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Archive indexDuring the Spring of 1998 I bought a Solex from my local Sunday boot market; I'd already got a 3300 and this one was very similar. It was a 3800, black, square-framed and being sold by a Frenchman! I thought "why not?" £100 changed hands - he said "eet does goe" and it did, albeit a bit blue-smokey.
It had an aluminium identity disc screwed under the headstock bolt. Well, when you come to think about it, a row of Solexes all look the same when you come out of college or the local bar and want to go home - how do you tell which one's yours? In France, it wouldn't have had a number plate.
It needed a bit of attention: the bottom pedal bracket bushes were worn, free-wheel and back brake not functioning but the lights worked and it ran, so fair enough. I started on a Solex tender loving care programme last autumn. I removed the engine to clear a huge build- up of muck near the drive roller. My over-enthusiastic use of a hose pipe resulted in it getting past seals and into the piston area. I therefore had to dismantle the engine, replace bearings, and modify new oil seals. I didn't mind as I'd wondered how a Solex was put together. I paid the DVLC £25 for a first time registration; it was MoT'd and after other payments I was able to legally ride it on the road.
I was so disappointed in its performance; it was so lethargic. A lady on a horse riding in the opposite direction acknowledged my good road manners for slowing down but I felt like shouting out after we passed "I was at full throttle!"
While trundling along this popular road, wondering what I had assembled wrongly, I noticed all the rubbish in the hedgerows - especially drink cans. Well, it so happens that the current Blue Peter appeal is for aluminium foil and cans. The following Sunday I kitted out my two young lads with long rubbish type grabbers and shopping baskets with wheels on to go collecting. We filled the baskets; photos were taken and sent to Blue Peter; then, surprisingly, they were shown on live TV. All thanks to a 3800 which seems rather tired for its 33 years; maybe it was swinging in the '60s while I was studying, trying to get my HNC.
First published - February 1999