But no problem. Have youseen the prices
of RE spares–thoseforBullets,thatis? Order a
new switch online fromaUKsupplier.Delivery
in 48 hours.Ride Triumph in the meantime.
Time passes,much time,suggestto supplier
thatthey mightsupply the switch orrefund
the money.They refund the money without
commentorr eply.Myste rious.Order new
switch fromHitchcocks –which is whatany
sane chap should have done inthefirst place.
Meanwhile,overonfantasy island,I’d been
telling myself thatthe greatincentive to
putting the mighty Bullet back on theroad
wassot hatIcouldride somethingwhich
hasatl east classic pretensionsto the RC
Reader Meet in NorthWales.And...takea
deep breath, gentlereader,I’d decidedthat
although the 1971 T100Cwould without
doubt bewell up to the trip,Iwasn’t surethatI
was. Which is ofcourse feeble.But honest.The
Bullet...takeanother deep breath, is easierto
ride at 70 than theTiger;thefifthgear makes
all the difference. Andith as a(previously)
reliable electric hoof,which i sagood thing
afterafew hundred miles in the saddle.
OK.Plan B, then.Afte rsome serious
scratching of thehead,mildterrorattacks
and copious decentwhiskey,IconcludedthatRCreaderswould be crushingly
unsympathetic ifIrolled upto TheOld Stores
Motorbike Café at metr opolitanPontblyddyn
aboardamighty American behemoth.AndI
am asensitivesoul,asy ou mayknowalready.
Which leftonlythe Triumph, of which I
have already writ quitealot,and which is
almost as perfect alocal bike as the Bullet.If
anythingcould ever be as perfect as aBullet,
of course.And the Scrambler hasluggage,in
the form of acreativelittle contrivancewhich
appearsto be constructedout of leather,
plastic andwaxedcotton.Atruly hipster
bag,with special pockets inside and outside,
presumably soIcan carry those essential
supplies of beardoil,moustachewaxand
sharpshoeswhich severalRC readers appear
to believeare crucialto my lookingcool.
Lookingcool? OnaTriumph?The only person
to achievethatwas SteveMcQueen.
Luggagewasn’t actually an issue,ast he
Better Thirdwould be aboardour tricycle,
which hasvast storage capacity–handy
when she’s cartingwetsuits and similar
stuffaboutthe countr y. So all Ineededto
worryaboutwasapairofovertrousers and a
change of gloves, because theforecast wasn’t
entirelyconfinedtobeaming sunshine and
gentle breezes.Fitting the BSAwith astand andgetting it offthe
bench freed up thejack foralittle chain lubing
on theTriumph. Whyfolk makesuch afuss about
centrestands we havenoidea
Frankdidn’t ride hisAmerican monsterbecause it
would be the onlyone there.Except for the several
others,ofc ourse.Rider of this handsomeSportster
revealedthatunlikeconverting aMatchless 350to
a500, whichcanbeveryvibratory, converting an
883 Sportsterto 1200 is smoothandeasy. Howso?
Because H-D makethe 1200 pistonsthe sameweight
as the 883.Simple whenyouknowhow...Subscribe and save:www.Real-Classic.co.uk/subs AUGUST 2019 I111