• Welcome to this forum . We are a worldwide group with a common interest in Birmingham and its history. While here, please follow a few simple rules. We ask that you respect other members, thank those who have helped you and please keep your contributions on-topic with the thread.

    We do hope you enjoy your visit. BHF Admin Team

Motorcycle Shops

boilerman said:
I get that Richard, it is what it is, as the yanks say.
I've had fast bikes, and cruisers and all sorts, but I keep going back, to ,as you say, the look.
Then there's the smell of the bike shop, but thats another thread:D
Click to expand...
It’s the Castro R that gets in your veins or maybe the Duckhams as well :cool:.
 
Eric Gibson said:
I knew Len Vale-Onslow way back in the 1950s, he had a shop in Handsworth. This might interest you bikers/ex bikers.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/birmingham/features/2004/05/vale_onslow/vale_onslow.shtml

https://www.vale-onslow.co.uk/
Click to expand...
Hi Eric, I bought my first pudding basin from Onslo’s shop on soho road Handsworth, even before I started riding so my mate Keith from work could take me on his Bonnie to follow the vintage rally around the inner circle bus route on Sunday, this would have been 1967, I bought my tiger cub from H&L Motors on Dudley road in 1968. Happy Days
 
bobby b said:
Whe was the Birmingham Speedway rider who had a Motor Cycle shop on the Birchfields road, was it Harry Bastable ??? I used that shop guite often as i worked on the Birchfields road just below chain walk anyone Know Bobby b
Click to expand...
Hi mate, Harry Bastable and Bob Joiner set up the bike training course in Smethwick that I attended ‘67/‘68
 
Racers used "R" as the main lubricant but it can sludge an engine up. It was only recommended for use when racing engines were stripped down regularly to replace rings and be overhauled due to the normal than usual wear caused under racing conditions and if left in an unused motor for any considerable length of time it would sludge.
Castrol R is a vegetable based oil The oil can turn into a jelly if mixed with mineral oil so its not recommended.
1746356547325.jpeg
i put some in my fergie tractor fuel tank what a nostalgic pong come out the exhaust pipe:laughing:
 
Pete Elliott said:
Hi Eric, I bought my first pudding basin from Onslo’s shop on soho road Handsworth, even before I started riding so my mate Keith from work could take me on his Bonnie to follow the vintage rally around the inner circle bus route on Sunday, this would have been 1967, I bought my tiger cub from H&L Motors on Dudley road in 1968. Happy Days
Click to expand...
I bought my Aviakit (sp) Trackstar helmet about two weeks before I got my used BSA from Oxford Motors on Bristol Rd.
 
mw0njm. said:
Racers used "R" as the main lubricant but it can sludge an engine up. It was only recommended for use when racing engines were stripped down regularly to replace rings and be overhauled due to the normal than usual wear caused under racing conditions and if left in an unused motor for any considerable length of time it would sludge.
Castrol R is a vegetable based oil The oil can turn into a jelly if mixed with mineral oil so its not recommended.
View attachment 201327
i put some in my fergie tractor fuel tank what a nostalgic pong come out the exhaust pipe:laughing:
Click to expand...
Yes, engine sludging was a by product of R. As an aside, engine sludging was problematic on Ford car engines in the late 60’s early 70’s.
 
fatfingers said:
Anybody else remember the old chap with the dusty old shop at the top of Cape Hill ? Globe Motorcycles I think. I'm talking late 60s, but the shop looked like it had been there for years, if you wanted something strange, or needed to 'improvise' he always had an idea, and then sold the stuff really cheap. He mustve had loads of loose piston rings, bearings etc out the back, he just used to disappear for a bit then come back with something to fit.

Was great for me, running old wrecks, he helped me out no end of times.
Click to expand...
I remember globe motorcycles, he always had what ever you wanted, and those long waterproof coats and gauntlets hanging by the door looked great . Happy memories
 
JonnyH said:
Hi everyone, new member here. My Dad used to manage H & L Motors on Dudley Road back in the late sixties/early seventies. They were primarily a Triumph dealer but also sold BSA, Norton etc. When that closed he worked at Stirchley Motor Cycles on Pershore Rd and then they opened Kawasaki City in Selly Oak. When I was little I remember going to work with him and going to some old dealers at the time including Ray On The Cape, Hailwood & Gould, Copes, Vale Onslow and many more i can't recall at the moment. I'd love to hear from anybody who may know my dad.
Click to expand...
Was your dad Don, I bought my Tiger Cub from H&L in 1968, I was always in there looking for bits even when I had my tritons, it was a chap called Albert Gauntlet who worked with my brother that told us about the tiger cub for sale. Your dad would have known my mate Keith aka “ Christmas tree “
 
mw0njm. said:
sorry
Click to expand...
New member here and not sure how to start.

I own a Bonneville first sold in 1978 by

Birmingham Motor Cycles Ltd
57 Walkers Heath Rd
King's Norton
Birmingham

I looked up the address and it's residential now so does anyone on here know or remember this shop and who might have owned or worked in sales in it?
 
Kit B said:
New member here and not sure how to start.

