IN COMING!
THE PERFECT PANTHER?
I'd always wanted a Panther, so I bought a 1929 500. The restoration/ resurrection took ten years and included such horrors as a rear axle made of hand-filed rebar, rusted through spokes and a monumental crack in one crankcase. All the bits that weren't worn out were wrong. It was a nightmare.
However I did finish it and, although challenging to ride, I do enjoy it. It is tiring to ride and needs constant attention, but you do get a sense of achievement when you get where you are going. Is it my favourite bike? No, it's not.
The bike I really wanted was a Panther Model 100, the rigid one with the Dowty forks. A few years ago I was able to buy one and finish off a stalled project.
Do I like it? I love it. It can be a pig to start but I am getting better at it every time, and it is a joy to ride, especially up here in the north of Scotland where the traffic is not so heavy. Tonk-tonk-tonking through the mountains with the sun out is just about the best thing I have ever done on a bike. Will I keep it? You bet! For as long as I can kick it over.
Andy Loosemore, member 1713
And there is of course one of the very best owners' clubs in the entire galaxy! Frank W
GOODBYE TO BILL
I was so sorry to hear that Bill Crosby has died. He tried really hard with the London Motorcycle Museum. As you know he was a Triumph man and his motorcycle shop in Hanwell was popular with the local lads. The museum was only a five minute ride from our house when we lived in Greenford. I went to some of his open days at the LMM, and these attracted quite a lot of interest. I had my Kawasaki 440 on display there, but some people were put off it when they saw the badge on the tank it wasn't British!
Another string to Bill's bow was his annual Santa's grotto at the museum. A lot of work went into this and it was absolutely brilliant, well worthy of some of the big London stores! We have some very fond memories of the museum.
Roy Workman, member 109
Sad news indeed. Bill and Pippa supported Rea/Classic from its earliest days - I remember delivering stacks of the first issue to the Reg Allen shop. Couldn't stop for a cuppa because the van was parked on double yellow lines! Later, Bill and his tight-knit team generously hosted several RC ride-in gatherings at the LMM and provided a warm welcome for Enfield enthusiasts during my Round Britain Ride. He'll be much missed on the classic motorcycling scene. Rowena
CLUCKING FUN!
I see that there is an article about an Ambassador with a Villiers engine coming up. Here's my Bantam with its 4T Villiers engine. It goes great and really suits me: light, easy to kick over, throw around the country lanes and pick up if I drop it. It was built by Louis Cowan; a great guy and an excellent engineer. It's a green-laner not a long distance tourer, but lots of fun!
Alf Taylor-Smith, member
The Ambassador feature may indeed appear in this month's magazine ... although this letters page will be finished before all the other features so nothing is entirely certain! See what fun we have, assembling each issue in much the same way as Frank builds bikes in The Shed ... Rowena
AN OLDER AJAY
In RC 191, Mr Whitehouse asked for an image of the rarely-seen 1936 AJS Model 18. This one was restored by my grandfather in Australia.
J Crebert
Nice to
