Page 20 - the story of motoring

The motorbike story

To be a motorcyclist in the very early days, when the motorcycle was a novelty
(1890s), you had to be a little crazy and be prepared to put up with a lot of
trouble. To begin with, motorcyclists were not popular - their machines were
noisy, smelly and considered a real nuisance. The motorbike itself gave a lot
of problems. At first all a motorbike was, was an ordinary bicycle with an en-
gine clipped on. The engines were fitted high in the frame, e.g. on the handle
bars, which made the whole bike top heavy. If the rider lent over on a sharp
corner, he fell off. There was only one gear which meant that the bike would
stall at every hill, so a greet deal of pedalling was needed. The motorcyclist
had to be rather like an octopus because so many hands were needed to work all
the controls. There were levers for the brakes, lubrication, later for changing
gear and for throttle. There was no suspension which made motorcycling for
long distances painful. The acetylene gas lamps also frequently shook to pieces.
Anyone could be a motorcyclist in 1900. £30 would buy a new motorcycle, no dri-
ving test existed and the riding age was 14. No crash helmets were worn but in-
stead a cap, overcoat and goggles were needed. Although motorcycling was diffi-
cult then, it did give people freedom to go where they wanted when they liked.
It also gave transport to less well off people who could not afford a car.

Pioneer motorcyclists. Note the clothes, lamps and drive belt
The whole family could be taken out if a trailer was clipped onto the back of
the motorbike. Unfortunately the bolt connecting the two was not very strong
and when the rider went around a sharp corner, the trailer and wife would break
loose and depart in another direction. The first side-cars were an improvement
but were only made of wicker cane.
The Golden Age of the motorcycle was the 1920s. Britain made the best motor-
cycles in the world and dominated the market. In sport British bikes reigned
supreme. The great companies of that time were Nqrton, B.S.A., Ariel, Triumph,
Matchless and Douglas. The Brough Superior was called the 'Rolls Royce of Notor-
cycles' because it was so well made and a joy to ride. A buyer then had a great
range of 200 different makes to choose from. The motorbike had improved