I don't where this puts me in the great pantheon of Vincent ownership, I purchased my Rapide when I was 16 Y.O.A. About 16+3 months as I remember it ( just looked in the green log book to check, but sadly it is a continuation log book and the first date in that is 26/5/66) I had passed my test pretty soon after my 16th birthday on a BSA B31 combination, then very soon after swapped for Norton 77 solo, around the same time a mate of mine convinced his Dad to purchase him a Vincent outfit from Conways to learn on, you could do that in those days, anyway, totally inexperienced Ian set of on his outfit + L plates and on tearing through the sweeping bend in Harrow somewhere near the old Sopers department store the chair lifted and Ian stacked it, well his misfortune started what has so far been 47 years of Vincent ownership. I think Ian's Dad paid Conways £99.00 for the outfit, it was a truly dreadful machine, totally knackered, to give you an idea how bad, the rocker pins had worn themselves about halfway through the aluminum bearings and to compensate for the wear, all the tappet adjustment had been used up and the threaded part of the rocker arms had been ground down to get more adjustment, the whole engine was in an appalling state, but do you know what, it went, and it went bloody well, Ian eventually parted with his now, sort of repaired(not very well) Vincent for £65.00, I know that this is not a record as I have heard of cheaper purchases, but when I was 16 and earning £5.00 a week as an apprentice it was still plenty, but it remains to this day the best £65.00 that I have ever spent.