May 24, 201412 yr Does anybody have any experience with these bikes? I have an opportunity to pick on up and would love any opinions. I would not use for trials but rather as a round town bike to run errands on. Cheers Jon
May 24, 201412 yr Hi, the designation g80 means the motor left the factory as a 500, cs means competition with rear suspension. have you seen it ? could have started its life as a scrambler. as its almost 60 years old the chances of it being different from factory spec is quite high! A few pictures would help to identify things. as for riding,i enjoy both road and comp models. all parts available,with a good club scheme for the really rare ones. if the price is right for you, fill your boots and enjoy.
May 25, 201412 yr Author Hi Stan, Current owner thinks it was the scrambler version, he has the jampots, and the light was added. Not pristine but could be a fun bike to ride? He did mention that the oil once flooded the cylinder head, he did not realize there was an adjustment for that. He added a small brass valve in line to adjust the oil. Otherwise it has good compression and starts easily. Am torn between this and a 65 Tiger cub. Decisions, decisions! Jon
May 25, 201412 yr image.jpg Hi Stan, Current owner thinks it was the scrambler version, he has the jampots, and the light was added. Not pristine but could be a fun bike to ride? He did mention that the oil once flooded the cylinder head, he did not realize there was an adjustment for that. He added a small brass valve in line to adjust the oil. Otherwise it has good compression and starts easily. Am torn between this and a 65 Tiger cub. Decisions, decisions! Jon HHHMMM lets see this or a Cub. Well thats easy. Why would any sane person buy a Cub?
May 26, 201412 yr Author I am all ears but what does sanity have to do with it? It is either a 60 year old bike or a 50 year old bike!
May 26, 201412 yr Its either a very nice sought after bike which will be lots of fun to ride. Or a Cub which was poor when it was new and hasn't got much better over the years. Or to put it another way a nice 500cc single to plod around town on or a 200cc single you will have to thrash the nuts off to be anywhere near safe in modern traffic. Its no contest
May 28, 201412 yr A 500 Matchbox or a horrid Cider tub - No contest ! The Matchless is a far better bike,the main reason being that the engine wont insist on trashing itself every ten minutes.Tiger Cubs are nice in shop window displays,but hard work to keep going,even worse in a hot climate...
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