Pair of lads on a 'built like a bridge' Francis Barnett from the mid twenties. For those that don't know, the built like a bridge triangulated frame Francis Barnetts were ingeniously designed for cheap manufacture: the frame was made up entirely from straight sections of tubes bolted together. The forks were the same design too with a big rubber buffer for the springing. A sound piece of design and in practice very strong and durable. The boast was that broken down the frame would easily fit in to a golf bag but woe betide the restorer who doesn't make drawings before dismantling! Most of the earlier bikes were fitted with 148cc Villiers motors with later ones up to 344cc two stroke twins. Francis Barnett even had success at Brooklands in the hands of British Two Stroke Club founder Tommy Meeten. A testament to their strength is that folks have even built home-brewed specials with engines as big as 750cc v-twins fitted. A proper design classic.

Tis a small machine hiding under this intrepid pair, probably a Velocette GTP from the early thirties. Looks like they are off on a journey considering that knapsack she is carrying and his small suitcase. I would say that she's a keeper if she tolerated the discomfort of being perched on a pad on the tail of a small rigid framed two stroke machine carrying a heavy knapsack on a long journey...

A great pair of spats she is wearing as weather protection for the legs.

Posing with an Excelsior Autobyk from the late forties/ early fifties. Autocycles achieved popularity as cheap postwar transport for a nation eager to get on the move again and are generally defined by a 98cc engine capacity, open frame, pedals and usually a clutch is fitted but no gears. With most of the glamour expensive machinery sent abroad for the postwar export drive autocycles were one of the few two wheelers more freely available. The Autobyk was and is considered one of the best of the bunch.

The Autobyk was introduced in 1937 and was originally fitted with the Villiers Junior powerplant. Production ceased in 1939 for the War and resumed in 1946. For 1947 the Super-Autobyk was introduced, this model was fitted with Excelsior's own 'Goblin' engine which was unique amongst autocycles in being fitted with a two speed gearbox. Later in 1947 Excelsior introduced the Autobyk de Luxe which was powered by an Excelsior 'Spryt' motor- the same engine as used by Brockhouse in the Corgi scooter. The Autobyk was discontinued in 1956.

Read more on Andrew Pattle's Moped Archive.

The third Nifty Run that I've turned up to but previous times other commitments have meant that I could just be a spectator for the start and then have to nip back home. This time was to be different, I had the time, I had the bike. I prepped the Gilera 175 Sport and it was running sweetly. The ride over was a slog on a long straight road with a small bike but it was running like a Swiss watch. Then just before arriving I decided to take a quick stop for the call of nature, on starting again the Gilera was misfiring and refused to clear up. Pulling in at the start of the run I noticed a fairly severe fuel leak from the tank. That sealed my fate, once again I was a spectator and had to head off home straight after everyone else had set off.

The decision to ride home or call out assistance was a tricky one but in the end I cleaned out the carb and that made the bike run sweet again. The fuel leak though I trusted to the gods that I wouldn't be incinerated on the bike and decided to ride it. In the end all worked out well, the leak was at the top of the tank so the more I rode the less the leak and rider and bike arrived home unburnt.

Unusual to see pictures of an AJW. One of the very few motorcycle manufacturers to hail from the shire of Devon, AJW was formed in 1926 by a chap called Arthur John Wheaton. Production was always limited and it continued up until 1939. Postwar the company changed hands and moved to Bournemouth where production of motorcycles became yet more limited. There was another change of location when the company moved to Wimborne and became Dorset's second motorcycle company after Pouncy.

This isn't a quality photo by any stretch of the imagination but I like these images of regular folks and their bikes. The everyman's camera wasn't a precision instrument back then and in the pre-digital age you had to take a picture and then hope it came out well. If it didn't you probably kept the photo anyway as it had cost you. Very few are the photos taken by the common man of the era that are fine in artistic quality but they all tell a story and are snapshots of a lost time.  

Here's the 'abridged list' catalogue of Francis Barnetts for 1954.