BRUMMIE BIKE IS THE MUTT’S NUTS
Birmingham has a long, illustrious and proud history of motorcycle manufacturing, dating from at least 1899.
Norton started making bikes in 1901, James in 1902, Ariel the same year, Velocette in 1904 and BSA in 1910.
Over the years there have been more than 100 motorcycle manufacturers based in the city. All of that ended in the 1970s.
Now, however, a group of Birmingham bike enthusiasts are reviving that spirit and history in the form of Mutt Motorcycles.
Benny Thomas and his team create small engined, accessible, affordable and cool bikes.
After starting with 125s the firm has now introduced a number of 250s, and it’s the RS-13 250 I am testing out here.
Mutt machines are about 65% made in China, and that includes the motor, which is based on the one used in the air-cooled single-cylinder Suzuki GN250.
It may be old, but it’s tried and tested, fuel-injected – and completely reliable.
The remaining 35% is done at the Birmingham site and that means all the cool bits. The bike looks great, almost like something that might have been made in Birmingham during the 1960s.
It has a hand-finished hand-rubbed raw steel, clear coated and topped off with a black stripe and the Mutt logo.
The all-black frame is accompanied by black spoked wheels, black aluminium mudguards, and a black aluminium LED tail light and LED indicators.
Up front there’s black Renthal handlebars, a halogen headlight with a matt black grill, and a single round clock which includes a digital gear indicator. It’s all finished off with a black diamond-stitch seat, diamond pattern grips, a black stainless-steel exhaust and knobbly tyres.
Hit the start button and that little single-pot engine actually sounds pretty sweet.
With just 21bhp at hand you need to give it plenty of throttle as you head up through the five gears, but that’s part of the joy of this bike. And it really is fun. The seat is low and the bars wide, it’s pretty light and it just makes you want to chuck it around with the throttle wide open.
The shocks and forks do a perfectly adequate job and the ABS brakes are surprisingly powerful.
The RS-13 might be pared-down and minimalist, but somehow it just exudes cool.
Go ahead and try one – I guarantee, at this price, you won’t find anything more fun.