Harley Davidson mt350 ex army bikes

[Pint Master]

Im sure they are sought after by people who want something different but the ground clearance is severely lacking it got grounded where other bikes didn't including a TTR 250 which doesn't have massive ground clearance it was nothing to do with the rider, Im sure the MT fine on some lanes but in Cambridgeshire Fen mud and deep ruts you really struggle.

[Godspeed]

'Severely lacking' ??

Are you sure it hadn't been lowered through the front forks which is a common mod to drop the ride height a bit?


I've ridden deep ruts but never found it severely lacking

[Godspeed]

Not sure anything had better clearance to get through this though

IMG_0021.JPG (69.42 KiB) Viewed 3969 times

[dave h]

yep,
too heavy,too slow,too under-powered,not enough ground clearance,too old,and ugly
[blimey it sounds like me].
but if you want a bike that feels like it is giving its best [despite the above]
you just might like it,
the mt riders club is a great club with expert help,sometimes as on here the debates get a bit heated [if you're not a wa&?nker at some point you're not trying],
My advice would be try one for a while if you dont get it pass it on to the next guardian and get your cash back,
of course there are better offroad bikes [the Armstrong variants are 30 years old]
but none with the admiration and camaraderie from the owners of these bikes IMHO,
This video probably explains it better
Dave (thumbs)

[Fishandchips]

That was a good vid. Made me laugh.

Bike looks good but guess it's not gonna win prizes for anything except been robust and nice looking. I do like the look of it.

yep,
too heavy,too slow,too under-powered,not enough ground clearance,too old,and ugly
[blimey it sounds like me].
but if you want a bike that feels like it is giving its best [despite the above]
you just might like it,
the mt riders club is a great club with expert help,sometimes as on here the debates get a bit heated [if you're not a wa&?nker at some point you're not trying],
My advice would be try one for a while if you dont get it pass it on to the next guardian and get your cash back,
of course there are better offroad bikes [the Armstrong variants are 30 years old]
but none with the admiration and camaraderie from the owners of these bikes IMHO,
This video probably explains it better
Dave (thumbs)

[The Sarge]

Having spent a good deal of time riding and repairing the Armstrongs during my Army career, I can confirm that they are not Bombproof, certainly not Squaddie proof. I was involved in commissioning the first 100 of the Armstrong into BAOR (Germany) in 1984, replacing the awful 350cc 2T CanAm Bombardier. Essentially they were meant to be a despatch vehicle, they were not suited to use in the field and were not fitted with tyres for it either, we eventually had XR 400's for that. I found out many times on Soltau that you had to tread very carefully with the heavy lump, avoiding anything that resembled puddles or ruts. The suspension, ground clearance and weight made it a handful (especially fully loaded) for the average DR rider, who were often expected to cross terrain and reach destinations beyond the capability of machine and rider. I don't know how many recoveries I have done on these bikes over the years but I wouldn't mind a pound for each one !

Typical faults I had to repair were poor starting issues, ( it was purely a technique issue) broken gear selectors, leaky forks. primary shaft seals, worn gearboxes. They are heavy, can be a bitch to start when hot, (if you have the 500 without electric boot) the 350 is under powered and the braking average for the vehicle weight. :pinch:

That said, they can be fettled to provide a good Adventure bike and already fitted out with scaffolding for fitting panniers of course. The big caveat for me, is they were often butchered and cannibalised by us ( REME ) before we sent them back to base workshops for auction. Before leaving the workshop we would coddle together as many complete bikes as possible, crating them up without checking if they ran or not. There was a plethora of bikes and spares in circulation new and used, but today the source is thinning out and as a result the prices are frankly unrealistic.
The 'try before you buy' could never be more important for these bikes, but you just may be lucky !! (thumbs)

Sarge

[daytona-supersport]

Are you serious. Why on earth would anybody buy one of these over weight, under powered pieces of ex WD scrap. Yes I have ridden them, Both at forces events and civilian, (decommissioned bikes), bikes. I can't think of a good word to say about them.
I would not waste £200.00 on one let alone £2K. :laugh:

If you want a decent bigger trail bike, get an XR600 / 650 or an XT, (not the 550, rear suspension was rubbish). Mind you still a 100 times better bike than the old squaddy clunkers.

Just my opinion. But if you really feel the need and have money to throw away. Go for it.

Thanks for the video link. (thumbs)

[johnnyboxer]

This video probably explains it better

Looks fab fun

[Andi_Archer]

Ah yes it was rather muddy that day and lucky there were so many of us given the way that particular bike sank in the mud

[frenchy3]

The forks are quite soft without fitting preload spacers and heavier oil and do not match the iron hard ohlins rear shocks which were designed to carry another squaddie with full kit.They lug from almost zero revs and inspire confidence on steep rocky climbs and are less skittish than most enduro bikes in this sort of technical terrain. My MT350 with Mikuni carb and airbox mods was never going to win any drag races but i always had supreme confidence i was going to get to my destination.

A mate had one,Harley badged 350,it was 20 years old and was well made with a robust engine,on the lanes it was awful main problem being lack of ground clearance so in deep mud or ruts it ground out,it had no power whatsoever and was really tedious to ride.

I'm not sure the current owners on here would say that they have limited ground clearance, I've never found that problem in ruts or mud

They're not massively quick, and yes they are weighty, but they pull really well and will keep up with most of other off-road traffic. I think it depends on the rider more than the bike. I'd never call them tedious...

I'm in Bristol if you wanted to test one out.

Prices have been going up recently, and now a basic one that's in average condition will be about £1800. We'll sorted ones are now fetching up to £2500.

The MT riders have a great club, organise regular meets throughout the country, and there is a wealth of knowledge and experience amongst us.

Cheers