Hi Nigel
You bring back some memories with the Velocettes and your list of great British bikes. We had some brilliant engineers that produced bikes making Britain a world leader in motorcycles.
Of the many bikes I have owned over the years, the ones I remember with magneto and alternator are the AJS 650, later and some 500’s, also Matchless 650’s along with Royal Enfield.
As far as I can remember the Matchless/AJS 350/500 singles, had dynamos - we did have one Matchless 650 twin, which was more modern (but still 50's) - but I can't remember it very well.
The singles we did loads of work on, including putting the piston, barrel and head from a 500 on a 350 bottom end.
There are probable more I can’t remember. As with so many companies competing over a reducing market, production cost was very important and magnetos were more reliable than coil n points, giving you an engine that would start with a flat battery or without any battery at all. Also alternators were more reliable than dynamos.
I’m down to 5 bikes at present; the one with 6volt electrics, magneto and alternator is a Royal Enfield 350, starts first kick, very original and still a delight to ride. Whenever I return to it parked up there is always a crowd around it!!! You can buy a newer version of it today, produced I India but with 12volt electrics, electronic coil ignition and probable other upgrades but the frame, suspension and engine are basically as the original Royal Enfield Bullet designed by British engineers. As it says on the petrol tank “build like a gun” (RE’s motto).
Yes, the Bullet was made in India for the Indian Police - who needed a reliable bike, easy to maintain, that didn't need running in. It's amusing that they now export them back to the UK
We never had a Bullet - although a small dealer ('Piggy' Smith) we knew (and bought spares from), had one brand new sat in his shop - never been registered, with the fairing rusting away. He also had a Vincent Black Shadow, and I saw many people try to buy it off him over the years. My first two road bikes came from him.
'Piggy' was a strange old guy, he looked like a tramp, and his shop/yard looked about the same
But apparently he was very wealthy, owned lot's of property, including riding stables - and only ran his shop for the fun of it. If you wanted a part you had to be prepared for a long session, the longer you spent talking to him, the lower the price got
He died a good few years back now, I always wondered what happened to all the 'treasure' in his shop.