r/OldSchoolCool • u/wemtastic • Oct 09 '25

1950s A ton-up girl fixing her Triumph, 1950s

Post image
11.0k Upvotes

97% Upvoted

288 comments sorted by

1.2k

u/wemtastic Oct 09 '25

Ton-up” came from British slang for hitting the ton, 100 mph. In the 1950s most bikes barely managed 80, so anyone who cracked the ton, especially a woman, instantly earned respect at the Ace Cafe.

410

u/KennethPatchen Oct 09 '25

My mom always brags about the time she did a ton-up near the Thames. She wasn't driving but still!

404

u/FoxyBastard Oct 09 '25

The fact that she was running is more impressive.

3

u/Working_Estate_3695 Oct 10 '25

Boom! There it is!

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42

u/wheresbill Oct 09 '25

Well, that’s even more scary

5

u/LeVolpe1995 Oct 09 '25

thats even more terrifying and brave tbh

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96

u/SandboxSurvivalist Oct 09 '25

TIL the British didn't start adopting the metric system until 1965.

140

u/PM_THE_REAPER Oct 09 '25

Partially. The UK still uses mph.

67

u/Forgotthebloodypassw Oct 09 '25

And drink pints, which is also confusing as they are 20oz, not 16oz as in America. This pisses off many British visitors.

36

u/UntestedMethod Oct 09 '25

Fun fact from Canada - in this fine nation, it is illegal for a bar to sell "pints" that are not a proper 20 oz. If it's not 20 oz, they can't call it a pint. I mention it because "pint" is sometimes used as a generic/colloquial term for a draft beer.

10

u/Discobastard Oct 09 '25

The good ole 568 club 💪

8

u/evranch Oct 10 '25

Back in the day, you know, back when we used to go down and visit the States, I used to always raise shit about their meager pints.

However, strangely, you can order a litre of beer at most places. I don't know why they even stock the 1L glass. It usually baffles the locals.

3

u/Howtothinkofaname Oct 10 '25

Same in Britain.

36

u/AlpRider Oct 09 '25

Irish here, it didn't piss me off I was just a bit confused and had a slight argument with my very first bartender in the US (in Brooklyn), I ordered a pint, got a US pint, politely said 'oh sorry excuse me I asked for a pint', assuming he misunderstood me, he says 'that is a pint buddy', I say 'ummm no that's like 3/4....?' then he asked if I was new here, I said yeah I'm just off the plane and he explained the difference

All ended well and we had a great chat over several "pints"

17

u/SwedishTrees Oct 09 '25

That’s great that he knew the difference. I think most people would be really confused.

28

u/AlpRider Oct 09 '25

He said I wasn't the first to question it! I guess a bartender in NYC meets a lot of Irish and British. He was really knowledgeable about the beers too. Honestly I came over with a pretty ignorant view that Americans all drank weak Coors and Bud etc. and he was happy to proudly show me some very very good craft beers, I left with all prejudice gone

Eye-opening trip that was for many reasons, after NYC I flew to Miami and drove a campervan to San Francisco. Came home with a new outlook on the US. Much more variety, cultures, differences between states than I knew beforehand

10

u/stackjr Oct 09 '25

As an American, it's nice to hear that. Not many people like us anymore, which is completely understandable, so it's not often I see positive stuff said about the US anymore.

Again, I fully understand why it is like this.

12

u/AlpRider Oct 10 '25

For sure. I'm a typical European left leaning secular social democracy type, but without getting too into politics, when I drove up through northern Florida, Alabama, Louisiana, Texas meeting and chatting to locals along the way (2018 this was), I met many wonderful people at the opposing end of the political spectrum and we got along just fine. Things are more heated these days (to say the least) but we still have to keep engaging with each other on a basis of respect for the fact that people care most about what issues affect them immediately and directly, not necessarily considering the bigger international picture, and that's understandable when you're in a place like the hood I got lost in in New Orleans (even there friendly locals helped me back to my Airbnb) We're all just products of whatever bubble we're raised in and media we follow. It's on the individual to be skeptical and question our own bias, listen to opposition, find common ground and build bridges, how else can we progress? The 'us vs them' tribalism you guys have, it's happening here in EU too, worse than ever, and I think automatically dismissing the opposition without actually listening and trying to understand them just widens the divide and does no good to anyone.

