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Dad Was a Biker

H

harborne

Guest
Our dad always used to have motor bikes. His first was a Francis Barnett, Reg SOP 535. It was dark green. Then he got a Norton which was brown - Reg NOK 590 because by that time he needed a sidecar. It was a Watsonian I think and I can still remember what it smelt like when it was new. Unfortunately our youngest sister fell out of this (luckily she was unhurt) and dad then progressed to a Gold Flash with a much higher cc; could it have been 1,000...? That was where it ended though because he had a serious accident on that which stopped him riding again. We in our family often like to reminisce about all the different places we'd go. It was considered such a treat; Wales, Bridgnorth, Evesham, Harvington Hall, Stourport. We'd stop at a pub or two depending on how long the journey was and us kids would have a glass of pop and a packet of crisps, we were easy pleased. Dad used to let me polish the chrome on his wheels and I used to bring them up gleaming. Happy days.

Chris :)
 
Our Dad's last bike was also a Gold Flash, it was 650cc with twin carbs
The sidecar was a Swallow 2 seater ( one seat behind the other, which meant it was as long as the bike!)
Swallow Sidecars went on to become Jaguar cars and Watsonian are still making sidecars up in the Malvern Hills!
 
Yes that was the kind dad had. It was coloured gold. The fact they're still making sidecars surprised me, what do they use them for nowadays, or should I say, who do they sell 'em to?

Crom that's a lovely picture thanks, it brings back many happy memories. I didn't realise they were made in Birmingham.

Thanks both of you.

I've got a picture of dad on his Norton somewhere and if I can find it I'll post it.

Chris :)
 
I'm a bit puzzled because I've been looking at some photos of, supposedly, Gold Flashes on the web and they've all got the "Star" motif on the petrol tanks. Now I've always associated that with the "Gold Star"
I clearly remember that our dad's gold Flash had a zigzag lightning flash on the petrol tank and not a star. Anyone else rember this?
 
The combination bikes were normally the GOLDEN Star as opposed to the Gold Star
 
Dad's was a Beezer, can't say I've ever heard of a Golden Star. From what I can remember it looked a lot like Nick's picture. We thought we'd got the Mercedes of motor bikes when we got it!

:D
 
Your right Nick it was the gold flash, which is the picture I posted, notice different tank badges. All nice bikes though O0
 
My dad was a biker too.....He had a 600cc Panther combo..........but he didn't have a long beard or tattoos :)
 
Neither did mine, Frantic, it was a bit later all that came into fashion.

Chris ;D
 
Naah, Nick, it was definitely a Gold Flash. What kind is that?
 
That's the one Nick, the longest stroking 'sloping single' ever made. On the crankcase was a small lever to make kick-starting easier, and if you forgot to lift it you stood a good chance of being thrown over the top of the sidecar. Custom made in Lancashire I believe. Nice Pic.
 
th_BSA20Goldflash202_jpg.jpg
This is a BSA Gold Flash. about a 1952 or 53 model.
 
It's a lovely looking bike isn't it. Dad had his in the early 60s. Thanks for the pic John.



Harborne
 
There is no such bike as a BSA Gold Flash it was a GOLDEN FLASH!

That's were your getting confused maybe?

(Ex Golden Flash Owner POC 754)
 
Dad was always a biker and cyclist,
when he was young he had an old Velocette, and he took the baffles out of the silencer to make it sound more sporty. After watching a film at the Beaufort he came out and started up whereupn a policeman jumped out of the shadows and nicked him for excessive noise, because as the copper said "This wasn't turned out from the factory like this lad" He was decoking it in the front room of where he lived in Maitland Road and he wanted to test it before he had got everything back together, so before he put the carb' back on he soaked a rag in petrol and held it over the intake and swung the kick start, when it fired up the rag was promptly sucked into the engine so he had to strip it all down again to get the rag out. Over the years he had Francis Barnett, B.S.A Triumph, Lambretta, and in latter years Honda and Yamaha. You could go to the end of the world and back on a gallon of petrol and "shot". For many years he was a member of the Beacon Roads Cycling Club and I have got his certificate for his time trial of cycling100 miles in 8 hours on the 8th May 1952.
One funny incident that springs to mind was when he used to cycle to Cloeshill at night for a couple of pints and a chat, he would park his bike outside the Green Man on the High Street I think it was, and at that time there had been 1 or 2 bikes nicked from the area, so he thought to keep his eye on the bike he would park it just outside the front door and leave the front lamp shining across the doorway and sit just inside having his drink, clever you may think, but no, someone was even cleverer, they put a hook or screw in the woodwork of the pub hung the cycle lamp on that and made off with the bike.
All the best Chris B
 
My dad and his dad before him had motorbikes with sidecars, infact quite a few aound the Dog Pool are had them whn I was living there as a small child.:)
 
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