Nostalgia ain't what it used to be....

I had a bit of a treat on the ride to work this morning – pulling up at some lights I notice in front of me an old BSA Bantam, chugging away ready for the off. It is always very interesting to look over (and, given its size, down) at what is one of the forerunners of modern-day bikes. Sadly, I didn’t get the opportunity to speak to the rider but I would imagine that this was an early-mid 1950s bike, probably a 125cc or possibly the 175cc version, and although it wasn’t in 100% pristine condition it certainly wasn’t in bad nick and sounded remarkably perky for its age.

And it has history. This was a bike that helped change the landscape in post-war working-class Britain. Originally costing a fraction more than £80, workers could buy a Bantam in a few months and then had the blessing of mobility. No longer did they have to live in sight of their workplaces or rely on buses or trams. The Bantam opened up the world for a lot of people.

Seeing a bike like that, it is impossible not to compare it with the slicker machines of today. I was alongside it on a 2009 Z1000, there was a BMW K1200 there, as well as an R6 – all with the benefit of years of technological advancement since the days when the Bantam was leading the way. Personally, I love to see old machines like that on the road. Years ago, I worked in sales in a bike showroom and the boss was a collector of old bikes – and it was always a treat for me that he kept a fully working Velocette K from 1926 on display in the shop (he had several more at home).

Ok, in the Bantam’s case it wouldn’t necessarily be a particularly comfortable ride compared with today’s bikes – the shocks looked like bedsprings and the rear tyre looked like it had been taken from a kids’ bicycle - but it was zippy enough and in traffic kept up with the pace well. And I love the fact that someone has taken the time and effort to keep a near 60-year old bike on the road, rather than it sitting in bits or gathering dust in a shed somewhere.

But that wasn’t the end of my trip down yesteryear. Seeing a Bantam was nice enough but further down the road I happened across two lovely old cars – an E-type and a Mk2 Jaguar. Again, one immediately makes the comparison with the charmless monstrosities that pass as cars these days. Years ago, cars had character and many of the good ones were British – the E-type and Mk2 Jags being perfect examples. Others might be the old MGB Roadster (one of my favourites – especially in British Racing Green - below), the Mk 1 and Mk 2 Rovers, Triumph’s Stag, the Jensen Interceptor, even the Mini Cooper and Ford Capri…. Yet nowadays the roads are flooded with nondescript box cars and bloody people carriers (the bane of my life and always driven by morons).

So, like I say, this morning’s commute was a real treat.…