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  • The Classic MotorCycle

    101 not out

    Mar 04, 2020 6 minutes
    Words: ANDY WESTLAKE

    This 1919 Model 140 Royal Enfield, owned by Paul Hepworth, is one of the oldest two-wheelers I’ve ever ridden. I was extremely interested in firing it up and taking the stunningly restored machine for a ride, but I wasn’t relishing mixing it with speeding cars and heavy quarry lorries lumbering along the busy roads near Paul’s home in West Wiltshire.

    A first ride on a motorcycle manufactured over 100 years ago, with its modest performance and marginal/ non-existent brakes, is not the ideal tool to negotiate modern traffic conditions, but thankfully salvation to my concerns came in the form of Robert Floyd, who invited me along to the beautiful Edwardian manor house at Great Chalfield to put the 3hp Redditch twin through its paces.

    Built in 1469, Great Chalfield was recently chosen by Country Life magazine as one of the top six finest manor houses in the UK and has been a popular choice for television companies owing to its timeless backdrop. On a cold but bright day it certainly

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