UKs oldest motorcycle shop closes after 120 years..

Exmoor beast

Exmoor beast

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Location
Minehead,Somerset, ENGLAND OF COURSE
Lloyd Coopers ( motorcycles direct) have closed after 120 years trading from Queens Road Watford. I started there as a mechanic at 17 there in’85 after leaving Merton Tech and was there ,and sister shop Yoshimoto’s for eleven years. I went from apprentice, did all my training with Honda, Kawasaki ( and Tomos..) and sold Harris Bonnevilles, Bajaj Vespas ( don’t ask) to running the grey import shop Yoshi’s. They sponsored me to race grasstrack sidecars and I mechaniced for our sponsored road racer Frank Finch at the TT & Honda Super cup. I was the youngest motorcycle MOT tester at eighteen and used to commute 45 miles to work every day on a bike. My apprentice ( now manager) is sitting on the BSA in the pic , his Dad was George O’Dells passenger - sidecar royalty. Very sad but unfortunately a sign of the times.
 

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I just caught the tail end of British bikes unfortunately ( or fortunately?) by my time they were a bit of a joke- I was willing to work on them and was sympathetic at MOT time, think I only ever failed one Brit bike. My lenient reputation meant people would bring all sorts of rare old stuff in for testing- which was great for me . Regulars included a Norton interpol ( with telephone box) war dept Indian with rifle scabbard, Norton international, Laverda RGS, 950 Norton, Dunstable GT750 etc. I can remember getting a phone call that the MOT inspector from the ministry was doing his rounds, BMW and the reg- so we had to dust off the Salter brake tester! When he arrived we spent best part of an hour going over it- then pretend to be surprised when he told us who he was! 😂 Because I could ride a sidecar we fitted a few of them as well- a BMW with a double adult chair broke down and we towed it back with a pickup truck ( which isn’t legal! ) I had to fight the permanent tank slapper as the twenty foot of rope went slack/ tight as we crossed Watford traffic! Golden Age
 
We towed a Gold Wing Sidecar Outfit off Mt Panorama Easter Races after it blew its clutch doing Naughty stuff at night. Golden age indeed. We had a very unpleasant chat with the Cops manning the access point doing that. Good old days indeed.
 
Vince said:
We towed a Gold Wing Sidecar Outfit off Mt Panorama Easter Races after it blew its clutch doing Naughty stuff at night. Golden age indeed. We had a very unpleasant chat with the Cops manning the access point doing that. Good old days indeed.
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In UK you can tow like with like - bike can tow a bike, sidecar can tow a sidecar. Terrible idea😂Just found a pic of that chair, I used it because it wouldn’t fit down the alley of the bike shop.
 

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Bike towing story, we towed a mate's Montesa out of the bush with another bike. Nobody had a tow rope, so we used the riding jersey of the rider of the broken bike. It ended up approximately 3 times its original length by the time we got back to the car and trailer. Webbing tow straps were carried after that episode.
 
Used my girlfriend’s knitted scarf as a tow rope, wrapped it around the centre damper of the Mach111, so I could let go in an emergency.

The tow bike was getting further and further away as the scarf stretched, again, about three times its original length.
 
A mate with a Honda CB550K grabbed a tow rope outof the boot of his dad`s Ford Consul so he could use the Honda to tow me on my Triumph T160V home ........ The clutch drive plate ( single diaphragm spring Borg and Beck , the same as used in the BL Mini , I believe ) , had sheared where it was supposed to engage with the clutch hub pinion on the output shaft ) ....... leaving me stranded a couple of miles from home , in the middle of Bristol .

A Honda 550 towing a Triumph 750 may have been legal , although that was the least of my concerns at the time .......... It was one of the most terrifying experiences I have ever been subjected to ......... every time a corner loomed up , he would go one way , and I would go the other ......
 
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Did Lloyd Cooper also have a branch in Harrow at one point?
A lot of the old west and north London bike shops have now gone. I used to visit them all, Coopers, Rex Judd, D&H, Ride On and Speedway of Acton. A mate of mine had his shop in Northfields with his Dad, P L Knight & Son. They used to sell s/h Brit bikes but mainly they used to rewind mags. All now sadly gone, only HGB & Daytona are left although Mike Harrington one of the founders died last year.
I heard today that Bill Bunn has just died although I understand the shop in South Ealing is still going.
 
