Reach for the sky!

The rear ends of modern motorcycles seem to be getting ridiculously high, resulting in top boxes that are almost at shoulder height and completely behind the rear wheel. Any passenger intrepid enough to mount the tiny and aptly named pillion perch is likely to find their legs almost doubled up and a mudguardless wheel behind.

While my Honda CB250 is not as vertically challenging, getting aboard is something of a problem for my deteriorating 82-year-old knees and ankles. As it’s not always possible to park by a convenient kerb, I made my own step. Basically a bracket in the shape of a reversed letter ‘L’, the outer ends of the base pivot on the end of the footrest while the weight of the rider is taken by the longer leg. When not in use, the long leg sits behind the sprocket cover and the base behind and below the footrest, although no lower than the original hero blob. Should extend my 66 years’ riding life by another year or so!

Geoffrey Huck, Huddersfield