Bikes of yesteryear and long forgotten : Anybody still riding them?

veyron_head · 27th April 2011, 19:47

Great Thread! very nostalgic

We use to have a 1989 model TVS XT (still being used by a family friend). It used to be pretty fast for its size and was extremely reliable.

By the way, does someone remember the 'Mofa' ? I remember it was a moped without a clutch and it would start by just pedaling. I was told those days that you dont need a license to ride it!!

Mpower · 27th April 2011, 21:39

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pri2

Does anybody remember the TVS Spectra ? It was a scooterette that failed miserably. It was such a big failure that googling TVS spectra brings up 2 or 3 low res thumbnails.

Here are the pics.

It was the first modern scooter (& not side engined) with hand shift 4 speed manual.

Its a pity that TVS decided not to rectify and relaunch it. Very untypical of them too..

centaur · 27th April 2011, 22:16

Between the features that the bikes of today boast of like all gear start, electric start were there in the yezdi as well. We own a Yezdi 87 classic and it on the classic that I learnt to ride a bike. My dad just told me about the gears and gave me the bike as he had to leave for work. So I took it on the Mumbai-Pune express way (we stayed at Lonavala then and the expressway was still under construction. They had put loose soil and pressed it with a road roller, thats it. So no traffic and no disturbance) and drove it to my hearts content. It has a 1 up 3 down gear pattern with a 1-N-2-3-N-4 gear design where there are two neutrals. The electric start did not have a seperate button but it has a switch on the ignition itself (the ignition had 4 levels) and the bike would fire from the battery. If this was not done properly it ended up draining the entire battery. Unfortunately the bike is still with us but in a negected state. :(

Just Cars · 28th April 2011, 01:02

My Dad had a Jawa but I was too small to enjoy driving it. Can we take the Kinetic series (Luna/ Spark) into consideration as well?

Daewood · 28th April 2011, 10:41

Quote:

Originally Posted by veyron_head

By the way, does someone remember the 'Mofa' ? I remember it was a moped without a clutch and it would start by just pedaling. I was told those days that you dont need a license to ride it!!

Yes, you are correct.
To drive the Mofa you didn't need a license, but then it was hardly a moped. It was more of bicycle with a toy engine strapped to it.

Rennjit · 28th April 2011, 17:55

@ centaur, pl post pics of ES. Never known of any m/c with key starter & 2 neutrals. good to know that you still have it. tell us more about starting procedure, battery care etc.

DHABHAR.BEHRAM · 28th April 2011, 19:03

Dear Ritesh Pawar - I have got your PM, thanks for sending it, I appreciate. I had made a thread for my 1984 model Ind Suzuki motorcycle MAV1494 on this forum. I don't know how to dig it out so I am posting photographs again. It is easier this way. These photographs are of 2007, taken in Pune when it was last serviced in front of me. It is very smooth to drive and the exhaust note is just lovely.

We purchased it brand new on 04 September 1984. It is one of the very first "Indo Jap" bikes ever sold in India. Hero Honda started in 1985, Ind Suzuki started in 1984. It is still in my mother's first name with original Mumbai registration although she is now no more, we shall keep it in her mame forever. The total amount that we paid was Rs.12,200/- with full insurance. The dealer was Starline Motors Tardeo (Deepak Chopra). Everything is Japanese except two tyres and two mirrors. I have changed the tyres two times and changed the battery two times. I have changed the mirrors as the stalks corroded. It is still 6 volts. I cannot get a new 6 volts battery now. If somebody can guide me on this, please do. I refuse to convert it to 12 volts. All bulbs are still original. I have taken it with my wife to Devlali and back in 1984 (180 kms one way) and to Navsari in 1990 (270 kms one way) without any problem whatsoever. It has covered 40000 miles. The speedometer is in miles, not in kilometers. All parts are etched with names like "Nippondenso / Tokaidenso / Koito / Stanley" etc. Everywhere "Made in Japan" is written, including on the signal light lenses which still retain their original orange color. It is now totally covered and parked in my stilt parking in Pune from May 1998 onwards. I cannot keep it in Mumbai due to parking problem. Whenever my son Cyrus goes to Pune, he starts it and runs it. He is in London now, he is coming next month, so he will start it. The bike belongs to my sons now. I would just love to drive it when I am in Pune.

We will never sell it. It will remain with my family - FOREVER.

Best regards,

Behram Dhabhar

riteshpawar · 28th April 2011, 20:29

Quote:

Originally Posted by Daewood

Yes, you are correct.
To drive the Mofa you didn't need a license, but then it was hardly a moped. It was more of bicycle with a toy engine strapped to it.

