100 b i ker issue 217 2017 p2p

BUILT CUSTOM BIKE MAGAZINE CUSTOM FOR BIKERS

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BRACKLEY FESTIVAL OF MOTORCYCLING

BIKES // NEWS // PRODUCTS // EVENTS // HOW TOS // VIEWS // SHOWS // BIKES FOR SALE // LIFESTYLE

THOU ART HEAVENLY

ED TURNER MOTORCYCLES’ KAWASAKI Z1000

GREASEMONKEY PANHEAD NO RULES KNUCKLE

THREE STEPS TO DEVON BLACK COUNTRY BRAT

A spot of monkey business 21st century boardtracker Pete’s Triumph Triple café

Tom’s shedbuilt Suzuki GS425

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Unit 3, Carriage House, Old Horsham Road Beare Green, Dorking, Surrey RH5 4QU

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for Harley-Davidson, Indian, Victory, Buell, EBR Spares and Accessories

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T & R MOTORCYCLES

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KRAZY HORSE

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NORTHERN IRELAND

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SHEPS CYCLE SHACK

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30 KAWASAKI Z1000ST

THIS TH’S MON

NEXT ISSUE ON SALE 9TH MAR

Biblical prophecy.

C OV E R

BIKE E PAG SEE 30

GENERAL ENQUIRIES Jazz Publishing, The Old School, Higher Kinnerton, Chester, CH4 9AJ, UK ☎ 01244 881888 eMail: editor@100-biker.com web: www.100-biker.co.uk or www.jazzpublishing.co.uk EDITOR Blue (NAPOLEON) Miller editor@100-biker.com GRAPHIC DESIGN David (DANNY DE VITO) Gamble davidgamble@mac.com

S E K I B D E R U T A E F

PRODUCTION Justine (PABLO PICASSO) Hart production@100-biker.co.uk CREDIT CONTROL Lou (FRODO BAGGINS) Chamberlain-Jones 01244 886012 | louise@jazzpublishing.co.uk ACCOUNTS & ADMIN MANAGER Emma (GENGHIS KHAN) McCrindle 01244 886009 | emma@jazzpublishing.co.uk ADMIN Jan (HARRY HOUDINI) Schofield 01244 886019 | jan@jazzpublishing.co.uk ADVERTISING ENQUIRIES Dee (MICHAEL J FOX) Lewis 01244 886024 | advertising@100-biker.co.uk SUBSCRIPTIONS & BACK ISSUES Katy (GANDHI) Cuffin 01244 881888 | magazines@jazzpublishing.co.uk MANAGING DIRECTOR Stuart (PRINCE) Mears stuart@jazzpublishing.co.uk CONTRIBUTORS: Dave Manning, Ian Thoburn, Horst Rosler, Christian Gallagher, Francois Richer, Mark Bates, Floris Velthuis, Tim Caldwell, Jim Graves.

DISTRIBUTION MANAGER Susan (JAMES CAGNEY) Saunders ☎ 0207 429 4073 susan.saunders@seymour.co.uk THIS MONTH’S THEME: SHORT MONTH—SHORT PEOPLE ISSN No. 1468-0890 The views expressed in this magazine by the contributors are not necessarily those of the publishers. All articles are written in good faith and are based on information provided by owners. Whilst every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of all material, the contributors, magazine and the publishers cannot accept liability for loss resulting from error, mis-statement, inaccuracy, or omission contained herein.

Reproduction of any matter printed or depicted in 100% Biker magazine is prohibited without prior permission. Some words, names, and designations are trademarked and are the property of the trademark holder and have only been used for identification purposes only.

46

62

14 TRIUMPH TRIPLE Café racer with a real kick.

30 KAWASAKI Z1000ST Biblical prophecy.

46 HARLEY-DAVIDSON KNUCKLEHEAD Radical from Radikal.

56 SUZUKI GS425 Tom’s illuminating project.

Make contact by email: editor@100-biker.co.uk

62 INDIAN SCOUT SIXTY

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Thug life.

68 MZ BUILD PART 3

Please recycle this magazine when you have finished with it.

Li’l Mark nears the end of the Grimpixie One Key Engineering build.

80 HARLEY-DAVIDSON PANHEAD Monkeying around.

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EDITORIAL

T MONHTIS H’S

38 BRACKLEY FESTIVAL OF MOTORCYCLING Daytona. Well, if Daytona was in Northamptonshire.

And didn’t have a beach. Or sun…

FEATURE

EVENTD SEE P AGE 38

F F U T S R E H T O S ’ E U S S I S I TH

8 NEWS

44

52 72 100% BOOKSHELF

Goodbye to an old friend.

We do a little light reading.

12 PRODUCTS

76 COPDOCK BIKE SHOW

The best of the new.

One show that is Suffolk and good.

20 CUSTOMBIKE

86 100% INSPIRATION

The very best reason to visit Germany.

The remarkable Beryl Swain.

26 BIKER GEAR

88 TWISTED IRON TURNOUT

Let the adventure commence!

Garage rocking.

38 BRACKLEY FESTIVAL OF MOTORCYCLING

91 SHEDHEAD

Daytona. Well, if Daytona was in Northamptonshire. And didn’t have a beach.

Or sun…

There’s nothing Blackjack will refuse to do.

Refuse? Oh, never mind.

94 EVENTS

44 PICKERING GRASSTRACK

Everything you need to know for everywhere you want to go.

Slip sliding away.

98 TAILPIECE

52 CHROME AND CRUISERS Hot rods, customs, choppers and, er, windmills.

Grav dons his thermals.

In 100% Biker #214, Tailpiece reported on the ‘Leeds Ride Out’ last Halloween, a social media-organised gathering which resulted in the Bike Life movement hitting the headlines and doing untold damage to the cause of motorcycling in the area.

On 10th January Leeds City Council sought to renew a temporary injunction on antisocial driving and riding across the Leeds area. By the time the hearing ended, an injunction had been issued … for five years.

Let’s just say that again. Five years.

Councillor Debra Coupar, executive board member with responsibility for communities said: “We want to stress that this injunction will in no way affect those motorcyclists and others who enjoying riding in groups in a law abiding and sensible fashion through our city, and we are more than happy to work with groups such as the Motorcycle Action Group to ensure this happens.”

Really? What has just happened in Leeds is exactly what occurred in Harlow, Essex, in March of last year. At the time we predicted that it would happen again elsewhere and we take no pleasure at all in being right. While we accept that certain communities have problems with antisocial motorcycling, laws are already in place to allow police and local authorities to deal with this without recourse to Draconian injunctions.

And Draconian it is. There is now in place the ability of the police and council to stop any gathering as it may see fit. ‘Law abiding’ is a loose term; for example, one bike with exhausts that a single local copper perceives as too loud can bring the injunction into force and stop the Easter egg or pet food run of which that bike is a part—and everyone on that run will be subject to the force of the law. A good citizen with an axe to grind could see—or could say that they saw—a participant on a run throwing down a sweet wrapper and that could bring the anti-social riding injunction down on the heads of everyone involved.

Sadly, both the Leeds and Harlow situations were primarily instigated by young people on off-road and small bikes, behaving like idiots. We probably all did it in our youth, but now a clip around the ear or a sharp word from a local policeman is not considered appropriate. It’s easy to say that perhaps if the relevant authorities were doing their jobs in the first place then injunctions that, whatever the PR departments of councils may say, will hit the everyday biker would be unnecessary, but who can argue against the logic? This is, we regret to say, the thin end of the wedge.

We have suffered all manner of threats to our lifestyle over the years, from leg protectors to the latest European regulations on emissions and the threat to ban motorcycles of a certain age from major cities. But we have never before faced the insidious threat of legislation such as these vague, catch-all anti-social injunctions.

Take into account the Euro-4 regulations which appear to have hastened the downfall of Victory, not to mention the forthcoming Euro-6 which is even more stringent and for which motorcycle manufacturers seem worryingly unprepared, and, for those of us who ride bikes, this really is the best of times and the worst of times.

www.100-biker.co.uk | issue 217 | 100% Biker | 7

100%

NEWS KICKBACK IS COMING!

On the first weekend of April Kickback will once again host the National Championships of Customised Motorcycles at the Stoneleigh Park Expo Centre. Once again, the UK’s best bikes will compete in five classes—Freestyle, Young Builder, Café Racer, Brat/Tracker and Performance Custom—and it’s shaping up to be the best show yet.

In past years, Kickback has brought the marvellous Street Cub scene to wider attention and the Cubs will be back in all their tiny-engined glory, but there will also be a distinct emphasis on performance and drag racing, with a display of around 40 bikes from the Pendine Landspeed Racing Club. Of course, there will be a host of shed and homebuilt customs, along with professional built machines, and we are eager to see what everyone has been doing in their sheds, garages and workshops over the winter. What else will there be? Well, café racers, street bikes, brats, street trackers, choppers, lowriders, classics, speedway bikes and just about any permutation of two wheels and an engine! Add to that, over 50 trade stands, three bars, coffee bars, Stoneleigh’s new restaurant, the Two Brothers stunt show and sponsors like Michelin, Digital Speedos, Oily Rag Clothing, Fastec Racing and ourselves, it’s going to be a most excellent weekend.

To enter your bike in the show, fill in the entry form at www.thecustomshow. com, where you can also find out more details and buy tickets at a healthily discounted rate.

THE SIDEWINDER CREEPS TONIGHT

RIDING A HIPSTER

In this life, the right name is everything, and so it goes in the motorcycle industry. Even a meaningless mishmash of numbers is preferable to the wrong name.

Back in the 1950s, Italian company FB Mondial was famous for its racing motorcycles that won five world championships. Mondial built its own bikes until 1960, after which it used proprietary engines for the next two decades.

In 2000 it launched the ambitious and limited edition Honda-engined sports bike, the Piega 1000, before going into bankruptcy.

The name was bounced around for a while, but now FB Mondial is back in business with a stylish motorcycle that belies its 125cc

or 250cc capacity. Its looks have nods to both scramblers and café racers with wide handlebars and high level shotgun pipes.

There’s chunky 41mm upside-down forks and an 18-inch wheel at the front and a 17-inch rim at the rear, while the bellypan stops it looking as if it’s on tippytoes.

And what has FB Mondial called this fine piece of Italian design? The Hipster. Now, just who in the marketing department thought that was a good idea? [Blue]

8 | 100% Biker | issue 217 | www.100-biker.co.uk

Squeek’s Big Twins is a firm in Illinois which specialising in exhausts. Every system is completely handmade in the USA and stepped, tuned and balanced with ceramic Cerakote inside to dramatically reduce and expel heat.

They’re recognised as one of the most efficient and powerful exhausts systems available as well as providing a universal fit for just about any post-1986 Harley.

However, this latest system is a departure even for SBT! The guys at SBT have taken one of their own Super Sidewinder systems and turned it into something that really lives up to the name. In fact, they’ve even given it a new name – the Diamondback.

Unlike the rest of the range, this will be a special order because it takes around 60 hours to lay on all those scales. For this and all of SBT’s systems, visit https://mkt. com/squeeksbigtwins.

online https://global.yama ha-motor.com/show room/papercraft - For years this has been the best-kept secret of Yamaha’s web site. Now updated with plans for the MT-10.

GOODBYE TO VICTORY

www.strangehistory. net – the outlandish, the anomalous and the curious from the last 5000 years.

And so, after 18 years, we say goodbye to Victory. On 9th January 2017, Polaris, the Minneapolis-based parent company, announced that it would begin winding down Victory Motorcycles with immediate effect.

It was a surprise, but then again it wasn’t.

We brought you the news four months ago that Victory intended to downsize its range in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. This would have left the company with just the Gunner, the Octane and the Judge in its repertoire, having dropped everything from the Vegas to the Vision in one fell swoop.

At that time, Victory told us that it intended to concentrate on its ‘performance’ sector, although we surmised that the introduction of the Euro-4 legislation may have had something to do with that decision.

Back in October, we wrote ‘it is difficult to imagine that a major manufacturer would simply cut its range so drastically when it has been aware of the forthcoming [Euro-4] legislation and is more than capable of meeting those regulations.’ Now it’s clear that the decision to shutter Victory had already been made; after all, why make 2017 models if there would be no company in 2017?

The first production Victory motorcycle, a V92C, rolled off the line in Spirit Lake, Iowa back on 4th July 1998. While it took a little time to establish itself in the United Kingdom, the brand has – as it has across the world – built a loyal following of owners and a 2015 survey by Consumer Report rated Victory as the motorcycle manufacturer with the highest owner satisfaction, beating Harley-Davidson. While the engineering was good from the start – and has only improved over the intervening years – the styling left something to be desired. Partnerships with the likes of Arlen Ness and Roland Sands brought about more attractive machines and aftermarket manufacturers developed ranges specifically for the marque.

So what went wrong?

In 2011 Polaris bought Indian Motorcycle.

At the time, critics predicted that a new Indian would simply be a rebadged Victory.

But no. In March 2013, Indian unveiled a brand-new engine, the 111 cubic inch Thunder Stroke. Three all-new models that drew on the traditional styling of 1940s Indians followed, while the Scout was a further departure, aimed firmly at Harley’s entry range. And, since then, all attention has been concentrated on Indian. Victory became the geeky older sister, clever but

nowhere near as glamorous as her younger sibling. After the acquisition of Indian in 2011, Polaris’s CEO, Scott Wine, said that it wouldn’t “detract in any way from what we’re trying to do with Victory; we will stay on the gas with Victory and continue to drive innovation and new products. We will make both brands stronger over time.”

The problem appears to be that Indian has been more successful in a shorter time than anyone anticipated.

