I 1^st took my test on a Mobbylette moped, one of two my parents owned. Dad had bought both in the hope my mother would surely find some form of balance and that they would ride off into the sunset together (Well off to Tescos possibly anyway) I desperately wanted to pass so that I could take my then girlfriend Sharon on the back. (Dads had a duel seat) Pass cert in hand and duly sent off to her majesty’s gov. we went on holls to Hastings on it. Great downhill with the wind behind at some 50mph 2 up with some luggage! A bad uphill was another story with Sharon sometimes having to get off or I would have to resort to a lot of peddle power! Yes it had peddles unlike the mopeds/scooters now. No electric start but put it on it’s stand and peddle for all your worth with the throttle grip in the start position or push it along running by it’s side until

It fired upan jump on.

On the way to Hastings I had to fill it up with 2 stroke oil and petrol separately, ended up pushing the damn thing for awhile trying to mix the mixture as the oil had gone down to the carb before any petrol. Sharon was not impressed.  Thank god it was a sunny day. That Moped served us well and saw us being able to get out and about and me finding out that I really did enjoy being on a bike.

My 1^st bike real and proper was bought by my Dad for me when I turned 17 and it was a 750 Norton Atlas, a bike of some presence with a huge metallic blue petrol tank, we added to it a newly purchased Palma child/adult sidecar that Dad insisted should be on the side of it and also a huge white fiberglass and clear plastic screen which the headlight was re-fitted into and it not only protected you from the wind but also acted as a sail when the wind blew from behind, lastly a chrome crash bar bought for the right hand side and it was all put together by the dealer, a huge dealership known as Pride and Clarke which seemed to own half a street in Stockwell south London during the 60’s/70’s. They were a main dealer for some bike that I can’t remember and on top of that they had a car franchise and a huge spares dept. with all sorts of goodies kept in stock for the second-hand bikes they sold. Around the corner a short walk away was Guss Khun’s  (I think that’s how it was spelt ) and they sold thorough bred race bikes. All shinny with full fairings, a little strange in the 70’s to see these bikes on the road as oppose to the naked bikes that could be seen everywhere.

Dad bless him, took me to a training/driving ground in Harrow where on a private piece of land was a road layout with hill start, lights, roundabouts and crossroads, I rode the outfit round and round all afternoon until it gave up on me for some unknown reason. Dad, (bless him LOL) had to go back to our house in Mill Hill and fetch his car to tow the outfit back having ridden it to the ground himself with me in the sidecar. He loved being back on an outfit again. (He had an Enfield with sidecar just after the war himself)

My 1^st crash was being towed LOL back from Harrow! Dad, (bless him LOL) took a left hand turn too fast for me to keep the sidecar down on the ground and whilst he went left the outfit, with me went straight on with the sidecar up in the air! I hit the rear of a car and nearly took out my leg on his bumper. Dad was upset that I had done it and took the blame saying he had not realized I could not keep the bike straight and sidecar on the road. He duly gave the other car driver some dosh and we got the unit home. Can’t remember who fixed the Atlas or why it had gone wrong in the 1^st place (Electrical I think) but it was and I got out on the road proper with my provisional tucked in my pocket and proper insurance too.

Friends between them owned various bikes. A  BSA Goldstar, a BSA Bantum 125, a Matchless with sidecar/block of flats attached, one of the 1^st mass jap bikes a RD 250 Yamaha and a very nice 750 Norton Commando which I loved and wanted. The block of flats attached to the Matchless was a huge unit made from plywood and sheet aluminum and painted maroon and black, it easily sat two with the front seat folding forward like a 2 door cars does to let the rear passenger in to the back. Both seats were wide and very car like and so was the door into the unit. My Palma child adult had a flip-top design and one had to climb over the side to get in, it was also impossible for an adult to sit comfortably in the back. It did however have the advantage of a canvas style top which could be taken off when the sun shone unlike my friend’s block of flats that had a solid aluminum clad wooden one. Another nice thing about the

The Atlas took me on my 1^st major journey on a proper bike, well it seemed major at the time as I was still on a provisional license and had to use back road A routes to Leeds from London Mill Hill. Went up to watch some friends swim in the nationals, I was supposed to be in them myself but had discovered girls and bikes and party’s so had just given up swimming competitively. We (A friend and myself) loaded up the outfit and had a great journey up there without a single hitch, the friend being the Matchless owner liked my outfit and sat pillion with our gear in the sidecar, his unit being as often was off the road for repairs.

So a good journey up but coming home down various roads and onto the A5 coming through Dunstable my Atlas decided it no longer wanted to play ball and the right hand  piston rod broke putting a hole in the piston itself and sending a substantial amount of metal around the engine, one piece of which forced out the plug spewing oil out over my right leg. What could we do. stuffed the hole with a piece of rag,  It was still running and with a little persuasion and a lot of coxing we pressed on stopping only when we really, really had to. Very lucky not to have any major hills to climb the mighty Atlas plodded on on one cylinder popping for all it was worth the last 20 miles.You can imagine the damage caused by still riding it home but I did not have AA or RAC cover so I just had to get home anyway I could. Carrying spare oil was always a good idea on older bikes and this came in real handy on this occasion.

Well it took a great deal of time and effort to fix it but it was done and it led to my 1^st total rebuild of an engine. The only bit that did not need some attention was the bottom end casing. Everything other than that was either replaced, rebuilt with new or rebored and lined and shimed, including a secondhand head from a Commando which I had new valves added and new seats ground in with new springs etc. so it was like new too. It started up a little out of tune but never the less it started, Took it to a local garage who played with the carbs for me and got it to bun smoothly (Well as smoothly as an Atlas could).

I loved this bike and it only went when I finally took and passed my test and traded it in for my 1st solo! That’s another story.

Don't slide unless you mean too.

Be sure, ride safe and enjoy

Be sure, ride safe and enjoy

Be sure, ride safe and enjoy

Hey Ems take a look at the modern Kwaks..... nowhere near as strong ??? AND what about the suzuki GSX' s ????

So the answer to the original question, I reckon, is "almost certainly not".

>> ex silens nox noctis <<