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BFF Members

BEST FEET FORWARD
MOTOR CYCLE CLUB
Founder and President, Ian Leslie

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Moving
Please note this website is progressively moving to www.bikeweb.com

The Club
This club was started in 1995 by a group of enthusiasts for Feet First motorcycles and scooters. The simplest way to describe a Feet First or "FF" machine is as a "Two Wheeled Car" in the most positive sense of the phrase. In other words an FF is a Powered Two Wheeler that is safe, warm dry and comfortable, but which can still nip in and out of town traffic and scratch with the best of them on the open road. It will also use less fuel and go faster than a conventional motorcycle with the same engine thanks to improved aerodynamics.

FFs have been around since the Wilkinson of 1909, the Neracar of the 1920s and the pioneering Avro Monocar of 1926. Gustav Baumm's record breaking NSU Flying Hammocks of the 1950s were the first "ultimate" FFs, proving that a recumbent riding position was the most efficient aerodynamically (200mph with 40bhp) and all record breakers since, from the original 1956 Triumph Bonneville to the present, have been FF.

The first modern FF was the all-British Quasar designed by Malcolm Newell and Ken Leaman in the mid-70s. Royce Creasey's Voyager, launched at the 1989 NEC bike show, represented a logical progression from the Quasar and almost made it into production. All 6 prototypes are still running and owned by BFF members.

The first mass-produced FF was the Honda CN250 launched at the 1985 Tokyo Show as the Fusion and better known as the Helix or Spazio. It is still being built, almost unchanged, fifteen years later and is the most popular machine amongst BFF club members simply because it¹s the most cheaply available second hand and remains more "FF" than all the super-scooters that have followed in its wake: Piaggio's Hexagons, Yamaha's Majesties (and others' Majesty-powered machines), Honda's own Foresight and Pantheon and even the Suzuki Burgmen.

The Burgman 400 however, launched in 1999, is the first mass- produced FF to provide enough performance to keep up with conventional motorcycles on the open road, although its seat is still about six inches higher than that of a "true" FF. BMW's new roofed scooter, the seat-belted C-1, also represents a milestone in mass-produced PTW rider protection, even though its seat and centre of gravity are also too high and its wheelbase too short to be a "proper" FF. The awesome Swiss-built and fully-enclosed 160mph Ecomobile has been providing PTW riders with far greater safety in helmet-less comfort since 1985.

At the other end of the scale there are many one-off Feet First machines designed and built from scratch by FF enthusiasts all over the world, from New Zealand to California. The club aims to provide a forum for enthusiasts of all the above machines. We feel that with the wide variety of mass-produced FF super scooters now available, the feet forward, comfortable machine with protective bodywork and built-in luggage capacity is now established as a distinct class of Powered Two Wheeler.

We also feel an affinity for fans of recumbent pedal powered two wheelers, for the design and ergonomic considerations are exactly the same whether the two-wheeler has an engine or not and both FF bicycles and motorcycles have been banned from racing for decades! Some of us simply ride our production machines and enjoy social contact and swapping tips, others are deeply concerned with the design and technology of PTWs, most of us a bit of both. We welcome as a member anyone who rides a bike of this type, or would like to, whether it's a "full-blown" FF or a mass-produced super-scooter.

We lobby the trade and the motorcycling press to take these machines seriously and produce a quarterly magazine with all the latest news about FF developments and our own machines. There are also tips on servicing, recommendations of helpful dealers and repairers, members' swapped experiences and special offers. We have a Club stand at the annual BMF Show in the UK and several rides out in different parts of the country where we both socialise and show our face to the world at large. While the club is largely UK based, we are in touch with big- scooter clubs in other countries and welcome members from all over the world.

For UK members, affiliation to the BMF gives BFF members the right to BMF services, a reduced individual subscription to the BMF, and reduced rates for RAC membership. Finally, we have a range of accessories designed for these machines along with dealers' discounts and a privilege insurance scheme.

We aim to be a communication centre for the whole FF movement in whatever manifestation. We are incredibly diverse - in age, other bikes owned, biking experience, skills, occupations, other interests - but united in our enthusiasm for Feet Forward PTWs.

This web site is the online part of the club and much of the BFF services can be found here including archives of the magazine. To provide additional value to paid up members some of the information is restricted to a private "Members Only" section, including latest adverts and the current edition of the magazine.

In the UK membership costs only £12.50 a year (January 1st to December 31st) and £16.00 overseas, although a little more is always welcome ! Please make your cheque payable to BFFMC (Best Feet Forward Motorcycling Club) and send it to the Membership Secretary:-

 

Founder and President Ian Leslie	Newsletter Editor Morag & Ian Fitzsimons morian@onetel.net.uk or Paul Blezard
Membership Secretary Robin Thomas 45 Jubilee Drive Thornbury Bristol BS35 2YQ tel +44 (0)1454 415417 email: robinpauline@blueyonder.co.uk	Webmaster and Mailing List Administration Julian Bond email: julian_bond@voidstar.com