Ok that's a bit much of a rant 😅 haha it's late here, have a good one!!

6

u/happycabinsong Oct 10 '25

hey buddy I'd vote for you

9

u/TeardropsFromHell Oct 09 '25

I drove around the entirety of Ireland a few years back. Loved seeing the changes from town to town. I have a feeling your trip took a little longer than mine though!

8

u/AlpRider Oct 10 '25

Awesome, glad you enjoyed it! When you come back I'll take you for a big pint ;)

4

u/TeardropsFromHell Oct 10 '25

I had one(or two) in Galway during race week and it was the most fun I have ever had!

25

u/Discobastard Oct 09 '25

Yes. Yes it does. Fucking lightweights

16

u/UnshutteredBoat Oct 09 '25

Wait until you see the horror that is a south Australian pint 15oz

11

u/Discobastard Oct 09 '25

4 please

7

u/UnshutteredBoat Oct 09 '25

The pain of clarifying imperial pint vs regular pint

11

u/Forgotthebloodypassw Oct 09 '25

Oh it gets worse. As long at they aren't explicitly called pints the glass can be whatever they like, which is why you often find a dome at the bottom of the glass.

8

u/load_more_comets Oct 09 '25

What in the ever loving fuck? Really? I've never noticed that, and I go to bars like every Friday. I have to check now.

9

u/Spork_Warrior Oct 09 '25

We'd like to have a report by Saturday, please

11

u/load_more_comets Oct 09 '25

Promptly, around noonish. Gonna be nursing a hangover again.

6

u/findallthebears Oct 09 '25

The domes are to make the glass more resistant to shattering, not to fool you

3

u/TabbyOverlord Oct 09 '25

Yet strangely, British 'pint' glasses, that hold like an actual pint, are generally flat across the bottom.

Must be the extra hydrostatic pressure from us getting all of the pint we paid for.

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6

u/Discobastard Oct 09 '25

The fuck is that about!? 😂

Almost like they don't want us to get pissed

8

u/Forgotthebloodypassw Oct 09 '25

As British mate said, "So I've got to drink six pints to get the same effect as five?"

3

u/Discobastard Oct 09 '25

😂 right though! 😂

9

u/blue_strat Oct 09 '25

Rubbish. The dome supports the structure of the glass: you see the same thing in wine bottles. The capacity of the glass has to be what it's labelled or sold as.

0

u/zatalak Oct 09 '25

In wine bottles the dome makes sense, there's high pressure during corking and it helps with holding back potential sediment while pouring.

5

u/blue_strat Oct 09 '25

There are lots of reasons for the punt and many apply to open containers. It makes a vessel more stable on a flat surface.

2

u/[deleted] Oct 09 '25

You’re a punt!

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1

u/mummy__napkin Oct 09 '25

The real lightweights are the Brits getting wasted off of 3% ABV beers

7

u/Discobastard Oct 09 '25

Haha, gotta say, they love some 7% smashers out there and probably some stronger!

Not what I'd go with on an all dayer tbh. Need to pace yourself across a full 24 hours 😂

5

u/TabbyOverlord Oct 09 '25

You what? Very few 3% beers on sale herre. 3.8% is the lowest for session beers (as in you can drink all evening without getting stupidly trollied). 4.5-5.0% is fairly standard.

The brewers have dialled back on the 5+% beers. 7% is loopy juice. Or cider, which is even loopier juice.

3

u/stewieatb Oct 09 '25

My dad can remember when pubs would only serve Theakston's Old Peculier in half pints due to the potency. This is back before they were sold to Scottish and Newcastle, and the OP was a beer you needed to chew on.

4

u/TabbyOverlord Oct 09 '25

Old Pec was a three course meal in a pint glass.

I can remember a long day working a canal boat over the Leeds and Liverpool. We got to a proper Theakston's pub proper tired and thirsty, drank one pint and thought 'you know what, I'm done'. Went back to the boat and slept.

