Just the job

Because it seems that over the last 25 years it has become more and more impossible to ride motorcycles off-road through our green and pleasant land in the UK, when I found myself living in rural Italy with my Italian girlfriend Sara 20-plus years ago, I was determined to get onto two wheels and along as many green lanes and up as many hilltops as possible.

So, that meant something reliable, with enough clout and flexibility to deal with off-road conditions, light and manageable at the same time, and easy to pick up if dropped. Then, Sara also decided that she wanted a bike to ride too, and it had to be something that could also be used to run errands around the local village if needed.

Pretty quickly, I picked up a well used but cheap 1985 Yamaha XT600 Tenere that proved to be an excellent all-rounder, and it was as good along river beds as it was on the road to the beach, but it was tall, heavy, and no good for Sara.

Then, whilst rummaging through the basement of someone who had machines of Italian provenance – Minarelli, Cimatti, Testi and the like – I spotted a dusty and unloved 1973 Gilera Trial.