In its announcement, Polaris said that the decision had been taken because the Victory brand ‘has struggled to establish the market share needed to succeed and be profitable’. Although sales were up 18% in the second quarter of 2016 – at a time when most motorcycle manufacturers were in single figure growth – it was too little, too late. Perhaps alarm bells should have been set ringing when the Octane was launched.

Victory’s first all-new bike in several years, it was met with disappointment. In short, it was a rebadged Scout. No matter that it was quicker, cheaper and had better performance than the Scout, the Octane lacked the mystique of that name on the tank. Up to this point, Indian and Victory had pursued different development courses, so why present the world with this crossover unless, even then, the budget was being cut at Victory?

Polaris intends to now focus on Indian and the surprisingly successful three-wheeled Slingshot (which, ironically, has been less profitable of late than Victory although mainly due to supply problems) as well as recoup the $665 million it has just spent to buy Transamerican Auto Parts.

And what of the future? Polaris will continue to supply parts for another ten years and will still provide service and warranty and service coverage to both Victory dealers and owners. Given that Polaris wants to remain a major player in the motorcycle market, it is unlikely to renege on that in the near future. And what of the long term future, when Victory owners, a notoriously loyal group (more than 80% of owners said they would buy Victory again), are ready to buy a new motorcycle? Sadly, I predict that they will turn to Harley-Davidson rather than Indian Motorcycle. [Blue]

PART OF THE UNION It seems that barely an issue passes without mention of the latest innovation in electric motorcycles. It’s a rapidly growing industry—comparable with the first years of petrol-driven motorcycles— and we watch with interest each new machine that turns up. Like, for example, the Phaser Type 1 from Union Motion, a new company based in Brighton.

The company was founded in 2015 by entrepreneur and investor Damien Clavering Tanner and Industrial Art and Design graduate Dominic Warman Roup.

Dominic says that there is a growing need to engage people with electric vehicles “on an emotional and practical level. This is essential if we are to make a successful transition to cleaner forms of transport—and motorcycles are an ideal way of doing it.”

To challenge traditional methods of building both retro-styled motorcycles and electric bikes, they built the Phaser Type 1 around a 1998 Fazer FZS600. Dominica says; “We got it as a rolling chassis, just frame, forks, swingarm and wheels. Once de-tabbed, the double loop frame made a great base for experimenting with battery location and drivetrain layout. After a little trial and error, we settled on a conventional motor location, echoing the final drive output of the original engine.”

A 6kWh battery pack was fitted above the motor and controller between the two top frame loops, keeping the centre of gravity low. The battery was also mounted on rails to allow it to be easily removed from the bike and a new pack inserted which the original one is on charge (which takes around two hours).

CNC milled sheet aluminium bodywork keeps things clean and minimal to allow for easy access to the controller and airflow over the motor. The tank has been reduced to the bare essentials, keeping the profile of the bike low whilst retaining the original ergonomics. At the rear is a wheel inspired by the 1988 film, Akira, while Union Motion’s own programmable dashboard replaces the original instruments. The top speed is said to be 110mph and the Phaser Type 1 is good for sixty miles on a full charge. Dominic says; “It offers electric custom biking at its best,” and it can be yours for around £17,000. For more details and to see the build, visit www. unionmotion.com. [Blue]

www.100-biker.co.uk | issue 217 | 100% Biker | 9

100%

NEWS

LOSING OUR NERVE

In the grand pantheon of things that make you go ‘Why?’ the NeRVe Autonomous Street Racer has to be fairly high up the list. The Danish firm (the name is a plan on Next Road Vehicle) recently unveiled a prototype in Dubai which it claims is the world’s fastest self-riding electric bike. And ‘fastest’ is not just hyperbole; the bike’s creators say that it can go from 0-60mph in just a second and a half and is capable of 185mph—all without a rider. NeRVe claims that the prototype can ride pre-set routes, park itself and even perform stunts.

The question is why? It’s almost impossible to explain the joy of riding a motorcycle to someone who has never done it, of understanding your machine, the road and your surroundings. This autonomy removes all that and relegates a motorcycle to little more than an uncomfortable car without a roof. While we can see the reasoning behind many technological advances (even if we don’t understand or agree with them), the fact is we just don’t get the riderless motorcycle.

More than that, we think it’s a potential danger to motorcycling as we know it. Our editorial in 100% Biker #214 highlighted the worries surrounding Tesla’s self-driving car.

Now, logically the dangers surrounding an autonomous motorcycle are far greater than that of a vehicle with a wheel at each corner. So surely it’s not too much of a leap to imagine that there will be accidents; after all, this is a vehicle that the manufacturer says can be used by someone who has never been on a motorcycle before. And if—or should we say when—there are accidents, you can guarantee that the repercussions will hit all two-wheeled transport, not just those out of a science fiction film… [Blue]

OTTODICUORI UPSIDE-DOWN FORKS Superb Italian design and outstanding riding performance come together in the stylish upside-down forks of Italian CNC specialist Ottodicuori (ODC). The forks have already been used by a number of top customisers and are now available for Touring, Dyna, Softail and Sportster (2008-up) models, covering almost the complete HarleyDavidson model line.

Depending on the model line, several

options are available: For Sportster, Dyna and Softail forks, fork width can be selected as Narrow (195) mm), Mid (220 mm) and Wide (252 mm) size, single or dual brake caliper mountings allow use of OEM calipers or aftermarket exchange parts.

The www.ottodicuori.it website lists all options for fork and rear suspension and its parts are available from www.customchrome-europe.com. [Horst Rosler]

DOMESTIC GAS

If you weld at home, you may like to know that Maxx Cut & Weld will now supply small volume users with its quality welding gas, used in the most extreme of industry applications, so more than up to the job of anything you may be doing in your shed or garage. Obviously, we can take no responsibility for how good your welding itself is!

Available in 200 & 230 bar 10 litre compressed gas cylinders technology, rentfree, the Maxx Cut & Weld® range is the ideal choice for enthusiasts looking for small volumes of high quality, high performance cutting and welding gases. It offers leading weld quality, productivity and safety across a range of materials and thicknesses, excellent penetration, minimal spatter and low fume levels.

To help you select the right gas for what you want, there’s a free online guide at www. airproducts.co.uk where you can also find out all the information you need.

Balance of Power

A couple of months ago we wrote in the Editorial about the march of self-assist and driverless systems. Now Honda has unveiled a motorcycle that can balance and ride itself without someone at the handlebars, albeit at very low speeds.

In other devices, such as the Segway, balance had depended on gyroscopes but, in this case, Honda has used technology derived from its Asimo robot and electric mobility scooter. An electronic steer-bywire system disengages the handlebars from the front forks at speeds under 3mph and a computer takes control of the front wheel. If the bike leans, the computer swings the wheel to either side to counteract any tipping. This is done with thousands of tiny movements that are barely perceptible under normal balancing,

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although the wheel will swing from side to side in more acute leans. Over 3mph, two anchors lock the forks into place and the motorcycle is then conventionally steered.

Lee Edmunds, in Honda’s motorcycle division says; “This would be for those who want to relax a little bit and not stress out about falling over, if they’re older or a little shorter in stature or the bike is heavier. This takes away that anxiety.” While there is some merit to that, many must be quietly thinking, if people can’t balance their motorcycle, should they really be riding? [Blue]

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All new

Biker Products

V&H HI-OUTPUT 2-INTO-1 SHORT

New for 2017 from Vance & Hines is this addition to its Hi-Output line, the 2-into-1 Short. The system has been designed as a compact version of Vance & Hines’ signature stepped megaphone and will fit the Breakout, the Rocker and Rocker C and post-2008 CVO Softails.

Developed to have the performance of a two-into-one and the distinctive sound of the existing Hi-Output, the system will retail at £825 and be available in a black or chrome finish. It has a CNC-machined billet end cap and, should you have really sensitive neighbours, an optional quiet baffle is available to buy separately. For more details, contact your local MAG Europe dealer or visit www.mageurope.eu.

PALM GRIP RATCHET

INDIAN MOTORCYCLE CARDIGAN

Indian Motorcycle does indeed call this new addition to its apparel range a cardigan, but it’s far removed from the woolly leather-covered button variety designed to be teamed with pipe and plaid slippers. Instead, this is a luxurious garment made entirely from merino wool and designed to look like the racing tops worn by Indian racers in the first half of the 20th century.

The knitted top has two hand warmer pockets with a zip up the front. Across the front is an embroidered Indian logo in antique white, while there’s an additional small leather patch on the right hand side. It retails at your local Indian dealer for £134.99 and is available in sizes S-3XL. For more details and to find your local store, visit www.indianmotorcycle.co.uk.

Laser Tools has just introduced a Palm Grip Ratchet which is available in either 3/8-inch or -inch drive. Both versions have a smooth 72-tooth ratchet which is switchable between forward and reverse. The 3/8-inch drive is just 2 inches in length, which the quarter inch one is less than two and a half inches long, and the built-in extension for each is mounted on a universal joint.

Combined with a wobble driver, the socket will get a firm grip even when straight access is difficult.

Both tools are made from high grade steel and chrome plated for strength, toughness and durability and ideal for years of service. The quarter-inch ratchet costs £14.65 and its (slightly) bigger brother £16.78. Find your local stockist at www.lasertools.co.uk.

MCS CUSTOM SPORTSTER TANKS

Looking for a new and stylish petrol tank? Motorcycle Storehouse offers a range of Sportster tanks, one of which will surely appeal to you.

Each tank has a 3.3 gallon capacity and measures approximately 19” x 11” x 8”. Although a fuel cap isn’t included, post-1996 caps will fit. Two versions of the tanks are available, one to be used for carbed bikes with a regular 22mm threaded 1974-onwards fuel tap and the other designed to take the fuel pump of fuel-injected Sportsters. The real difference is in the finish.

Each tank is available in a traditional smooth look instantly recognisable as Sportster-style, while you could also opt for a tank with dished sides or even raised diamond insets (pictured here). For prices and availability, speak to your local MCS stockist or visit www.motorcyclestorehouse.nl.

12 | 100% Biker | issue 217 | www.100-biker.co.uk

VINTAGE H-D AIR CLEANERS

As well as its well-known range of products for later model Harley-Davidsons, aftermarket parts company Zodiac has been developing a fast growing range of restoration parts for older models.

Its new air cleaner kit is an example of that range, providing a perfect reproduction of the OEM parts found on 1935-40 and 1941-45 Harleys.

Most parts are available individually at your local Zodiac dealer, while complete air cleaner kits start at £169. For more details, see www.zodiac.nl.

BIKE FEATURE

TRIUMPH TRIPLE SPRINT

ONE ESPRESSO TO GO

If you’re from the south of Devon, you will probably be aware of the work of Peter Weller who, for the best part of a quarter of a century, has been plying his trade at PGW Engineering in Paignton WORDS & PHOTOS: PETE WELLER AND TIM CALDWELL

T

hat trade is fabrication, primarily in stainless steel and aluminium, which has led to Pete building himself a sterling reputation as a specialist in custom exhaust systems. But that’s not all. As well as being able to create a variety of exhausts to fit just about anything, Pete’s skills are not confined to the round and twirly. Indeed not, as the owners of

any number of his bespoke and custom petrol and oil tanks will testify.

Although much of his work involves parts—the like of exhausts, seat units and tanks—he will also take on commissioned customer builds and any sort of custom work. However, being good at what you do is a doubleedged sword. While it may bring you work, that then eats up the time to do

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anything for yourself and so, having found himself in that situation, Pete decided to do something about it, as he himself explains: “After working on other people’s bikes for more than ten years, I thought it was high time that I built one for myself.

“Over the years, I’ve fabricated BMW subframes, aluminium tanks, seats, tail units and such like and so

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BIKE FEATURE

TRIUMPH TRIPLE SPRINT

I decided that I would build a café racer. However, rather than go down the BMW path, or any number of Japanese options, I wanted to go British. After all, the original café racers were British and so I chose a Triumph Triple as the donor bike.

“I found a Sprint Executive on eBay. Now the Sprint Ex was a big top-heavy old sports tourer.

It was basically a 900 Trophy with a Rickman-style fairing on the front and colour-coordinated hard panniers on the pannier.

Comfortable and reliable it might be, but it was certainly no café racer!

“So work started. My mate Andy Pitt and I removed the rear subframe and designed a new version in CDS tube which would lower the seat height by

50mm. This was then clad with an aluminium seat which also featured a frenched in oval rear stop light and taillights. Then the seat pan itself was covered in red, white and blue vinyl by Andy.

“Having removed all of the plastics, that, of course, left us with a bit of a problem in that we now had to hide all of the wiring, relays and the battery.

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“MY MATE ANDY PITT AND I REMOVED THE REAR SUBFRAME AND DESIGNED A NEW VERSION IN CDS TUBE WHICH WOULD LOWER THE SEAT HEIGHT BY 50MM” So I fabricated a dummy oil tank which was an ideal solution and did the job of keeping everything in one place but out of sight.

“Most triples run a three-intoone exhaust system, but I decided that I wanted a three-into-three set-up, inspired by the racing MVs of the early 1970s. So I hand

rolled three polished stainless steel reverse cone megas and so now the bike has two pipes on one side and one on the other. They were partnered with stain finished stainless downpipes and I do have to say, the bike sounds awesome!

“I wanted a low, sleek look, so a Sprint-style tank was sketched

out, although putting it down on paper was the easy bit. The construction of the tank in reality proved to be something of a labour of love. The underside took a lot of messing about to clear the top tube and the coil while still maintaining a reasonable capacity for fuel.

