Size does matter ……
Or does it? When I was a wee boy I used think that having a big bike was the only way to have fun ..the bigger the better.
So I aspired to more numbers on my side cover till eventually I hit the magic 1000cc around the mid 80s. I found that indeed the big air cooled four was a monster and took manly muscles to control but I had had just as much fun on most of my smaller bikes included the tiddlers .
After reading last issues boomtown rats piece it got me thinking about those mad Kiwis and the hilarious bikes they ride .
We used to have a loosely organised event called Moped Mayhem the rules were it cant be bigger than a 50 and it has to be a road bike not a dirt bike. Much the same as these dudes in the south island. We attracted some loons and some interesting team names ..Piston Broke a pretty obvious one, the Green Welly race team cos they wore ..green wellys, the Inflatable Condom Flying Allstars and the like .A figure of eight track was marked out in the dirt and all hell let loose . It was like a 2 wheeled demolition derby. Great fun and the rules soon went out the window as 50s grew to 70 and 80cc in fact the more ingenious the scam the more we liked it .
I had to delve deep into my memory but I remember years ago me and a mate deciding to do the 300 odd miles to the Birmingham bike show on a little Yamaha 50 and a Suzuki Ap50 , believe me 40mph for 8 hours on a little bike ,that almost everything could overtake, was a mission . Before we left it was all “yeah we’ll do it in 5 hours no sweat my Yam does 60miles a hour “ did it f**k! maybe thrown out of a plane at 20000ft ..but not under its own power and especially carrying my lanky frame around and all our gear .
So off we trotted the little 4hp 2 stroke motor immediately screaming its disdain at marathon task we were asking of it. Looking like 2 explorers off to discover the origin of the M6…we left our south east London council estate. Our mums fearing the worst our dads just glad to get rid of us for the weekend.
Because we had L plates we weren’t allowed on the motorway so it was the trunk route for us, battling with trucks and coaches. Getting the middle digit and moonies from kids on the back seat of the buses and blown into the ditches by semis was the sum total of most of the trip. The many, many stops for fuel ,the inevitable ciggys and varying quality of beverages to be had on this now largely abandoned road gave us an insight to the heady days of the 60s [a mere decade past] and how it mustve been for the rockers and mods back then . Every exit to a town had either a disused filling station or a run down café that once was the highlight of the last generations bikers ..It was kinda sad but to a couple of sixteen year olds on their first trip away on bikes it didn’t matter much and was dispelled as quickly a it had come to mind.
This was our time, our road now , ….on our diminutive steeds we were the kings now, we were the dogs bollocks. Yup I know ….the arrogance of youth, but still it makes me think of past and present generations ....
What are we called now ? Gen X was mine ..then Gen Y now its Millennial’s [who thinks up this stuff anyway ?] ..Im just an old biker that’s managed to survive this long by pure determination and luck ..
You guys have the road now ,make your mark ,F**k whats supposed to be the norm or acceptable ..do whatever comes to mind, pay homage to those that came before if you feel the need but most of all ..have fun …you’re here for a good time not a long time ..stay sunny side up ‘till next time ..
Jim The Grin
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Originally Posted by ozzy1100