Someone has posted about this Mofa in this thread. He is from Mumbai and has also put in some snaps, Just scroll through the pages and you'll see his comments.

There was a similar one sold by TVS and didn't need a license. It had a horn and a single toggle on-off headlamp tail lamp. It could run at 30kmph to a max and was heavier than the Mofa. I had couple of friends who owned the bike when it was launched back in the 1990's. It had a 2.5 ltr tank and gave 60kms to a litre of petrol.

centaur · 28th April 2011, 21:32

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rennjit

@ centaur, pl post pics of ES. Never known of any m/c with key starter & 2 neutrals. good to know that you still have it. tell us more about starting procedure, battery care etc.

Like I said there was not seperate button like you have in the modern bikes. The central ignition switch in our bike was changed from the original one and this new switch had 4 positions. The first was for normal day time riding, one of the other 3 was for getting the electricals 'ON' like headlight, basically for night driving and one of the remaining 2 was for this battery start. The battery start was used if the bike was kind of warm or was in 'tip-top' condition (hope you get what I mean here

). What we do was pump the bike to create the pressure (as in case of most Yezdis) and once you get the back kick you immediately get the key to the battery start position and the bike fired up. I have tried this only once and it did work but my father warned me that it could drain the battery as the load on the batter was very high. Right now the bike is in a different city than the one I am in. Let me see if I can get pics when I visit there next time.

EDIT - correct me if I am wrong here but I thought all Yezdis had two neutrals.

riteshpawar · 29th April 2011, 03:54

Found some more pics of a Jawa and older Yezdis

Daewood · 29th April 2011, 11:03

Did anyone here own a Hero Puch?
It was one heck of a moped. It had 2 versions, one with 2 gears and another which was a turbo or something like that. It had alloy wheels and an amazing engine. The power to weight ratio was awesome and doing wheelies on it was a breeze.

Spitfire · 29th April 2011, 11:38

The Hero Puch Turbo Sport. Had a cousin sister who had one.

It came in 2G and 3G versions I think. Much before Raja got wound of it.

And no it didn't have a turbo. It was a beautiful moped.

Daewood · 29th April 2011, 14:56

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spitfire

The Hero Puch Turbo Sport.

A friend of mine had one. The local mechanics were not knowledgable about the moped's engine. The reason they gave was, it's german one.
Ay idea if BOSCH had any role to play with the engine.?

Edit: Just googled for the same and the ad with Aamir Khan as BA says the moped is a PORSCHE design. And the vehicle was originally made by an Austrian company named PUCH motors, which sold off it's entire production line to Hero Motors after some financial loss.

Spitfire · 29th April 2011, 15:03

Quote:

Originally Posted by Daewood

Ay idea if BOSCH had any role to play with the engine.?

Austrian, Puch is from Austria. And no relation to Bosch, Germany. Other then being bad boy neighbors.

kevinephraim · 29th April 2011, 19:38

Quote:

Originally Posted by DHABHAR.BEHRAM

Dear Ritesh Pawar - I have got your PM, thanks for sending it, I appreciate. I had made a thread for my 1984 model Ind Suzuki motorcycle MAV1494 on this forum. I don't know how to dig it out so I am posting photographs again.
Best regards,

Behram Dhabhar

Mr. Dhabhar,
With regards to the highlighted sentence in your post, here is the link to your thread on your first owner Ind-Suzuki.
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/motorb...uki-ax100.html
Regards,
Kevin

27th April 2011, 19:47	#106
veyron_head BHPian Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Bangalore Posts: 596 Thanked: 732 Times	Re: Bikes of yesteryear and long forgotten : Anybody still riding them? Great Thread! very nostalgic We use to have a 1989 model TVS XT (still being used by a family friend). It used to be pretty fast for its size and was extremely reliable. By the way, does someone remember the 'Mofa' ? I remember it was a moped without a clutch and it would start by just pedaling. I was told those days that you dont need a license to ride it!!
	() Thanks

27th April 2011, 22:16	#108
centaur BHPian Join Date: May 2009 Location: -- Posts: 897 Thanked: 1,171 Times	Re: Bikes of yesteryear and long forgotten : Anybody still riding them? Between the features that the bikes of today boast of like all gear start, electric start were there in the yezdi as well. We own a Yezdi 87 classic and it on the classic that I learnt to ride a bike. My dad just told me about the gears and gave me the bike as he had to leave for work. So I took it on the Mumbai-Pune express way (we stayed at Lonavala then and the expressway was still under construction. They had put loose soil and pressed it with a road roller, thats it. So no traffic and no disturbance) and drove it to my hearts content. It has a 1 up 3 down gear pattern with a 1-N-2-3-N-4 gear design where there are two neutrals. The electric start did not have a seperate button but it has a switch on the ignition itself (the ignition had 4 levels) and the bike would fire from the battery. If this was not done properly it ended up draining the entire battery. Unfortunately the bike is still with us but in a negected state. :(
	() Thanks

