BSA BANTAM
I used to ride a Bantam
175 cc’s
I got it up to 40 once
With a tailwind breeze.
I bought it from a gypsy
Who kept its flaws well hid
I reckoned I’d a bargain though
It cost just 80 quid.
But soon I came to realise
His pocket I’d not picked
And anyway I’m guessing that
The bloody thing was nicked.
Its bigger brother, “Gold Star”
Made manly thumping sounds
The Bantam’s phut-phut-phut announced
A postie’s on his rounds.
Humiliation hounded me
Despite my classic gem
As Fizzy 50’s burned me off
With oiks bent over them.
More often though I’d be found
Making scuzzies smile
And jeering from the causeway
I pushed that bastard miles.
“’Ave ye tried to milk it?”
They’d scoff as we trudged by
Me and Beezer piss wet through
They sheltered in the dry.
In the end I flogged it to
A Beezer nut, I did
The best thing I can say for it –
I charged him 80 quid.
John Coopey
Sat 5th Aug 2023 07:59
Thanks for your thoughts, Ray. After the Bantam I moved up to a Honda CJ250 which eventually came second in a clash with a Mazda car. In those days you were limited to 250cc’s until you passed your test which I never did. These days it’s much more complicated trying to understand what you can ride.
And thanks for the Likes, Jennifer, Holden and Stephen.