http://intuitivefred888.blogspot.com/2009/04/riding-motorcycle.html
I was looking through Google images under Wren by Bird and found a couple of fun things:
First a picture( I didn't have a trailer) of what my motorized mini-bike looked like exactly when I bought the kit between 1958 and 1962.
http://www.minidoodle.com/97280e00.jpg
Here is an advertisement for various Mini-motorbikes by Bird in 1969.
http://www.minidoodle.com/id142.htm
I bought the Wren kit by Bird for somewhere between 80 and 110 dollars when I was somewhere between 10 and 14. My Dad and I put it together and I rode it a block away on weekends at the High School I eventually attended after school and weekends. And then I took it out to Yucca Mesa near Yucca Valley, California. Eventually my Dad bought a Honda 90 Trail bike motorcycle that had two gear ranges. In the high range you could go about 45 to 50 mph and in the low range one could drive almost straight up any trail between 3 mph to 15 mph. I drove it up the side of a 500 foot high Butte once and was completely amazed it was possible to do that with a Honda Trail 90 back in the early 1970s. Eventually my cousin bought it from my Dad and put it on the back of his motor home when he traveled with his family on weekends and vacations.
Next, I bought a Matchless 600 Hillclimber(wide rear knobby tire, large rear sprocket for climbing hills, and a straight pipe with no muffler) obviously not street licensable.
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Matchless_G11_600_cc_1958.jpg
This is what my Matchless looked like only it had no fenders, a much wider knobby tire, a much larger rear sprocket and a straight exhaust pipe that blew blue fire at night in the desert where I mostly rode it around 1969.
http://postalheritage.org.uk/exhibitions/onlineexhibitions/movingthemail/images/motorcyclesimages/GPO-cycle-500.jpg
The next photo is pretty much like my World War II BSA 500 used in North Africa except that it didn't have the CPO shin protector and it was all painted Army Green. It was a 500 single cylinder bike that was the single most reliable kick starter I ever rode. Even if it hadn't been run for a year one could kick start it in a few minutes and if that didn't work quickly pop start it. It had a thick metal plate under the engine to protect from rocks and other things if riding cross country off of roads. It was like driving a motorcycle that was like a tank because it was so heavy compared to motorcycles today. But it was sort of indestructible in some ways too. Its only suspension was an unusual suspension on the front and then the springs on the rear seat. So a rider had to stand up if they were going to hit anything much with the rear tire when riding off road unless they wanted to be thrown over the handlebars or just catapulted off the bike in any direction which could be painful. So rear shock absorbers really make a difference when riding off road on newer bikes.
Once I made the mistake of looking back at another motorcycle that I was racing across the desert with on a deep sandy road. It caused the bike to lay down. Luckily I got my left leg out of the way and climbed up on top of the bike and rode it skidding through the sand at about 45 mph hoping it would slow down enough so I wouldn't get skinned up when it stopped. It stopped suddenly when the handlebar and left peg grabbed the road at about 20 mph and I just rolled to prevent serious injury and came up laughing that I was alive and not skinned bad in the deep sand. I was about 20 or 21 then.
My favorite bike back then was a 1974 Honda 250XL that I bought used in 1975. I kept that bike until my stepson traded it for a stereo and speakers
http://www.bikez.com/pictures/honda/1974/9632_0_1_2_xl%20250_Submitted
%20by%20anonymous%20user..jpg
This picture is exactly which bike I had including tank painting. It was a really wonderful bike and I had many many great times on it over the years.
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