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Motorcycle Shops

Just spoke to my mom, as this was such a long time ago I'm getting my memories mixed up, this wasn't the site of Stirchley Motor Cycles but Tafty and my dad were good friends. She thinks he may well have taken over the Stirchley MC premises after dad and Bob move to Selly Oak and Kawasaki City. Actually my dad drove reliants for years as you could drive them on a bike licence' i don't think he took his normal car driving test until in his forties.
 
Back in the day the front yard had 2 rows of bikes, then the showroom was behind that. To get to the workshop there was an opening between the houses to the left and you could ride round straight into the workshop.
 
JonnyH said:
Back in the day the front yard had 2 rows of bikes, then the showroom was behind that. To get to the workshop there was an opening between the houses to the left and you could ride round straight into the workshop.
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I recall going there to look at a Benetti 250 ? (spelling) this would have been 70 ish, also was there a junk yard across the street
 
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JonnyH said:
Hi Grea, I'm sorry I've not heard of the Pavilion Cinema. The Stirchley Motor Cycles my dad worked at was more or less opposite Birmingham Motor Cycles where the Pershore Rd narrows going past the bowling alley towards the Dogpool pub.
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The bowling alley was the pavilion cinema before it became the bowling alley Johnnyh
 
I'm going to visit my mom at the weekend and she has a box of old photos etc of motorcycle dealers/bikes etc I'll post anything that may be of interest to this thread when I've sorted through it. In the meantime thanks to all who have posted since I've joined, you've already jogged a few memories and given me a few names to talk to my dad about. Cheers. Jon.
 
Robert Ensor (bob) said:
Taft's home of the plastic pig those things had a habbit of catching fire,. I remember one Burnt to the ground outside the amusement arcade at the top of Lickey Road
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God, plastic pig, I haven't heard that in years!!! Ever since I could remember my dad drove one and when you were out if you saw another one on the road, you had to acknowledge each other. I remember one time we were going to Sussex (which took about 7 hours in a reliant!) and a guy was approaching us in his pig and looked like he was having some kind of fit behind the wheel he was waving so enthusiastically. Good times.
 
lindev said:
I have already asked this, but as this new thread as been started thought i would ask again, can any one remember charlie bower from wheeler street, he had a motor bike shop and my dad told me he was a dare devil rider and broke his neck or back cant remember what dad said now, but said the show must go on and went on to finish his stint, he was a litle fat man with big rosy cheeks, and always smiling.
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Hi Lindev,

Just picked up on this thread whilst browsing, my dad (Mac) & charlie were good friends during the 50's when my dad worked for Lenny Onslow. He used to run the Stratford Road Shop and if I remember right Charlie (Mr Bowers to me) used to specialise in selling sidecars particularly Watsonians.

Lozellian.
 
JonnyH said:
My Dad worked with Bob Perkins, they were called Stirchley Motor Cycles, virtually opposite Birmingham Motor Cycles on Pershore Rd. It later became a Reliant dealers and I think it may still be there.
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i lived 3doors down from there and remember them taking the motercycles and side car around the back to fix them 60s70s
and yes birmingham motorcycles was over the road oposite bewdley road
 
postie said:
Was the shop on the meadway called EMIS.
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Yes, I bought a new Honda CD 175 from there, and they also had a branch on Hobbs Moat, Solihull where I bought 3 new bikes from; a Suzuki GN 250, a BMW K75 tourer and a Honda CB 500. I now own a Harley Davidson 1200 Sportster which I have had for 21 years.
 
Bob Johnson said:
More Bike Shops?

Coles of Coventry Road of course. Reliant three wheelers.

C & D Autos have now left the Warwick Road and are now based on the Henley Road in Ullenhall

I went to their new premises about a month ago. Still trading in classic bike parts.

Kings.......Didn't they open a SUPERBIKE CENTRE on Bristol St in the 80's?

What was the name of the bike shop in Stirchley?

Didn't they sell three wheelers also.

