Tuesday 1 February 2011

Who Are You?

1995(?) I was shooting a photo-story for Classic Bike magazine, on the re-opening of Battersea Bridge powerstation - as an events venue, anyway apart from the usual suspects there were a few strangers. Namely you cutting a dash in moleskins and suede boots on your BSA Spitfire Hornet. I'd never seen one before and it made a change to see a US export spec Brit amongst the two-a-penny caff racers. Then in the summer of 1996 (?) I had to suck eggs to undertake you at Brands Hatch on my Guzzi, in one of it's earlier incarnations. Who Are You?! Do you still have the BSA? BP

5 comments:

kawa said...

Dont know who he is, but funny you should talk about Hornets, spotted one local to me at the weekend, fantastic looking bike, going back to take some shots of it and his other bikes..

The 9/16ths said...

I remember seeing a guy on a hornet when we were coming back from a run out somewhere. I was on the Sex-pig (i'm sure you took a b&w photo of me that day) and we were at a petrol station. There was this loud and high toned exhaust note in the distance. A moment later a fella turned up on a Hornet; the only one I've ever seen on the road. Same guy? Nobody seemed to know him but he seemed like a nice guy.

Harley said...

Great looking bike. Pedant Alert!Not sure it's a Spitfire Hornet though. Chaincase looks too late (could be a retro fit job), tank should be fibreglass and there would be one pipe per side, not both down one side. Full marks though for making a rare bike more usable if it did start life as a Spitfire Hornet.
Now, if you'll excuse me I'm off to count some more rivets....

Nick said...

As Harley said pipes look like a copy of the pre unit Spitfire Scrambler pipes, tanks right for an A65 but I'm not sure but I don't think all the bikes went out with plastic tanks, don't really care though as it's been made into such a pretty bike

VH said...

That is Lightnings tank. Nice bike.