[Porky]

I live near ROUTE 66 RIDLEY, in Carthage, Missouri and stopped by there today on the way in to work to visit a while:smile:

Ridley, the manufacturer was under funded and went out of business years ago but there are still some independent dealers around to service customers parts and service needs.:grin:

At one time, their yearly sales out paced VICTORY.

If you are interested, either Google them or read about them on Wikipedia:smile_big:

The later models used their proprietary 750cc, single crank, balanced, 90 degree, air and oil cooled V-twin engine, powering the belt final drive through a belt driven CVT auto-trans, with top quality components and nice, quality paint. Most had the typical size front and rear tires but one model came front and rear with 'CAR' tires and it looked cool so I thought I'd post a few pictures:

Me so solly must hold head sideways! My bad:surprise:

Sam:nerd:

 

[Eye_m_no_angel]

We had one in the shop a couple months ago that had the converted lawn mower engine. Of course, we all made jokes about it but when we started it, it actually sounded pretty darn good!

 

[Offcenter]

Never heard of Ridley bikes. Interesting.
Not my style, but sounds like they were a bit ahead of their time.

 

[hogcowboy]

We had one in the shop a couple months ago that had the converted lawn mower engine. Of course, we all made jokes about it but when we started it, it actually sounded pretty darn good!

We had one in an escort I did several months ago. He was having some electrical issues but when he got it started, I agree with you, it sounded pretty darn good. I didn't know they were still in business though. The one I saw was an older model. But I was was genuinely impressed. Good looking bike.

 

[Eye_m_no_angel]

I thought they were pretty ugly with that big ole side cover.

 

[jag13]

They are quite popular with smaller people due to their size. I always referred to them as 3/4 scale bikes.

 

[Jo6pak]

I had a chance to ride a Ridley about 10 years ago. I've never had a bike try so hard to kill me as that one did. Let's just say, the CVT transmission had a few "highly undesirable" quirks.

 

[Porky]

Here's some images:

https://www.google.com/search?q=Rid...X&ved=0ahUKEwjS7peDtc_bAhVRZawKHQQfBdcQsAQITg

Sam:grin:

 

[Eye_m_no_angel]

I had a chance to ride a Ridley about 10 years ago. I've never had a bike try so hard to kill me as that one did. Let's just say, the CVT transmission had a few "highly undesirable" quirks.

The one we had in the shop sounded good when we started it, so the natural thing to do is grab the throttle and rev it up a little.

That startled a few of us.

 

[Offcenter]

The one we had in the shop sounded good when we started it, so the natural thing to do is grab the throttle and rev it up a little.
That startled a few of us.

What?? Are you saying that there is no "neutral"???
That sounds dangerous as all heck!

 

[soupy1957]

..........the CVT transmission had a few "highly undesirable" quirks.

They put a CVT on a bike???

Subaru is using them these days.

 

[hogcowboy]

I thought they were pretty ugly with that big ole side cover.

Yea, that cover does catch your eye but that's the engine not the bike.:smile:

 

[Eye_m_no_angel]

What?? Are you saying that there is no "neutral"???
That sounds dangerous as all heck!

Yeap. It's an "automatic" transmission, of sorts. You give it throttle and it starts to engage and move forward. No clutch lever.

 

[seagullplayer]

Yeap. It's an "automatic" transmission, of sorts. You give it throttle and it starts to engage and move forward. No clutch lever.

Well I guess that would put a damper on reeving in a tunnel...

How is a guy suppose to impress the ladies?

 

[Eye_m_no_angel]

If you're riding around on a Ridley there's no hope that you're ever going to impress anyone.

 

[cmonSTART]

Interesting. They have a line of vintage looking motorized bicycles.

Ridley Vintage Motorbikes : Models :: The Twin

 

[Offcenter]

Interesting. They have a line of vintage looking motorized bicycles.

They "HAD" a line of vintage looking bicycles.
The website hasn't been updated since 2009, nine years ago.
They are GONE!

 

[cmonSTART]

True. Should have said "had."

 

[Jo6pak]

At one point, they were sued by Harley Davidson over the use of the name "Auto-Glide" Apparently, the boys in Milwaukee thought it was a bit too close to the names for some of their steel.
(It's often the case that a bigger corporation doesn't have to win a lawsuit as long as they have more money for lawyers to stretch the litigation until the little guy runs out of funds.)

I'm not saying that was the reason for Ridley's downfall, but I can't have done thier financials any favors

 

[Wild1OR]

At one point, they were sued by Harley Davidson over the use of the name "Auto-Glide" Apparently, the boys in Milwaukee thought it was a bit too close to the names for some of their steel.
(It's often the case that a bigger corporation doesn't have to win a lawsuit as long as they have more money for lawyers to stretch the litigation until the little guy runs out of funds.)

I'm not saying that was the reason for Ridley's downfall, but I can't have done thier financials any favors

I researched Ridley early in my pursuit of purchasing my first motorcycle. What you describe is precisely what happened: the long and costly litigation with Harley-Davidson was too much of a burden for them to overcome.

Their bikes intrigued me because of their appearance, light weight relative to their size and automatic transmission. There were two dealerships that each had one in stock and in both instances, I was informed that the transmissions needed servicing and they were awaiting parts which could only be obtained from Ridley Genuine Parts. Needless to say, I lost interest.