motorbike heaven

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Posted: Mon Mar 23, 2015 1:18 pm

I know there are a few motorbike fans around here, so I thought I'd share a couple of photos. Mrs fire and I took a chilly trip to the British seaside and found ourselves at the end of the annual Pioneer Run: pre-1915 motorbikes taking to the roads in large numbers (more than 300 finishers).

Not knowing much about 100+ year old motorbikes I was highly impressed at their ability to cover the 20 hilly miles amid the ordinary weekend seaside traffic - but even more impressed at how rapid the technical developments were in those early days.

Wouldn't want to have to stop quickly in traffic!

Elite Baiter Joined: 21 Jan 2010 Posts: 1474

Biker here. I've seen a few of these at a steam gathering near me every year and they are absolutely terrifying. I can't believe it's possible to buy tyres that skinny anymore. A lot of them of that age seem to be just sturdy bicycles with a Heath Robinson engine crammed in the frame.

Posted: Mon Mar 23, 2015 3:03 pm

Definitely! the one on the right in the upper photo is just such a beast: bicycle drivetrain on the right side and a (non-geared) heavy canvas motorised belt drive on the left. And a ladies' style step-through frame no less.