vintage motorcycles

OK, here goes...I have been thinking about getting a motorcycle again, after decades of not riding. My last bike was a Honda 360, in the seventies...this was put in my head by reading this very interesting book called "Rebuilding The Indian", by Fred Haefele, which if you haven't seen it is a great read. It must taste good, too, because my cat chewed the corner off most of the cover.
Anyway, I've decided that a 1940s suicide-shift flathead V-twin Indian is probably not the right bike for me to resume riding on. I would rather have something English or Italian, I think. A Triumph or Norton? etc. There seems to be a lot of motorcycle expertise on this Forum, so I'd welcome any information/resources anyone would care to throw out for me to look up or visit. Any advice is appreciated. And, no, I can't afford one of the MV Augustas in the adjacent post, although they are great looking bikes.

Hi Jim,

Unfortunately all the handcrafted motor cycle replicas are expensive. It would be interesting to find out, thanks to Fran Hall's posting, what George Beale would charge for his AJS, Benelli and Matchless replicas. Possibly not as much as the Kay MV replica.

I believe that a Manx Norton replica is also being made.Now that's a bike!

Best wishes,
Andre 40

Andre,
there are a couple of comapnies making Manx replicas even a 350cc version.
http://www.manxnorton.co.uk/

http://www.motorcycle.com/mo/mccompare/03_Sport_Tourers/
Jim, try this site. It has some great information. I've been looking for a great sport touring bike and decided on the Yamaha FJR 1300 with ABS. All these bikes are great. But you have to decide what your body can handle. The Yamaha had the comfort and power I was looking for. Have fun making a decision. They are all great bikes.
Steve