confusing . Pete said it wouldn ’ t be too tricky , plus , I ’ ve driven bulldozers with decelerators ... so , no worries . That said , it takes some serious getting used to . It goes like this - you get hard on the gas telling yourself that the next gear up requires a right foot down shift . You do that . It ’ s easy ... then you relax a bit , focus shifts to an amazingly tractable power delivery and you enjoy the fabulous exhaust note . You drop your guard . A corner comes , I instinctively pull the front brake lever and hit the rear brake . But , that instinctive dab on the rear brake is actually the gear lever and I ’ ve just changed up a gear while experiencing very little slowing effect from the front brake . The result combined with high revs and heavy flywheel inertia means I ’ ve just accelerated by 20 % in the crucial braking zone ... which isn ’ t that helpful with a fence right in front of you . Focus restored ... After that I decided that shifting gears on the Rickman wasn ’ t really my thing and to be honest such is the torque its not overly necessary . Pete says at TT races he often shifts up to 3rd from the start and stays in that gear for the rest of the race – the engine is very flexible . For me the most impressive thing is the traction it gets . Even on wet farmland , the Rickman drives forward rather than spin up wildly like a modern machine would . It ’ s very effective at going forward . The 650 Triumph engine is slow revving and not that powerful by today ’ s standards , but it pulls
well and revs cleanly from idle to full throttle in a very linear way . Because of the high engine inertia and slow revving nature , maintaining flow is the way to ride . This is helped by excellent steering precision that would rival some modern machinery even if the ergos don ’ t . It is very planted up front and quite confidenceinspiring . I ’ m sure a well ridden one of these old girls would surprise many on a smooth natural terrain track . The suspension action felt quite good , but the test paddock was largely bump free . I imagine small jumps would be okay , but I ’ m thinking a couple of feet in the air would be plenty and anything larger than small to modest acceleration holes would require some care . Considering its age , the suspension is great , maybe about as good as a brand new out of the box DR 650 , but more controlled . Overall , the Rickman Metisse was a true joy to have a wee blast on . It was also a real eye opener , a little confronting and somewhat disturbing . I figured I had my head around riding most things , but this had the better of me . Pete has it mastered , though , and it was a pleasure to see him put it through its paces properly . And thanks to Tim for coming out and giving us all a history lesson , it was great to catch up . Tim has forgotten more about riding and bikes than most of us will ever know and he still knows more than most us ... a true legend – not to mention a total larrikin wrapped in a ‘ butter wouldn ’ t melt in his mouth ’ persona , but that ’ s another story . JOCK MCLAUCHLAN
58 KIWI RIDER