Something to crow about
Alex Taylor has a gift for finding unusually original classic tow-wheelers. The retired Oxfordshire garage owner then makes them gloriously patinated, their finishes telling the stories of long road lives.
This was recognised by the 2018 Most Original award at Stafford show for his Royal Enfield Model G (see TCM, December 2017), and several of his other machines have appeared in these pages. But with the 1950 D1 Bantam featured here, it's personal. For as with many riders of a certain age, a 125cc Bantam, from that year, had been among his first motorbikes, and the one he really cut his riding teeth on.
Early doors
"My very first bike, at 16 in 1968:' Alex told me, "had been a 250cc Royal Enfield, but the gearbox was unreliable. Dad was running the garage then, and one of his customers, a Mr Holmes, offered me the 1950 Bantam, for £4. Mr Holmes had lost an eye, riding along when a bee hit it.
"Ten days after I bought the Bantam, a gearbox selector fell out and went through the bottom of the crankcase. Aluminium welding was a secret art then, but eventually I got it done; meanwhile Mr Holmes offered me £2 back! I didn't take it. And I kept that Bantam for years:'
The 125cc Bantam's renowned longevity and resilience