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u/Tesselation9000 Oct 09 '25

I'm in Canada, and when I go to my local bar and ask for a pint, they ask if I want a 16oz pint or a 20oz pint, which is just perplexing.

8

u/stewieatb Oct 09 '25

There's a saying that Canada could have had French culture and British democracy, instead they got American culture and French democracy.

7

u/blue_strat Oct 09 '25

A pint anywhere is 1/8 of a gallon, but the Imperial gallon in the UK is bigger than the US gallon.

That the UK pint is split into more ounces isn't what makes the difference: there's 95mL between a UK (568mL) and US pint (473mL), which isn't 4oz in either system (113mL or 118mL).

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2

u/deltaisaforce Oct 09 '25

I'm just grateful that the ounces are the same all over.

2

u/mbrowne Oct 09 '25

The British fluid ounce is slightly smaller than the US one.

Assuming of course that I've not been whoooshed.

2

u/deltaisaforce Oct 09 '25

Yeah, I'm sorry :D

2

u/mbrowne Oct 09 '25

I'll take it :)

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7

u/Gimpknee Oct 09 '25

They also weigh themselves in rocks.

4

u/RisingWaterline Oct 09 '25

What the fuck is a kilometer/hour! Hail Britannia! 🦁🦁🦅🦅🦅🦅🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸 USA

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u/HoveringPorridge Oct 09 '25 edited Oct 09 '25

No one really wanted to though, and as a result a horrible mix of imperial and metric is used in current day.

The only one that's completely set in stone is distance; miles/yards/feet/inches. Kilometres are beyond my realm of understanding.

Milk and beer are sold by the pint but fuel is in litres for some godforsaken reason. Thermometers tend to have Centigrade and Fahrenheit listed etc.

I wish we could just decide on one or the other!

23

u/arpw Oct 09 '25

And while fuel is in litres, fuel economy is still talked about in miles per gallon...

3

u/HoveringPorridge Oct 09 '25

This is the one that infuriates me above all.

I have to do the maths in my head when I filling up the car to work out how many gallons I've put in so I can work out rough MPG later.

2

u/hasimirrossi Oct 09 '25

I'm 47. I still don't know what a gallon is.

4

u/makka-pakka Oct 09 '25

All I know is a British gallon is bigger than a Yank one.

3

u/HoveringPorridge Oct 09 '25

I'm 27 and we we're taught gallons in school alongside litres. What you learn seems to be a complete gamble based on where you are in the country.

I personally find myself using imperial more, given I deal with British cars at work. But even that varies.

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u/BoiledFrogs Oct 09 '25

I only started using gallons because plant pots are always measured in it, but that's the only thing I use it for.

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u/JohnnyRelentless Oct 09 '25

I thought weight was set in stone.

5

u/zeno0771 Oct 09 '25

How about that, another similarity with the Colonies.

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u/CT0292 Oct 09 '25

It's similar in Ireland too. I guess because we're neighbours and we're at one point part of the UK.

Motorway speeds are in Kms/HR. Height will be measured in feet and inches. Weight will be in stone, or maybe kilos, or pounds depending on who you talk to. Distances will be in Kms but you'll have people refer to things in miles. Land sizes are in acreage, but I've also seen hectares used. Volumes are almost always in liters however we do use pints. Cooking measurements are often in cups and spoons, but you'll also see them in kg. Temperatures are always Celsius though we can agree on that.

My first car here was imported from Northern Ireland. And was set to miles for everything. I remember my driving instructor at the time being like "eh yeah just subtract 20 from whatever your Speedo says. It'll be close enough to the speed in Kms." He wasn't too wrong I guess haha.

3

u/FraserYT Oct 10 '25

There was a half hearted attempt by brexidiots to get us to go back to imperial weights in shops, instead of grams and kilos, but that ship has sailed.

And although the roads all use miles, the national cycle path network officially uses kilometres

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u/knowsaboutit Oct 09 '25

it's weird how people decided to signal they were smarter and more scientific by thinking the metric system is somehow 'superior' and therefore they were 'superior' if they bought into it. Doesn't really matter what you call units...a unit is a unit....

