Manky Monkey Motors

I drove up to the Ace Cafe, on the North Circular, London on a whim this morning. I was at a local classic show in Farnham, Hampshire, when Loony texted me to say there was a classic day at the Ace.
Must admit, I'm not a huge lover of the Ace Cafe -well, not so much the cafe itself as the people who frequent it. Lots of sports bike owners in humpty backed one piece racing leathers, would-be stunt riders who insist on pulling wheelies through the traffic outside, look-at-how-much-I've-spent-to-buy-into-the-lifestyle Harley riders & chavvy idiots in baggy shorts & white trainers who line the pavements baying for wheelies & burnouts. I don't go there very often, though they do serve a mean cheesy chilli chips.
For the first time this year though it was a gorgeous sunny Spring day & I was looking for an excuse to drive somewhere. So I bimbled up the M3, along the A316 & onto the North Circular. There's always something interesting to see in the capital, from the hee-uge Hummer with pumping bass & chrome everything, to watching the Royal Richmond archery club practising, to sitting in the traffic outside Kew Gardens being entertained by 2 lycra clad cyclists having a punch up in the middle of the road, one of them thwacking the other round the head with his cycle helmet as a coach driver tried to seperate them, all from the comfort of my car -I love London!
Not a huge number of classic bikes once I arrived, but enough to make it worth the trip. Among my favourites were a simply gorgeous matching pair of V reg Honda 550/4s & a nice Triton, (actually, not a Triton cos it was Norton engined, not Triumph, but still a Triton in my book), complimented by a cafe raced 400/4. At the risk of sounding like a sexist dinosaur, it was good to see several girly types riding their own sports bikes, as well as a lady person on a very tidy Triumph.
The queue at the bar meant I didn't get my chilli chips, but still a pleasant way to spend an afternoon.

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Looks just like the one I grew up on the back of.

Which one Archibald?

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Seven fiddy four.

Old man had it for years - same colours,brakes,wheels etc. only difference was his had a Marshall 4 -2 on it

550/4  -pay attention at the back!  :P

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Bleurgh. Hondas successful design department at its best

 ;D My mate Ray had a 750/4 K7, bought new, when I was riding my first 650 Bonneville. It was huge, but he's 6 foot 2 & made it look right. A very fast & reliable bike. Very well engineered for it's day.

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If I could get one for not stupid money I would. The popularity of the retro jap stuff amongst yuppies and hipsters has sent the prices skyrocketing!

Yeah, I'm glad I grabbed my 600 quid XS650 when I did. Can't find one under a grand now.

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I got a bargain at £200 then!

I'll give you 200 for it.