I still can't picture the Redhouse, I do remember the name, I must be getting old.
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Stirchley Motorcycles.... I nearly bought a 750 Harley Davidson from there in the late 60's but it had a burnt out exhaust valve and I did not want to wait for a replacement to be sourced from America, so I gave it a miss. Wish now that I could have bought it and kept it.
 
tommy said:
i lived 3doors down from there and remember them taking the motercycles and side car around the back to fix them 60s70s
and yes birmingham motorcycles was over the road oposite bewdley road
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Yes quite correct..... do you remember the half Reliant fixed to the first floor frontage of Stirchley Motorcycles ?
 
historywish said:
Yes quite correct..... do you remember the half Reliant fixed to the first floor frontage of Stirchley Motorcycles ?
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Yes I do there is a picture here on BHF of the Plastic Pig
I stole the idea in Long Island New York for a Ferrari dealer with a Ferrari 333 race car on the wall in the showroom.
 
mw0njm. said:
re motor bikes

rupert.was it county motor cycles.
there was a shop in town by sheepcote st.
dereklcg.yer well.coles i worked there for a bit.they did more on toyotas
and piggies,than bikes.
c+d eirnie made my smile.with is cigar,cough cough cough,can i help you sir,cough cough:D:D
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What was the name of the skinny long haired guy at Cole's ? I had a Suzuki 80 in 1969 and went there to look for a bigger tank to make the bike look different. He sent me on my own up into the attic to have a look at the old tanks up there. I found a nice maroon Triumph Speed Twin tank complete with it's little luggage grid and I paid about £6 for it. I never did fit it though as I had no welder in those days and could not mount the tank safely without welding on brackets.
 
Stitcher said:
Lencops,My one brother never married because he spent all his money on M/cycles. When he died about ten years ago I sold his Kawasaki 1300 and a few other bikes. I gave all his books to C&D Autos. They sold them and donated the money to a charity. I used C&D, for my spares when I had BSA Gold Stars but I used V.Onslow for my Triumph spares. I have not been past for a couple of years but last time I looked, C&Ds room was full of all models of the BSA range.
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I used to buy odd bits from V O and Castrol R at 5/7 a pint. One of the sales assistants was a lad called Richard who used to race motorcycles sponsored by V O...... lucky begger. I still have a tobaco tin full of solderless nipples and chain links and fibre washers.
 
dwilly said:
maybe a bit modern for some but there was a dealers at the Fox & Goose, Superbikes on Bristol Road by the ford dealers, one in Stirchley by the bowling alley, solihull by the ice ring, not sure of the names but sure someone will.
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The dealers at Fox and Goose was Kings. They had 2 shops there one sold bikes and the other round the corner on Coleshill Road sold spares. I was with a lady called Val today at our local coffee morning. Val was a young blond girl working at Kings back in those days, now retired like me. You can find us ( and my wife ) any Friday morning 10-30 to 12-00 on our coffee morning at Glebe Farm Library. Oh, and Val also worked for Len Vale Onslow at one time.
 
historywish said:
The dealers at Fox and Goose was Kings. They had 2 shops there one sold bikes and the other round the corner on Coleshill Road sold spares. I was with a lady called Val today at our local coffee morning. Val was a young blond girl working at Kings back in those days, now retired like me. You can find us ( and my wife ) any Friday morning 10-30 to 12-00 on our coffee morning at Glebe Farm Library. Oh, and Val also worked for Len Vale Onslow at one time.
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Regarding the bike shop near Solihull Ice Rink, this was Solihull Motorcycles on Hobbs Moat. The salesman was Terry, a nice guy who sold me 3 new bikes, gloves, waterproofs etc. I also bought a 600 Yamaha Diversion from there when that bike first came out. When I took the Yamaha in for it's second service he loaned me a brand new BMW K75 for the day. The bike had not even been taxed, and after putting about 80 miles on it I returned to the shop and did a deal to part ex the Yamaha for it.
Terry would not take the money I offered for servicing the Yamaha. A great guy, I was sorry to hear a few years later that the business got into trouble and was foced to shut down.
 
Stitcher said:
Lencops,My one brother never married because he spent all his money on M/cycles. When he died about ten years ago I sold his Kawasaki 1300 and a few other bikes. I gave all his books to C&D Autos. They sold them and donated the money to a charity. I used C&D, for my spares when I had BSA Gold Stars but I used V.Onslow for my Triumph spares. I have not been past for a couple of years but last time I looked, C&Ds room was full of all models of the BSA range.
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I nearly bought a 750 Norton Atlas from Onslows but they would not allow me to test ride it, even using their trade plates. I think my next bike was a Sprite Grasshopper trials bike bought in kit form from a bike shop near the Capital Cinema in Ward End. I was allowed to assemble it in my parents living room.
 
Alberta said:
Did Mike Hailwood have a shop by the Aston Expressway on Tyburn Road.
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Yes, it had been Motor Sales that moved from Gosta Green. I bought a tin of Link Life chain grease from there and used to heat it up on my mother gas stove to soak the drive chain of my Matchless in.
 
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