The 1971 motorcycle licensing laws could have been a big blow to young bikers. Until then 16-year-olds could ride up to a 250cc on L plates, but in an attempt to reduce casualties amongst younger, less experienced riders, it was decided they would be restricted to mopeds: machines of no more than 50cc, fitted with pedals.
The thinking was this would limit first-timers to sedate suburban step-throughs like the NSU Quickly and Raleigh Runabout – and quell any aspirations of speed and excitement. What Ted Heath’s government didn’t anticipate was the resourcefulness of motorcycle manufacturers, who decided that although they would of course obey the letter of the law, they would still offer teenagers something to set their pulses racing and started filling up their showrooms with ‘sixteener specials’: jaw-droppingly gorgeous, highly tuned, mini versions of superbikes, with a token pair of pedals attached.
Desirable? Definitely. Far from suppressing youngsters’ urge for speed, they embraced it. Were they actually fast? Debatable, but the government did respond – albeit six years later – with mandatory restriction to 30mph, which tells you something.
Though disappointing, the 30mph limit didn’t put the kids off – restrictors were usually the first things to be removed – and sports mopeds screamed their way right through the 1980s.
It will be forever argued which was the fastest, but what cannot be disputed is that those sixteener specials inspired a generation of youngsters to take to two wheels, many of whom are still riding today. And those bikes are still talked about and lusted after, and changing hands for eye-watering amounts. Here’s our pick of the crop:
The king of the Seventies was the Yamaha FS1-E – known as the Fizzy to its fans. Launched in 1973 it had a glam-rock Candy Gold colour scheme, and a 49cc, 4.8bhp, single cylinder, two-stroke rotary disc-valve engine capable of nudging it up to 50mph in standard trim. A tuned Fizzy could hit 60+, as many ex-owners will tell you.
Honda’s SS50 was a four-stroke, so couldn’t quite keep up with the two-stroke competition in the traffic light grand prix. Early models could only muster around 2.5bhp and a four-speed box, later visions got a five-speed and 4bhp. Its sensible motor made it much more likely to get you home, though. It was also – arguably – the best-looking of the bunch, with its high-level exhaust and multiple colour options.
Suzuki came a little later to the party with their AP50, but that gave them the advantage of seeing where their rivals had fallen short. Developed from an existing model – the A50 – it also boasted a 4.8bhp, 49cc single cylinder two-stroke, but had a five-speed box – one more than the Fizzy – and a shade more torque. It also had autolube, so no more messy pre-mixing two-stroke oil with your petrol.
By the time Margaret Thatcher had taken up residence in Downing Street, the original sixteener specials were looking and feeling tired, or had disappeared altogether. Kawasaki decided to start it all over again with the AR50. With a bikini fairing, five-spoke cast wheels and Uni-Trak rear suspension it looked every inch a mini GPz. The trade-off was a heavily restricted engine, so it never went quite as fast as it looked.
In the eco-conscious 21st century, two-strokes are no-more but fear not; electric bikes like the funky Cu Mini and sporty TSX from Super Soco are offering 16-year-olds a fresh and affordable new route to freedom and independence – without the smells, noise and mess of an oily two-stroke motor to worry about. Maybe we are witnessing a new era of sixteener specials that are set to inspire a generation of riders to take to two wheels.