OLD BIKE AUSTRALASIA: 31UNIVERSAL B50 METEOR
although running, needed a bit of TLC to the ignition, brakes and clutch. It was
perfect for me, the guy liked my Harley and with the deal done the big Swiss
four-stroke was loaded into my van and back home in the workshop it was
time to get acquainted with my new bike. It was obvious that it was much too
good to restore and just needed a few jobs to make it rideable. Getting it road-
worthy gave me an insight into the workmanship and quality that had gone
into the overall design when the B50s were manufactured in the ‘fifties and
early ‘sixties and in many ways it was superior to many BMWs I’ve worked on.
In the first summer I used it in several Bath and VMCC runs and understandably
it always created a lot of interest. Through a Swiss friend I managed to obtain a
bit of history of the company and a photo of a similar machine when it first
rolled off the production lines in 1960. It transpired that the
model I’d acquired was a B50 Meteor which unlike the standard
Universal twin came with an Italian styled petrol tank which
wouldn’t have looked out of place on a Ducati. We discovered➢ABOVE Familiar looking
headlight/speedo
arrangement.
ABOVE RIGHT Swiss-made
OBA carb hides under
a neat cover.