[ALUCAN]

Henry Cole

Sorry, but Henry is not a source that I would rely on. Plenty of info on Harley Sites.
For example harley-davidsonforums

As for the WLA, I have always wondered how HD managed to get a v-twin the wrong way round 😜 (Guzzi owner....)

VFR800 - nice, but Honda also made the mistake of dropping the Pan (v across the frame). Spose that they are relying on the revamped Gold Wing - again nice, but expensive and losing some of the original Gold Wing appeal. I must be getting old.

PS - found a photo of HD's 180 degree v-twin across the frame - nice!

The WLA was far more successful.

 

[ALUCAN]

As for the 180 degree V-twin I assume you were saying that very much tongue-in-cheek!

As always - HD's answer to a beemer. Side valve (flathead) of course. "High Compression" in the blurb. At 5:1 it is perilously close to the valves hitting the pistons. Always fit the correct gaskets. The WLA was very successful though, especially on low quality fuels common at the time of production. Apparently they are all "1942" models as this was the year of design; regardless of when they were actually built. (Myth?)

Don't take my Honda comments seriously either. I was once the proud owner of a GL1100 Gold Wing - my wife's all-time favourite. In the end the bike's weight set me on the Guzzi path.

 

[ALUCAN]

An old Ducati single would be lovely but far too rare and expensive these days

You may be overlooking how physically small they are: even the "big" 450. Super-nimble bikes though. Of course I am assuming that all bikers are 6ft 3in like me, but the mini-duke may suit you. What we both need is a "barn-find".

 

[ALUCAN]

Ermm, valves can't get anywhere near hitting pistons in a side valve, they are beside them, not above?

Yes - being dumb. 😜

 

[ALUCAN]

Rover definitely made 'I over E' (inlet over exhaust) engines, the old series 1 Land Rover I had years ago had one, I believe it was also used in the P3 to P5 models?

Yes. Good piece on wikipedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IOE_engine

 

[ALUCAN]

Motorcycles now consist of a small collection of 6 Nortons, a 1958 Model 99 600cc Dominator, a 1956 Model 19S 600cc single with Watsonian side car, 1973 and 1974 Commandos, both 850's, a Roadster and an Interstate, a 1962 350 Navigator and 1964 400cc Electra. I did move on a Triumph Tiger and a couple of RD Yamaha's last year as a start to trying to reduce the collection, but that just resulted in the purchase of the XK8 .

I am impressed that you can keep them.

In my case, if it cannot be used regularly it has to go. I am down to a 2006 Aprilia Caponord ETV and a 1997 Moto Guzzi California 1100i. One of those will have to go sometime soon (or both in order to get a better "one bike to rule them all").

Previous regretted disposals include Velocette MAC 350, Ariel Huntmaster FH (2 of them in fact), BSA A65 Spitfire, 500cc BSA Gold Star, BMW K100RT, Honda Gold Wing GL1100, Moto Guzzi California Stone Touring 1100. Plus other trials bikes and "hacks" e.g. MZ.