Whit’s bikes
From factory Ducati 888s to super-quick Suzuki AP50s, he’s ridden them all, so which are his favorites?
1 BEST TWO-STROKE YAMAHA RD350LC
When I walked to school I tried to go a bit early on a Wednesday so I could pick up my MCN and have a quick 20 minutes flicking through before the bell. And there was this page showing Barry Sheene in his loafers and no socks standing with a white and blue machine and I thought: bikes aren’t ever going to get better looking than that. Before the LC, bikes had square tanks and metal mudguards… this was the best looking bike ever. MCN’s festive robin has his beady eye on Whit’s LC I started racing soon after and the paddocks were full of them. They were dead reliable, you could throw them into a tree and they’d still work.
Everything about them was perfect with none of the complicated stuff they put on the later ones like the RD500.
Ten years later so many lads who’d started on them – Mackenzie, Bosworth etc – were in grands prix. Just a great bike.
2 BEST MOPED SUZUKI AP50
I’m a FS1-E man cos I had one at 16, but in actual fact I lied about what’s the best 50. The best is anything with that little disc-valve A series Suzuki engine. AP50, AS50, AC50, TS50. I’ve restored loads of them.
3 BEST REALLY OLD BIKE BROUGH SUPERIOR SS100
Every one of them was tested to 100mph. Can you imagine 100mph in the 1920s? Cars could only manage about 30mph and even aeroplanes weren’t doing 100mph!
BEST BRIT 5 TRIUMPH STREET TRIPLE
Affordable, fun and right up for a wheelie anywhere, even in the car park. Right from the off they were great, and there’s always at least one going well at a trackday.
4 BEST 600 YAMAHA YZF-R6
I love ’em. Before the R6 there was the Thundercat and suddenly this was at a different level. And it’s been a benchmark ever since. In fact I think 600s like the R6 could even be the future of sportsbikes: light, relatively simple and without ridiculous amounts of power. When I raced for the Belgarda WSS team they gave me a road-going R6 to mess about on. Trouble is my race bike had a push button quickshifter on the left bar and when I jumped on the road bike I kept pressing the horn to change gear. The neighbours thought I was bonkers and couldn’t work out why I went off up the road tooting my horn.
6 BEST SUPERBIKE (WITH CARBS) YAMAHA OW01
I’d love one (and an R7). It’s a proper race bike because Yamaha were dead good at building homologation specials back then. It looks right and brought the best out of so many people; remember Anders Andersson?
7 BEST MODERN SUPERBIKE DUCATI 1098
A brutal, hideous thing, but what a tool. Just riding steady or in traffic it was such hard work: too high geared with a grabby clutch, it made you look like a s**t rider. Then when it stretched its legs it made you feel like the best rider in the world.
8 BEST ADVENTURE BMW R1200GS
After five miles on one you just wanna get off and set fire to it. After 500 miles you start to think: actually, I quite like this. Then you notice how your shoulders and bum aren’t hurting, and begin to appreciate that magic carpet ride.