Introducing The Hawk and The Hobbit

The Hawk and The Hobbit are two little motorbikes. The Hawk is such a trusty steed that he’s been an old friend for the best part of nineteen years, and he’s still going strong. I think far too much of him to sell him, so earlier this year I tracked down another bike of the same make and model, but with fewer miles on the clock. So Hawk is now in semi-retirement while The Hobbit does the main work, but I love having two bikes! I live in the countryside and love country activities that are hard to reach by public transport, so a second bike ensures that if one bike is off the road, I never miss a good day out!

Both bikes are Honda C90s, the most popular motorbike of all time. I discovered them over thirty years ago. A dealer talked me into buying one, but I had misgivings afterwards because I loathe sales talk, so thought of selling the bike, a brown model called Dix. But before I got round to finding another bike and putting Dix on the market, my annual holiday came round. I lived in Sussex and I wanted to go to Scotland. So I put my luggage on Dix and rode as near as I could get to Cape Wrath on the north coast of Scotland, and back, in a fortnight.

I loved every minute of it! ‘Aren’t you brave?’ people said. I didn’t feel brave at all. I just studied the map, sat on Dix, and he took me there. He would have gone to Cape Wrath itself if there was even one little single-track lane there. In those days there were so many great Youth Hostels that I could stop for the night whenever I felt like it, and find plenty of good company at the end of every day. I remember leaving a hostel on the Borders and almost immediately coming across a lek of the rare Black Grouse, the only time I’ve ever seen this wonderful sight. (Lek- group of males displaying.) On the last day I was concerned that I had 400 miles to go, but I had overestimated. It was only 297 miles and my main reaction was to feel sorry that I hadn’t passed the 300 mark.

‘Why on earth do I want to sell this lovely little bike?’ I thought. And I’ve been hooked on C90s ever since. Even if I won the lottery and had a couple of expensive cars, I can’t imagine like without a C90, or, better still, two!

Since then I believe I’ve ridden a C90 in every county of England and Scotland except Cornwall, Caithness, and, for some reason, Essex. I go by the back roads, keeping out of heavy traffic as far as possible, and love seeing so much of the country. So I’m either very spirited or completely mad, depending which way you look at it, but I realised long ago that if you choose to be completely mad, you have a lot more scope for enjoying life!

C90s aren’t built for speed, but the narrowness of a motorbike can be an asset in country lanes. That little 85 cc engine can get you anywhere on well over 100 to the gallon. I’m not very good at remembering to note down petrol purchases and the mileage at the time, but I think Hawk does about 120 miles to the gallon and the Hobbit does even more, maybe 140. Since C90s can go anywhere, eventually I felt tempted to try the steepest road I knew about, the 1 in 3 Hard Knott Pass in the Lake District. Shep, my C90 at the time, reached the summit with ease and I sat there watching motorists toiling up the hill towards me. However there were soon cars behind me, so I had to go. Shep cruised down to the bottom round the hairpin bends. Then I looked round. The cars that had been behind me on the summit were out of sight! I had descended at my usual safe patient speed, so I had no idea how Shep could have outdistanced them, but he had!

‘But you’re not safe!’ people sometimes say. Well, I’ve only once spent part of a day in the A and E and that was 31 years ago. I think I fell off Dix a few more times than that, picking myself up unhurt. I remember falling off Shep when I realised that wet grass is slippery, but I was only doing about 5 mph! I suppose that once or twice I fell off Shep’s successor, The Evil Machine. Then came Hawk and for the 18 years that he was my sole means of transport, I never fell off him at all! But a week or two after I bought The Hobbit, I was out on Hawk on a beautiful January day with bright sunlight and ice. I went up one steep icy hill, and down the other side without mishap. Then I was following my friends along a level lane, saw the ice and slowed down to walk Hawk over it. It was more slippery than I thought, and Hawk dropped me!

One reason I love C90s is that they are tough little bikes not given to breaking down (although they have their moments!) The Evil Machine was different. A test ride revealed nothing, but problems soon started. Something bad had happened to him and I suspect he’d been clocked when I bought him.

I vividly remember December 23rd, 1988. I couldn’t stand The Evil Machine’s tantrums any more, but I’d located a bike that was just three months old with only 1000 miles on the clock, and significantly cheaper than a new one. It was my favourite colour, glowing deep red. I left on The Evil Machine, and rode home on the beautiful red bike, at that time the most expensive item I’d ever bought.

‘I don’t know what to call him,’ I told my mother. ‘But if we still lived in Coventry he might have had the registration HWK, and then he would have been Hawk.’

‘Call him Hawk anyway,’ she suggested.