Superb single

“High performance single with magnificent roadholding, steering and brakes,” was the way The Motor Cycle described the Vincent Comet when they tested it in 1950 and, riding a similar machine (a 1949 Series C) through the sun-dappled lanes of West Wiltshire seven decades on, I can vouch for the fact that it this rings true.

With the healthy note of the silencer singing out behind me, and safe in the knowledge that, if required, the superb brakes were more than a match for bringing the 413lb machine to a rapid halt, it was a joy to be riding what some – myself included – consider to be the best 500cc single ever produced by a British motorcycle company.

The bike carrying the registration number of GAY 81 has been in the West Country for much of its life and is now owned by Steve Morris, a man who bought it from his near neighbour – and great enthusiast – Colin Groves just before Christmas in 2016.

Regular readers will recognise Colin’s name, as I’ve tested six bikes from his eclectic collection and he told me how he came