Britsh stuff

I grew up in the Australian bush riding all sorts of old stuff. I started on the awful Cushman Trailster, then graduated to 196 James, C15 BSA, Bantam Super, B31s, B33, M21, G80 Matchlesses and a Golden Flash, Triumph 6T, then the DT1 Yamaha arrived, and an electric start SL350Honda.
 
Most bikes belonged to the property, but I actually owned the James, Bantam, a B31, a G80, B33 and 6T. They were all used for working stock (except for the 6T and my G80) and general property duties. Amazing how well these old bikes coped with a life of hard off-road use in sometimes very rough country. They were far from new in the first place, except for the DT Yamahas and the SL350.
 
In some ways they were easier to ride than modern bikes in very rough country due to being very low, and with very smooth and torquey low-end power. Except for the Honda... No pics, I'm sorry to say. You just took those old bikes for granted, and once the naivety of youth wore off and the Japanese arrived, the reality of their general crapness made itself known.
 
From there it was on and up to Japanese bikes when I moved to the city. I have no wish to return to the bikes of my youth. My TTR250 and WRR cope with property work now. There is a bike god... But I'm grateful to have ridden and to own/have owned bikes made from 1950 through to 2012.
 
My best work bike of all? Though it's early days yet, so far the WRR is just great. It takes over from the TTR.
Worst work bike? Probably the start of it all, the Cushman Trailster. Foul to ride. Tough to start for a kid. Luckily extremely slow.
 
Best recreational dirt bike? Husky TE570. Loved it and should never have sold it.
Worst recreational dirt bike? Probably the Honda XL500. Good engine, nasty handling.
 
Best street bike? My long-lamented 1976 BMW R90S. I loved that and really, really should never have sold it. Nothing else has measured up since.
Worst street bike? A toss-up between a GT750 Ducati and R100GS BMW. The BMW was worse, though. It was so unreliable as to be embarrassing. Speedo, headlight reflector, several ignition systems, r/h carburettor, two rear shocks, engine and gearbox output shaft seals and other stuff I've forgotten all failed in the 14 months of ownership. Finish was rubbish, too. The black paint flaked off the engine bars to reveal a well-rusted suface underneath. Poor plating and paint in general, too. Bad, bad bike.
 
And fwiw, that's my old-bike history and opinions. All best and worst contenders were bought new, so nobody else had a hand in their performance or lack thereof!