I have enjoyed reading these stories, everyone that I know that are deeply into the old motorcycle scene have their favorite story that have in some way caused a memory they will never forget.
My fav. is back when I was a young man, 20 years old. I had my girlfriend and 2 year old daughter all packed up in my first restoration, a 1939 BSA M21 outfit and we where abroad to Denmark on holliday (who would travel to a foreign country on a BSA M21 outfit nowadays?). Having spent several days in Denmark we where heading home when the BSA died in the outskirts of a rather big city called Randers. Some roadside invetigation soon told me the magneto had got sick. Whilst trying to figure out how to repair, a old gentleman came by and told me "you dont see to many of this sort of bikes around no longer", wich was trough but, I had to explain it was dead at the moment.
He then replied that I should not worry as he had some old bike parts not further away than that we could push the bike.
Well, push we did and in a backyard further up the street was this really big steel building with just one door in the front. He told me to follow him , and my goodness me; this was the AliBaba cave of vintage motorbikes & parts. I have never ever seen that many parts and bikes at one place ever and most likely never will.
Inside the buliding you had to climb ladders to get to the highest points.
The reason of all this stuff was he had been running a motorcycle shop started by his father and apparently they had never thrown away anything whatsoever since the twenties. He was now since long retired and spent his time in this building with his bikes and parts.
I luckily took a few photos back then that I have now scanned, they just show some of what was in there:
And finally a pic. of the old man up in the ladder looking for parts:
Sverre
My fav. is back when I was a young man, 20 years old. I had my girlfriend and 2 year old daughter all packed up in my first restoration, a 1939 BSA M21 outfit and we where abroad to Denmark on holliday (who would travel to a foreign country on a BSA M21 outfit nowadays?). Having spent several days in Denmark we where heading home when the BSA died in the outskirts of a rather big city called Randers. Some roadside invetigation soon told me the magneto had got sick. Whilst trying to figure out how to repair, a old gentleman came by and told me "you dont see to many of this sort of bikes around no longer", wich was trough but, I had to explain it was dead at the moment.
He then replied that I should not worry as he had some old bike parts not further away than that we could push the bike.
Well, push we did and in a backyard further up the street was this really big steel building with just one door in the front. He told me to follow him , and my goodness me; this was the AliBaba cave of vintage motorbikes & parts. I have never ever seen that many parts and bikes at one place ever and most likely never will.
Inside the buliding you had to climb ladders to get to the highest points.
The reason of all this stuff was he had been running a motorcycle shop started by his father and apparently they had never thrown away anything whatsoever since the twenties. He was now since long retired and spent his time in this building with his bikes and parts.
I luckily took a few photos back then that I have now scanned, they just show some of what was in there:
And finally a pic. of the old man up in the ladder looking for parts:
Sverre
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