More in the tale of RNL 210

I’m afraid that I can’t help Keith Mitchell as regards the present whereabouts of RNL 210 (‘Looking for RNL 210’, Letters, OBM442) but I can fill him in on its early history.

His letter caused a bit of a stir in my parents’ household. My stepfather Jim Wood picked up his copy of OBM while I was there, and, upon reaching the letters page, exclaimed: “That’s my bike!"”

It turned out that he’d purchased RNL 210 in November 1959 having decided that he wasn’t too enamoured with the handling of his year-old Tiger 100. The bike was ordered from Larry Foreman, who at that time ran a one man and a mechanic motorcycle business based in Berwick-upon-Tweed. Larry phoned Bracebridge Street while Jim was there to place the order, but the bike wasn’t just a standard ‘99’. It was one of the first with a slimline frame and had twin carbs, high-compression pistons and polished ports being, I believe, a forerunner of the SS models.

The bike arrived by train at the dealers in November but, not wanting to use the bike until January, Jim asked Larry if he would keep the bike for a couple of months. Apparently, Larry was only too happy to oblige and the bike held pride of place in the workshop window until January 1960 when Jim picked it up.

The bike being Jim’s only transport, it racked up some

40,000 miles during his three years of ownership, following which it was bought by Bill Sample as part of a deal in which a 350 Manx Norton came Jim’s way.

I believe that Bill Sample ran a car sales business and, although he used the bike for a spell, there was a motor dealer who would call every now and then to buy cars for shipment to the south of England. One such transaction included the Norton, which would explain its journey to Essex.

It’s great to see that the bike still exists, and I’ve included a picture of the Norton in her Sunday best and also one of the Manx which replaced it.

Hopefully your readers will find the above tale of some interest.