What First Got You Into Bikes.

For me it was in 1983 when a work colleague first introduced me to monkey bikes. Although there has been a thirty year gap between owning my first and second one, since that first day of seeing them I have been hooked by these cheeky little bikes.

In 1974 my dad bought a 1970 Honda ct 70. I've loved her ever since. My wife sometimes wonders about me and my ct.

I wanted a MT for my 18th birthday, we went to the shop my dad and I..... he looked at the big bike and said very dry... Téjay this thing doesn't fit in to the garden shed....
So he bought me a brand new black monkey bike....

I was an apprentice toolmaker and had to get a bus to work, my parents said they would help me with the HP payments on a scooter so I went to the local motorcycle store and immediately fell in love with a Lady Dax and every week I went to college near to the store and checked to make sure it was still there as I was still not old enough to ride it, then the week before my birthday I visited the store and it was no longer there as it had been sold but unknown to me it was my dad who had bought it and it was hidden in the back of his van.
On my birthday it was by the front door and I went everywhere on that Dax much to the derision of my work colleagues, I wore a red Belstaff wax jacket and full face helmet with Doc Martin boots and Levi jeans.
So here I am now 40 years later with 1 Lady Dax, 2 Dax's, 1 Chaly and a Mini Trail K1 and I don't look forward to growing up.

That's a great story Tufty!!!
You can feel the romance.

Mine was in 1956 when I bought a very 2nd hand 1953 Francis Barnett 197 Falcon 67 collected from George Clarke M/Cycs at the top of Brixton Hill. Tele forks, swinging arm rear suspension 3 spd box full of false neutrals and 6v lights as dim as a Toch-H lamp.
But it was wonderful and all mine. I never had a lesson but my best mate had bought the same model several months before me and I'd ridden it up the alleyway in 1st gear so felt fully qualified to ride my new wonderbike home through the London traffic in the rush hour.
Many people knock these Villiers strokes but I can tell you in the 4 years I had it I used it to commute to West End almost every day, went on holiday 2 up with luggage to Dorset and that little bike took me from London to my army unit in Loughborough. It was 45mph all the way up the first bit of the M1 from Edgware to Lutterworth twice a month without ever letting me down. It did so twice. Once when most of the rear wheel fell out all over the A3 and another time when the timing got out of sync, but that's a story for another time.
Fast forward to 1976 when I got back on 2 wheels - on guess what? A brand new ST70 Lady Dax bought for £250 from Pride & Clarke in Stockwell SW 9 (aka Pride & Shark. Sold it in 1979 and bought a massive Honda CD175 - a real mans bike then via a 250 Dream,V50 Guzzi, and a few others until now when my old bones told me I deserved something nice and comfy so I'm on a Suzi Burgman 400.Love it!
Now cobbling together my pile of bits into an ST125 as may have been read by a few of you on the forum so more news as it happens
Great website always full of interest and thanks to everyone who's offered advice and to the guy(s) that look after it for us.
Cheers, must go now and take my pills or matron will be cross
Brian.

Hello all,

I'm desperately trying to hold back my tears, after reading Tufftys story, how sweet

My first experience with the wee bikes must have been in the mid 80's, when I purchased a blue Dax from a scrap merchants for £20!!

I rode that bike everywhere, including my daily trips to and from work, about a thirty mile round trip. I was young and carefree.

Didn't really know much about these future classics then but have learnt allot since.

My first blue Dax had a Valhalla end and was dispatched via a local skip!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ohh well we live and learn

All the best Si