Not Sparky and CowBoy…

…but Sid and Cyril, Britain's answer to the cool US duo detailed elsewhere at Mondo.

MCers Sid and Cyril plan their next road trip – more
Bexley Heath than Berdoo

The accoutrements, of course, are all in place: leather jackets and road captain caps, the studs, patches and badges, the inevitable finger-staining Woodbine and an old Ajay and a Beezer C15 quietly dripping oil somewhere out of shot. It's the attitude that's all wrong (or right, depending on your disposition). Our Sid might annoy the neighbours but he'd never say fuck before the Queen.

Easy to see why, with a very few exceptions, our motorcycle gang members were more likely to bring titters than terror to British towns. Or at worst, annoyance at the din.

To our right, Cyril models a snug line in home knitwear lovingly stitched by future wife Brenda. We'll just have to imagine what Sid's wife Dot did to keep him warm.

There's still a bike in Sid's shed, though it's a 350cc Royal Enfield iron-barrelled Bullet dating from 2008. Indian-built, but none the worse for that. Cyril's dodgy knee and a tedious stint aboard a Honda FJS600 Silver Wing scooter put paid to his riding and now all that's left are the memories: greasy spoon cafes, jellied eels at Chelsea Bridge, big singles and purring twins.

Uncool maybe, but lovable all the same.

NB You can find the real Sparky and CowBoy here