Back in the late sixties and seventies there were quite a number of small ( or not so small ) motorcycle shops in my part of Bristol which have now disappeared ........

There was Rays , in Gloucester Road ..... he sold mostly accessories rather than bikes , but also would service or overhaul your Vespa or Lambretta ...... I got a pair of universal fit silencers from him for my CB250 K4 ....... " Ray will sell you anything ... " was the local watchword .

Also in Gloucester Road was Brian Newths ........ Lino on the floor and a line up of Old English Singles , with maybe the odd twin thrown in ..... about thirty quid each at the time .... worth a small fortune now ........
Even on a sunny day it was like entering a dark gloomy funeral parlour as you walked in ...... No sigh of life for a minute or so , then from out of the shadows a figure in a black suit , white shirt , and black tie would silently glide into view ....... Mr Newth himself ......... looking for all the world like a cross between Ray Reardon and Bella Lugosi`s portrayal of Count Dracula ....... He would then stare at you in silence , waiting for you to state the nature of your business .......

I once bought some white stick - on numbers and letters ( 237 BDD ) for my Tiger Cub from him .... I think that`s about it really ..........


Then there was Charlies in Stapleton Road ...... all British stuff ..... haven`t been down that way for a while , but would imagine that`s gone now ......

Also in Stapleton Road was GSL , from whom I bought a new MZ SupaFive ......

Grays , down in Stokes Croft ..... I bought ( new ) a Triumph Blazer SS ; Triumph T140V Bonneville ; Yamaha TZR125 ; Suzuki GS500E , and Honda Novio ...... and ( used ) a Honda CB250 K4 from them ......

Westbury Motorcycles , in Westbury on Trym .... ( where else ? ) ..... although they also had a branch in Staple Hill ........ I bought a new Rickman R125 Six Days Replica from them ......

Bristol Six Scooters in Cotham ....... a new Honda Express and CB125J from them .......

Bristol Six Scooters in Kingswood ...... a new Honda CB400F from them ......

Trident Motorcycles , also in Gloucester Road ...... a new Honda SL125 from them .......

Rob Taylor Motorcycles in Shirehampton ....... a new Honda C90 from them .......

Avon Bikes in Cheltenham Road ...... a used Laverda Mirage from them ......

Pete Robson up in Filton ....... that shops gone , but still trading under that name in Horfield ... ( prop. Stan .... top man btw ) ......

Crossley Motorcycles up at Frampton Cotterell ....... my mate got his new Honda CB550K from them .........

Staple Hill Motorcycles over at ...... you`ve guessed it .............

Wheel Torque at Saint George ...... a used Suzuki GS500E from them ......


All gone now ...........

There`s probably more , but I`m starting to run out of enthusiasm for this a little bit now ..... and this is just basically North Bristol .........

Small shops still trading are Pete Robson ( the aforementioned Stan ) ; Kellaway Motorcycles ; TNT Motorcycles at Lodge Causeway .... ( a tiny shop still trading , but under a different name now , I think ) ....... and maybe one or two more who I`ve heard mention of , but never visited ............. ..... but that`s basically it ............. three or four survivors out of .... well , loads really ............


PS ... forgot to mention the BikeHut at Rangeworthy .... basically a breakers , but I`ve got a GS500 , a couple of ER5`s , and a YZF750R from there ..... sold as seen , but all fine .........

Then of course there`s Fowlers , and Ultimate Motorcycles down in South Bristol , but that`s a bit of a foreign land as far as I`m concerned ........



BTW ..... when Fowlers used to be at Grosvenor Road , Saint Pauls , back in the sixties and seventies , there used to be this really strange thing which involved this miserable old geezer sat in an office facing out onto the pavement , across the road from the main showroom .......

On a Saturday morning , there would be this long queue of people lined up along the pavement , maybe up to twenty or more strong ......... all waiting their turn for an audience with said old geezer .........

One by one they would shuffle along , until it was their turn to arrive at the head of the queue .......

