VINTAGE BIKES

Our advice on getting into a relationship with an even older one

VINTAGE is defined as pre-1930, so these bikes are nearly all at least 90 years old. They were built when the national speed limit was just 20mph. There were no spares dealers, workshop manuals were never even published, the brakes are just this side of lethal and, to cap it all, they are among the most expensive of all classic motorcycles. But there you are – if they didn’t have anything going for them, they wouldn’t be expensive.

THE APPEAL

People generally ride classics either because they want to relive some earlier point in their lives or to experience something of a time before their own. When the Vintage Motor Cycle Club was formed in 1946 and set down the 1930 cut-off date for the vintage class, many of its members were indeed reliving their youths, as some of the bikes were as little as 16 years old. Now all those riders are gone, so the appeal of vintage bikes today is that they are a real challenge and present motorcycling in its purest form – you can still detect a little cycle ancestry in the make-up.

WHY 1930?

1930 is important because, by then, the recession that gripped America from 1929 had begun spreading around the globe and manufacturers were forced to make cutbacks that led to a reduction in quality. As a result, the 1920s came to be seen as a golden era, when motorcycles had evolved to a good standard of performance and reliability, but were still made up to a standard and not down to a price.

THE RIDE

Riding a vintage bike is all about effort and reward. If modern bikes can make you look like a great rider, vintage bikes can make you look like a complete buffoon. It’s up to you to master changing gear by hand, and the throttle is also likely to be a lever instead of a twistgrip. There may even be two levers which you need to balance to correct the mixture as you ride, while another enables you to map your own ignition advance curve for different speeds. Oh, and you may also need to manually pump the oil supply as you go.

If this makes it all sound rather difficult it’s because... well, yes, it is. However, that’s why once you have mastered it, riding more modern bikes seems a bit dull. Every ride on a vintage motorcycle becomes an adventure, and you don’t have to go far to enjoy yourself – a rideout to get a newspaper can be as memorable as riding all day on modern machinery.

1 PARTS Although finding spares is tricky, there are ways. These bikes were manufactured on fairly simple machinery and are mechanically tolerant, so it’s not very difficult to make parts (or have them made), and many owners are skilled in this. This makes getting to know other owners very worthwhile.

2 WHICH MAKE? Don’t assume that, as is the case with later bikes, going for a more popular name like BSA is necessarily easier. Sometimes there is much more dedicated owner back-up for more obscure marques. Research this fully before you buy.

3 PERFORMANCE You might be shocked to hear that the performance of vintage machinery is probably better than you expect – the relatively low power output is countered by minimal weight. Few motorcycles of the 1920s will exceed 80mph, but many can reach it; besides, rather like a bicycle, a few mph goes a long way. 4 GO EASY Ride quality is best described as engaging. These machines were designed for a pastoral world, and few are particularly happy to be held at sustained speed – they’re much more content when going up and down the rev range. Lubrication and cooling isn’t ideal for A-roads and they won’t tolerate being flogged to keep up with traffic, so stick to minor roads and you’ll both enjoy the ride. Isn’t that what motorcycling is all about?