THE PINT-SIZE PANTHER

Recently, I sorted out a Panther to get it going well enough to be a reliable ride for Frank, its owner. I have already brought two 600 / 650 Panther singles back to life, but this was the first time I had encountered a Model 70. It dates from 1947 and uses a rigid rear end and originally had Dowty air / oil telescopic forks. This model preceded the Model 75, which had an upright cylinder and swinging arm rear suspension, as well as a totally different type of Burman gearbox, as we shall see.

The Panther’s owner had been looking for a rigid motorcycle and came across the Model 70 by chance. ‘I wanted something from an earlier era than the mostly 1960s machines that I currently own; a BSA 441 Victor Roadster, a BSA A50, a Triumph T100C and a Ducati 250 Scrambler,’ explained Frank. ‘I was thinking of a rigid BSA B31 350 but when I was at my local bike MoT station I spotted the Panther in the background. I was aware of the heavyweight sloper big singles but had never seen a smaller displacement Panther 350.

‘I really liked the look of the machine, it fitted my criteria for a rigid machine from an earlier era. The Model 70 was part of a job lot of Panther motorcycles and spares bought by the owner of the MoT station. He’d sold on all the other Panthers and spares but kept the Model 70 because he too liked