RealClassic A LIFE ON BIKES
My interest in old motorbikes goes back to the day I turned 13 in 1956. I lived in Bristol and my friend Dave Sims shared my birthday. On my 13th he was 16 and was given a motorbike. It was a late 1930s 350 Triumph Tiger 80 which had been customised for trials use. The original girder forks had been replaced by BSA telescopic forks and knobbly trials tyres were fitted, protected by alloy mudguards. It sported a high-level exhaust and a large rear sprocket to give very low gearing for climbing those difficult hills.
I was smitten - I couldn't imagine anything more exciting - and I wanted one too. Clearly, at 13 this was an impossible dream, but I wanted something I could tinker with.
A fellow member of the youth club I belonged to told me his father had a disused CycleMaster wheel he wanted to get rid of. I think I paid Mr Morse a couple of bob for it but never managed to do anything with it. I still have it, although a recent inspection showed that the engine number doesn't match the original logbook. I was conned - but I guess technically SHU 852 is the first vehicle I owned.
When I was 14 I got to hear of an abandoned pre-war 350 AJS in a shed. I went to see the owner and asked if he would part with it. He said I could have it - and he wanted nothing for it! Perhaps he was glad to
