Classic Bike Esprit

We have a wide range of lovely classic bikes to take out on tours

The Royal Enfield Bullet

2001 Royal Enfield Bullet. A single cylinder engine originally designed in 1949 as a 350 cc and still being built today in India makes this bike the longest running production machine in the world. Modifications today include the fitment of an electric start, five-speed gearbox and left foot gearchange available since 2002. Royal Enfield was based in Redditch, Worcestershire a town previously more famous for its production of pins and needles. Another motorcycle company with its engineering origins in firearms. Production of motorcycles started in 1901 right the way through to 1970 with the last British built model being the highly regarded Interceptor, a 736cc OHV Twin. Unfortunately labelled the “Royal Oilfield” as they had a tendency to leave oil on the floor if left stationary for any length of time! The Bullet offers an enjoyable and satisfying ride however and a unique glimpse into an age gone by while cosseting the rider in a 21st century mechanical bubble.

The BSA AS5 Thunderbolt, “Olive”

1971 BSA A65 Thunderbolt. A great restoration featured by Tim Britton in a four-page article in the March 2003 edition of Classic Motorcycle. OK, ok, so we’ve bought another A65!! Nicknamed ‘Olive’ – in keeping with our Provencal theme, and because this is the only A65 featuring an oil-in-frame construction. The only criticism in its day was that the seat height favoured the taller rider. This rides and handles totally different to our other A65’s and shares the same frame as the Triumph Tiger featured above. With a Spitfire cam for a bit more grunt and courtesy of Boyer electronic sparks, this ‘Beezer’ fires up first prod everytime! A beautiful performer that has already become a huge hit with Classic Bike Provence customers.

The Triumph Tiger, “Thelma”

1973 Triumph Tiger TR6. A well looked after original example with modified electronics make this an easy bike to start and ride. As expected from a Triumph she handles beautifully! The ‘73 Tiger TR6 was a landmark model for Triumph. The beefy 650cc twin powerhouse appealed to riders everywhere with its energetic power delivery making it particularly suitable for two-up motorcycling. A name that dates back to 1902, when the first Triumph motorcycle emerged from a small factory in Meriden, near Coventry, England, a short distance away from its present location in Hinckley. The TR6 is the single carburettor version of the legendary Bonneville, so named after the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah where many land speed records were set. On the 25th of September 1955 a speed of 194mph was recorded by a streamlined but normally-aspirated Bonneville! This was the highest speed ever recorded by a motorcycle at the time.

Many great Triumph models have been built since its 1902 inception. Bikes such as the Bonneville, Thunderbird, and the Tiger featured above, which dominated the motorcycle world during the British industry’s golden age in the 50’s, 60’s, and 70’s. Evoking the spirit of the era, these machines starred opposite the likes of Steve McQueen, Marlon Brando and Clint Eastwood. Today Classic Bike Provence is delighted to be able to offer to its customers an original 1973 Tiger TR6 650cc.

The Norton Commando, “Nora”

1976 Norton Commando 850cc. One owner since new, and that’s me! A low mileage example of one of the last Commandos built. Improvements include a decent front brake and “pea shooter” exhausts. A good looking machine! A big-time favourite wih British motorcyclists in the 70’s – voted five times ‘Machine of the year’ by MCN readers. The big twin engine is mounted in the frame using a revolutionary ‘isolastic’ (rubber mounted) system that while giving the impression of being a little vibey at low revs soon smooths right out once above 2500rpm. You know you’re on a real motorbike when you try to kick her over, don’t worry if you can’t though – this is one example where the electric start still works! Only four gears to worry about, but what TORQUE! It just pulls like a train. Gear shift on the left is a familiar sight to customers used to Japanese hardware, easing the transition from modern bikes to a classic such as this. All in all a true king of motorcycles.

The BSA A65 Star, “Black Bess”

1962 BSA A65. A 646cc vertical twin cylinder unit construction engine. Preferred by some to the sportier Lightning due to ease of tuning offered by a single carburettor. This particular machine has had two owners from new and her first trip following professional restoration was a 1000 mile ride from the UK to Provence…sans problem! The first BSA motorbike was built in 1909, a 3 horsepower belt drive machine which sold for 50 pounds. During WWII the BSA group bought other motorcycle manufacturers including New Hudson, Sunbeam and Ariel. In 1951 they bought Triumph motorcycles and enjoyed a market leadership role during the boom years of motorcycling in the 1950’s. At this point in time one in every four motorcycles sold worldwide was a BSA! How quickly things change though, from the best year of trading in 1961 to the arrival of the Japanese, particularly the Honda CB750 in 1969. BSA became part of Norton Villiers Triumph plc in 1973, which was a partial joint venture with the government, and the last BSA motorcycle was produced that summer. Classic Bike Provence is proud to have this elegant model in our garage, primed and ready for serious touring mileage in the sun! Consistently one of the most popular requests with Classic Bike Provence and a surefire favourite for 2004. Turn the clock back 40 years for a few days!

The Honda 750 Four, “Jane”

1973 Honda 750-4 K2 The bike that virtually single-handedly finished off the British motorcycle industry. It might surprise a few people that we would add a Japanese machine to our collection but one has to agree that this machine changed the face of motorcycling, forever. The Classic Bike Provence experience is all about taking a trip through time from the 50’s to the 70’s and this bike has to be ridden to understand how that seismic shift in motorcycling happened. This low-mileage example of the legendary Japanese four-cylinder 750 is a strong performer with a hint of brutish elegance that begs the touring customer to fire her up and listen to that scalded-cat whine. The K2 proved to be this years firm favourite with Rod Chapman (MSL) on his annual therapeutic visit to Provence – this is definitely one machine the Japanese didn’t copy from the British! Familiar left foot gear changes make riding this classic bike a doddle! Come see for yourself this season.

The BMW RS5

1980 BMW R65 The medium -sized ‘ boxer’ engine; light and nimble but with enough power to make travel easy on the small Provençale roads. How could we not have this iconic BMW engine design in our fleet, whose production has survived unbroken from 1923 to the present day? The nickname ‘boxer’ is thought to derive from the fact that the pistons travel horizontally towards and away from each other, like the fists of boxers! It may be ‘gloves off’ for Herman the German when surrounded by all the Brit Iron in our garage!
The Ariel Square 4 , “Annabel”

1951 Ariel Square 4 Not only the matriarch of our stable, but also the greatest capacity bike in the fleet at 1000cc. Marketed as ‘the worlds most exclusive motorcycle’ when launched, the Ariel Square 4 actually started life as a 600cc overhead cam design before WW2. By the time it reached production after the war it had transformed to a pushrod engine as production costs for the overhead cam version were deemed to high. The CBP Square 4 is a MKI, a version which did develop a reputation for overheating largely because the exhaust manifolds were an intergral part of the head (later versions had seperate exhaust manifolds bolted on) and the two rear cylinders were not as efficiently cooled as the front. To counter this an oil cooler has been fitted and during her the first touring season no overheating problems were encountered even during the very warm summer months that prevail in Provence. Physically quite small, especially considering it is 1000cc, the bike really is a unique riding experience being extremely comfortable and very smooth. A 1 up, 3 down right foot change gearbox is allied to a very tractable engine making her very easy to ride in the undulating hills that are to be found in Provence .

The Velocette Venom, “Vera”