Street motorcycles have always been much closer to their competition counterparts than cars.
For example, today’s 600cc sport bikes are not much less than Supersport racers without the blueprinting. Not surprisingly, then, any winding road near a major conurbation early on a Sunday morning will find team-suited, replica-helmeted riders dicing for honors.
And with the popularity of clubman’s racing in the 1950s, where riders duked it out on the track on lightly-modified Gold Stars, Matchlesses and Nortons, it wasn’t long before the bars-below-the-instruments look was being copied by young street riders emulating their heroes. And with the loosening of credit purchasing, many British working blokes could afford a pretty fast bike.
It is worth comparing power and performance of the cars and motorcycles of the day. My first car, a 1955 Ford Anglia 100E boasted 32 horsepower from its 1,172cc flathead four, giving it a top speed around 70mph with a strong tailwind. By comparison, a contemporary BSA Road Rocket was good for 42 horsepower from half the swept volume and topped out at over the “ton.” And while a 1964 289 Mustang
