My first ever motorbike was a BSA A.10 (1953 650cc plunger framed suspension) hooked up to a Watsonian open sports chair. It could be ridden ‘solo’ on a provisional licence with L Plates, and the eventual test was a piece of cake!
After passing my test the chair was immediately unhooked, never to be used again!
I did have a couple of real laughs with the outfit. I was at Poly in Sheffield, working in the local abattoir for a meat marketing company during the sandwich element of a Business Studies degree. One of the perks was very cheap meat, so I bought an entire pig before heading to my parents place in Essex for Christmas. The pig carcass was wedged carefully into the sidecar, wearing an ex-army despatch riders greatcoat, open face crash helmet and goggles, with a long, Dr Who (Tom Baker) style multi-coloured scarf wrapped round his neck!
Bear in mind I was displaying L plates, and to carry a passenger legally meant he/she had to have a full bike licence.
Sure enough, I got a tug from one of Essex’s finest black rats (traffic cop). The look on his face when he realised Percy Pig didn’t require said licence was absolutely priceless!
That pork was the best I ever tasted - great Christmas break.
Hi Debs. It’s a social history thing. Back in the early days of motoring, working class folks couldn’t afford a car so a young feller bought a solo motorcycle. He then got a girlfriend and along came the family. They could not take the baby on the solo bike so a sidecar was attached and the whole family had transport. In 1959, the mini was invented and the popularity of sidecars declined.
BTW, Yeti, I have a mate in Chard who has a Panther and sidecar just like yours.
This apart from the darker shade of red is a carbon copy of a JAWA which is even a little prettier than this and was also more common in Western markets. I have never seen anything that has the same appeal so very impressed.
I’m not a biker myself however one of my favourite TV programmes is The Motorbike Show which gets better every year imo and he’s become a regular in the last couple of series.
And as it happens ITV4 have recently screened s6 & 7 which are likely to be available for catch up on their hub I guess.
Question ( to all forum members who read this:)
Does anyone have ( or had) a Norton commando 961? It seems that unfortunately the brand had a turmoil. What’s the current situation?
Pity the much loved brand get off the rails, once again. It’s probably my dream machine.
Thanks for the input.
I read something regarding the deviation of founds, and government hold the factory to halt until clarification. ( guess it was end of 2019, beginning 2020)
I don’t own a bike. I’m afraid I’ve known too many people for whom it’s not turned out well. That doesn’t stop me finding them objects of desire however!
Chap I know is a lifelong biker and nowadays restores them. His garage and two sheds are wonders to behold. He’s finished another couple since but was the last one I took pics of.
The new TFT display is pretty good and the HP package has a racing tac display that is analogue and pretty nice. I don’t miss the 1150/oil head/1200/hexhead at all. I had grown bored of the boxers, have owned quite a few. The new LC platform is quite special, I started with the 1200 and it’s quite good, but this new 1250 is really special, esp the HP package.
I get it, I wanted to buy a 9T/retro bike, they look amazing. There’s a dakar version I really like. But they’re hexheads, they ride well enough but they have some design aspects I don’t care for. If they ever do these retro bikes on the 12.5 LC power plant I’m all over it.
