An SS50.
The Honda CB 250G5 was the one and only motorbike I ever had. I absolutely loved it. I went from being a complete learner - over a 3 year period in which I rode it every day - to being as if the bike was part of me. I must admit that I rode it like a maniac, often cornering at speed and at angles that brought showers of sparks from the pedal pegs as they touched the road. All that came to an end south of Clapham Common on a sunny early evening when I hit a lamp-post at speed. The bike was written off - and for a while, so was I - the force of the crash bent the bike so badly that the front wheel was pushed back beside the rear wheel. I haven’t ridden since but have always had a lingering hankering after another bike . . . .
Tbh if you get into two wheels you’ll soon be bored with a moped get yourself either a decent modern 125 and do your CBT! You’ll still soon want bigger if you like it but more fun from the start!
I’ve never seen a youngster on an e- bike round our rural way. So uncool I imagine, as its what oldies ride. A trotinette with rider wearing rucksack and headphones. BTW i passed my test in 1970 at age of 16 on my newly saved for Honda50. Sage green stepthro. Girl powere as only girl in school with a ‘motorbike.’ Went all over the place, even had my schoolfriend Marion Perkins on the back - just took a while up hills, but my God, the freedom!
I think you’re wrong. I’ve spent today in a fairly large town. Nice weather, lots of bicycles and a lot of young people, a lot of students. A huge number of the young people were using electrically assisted bicycles, they certainly seemed cool there.
Yep, anything non-ICE is liable to be viewed as stitch by youngsters.
Yes, I looked “stitch” up. ![]()
We have a few ‘screaming meanies’ belting around Carmaux making a god-awful racket. I really cannot see the attraction of them myself - they hardly seem to go faster than a good run and the riders are constantly shifting the 10+ gears to make them go (as well as, when sitting at lights, blipping the throttle as if they are on a GP bike!).
I guess I am just a die-hard biker, having passed my test at 17 on a CB100N (never really liked the 2-stroke machines) and graduated to my current ST1100 Pan European and CB1000R via the ubiquitous CB250N Superdream, CB500 Eurosport, XS400 and Triumph Trophy 900.
I was once 16 and that was all I could ride. I felt like a god being promoted from a bicycle.
Yes, I was part of the obligatory experience of removing the baffle from the exhaust of my FS1-E & then suffering the learning curve of finding out that the power was reduced & putting it back in sharpish.
My sequence:
Yammy FS1E
Yammy DT 125…(Loved that bike)
BMW K75s
Years passed by…got married, built a house, had kids blah blah bla…
BMW Rt1150 …nice bike…
with and old RT80…horrid bike to ride…
GS 1200… Boring and whatever…
Now…a series of push bikes and hopefully graduating towards and MTB…
Motor Torpedo Boat?
Yes indeed!..life can be tough here in the Cévennes fending off marauding Viking longboats ![]()
There is an active Solex club at Chateaulin, Finistère. They make frequent trips and help eachother to keep the things going. 23e Solexine à Mahalon : découvrir la Cornouaille à Solex | Le Télégramme
My first bike was this model, and same colour. But mine had the peddles that could be locked in the forward position to make foot rests. You could also set them to pedal it, but that was hard work.
Yes, the SS50 & the FS1-E had that feature as a workaround for the UK market (& maybe others) in order to qualify as a moped (well, clue is in the name…). Just being under 50cc was not enough.
Only at first. I only knew one person who had that feature on their FS1E, all the others were pedal free. There must have been a change in the law soon after the motorcycle licence age changed from 16 to 17. Didn’t the pedal ones use one of the pedal cranks as a kickstart?
And some of my mates had garelli mopeds. Boy they were a lot quicker, but not very reliable, often blowing up, causing them a lonk walk home.
One day a cousin turned up at our house in Plymouth on his Garelli Tiger Cross. He lived in Tamworth…