I own a Bonneville first sold in 1978 by

Birmingham Motor Cycles Ltd
57 Walkers Heath Rd
King's Norton
Birmingham

I looked up the address and it's residential now so does anyone on here know or remember this shop and who might have owned or worked in sales in it?
Click to expand...
Great start Kit! Welcome to the BHF a great place with wonderful folks, enjoy!
 
mw0njm. said:
i had a couple of isetta bubble cars. lh and rh drive on the passengers side behind the side trim was a huge lump of iron to counter balance the thing when only a driver was in the car to stop it turning over on bends

Lockheed Introduces New Brake with two leading shoes | 24th January 1947 | The Commercial Motor Archive

'Lockheed Introduces New Brake with two leading shoes' first printed in the 24th January 1947 issue of Commercial Motor
archive.commercialmotor.com
Click to expand...
Very belated reply I'm afraid as I've only just found this thread.
I bought a Messerschmitt three wheeler in 1962 from Grays in Small Heath, the first of a lifetime's interest in that unique make. That particular purchase wasn't a happy experience unfortunately due to Grays incompetence but I was hooked. I eventually became the Owners' Club Treasurer, Secretary, Vice President and Vice President and I am still involved with the cars.
In the sixties, I also briefly had a BMW Isetta and a Reliant Regal van both of which had stability problems unlike the Messerschmitt which was very stable.
Here's a photo of my second Messerschmitt Kr200 around 1965 (not the Grays one) and also the four wheeled Tg500 - not mine unfortunately.
Alan
VKG285in1964.JPGMarksTiger.jpg
 
I used to pass Grays in Wellington Road every day on my moped on my way to work in Witton and sometimes stopped to look at the various used three-wheelers they had on display. I subsequently passed my motorcycle test on that single-speed 50cc moped which, in those days, was classed as a motorcycle. Unbelievably now, this entitled me to ride any motorbike of any size! Also I could drive a three-wheeled car under 7cwt on that motorcycle licence which is what I did, mainly attracted by the weather protection and possibly, a heater. Hence I bought the Messerschmitt 620 JMV for 129 gns from Grays in Small heath, an absolute fortune on my £3 a week pay as an apprentice draughtsman. A work colleague came with me to collect the car after work (he had a Bond Minicar) and the Grays man waved us away ensuring us there was plenty of fuel in it. We got as far as Golden Hillock Road (!) when it stopped. We spent ages experimenting with different fuel tap positions, flattening the battery in the process. Grays had closed by this time so we pushed it down to the filling station in Golden Hillock Road and got it push started. My friend went on his way and I got as far as Camp Hill when the drive to the back wheel had completely gone. In frustration, I pushed it into a corner in Bowyer Street and went home on the bus (three buses) to West Bromwich. I called Grays the next day from work in a not too happy tone and they said they would collect the car. A few days later they called me at work (we didn't have a telephone at home) and said that they had rebuilt the clutch and it was ready to collect.
A few days later, I went on the bus from Witton to Small Heath (the no. 8 circular I think it was) to get the car. I had never driven/ridden anything with more than one gear or car-type pedals and I can remember sitting outside Grays reading the owners' manual on how to change gear. After a few jerky test drives around the block I finally made it home to West Bromwich. That car had continual overheating problems and I eventually learned that a heat shield was missing from the carburettor and also a rubber duct from the air filter intake to the outside grille. There was also a rubber cover missing from the carden shaft drive to the rear swinging arm. So the mention of Grays strikes a chord with me. However, a chap I met years later also bought a Messerschmitt from Grays and had no problems so maybe I was just unlucky, mind you he did pay quite a bit more for his.
All this didn't deaden my enthusiasm for this make and after a brief flirtation with a BMW Isetta which I didn't like, I bought another, from Perry's in West Bromwich which is the car in the photo I posted earlier.
 
I also had 2 Isetta's (1 x red 1 x yellow) & a Messerschmitt, though I was in my late 40's then, at 16 I worked at MCA ( Motor Cycle Accessories) for a few years, part of Aston Auto's, my first Isetta is now in Japan, the 2nd I am not sure where and the Messerschmitt is in France. My first bike, Triumph Cub, paid £5 plus a new stadium helmet and a leather jacket with tassels also £5 but they allowed me to pay weekly out of my weekly wage of £3, although I have loads pics they are not digital so can't download them.
You could drive an Isetta at 16 provided you removed the linkage to the reverse gear and also a bike bigger than 250cc providing it had a sidecar chassis fitted, those were the days.
 
The reverse gear anomaly on three wheeled cars must have been changed early sixties I think. It had certainly gone by 1962 when I bought my first Messerschmitt.
It was bit nonsensical anyway but the 7cwt weight restriction remained. I suppose it stemmed from a m/c combination having no reverse. The Messerschmitt had a reversing dynastart of course, taking advantage of the fact that a two stroke will run in reverse if the timing is changed.

I remember that Aston Autos on the Litchfield Rd was popular among my motorcyclist friends. One of them had a BSA B31 and I recall him timing me on my moped, which had no speedometer , at a maximum speed of 23mph! I didn't get too many speeding tickets!
 
The Shmitt used to have reverse, stop the engine, switch the points over and start up, in theory 4 speed reverse
 

Attachments

  • 237023881_1869201339931476_3865880275188565692_n (1).jpg
    237023881_1869201339931476_3865880275188565692_n (1).jpg
    580.4 KB · Views: 0
That's correct. You stop the engine, push the ignition switch in, turn to start again and the engine is running in reverse. Sounds just the same, same 4 gears in reverse. In theory, 60 mph in reverse, not advisable though. There are two sets of points.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top