Istanbul 1971. The first RetroTour?
Due to currency exchange rates and market conditions in general, Elite Motors in Tooting Broadway, London, England hit upon a unique marketing scheme. In the early 1970’s Americans could fly into London and pick up a new Triumph or Norton with tags and insurance. So long as the bike was first ridden at least 500 miles, it could be shipped back to the east coast as a used vehicle. The cost for the airfare, shipping, and the bike itself cost a bit less than buying the same bike in the USA. This deal was well advertised in the US cycle magazines. A lot of us jumped at the chance.
My girlfriend at the time, Shirley, and her twin sister Barbara had a friend, Lynn, who was a motorcyclist. The four
of us flew into London that summer and slept in a park near Elite Motors before picking up a brand new Norton Commando Fastback and a used Triumph Speed Twin: the 500cc model known as the “upside down bathtub” bike due to its unusual rear wheel enclosure. We first headed to Wales for some break-in miles and to visit relatives of Lynn, then ferried to France to explore Europe. We were on a tight budget. A popular tourist guide at that time was called “Europe on $5 a Day”. We were restricted to $25 per day for all 4 of us. That was to cover food, lodging, gas and oil. Somehow, we stayed on budget and spent that summer-- 100 days—riding through France, The Netherlands, Luxemburg, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Italy, Greece, Yugoslavia, and Turkey.
After several hundred miles through England and Wales, it had become apparent that the Norton had an unhealthy appetite for engine oil. We went to the factory in Wolverhampton and asked for warranty work to be done. The factory management was kind enough to agree to replace the faulty valve guides but told us it would be a week or two before they could get it done. We were not on any particular schedule and responded by telling them to take their time. Meanwhile, we would just camp out on the front lawn of the factory. Apparently, the thought of 4 dirty “Hippies” camping under the big Norton Villiers sign was abhorrent to the Brits because they completed the work within 36 hours.
All that summer, we mostly slept outdoors under a crude tent fashioned with a drop cloth draped across the 2 bikes. We did our laundry with the locals in rivers and ate a lot of bread, cheese, and fresh vegetables. We suffered numerous flat tires on the Triumph until finally finding a 17” replacement inner tube. There was a minor crash involving both bikes at an oily railroad crossing. We hooked up with a Swiss couple on a white BMW R60/2 in Yugoslavia and a Brit on a Ducati 350 single. A near disaster was narrowly averted when a small child ran out in front of and was struck by the white BMW. The police advised us in no uncertain terms to stay in the city of Split until the boy’s condition was determined. After 2 days, we were allowed or rather told to be on our way: the boy was fine.
In Turkey we were amazed by endless fields of sunflowers, all bent towards the sun which they followed
throughout the day. In bustling Istanbul another near disaster involved a Dolmush (communal Taxi) driver that I tangled with during a road rage incident. The police became involved there too but let us go when the language barrier proved insurmountable and there was no real damage to the taxi or the Norton.
There are many more stories to be told from that trip, and the people that we met made a massive good impression on my young mind, but what I mainly took away was the love of adventure and the thrill of travelling through the countryside by motorcycle. Perhaps it was this trip that planted the seed that grew into RetroTours many decades later. I have a notebook that I kept all during that summer. I suppose that was the very first ‘Ride Report’. I still have 5 more ride reports to post from 2024.
Hanging in the garage is a leather bag that fit perfectly across the tail cowl of that Fastback. It was with me for the
entire trip. It then returned to Europe the year after with my friend Bob who also bought a Norton at Elite Motors. If that bag could talk it surely would have some tales to tell.
The 2025 schedule is up, and deposits have been coming in. I would love nothing better than to share an abbreviated version of that 1971 trip with you.
Spring is nigh; let’s ride!
I will make it easy for you. Let’s talk. None of us is getting any younger, so don’t wait until it’s too late.
PS: Check out the upcoming ride reports from 2024 which will be posted at www.retrotours.com in the
weeks to come.
