peter heath
Peter Heath

BSA Super Rocket


Now this was a really fast bike, and it smelled like it: with vegetable oil in the crankcase and Union Spirits in the tank (made from sugar cane). A lively 650cc (the biggest in those days) with a ground head to increase the compression. It had a nice tone, albeit a bit on the noisy side: it's safer that way. You could hear me coming. This is the first bike I came unstuck on. Lying down into a bend on Durban Esplanade I hit a sand patch and skidded towards the kerb on the crash bars (this is a sister-bike with no crash bars).I managed to get my leg out and rode the bike sideways, holding onto the crash bars for dear life. As we hit the kerb I jumped and sailed between a lighting pole and a guy wire and landed in some bushes.
A soft landing.
The bike started.
I rode away.