Triumph Daytona 500

SOME OF THE BEST BRITISH MOTORCYCLES WERE built as most of the industry hurtled towards oblivion at the end of the 1960s. While the management began to fail and the unions fought, the engineers were running out some superb motorcycles. For a modern rider a late Sixties classic is going to be easier to get along with than a late Fifties model, and the Norton Commando, Royal Enfield Interceptor 2, the Matchless P11 and the last T120R Triumph Bonneville are all tempting for the well-built and, it must be said, the well-heeled.

But these beasts can be an effort to haul about and the choice is more limited for those who have found the years catching up with them, those of a more diminutive build, or those who just don’t like heavy motorcycles. There are a few suitable machines about, thankfully, and among the best are Triumph’s 500 twins, of which the most desirable is the twin carb Daytona