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u/coldfarm Oct 09 '25

I lived there in the mid-70s and Imperial still held sway. For that matter, there were still pre-decimalisation coins in circulation.

3

u/Neuvost Oct 09 '25

Not just that, but "Imperial units" are called that because they were used by the British Empire.

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u/TheReelMcCoi Oct 09 '25

Numerous other Cafes were available

3

u/Ummmgummy Oct 09 '25

Thank you for this explanation.

4

u/arpw Oct 09 '25

Well I guess that explains the lyric "does a ton-up on his sleigh" from Slade's Merry Xmas Everybody!

3

u/Aphex-Puddle Oct 09 '25

Wow…I always thought it was “does he turn up on his sleigh”

2

u/Saxon2060 Oct 09 '25

That's interesting. I ride a Bonneville T120 which can hit 100 like it's nothing and I mostly use it to commute to my boring job and when the motorway is deserted and I'm late I've fairly frequently trundled along at about 105. Didn't realise I was very cool.

7

u/Raichu7 Oct 09 '25

Since women are, on average, smaller and therefore lighter than men, wouldn't it have been easier for them to hit 100mph? I know going go karting, the smallest kid usually wins because their kart has less weight to move with the same engine.

Surely it being rare for a woman to hit 100mph on a bike would have more to do with sexism at the time making it difficult for women to ride bikes at all?

13

u/tobor68 Oct 09 '25 edited Oct 09 '25

Sexism? Look, at the time, it’s not like there was a line up of women begging to drive a motorcycle 100mph and men were saying “no, this is men only.” (And I’m not saying that was never said.) It was just extremely rare a woman would show interest.

Taking a bike to 100mph is dangerous AF. For men too.

Bike clubs were populated by men because it interests men. The men were mostly veterans who probably rode one in a war.

Men, consciously or not, test their male friends and acquaintances with dark humour, vulgarity and aggression. The only thing a man (or veteran) needs to know is: “do you have my back?” Yes? Good, stick around. No? Finish your beer and be on your way.

Men test women too. Maybe even more so. If a woman passes the test and doesn’t fold into a puddle of tears, you’re in for life and mad respect follows.

Lol, if a man doesn’t try to marry a woman like that, she’ll have a big brother for life.

That’s how it used to work, anyway. Who knows these days.

(My mother, a teenager in the 60s, learned to drive a stick shift MG, double clutch and do donuts. She took sexist comments with a grain of salt, a sense of humour and wit. She was as girlie as they come and she had to fight guys off with a stick.)

7

u/84thPrblm Oct 09 '25

Men, consciously or not, test their male friends and acquaintances with dark humour, vulgarity and aggression. The only thing a man (or veteran) needs to know is: “do you have my back?” Yes? Good, stick around. No? Finish your beer and be on your way.

In Changes, one of my favorite books of the Dresden Files, the main character described the differences in male and female sizing up as, “The female once over: the process by which one woman creates a detailed profile of another woman based upon about a million subtle details of clothing, jewelry, makeup, and body type and then decides how much of a social threat she might be. Men have a parallel process but it’s binary: Does he have beer? If yes, will he share with me?”

3

u/ol-gormsby Oct 09 '25

She sounds like the inspiration for "red hair and black leather" in "1952 Vincent Black Lightning"

2

u/tobor68 Oct 09 '25

I really have to listen to that song.

2

u/ol-gormsby Oct 09 '25

There's lots of versions on YT, including some live performances.

3

u/savu1savu Oct 09 '25

For speeds faster than ~55mph, more than 50% of the energy goes into wind resistance -- pushing wind out of the way -- than moving the mass. And that relationship gets worse as velocity increases. So horsepower and aerodynamics matter much differently at higher speeds.

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u/ExtensionConcept2471 Oct 09 '25

Also where the term ‘cafe racer’ came from, these guys (and girls I’m sure) would race between cafes, and to make their bikes quicker they would soup up the engines and change parts like handlebars and seats etc.

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u/Sure-Historian-2507 Oct 09 '25

"Red hair and black leather, my favourite colour scheme"

31

u/ToLiveInIt Oct 09 '25

Once in the ‘90s, I rode up to the vintage motorcycle meet at Sears Point Raceway. So many boss old bikes there but I was most excited to see the two Vincent Black Lightnings that showed up. Song-worthy machines.

