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A story of a Honda 90, a beautiful AJS and the wondrously cheap Ural

Steyr,

In the mid 70's in London I road a Honda 90- unfortunately the step-through moped-looking one and not the racy-looking Sport. I decided to get something I could ride out of town and looked at a variety of new and used- my first choice was an old restoration 1950 AJS (I forget the model) a 350CC single- in good condition for the equivalent of about $400. Of course, today I really regret not having bought the AJS- it was beautifully made and for a 350 had a lot of power. I also always liked what the English call "thumpers"- big single cylinder engines, though the prize were the 500CC singles. This was one that got away. If I'd bought the AJS I think I would still have it!

Another motorcycle that fascinated me then was the Moto Guzzi 850 V-twin, but I could never afford the insurance! Or probably the constant repairs,..

I was also tempted by a Ural- which to me resembled WWII-era BMW's. I could be wrong, but I seem to remember that all Urals had reverse- even those sold without sidecars. I would have bought a used one- they were extremely cheap even new- but I went to the London showroom to see the new ones- the new 1944's! The memorable thing about this visit was that the showroom was on the second floor! You went through a narrow door with a straight run stairway and there was this room packed with all these big motorcycles with sidecars. The thing was, they didn't allow test rides and I never saw how they got these big things in and out of the second floor showroom. After having looked at some nice 50's English stuff- including a beautifully made and strange Velocette that had a 2-cylinder 200CC!, the Ural quality- not terrible but not great- and lumpy look, I took Ural off my list. I was also suspicious at the way the Ural plunged in value- 1 year old ones were worth less than half of the price new.

In the end, I never bought another motorcycle. I met a Hungarian pianist who refused to ride on a motorcycle and I bought a 1952 Morris Minor- which used the 1934 Morris 8 918CC sidevalve (flathead) 4 of 28HP- I think the AJS single had almost that much power! When I road the Honda 90 to the insurance company for the Morris, I was hit from the side by a man pulling out to get a view and for my last motorcycle ride, I had my only ride in an ambulance. My souvenir of motorcycle riding can still be seen- the place on my left ankle and foot where the 16 stitches were.

Strangely, for several years I used to drive by a rental shop and in the front was parked a light blue Honda 90- and with a matching sidecar . That must have offered a thrill of up to 30mph!

Ah! Those happy days!

Cheers,

Bambi B


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