Mike Jacksonbelieves theScorpion-badged ones
only amountedto“acouple of thousand”beforethat
companywound up in 1980, and that in the end only a
few thousand Easy-Riderswere producedoverall. Mike
thinks itwasagood product,with the two-speed engine
“unburstable”. ButNVT’sfinancial andbusinesscollapse
did for it.
What wasitlike?
Kenagreesabout the Easy-Rider.He’dtaken his,along
with an NSUQuickly, around CheddarGorgeand found
theywentuphills at acomparable rate.“It canhold
35mph all day.Ireallylikemopeds,”hewenton, “as
they’rethe mostfun you’ll everhave –yourfirst bike,all
yourmates onsomethingjust thesame...”That spirit
pervadedour test, thoughwith my ownvillagepals back
in the dayithad been 125c cBantams andscooters.
So Iwas astran gertomopeds,but theyweren’thard
to lear n. Pull in thesecond, lowerlever on the left-hand
bar and pedal, and the enginecatchesquickly.The
main problem foranoviceiswheretoput yourfeet–I
proceededwith kneesbentand splayedfore-and-aft,
untilIrealised that youcould push thepedals level,
without graunchingthe engine.At105lbtheplot was
indeed wieldy round the corners and the brakeswere
good.Theexhaust smoked underKen’s20:1garden
centrepetroilregime.Thegear shifted up automatically
to second on therevs,and that felt alittle outofmy
control,butingeneral the low-mileage oran ge Rider
waseasyindeed,ifp erhaps alittle uninspiring.Conclusion
Ridingtheseflyweightswasabundle of laughs,and
cheap thrillsat that:the Easy-RiderhadcostKen less
than £500.Beagles canhaveadealer askingprice of
£800butarealworld onecloser to £500, and neither
the Ariel3nor theDandy seemtofetchmuch more.
Unlovedindeed.
Igowith Keninlikingthe solid1950sDandy
(featuredlast month) best,thoughits lo wspeedwould
scarcelybepractic al on today’sroads.But if youwantto
kindle conversations andre-livethe sensations of the
smallcapacityand lightweigh tofwhateveryou started
outon, all fourfitthe Ariel 3’sslogan: “It’snot acar.
It’s not abike. Butit’sfun.”Above:NVT’s50cc
Easy-Rider had
an Ital ianMorini
Franco two-stroke
enginefrom 1979
badge dasaBSA.Right:Pull in the
second,lower
levertomakethe
Easy-Rider’s pedals
work as starters.End
THE CLASSICMOTORCYCLE|SEPTEMBER 2019 49
up |Ultra-lightweights