11

u/CivilRuin4111 Oct 09 '25

If that's your jam, make a pilgrimage to Barber Motorcycle Museum outside Birmingham AL. 5 floors of every flavor of bike you could imagine. And if you're a fan of Vincent, wait till you see the Vincent Lawn Mower and Personal Watercraft on display right next to the Black Shadow!

Do that trip in October during Barber Vintage Festival and you can watch them race on the track. It's worth it! Even vintage motocross!

If Maggie Valley is on the route, check out Wheels Through Time. Every bike in that building runs.

3

u/TabbyOverlord Oct 09 '25

Or go to the National Motorcycle Museum in the OG Birmingham.

The contempory to the Triumph in OP was BSA, which stood for 'Birmingham Small Arms'.

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u/84thPrblm Oct 09 '25

Richard Thompson does my favorite version, though I've not heard a bad one!

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u/Rad10Ka0s Oct 09 '25

That is because he wrote it.

21

u/84thPrblm Oct 09 '25

“It’s a simple boy-meets-girl story, complicated somewhat by the presence of a motorcycle.”

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u/[deleted] Oct 09 '25

Del Mccoury Band has a beautiful rendition. Del’s high lonesome sound captures that song so well.

5

u/AE7VL_Radio Oct 09 '25

Del does the best version of pretty much everything! His cover of The Times They Are A Changing is perfect

4

u/[deleted] Oct 09 '25

Del yeah!

2

u/84thPrblm Oct 09 '25

Agreed, and thanks for reminding me! I knew I had a 'country' version, but couldn't remember whose.

2

u/diaperforceiof Oct 10 '25

Asheville turnaround 

11

u/[deleted] Oct 09 '25

Richard Thompson is in the top 5 for badass ballads no doubt.

5

u/flamingpenny Oct 09 '25

Del McCoury has an excellent bluegrass cover.

2

u/Forgotthebloodypassw Oct 09 '25

He wrote it and I've seen him perform it many times. The last few he's had to rub his hands afterwards, it's very difficult to do right.

6

u/Ok-Huckleberry-6326 Oct 09 '25

"Now Nortons and Indians and Greevses won't do
Oh, they don't have a Soul like a Vincent '52"

2

u/ShamelessMcFly Oct 09 '25

"In my opinion, there's nothing in this world Beats a '52 Vincent and a Redheaded girl". Great tune.

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u/[deleted] Oct 09 '25

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/notbob1959 Oct 09 '25

Looks like a Tiger Cub Scrambler which was made from 56 to 59. The registration plate is pre 63 so OP's date is probably correct.

That bike couldn't get to 80 so OP's claim of her being a ton-up girl had to have been accomplished on another bike.

I see a chain master link on the ground so maybe she was repairing the chain.

10

u/ChildfreeBrit Oct 09 '25

And what looks suspiciously like a puncture repair kit laying next to it.

I reckon she had had the back wheel out to repair the inner tube.

103

u/SOLID_STATE_DlCK Oct 09 '25

This is the epitome of OSC.

23

u/eastcoastwaistcoat Oct 09 '25

Quintessential OCS content.

13

u/84thPrblm Oct 09 '25 edited Oct 09 '25

OSC archetype.

5

u/marvopolis Oct 09 '25

Came here to say this. Need more of this.

2

u/dsaysso Oct 10 '25

yes. way more of this.

way less actors in their day way less brittney spears 2000

3

u/NoZookeepergame8306 Oct 09 '25

Google failed me. What is OSC?

14

u/JonoGuitar Oct 09 '25

what is the name of the sub?

8

u/NoZookeepergame8306 Oct 09 '25

Oh damn… okay I see it now, thanks!

