Like you Mailman I lusted after a Beezer for several years. I'd buy all the latest classic bike magazines as soon as they came out and read them from cover to cover and dream of owning one.
For many years I carried out Surveys of Schools and often covered 200-250 miles a day over 4x Counties .In between Schools I'd find a nice shade tree somewhere in the countryside and settle down for half an hour with a flask of coffee and my sarnies and those mini breaks kept me sane and got me through some tough years.
Finally I found a cheap BSA Spitfire for sale .It had apparently been renovated and had a replacement 500cc engine and single carb but it looked great in the picture so I hired a van and drove for hours to buy it . it was a dog ....it wouldn't start it had bits missing but i fell for it and gave him a huge wedge of cash and brought it home.
A few weeks later I proudly rode it to a local garage to get it MOT tested. The vibration was truly epic, my hands feet and bum were completely numb after riding it just 8 miles to the garage. On riding out of the garage after the test, the front wheel jammed and I went flying over the handlebars under the front of an oncoming car narrowly avoiding getting run over. it transpired later that the front drum lining had separated from the shoe and jammed the brake on .....it was like hitting a wall .
Long story short I never rode it again . A short while later I broke my back and had to sell it . It was nearly 5 years before I could walk properly again and in that time, prices of British classic bikes had gone through the roof .
For many years I carried out Surveys of Schools and often covered 200-250 miles a day over 4x Counties .In between Schools I'd find a nice shade tree somewhere in the countryside and settle down for half an hour with a flask of coffee and my sarnies and those mini breaks kept me sane and got me through some tough years.
Finally I found a cheap BSA Spitfire for sale .It had apparently been renovated and had a replacement 500cc engine and single carb but it looked great in the picture so I hired a van and drove for hours to buy it . it was a dog ....it wouldn't start it had bits missing but i fell for it and gave him a huge wedge of cash and brought it home.
A few weeks later I proudly rode it to a local garage to get it MOT tested. The vibration was truly epic, my hands feet and bum were completely numb after riding it just 8 miles to the garage. On riding out of the garage after the test, the front wheel jammed and I went flying over the handlebars under the front of an oncoming car narrowly avoiding getting run over. it transpired later that the front drum lining had separated from the shoe and jammed the brake on .....it was like hitting a wall .
Long story short I never rode it again . A short while later I broke my back and had to sell it . It was nearly 5 years before I could walk properly again and in that time, prices of British classic bikes had gone through the roof .
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