YOUR LETTERS
As a 36-year-old motorcycle novice, I am about to book my CBT and thinking of scooping up a BSA Bantam. I was hoping you might be able to guide a newby such as myself. Is the Bantam a good idea for a new rider on a budget? Will I even fit on the thing at 6ft? I have plonked my butt on the saddle but have no idea what riding it will be like. Am I making a massive schoolboy error – will I look like I’m riding a child’s bicycle? Is there another affordable 125c bike you would purchase in my position?
I have been buying CB for a few years now, saving my pennies and dreaming of hitting the road on a classic bike. I am appealing to the Classic Bike elders for wisdom and guidance on this matter.
As a Bantam owner, I obviously think that a D1 is an excellent idea for the learner rider. On the other hand, Villiers enthusiast Rick Parkington suggests a 1950s James, Excelsior or Francis-Barnett fitted with a 10D-13D 125cc Villiers engine; these three-speed units with an external flywheel offer similar performance to a D1, with a cruising speed around 40mph. Obviously there are lots of 1970s Japanese and European 125s too, which have the benefit of indicators and a bit more performance.
The process of getting one’s full licence is a lot more complicated than it used to be, and our friendly expert Ian Biederman of BMW Rider Training said this: “Yes, getting a classic 125 to ride around on L-plates is a great idea – just be careful about 1950s brakes in 21st century traffic. You need to do a CBT to ride your bike, and take your test if you want to ride it without L-plates. Your local training school can hire you a bike for this to get you going.”
Welcome to the classic bike world, John. It’s always great to see classics out and about with L-plates. HW
SEND YOUR LETTERS TO letters@ classicbike.co.uk
Memories of Rocket Ron
It was great to see Rocket Ron Haslam in last month’s magazine. I first saw him race at Cadwell in 1975. Phil Read was on the MV (which sounded amazing) and Mick Grant the Kawasaki, but this kid beat them both – it was fantastic to watch.
I’d ridden up to Cadwell from Kent with my friends Clive on a 250 Honda and Gary on a new Kawasaki S1. We couldn’t believe how far it was. On the way home my Honda CB175, which I’d been thrashing to try and keep up with the 250s, broke its camchain near Baldock on the A1. I pushed it to a garage, then we took the L-plates off Gary’s Kawasaki and he gave me a lift home; we got back at about 3am. Next weekend I went back with my dad in his work’s van and collected the bike. When we took the head off, the camshaft was seized in the head.
I saw Ron rac
