1932 Royal Enfield Bullet motorcycle - GIF

[jdurand]

seems those valve lifters would have a problem with dirt.

[Frank S]

seems those valve lifters would have a problem with dirt.

Yep but a lot of early engine designs had exposed rockers and other valve train components once overhead valves came about. Even aircraft engines had exposed moving parts

[jdurand]

Yep but a lot of early engine designs had exposed rockers and other valve train components once overhead valves came about. Even aircraft engines had exposed moving parts

True, but motorcycles are apt to get a bit dirtier than an airplane or other vehicle engine.

[Frank S]

True, but motorcycles are apt to get a bit dirtier than an airplane or other vehicle engine.

only because folks are not smart enough to ride them as a transportation vehicle instead of a play toy farm use excepted

[marksbug]

motor cycles are made to play in the dirt with. cars are for the roads.

[Frank S]

motor cycles are made to play in the dirt with. cars are for the roads.

Nope, motorcycles were made for transportation later became used as a replacement for domesticated animals and machines of burden they only became play toys when city folk felt they were missing out on something, they became bored with only using them as transportation, after all how many places in the city are really worth go to more than once or twice. So they ventured out away from the confines of asphalt and concrete where they found gravel or more likely dirt roads they had to learn a whole new way of riding because of the often deeply rutted and sometimes muddy or soft sandy roads with the occasional rock being in the road this caused them to want motorcycles designed for rougher terrain like those used in the fields by farmers and sometimes ranchers. Inter the street trail motorcycle. Since city folk are easily bored, their lives being little more than go to school go home or go to work, go home pay bills some make more money than their necessities require so they begin buying things they really don't need, just want because joe wage earner across the street or next door figured out he can buy things and pay for them ofer a long period of time More toys to stave off boredom now they think they need a motorcycle that can be ridden over extreme terrains and to prove they have the fastest toughest they have jump and endurance trails artificially made Their machines are now tougher than they are so they practice and practice and make up silly completions to show others just how good they are. Some eventually mature out of the phase some do not and still others use their learned knowledge from experiences to create business to sell safety gear or build accessories to make the machines even more competitive these are the ones who channeled their otherwise bored lives into wealth builders.
So I still say nope motorcycles are for transportation and work, even though I am guilty myself of having ran one of mine against the at the time supposedly quickest 1/4 mile 2 wheeled machine on the market and beat him 2 out of 3 times plus I am also guilty of riding one into a deep gorge and out again looking for someone who had ridden off the edge.

[Frank S]

Back in the day of 2 strokes for endure racing everyone round these parts absolutely had to have Bankie tuned expansion chambers on their bikes. George Bankie sold 1000s of the things for every make of bike you could imagine. I met George towards the end of the tuned expansion pipe era. He and I started fabricating skids and assembling natural gas compressor units then we went together and started building oil well drilling rigs in 1979