Len Vale-Onslow first climbed on a motorbike in 1905, and the world’s oldest biker hasn’t any intention of stopping at 102
Any biker who tops 100 on the Queen’s highway is liable to be stopped, fined and disqualified. But not Len Vale-Onslow. The police only ever pull him over for a chat and to offer their respects. The venerable Brummie has hit 102 in years, not miles per hour, and often rides far afield on the motorbike he built more than 80 years ago. The average age of motorcyclists has shot up in the past two decades, thanks to the high price of modern machines and dizzying insurance premiums. Most are in their thirties and forties, many of them so-called born-again bikers seeking the thrills they knew as teenagers. But even these are mere whippersnappers next to Len, the world’s oldest biker, who has been riding for 97 years.

When Len began, traffic outside towns and cities was almost nonexistent. There were 15,900 cars in 1905 compared with 25m now, they were unsuited to country lanes, and petrol stockists were few and far between. London suffered serious horse-drawn traffic congestion, there were horse-drawn trams and buses and it was still possible to travel from London to Brighton by horse-drawn coach.
For the time, Len had a precocious start he rode a motorcycle at the age of five. I had four older brothers who all had motorcycles so they put me on one, gave me a push-start and off I went. They told me the basics like how to throttle off and that was it. I still ride all the time, I’ve never stopped.
As with many bikers, the machine he had in his late teens and early twenties has always had a special place in Len’s heart. In fact it’s the one he still rides, the one he built in 1919 and called the Super Onslow Special SOS for short.

He’s proud of that bike. It was an advanced design because it was built around an all-welded frame. Until I introduced the welded frame they had been brazed and it could take days to build one that way. Mine could be put together in an hour. I used JAP or Villiers engines. There were plenty of proprietory engines you could buy. Mine still has the original engine. It’s done 70,000-80,000 miles since new. It’s reliable, it has to be, and I know how to use it within its limits. I’ve probably owned 40-50 bikes but always kept this one.
He must have had a few spills in his time? Accidents? I don’t have accidents, Len replies stoutly. Possibly I fell off a few times when I was five or six. When I started there was no traffic. It was really easy to ride about, you didn’t even need a clutch, you’d just slow down to 4-5mph at junctions. The maximum you were allowed to do was 20-30mph anyway. There was a lot of horse traffic: you had to keep wary of them because they weren’t used to you and would bolt if you passed with the throttle on. You had to be wary of manure, too. Motorcyclists were few and far between in those days. We were all a lot more friendly to each other. If you broke down, others would stop to help. They don’t do that nowadays, but then the modern bikes hardly break down.

How does Len keep going? The simple answer is, because he keeps going. He helps to run the family motorcycle shop, Vale-Onslow in Birmingham. His brothers and father were all in the motorcycle trade, as are his son and daughter.
He opened the current shop around 30 years ago. It’s like a motorcycling version of Open All Hours, with its time-washed frontage and enamelled plaques advertising great names from Britain’s biking heyday Triumph, BSA, Norton all once native to Small Heath, Vale-Onslow’s area of Birmingham.
Young Mr Onslow, Len’s 63-year-old son Peter, serves at the counter wearing a storekeeper’s overalls. At his elbows are service manuals, some yellowed with age. Shelves of parts stretch back into the cavernous emporium and the showroom features British classics in amazing condition. It all speaks of a disappearing era of personal service. Len, however, isn’t stuck in the past. I sell the new bikes nowadays. I don’t have favourites from any particular period. I come into the shop six days a week to serve customers and answer questions. Motorbikes have been my life, so that’s all I know anything about.
Bikes were also key to meeting his wife. My wife was a biker. I met her when she had a puncture on her bicycle and came to the shop to have it repaired. Peter mentions that she also suffered several mysterious flat tyres after that, which necessitated further visits. Oh yes, admits Len, I used to let her tyres down. Now I’ve got God knows how many offspring. He pauses to debate this question with son and daughter: the verdict, seven grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.

Does he think the latest bikes, with their warp-speed acceleration and 160mph top speeds, are dangerous? No, any good safe rider can control them. But motorcycling has changed over the years. Motorcyclists used to be plain motorcyclists. Today they are ridden by all sorts; there’s no social stigma to it. That’s good for me and it’s good for business.
And biking, says Peter, is a magical tonic. When my dad gets on his bike it’s like he’s 19 again. Nowadays we need to lay the bike down on its side and put him on, but once he’s rolling he’s perfect.

Len's century of motoring history
1905: Len Vale-Onslow mounts a motorbike for the first time. National speed limit is 20mph. There are 15,900 cars on the roads
1914: Petrol pumps introduced. Fuel had previously been available only in cans
1920: Numberplates introduced
1923: First roundabouts
1951: Zebra crossings introduced. Private cars top 2m
1959: M1 opened. Number of cars exceeds 5m
1973: Crash helmets made compulsory for motorcyclists
2002: 25m cars on Britain’s roads