They would then poke their head through the open office window , and ask the old geezer things like ....... " what`s the correct exhaust valve clearance for a 5TA ? " .......... or " which is the correct needle position for the Monobloc I`ve got fitted to my M21 ? " ........ or " what`s the right c/b gap for my Constellation 250 ? " ............ and so on ........

Old geezer would then proffer this information to the inquirer , in a manner which suggested it pained him to do so ....... ( all this information seemingly stored within his head ) ............ and the inquirer would then depart , in order to make way for the next person in the queue .........

As I said , really weird ..............
 
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rocketonarail said:
One by one they would shuffle along , until it was their turn to arrive at the head of the queue .......

They would then poke their head through the open office window , and ask the old geezer things like ....... " what`s the correct exhaust valve clearance for a 5TA ? " .......... or " which is the correct needle position for the Monobloc I`ve got fitted to my M21 ? " ........ or " what`s the right c/b gap for my Constellation 250 ? " ............ and so on ........

Old geezer would then proffer this information to the inquirer , in a manner which suggested it pained him to do so ....... ( all this information seemingly stored within his head ) ............ and the inquirer would then depart , in order to make way for the next person in the queue ....
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Sounds like the stone-age version of laverdaforum.com.

piet
 
triton said:
Did Lloyd Cooper also have a branch in Harrow at one point?
A lot of the old west and north London bike shops have now gone. I used to visit them all, Coopers, Rex Judd, D&H, Ride On and Speedway of Acton. A mate of mine had his shop in Northfields with his Dad, P L Knight & Son. They used to sell s/h Brit bikes but mainly they used to rewind mags. All now sadly gone, only HGB & Daytona are left although Mike Harrington one of the founders died last year.
I heard today that Bill Bunn has just died although I understand the shop in South Ealing is still going.
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Coopers bought a branch at Hemel Kempstead that had a Dyno and later bought Kawasaki Colchester which ironically sold Guzzis- I had a Guzzi and parked it outside our Honda/ Kawasaki shop much to my boss’s annoyance. Harrow had Machs and for a short while Roger Etcell ran the Honda project shop- this was a boutique shop, no discount like a car dealership that was designed to show us how to do it….went bust in 18 months. I used to nip over Rev Judds to get parts- they were bought out ( can’t remember name ) and shop burnt down🤔mysteriously.It was a listed building with a clock tower, turns out the clock was removed and sold before fire..redeveloped for big bucks.
Bill Bunns was old school , I used to got to “ downstairs” Kay’s of Ealing to buy Triumph spares & my first bike job was Saturday boy at Misdemeaner Motorcycles ( spelt correctly) that was next to Show& Go run by Snob and his mob. Hammer Gouge & Bodgett ticked along ( Kev Campbell was salesman for years) and Daytonas were our Arch enemy! We could undercut them which they hated- still friendly to me and we could get spares if we were desperate. Boss man Carter got caught shagging au pair and it went through a big change and was never the same. They sponsored Rod Pallant ( who built my Kawasaki grass track engine) drag bike “ L.A Hooker” .Dont remember Knights.
Les Harris ( that bought Triumph ) used to be Saturday boy at Rex Judds. Don’t get me on how I asked Alan Bell for a job at Muira’s either 😂
 
rocketonarail said:
Back in the late sixties and seventies there were quite a number of small ( or not so small ) motorcycle shops in my part of Bristol which have now disappeared ........

There was Rays , in Gloucester Road ..... he sold mostly accessories rather than bikes , but also would service or overhaul your Vespa or Lambretta ...... I got a pair of universal fit silencers from him for my CB250 K4 ....... " Ray will sell you anything ... " was the local watchword .

Also in Gloucester Road was Brian Newths ........ Lino on the floor and a line up of Old English Singles , with maybe the odd twin thrown in ..... about thirty quid each at the time .... worth a small fortune now ........
Even on a sunny day it was like entering a dark gloomy funeral parlour as you walked in ...... No sigh of life for a minute or so , then from out of the shadows a figure in a black suit , white shirt , and black tie would silently glide into view ....... Mr Newth himself ......... looking for all the world like a cross between Ray Reardon and Bella Lugosi`s portrayal of Count Dracula ....... He would then stare at you in silence , waiting for you to state the nature of your business .......

