Francis-Barnett Cruiser Sport

I've had a bit of a soft spot for FrancisBarnetts for a while, and think these 250 twins are just adorable. I'd have been more than happy to belt around on one of these as a teenager in 1964, but you can bet they weren't as pretty as this back then.

The Villiers 2T-engined 1963 version is owned by Stuart Elkes, and he rescued it from the shed in 2014 where it had been languishing for 34 years with just 10,000 miles on it. Previous efforts to ham-fistedly restore the Cruiser had been made, with the bike repainted with the engine still in the frame, and someone handy with a drill had put holes where no holes should have been.

Stuart set to work with an eye for fine detail, and ever since it was returned to the road he's been adding more miles to the clock. It's done the Loch Ness Rally twice and the Isle of Man Classic TT four times where it was clocked at 77mph going through Cronk-y-Voddy. “It's lovely to ride and very quick. The roadholding and handling are brilliant and with the Electrex ignition it's a good starter. The brakes have trials shoes which makes a big difference.”

There was little difference between the two Cruisers on the club stand, the other has the 4T engine, which is almost the same as the 2T, but with slightly different finning.