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BIKE FEATURE

TRIUMPH TRIPLE SPRINT

“THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE TANK PROVED TO BE SOMETHING OF A LABOUR OF LOVE” “Adjustable rearsets finished off the back while I used the standard Triumph Sprint wheels and brakes. I also decided to use the original clocks but I made an aluminium pod in which to house them and then mounted them on polished stainless steel brackets.

Stainless brackets were also made up on which to fix the ally front mudguard.

“The radiator expansion tank which usually sits under the seat was binned in favour of a stainless

one which I made and mounted to the left side of the cylinder head. As you can see, by the time we finished, it was no longer a plastic Trumpet but a unique nod to the old-style Brit café racer. Big thanks have to go to Andy for all his help with the wiring and input on the engineering.

“However, for me, it’s time to sell the Triumph and make way for the next project, If you’re interested, ring me at PGW Engineering on 07518 023911 or email pgweller@live.co.uk.” p

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EVENT FEATURE

CUSTOMBIKE

The winner of Best of Show, Bernhard Naumann of Austria with his Harley Sportster and a nice drop of tweed.

Top hat and gas mask, essential steampunk accoutrements.

CUSTOMBIKE WORDS & PHOTOS: BLUE

BAD SALZUFLEN, North Rhine-Westphalia, GERMANY There is much to be said for winter. It might be cold, the days may be short and the roads greasy, but it is the season of the major European indoor custom show

T

hree of the biggest and best custom shows in Europe occur between November and January. The beginning of November sees BigTwin in Holland, while the Verona Motor Bike Expo takes place towards the end of January. Almost slap bang in the middle of the two is Custombike on the western side of Germany, making it an easy journey for many visitors across the Continent. On a cold December weekend, what could be better than a couple of days surrounded by a huge amount of modified motorcycles?

Another reason to visit one of these European shows is that we simply don’t have anything on this scale in Great Britain. You don’t believe me? Well, this year, Custombike not only occupied four large halls, it also attracted some 300 traders and, quite

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incredibly, over 800 customised motorcycles from all over the world. Given that we build some of the best bikes on the planet on this little island, I have no idea why so very few Brits choose to exhibit their bikes at the show. In the seven years I’ve been attending Custombike, the number of British entries has yet to reach double figures. For the 12th edition of the show, the sole bike to make the trip from England was Pete Pearson’s Speed Weevil, the little Triumph fresh from triumphing (pun fully intended) at Las Vegas’s Artistry in Iron competition.

The first impression I got of Custombike was just how very busy it was—it actually looked busy even when there were few crowds (and that tended to be confined to the last hour of the day as people drifted away)—primarily because of the sheer amount of

Luckily the teams were taking part in the Biker Build Off because they would have won no prizes for fashion!

Big wheels. Very popular in Germany. These were clearly robbed off a very fancy farm cart.

Beautiful engraving on Go Takamine's Yardbuilt Yamaha SCR950, as seen in 100% Biker.

In 1959 one third of all German motorcycles were Kreidler. The firm went bust in 1982, but now the name is back on bikes again.

Barking mad Kriedler.

Zodiac’s Naked Truth. I really liked this.

Given that we build some of the best bikes on the planet, I have no idea why so very few Brits choose to exhibit their bikes at Custombike

The Gunslinger, Custom Chrome Europe’s Bolt On And Ride Harley VRod.

Cleveland Cycles Wereks, 125 cee-cees of coolness.

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EVENT FEATURE

CUSTOMBIKE

Last year Yuri Shif built the tiny yellow and silver Ducky in the Custombike Build Off.

This year he returned with a bike that looked like it might have ridden out of a 1959 copy of ‘Popular Mechanic’.

Michael Naumann’s Simple Iron was the runner-up in the AMD World Championship, but won nothing here.

Beautifully made and equally beautifully presented parts by Rocket Inc.

The reason why Arno Overweel of Rno Customs is such a good bike builder is that he has four arms.

stands and bikes crammed into the halls. Motorcycle Storehouse was situated to one side of the entrance with, kitty cat corner across, a large pitch taken by Wannabe Choppers, featuring some stylish rugs, a few of its builds and displays of its increasing range of parts. Now, I mention this because I first met Ricky de Haas who runs Wannabe Choppers around six years ago when he brought a bike to a show at Alexandra Palace. Then he was only just into his twenties and had travelled over from Germany on his own. Shortly after that, he started Wannabe Choppers and is now known throughout Europe. It’s always a pleasure to see up-and-coming builders doing well and I’m very proud of how far that young man I met at Ally Pally has come. He still speaks to me, too!

It’s always interesting when attending a show outside this country to see just what trends are popular and it appears that, just as in the rest of the world, the café racer phenomenon shows no sign of waning. Now, while people may moan about the fact that so many caffs are being built, there is one element that I rather like. In its basic form, the café racer style is naturally self-limiting—unlike with building a chopper, there are fewer routes to make it really

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A 250cc AWO (or Simson) engine is not a pretty engine but Jens-Andreas Lienig has managed to create a very neat little vintage bobber-styled bike.

Don Scalfare, Panhead built by Roman Bus of Wild Style in the Czech Republic.

Highly reworked Kawasaki KZ520. It looks like it might be a bit bendy to us.

Ashtray on a motorcycle, possibly not the most ‘must-have’ accessory…

different (and, if you do, it has moved away from being a café racer, anyway). So this forces people to come up with quirky ideas that still fit within the styling and the ‘cup holder’ tank seen on one could be said to embody that. Well, it wasn’t so much a cup holder as beer can and cigarette packet holder, the tank having been carefully moulded to accept one of each. What did irk me was that, with clearly a great deal of work expended on this task—and it was done well, as was the artwork—the tank badge had then been fitted with mangy old screws.

One popular German movement that does seem to be in decline is the high-neck, fat rear end chopper.

The last time I was in Germany two years ago, this appeared to be the last enclave of such beasts but now they were apparent by their absence. There were a few baggers but I have a recognised medical condition which means that my sight just doesn’t focus on such things. There’s no known cure.

As I mentioned a few paragraphs back, Custombike is always packed and much of that is down to how many motorcycles are crammed in to the display areas. While I realise that it’s a point of pride for the show organisers to be able to claim the

Live pinstriping on the Wannabe Choppers’ stand.

Bernhard Naumann’s Sportster was a late entry but went onto triumph in the show results.

I don’t know what the German is for ‘What the fuck?’ but I’m pretty sure I heard it in connection with several bikes largest numbers of custom bikes at an event of this kind, I couldn’t help wondering whether a certain amount of winnowing might have made the show even better. I don’t mean turn down the frankly mad and bizarre (more of which in just a second), but those that were basically stock. There weren’t many, but had they not been present it would have given every other bike a little more room.

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EVENT FEATURE

CUSTOMBIKE

Far more effective than a ‘Please Do Not Sit On This Bike’ sign!

Yes, lace effect paint is back everywhere.

Ricky de Haas of Wannabe Choppers, all grown up.

Gerhard Winger’s lowrider, powered by a Deutz diesel motor from a stationary engine.

The first impression I got of Custombike was just how very busy it was Germany always throws up a few bikes which— and I don’t want this to sounds as rude as it probably does—have the ‘WTF!’ factor. I don’t know what the German is for ‘What the fuck?’ but I’m pretty sure I heard it in connection with several bikes. If I had to give a WTF trophy (and, let’s face it, no-one is going to ask me to do so any time soon), then it would be to one particular Harley Fat Boy. I had only just stepped into the show when I met Pete and Lisa Pearson from Rocket Bobs. They bypassed all the niceties of a greeting and instead

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their first words were, “There’s a bike here you have to see…” And then, with a smirk, they refused to tell me what it was. Two minutes later I came to a screeching halt and my reaction was … yes, it had three words. Now, each custom bike is a labour of love to the builder and, at the end of the day, only one person has to like it. But I am intrigued as to who looked at their Fat Boy one morning and thought, ‘What that needs is a huge wooden fairing carved in the shape of an eagle. And some wooden panniers that look like wolves. And a wooden front mudguard with a big claw. And a wooden tank carved with feather and wooden engine covers and wooden footboards…” A great deal of someone’s time and a small forest had died for this Harley.

Other esoteric builds worked better; I really liked Gerhard Wingen’s one-off lowrider with a big stationary diesel engine at its heart. Unlike some diesel builds, the motor looked just right, while I was also taken with Yuri Shif’s latest project which takes its inspiration from the futuristic styling of the late 1950s and early ’60s. It would have been easy to have got it wrong, but the Softail could have been featured in any issue of Popular Mechanics of that era under the headline ‘This Is What We’ll Be Riding In The 21st Century’.

The biggest surprise of the show came when I decided to see what was in the upper hall. There was a show programme, but it was all in German, so I had no idea what to expect. As the escalator arrived at the top floor, it was a real ‘WOW’ moment. I had known that Custombike editor Katharina Weber and my old friend and former freelancer Horst Heiler had been planning something called ‘Save The Choppers’ but I hadn’t comprehended just what was involved.

In front of me, in a beautifully lit art gallery, were assembled two dozen magnificent choppers. You can

Pete Pearson of Rocket Bobs picking up the coveted Best Engineering, er, helmet.

Some of our favourite folk. (L-R) Axel Scherer, Simone Messer and Andreas Scholz of Custom Chrome Europe.

see full coverage of that next issue because it was a standalone show and deserves to be treated as such. It was also where, fittingly, I ran into several members of the National Chopper Club, a host of whom had made their way over from the UK for the weekend, although I suspect that partying, German beer and the Christmas markets which take place almost everywhere at this time of year were an equal lure.

As is traditional, the prizegiving wasn’t until last thing on Sunday afternoon and it was a diverse range of bikes that made their way onto the stage to collect their bespoke painted helmets which served in place of trophies. There were some bikes which I was disappointed not to see on stage and one or two that bemused me—I apologise to the lovely Horst Rosler who was standing next to me during the presentation of Best Old School for hissing several times in his ear, “It’s not a bike, it’s a car!” And it wasn’t. It was a beautiful made, Harley-engined three-wheeler in the style of a Morgan, but it was not a bike. Morgan, after all uses an S&S motorcycle engine in its Threewheeler, but it’s not a motorcycle. I think you get my drift. What was definitely a motorcycle was Speed Weevil which collected the Best Engineering award, while Best of Show went to the very bike we had predicted, Bernhard Naumann’s Sportster with its clever detailing.

With nothing on the UK scene to match it, it really is worth making the trip to Custombike and it certainly gives December a sparkle you will remember. p

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Biker Gear ADVENTURE MOTORCYCLING GEAR: WHETHER YOU’RE PLANNING A MASSIVE TRIP OR SIMPLY UNDERTAKING A SHORT TREK TO A RALLY, EVERY TRIP SHOULD BE AN ADVENTURE. HERE WE LOOK AT A SELECTION OF USEFUL STUFF FOR THAT PLANNED JOURNEY OR THE ONE THAT’S JUST A DREAM…

DRIFT STEALTH 2 CAMERA £99.99 Wherever you go, you will want a permanent memory of your trip and, if you’re on a budget, that is a job you can entrust to the Drift Stealth 2 camera which can be used as either a helmet camera or mounted on your handlebars. It’s 40% lighter than its predecessor and has a 300-degree rotatable lens, an LCD screen that uses the same Gorilla Glass utilised on an iPhone and a three hour battery. It will video 1080p at 30fps and 720p at 60fps and it’s also Wi-Fi enabled, allowing it to be controlled using a Drift app on a smartphone. As a bonus, the lens is replaceable should you scratch or damage it. For more details, see www.getgeared.co.uk.

SLIME TYRE KIT £49 MOTO SKIVEEZ RIDING PANTS £59.99 Yes, there is such a thing as ergonomic underwear and, after long stretches in the saddle, you will know how miserable chafing in certain areas can be. The Moto Skiveez Adventure Riding Pants were especially developed for a standard riding position where the knee drops over the seat and below the hip joint and that can cause pressure in the area of the inner thighs and upper groin. So the Riding Pants are designed to reduce rubbing in this area and to minimise miserable chafing, by the use of perforated memory foam and air flow. Oh, you laugh now, but… Available for both ladies and gentlemen in a variety of sizes, contact www.motolegends.com.

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Along with a Leatherman and a basic First Aid pouch, a tyre maintenance kit is one of the most valuable things you can carry on a long trip, particularly when you’re unlikely to be close to a local Kwik-Fit. This Slime kit is small enough to stow under most bike seats but allows you to maintain proper tyre pressure, thanks to the 300psi Slime Tyre Inflator which has a power lead capable to being attached either to a cigarette lighter socket or directly to the battery terminals. The kit, which is housed in a tough carry case, also contains a bottle of Slime tyre sealant for when the air just won’t stay inside the rubber. Available from www.nippynormans.com.

Biker Gear

FORCEFIELD TORNADO NECK WARMER £16.99 The particular riding gear you buy will depend on where you are heading, but one item that will be useful at both home and abroad is the Forcefield Tornado Advance neck warmer. It’s designed to be the best possible defence against extreme weather and is made in a Thermolite ‘Defender’ fabric which blocks airflow from the outside in, reducing wind chill and regulating your temperature.

Hollow fibres trap air and it also dries 20% faster than other thermal materials and 50% faster than cotton while flat seams and a soft lining make it comfortable to wear. For details, see www.getgeared.co.uk.

COLLAPSIBLE BUCKET £19.99 If you’re travelling through isolated parts of this planet and setting up camp wherever you stop, you will need water and, just as importantly, you’ll need something to carry it in. A bucket has a hundred uses but strapping a rigid pail to your bike isn’t that practical.

The problem is solved by Lifeventure’s bucket which will hold over 3 gallons of liquid and yet, when not in use, folds down so small it will fit in the palm of your hand. It’s durable, has handles and, when filled, stands up by itself. A small ‘basin-sized’ version is also available from www.adventurebikeshop.com.

