Real Classic September 2020

Here's a thing. I really enjoyed my day out aboard the Yamaha triple you should find elsewhere in these pages this very month. It ticked pretty much all of the boxes in the big long questionnaire What Makes A Bike Classic? It hailed from the 70s, started itself, delivered plenty enough power to make riding it at modern roads speeds achievable, steered well and was even comfortable . I'll not even mention the shaft drive and triple disc brakes, nor indeed the characterful three-pot engine. And on the long ride home aboard my own modern machine, I found myself puzzling over how it could be that I'd enjoyed almost everything about the Yamaha, but still would be very unlikely to actually buy one. I didn't when they were current, and…

Here's a thing. I really enjoyed my day out aboard the Yamaha triple you should find elsewhere in these pages this very month. It ticked pretty much all of the boxes in the big long questionnaire What Makes A Bike Classic? It hailed from the 70s, started itself, delivered plenty enough power to make riding it at modern roads speeds achievable, steered well and was even comfortable . I'll not even mention the shaft drive and triple disc brakes, nor indeed the characterful three-pot engine. And on the long ride home aboard my own modern machine, I found myself puzzling over how it could be that I'd enjoyed almost everything about the Yamaha, but still would be very unlikely to actually buy one. I didn't when they were current, and I…

Everyone I know indulges in harmless obsessions. Many of my own involve deciding that I absolutely need a particular motorcycle, whereupon no advert, no auction, no online enthusiasts' group is safe. I plot and I scheme and I find a few, make a shortlist, consider the familial and financial outcomes and .. . do nothing. Usually. Sometimes I even abuse my happy position as a Top Magazine Chappie and go ride one of the chosen few, but mostly I resist that wicked temptation. Mostly . So it was when Rowena of this parish remarked that she was prepping a feature on my almost-favourite Triumph, the T160 Trident. All things being equal, you should be able to read about this elsewhere in this very issue, and a truly handsome machine it is, as are all…

Everyone I know indulges in harmless obsessions. Many of my own involve deciding that I absolutely need a particular motorcycle, whereupon no advert, no auction, no online enthusiasts' group is safe. I plot and I scheme and I find a few, make a shortlist, consider the familial and financial outcomes and .. . do nothing. Usually. Sometimes I even abuse my happy position as a Top Magazine Chappie and go ride one of the chosen few, but mostly I resist that wicked temptation. Mostly . So it was when Rowena of this parish remarked that she was prepping a feature on my almost-favourite Triumph, the T160 Trident. All things being equal, you should be able to read about this elsewhere in this very issue, and a truly handsome machine it…

EARLY YEARS This is me on my first bike which cost £10 in 1961, when I was 16. It seems like yesterday. I had just started an apprenticeship earning just £1.50 a week, which meant I had to borrow the money to buy and run the bike . I was told it was an Ambassador with a Villiers 6E 197cc engine. But looking at the photos, it had a swinging arm frame . I think this may have been fitted onto what should have been a rigid frame - who knows? The Ambassador had a very large rear sprocket and would climb up a wall if you weren't careful! My friend at the time had a brand new Tiger Cub which his family bought for him , but he never…

EARLY YEARS This is me on my first bike which cost £10 in 1961, when I was 16. It seems like yesterday. I had just started an apprenticeship earning just £1.50 a week, which meant I had to borrow the money to buy and run the bike . I was told it was an Ambassador with a Villiers 6E 197cc engine. But looking at the photos, it had a swinging arm frame . I think this may have been fitted onto what should have been a rigid frame - who knows? The Ambassador had a very large rear sprocket and would climb up a wall if you weren't careful! My friend at the time had a brand new Tiger Cub which his family bought for him , but he never looked after…