Motorcycles

I can't really be considered a Motorcycle enthusiast any more because I don't have a bike at the moment, and if I did I would be a fair weather rider. I've grown too accustomed to the comfort of a car to risk getting soaking wet and frozen to death! However, I'm very nostalgic about the the machines I had when I could only afford two-wheeled transport, and I wish I still had them all. Some of the older ones would almost be museum pieces now.
	I was so desperate to drive anything with an engine that I applied for my driving licence in plenty of time for it to start on my 16th birthday. I was out on the road at the crack of dawn, thrilled to bits that I could ride legally at last, but very conscious of the shiny new L plates and the rather odd machine I was riding. Because I was still at school I had little money of my own, so I had to ride what my Dad would let me. He had decided to have motorised transport a year or two earlier, and had rebuilt an old tandem bicycle. This was fitted it with a Mini-Motor, a small 50cc motor that drove the bicycle by friction on the rear tyre. Clip-on engines of this type were quite common in the fifties as a cheap mode of transport when rationing was still in force for many things, and people were still rather hard-up after the war.
My Dad 'got the bug' from riding this bike, and he got hold of two old Autocycles. These were single gear 98cc-engined machines with pedals, usually built like heavy bicycles, and were the fore-runners of the modern Moped. One, a Coventry Eagle, was in running order and we eventually restored the other, a Bown. Both makes are obviously long-since defunct. Since my Dad used the only working autobike every day, I was stuck with the motorised tandem. I felt a bit self-conscious riding this contraption, but at least I could carry a passenger - as long as they helped with the pedalling when we were going uphill! At the time, a motorised tandem was the only motorcycle that a learner could legally carry a passenger on, but that fact was little-known. It was something to do with the fact that a tandem is constructed to carry two people whereas a motorcycle is adapted to carry a passenger. It was great fun getting one over on the local bobby once, when he stopped me with a friend on the back, thinking he had an easy booking.
	It wasn't long before Dad got fed up of unreliable old machines and bought a brand new Lambretta scooter. There was no chance of me riding that, but I got the use of the Bown Autocycle, as long as I finished reassembling it. I'll always be grateful to my Dad for the practical mechanical ability I gained from that exercise. I did thousands of miles on that old machine, passed my driving test on it, and used it every day to get to work after I left school.
After I started work I had a bit of cash of my own and I soon progressed to an NSU Quickly - a genuine moped with 2 gears. Although the engine was smaller, it was more modern and efficient, and the machine was almost as quick as the old Autocycle. It had a bit more street-cred too, but it wasn't the real motorbike that I longed for. Still, it provided reliable, cheap commuting and it took me to places like North Wales and Blackpool on several occasions.
	My first genuine motorcycle was an Ariel 500 Hunter. Made in 1948, it had no rear springs and was really rather a wreck, unlike the bike in this picture. It leaked oil all over the place, and made a terrible racket, but I loved it. It cost me �7-10s-0d, and the annual insurance was nearly as much. If I remember rightly I was earning about �6-0s-0d a week as an apprentice at the time. I used to tear around the streets on this thing, probably thoroughly annoying everyone else, but I was in my element and loved every minute of it.
I spent an awful lot of time tinkering with the old Ariel and various other semi-scrap machines, including an old BSA C10 250 that I rebuilt, but I soon wanted a more modern machine.
	Eventually I got hold of a 1953 Matchless 350cc G3L that was in really nice condition. The one with 'jam pot' rear suspension units. I rode this bike throughout the bad winter of 1962/3 and it never missed a beat, despite the seat being like a brick - the foam padding was frozen solid!
The last bike I had before I finally accepted that you couldn't pull birds unless you had a car, was a Royal Enfield 500 Bullet - my first real ton-upper. It felt incredibly fast with all the noise and vibration, and it would genuinely top 100MPH - just. I still have the handbook and it quotes the peak engine power as 27BHP at 5750RPM. Compare that with the 100BHP plus from a modern multi-cylinder 600, or the 200-ish BHP from a Grand Prix 500 racing machine!
	After that I passed my car test and had a one or two old wrecks of cars, but went back to motorcycles for a while when I couldn't afford the running costs. I got hold of an ex-Police Velocette LE and ran that for a while. This was a unique bike because it was designed to be virtually silent, and it was widely used by Police forces all over the country. It had a 200cc water cooled flat twin sidevalve engine, shaft drive, and had built in leg shields. Mine had a windscreen too. It was no flying machine but it was comfortable for commuting, and the nice warm radiator really helped to prevent my feet from freezing in cold weather.
I had a few, more modern, bikes between 1980 and about 1991. The first was a Honda CD175 that I rebuilt after a work colleague ran out of inspiration during restoration work. It was OK even if it was rather too small for me, but it was fun to ride and it got me interested again.
	I heard of a Honda CX500 that someone had left to stand in the weather for two years, and bought it. I replaced all the rusted chrome work, the battery and the tyres, gave it a good clean and a service, and ran it for about a year. Compared to the bikes I had in my youth the suspension was brilliant, the roadholding was superb, and the acceleration was almost frightening. Modern tyres are so much better than those I had been used to, and give tremendous confidence on corners and under braking. The twin-disc front brakes were really powerful and progressive compared to the old drum brakes, and the machine felt comfortable and safe. On top of that I had the luxury of electric start - no more swinging on a kick start pedal to get going
I eventually sold the Honda to a friend and bought another ex-Police bike, a BMW R80/7 RT. The big lazy 800cc flat twin is amazing. The quoted power is less that the Honda CX500 but the torque is impressive and you don't need to jump up and down the gears to accelerate - just twist the grip hard at anything above about 1500RPM and you're away. The other benefit of a softer engine seems to be economy. The Honda never managed more than 50MPG where the BMW did over 60, but it was still about 10 to 20 MPH faster than the Honda on top speed, probably due to the aerodynamic bodywork. I know because mine still had the calibrated speedo fitted when I got it, and I had a sneaky go! My ex-police R80 was very similar to the bike in this picture, except that it was white, of course. Also the Police had a higher windscreen fitted than the standard one.
My last bike was a real beauty (in my eyes) - a Yamaha XS 1100 S. All black chrome and a shine three feet deep in the petrol tank paintwork. I had always wanted to own a superbike so I did a part-exchange deal with a chap who wanted a more economical machine for touring. I don't know if you've ever driven anything with the sort of power-to-weight ratio that machines like this have, but it's an amazing sensation. My Yamaha wasn't the hottest bike around at a mere 90BHP and it's one of the heavier superbikes, but it's power-to-weight ratio with me on board was still approaching 300BHP per ton. The acceleration would frighten brave men, and it ate Porsches for breakfast! I never found out the official figures, but I could break the 70MPH speed limit (in second gear) in well under 5 seconds from standstill, and the only time I ever really let it go it was still accelerating at an indicated 135MPH when I bottled out. The engine is an 1100cc four cylinder unit, mounted on rubber bushes so that it is incredibly smooth and quiet. Shaft drive means no chain noise or maintenance, but it has a slightly crunchy gear change until the knack is acquired. It will cruise effortlessly at 90MPH all day, and the ineffective looking flyscreen on the headlamp actually deflected the slipstream right over my head. The only drawback was the fuel consumption of around 40MPG. With only a 3.5 gallon tank it means stopping to fill up at every other motorway service station - hardly uninterrupted travel. Still, a journey to London was the least tiring on that bike than on any other I've known, and there's nothing like it on a warm sunny day.

Motorcycles I've Owned