28th April 2011, 01:02	#109
Just Cars Newbie Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: New Delhi Posts: 13 Thanked: Once	Re: Bikes of yesteryear and long forgotten : Anybody still riding them? My Dad had a Jawa but I was too small to enjoy driving it. Can we take the Kinetic series (Luna/ Spark) into consideration as well?
	() Thanks

28th April 2011, 17:55	#111
Rennjit BHPian Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Namma Bangalore Posts: 672 Thanked: 174 Times	Re: Bikes of yesteryear and long forgotten : Anybody still riding them? @ centaur, pl post pics of ES. Never known of any m/c with key starter & 2 neutrals. good to know that you still have it. tell us more about starting procedure, battery care etc.
	() Thanks

28th April 2011, 19:03	#112
DHABHAR.BEHRAM Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: MUMBAI Posts: 3,060 Thanked: 5,402 Times	Re: Bikes of yesteryear and long forgotten : Anybody still riding them? Dear Ritesh Pawar - I have got your PM, thanks for sending it, I appreciate. I had made a thread for my 1984 model Ind Suzuki motorcycle MAV1494 on this forum. I don't know how to dig it out so I am posting photographs again. It is easier this way. These photographs are of 2007, taken in Pune when it was last serviced in front of me. It is very smooth to drive and the exhaust note is just lovely. We purchased it brand new on 04 September 1984. It is one of the very first "Indo Jap" bikes ever sold in India. Hero Honda started in 1985, Ind Suzuki started in 1984. It is still in my mother's first name with original Mumbai registration although she is now no more, we shall keep it in her mame forever. The total amount that we paid was Rs.12,200/- with full insurance. The dealer was Starline Motors Tardeo (Deepak Chopra). Everything is Japanese except two tyres and two mirrors. I have changed the tyres two times and changed the battery two times. I have changed the mirrors as the stalks corroded. It is still 6 volts. I cannot get a new 6 volts battery now. If somebody can guide me on this, please do. I refuse to convert it to 12 volts. All bulbs are still original. I have taken it with my wife to Devlali and back in 1984 (180 kms one way) and to Navsari in 1990 (270 kms one way) without any problem whatsoever. It has covered 40000 miles. The speedometer is in miles, not in kilometers. All parts are etched with names like "Nippondenso / Tokaidenso / Koito / Stanley" etc. Everywhere "Made in Japan" is written, including on the signal light lenses which still retain their original orange color. It is now totally covered and parked in my stilt parking in Pune from May 1998 onwards. I cannot keep it in Mumbai due to parking problem. Whenever my son Cyrus goes to Pune, he starts it and runs it. He is in London now, he is coming next month, so he will start it. The bike belongs to my sons now. I would just love to drive it when I am in Pune. We will never sell it. It will remain with my family - FOREVER. Best regards, Behram Dhabhar Attached Thumbnails
	(4) Thanks

29th April 2011, 03:54	#115
riteshpawar BHPian Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Mumbai Posts: 91 Thanked: 29 Times View My Garage	Re: Bikes of yesteryear and long forgotten : Anybody still riding them? Found some more pics of a Jawa and older Yezdis Attached Thumbnails
	() Thanks

29th April 2011, 11:03	#116
Daewood BHPian Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Chennai Posts: 942 Thanked: 234 Times	Re: Bikes of yesteryear and long forgotten : Anybody still riding them? Did anyone here own a Hero Puch? It was one heck of a moped. It had 2 versions, one with 2 gears and another which was a turbo or something like that. It had alloy wheels and an amazing engine. The power to weight ratio was awesome and doing wheelies on it was a breeze.
	() Thanks

29th April 2011, 11:38	#117
Spitfire BANNED Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Panaji - Goa/Bangalore - Karnataka Posts: 3,313 Thanked: 777 Times	Re: Bikes of yesteryear and long forgotten : Anybody still riding them? The Hero Puch Turbo Sport. Had a cousin sister who had one. It came in 2G and 3G versions I think. Much before Raja got wound of it. And no it didn't have a turbo. It was a beautiful moped.
	() Thanks