KEIS HEATED GLOVES FROM £69.99 KEiS has introduced an alternative to heated grips in the shape of its heated gloves which, unlike heated grips, warm the whole hand and not just the inside area in contact with the grip. KEiS heated gloves feature Micro Alloy-Fibre Technology, which provides reliable and even heat right around the hand, whilst still allowing easy movement and feel - crucial for delicate operation of the controls during winter riding conditions.

KEiS produces both inner and outer heated gloves, all of which come with a fused supply lead for connection to a 12v vehicle battery (an adaptor for 12v sockets is also available) and have easy to use integral controllers. For details, see www.keisapparel.co.uk.

ADVENTURE MOTORCYCLE HANDBOOK £15.99 There are many books written by those who have undertaken epic trips, but one of the best for providing you with practical advice on how to do it yourself is Adventure Motorcycle Handbook, written by Chris Scott, the man who coined the phrase ‘adventure motorcycling’ back in the 1990s. The latest fully-updated edition covers the Adventure Motorcycling Zone (AMZ) of Africa, Asia and Latin America and gives comprehensive advice on when to go, what to ride, the gear you will need (and the stuff you don’t) and local knowledge as well as what to do when things don’t go quite right. Along with over thirty specialist contributors, Chris has put together a readable and essential guide to travelling in foreign climes, whether you intend a straightforward trip or something a little more extreme – or even just an interesting read on your sofa! Available from www.amazon.co.uk.

OXFORD FIRST AID KIT £12.99 Whether you’re tackling a trip across the Andes or just one to Andover, it’s always a good idea to carry a basic first aid kit (and, in fact, it’s a legal requirement in several European countries). This kit from Oxford Products contains a first aid blanket, 4 pairs of disposable gloves, 8 plasters, 2 sterile bandages, a roll of sticking plaster, compress, scissors and a manual. It complies with DIN13167 and that means it fulfils European legislation while, of course, you can also top it up with other supplies that you hope you may never have to use out on the road. See www.oxfordproducts.com.

NEXT MONTH: WINTER GEAR

www.100-biker.co.uk | issue 217 | 100% Biker | 27

BIKE FEATURE

KAWASAKI Z1000ST

EZEKIEL 21: THE SWORD WORDS: BLUE PHOTOS: FRANCOIS RICHER

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On 13th November 2015 Paris came under attack. In coordinated assaults that hit a football match, cafes, restaurants and, most famously, the Bataclan theatre, 130 people were killed and shock waves reverberated around the world. One of the many people caught up in the appalling events of that night was a gentleman by the name of GrĂŠgoire www.100-biker.co.uk | issue 217 | 100% Biker | 31

BIKE FEATURE

G

DUCATI PASO 750

régoire was lucky. Unlike so many, he survived that Friday evening. But, unsurprisingly—and probably in common with most others involved—it made him think about his life. He came to the conclusion that, for too long, he had been on the starting line of life waiting for the flag to drop and that he had better set about achieving his dreams while he could. I don’t know what the rest of Monsieur Grégoire’s dreams

may be, but this motorcycle is the result of one…

Having decided that life— and his desire for a custom motorcycle—could wait no longer, he picked up the phone to Karl Renoult at Ed Turner Motorcycles in Nantes. The title of the firm is something of a misnomer. It might give you the impression that they deal in Meriden-made Triumphs or, at least, classic British bikes, given that that they’ve appropriated the name of

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HAVING DECIDED THAT LIFE – AND HIS DESIRE FOR A CUSTOM MOTORCYCLE – COULD WAIT NO LONGER, GRÉGOIRE PICKED UP THE PHONE TO KARL RENOULT AT ED TURNER MOTORCYCLES this country’s greatest motorcycle designer and, of course, the man behind the Ariel Square Four and the Triumph Speed Twin among many other innovations. But, in fact, Ed Turner Motorcycles is a cheeky and rather clever play on ‘head turner’. And turn heads is something that Karl’s builds definitely do.

Anyway, after two or three phone calls with Greg, Karl had the outline of a project nailed down and that was, he says, “Hardtail frame, not too low, with a springer fork and a pretty finish.” The donor bike would be a Z1000ST, Kawasaki’s first shaft-driven motorcycle that was launched in 1978, somewhat in the shadow of the company monster Z1300 inline six. Although it has subsequently become a late 20th century classic, back then the

Z1000ST was seen as reliable and comfortable but, well, a little boring. The ninety-three horsepower four cylinder lump did what it did but without any great excitement, but back then it was carrying traditional late 1970s boxy styling which added to the weight. The Ed Turner version would be very much an anorexic, sleeker and minimal version of that motorcycle, as well as in

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BIKE FEATURE

KAWASAKI Z1000ST

keeping with Karl’s ethos that every bike he builds should have character and attitude. Boring is not an option.

The upside of the big four’s power and the condition of the donor bike was that it allowed Karl to devote the relatively slim budget to the rest of the project, rather than take on a full engine rebuild.

Karl admits that he would have liked to have undertaken some engine work but the fact was this was neither a big money build nor one that needed to attain rocket ship speeds.

The frame quickly took shape and look at how the rear end flows beautifully. Karl says it was inspired by push bike frames, but obviously adapted to take into account the all-important pedalling assistance that Mr Kawasaki had thoughtfully provided. Karl thought the stock wheels were, in his own words, “pretty cool” so they were pressed into service, the front being modified to accommodate a set of Honda CBR forks. No, not exactly the springer forks of the original plan, or certainly not as you might have envisaged from that initial description. Instead, the

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suspension is now taken care of by a shock mounted between the yokes rather than by the internal fork springs. Karl explains: “The forks were emptied and ‘springerised’ with custom dampers by Shaft Racing. For this step I have to admit that I

used some sketches and even some maths—which isn’t what I normally do! But, as usual, helped out by my mates Joe, Mikael and Gael, we tinkered with the set-up and it works pretty well.”

The rear wheel was closed in and then fitted with an Avon car tyre and the result is a remarkably clean and pared back rear end, over which sits a small seat made by John at Red’s Leather. Beneath the saddle are mounted two small flashing lights and an LED brake light to provide, says Karl with a wry smile, a semblance of road legality. Karl fabricated the aluminium tank which houses slightly over a gallon of fuel and also provides a base for one of the most striking elements of the bike.

Karl told us; “Restricted by the customer’s wallet and unable to satisfy all our pretensions for the preparation of the engine, we had to play another card. When you don’t have all the cards, you can still bluff! After a couple of nights of ‘holy’ readings,

I chose a few lines of Ezekiel 21 from the Old Testament which I thought would be ideal to adorn the petrol tank. There is one rather creepy passage which speaks of a sword sharpened and polished and a God who, for once, seems really pissed off and ready to fight.”

The lengthy passage was then transcribed onto the tank by the chemical etching skills of the Stick Your Cycle team, also based, like Ed Turner Motorcycles, in the north west of France. Final touches were the handlebars made by Karl, along with the imposing skyward exhausts and the refinishing of the engine cases with some green detailing as a nod to the famed Kawasaki colour. After several months of work, Ezekiel 21: The Sword was ready to hand over to its owner, although not without a final message from Karl, who told his custom; “Greg, you run faster than bullets. Now let’s see what you can do behind the handlebars.” p

www.100-biker.co.uk | issue 217 | 100% Biker | 35

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EVENT FEATURE

BRACKLEY FESTIVAL OF MOTORCYCLING

BRACKLEY FESTIVAL OF MOTORCYCLING TOWN CENTRE, BRACKLEY, NORTHAMPTONSHIRE WORDS & PHOTOS: BOSUN

Way back in last March I visited the Salon de Pecquencourt, the wellknown and established motorcycle event in France that takes over a whole town and involves most of its residents and traders in the weekend’s attractions. I thought at the time—as probably everyone who visits Pecquencourt does—that wouldn’t it be cool if something like that happened in the United Kingdom?

I

know there’s the big gatherings in Calne and Hastings and Bristol, or even something like Brightona which takes over Madeira Drive in Brighton once a year, but in those cases, roads are quite often still open and even if they’re not, well, as fine as those events are, they’re not quite the same. Back to the present and a missive was sent through to my phone. It was from our illustrious editor Blue and it said, “What are you going on the 14th? Would you like to go to the Brackley Festival of Motorcycling? It’s cool, the whole town is given over to bikes. And there will be tea and biscuits.” Blue had already promised to be

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at another event whereas, although I had four shows pencilled in in my diary, I hadn’t actually made any hard and fast commitments or promises. More importantly, there hadn’t been any offer of tea and biscuits at those other events…

Having said yes, I then wondered just where the hell Brackley might be. On realising it was nearly the Midlands (I am prepared for rude messages and emails from proud Northamptonshire folk and I apologise for my lack of knowledge of just where anywhere is in this fine land), I asked Yoda, a resident of said Midlands and our erstwhile Birmingham freelancer who would be heading to the Bulldog that same weekend. I’d

“Would you like to go to the Brackley Festival of Motorcycling? It’s cool, the whole town is given over to bikes.

And there will be tea and biscuits.”

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EVENT FEATURE

BRACKLEY FESTIVAL OF MOTORCYCLING

forgotten that Yoda’s sense of direction is worse than mine and if there’s not anything pretty and shiny to aim at or if his sat nav breaks down then he will be hopelessly lost forever. “No idea, mate,” he said, helpful as ever, “But at least she’s not sending you to Coventry,” making me wonder once again why I call him a friend.

So, having established where Brackley is (halfway between Oxford and Northampton for those as geographically challenged as I am), bright and early on a Sunday morning I pointed my trusty steed in a vaguely northerly direction. Despite my usual fight with the M25, I triumphed and, surprisingly for me, found the town easily. The big signs saying BRACKLEY were a clue. The parking for bikes was sadly further out of town than that for cars, although that may have just been me getting confused with the great metropolis that is Brackley.

The Festival began in 2008 and was never really intended to be as large as it has become. Instead, it was going to be a few bikers meeting up with some folk from the town, united by a common interest in

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motorcycles and maybe using the car park in the centre of town in which to gather. But, like Topsy and all good ideas, it grew. And grew. Somehow, after a lot of hard work, enthusiasm and planning, it suddenly wasn’t just a meet in a car park, but a multi-faceted show that took over the whole town centre and the local school playing field, covering in excess of 50 acres with every variety of motorcycle and two-wheeled sport you could imagine.

So it has remained and become more so.

Each year it’s got bigger and bigger and yet it still manages to be one of the biking calendar’s best kept secrets. I didn’t really know anything about it (and Blue admits that, until the first year she attended, nor did she), but once you do go, you’re a convert for life. How could you not be? Where else will you find a thriving market town prepared to let its High Street be closed

The Festival began in 2008 and was never really intended to be as large as it has become

off and used as a display arena with a short circular race course at one end? I shouldn’t say race course because it is, of course, just a parade lap, although there did seem to be one or two riders who were giving it the beans and keen to be at the front…

Now, although I’m a self-confessed petrolhead, I have to say that modern sports bikes leave me a little cold, although if that’s what you like there was plenty on offer for you. However you have to be made of stone not to be moved by older race bikes with their clatter and bangs. Sadly I didn’t actually get to see the glorious twin engine Triumph sidecar outfit with its

two T100 motors in motion, but it sounded ace.

If watching moving bikes wasn’t your particular interest, then most manufacturers had a stand, along with various clubs, countless traders and a cool section featuring custom builders, as well a ride in bike show. V-Twin Customs had also managed to bring together three Harley XR1000s which just begged to be thrashed around the circuit. I looked keen and ready to ride, but nobody offered…

On the school field was the main arena which was where more traders and caterers were, as well as music and demonstrations of off-road and stunt riding. The whole town was busy and, at times, I was swept along in what seemed to be a tidal wave of people. One of these tsunamis took me towards the superb display of aerial balletics by the stunt riders, while I was also amazed by the ingenuity of some people. One of the classic bike chaps deserves a special mention in dispatches for squeezing a Suzuki RG500 engine into a BSA Bantam frame. Why? I have no idea, but it’s madness of the best British type.

The organisers of the Brackley Festival of Motorcycling set out to appeal to everyone and to justify the name of the event and that they not only did, but exceeded. If you’ve never been, then check it out in August and you won’t be disappointed. And, if you have already been, then you will know just what a good event it is and what everyone else has been missing! p

www.100-biker.co.uk | issue 217 | 100% Biker | 41

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EVENT FEATURE

PICKERING GRASS TRACK

PICKERING GRASS TRACK WORDS & PHOTOS : CHRISTIAN GALLAGHER

It’s been a long time coming. For years I’ve been teased by glimpses of a hand-painted sign on the A169 in North Yorkshire, just a wooden board obscured by grass and almost impossible to read: ‘Pickering Grass Track’ and an arrow pointing left. Then, I was finally told to track down Will Bratley, one of the organisers, who luckily I’d met back in spring. Based on this tenuous acquaintance, I go up to Pickering on a specified day...

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ollowing the old sign, I drive for miles down patchy farm lanes, pursuing a kid on an old twinshock trail bike and doggedly keeping him in sight. He eventually turns into a large field where racing has begun. I mention Will and meet his dad. He grins and waves me in while I ask how I can get trackside. “Go find Dave Brown down by the commentator’s box,” he tells me, “You can’t miss him—he looks like Hitler. He’ll sort you out.”

The Pickering and District Motor Club has been running this series since 1923 with some current members active since the 1960s. The whole thing runs with effortless virtuosity after decades of practice.

