Why so rough

[Ridolpho]

Happy New Year to all! Peter- My '72 5 speed Bonneville will certainly top 100 but by 85 or 90 it already feels like it's revving itself to death. It's one previous owner tells me he used to cruise at 100 but I suspect his speedo was a wee bit generous or his vision distorted by large amounts of cheap beer. Regarding the high speed cycling of Lee Enfields, I see funny movies on youtube where the operator slams the bolt back and forth like a lunatic but then carefully pauses to squeeze the trigger with middle finger strangely cocked. I believe the idea of this middle finger pull is to arrange it such that the trigger is pulled almost automatically as you close the bolt- no pause for aiming. Check out page 92 in the big Skennerton book- shows a device that automated this installed on a MLE carbine. Personally, just as I won't cruise at 100 on my triumph, I won't abuse any of my rifles on the pretext that the gophers on the range are charging me.

Ridolpho