Author Topic: Don't be afraid to get old  (Read 374 times)

Offline Greybeard

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Don't be afraid to get old
« on: 03.10. 2020 11:44 »
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Greybeard (Neil)
2023 Gold Star
Supporter of THE DISTINGUISHED GENTLEMAN'S RIDE https://www.gentlemansride.com

Warwickshire UK


A Distinguished Gentleman Riding his 1955 Plunger Golden Flash

Online KiwiGF

  • Last had an A10 in 1976, in 2011 it was time for my 2nd one. It was the project from HELL (but I learned a lot....)
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Re: Don't be afraid to get old
« Reply #1 on: 03.10. 2020 12:06 »
Getting a tad serious, after being at a “drinks evening” (aka party) tonight and a couple of blokes saying they don’t see themselves riding their (bleep) Harleys again.....and so giving up biking........riding old brits on the odd club run seems the answer to me to extending your riding “career”.

And much as I love my golden flash, the b31 rigid is lighter and easier to kick over, so possibly my goto bike as I get older.

But I am long way (I hope) from not being able to take the A10 for a blat (especially today, cos I fitted a belt drive to it). It’s really smooth now 😆

I’ve got two 70+ Ex-riders to accompany me now on club runs on my B31, me on my A10, and them on my B31, they loved it and no I WON’T sell it to them but they can borrow it 😉



New Zealand

1956 A10 Golden Flash  (1st finished project)
1949 B31 rigid “400cc”  (2nd finished project)
1968 B44 Victor Special (3rd finished project)
2001 GL1800 Goldwing, well, the wife likes it
2009 KTM 990 Adventure, cos it’s 100% nuts

Offline RDfella

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Re: Don't be afraid to get old
« Reply #2 on: 03.10. 2020 14:23 »
What about the Invacar, built by Greeves? Copy of info below:
 
Greeves Motorcycles originally started out as a small company in England manufacturing three-wheeled motorized microcars for disabled people.
Bert Greeves had previously worked at the Austin Motor Company, but he set about designing and building a petrol-powered microcar for his wheelchair-bound cousin Derry Preston-Cobb who had been complaining about the many shortcomings of his battery-powered wheelchair.

The new Greeves-designed vehicle was named the Invacar for “invalid car” and was essentially a weather-proof personal mobility scooter. The choice to use a petrol engine rather than an electric motor gave the car class-leading range and speed, and they could be fitted with either hand controls or foot controls.

A special “racing” version of the Invacar was built for Derry who was every bit the speed freak, his high-performance version was fitted with a 250cc racing engine that reportedly gave it a top speed of over 80 mph. There are countless stories from the era of Derry driving the car at high-speed, often flying past motorists much to their surprise, and apparently he needed to be rescued a number of times after flipping it onto its side or roof.
'49 B31, '49 M21, '53 DOT, '58 Flash, '62 Flash special, '00 Firestorm, Weslake sprint bike.