You didn't miss anything. Rank amaturism masquerading as "good old British eccentricity". Ever wondered why there are no longer any more British aircraft made here made any more? Ever wondered why there are no longer any British car makers any more? Watch this.

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Don't forget the British motorcycle industry, I have just about finished Bert Hopwood's book 'What ever happened to the British Motorcycle Industry'? Talk about mismanagement....they should have all been put up against a wall and shot.
If it was not for the fact I am British I would have found the book funny. The book is still available on 'Amazon', well worth a read. Has anyone else read it(perhaps Dodger)? And what did you think of it?

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'He who laughs last, was too slow to get the joke'
Never confuse the map with the journey.

Channel4 On Demand does not work outside of the UK.

Any alternatives?

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2006-2007-2008 : Brussels - Cape town - Tokio - Lubumbashi - Brussels

http://www.radiobaobab.be

I seem to remember reading it a couple of winters ago , it pretty much spelled out what we suspected was happening to the bike industry in those days .
I'll have to borrow it from my brother and read it again to refresh my memory !
I don't think Bert was right about his modular approach ,he was already outdated .The Brits should have been building lightning fast two strokes like the Japs [Yam and Kawa ] and behind the scenes building a DOHC superbike .
Fast exciting bikes will sell ,the Japs had that sussed .But the Brits were still churning out the same old shit trying to tell us "what was good for us " like some self important Grammar School teacher .
Crikey Edward Turner thought a 350 twin was going to be the saviour of the Brit bike industry -and this was during the period of the Honda 750 and the Kawasaki Z1 - give me strength !

But Britain was a funny place in the late sixties and seventies .Hell bent on self destruction and nobody gave a rat's arse ,they built some crap cars as well .

I guess once a sucessful niche industry [ like motorcycles] is sold to a conglomerate ,the money men begin to run the show and the expert enthusiasts who founded and guided the company during it's formative years are pushed aside .
Then the downward spiral begins .
Look at what happened to Buell ,sacrificed by Harley .[Who are so entranced by their own Harley lifestyle bullshit that they cannot comprehend what motorcycling is all about .]
It would have been far better for Eric Buell to buy back the company and produce real motorcycles in small numbers for enthusiasts .
Buells were never really my cup of tea ,but I'm sad to see them go .

But we still have a British Triumph ,John Bloor had a vision [and actually started off with a modular approach to bike engines ] [however that seems to have gone by the wayside ].
Triumph keep a keen eye on the market and produce bikes that sell .
As long as they remain independent they will thrive .

My apols for hijacking the thread .

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Blessed are the cracked, for they let in the light. - Spike Milligan
"When you come to a fork in the road ,take it ! When you come to a spoon in the road ,take that also ."

Thanks for those who recorded it for me - I actually just managed to catch it on C4 online which is available longer than I expected.

I thought it was pretty good once you filter out the customary TV hyperbole (I see the 'Empty Quarter' has moved again to a patch of land north of Kiffa).
He did look pretty scared as he was about to ditch the contraption over the sea and I know they had bigger plans for the desert stage but the car was clearly not always so controllable.

Ch

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Morocco Overland 4 (2025) • Trans Morocco Trail