Lockdown LC part 1 :Lockdown Lovely!

It’s the middle of lockdown and Tony Greenslade of Allspeeds/Gibson Exhausts has a plan… restore an Elsie, in competition with mate Andy Davies.

- TONY GREENSLADE

Let’s head back to July 9, 1993. I bought an RD350LC, not knowing it would have such an influence on my life.

I borrowed the money from the bank and zoomed home from work to go and pick it up from the local bike shop/breakers. Just 96 hours later I was coming round in a hospital bed. Yup, just four days it took towrite the bike off. On my way home from work, a van did a U-turn in front of me in the pouring rain and I had no time to react (apparently); lucky for me that I have no memory of this accident.

Fast forward three months and I was able to get about again and start collecting parts to rebuild the bike. This bike was a bit of a local legend. Every owner had ended up in hospital on it. I was not going to let it beat me and the rebuild began. Spring 1994 the bike was finished. Me and a couple of friends loaded it on a trailer and headed to the BMF rally. We had joined the LC Club and were about to spend our first weekend showing the bike.

1/ The 'Candy Blue' as it once was...