Ben Berry

says: “I well remember the precise moment in 1973 when my deep passion for motorbikes began. Jilted by a girlfriend for a leather-clad bloke with a bike, it both made me jealous and got me thinking. So I asked a knowledgeable friend: ‘What’s the best bike you can have?’ He reckoned nothing could touch the big Kawasakis of the time, so that was it. Okay so this is a small one, but the largest I could own as a learner back in those days. It was the Kawasaki A1 Samurai: a very quick 250cc, two-stroke twin with 34bhp. Unfortunately the automatic lube system always seemed to play up, and I was forever switching plugs from town to fast riding and eventually, the system packed up entirely and seized the engine! It didn’t quell my passion though as I went on to work within the bike trade for four years!”