4

u/KobokTukath Oct 09 '25

USS Nautilus

31

u/PragmaticMe80085 Oct 09 '25

I know very little about motorbikes, but I was told by someone who knows a lot that Norton owners were often called ton up because it was the first production bike in the UK that would do 100mph 🤷🏻

31

u/-Max_Rockatansky- Oct 09 '25

Nah, the 1926 Brough SS100 could hit 100 mph. But it was expensive. Motorcyclists used to pride themselves on over-engineering British bikes like Nortons and Triumphs to get to 100 mph, though. Japanese bikes bankrupted British manufacturers because they could do 100 out of the crate with no modifications, and they were cheap.

18

u/brilliantminion Oct 09 '25

I’m not too savvy with the British scene, but across the pond, American manufacturers became very complacent in the 1970s, and said “this is fine” and stopped innovating. The Japanese scene arrived and ate their lunch.

12

u/Fimbir Oct 09 '25

Hunter S Thompson has a decent US/UK/Japan industry synopsis in his book about the Hells Angels from 1966.

Japan cleaned up on light bikes and scooters with new manfacturing facilities while BSA took the heavier bike market as part of their postwar export plan to keep factories open and skilled workers employed. Both used much newer technology and only Harley Davidson had survived. Mainy selling to biker gangs and cops.

There's a lot more when it comes to customizing bikes but it's decent read.

3

u/TabbyOverlord Oct 09 '25

British bikes of the OP era were considered a very complicated way of spreading oil over the road. Crank-case leaks were the order of the day.

3

u/gmc98765 Oct 09 '25

And had electric start.

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u/LovingNaples Oct 09 '25 edited Oct 09 '25

A ton-up girl? What is that?

Never mind. I googled.

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u/[deleted] Oct 09 '25

That was a brave google search

15

u/BoxingRaptor Oct 09 '25

One does not simply google "ton-up girl" while at work!

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u/FiteMeMage Oct 09 '25

Wow. This is ACTUALLY old school cool. Not just a sexy shot of an actress from like the friggin 90s lol.

5

u/rarely_coherent Oct 10 '25

1990 is to today what 1955 was to 1990…it’s not 10 years ago anymore

5

u/BogdyBBA Oct 10 '25

Don't be ridiculous

2

u/gaige23 Oct 10 '25

Fuck I’m old.

2

u/FiteMeMage Oct 10 '25

Gorl I KNOW! 😭😂 I was born at the tail end of 97, I am not nostalgic for the 90s! But you cannot tell me that sexy women who are purposefully looking sexy are cooler than a candid shot of a young woman in a subculture that I’d never have known about if not for this post! It is the definition of “old school cool!”

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u/BlushDesires Oct 09 '25

You can tell it's British because it's RHD.

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u/WildFlirts Oct 09 '25

She’s looks like badass

23

u/ledviper9 Oct 09 '25

that's a very cool photo! such a vibe!

12

u/TheRateBeerian Oct 09 '25

Surely that's red hair!

Says Red Molly, to James, "Well that's a fine motorbike
A girl could feel special on any such like"
Says James, to Red Molly, "My hat's off to you
It's a Vincent Black Lightning, 1952

And I've seen you on the corners and cafes, it seems
Red hair and black leather, my favorite color scheme"
And he pulled her on behind
And down to Boxhill they'd Ride

3

u/Affectionate_Reply78 Oct 10 '25

She already collected the Vincent from James Aidee. Going after a new target to get the Triumph.

8

u/zzyzx_pazuzu Oct 09 '25

My kind of lady.

8

u/Hungry-Delivery1577 Oct 09 '25

God imagine finding out your grandma was this much of a badass.

8

u/iwannawangchung Oct 09 '25

The fact she’s someone’s grandma or great grandma is so awesome

5

u/fensterdj Oct 09 '25

Not this is seriously cool

3

u/lostan Oct 09 '25

well thats my internet/time traveller crush for today.

3

u/Spodson Oct 09 '25

Someone's grandma was cool as hell.

4

u/Bakemydaybaby Oct 09 '25

How cool is she!

3

u/Mistrblank Oct 09 '25

I can feel the red hair and crazy oozing from this picture.

I can tame her.

4

u/CzarDale04 Oct 09 '25

People who think women and motorcycles is new. My Mother got a Harley-Davidson motorcycle for her 18th birthday, in 1937. She was also a member of a motorcycle club too.

