The power of V
Looking through the top 10 of my most memorable machines, which I did in the summer (July 2020 issue) of last year when we were under lockdown conditions, I notice that only one of the 10 is a V-twin. But it was number one…
Personally, my default has always been single cylinder machines but that doesn’t mean I haven’t owned quite a few V-twins, now I think of it, ranging from modern Ducatis to a 680cc Zenith, while I’ve ridden many too, from veteran and vintage Royal Enfields, via Francis Williams’ awesome sprinter Thor, a Hesketh, a Voxan (or two) and a plethora of Vincents, Harleys, Guzzis, Aprilias and Suzukis, up to the modern Brough Superior.
In these straitened times, it’s nigh-on impossible to generate original, new content, so I’ll have a look back through some of my V-twin memories, which, I realise, stretch over machines made more than 100 years apart. And while the vintage V-twin, in particular, is a bit of a glamour puss, it’s interesting that some of the V-twins of today are anything but glamorous; my current workhorse, for example, is a V-twin, but, for all its many qualities, a Honda Deauville is never going to top any lust lists.
As a small boy, my childseat was attached into the sidecar of the V-twin Royal Enfield outfit, and a short ride in it, apparently, used to send me to sleep. It’d be put back in the garage, with me
