Saw these two books the other day and had no hesitation in buying both. Memories came back from the late 60s when I was just two years of school. We used to go down to the local café in town and hang around the bikers, (rockers) they would talk about 'doing the ton' or brag to one another about the crashes they had, sometimes the great Mike Hailwood, Agostini, amongst others would be talked about. Most would have the traditional black leather jackets on with white silk scarfs,some with helmets and some without. Nearly all of them smoked. Some of the bikes then, would now be worth a kings ransom. Graham.
No. I had a lot of school friends that were and I could list them; killed, broken back, impaled on traffic sign, lost a leg, lost most of face (no chin guard). All idiots. Same with cars... As the Specials would have it: too much too young... Maybe I’ve always been an idiot too, but I’ve never had a motorbike and never wanted one. My maternal grandad, father, father-in-law, uncles, one younger brother, all had them, but not me... I’d rather have hit Gold Beach on D-Day. Best, Steve.
Now that brings back memories! Both brothers and son had motorbikes. All traded up to cars when they started courting. The first time that I was ever asked out for a meal as a date, he drew up outside the Ace. I can't even remember his name now.!
I've not been without some form of powered two-wheeler since I was 16. (43 years )...Now my daughters ride pillion. I play around with older bikes too...
Mid-life crisis 8yrs ago, sat on a bike for the 1st time, grinned like a fat kid in a pie shop..... one week after passing my test did a 23 day 10 country tour of Europe over the Alps to Venice and back. Do a lot of solo touring, love just disappearing along single track roads up in the mountains of Scotland and Wales. Did Ride to The Wall this year for the first time..... 6,500 bikes and 10,000 people paying their respects at the Armed Forces Memorial at the National Memorial Arboretum...... I'd recommend anyone re going next year (biker or not) RTTW 2020 is 3rd October 2020.... all money raised goes to the NMA (over £1m raised since RTTW started 10yr or so ago). Paul..... Image is of one of the bike parks at Ride To The Wall 2019
My next door neighbour who will be 80 next year,sold his Harley Davidson this year broke his heart. He rode it all over New Zealand, Australia, and America with his partner pillion. Graham.
Feeling very continental in 1982. 1970 R75/5. I hope I can find some old snapshots of my Triumph 500 Daytona and Norton Commando. Others were CB550 and CB750 Hondas and a Yamaha XS1100. The CB750 Hondas swept all before them in the states in the seventies but the cool rides were the Yamaha RD350 and 400 two strokes. Almost all the BSAs and Triumphs met horrible fates here as choppers.
I went from a Suzuki TS50(?) to a Kawasaki GPZ305 then their GT550. The last time I rode it was just the one trip some 4 or 5 months after getting a car and found I'd lost the ability to get it round corners. Never had the desire to push my luck with another one, and it's getting a bit late to have a mid-life crisis...
I grew up in a house with four older brothers all into motorbikes. There was always motorbikes and motorbike parts scattered around the house, in the yard, the shed, Norton's, Triumphs but especially the Ariel Arrow with the gold petrol tank, which was all the rage in those days. Seeing the picture of the Ariel on the cover of the Fifties book brought back a lot of memories from when I was a young lad.
Cheers kopite, My brother had an Ariel Sports Arrow 247cc. It's gold petrol tank was false,the real petro tank was under the seat. Graham.
That's it right there! Yes, now I remember that the seat used to lift up to fill the tank. Thanks for posting.
As a member of the silent generation (pre - boomer) had a rather different experience. Yes I had a motorbike in my student days but it was a 2nd. hand 250 James more remarkable for its fuel economy than its speed. Dress code? Anything warm and waterproof that you could get cheap from the military surplus shop. I had a FAA deck crew waterproof jacket and trousers. But the bike had panniers and I could strap a one man tent on it and it meant freedom.
Couldn't find any of my British stuff but found some Japanese. I think this was a CB500/4 but it might have been a 550. I took off that dumb looking sissy bar right after this picture from 1979. Those are VW Bug exhaust pipes jammed into the headers after the mufflers got crushed in a fall. Sounded great. Boston Terrier was Jenny CB750 around 1991.I think it was a 1984. It was a later twin cam that really pulled on top end but lacked a bit off the line. In the states the eighties motor cycles had 80 MPH speedometers so we judged how fast we were going by how long it took the needle to come off the peg when you let off the throttle XS1100 Yamaha in 1996. Shaft drive twin like the R75. I usually didn't go very fast on this one but decided to take it up to 100 MPH one time just for the heck of it and four girls passed me in a Jeep Wrangler with the top down. They were chatting and laughing with each other and didn't even look over.
