‘The highs and lows of autojumbles’

A freezing January Saturday and I’ve a pitch at 2019’s first Kempton Park autojumble. It’s quiet and there are lots of gaps between the pitches: it’s the poorest trade turnout I’ve seen for a few years.

To one side of me is an early Yamaha FZR600 Genesis in immaculate original condition and a mere 20,000-odd miles on the clock. Asking price is £2000 which, as always, would be subject to negotiation. On the other side is a very decent original Suzuki DR125 trailie. Continental import but UK registered. It starts on the button, revs cleanly, and somebody snaps it up for £850, a ton off the asking price. My mate Andy and I agree: it’s a good buy.

On the other hand, somebody thinks four grand is a fair price to ask for a Moto Guzzi V50 (it isn’t) and there’s a very early (L-reg) Kawasaki ZX-9R. Repainted in E-model colours, it looks good from a distance but close to you see that everything (frame, ancillaries, you name it) is covered in gloss black. It doesn’t want to start and when it does, only runs on three. Asking price is a grand. No takers.

The best bike I see is a restored 1957 BSA A7: a classic 500cc twin. It looks gorgeous, runs beautifully, idles like a metronome and £5000 doesn’t seem a lot. Even Andy, who’s into these things but aware of their shortcomings, reckons it’s a peach. My cash wad twitches. I don’t buy but now I wonder if I should have done. Everyone ought to own an old British classic at some point...