Children and grandchildren have been raised into it: many of the racers are locals. This is how each generation of racers is formed and, following this local tradition, a boy and a girl, aged around seven or eight, line up next. They’re not on PW50s or any mini-bikes, but three quarter-scale grass trackers with leadinglink front ends: this is the Youth GT. They rip from the starting line and pile fearlessly into the first bend with

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a bravado that most adult road riders couldn’t muster, bucking around like puppets as the bikes struggle for grip and charge relentlessly forward. Next up is the Youth Motocross, then Adult Motocross and more of the same: hanging off their crossed-up bikes with a foot out, throwing turf at the sky.

The rounds continue at such a pace that I don’t have a moment to check the day’s sheet for details of what’s up next and who’s who. A break is announced, so I make for the roped-off paddock for a look behind the scenes. Everyone is very relaxed, even the guy who’s lost his points cover on the track and so is out of action for the day. He introduces himself as Paul and has come all the way up from Gloucestershire, via Doncaster to collect his son. I photograph his bikes: the now-retired BRM 250 and his son’s hybrid 250 housing what looks like a Honda engine.

“Shame about your points cover, though” I tell him, “Any chance you can ride without it?” “Nah, they’ll clog up in no time, but never mind”, he replies, unperturbed that he’s made a 500-mile round trip,

between shifts as a long-distance driver, to do just six laps. “This is his first race, so we had to get him here, anyway” he says, gesturing at his son. At this moment a woman walks over, says “I think this is yours?” with a smirk, and hands Paul the missing cover.

Wandering off around the paddock, I’m drawn to the older, more obscure and specialised bikes: Jawas, a Stuka, a BSA or two and some that look so completely homemade that I don’t know what they are. Modern machines can race here, and there’s talk of a road bike series coming soon, but it’s the grass trackers that steal the show. They’re beautifully simple, and watching them being well-ridden highlights their effectiveness.

I’ve noticed that they throw up much more dirt than the motocrossers because power-sliding is what they’re made to do. I also bump into Will, at last, and sheepishly admit that I name-dropped him to get in free and blag my way onto the green, but he doesn’t

The whole thing runs with effortless virtuosity after decades of practice.

Children and grandchildren have been raised into it seem to mind at all. When I tell him what a great day I’m having, he’s clearly full of enthusiasm for this scene: “It’s grass roots racing,” he tells me, in a tone that indicates nothing could be better, “You turn off a road in 2016 and into a field from the 1970s.”

Will is from one of the families that have done this for decades; he’s here early on race days to set up, builds his own bikes and knows the sport as well as anyone, so I’ll give him the last word here: “I never get bored of grass track,” he says, “There’ll always be something smart arriving on a Sunday morning.

There are riders chatting cheerfully away about how they lost their fingers in a crash at Burton Agnes, while trying to coax stubborn dope-burners into life.

It’s just mint.” p

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BIKE FEATURE

HARLEY-DAVIDSON KNUCKLEHEAD

NO RULES KNUCKLE It’s a curious fact that Andrea Radaelli is virtually unknown outside of his native Italy. Curious because he has won three Best of Show titles in a row at EICMA Custom, he has designed for Ducati as well as building numerous outstanding and show winning custom motorcycles WORDS & PHOTOS: HORST ROSLER

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ndrea is based in Milan where he opened his shop in 2010. Since then a number of projects have followed, one of the latest of which is the No Rules Knuckle, a perfect example of his work and one in which the best components were sourced and used.

Motorcycle design seems to be in the blood of Italians. Whether it’s futuristic sports bikes or retro old school lookalikes that are more works of art than grand tourers, Italian customisers and designers love the extreme. Following in the footsteps of such successful builders as Lucca Andreoli of Headbanger Motorcycles, Abnormal Motorcycles and PDF Motociclette among others, Radikal Chopper is setting new standards in detailing and handcrafting bespoke custom bikes. Over the last six years, Andrea has shown his versatility by taking on projects based around BMW, Kawasaki, Triumph and Ducati engines and running gear, transforming each into an extreme one-off. Like most builders, he counts several example of Milwaukee products in his portfolio, but this boardtrack-style 1947 Harley-Davidson Knucklehead is his most ambitious build yet.

Andrea began with a 1930 Harley VL frame. The single downtube frame is as authentic as it gets, but it needed to be modified to accommodate a Knucklehead motor, a job which was entrusted to another Italian builder, ChopWorks, probably best-known for main man Frankie’s over-the-top BSA A65 chopper, Astro Zombie, of a few years back. The original VLs

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BIKE FEATURE

HARLEY-DAVIDSON KNUCKLEHEAD

SPECIFICATION

SHEET ENGINE: ENGINE: 1947 Harley-Davidson 1200cc 74 cui FL rebuilt by Rat Bike Service, Linkert M-74B carburettor, air filter by Radikal Chopper, Morris G5 magneto, 1946 H-D 4-speed gearbox, hand shift, Radikal Chopper dry clutch, 11/2” belt drive, Baker Kickstarter gears, stainless 2-into-2 exhausts hand fabricated by Radikal Choppers.

FRAME: 1930 Harley-Davidson VL single downtube modified by ChopWorks, stock rake.

FRONT END: 23” x 1.85” JoNich 80-spoke wheel, Firestone tyre, IOE replica forks by W&W Cycles, handlebars by Radikal Chopper, levers and internal throttle cable by Kustom Tech, Radikal Chopper grips.

REAR END: 23” x 1.85” JoNich 80-spoke wheel, Firestone tyre, Kustom Tech hydraulic replica drum brake.

MISCELLANEOUS: One-off petrol tank by Anvil’s Disciples and Radikal Chopper, seat pan by Radikal Chopper and upholstered by Calavera Leathers, oil tank by Anvil’s Disciples and Radikal Chopper, foot pegs by Radikal Chopper, wiring by Radikal Chopper.

PAINT AND FINISH: Paint by Cisko Aloisi at Cisko Design.

Graphics, pinstriping and wood inserts

by AD Kustom Furniture. Engraving by Luca Braschi.

were powered by sidevalve Flatheads but that was then replaced by the larger overhead valve Knucklehead engine in 1936, hence the need for chassis mods.

The motor that Andrea found for this project is a late model Knucklehead, possibly one of the last made before the engine was superseded by the Panhead design in 1947.

Rat Bike Service, south of Lake Como and north of Milan, was entrusted with a complete rebuild of the engine. Despite its name, the company has established a sterling reputation over the last twenty years for all things Harley and it undertook a full restoration of the almost seventyyear-old motor.

Meanwhile, Luca Braschi was responsible for the engraving on the original Knucklehead cover; having engraved some of the

MOTORCYCLE DESIGN SEEMS TO BE IN THE BLOOD OF ITALIANS. WHETHER IT’S FUTURISTIC SPORTS BIKES OR RETRO OLD SCHOOL LOOKALIKES, ITALIAN CUSTOMISERS AND DESIGNERS LOVE THE EXTREME finest firearms in Italy, Luca has now moved to the UK where he is working for Midlands Gun Services as a gun engraver. The typical oversized ‘bolts’ were refined with cast brass inserts and the words ‘Boardtrack Racer No Limits Knucklehead 1947’ features around each of the four valve train nuts. A Morris magneto and a stock Linkert carburettor are living proof of the beauty of old technology, while copper oil lines add to the antique look. The 1946 gearbox was obtained from Giuseppe

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Roncen who publishes Italian custom magazine Low Ride and it includes Baker kickstarter gears, along with a kicker pedal cut from mahogany. The most modern component on the entire bike is the one-and-a-half inch belt drive between the engine and the gearbox, while Andrea also fitted a handcrafted dry clutch with a cast pressure plate.

The frame was unearthed in Canada, lending a truly international feel to the project, while the front end was found a little closer to home. Original

forks for a bike of this era are now rare collector items or simply scrap metal, but W&W Cycles produces a replica version of the front end which looks like the period item but is made from modern materials. Andrea then fabricated the handlebars himself, based on photos of boardtrack racers from the early part of the 20th century.

One thing that doesn’t feature on this bike is compromise.

Whether it be gold leaf, engraving, copper, brass, wood and even pearl inserts, it’s clear that no expense, whether in time or money was spared on the No Rules Knuckle. The bodywork was handmade from sheet aluminium with Anvil’s Disciples creating the hammered petrol and oil tanks.

The rear mudguard was adored with the addition of wooden inserts by AD Kustom Furnitures.

Elsewhere brass, copper and even mother of pearl was used for decoration. Andrea tried to keep as many authentic period parts as possible, and, where possible, such things as the surfaces of the engine and gearbox were left untouched. He explains; “The goal

ONE THING THAT DOESN’T FEATURE ON THIS BIKE IS COMPROMISE. WHETHER IT BE GOLD LEAF, ENGRAVING, COPPER, BRASS, WOOD AND EVEN PEARL INSERTS, IT’S CLEAR THAT NEITHER TIME NOR MONEY WAS SPARED was to build a ‘period custom’, a highly customised motorcycle styled as if it had existed almost a hundred years ago.”

Unsurprisingly, the No Rules Knuckle won many fans, such as the likes of twice-World Champion Fred ‘Krugger’ Bertrand’, when it was unveiled at the Motor Bike Expo in Verona last year and, to universal approval, it went onto win three awards, while missing out on winning the Custom Chrome Europe show by a single point.

Those plaudits included a special award, chosen and presented

by Karen Davidson, daughter of Willie G and the current Creative Director of merchandise for the MoCo. Whether it will make Andrea Radaelli better known outside of his native Italy remains to be seen.

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NO RULES KNUCKLEHEAD

Radikal Chopper’s 21st century boardtrack racer

EVENT FEATURE

CHROME AND CRUISERS

WORDS & PHOTOS: BOSUN

CHROME AND CRUISERS ABBEY SCHOOL, FAVERSHAM, KENT Hot rods, customs, bands and a Bank Holiday Monday – what more could one want? Well, in my case, beer, windmills and cake as well (not necessarily in that order), but that was easily remedied

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aversham in Kent is home not only to the annual Chrome and Cruisers but also to the Shepherds Neame brewery, purveyors of Spitfire, my choice of ale on a Friday night.

However, as I was on the bike I stuck to tea until I was home. Kent has lots of windmills, and two are either side of the town. Sadly, neither have sails but a windmill is a windmill and that’s enough to satisfy me. As an added bonus, the event organiser had previously offered me cake in order to tempt me to head to Kent so, all in all, I had all the elements for the perfect day. I have to say that the latter turned out to be a red herring. There was no cake at the end of the rainbow, but then again, when I arrived, Ian Maggs—aka Stump—was in best running-around-incircles mode, going a delicate shade of cooked lobster red in the sun while hunting for a lost delivery driver who was supposed to be dropping off a PA, albeit with a big grin constantly on his face.

Chrome and Cruisers is now in its tenth year and, over that decade, the show has steadily evolved from its early days at Sittingbourne race track to

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its present incarnation and palatial home at Abbey School in Faversham, all the while being enthusiastically promoted by Stump. In the run up to the show (and for months beforehand), he conducts a concerted advertising campaign through social media, magazines, flyers and word of mouth and that promotion clearly worked as, by the time I got to the venue, there were vehicles everywhere. The Rejects Brotherhood gentlemen were doing some fine work marshalling but, with only one entrance to the site and trying to differentiate between show cars and ordinary run-ofthe-mill dailies (as well as, for some strange reason, a few large show cars leaving early), it was inevitable that there would be some bottlenecks. After all, English school gates were not built with big Yank motors in mind. The answer was, of course, to come on a bike—it worked for me!

The bike park was almost a show in itself and it took me a while to escape from there and to press a fiver into the hands of the nice show volunteers so I could get onto the main show field. There the official

Chrome and Cruisers is now in its tenth year and, over that decade, the show has steadily evolved ‌ all the while being enthusiastically promoted by Ian Maggs

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EVENT FEATURE

CHROME AND CRUISERS

show bikes were nicely laid out on hardstanding with not only a few bikes I already knew, but some that were completely new to me. There were also some funky smaller bikes—the fad for these not only continues but is positively thriving.

Show scooters have always been a thing of wonder and, at times when trends have changed in custom motorcycles, the custom scooter builders have kept engravers, chromers and trick painters in business.

One scooter in particular clearly appeared to belong to a major league Siouxsie and the Banshees’ fan and while it was a triumph (figuratively speaking, due to it actually being a Lambretta) of quality paintwork, fabrication and engraving, the story behind the bike is equally as interesting.

The scooter, called Dazzle, was originally built

by Jeremy Howlett way back in 1983. It was blue in its first incarnation and then, after an accident, repainted in green. It did the rounds of the shows, was immensely well-known and then just disappeared. But, for many scooterists, Dazzle remained an iconic machine, just as certain chops have in the custom scene.

One of those scooter chaps was Dizzy from the A41 Eagles. Five years ago, Dizzy got word that Dazzle had resurfaced, still in Jeremy’s possession but tucked away in an old garage. Then Dazzle’s frame turned up on eBay. It had a price of £1600 which, without the history, would have been strong money for a Lambretta frame. Dizzy bid on it and was surprised to get a call from Jeremy himself who was in two minds about selling it. But he agreed to let him have it at the auction price. Dizzy turned up on his doorstep that night with the cash and, realising how serious he was about the scooter, Jeremy would only take a thousand

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pounds of his money.

At this point it was a rusty old frame, far removed from the stunning scooter of the early 1980s. In fact, all Dizzy got of the original machine was that frame and a rusty mudguard. Later he managed to track down a few more damaged parts of the original scooter, although what was the first Dazzle is probably only about 30% of the modern version. The engraving is the work of the one and only Don Blocksidge who had engraved the original Dazzle. Now 85 years old and being discovered by a new generation of custom builders, Mr Blocksidge is still hard at work and, while the custom bike world may have overlooked him for a while, scooter builders never forgot Don and have continued to knock at his door for work.

