Enjoy! Had mine a year now, and still totally love it. Only downside is the weight when pushing it around my lumpy garage. But once I get smooth concrete it'll be perfect

Can do it on any bike, though this is the only one I bother with, as the clutch lever is a little heavier and further reach than my other bikes. This fatigues my hand on long rides. If i can reduce the amount of clutch squeezes, my hand will thank me later!

​@@bike_runshi, if you're finding the clutch to be particularly heavy it might be worth giving the slave cylinder a rebuild (piston and seals, quite cheap) and make sure the handlebar lever pivot is clean and well greased. I've done this with mine and the clutch is surprisingly quite light for such a big bike. The lever pivot needs cleaning and greasing quite regularly to keep it nice.

You can on any bike. Give it throttle to down shift, and get off the throttle to go up in gears. Ideally you press the pedal the moment your hand is in the farthest position it will go ( meaning fully on or off the clutch depending of the shifting type). On my cbf125 I only use the clutch on first and neutral gear to pull over or get going again.

@@pedroclaro7822 good luck changing down in the lower gears without a clutch on an 1100cc shaft drive.

Hi Bob - I think the vibrations are normal for these, definitely the strongest vibes of all the bikes I've ridden

Good idea - When you getting your bike licence, jamie?

@@bike_runs soon, very soon

Its well known these run cool, if the cooling system is working properly. I too was a little concerned when I first got it, but I did research and found it was normal for it to run cool when in motion, it only rises up to halfway when very slow/stopped or if the ambient temps are very hot (which they are never here). I did however go through the cooling system to be sure, being a used bike its good practice. I replaced a bunch of hoses, tested the thermostat (works fine, it opened at the indicated temp), flushed and replaced with new coolant. You could probably get it to run hotter by choosing a higher temp thermostat, but I'm happy having it work as designed, even if it is cooler than other bikes.

@@bike_runs Gary, Great response, my bike ran cool this for about the first 18 years until after a club ride and before putting it away it spat coolant out of the overflow/header tank. I checked the thermostat and it seemed to be very slow to operate so I spoke to David Silver who recommended swapping it out. The overflow pipe at the radiator end had also begun to split when I inspected the system. New coolant, hose, thermostat and radiator cap completed the parts and afternoon fitting them. The engine now warms up much faster and holds the temperature gauge constantly just below halfway for the last 5 years. This is something which may happen to your bike as they are around the same age and if it does you have some information. I have had mine from new in 2002 and apart from a sticking rear brake caliper, it has been fluid changes with general servicing that I do myself. Every time I look to change it for something new I can find anything more comfortable so I will just keep riding this one. I am sure you will get the most out of your bike and if looked after will see thousands of great roads to ride. Best Regards, Tony.

It's a classic Pan V4 sound.

Yeah its definitely on the intimidating side for me, always conscious of the weight when stopping/starting. Those first few miles on the ride home from where I bought it were daunting, but once on the open road it was easy to relax! Fitting an adjustable clutch lever from a VFR800 helped me a lot, the standard one was just too far away for my smaller hands. With the lever much closer, feathering the clutch became much easier, and reduced hand strain on longer rides.

@@bike_runs wow thanks for that tip, feathering the clutch is essential for low speed control on a heavy bike like this. I’m getting more used to it, learning not to use the front brake during slow speed maneuvers was a big one for me when the handlebars are not perfectly straight

This one has the larger Prefect motor, though still uses the carb and inlet manifold of the smaller one. So perhaps a little more oomph yet to come if I can source parts!

@@bike_runs 1172? rather than the 933, the later 1172cc engine (100E) had a water pump rather than thermo siphon, yours being a 1953 it must be one of the last before the 'New' 100E Anglia was launched

@@nickb5391Yep, its a 1172cc engine from a prefect I expect. Not the later 100E one

Suie Hill, Aberdeenshire. It is nice, but a bit too steep for this thing!

No, they were good cars when new in their day, and very cheap.

@stone_me6849 Cheap and rubbish. Complacent pre war design and primative.

Here is a pic. i.imgur.com/um9TISC.png Paint is quite poor, cracking and peeling, especially at the back. But thankfully its very solid, no rot

@@bike_runs I believe the paint is Channel Green, my dad had a 48 Prefect the same colour.

Hopefully it'll quiet down a bit once i replace the burnt exhaust valve

Yeah, my ear isn't very good at detecting these things. but I did a compression test straight after this run and found cylinder 3 down. Burnt exhaust valve, hopefully I'll get it replaced and running a bit better soon

Better than the shit today car's of today are total crap.

It's 70 years old, hasn't had the best of care in it's life and it's still on the road. I guarantee whatever it is you are driving will not be on the road in 70 years... in fact it won't even make half that.

My first car.

+1 for the K20