I once bought some white stick - on numbers and letters ( 237 BDD ) for my Tiger Cub from him .... I think that`s about it really ..........


Then there was Charlies in Stapleton Road ...... all British stuff ..... haven`t been down that way for a while , but would imagine that`s gone now ......

Also in Stapleton Road was GSL , from whom I bought a new MZ SupaFive ......

Grays , down in Stokes Croft ..... I bought ( new ) a Triumph Blazer SS ; Triumph T140V Bonneville ; Yamaha TZR125 ; Suzuki GS500E , and Honda Novio ...... and ( used ) a Honda CB250 K4 from them ......

Westbury Motorcycles , in Westbury on Trym .... ( where else ? ) ..... although they also had a branch in Staple Hill ........ I bought a new Rickman R125 Six Days Replica from them ......

Bristol Six Scooters in Cotham ....... a new Honda Express from them .......

Bristol Six Scooters in Kingswood ...... a new Honda CB400F from them ......

Trident Motorcycles , also in Gloucester Road ...... a new Honda SL125 from them .......

Rob Taylor Motorcycles in Shirehampton ....... a new Honda C90 from them .......

Avon Bikes in Cheltenham Road ...... a used Laverda Mirage from them ......

Pete Robson up in Filton ....... that shops gone , but still trading under that name in Horfield ... ( prop. Stan .... top man btw ) ......

Crossley Motorcycles up at Frampton Cotterell ....... my mate got his new Honda CB550K from them .........

Staple Hill Motorcycles over at ...... you`ve guessed it .............

Wheel Torque at Saint George ...... a used Suzuki GS500E from them ......


All gone now ...........

There`s probably more , but I`m starting to run out of enthusiasm for this a little bit now ..... and this is just basically North Bristol .........

Small shops still trading are Pete Robson ( the aforementioned Stan ) ; Kellaway Motorcycles ; TNT Motorcycles at Lodge Causeway .... ( a tiny shop still trading , but under a different name now , I think ) ....... and maybe one or two more who I`ve heard mention of , but never visited ............. ..... but that`s basically it ............. three or four survivors out of .... well , loads really ............


PS ... forgot to mention the BikeHut at Rangeworthy .... basically a breakers , but I`ve got a GS500 , a couple of ER5`s , and a YZF750R from there ..... sold as seen , but all fine .........

Then of course there`s Fowlers , and Ultimate Motorcycles down in South Bristol , but that`s a bit of a foreign land as far as I`m concerned ........



BTW ..... when Fowlers used to be at Grosvenor Road , Saint Pauls , back in the sixties and seventies , there used to be this really strange thing which involved this miserable old geezer sat in an office facing out onto the pavement , across the road from the main showroom .......

On a Saturday morning , there would be this long queue of people lined up along the pavement , maybe up to twenty or more strong ......... all waiting their turn for an audience with said old geezer .........

One by one they would shuffle along , until it was their turn to arrive at the head of the queue .......

They would then poke their head through the open office window , and ask the old geezer things like ....... " what`s the correct exhaust valve clearance for a 5TA ? " .......... or " which is the correct needle position for the Monobloc I`ve got fitted to my M21 ? " ........ or " what`s the right c/b gap for my Constellation 250 ? " ............ and so on ........

Old geezer would then proffer this information to the inquirer , in a manner which suggested it pained him to do so ....... ( all this information seemingly stored within his head ) ............ and the inquirer would then depart , in order to make way for the next person in the queue .........

As I said , really weird ..............
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Fowlers used to have a girl that answered the phone who sounded like the Cadburys Caramel rabbit “ Awright my luvver?”
From memory I think Lionel left the shop to his son in law by passing the daughter . Then of course they had the fire that destroyed thirty years of obsolete parts….probably an accident!
 
I recall breaking down on my A65 Thunderbolt ( valve, meet piston…) on the M4 by Heston Services and my dad towing me off the motorway and through the busy roads back to Iver. Utterly terrifying. 🫣
 
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