I took no persuading to ride a Wall Auto-wheel without an engine initially (Reg's other Auto-wheel project has the third wheel fitted but no engine), and this gave me a feel for the beast. It's a strange sensation to pedal a rather tall bike with a lump attached to its frame, and of course the bike was nearly 100 years old with feeble brakes and, shall we say, a certain 'looseness'.

Having learned to ride a bike all over again I got to try one with a motor, but just up and down the drive and with the decompressor activated. I was still wobbling a bit, but getting the feel of it.

Finally Reg allowed me to release the decompressor and let the motor fire.

Until now I'd only ridden conventional, post-1960 bikes, so having to pedal, release a decompressor and simultaneously operate a lever throttle, whilst perched atop an Edwardian bicycle, all proved a bit tricky. After a few false starts however my efforts were met with a reassuring and steady pop-pop sound from behind my right foot and I was grinning like a maniac. I made a couple more runs up and down the drive before heading for the open road.

1914 Wall Auto-Wheel

Veteran stuff on eBay.co.uk

After a while I got used to the wobble and I never felt it was unsafe, the meanderings of the vehicle were actually much less than they seemed. As speed increased the stability improved and corners could be taken with confidence. The third wheel meant the turning circle was greater than that of a conventional bicycle but its cunning design allowed adequate degrees of banking.

The little motor was easy to start, surprisingly tractable, and capable of pushing me along at a brisk pace (around 15mph perhaps). From a standstill only a couple of turns of the pedals were required to get going, and I'd expect to have to pedal on hills. The brakes were weak, but planning ahead and use of the throttle allowed good speed control - although I'd want a lot more experience before even considering driving it in traffic.

Terrific fun - I want one!