My last chance for a ride this season (due to imminent heading out to sea for three months) was a recent break in the rain. In my part of the world we're lucky that the roads haven't been salted yet, even if they had been the recent continual rain would have washed it all away. So, the roads were nice and clean and several bikes greeted me in the garage with pleading looks in their eyes and leashes in mouths hoping for exercise. Which one did I pick? The Bantam. Not really sure why it seemed like a good choice but it is easy and undemanding, perhaps that is why. Plus, on local country roads it's also a lot of fun. When you're lucky enough to have a Velocette Venom and a BSA Gold Star in the garage yet choose to give the humble Bantam a spin that can teach you a lot about value and smiles per mile. Or maybe it is horses for courses. I don't know. But all the same if I am to evalue it the most fun I personally have had on motorcycles has been on Enfield Bullets and BSA Bantams (so why am I messing around with the rest of the stuff? - a mystery).
So did the Bantam deliver? Yes, of course, as always. It is best suited to short local runs on small roads. We ran a few local errands and had a hoot. I've been riding this Bantam on and off for more than thirty years and it has never let me down. It's had its hiccups of course, but never failed to get me home. So here's to hoping I can still be riding the Bantam in another thirty years and that next year's riding offers more abundant opportunities than this year has.
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