My Dad – and his bikes
A love for old bikes – and classic bike magazines – has led to a trip down memory lane for one CBG reader and his daughter
Maria Camilleri-Fischer shows us her father’s collection of bikes
Originally, this story came via a problem. The daughter of a reader, Maria CamilleriFischer, who lives in New York, USA, but buys a subscription to Classic Bike Guide for her father, Michael, who lives in Malta, had an issue with said subscription. We subsequently got onto the topic of old bikes, as one does, when we realised it may be of interest to others. Michael moved continents, but his love of old bikes still exists, even when living on a small island like Malta, where parts are not so easy to get! I’ll let Maria take the story from here...
Your gesture to mention my dad and his bikes in a future issue inspired me to document his love for his bikes, and I am in the process of creating a personal book. Growing up with a biker dad, we have plenty of memories and stories. I’m sharing with you way more than you asked for. Here’s what I put together so far.
My father, Michael Camilleri, was born and raised on the island of Gozo, Malta, which was a British colony at the time, and he grew up with a love for British bikes. At 17, he bought his first motorcycle, a Matchless G3. At 20, he immigrated to the United States, taking his bride, Grace. He purchased a 1971 Norton Commando in the mid-1970s.
By the end of the 1970s, Japanese bikes became popular. He sold his beloved Norton and purchased a brand new 1980 Yamaha XS1100 SG. This bike was the start of his collection. Then the American bikes lured him, and he bought a 1992 HarleyDavidson 883 Sportster. Then came along the 1980 Honda CM 200T, for ease of use compared to the Yamaha and Harley.
My folks returned from the USA to their home country, Malta, to retire, bringing Dad's bikes from the States with them. He began restoring his first bike, a dead and rusty 1948 Triumph TRW 500 sidevalve that he purchased 20 years before on a short visit to Malta. He then purchased a 1960 BSA Super Rocket from a friend, already restored to showroom condition. My dad's next two restorations were a
1960 Tiger Cub and 1961 Tiger Cub. These were in quite a state and took some work.
In a different direction and on the word of a friend with connections to his homeland, Poland, Dad purchased a 1969 Ural M63 outfit and it made its way from Poland to Malta within a week.
Every Sunday, an ‘old timer' bikers' group my dad belongs to meets up and they all go for a 10 to 12-mile ride. He still rides, rotating which bike he uses, keeping all their parts moving and fresh.
Dad is getting older now and starting to slow down – slightly. Eight bikes later and he is considering another bike purchase. Personally, I think it will be that Norton he parted ways with long ago. My distant memories of helping him hold a flashlight and polishing the chrome between the wheel spokes (my small fingers fitted perfectly in places my dad couldn't reach) may be fading, but his love for classic bikes remains – and so does his love for classic bike magazines. They have been alongside Dad for a good part of his riding life since finding the first one in a newsstand in New York. He now waits for my annual gift subscriptions by his post box in Malta. Magazines inspired and continues to inspire Dad to buy, restore, rebuild and maintain his bikes.
Articles of other like-minded owners keep alive the history of bikes long gone. Magazines have opened up the world for my dad, with limited resources on such a small island, creating connections to finding everything he needs to fuel his passion for classic bikes.
The world of classic bikes seems a lovely one!