By Royal appointment

After a series of dalliances spanning 40 years Graham Hawkins’ search for two-wheeled true love is finally over. He’d been in a quandary for decades about whether to opt for the romance of a classic Lambretta, which had many of the attributes he liked – curvaceous shape, stylish looks and tempting two-stroke sweet talk. But these Italian lovelies always seemed to let themselves down by displaying one trait Graham can’t abide… unreliability, leading to lateness or, worst of all, no show at all. For a man who prides himself on being punctual, this flirtation with the unpredictable was doomed to failure.

So over the years he researched the motorcycle family tree instead, buying himself a range of manly bikes including a Yamaha Virago and a BMW F650CS. All perfectly fine, all perfectly reliable, all perfectly suitable, but the only spark was from the plugs. Now he’s found the love of his life in a Royal Alloy GP300 which not only has gorgeous cream bodywork but also offers a cheap date… as a true Yorkshireman, he couldn’t say no to a lady that he can take out for under £7 (per tank of fuel) and who won’t throw a hissy fit in the middle of nowhere.

Helping to matchmake man with machine was the team at GP Motorcycles in Grantham, Lincolnshire. While coronavirus rampaged across the world, there were delays in shipping these Chinese-manufactured

Lambretta lookalikes to British shores, leading to frustration for Graham as he watched other owners post pictures of their new scoots on the Royal Alloy Owners’ Club Facebook page.

Finally, in mid-October, his dream date arrived in the UK. In suitable attire, Graham has been enjoying exploring the leafy lanes of Lincolnshire with his pride and joy and looking forward to those heady summer days and trips to the coast where he can join hundreds of other like-minded enthusiasts. Words and photographs:

Pauline Hawkins

RIGHT: Graham, l eft, with GP Motorcycles technician Vic Brown.