Over the new couple of years, Dizzy hunted down the best craftsmen he could find to provide parts for the rebuild. The original Dazzle had been painted by Paul Karslake, a formidable artist and owner of a collection of vintage Lambrettas himself. So, although many younger painters would have given their right arm for the commission, Dizzy was insistent that Paul was the only man for the job. It’s not an exact replica of the original artwork; if anything, it’s better.

So why am I telling you all this? Well, Dazzle—to noone’s surprise—won Best Scooter, but, more than that, it shows that there is a story behind every machine. In this case, many people might just have marvelled at the Lambretta’s engraved and painted surfaces and twisted stand without realising the thirty-plus years of history behind the scooter or how it literally came back from the dead to still be winning shows in another century.

There was, of course, a good mix of chops and classics, as well as a blown Suzuki which I had spotted at an earlier show. It was still as mad as a box of frogs and the owner was still wearing the same crazed grin as before, despite

The bike park was almost a show in itself and it took me a while to escape from there nearly blowing the engine up and having blatted around all summer.

The autojumble stalls where you could pick up all sorts of car, bike, music and clothing parts were arranged around the outside edge of the field. The various car clubs were set up in groups across the field and while I may have gone for the bikes, it’s always interesting to see customising ideas on cars and vans and how they equate or echo those of the two-wheeled builds. I have a soft spot for the madness that is bouncing low rider cars although I’m not sure that’s something that would transfer well to two wheels!

As Stump is an enthusiastic

promoter of live music, this was naturally an important part of Chrome and Cruisers, and this year there was entertainment to be had with Lonnie Donegan Jr, keeping alive the skiffle flame and the name of his father.

Over the past few years this show has not always been blessed with the finest of weather, but there were no such meteorological problems on this occasion with the sun beaming, turning people—including yours truly— an unfetching shade of pink and creating epic queues for drinks and ice cream. It was a great way to spend a day, even if I didn’t get my cake! p

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BIKE FEATURE

SUZUKI GS425

INTO THE LIGHT The motorcycling scene in Great Britain has, in the main, long revolved around sports bikes and race replica machinery. However, for a number of reasons, that long-term trend seems to now be waning, with an increase in interest from mainstream buyers not only of ‘adventure’ bikes but, latterly, of production bikes styled around street scramblers, roadsters and, most recently, bobbers such as the new Triumph WORDS & PHOTOS: MDM@FLAT-OUT.COM

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f course, for those of us who haven’t got the wherewithal to purchase a new bike, any trends in sales of new machinery are pretty much irrelevant, and being an avid reader of 100% Biker you’ll know that not everyone wants a standard bike, anyway.

Tom Ratcliffe was, by his own admission, very much into sports bikes. However, he was open to other suggestions and, when discussion of an alternative form of transport cropped up, his brother suggested he did a quick Google search (other internet search engines

are available) of ‘brat racers’.

Having done just that and, with the immediate impression being, “Yes! I’m building one of them!” the search was on for a donor…

With inspiration gained from the bikes he’d seen online, Tom was after something small and cheap, something like a twin cylinder four stroke Suzuki being ideal. And, oh look, here’s a GS425! Originally launched as the GS400, Suzuki’s midranger had an excellent spec with a double overhead camshaft engine, front disc brake and styling that aped the company’s larger models. Essentially it was half

TOM WAS AFTER SOMETHING SMALL AND CHEAP, LIKE A TWIN CYLINDER FOUR STROKE SUZUKI. AND, OH LOOK, HERE’S A GS425! www.100-biker.co.uk | issue 217 | 100% Biker | 57

BIKE FEATURE

SUZUKI GS425

a GS750, albeit stretched out capacity-wise and with the same reliability and efficiency as its inline four parent. The capacity was later increased and the most commonly seen version was the 425E which came with cast wheels. But Tom’s bike is the bog-stock 425 with spoked wheels, which were far more appropriate for the bike that he had in mind. Okay, so the little twin might only grind out 40bhp as standard, but that’s still

enough to break each and every speed limit in the UK… Right from the start, Tom was keen to retain as much of the original bike as possible, while still giving it a unique style.

He wanted to, he says, “retain the identity of the bike—that headlight has been on since new so I bet it has seen some things!”

Similarly, the switchgear is worn from the hundreds of times that the switches have been thumbed and, while Tom was going to give

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WHILE TOM WAS GOING TO GIVE THE BIKE A FULL REBUILD, IT WAS IMPORTANT TO KEEP SOME OF ITS TIME WORN CHARACTER the bike a full and comprehensive rebuild, it was important to keep some of its time worn character.

So, what was once a humble daily commuter was stripped down to a bare frame and the grinder brought out to chop off the standard subframe, along with any unnecessary lugs, brackets and the pillion peg loops. A new seat loop was welded into place, suitable for the low, flat seat that Tom had in mind.

The wheels were sent away to be rebuilt and the forks were stripped, reconditioned and refinished with the brushed finish on the sliders. The yokes were powder coated (like the frame, swinging arm and many other parts) in satin black, while the handlebar clamps were retained, despite the use

of clip-on bars, as they came in useful as a mounting point for the gear indicator.

As the style of bike dictated no front mudguard, the only bodywork that remained was the standard GS petrol tank.

With no side panels to hide any of the electrics, Tom made a new battery box that mounts atop the front of the swinging arm, while all the other electrical bits and

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BIKE FEATURE

SUZUKI GS425

SPECIFICATION

SHEET ENGINE:

1978 Suzuki GS425 parallel twin, internally standard, Dynojetted carbs, cone air filters, Motad two-into-one exhaust with wrap.

FRAME: 1978 Suzuki GS425 twin downtube, seat loop fitted, all lugs and unwanted brackets, rear footrests removed, finished in Ford satin black.

FRONT END: Rebuilt standard Suzuki GS425 wheel, 3.50 Firestone Deluxe Champion tyre, standard forks and yokes, Suzuki disc and caliper, clip-on bars, Biltwell grips, custom gear indicator mount, braided brake line, Honda FireBlade master cylinder and lever, standard switchgear, rev counter, Suzuki GS425 headlight with yellow film.

REAR END: Rebuilt Suzuki GS425 wheel, 3.50 Firestone Deluxe Champion tyre, standard drum brake, de-lugged standard swinging arm, uprated shocks, rebuilt standard wheel, DID chain and sprockets, curved number plate holder with LED light.

MISCELLANEOUS: Standard GS petrol tank, handmade seat base covered in Jaguar XF leather, standard loom wrapped in cloth tape, battery box on top of swinging arm, standard footpegs and sidestand.

PAINT AND FINISH: Suzuki Olympus White on tank by Syd. Ford Satin Black powder coating

by Neil. Fork legs, engine cases and various other parts polished and all bolts re-nickel plated by local firms.

ONe-off engineering and welding by Sheffield. All other work by owner.

THANKS TO: My wife; Paul and Gaz at work; all the local companies used.”

THE WEIGHT LOSS FROM THE ORIGINAL 374LB WILL MAKE THE MOST DIFFERENCE TO THE WAY THAT THE GS WILL BLAT THROUGH TRAFFIC bobs are out of sight beneath the seat. The tank was passed over to Syd to be given a coat of Suzuki Olympus White. It was, however, at this point, with parts away to be painted, powder coated or nickel-plated (all the standard fasteners had this treatment), that Tom started wondering whether the project would ever be finished. Remember, this was his very first build, and he was just about to experience the excitement of getting all the refurbished parts back, which is when the real fun starts!

The standard wiring loom was used, although modified to suit the relocation of various parts— such as the sidemount rear light and number plate—and then covered in cloth tape to give it a softer classic look. The engine had been painted, with the cases and cam caps given the same brushed look as the fork sliders, and then refitted with a modified Motad exhaust with the headers covered in exhaust wrap. As the area beneath the seat had to be totally open, the standard air box had been junked, and the carbs now breathe through a pair of free-flowing cone filters. While this may add a horsepower or two to the forty that the little Suzuki started out with, it’ll be the weight loss from the original 374lb that will make the most difference to the way that the GS will blat through traffic and down the Black Country lanes.

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Mind you, while Tom fitted a modern front brake master cylinder and a braided brake line, they didn’t aid the braking quite as much as he hoped; “You still have to look a mile in front in case anyone pulls out!”

And those Bridgestone tyres, which really look the part, have, says Tom, “a mind of their own!”

The bike was finished off with a few minor bits of detailing, such as the Budweiser bottle cap over the top yoke nut, the eight ball valve caps and the groovy Biltwell grips (fitted the night before the photoshoot!). Thankfully, Tom’s very happy with the end result. While he admits that it rides like a 1970s bike—ie terribly compared to today’s bikes— he does say that he wouldn’t change it, not in a million years. “It is what it is, and I built it to ride and hop from pub to pub. although I have taken it to a fair few shows, too. I’ve showed you don’t need a massive wallet to get the bike you want, just hard work.”

At the time of the shoot, Tom had another two bikes on the bench at home which were getting the same sort of treatment and he hopes to be building a lot more and making a business out of it, as well as a clothing range, so if anybody wants a build, please get in touch on 07887 880893.

Please mention 100% Biker when responding to adverts.

THUG

BIKE FEATURE

MATCHLESS G3LS

WORDS: BLUE PHOTOS: INDIAN MOTORCYCLE

The Indian Scout is an impressive motorcycle, but it doesn’t perhaps lend itself to being customised in quite the same way as some other models. However, that – restyling and modifying a Scout Sixty – is exactly the task that Indian Motorcycle set its dealers with the Project Scout competition towards the end of last year

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T

he rules of the competition were pretty simple. There would be no restrictions on the bike’s theme, style or cost, a minimum of three genuine Indian Scout accessories had to be used from the ever-increasing range of such things and at least one part from Custom Chrome Europe, Zodiac or Harrison Billet had to be fitted. Oh, and it had to be built in ninety days. Now, three months may sound like a decent amount of time but, remember, each one of the competitors would be running a business and dealing with customers’ bikes which have to come first and so a ‘free’ build had to fit in with the stuff that pays the bills. Ten of the United Kingdom’s thirteen Indian dealers decided to take part in Project Scout and we are very pleased to bring you—warning, spoiler alert!—the winner!

Way down in deepest, darkest Cornwall, Thor Motorcycles has been looking after the riders of the western extremities of this island for years and the shop is as diverse as any you will find. The showroom contains everything from off-road competition bikes—Thor is the official South West dealer for Gas Gas, Beta Sherco and TM Enduro—to Harleys, classic Brits and the cream of road bikes in the shape of new motorcycles from Norton, Indian, Victory, Aprilia and Moto Guzzi, Thor being an official dealer for each of those marques. Oh, and they

www.100-biker.co.uk | issue 217 | 100% Biker | 63

BIKE FEATURE

INDIAN SCOUT SIXTY

do parts, maintenance, servicing, MoTs, clothing, accessories and sell scooters, too. Add to that impressive CV the fact that the crew down in Bodmin also build custom bikes and there’s not too much that they can’t turn their hand when required.

However, as Colin Treleaven, the dealer principal at Thor Motorcycles, told us; “We’ve built loads of chops and we don’t build pretty bikes, which is where we came up with the name Thug, because all of our custom builds are a bit thuggy!”

It’s also not in Thor’s nature to reach for the nearest aftermarket parts catalogue and start making lists of new components to simply be purchased and bolted together.

They were aware that they would be up against competition with deeper pockets and more resources, but, talking to Colin, I think he rather

relished that. “We didn’t want to build a handbag, fashion statement bike and there was no point us trying to compete against firms with bigger cheque books. Everyone’s done the flat tracker thing and we wanted to do something that hadn’t been done before. Most importantly, it had to be a rideable bike, not a show pony.”

The first thing that Colin did was to spend a day just looking to see what was stashed away in the workshop in the way of unused parts or stuff that had either been used on previous projects or hadn’t quite made the cut for said builds. That search dug up a pair of Rick’s Motorcycles wheels which had been marked for an old project, along with a set of forks which had also been surplus to requirement on a build some five years ago (“I got pissed off with them,” says Colin), while a Billet-6 caliper was found underneath

THUG WAS FINISHED BEFORE THE 90 DAY DEADLINE WAS UP AND SUBJECTED TO SOME SERIOUS ROAD USE 64 | 100% Biker | issue 217 | www.100-biker.co.uk

a bench and, after a bit of modification, was pressed into service at the front of the Scout.

The desire to keep the build as cost effective as possible even extended to the tyres which are old second hand stock that happened to be in the Thor parts department.

Much of the rest of the components were modified to fit or made in house, such as the machined spline assembly which extends the front sprocket so the final drive could be converted to chain. One of the very few jobs to go out of the Thor house were the rear shock absorbers which were made to order by Hagon in Essex and who, Colin says, did a cracking job. The

exhaust system is a Radical Radius system by Freedom Performance, obtained through Zodiac, while the remit of the competition was fulfilled with a headlight, taillight and indicators from Chopper Kulture and distributed

by Custom Chrome Europe.

The final touches were loads of brass detailing and the paint. I probably shouldn’t mention this, but Colin told me that the paint cost all of £80 for the gloss black livery.

No, Thor Motorcycles won’t paint your bike for a mere eighty quid even if they’ve proved they can do it on this build! Thug was finished before the 90 day deadline was up and subjected to some serious road use—I have to wonder many of the other builders got their bikes all muddy before judging and had to come back and clean it down.

The Project Scout competition came to its climax at Motorcycle Live at the NEC in November as the

public cast their votes. Now, while it’s always good to win, I get the impression that it wouldn’t have broken Colin and his guys’ hearts if they hadn’t done so. However, we shall never know because, with some 20% of the vote, Thug was announced the victor up against nine other strong entries.

