Letters

I thought that this print might give the health and safety brigade a few challenging moments. The venue is a garden fete being held in the grounds of a hospital situated between Blackheath and Woolwich, some time in the late Forties or early Fifties. The intrepid contestants are Paddy (I bumped into him some 15…

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Referring to your June editorial, one has only to look at the picture on the front of the July issue, and another on page 37 taken in Banbury itself, to see the reasons for the declining numbers taking part in events – pressure, density and intimidation by modern traffic. Only a few years ago, the…

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Through your columns, I’d like to say a big thank you to David Hailwood. He took time out to chat to me at the recent Withernsea Bikefest, then to my amazement invited me to sit on Mike’s fabulous 500/4. Thank you, David. You have made an old chap with a head full of fantastic memories…

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The Ariel Leader celebrated its 60th anniversary in July, but unfortunately I didn’t hear much about what was being done to celebrate the fact. The Arrow/Leader Club had a year-by-year line-up at Stafford, and a Leader was on show in a prominent position on the Ariel stand, although one member expressed the opinion that it…

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I’ve finally managed to catch up with the June issue of OBM and your request for thoughts about unused machines. For me it’s like this: I’ve had a 1964 Triumph Thunderbird with a slightly modified Watsonian Palma sidecar, first registered as an outfit on June 25 of that year, for more than 30 years now…

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While on holiday on the North Norfolk coast, my wife and I visited a small cafe/tea shop in East Runton and were sitting enjoying the break when a rider turned up on a Sterling motorcycle. My first thought was: “I don’t recognise that make of bike”, but then again I don’t claim to know all…

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I’m a great fan of Old Bike Mart, and particularly enjoy the ‘mystery bike’ items. Here is a shot of my parents looking very fashionable one day around 1935 on their mystery motorcycle. They lived in Caithness, which tallies with the registration, but what is the make and model of the very smart machine? Hugh…

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Friends are wonderful – including those you might not actually have met. Readers may recall that I bought a pair of 1957 Moto Guzzi Lodolas for restoration which were featured in ‘Unearthed’ in an autumn issue of OBM. One of those bikes is now a healthy runner thanks to a friend I had not met,…

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In reply to Mr Fred Dawes’ letter about the overhead-camshaft Royal Enfield in OBM (July), the answer lies here. In those far-off days I always looked for Cyril May’s magazines because they had such good photos. I’ve been a reader of OBM from the year dot, so keep it up – it’s brilliant in its…

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Having trouble starting your Goldie or Thruxton? Is that Super Rocket getting a little hard to push around? What we need is something that has an authentic classic look to it and which is fairly light, with electric starting and good lights, proper oil filtration and good brakes, and with lots of aluminium and chrome…

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