Now I have no idea how old you are, so a bit of background may help. By the mid seventies, the British bike industry was dead. Maybe the corpse was still twitching now and again, but dead it was. It was a sad thing to see, as there were some really great Brit bikes, with character that the Japanese competition of the time could not match - The original Trident was my favourite.

The death of the industry was totally predictable. The British industry failed because of a complete lack of vision, and understanding of the opposition. Sadly, not an awful lot has changed in the last forty years. The British disease perhaps? Certainly, there were some myths, and some truths as well. British bikes did not all leak oil by the pint if they stood still for more than five seconds. They did have handling far better than the new machines from early 60's Japan, and they could be perfectly reliable in the hands of a decent owner. But where they really could not compete was in the speed and power stakes. The Japanese dominance began with their engines, and once that lead was established, the game was theirs. With the opposition finished off, there was plenty of time to catch up on handling and brake development.

There was a lot of prejudice at the time, between British and Japanese bike fans, some of it good humoured, some not, and the worst features of both country's bikes were exaggerated. Of course, there were other bikes around too. The Italians were making machines that had soul, but defined the word "unreliable". The Americans were there too with the same Harleys they have always built, and probably always will. BMW of course were doing their own thing.

I never had time for the prejudice, and was glad to see it pass, enjoying any opportunity to ride bikes from as many countries as possible. I think a similar prejudice could exist now, as bikes become a fashion accessory for some, and others think that sports bikes are the only sort that matter.

For me bikes are far more than the sum of their parts, and I don't really care where they come from. All right, I admit that I don't fully understand Aspencades and full dress Harleys, probably because I haven't experienced them, but at least their riders are out there doing it. And there's another factor - That diversity of bike types is important. As I walked into work the other day, I passed the Bike Park. There sat a T595 Triumph, a Guzzi California, a Buell, A KLR600 thumper and a CBR600. You just don't get that sort of diversity in the car lot.

What follows is my gallery of machines that made an impression in my impressionable youth. Yes I know that a modern 600 would run rings round this lot, but if that is all you can see you are rather missing the point. Bikes are all about evolution, and without these monsters, modern bikes would not be as good as they are today. If my lottery numbers come up some day, I am going to start collecting these machines, and when I have them all together I will invite some friends to come and ride them. Bikes just aren't meant to gather dust, are they? If bikes of this era are new to you, be aware that this is the Jurassic Park of motorcycling. You can ride as fast as you can, but just don't expect to get round the next corner!