipment and manufacturing techniques. A Kahn style factory for any of the British marques may have saved them by reduced cost.
4. Improved style, see the Vetter BSA Hurricane.
5. Improved engineering. British cars had OHC before the motorcycle industry adopted it. Same with electric starters, as note above.
6. Introduce a modernized, improved variant of a step through cycle or Vespa style scooter for entry level, limited license riders. The industry had 250cc up models which could use modernizing.
Those are a few major issues.
I would have liked to see a Royal Enfield Interceptor with better styled Dreamliner, https://www.royalenfields.com/2014/12/royal-enfield-dreamliner-was.html, bodywork. This would have provided a true touring bike to compete with Harley-Davidson in the American market. It could also compete in the police bike market.
And engines that don't drip oil and petrol everywhere.
Really though I think it was a mistake for the British companies to concentrate on the Hi Power expensive Café Racer type bikes and largely ignore the low powered commuter bikes, with the exception of the BSA Bantam.
Really though I think it was a mistake for the British companies to concentrate on the Hi Power expensive Café Racer type bikes and largely ignore the low powered commuter bikes, with the exception of the BSA Bantam.
You would never know it was a Brit bike if it does not drink oil and petrol.
MG-T owners write there was no room in trunk for luggage since it was filled with cans of oil.
Hehe my father owned a Norton and when we would go on trips you knew that there was going to be a mechanical stop of at least an hour at some point. To quote him: 'The parts of the Norton 750 Commands are fantastic individually, to bad they they don't fit to eachother!'
SwampTiger
Banned
Royal Enfield copied/imitated the DKW RT98 design to create the Flying Flea 125cc bike in 1939. They served the British Army during the war. They were imported into the USA from 1946-49. It could have been replaced with a four stroke motor for anti-Cub duty in the '60's. Indian sold Royal Enfields in the USA from 1955-61.
Hire dozens of engineers, designers, and quality control specialists from BMW and give them freedom to reform the outdated designs.
the CEO of a wildly successful mega-conglomerate has a fanatical passion for bikes and buys BSA at liquidation prices, then runs it at a loss as a very expensive hobby.
Don't even joke about that! Dad owned a Velocette big, heavy, turning circle of a super tanker and a PIG to start. Main advantage was the silky smooth ride and gorgeous looks.
My Honda NSR 125cc could go faster, would start every time and do loops around him, but plastic and breakable when I crashed it.
You need British style, with Honda reliability.
We had a dedicated bike drip pan in the family garage. Another thing to fix to add to my generic list.
SwampTiger
Banned
Hire Cosworth Engineering with Keith Duckworth or hire Harry Mundy. Mundy designed the Ford Twin Cam head for the Kent engine. Duckworth developed the engine for Lotus. A similar change to any of the British big twins would turn them into Superbikes of the era. Then, buy several Honda Dreams in 250 and 305cc displacements. Tear them apart to determine how they were able to reach 92 hp/L when the British 650's were stuck around 70-75 hp/L. Their problems, besides lousy quality control and poor assembly, included long strokes limiting RPM potential, poor metallurgy, and antiquated design of valvetrain, Honda moved to 12 volt electrics and five speed transmissions in the early 1960's. Five speed transmissions spread the power curve over more gears for less stress on their higher stressed engines. Harley Davidson developed the Sportster to match the British twins in 1957. The British delayed combatting the Japanese until overwhelmed. I will note that Vincent, before collapse, had introduced twin front, single rear disc brakes in the mid 1950's. By 1965, the price should have gone down.