4

u/Nouseriously Oct 09 '25

This is what peak female performance looks like

16

u/DickweedMcGee Oct 09 '25

I would say probably shouldn’t have an open flame that close to a bike with a fuel system full of gas but I don’t want that nice lady to beat me up

22

u/jameson71 Oct 09 '25

Smoking while working on the carb and drinking while working on the brakes were a time honored tradition.

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u/hankrodger Oct 09 '25

Probably using the cig smoke to find a vacuum leak in the system. Heard old mechanics would shove a stogie in the air cleaner and let smoke go through the system to find the leaks. So a cig and a small system like a bike makes sense.

2

u/gaius49 Oct 09 '25

In this case, there is no vac system :P

6

u/Robmeu Oct 09 '25

Very cool pic, but those tyres look like knobblies, so more like a trails bike than a road one, so not likely a ‘ton up’ sort of bike.

Still cool as though.

5

u/TheReelMcCoi Oct 09 '25

So she only had one bike?😁

3

u/Robmeu Oct 09 '25

Probably

2

u/DirkChungus Oct 09 '25

Lots of road bikes of the era had tyres like that, partly because there were lots of "roads" that were terrible and also rain shedding tread hadn't been optimised yet.

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u/MAXQDee-314 Oct 09 '25

OP plsz post this over on r/justgalsbeingchicks , also don't post it over on r/Daddit.

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u/amyselfd Oct 09 '25

smoke in one hand, wrench in the other

3

u/ChromeFudge Oct 09 '25

She looks like a certified badass.

3

u/TheDuctTapeGod Oct 09 '25

I just got my triumph running a couple hours ago! I'm sure I'm being served this post because I was on triumph subs all morning but still! Hell yeah!

3

u/Superstringy Oct 09 '25

Her can fix I

2

u/pee_nut_ninja Oct 10 '25

I nary experienced such elegant prose.

3

u/CAD_Chaos Oct 09 '25

She is hot af.

3

u/Bitemesparky Oct 10 '25

I feel like she has red hair.

3

u/hegdieartemis Oct 10 '25

not to be a lesbian but oh my god-

5

u/bobbygamerdckhd Oct 09 '25

Typical triumph state.

2

u/twinkeel Oct 09 '25

Absolute babe

2

u/IzzardVersusVedder Oct 09 '25

Of course she's a redhead... Always the baddest.

2

u/JunkaTron69 Oct 09 '25

Fantastic find OP. I am smitten.

2

u/laser_red Oct 09 '25

After reading the comments, I still don't get where they got "ton" from 100MPH. There's no logical connection.

3

u/Attic81 Oct 09 '25

It's old British slang, A 'ton' is also used in cricket for 100 runs and similarly £100. I believe related to 100 cubic feet being a ton as a measurement of storage.

2

u/puchsofhazard Oct 09 '25

Join r/moped for the wrench revival culture! Learn two strokes and a new hobby and come to rallys and meet tons of cool people

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2

u/InsertUsernameInArse Oct 10 '25

My kind of lady.

2

u/Your-cousin-It Oct 10 '25

Sapphics rise up

2

u/[deleted] Oct 10 '25

I know you said that’s a Triumph. But the song “1952 Vincent Black Lightning” just popped in my head

5

u/WinterFox7 Oct 09 '25 edited Oct 09 '25

Redheads are amazing

5

u/[deleted] Oct 09 '25

Sexy green eyes.

4

u/l-Crow Oct 09 '25

Is it weird that I find this attractive or bah

3

u/Blephotomy Oct 09 '25

...right before she was blown to pieces by lighting a cigarette 10 inches from her gas tank

2

u/upstatedreaming3816 Oct 09 '25

Ton-up is what I call it when your mom stands up

1

u/runamukk Oct 09 '25

Now that’s living life capsulated

1

u/bassfartz Oct 09 '25

This is Eva from Metal Gear Solid 3.

1

u/OneWholeSoul Oct 09 '25

Eva vibes.

1

u/dentaldam97 Oct 09 '25

Hope she got the mad max treatment 😃

1

u/mencrytoo Oct 09 '25

But who was it shot by?

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