Hammond’s Latest

Fancy a sneak peek at next week’s Richard Hammond column? Here it is, and in this instalment the Telly star is getting all misty-eyed and book-worthy about a dim and distant past…

‘Spring is in the air and it’s time for us bikers to dash about  preparing ourselves for a long and idyllic summer devoted to all  things two-wheeled. It must be, because that’s what it used to say in  my biking books when I was a kid.

Long before I was allowed to ride a bike legally, I would prepare myself for the day when I could by devouring books on the subject. 

These books, mostly borrowed from the library, dealt either with bike mechanics or bike life-style. In the books on bike mechanics, they would advise that every spring we prepare our ‘machine’ for summer with a thorough post-winter service.

A series of black and white  photographs would show a man putting a fantastically well-maintained,  American-spec triumph scrambler onto a full-size hydraulic lift that  he happened to have in his garage. The bike would be lifted up to a convenient height and, using tools from a magnificent Snap On chest next to the compressor, the man would carry out basic servicing on his bike according to the instructions included along with the photographs…’

For the full column, check out the March 14 edition of MCN