Featured Philip Youles Motorcycles

I have just purchased another motorcycle from Philip Youles Motorcycles on behalf of my son, he traded his 1050 Speed Triple for an ex demonstrator Suzuki Katana, he had a very rare 250 4 cylinder Suzuki Katana a few years back and sold it to a female from Scotland, he regretted selling it a few days later and lusted after another Katana since then, it was the only one left of 3 imported by BAT Motorcycles, the other 2 had been written off, it appeared in a feature in MCN. Back to Philip Youles, the customer service you get is fantastic, you get a fair trade in price for your machine and excellent after sales service, even a lifetime warranty on most machines for major components, the least warranty you get on a second hand bike is 4 months down a single bulb (no third party warranties here). I normally deal with a young man called Royce who goes the extra mile for you, the company know if I am selling a machine to them it is in mint condition, I have traded in some and sold them other's both modern and classic. I have owned just over 80 Motorcycles to date and dealt with a lot of dealerships, some have been appalling, some had no customer care whatsoever (just interested in getting your money) some should have had starring roles in a John Wayne movie. On a bright note I have no hesitation in recommending Philip Youles Motorcycles who are main dealers for Triumph and Suzuki.

 

Hi Tigcraft, that's really interesting, I was under the impression from BAT Motorcycles who imported the 3 from Japan that the one my son had was the only survivor, I wonder if it is the one he owned, I've got some photos somewhere with the registration showing, I will try and dig them out. It sold from year 1992 , the dry weight is 160.0 kg with a In-line four-stroke motor. The engine produces a maximum peak output power of 38.88 HP (28.4 kW) @ 13500 RPM and a top speed of 108 mph, I had it in the red line on one occasion showing a speedo reading of 110 so it is more or less right. They where made in a separate factory from the main one, using better quality fasteners, casings etc etc. Some parts are interchangeable with other models, however the exhausts, seat, airbox, carbs are now rare to locate, the one my son had was a really mint low mileage (KM actually) example. I think most of us bikers have at least one machine they regretted selling, mine was a DBD34 GS Clubman with a RRT2 Gearbox that made riding at low speed interesting (crap really), but I loved that bike especially riding it in 1968 (I passed my test the year before) that was the real rocker era. Post some pictures on the forum of your Katana.

 

I wasn't sure you where not taking the rip at first, it is a BSA DBD34 Gold Star 500 Clubman (they also made a 350) mine was a 1956 model, BSA produced them from 1938 to 1963. BSA produced the clubman for road and circuit racing, the gearbox was an RRT2, people say the RRT2 gearbox was hard work in traffic, back then in the sixties there was little traffic about and I was younger, it had a top speed of about 110 mph. Many Gold Stars today have modern modifications, belt drive clutches, electric starters fitted, over bored barrels, a different carb, gearbox internals, the list is endless, although to upgrade and rebuild the engine and gearbox you are probably looking at around the 10K to 15K mark. I recently restored a 1956 Triumph Tiger100 and that stood me near to 10K. When considering buying any classic machine you need to do your homework, join a relevant owners club and don't be afraid to ask, you can also join the NMM and get access to ride all manner of machines for little cost, if a Vincent Black Shadow or Brough Superior takes your fancy then you can ride one, although to buy a VBS it would set you back in the region of 65K, there are affordable bikes to try out, it allows a person some idea of what to expect from the chosen machine. All classic motorcycles require continuous maintenance and therefore you need to have some idea of how to go about simple things, such as fitting points in the magneto tappet adjustment, primary drive adjustment. I love working on the older classics more that the modern machines if I'm honest, setting 3 sets of points on the triples gets interesting. The sixties for motorcycling manufacturing was exciting and an awful lot of very clever engineers worked for Triumph, BSA and others, some are still around today, such as Norman Hyde, the man is a genius, he even worked in Triumphs experimental department, what they produced and achieved was nothing short of brilliance. Ride safe all.

 

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