Start your engine (just because you can)

I get it – the popularity of modern classics. They give you the notion of wind in your hair, riding for no particular reason, and give you the ‘cool’ feel that a classic bike has. It’s about the journey, as a lazy marketing man would say. Then, once off the bike outside your local haunt, you can enjoy approving nods as you turn up dressed in a leather jacket and jeans (perhaps even a white silk scarf, for full effect). Hell, hide your helmet, and no one would know how you turned up.

Modern classics are so much easier to live with than a true classic. An old bike involves a lot more than just riding; you have to learn it inside out, how it works.

I normally ride a 650 Tribsa; a BSA A10 frame and gearbox from the 50s, fitted with a 650cc Triumph Thunderbird engine; a common marriage back in the day. I love it, lust after riding it and am happy