FEBRUARY 2024 ISSUE #529
There’s frost on the ground outside, so this seems like the right time of year to tell the story of test rider Bob Rowley, riding an Ariel 3 around a frozen pond at BSA’s Umberslade Hall development centre in the early 1970s. When his workmates started smashing the ice around the pond edges, Bob had to make a dash back to dry land – but we’re not sure the Ariel made it. There are more of Bob’s fantastic tales from a lifetime working in the British motorcycle industry on page 46.
This is a tricky time of year for classic bike owners, especially if (like me) you don’t have the benefit of a heated garage. You risk frostbite at autojumbles or at the workbench – and if the cold doesn’t stop you riding, the roads are covered in corrosive salt that’ll eat a bike in front of your eyes. Still, it was good to see so many classic bike people – and their bikes – make it out to the Winter Classic Show at Newark on January 6-7 (see our report on page six).
I’ve dug out my quilted overalls for wintertime bike fettling and also got clearance from the relevant authorities allowing me to bring a bike into the house (subject to strict terms and conditions, you understand) for remedial work. This means the engine and chassis of my old moped have been reunited after an 18-month trial separation and are now operating in harmony once again (proof below, story on page 82). Next on the agenda is the rewiring job on my BSA Bantam project. That should take me through to spring, but this modest programme of works could easily be thrown off track should buying temptation come my way; you never know when it might strike.
Sadly, for me that buying temptation is never likely to feature a matching-