But the thing I personally like most about this motorcycle?

Well, I looked at the details of all the customised Scouts in the competition and, at the bottom of each page, was a price (with, it must be said, the exception of Moore Speed Racing who said it could build you a very similar bike for a certain price), each bike already up for sale, some with impressively large price tags.

Except for Thor Motorcycles and Thug. This bike isn’t for sale because, says Colin, “We’re too busy riding it!” And that’s what it’s all about. p

www.100-biker.co.uk | issue 217 | 100% Biker | 65

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BUILD FEATURE

MZ PROJECT BUILD

THE GRIMPIXIE ONE KEY ENGINEERING MZ SPECIAL: PART 3 WORDS & PHOTOS: MARK

L

ast month we looked at how the MZ came about, first by accident and then by design, and in the build I’d got to somewhere near finished. Or so it seemed. Sometimes the project looks very nearly done, but in reality it’s a million miles off completion. It’s no mystery that so many projects never see the light of day as there’s so many little jobs to get it finally

finished that, after striding forward in great big leaps, it suddenly feels like you are taking thousands of tiny steps and a high proportion of them are backwards. However, with philosophical hat on, it’s not all crap though, even a step backwards is part of the journey. Hard to remember when the new tyre is a bit bigger than the old one and now rubs on the mudguard.

T It’s sometimes forgotten but, before the Japanese really conquered the mass motorcycle market, they didn’t really understand two strokes, at least not in terms of extracting the most performance. MZ did, thanks to a brilliant engineer called Walter Kaaden.

Back in the day MZ racing machines ruled the circuits, being able to extract phenomenal horsepower from small capacities because of their understanding of gas flow and development of the expansion chamber. I wanted to nod to this proud heritage but without painting MZ in big letters on the tank. The old MZ logo, known as the comet, is actually pretty cool, and, with a bit of stylish reworking, was ideal for what I wanted. I sketched it a few times until I got the shape I wanted and then made a template so I could reverse it for the other side of the tank. MZ stands for Motorradwerk Zschopau, and I considered putting that somewhere. In the end, I didn’t. It’s a lot of letters and I couldn’t be arsed.

68 | 100% Biker | issue 217 | www.100-biker.co.uk

T

Right. It was winter, and so a good time to strip the bike down and paint it.

I decided to brush paint it for a number of reasons; by being careful with the brush and then flatting it back with fine grade wet and dry or rubbing compound, I could achieve an old-fashioned patina which would help with the overall look I was trying to achieve.

Plus it was cheap, it was ecological, and it meant I could bring the bike in to the house piece by piece, and paint it in front of the fire with the stereo on Number 11. Bonus.

T

I also decided to reuse the original headlight—good job I didn’t remove the mount when I was cleaning up the yokes! The C15 tank orginally had chrome sides and painted borders, separated by a pinstripe. I thought it would be good to replicate these shapes, but to then use my reworked comet logo on each side. The centre of the tank was always going to be black, a stripe of blackness that would flow from the headlight to the back of the bike, and allow things like the tank mounts to aesthetically blend in to the frame, thus pulling the whole bike together. But I didn’t want the bike to be just black though, and it took me ages to find the colour to use for the highlights.

T

The answer came when I was painting a shop front. I’d been weighing up colours for a while. At first it was going to be red, as I really liked the red oxide primer I’d used in the early stages of the build. Too ordinary. Then it was going to be silver, as this was MZ’s racing colour back in the day. Too shiny. Grey, then. Too dull. So there I was, painting this shop, thinking, ‘They’ve bought far too much paint, there’ll be some left over. What colour shall I paint the bike?

Definitely far too much paint for this job. It’s a great colour too. What colour shall I paint the bike? Hang on a minute.’ I love this colour as it has a really nice vintage feel, just what I was looking for. It also brushes beautifully. This is the rear mudguard nearing completion. It’s a Leyland Trade paint by the way, I think it was called Empress.

Some pinstriping helps to define the borders, and matches the tank sides.

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BUILD FEATURE

MZ PROJECT BUILD

T

As winter went on, the pile of finished parts in the house grew. I’ve always liked the solid rear wheel look—I used to make wheel covers out of hardboard sheets (or bin lids) for my rat bikes. These wheel covers were a real find at a classic car garage sale in a nearby village. Originally intended for a Morris 8, they fitted the MZ rim perfectly—I couldn’t believe my luck! One side needed a spacer making to fill the gap at the hub, the other side needed the hole making bigger, but no drama. They cost £5 for 4, which means I’ve got two more for my next project. The exhaust downpipe I put some heatwrap around—£1.35 a metre off eBay. I was reusing the original oil tank, but with a Pratts cap and a STP sticker, £1 each. I also got an old Brit bike choke lever from eBay, 99p. The mirror came from an autojumble, £2.

T

Now we were getting somewhere. I got some bar end indicators from a bloke selling Hardknock bobber kits at the BMF Rally. They were slightly scuffed, therefore cheap and, seeing as I was going to paint them anyway, the scuffs didn’t matter a jot. This picture shows quite a few of the things that held me up just as thought I was getting near to riding the thing. I lined the tank with a liner bought off the internet that turned out to be ethanol unfriendly. I knew there was something wrong when the petrol turned pink. Relined with the proper stuff, it’s been fine. Be warned though, this stuff really stinks. Don’t line your tank in your house with the stereo turned up to Number 11. I might have done this. Sorry everybody.

Something else I got wrong was the back exhaust mount, which you can see through the frame. MZ motors rock back and forth, and the exhaust swings slightly on a swinging arm that hangs from near the top shock mount. I had bolted my exhaust can straight to the frame, which was really daft and needed to be redone. I reused the original arm, but shortened it to suit. The front brake caliper was seized solid. I managed to get it apart, but the bore was ruined, rendering the unit fit for scrap. Martin from Burwins in London (an MZ specialist) suggested a Grimeca replacement, which is an upgrade over the standard unit, as used by the racing boys. He also provided a longer than stock braided hose for a very good price. Oh, and the kickstart return spring had snapped, which was actually fairly easy to put right. I used a BSA pancake air filter, which was a right awkward sod to get to fit. Once all these problems were sorted, and the bike rewired, we were actually getting close…

T …or so I thought. Before I waded through the wiring I made myself a racing number oval to go on the right hand side at the back. To my mind, it makes the bike look a little bit more exciting, more dynamic. Why 25? I wanted a number that really fills the space of the oval, but 69 was too obvious. Then I saw 25 on the side of Denny Hulme’s old racing cars and noted the way that—like 69—the two numbers are nearly a mirror image of each other. Groovy, so 25 it was. Plus, it’s a 250, so it’s nearly relevant on that level, too. Nearly.

I’m not that great at wiring, but, by being methodical, and doing a wire at a time, I got my loom together, checking each component as I worked my way through the bike. Suddenly it dawned on me, that with just a few wires connected here and there, and the original tank back on (the C15 was still curing from its second lining), the bike would (or could) run again. And it did! Like a total turd. Turns out I hadn’t put enough gradual taper in the front section of the exhaust pipe, so the engine couldn’t breathe properly, and the electronic ignition system was missing a vital earth wire. The quality of the spark got worse and worse as the unit got weaker and weaker, until it just wouldn’t start. With the exhaust reshaped, and a power dynamo ignition system fitted, it was finally done.

And here it is. At the time of writing there’s a couple of thousand miles under the wheels, which is enough of a relationship to give it a fair assessment. So, what’s it like? I’ll tell you in the next issue!

70 | 100% Biker | issue 217 | www.100-biker.co.uk

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100% B

O O KS H E L F

100% BOOKSHELF

It’s that time when it’s miserable outside (yes, we realise that it’s Sod’s law that you will be reading this on a beautiful crisp winter’s day but it’s snowing here as we write this) and we throw a few peasants on the fire, don our comfiest slippers and catch up on a little reading BEHIND THE SCENES IN THE VINTAGE YEARS Torrens (Arthur Bourne) £24.99 Matador Books ISBN: 978-1-78589-852-5 Back in the 1920s there were more motorcyclists than car drivers, the roads were empty, Brooklands was the centre of the two and four-wheeled world and a young man called Arthur Bourne was about to make his mark on the motorcycling world.

Now probably best-remembered by the Torrens Trophy which is presented for excellence in motorcycling (Carl Critchlow being the latest recipient just two weeks ago), the age of 25, Bourne became the editor of The Motor Cycle, then one of the biggest selling automotive publications in the world.

He immediately grew a moustache to try and disguise his youth. Writing under the name ‘Torrens’, he would be at the centre of virtually everything that happened in British motorcycling for the next thirty years at a time.

Bourne died in 1977, just two years after finishing this memoir; unable to find a publisher interested, the manuscript was put away until last year when his son rediscovered it. And what a shame it has taken so long to be published because Behind The Scenes is a rather wonderful account of a unique time in motorcycling THE ESSENTIAL BUYER’S GUIDE TO VELOCETTE 350 & 500 SINGLES Peter Henshaw £12.99 Veloce Publishing ISBN: 978-1-845849-41-2 We realise that we may be appealing to a limited market with this particular book, but if you are thinking about buying a Velocette—or one should happily cross your path at what seems like a reasonable price—then you need this book.

Part of Veloce’s ever-expanding Essentials Buyer’s Guide series, it tells you everything that you as a potential Velo purchaser needs to know. It kicks off with a section on whether you actually want a Velocette and, presuming

72 | 100% Biker | issue 217 | www.100-biker.co.uk

history, recounted with clarity and modesty by a man who clearly until the end of his career ad, indeed, his life, relished everything to do with two wheels.

Bourne knew simply everyone. He tells of a young man who, in 1926, asked if he could come along and show him the 350cc machine he had just designed and built.

Bourne was impressed enough to run an article and, the day after publication, Vic Mole, sales director of Ariel Motorcycles made a special trip to The Motor Cycle’s London office to track down that designer.

The young man was Edward Turner.

Bourne was responsible for the War Office adopting the DKW ‘Flying Flea’ which was dropped by parachute over Arnhem and, of course, would become the BSA Bantam, while he tells with self-deprecation of when he was entrusted with keeping the first ever Brough Superior Golden Dream engine running – and didn’t! ‘Pa’ Norton allowed him to test ride a 250 Norton which never went into production It’s a riveting glimpse into a time long gone, with much history and anecdotes about the legendary Brooklands race track, while there’s a dizzying array of curious facts dropped in. Did you know there was such a thing as an official Brough public house or that in the 1930s Brooklands suffered with local noise complaints? £24.99 may be expensive for a paperback, but if you buy one book about the history of the first fifty years of British motorcycling, make it this one. that you’ve said yes, then gives you a rundown of every part of the bike, an idea of the cost of parts, how to live with your Velocette—yes, it mentions the notorious kickstarting—what models are worth and which are likely to rise in value, what to look for when viewing a bike (and that includes the subject of paperwork as well as the actual bike itself) and even whether to restore or not.

Peter Henshaw has put a huge amount of information together in this slim volume, but it’s written in a readable way. While you might balk at the price for a mere 64 pages, you could save yourself far more than the cover price by taking the advice between the covers and buying the right bike.

BRITISH CAFÉ RACERS Uli Cloesen £30 Veloce Publishing ISBN: 978-1-845848-96-5 Uli Cloesen is the author of a number of motorcycle genre books for Veloce Publishing, the latest of which takes a look at British café racers. Now, the first question is going to be ‘Does that mean British-built or British-powered café racers?’ The answer is both – sort of; Peter Sutton and Andy Marsden’s Harley CR sneaks in on page 26, while the majority of the bikes featured were built on this fair island, with a few exceptions creeping in, such as Yuri Shif’s stunning T140 Bonnie.

Cloesen has divided the chapters into marques, making it easy to find your own particular preference, although it’s far more satisfying to start at the front TEST RIDER Julian Amos Austin Macauley Publishers ISBN: 978-1784559069 From an early age, Julian Amos’ two loves have been motorcycles and guitars.

When he finally realises that the latter may not make him rich (or even allow him to eat) and that he has a mortgage to pay, he turns to motorcycles and cuts his teeth as a courier. From that, he decides one day to ask Triumph for a job and, much to his surprise, it does, which turns into a career as a Motorcycle Development Test Rider. It’s nowhere near as glamorous as it sounds, much of it carried out at the MIRA complex and Bruntingthorpe Airfield and consisting of riding around a test track a lot or over the dreaded ‘Pave’ circuit which simulates the effect of a cobbled surface on a bike—and a rider.

In between tales of having to ride 500 miles a day and the difficulties of trying to disguise a pre-launch Rocket III, especially after Triumph mechanics hand paint it bright yellow, Amos THE COMPLETE BOOK OF BMW MOTORCYCLES Ian Falloon Motorbooks ISBN: 978-0760347270 We like a book whose title is selfexplanatory and, in conjunction with the name of Ian Falloon, author of countless motoring books, there was little change of this being anything other than what it says—every BMW model since 1923.

and just happen upon quirky builds (like a Weslake-Rudge in a Tony Foale’s cantilever frame) by happy accident.

