There was much of interest in August’s issue of the ‘Guide‘. I was particularly interested in Paul Miles’ encounter with that well known prewar V-Twin. I too was lucky (unlucky?) to sample the delights of one of these machines. Let’s call it a Brough Superior (sic). Barely a couple of minutes into the ride and I needed to go round a sharpish bend, trouble was the beast was not having it. Trying to force it round nearly had me off as the whole plot tried to fall into the corner. The best I could do was gingerly edge it round like a threepenny bit and take it straight back to the shop before I did any damage to it, or, more importantly to myself.
When asked how I got on, I replied that I thought it was dangerous – and not in a fun way. On reflection the experience was more akin to pushing a wheelbarrow full of wet cement. Champions of the marque would have it that this must have been a poorly turned out example (it wasn’t) or that it was down to my ineptitude (always possible).
Whatever, I’m in no hurry to repeat the experience anytime soon. It was, quite simply, the worst motorcycle I have ever ridden. So in one respect I disagree with Paul, that is, we should meet our heroes, then when they disappoint us we can stop wasting valuable bandwidth on them and move on to something that actually deserves our admiration.
Phil Holloway
