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Worlds Worst Motor Cycle
This car had a Motorcycle engine, that you could kick start if you opened the hood:
I still look back at Bond Minicars in amazement. My cousin married a guy who had one. They were fitted with a device called a Siba Dynastart which was a combined generator and starter and invariably failed after a year or so. The darn things cost about £60 to replace in the early 60's when Mr Average Punter probably earned £15 per week, so we then ended up in the scenario where the bonnet had to be opened and the kickstart used instead. After a few weeks of kickstarting the inevitable happened and my cousin in law forgot to lock the bonnet after yet another kickstart. A short distance down the road the bonnet then flew up and, wrecking the hinges, flew clean over the top of the car. It was retrieved and locked back in place at the front so the rear of the bonnet then floated gently up and down as the car progressed along, until a new set of hinges were purchased and fitted. A few weeks later the whole thing happened again only this time there was a distinct lack of enthusiasm for purchasing a new set of hinges so the old Bond continued with the rear of the bonnet floating as before.
Eventually the bonnet was once more not secured and this time took off and smashed the windscreen! The response of the pilot to this was to wear his old motorcycle helmet and goggles while conducting the Bond until the day came when exceeding 45mph (which was just about flat out) the rear windscreed popped under the wind pressure. Things were getting slightly ridiculous by now and shortly afterwards, mercifully the remains of the Bond were involved in an RTA so it was written off putting the whole painful episode to a conclusion.
His next car was a Hillman Imp - but that's another story
Or:
A friends brother bought a BSA C15 which needed new big ends twice as often as the tank needed filling. It was, apparrantly, not a one off fault but a "feature" of that particular model.
The mention of Panthers brings to mind something I recall reading years ago when Bike ran a feature on the top ten turkeys of all time (in which the RE5 had a starring role). Namely that Panther were responsible for the cheapest motorcycle ever produced, under thirty quid new in the fifties for a machine as basic and awful as you could get. I can't remember any more details, except that it might have been a 500 or a 650. Can anyone back me up on that, or are the memory modules showing their age?
Beat That!!
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