Incidentally, hats off to Cloesen for finding not one but two Rudges, a rare beast now and certainly in anything other than stock trim. In 250 photos, Cloesen takes the reader on a swift canter from AJS to Weslake, ranging from the traditional Triton to modern mass-produced models like the Royal Enfield Continental GT and Triumph Thruxton to Pete Andrews’ aweinspiring Tri2Ton, the only road-legal twin-engined Triton in the UK. Perhaps the unique element of this book is that, unlike other tomes on café racers, Cloesen concentrates on the bikes and don’t get clogged up with the attendant sea socks and leather jacket lifestyle. That’s confined to a helpful dictionary at the back of the book which also points to equally useful web sites. weaves in his own back story from a small child in awe of Len Vale-Onslow at his shop (he later works alongside Len’s grandson, Dean, at Triumph) to setting up an animal sanctuary with his partner and how Triumph doesn’t provide its test riders with any riding kit (something which clearly still rankles). He has subsequently changed career which may be why, several years later, he is giving voice to how test riders were— and probably still are—overlooked and undervalued by most manufacturers.

The writing style is as smooth as his riding, although the grammar Stasi among you, of which I am one, will be mentally red-penning mistakes, with which the publisher should have dealt.

It also feels like a book waiting for a sequel—not least because it ends as Amos is planning a trip across Europe and North America as an extended test ride on a Triumph Tiger, but because there’s unanswered questions like just how did he get on with that Aston-Martin DBS and how are the goats doing. Having produced one cracking read, it would be a shame if Julian Amos didn’t do it again.

Beautifully laid out with crisp and clean design, as well as excellent photos of every model over the last ninety-two years (it goes up to 2015), it also provides an ongoing history of BMW, along with many period photos from the BMW archives as well as technical drawings.

It’s a large solid coffee table book that should be in the collection of any BMW owner, or anyone interested in the evolution of a marque. It’s certainly a book we’ll be referring to again and again.

www.100-biker.co.uk | issue 217 | 100% Biker | 73

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EVENT FEATURE

COPDOCK BIKE SHOW

One of the most interesting bikes in the show was this S&S, with the motor turned through ninety degrees, a lot of engineering and machine work to make sure both cylinders get the same amount of air! I gave it a good coat of looking at for about ten minutes, during which I told three different people that it wasn’t a Moto Guzzi!

COPDOCK BIKE SHOW WORDS & PHOTOS: MARK BATES

TRINITY PARK, IPSWICH, SUFFOLK

It was one of those mornings that really makes you question the logic of shaving your legs. Fork legs that is, your honour

I

’d removed the front mudguard lugs on my chop a while back, in fact it was one of first things I did when I built the bike, and it had neatened up the front end a treat. However, on a chilly morning, belting down the A12 through rain with a fine spray hitting me right in the middle of my face, made me question my enthusiasm with the grinder yet again. I did the old trick of tying a rag around the forks just above the front tyre and carried on regardless, slightly drier but not much.

Fortunately, by the time I got to Ipswich the clouds had started to clear, the sun came out and suddenly there were bikes everywhere, all heading for the Copdock Bike Show. I made it to the Custom Show marquee a couple of minutes prior to the judging deadline. Once I had got the chop safely ensconced in

76 | 100% Biker | issue 217 | www.100-biker.co.uk

the custom show, I made my way straight down to the autojumble in search of treasure.

Found some too; a pair of clip-ons for my Honda project set me back a tenner, a great big bag of cable ties for £1.50, some stainless jubilee clips for a pound each, and—joy!—a 1970s Hot Wheels Cadillac for a quid! I farted about wondering whether to buy a set of old British pattern silencers, but left it too long, and when I returned they were already someone else’s.

A shame, and a lesson learned. I could have spent all day rummaging through other people’s rusty crap, but there was so much else to see that I weaved on through the crowds to watch the vintage scrambles bikes giving it loads around the oval at the top of the show site.

It was hard not to get distracted along the way—an

Two very different takes on the board racer look by Garaje De Los Muertos (Garage of The Dead). The red one is a Honda VT500 I reckon, the other being a sidevalve JAP single, probably somewhere about 500-600cc. Although still being built, the JAP was already a thing of great beauty. Nice!

Definitely out of reach was this BSA Gold Star, yours for £15K. Didn’t stop lots of folk gazing at it wistfully, though. One careful owner, never raced or rallied, honest…

This is the luggage rack on the Raw Steel Step Thru. Great isn’t it? Resourceful, clever and different. The chain surround is a great trick.

What about this tiny 125cc chop, then? A seat lower than a worm’s rucksack and a crankcase set to plough, a headlight the size of a small moon and with an exhaust that looks like it’s trying to tie the whole thing up in a knot.

Quirky, unusual and utterly bonkers – we salute you!

This fine machine is a 1930 Scott combination known as the Scott Flyer. It was built by Sheelagh and Ossie Neal, and has been raced, hillclimbed and sprinted by them both for decades. This one wears its battle scars with pride and quite right too.

I farted about wondering whether to buy a set of old British pattern silencers, but left it too long. A shame, and a lesson learned

It wasn’t just a static display either, with most of the old iron taking to the arena for a blat about.

The feller on 127 was giving it more beans than most.

Sounded glorious!

Look again! That’s a VFR400R shoved under the seat of that Lambretta. That should go quite well then!

www.100-biker.co.uk | issue 217 | 100% Biker | 77

EVENT FEATURE

COPDOCK BIKE SHOW

The Custom Show had about thirty bikes inside the tent, and half a dozen trikes outside. Some great stuff to look at, and the marquee was full of folk most of the day.

Another example of the marque that had a lot of interest was this 1971 A65, which had the feel of a recent US import. It looked well funky in its ’70s orange, and could have been in the van for £2700.

I was quite taken with the Boxer outfit seen in the background, but it was eclipsed by this red number, powered by a Saab car engine, a two-stroke triple no less. Just imagine the unholy cacophony when this thing lets rip! Like three well pissed off hornets in a very small box and they can’t get out!

I really liked this unit Triumph. All very clean and tidy, with just the right amount of sparkle from the highly polished engine cases, the springer front end, the grips and – of course – that funky paintjob. Very nice.

Not for sale, but parked at the side of a stall was this lovely Hatfield JAP Special, built ages ago by a bloke in the village of Hatfield, hence the name. Pass me my deerstalker and riding britches my good fellow, as I am in need of a glimpse of ankle and therefore am off to chase tottie! Very slowly!

An indoor classic bike show, club stands, a massive trade village, dealers, vintage speedway, vintage scrambles, trials display, Motoball and the superb Wall of Death 78 | 100% Biker | issue 217 | www.100-biker.co.uk

indoor classic bike show, a hall full of club stands, a massive trade village, dealers, manufacturers, vintage speedway, vintage scrambles, trials display, Motoball, stunt shows, live music and the superb Wall of Death… plenty to gawp at making for a full day out, and the sun shone throughout.

So, a great day out, and a sunny ride home. In fact, I enjoyed the day out and the ride home so much that it made me forget all about the cold and damp on the way there. Am I going to fit a front mudguard? Not on your nelly!

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BIKE FEATURE

S&S PANHEAD

MONKEY PAN It’s often said by professional bike-builders is that they no longer have any time to ride. But for Richard Vink, the man behind Greasemonkey Choppers, the very opposite is true. However busy he is with his work, he always makes time for riding which is his real passion WORDS & PHOTOS: FLORIS VELTHUIS

80 | 100% Biker | issue 217 | www.100-biker.co.uk

www.100-biker.co.uk | issue 217 | 100% Biker | 81

BIKE FEATURE

S&S PANHEAD

THERE’S NOTHING ACTUALLY WRONG WITH FORM OVER FUNCTION BUT HOW COOL AND JUST HOW PERFECT IS A NICE LOOKING BIKE WHICH CAN ALSO BE USED FOR TOURING? 82 | 100% Biker | issue 217 | www.100-biker.co.uk

T

THE STARTING POINT WAS TO CREATE A HARDTAIL WHICH WOULD BE COMFORTABLE OVER LONG DISTANCES

here is nothing more Richard loves than covering the miles on this hardtail S&S Panhead which he originally built around six years ago. However he recently completely rebuilt the bike to make considerable improvements on comfort and other practical issues. After all, there’s nothing actually wrong with form over function as we often see in show bikes but how

cool and just how perfect is a nice looking bike which can also be used for touring?

That was what Richard wanted to do, build a serious riding bike that also had show potential, a motorcycle on which he could hammer out the miles going to events but that would also mean he might be tying a big trophy to the top of his packed down tent on the way home. In short, the best of all worlds.

Richard explains how the project began: “After I finished a racer with a Fred Kodlin frame, I had some spare time to work on and update my daily ride. I initially built this bike in 2009 in an old school style when it was called The Grey Fellow.

“The rigid frame is from MotoXcycle in Canada. Fausto Simoes, the guy behind that company, is an extremely serious builder who works for famous industry names like Dave Perewitz. I asked him to build a frame in the sizes and shapes that I wanted. I liked a frame that was adapted for a 250 rear tyre and Fausto also made the ribbed aluminum oil tank. The S&S engine is matched to a five-speed Harley Davidson gear-box, which is placed in a classic-looking fourspeed style housing by S&S. The special Panhead valve covers were supplied by Custom Cycle, while the starter kit comes from Tech Cycle, a small shop in America.

With this starter kit, it means that you can see between the engine and gearbox.”

www.100-biker.co.uk | issue 217 | 100% Biker | 83

BIKE FEATURE

S&S PANHEAD

SPECIFICATION

SHEET ENGINE:

2009 S&S Cycle 93 cui Panhead, S&S Super E carburettor, S&S air filter, S&S ignition, 5-speed Harley-Davidson gearbox in S&S 4-speed housing, Supertrapp X-pipes modified for Panhead head.

FRAME: MotoXcycle twin downtube rigid.

FRONT END: 18” x 3.5” 80-spoke stainless wheel, 130/70/18” tyre, Performance Machine 4 piston caliper, 11” floating disc, Harley-Davidson springer forks, Fatbar handlebsr, H-D risers, Riverside bakelite grips, Motogadget speedo, H-D Crossbones mudguard, H-D headlight.

REAR END: 18” x 8.5” wheel, 250/40/18” tyre, Performance Machine 4 piston caliper, 11” floating disc, one-off mudguard, retro one-off sidemount number plate holder.

MISCELLANEOUS: Modified Harley-Davidson Softail petrol tank, aluminium battery box and oil tank by MotoXcycle, modified H-D Twin Cam floorboards, one-off seat pan upholstered by Milla Skedeback, Kodlin LED indicators.

PAINT AND FINISH: Paint by Dennis at DAM Design.

Back in 2009, the bike sported an ultraslim lanesplitter style and was equipped with a small fuel tank, mid controls and apehangers. It was an idea bike for filtering in busy city traffic but it was far from suitable for long trips. “I found that the bike just wasn’t comfortable enough,” says Richard. “The seat didn’t sit well and riding on it was tiring. During a trip to Faak am See, someone riding behind me reported that my rear tyre was bouncing several inches off the stone streets. That, in combination with the stuff seat, really wasn’t good for my back. To be honest, I always preferred to ride my comfy Street Glide! Besides, The Grey Fellow was so, well, grey! I was a bit bored with the bike but the frame and the engine were too beautiful to hide away or sell.”

So Richard decided to submit his loyal grey friend to a real transformation. The starting point was to create a hardtail which would be comfortable over long

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distances. “The floor boards were necessary and the apehangers had to be replaced for more comfortable handlebars. I had a nice Harley-Davidson springer fork standing in a corner which proved to be ideal. I also wanted a decent seat and a bigger tank for more miles. All the stuff like indicators, mirrors and a horn were a must this time so I could ride it in modern traffic.”

Richard stripped The Grey Fellow down to the last nut and bolt and started again, completely from scratch. The 21-inch front wheel was replaced with an 18-inch hoop, better suiting the bobber style that he had in mind. It appeared that the six piston caliper didn’t fit on the new springer forks, so a four pot item from Performance Machine was used instead, with a similar caliper mounted on the rear.

The shock absorber set-up under the seat looks pretty high tech and Richard explained; “It’s the shock from a downhill mountain bike, while the construction with

the levers is all one-off fabrication by me. The whole rebound and damping is adjustable to personal preference. It works perfectly and you almost don’t notice that you’re riding a hardtail. The seat was the work of Milla Skedeback of MS Leather and the saddlebag was stitched from the same piece of leather. I wanted a casual saddlebag that looks like the satchels we used to take to school with us.”

This time there was no chance of a boring grey paint scheme. After a long search for the right painter, Richard found Dennis who runs DAM Design. Dennis is a very gifted specialist paint and airbrush artist, as well as restoring existing paintwork. Richard says; “I had already put some scallop lines on the fuel tank with a marker pen. The place where the Greasemonkey logo had to go was

also already fixed and then I wanted an old, sanded patina look. Apart from that, I gave Dennis more or less a free hand. The result is so much more than I’d hoped for—the colours are beautiful and the patina is convincingly realistic. There is also lettering in gold leaf on the rear mudguard, something which Dennis devised himself and that has worked out really well.”

The end result is a motorcycle with which Richard is very pleased. “Some people thought it was a shame that I completely changed what they saw as a perfect custom bike,” he says, “But it was worth it! With The Grey Fellow, my arms would start aching after just fifty miles, but that’s all different now. I recently rode to a show at Thunderbike in Germany which was a 320 mile trip with no trouble whatsoever—and that’s great for a hardtail.”

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SPIR 100% IN ATION

Beryl Swain She was petite and glamorous and from the East End of London and, but for the time she was born into, she might have become one of this country’s best-known motorcycle racers. There was only one problem: Beryl Swain was a woman.

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he was born Beryl Tolman in Walthamstow on 22nd January 1936 and, like many girls in the late 1950s, found an office job after leaving school, eventually becoming a senior secretary for P&O in the City of London. In her teens she met Edwin Swain, a dark-haired young mechanic who owned his own motorcycle repair business. It’s not on record whether Beryl fell in love with Edwin or his motorcycles first, but she was smitten with both and in 1958 she became Mrs Swain.

However, