It was probably quite an adventurous trip to take at the time. I have now been informed that so many modern foreign bikes ridden by smartly dressed English riders would have been quite a sight on Europe's roads. They would ride through France, Germany, Austria, Italy and Switzerland. We think of old bikes as being unreliable, but my father and his friends were keen riders and engineers and completed the trip without much more than a puncture. The bikes that took part in the trip were:
GAU 856 Brough Superior SS100 with fuel in the loop sidecar. This bike still exists and I wonder if any of the others do?
AHC 650 Triumph Thunderbird. He bought this one on 22nd July 1950 for £219 16 9 and by the day they set off in July 53 it had done 24,900 miles.
KBY 571 Sunbeam and VMM 871 Sunbeam. At least one of these Sunbeams should still exist as it was owned by my dads pal and Best Man (when he married) - Fred. He owned it until he passed away about 10 years ago so hopefully it is surviving somewhere?
These are not my photos, I just think this is a super cool find and wanted to share.
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