Middleweights make so much sense

Once upon a time in the motorcycle world there was a reassuring feeling of order.

Engine capacity brackets came with titles or descriptions and even for the novice there was a general feeling of knowing what was what and where it fitted into the great scheme of things.

Events such as the TT helped to reinforce such ideas, with groupings such as the Junior and Senior events or the Ultra-Lightweight.

Up there in the rarefied stratosphere, there would have been the likes of four-cylinder Hendersons in the early days and then machines such as the Brough Superiors, followed by the big Vincent twins out of Stevenage.

For most riders of whatever era these were the bikes of dreams and legend, and generally they tended to remain unattainable.

Read more in this month’s edition of Old Bike Mart