Old Packard Shutter

In article ,
David Nebenzahl wrote:
On 2/19/2009 6:36 AM John J spake thus:

The clincher was when a male student came into my office with a look
of comic horror saying, "Was that you on that ancient motorcycle
outside?" I said, "Yeah. Who else?" He asked, "What year is it?" I
said, "56", and he almost doubled up laughing and said, "Can't you
afford something better than that?"

Does '56 seem "old" to you? Doesn't to me.

It's old for a motorcycle. It means a _very_ old-school riding experience:
a heavy bike with drum brakes front and rear, dual shock suspension in
the back instead of a modern swingarm, and in some brands, even a
leading-link front suspension. Probably a blast to ride if you're used
to it but in terms of motorcycle engineering 1956 is practically a geologic
time scale.

--
Thor Lancelot Simon
"Even experienced UNIX users occasionally enter rm *.* at the UNIX
prompt only to realize too late that they have removed the wrong
segment of the directory structure." - Microsoft WSS whitepaper

Thor Lancelot Simon wrote:
In article ,
David Nebenzahl wrote:
On 2/19/2009 6:36 AM John J spake thus:

The clincher was when a male student came into my office with a look
of comic horror saying, "Was that you on that ancient motorcycle
outside?" I said, "Yeah. Who else?" He asked, "What year is it?" I
said, "56", and he almost doubled up laughing and said, "Can't you
afford something better than that?"
Does '56 seem "old" to you? Doesn't to me.

It's old for a motorcycle. It means a _very_ old-school riding experience:
a heavy bike

I should have posted a picture of it. The whole bike was 435 pounds,
complete. That's not heavy for a 1200cc motorcycle.

with drum brakes front and rear, dual shock suspension in
the back instead of a modern swingarm,

American motorcycles did not use plunger rear-ends. BMW did into the
sixties, as did some other European and Brit bikes. Instead, early
American bikes had either a swing-arm or NOTHING but a sprung seat.

and in some brands, even a
leading-link front suspension.

Also called Springers. Harley in the forties. That's the front end I used.

Probably a blast to ride if you're used to it

And what's more important?

but in terms of motorcycle engineering 1956 is practically a geologic
time scale.

Rather like view cameras compared to cell-phone cameras, right? I mean,
like ancient technology!

--
J. Joseph - I have an 8x10 camera and I am not afraid to use it.

John J wrote:
Thor Lancelot Simon wrote:
In article ,
David Nebenzahl wrote:
On 2/19/2009 6:36 AM John J spake thus:

The clincher was when a male student came into my office with a look
of comic horror saying, "Was that you on that ancient motorcycle
outside?" I said, "Yeah. Who else?" He asked, "What year is it?" I
said, "56", and he almost doubled up laughing and said, "Can't you
afford something better than that?"
Does '56 seem "old" to you? Doesn't to me.

It's old for a motorcycle. It means a _very_ old-school riding
experience:
a heavy bike

I should have posted a picture of it. The whole bike was 435 pounds,
complete. That's not heavy for a 1200cc motorcycle.

OKay - http://www.digoliardi.net/butcher.jpg

There ya go

John J wrote:
John J wrote:
Thor Lancelot Simon wrote:
In article ,
David Nebenzahl wrote:
On 2/19/2009 6:36 AM John J spake thus:

The clincher was when a male student came into my office with a look
of comic horror saying, "Was that you on that ancient motorcycle
outside?" I said, "Yeah. Who else?" He asked, "What year is it?" I
said, "56", and he almost doubled up laughing and said, "Can't you
afford something better than that?"
Does '56 seem "old" to you? Doesn't to me.

It's old for a motorcycle. It means a _very_ old-school riding
experience:
a heavy bike

I should have posted a picture of it. The whole bike was 435 pounds,
complete. That's not heavy for a 1200cc motorcycle.

OKay - http://www.digoliardi.net/butcher.jpg

There ya go



That, sir, is simply spectacular.

-Raf


--
Misifus-
Rafael Seibert
Photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/rafiii
home: http://www.rafandsioux.com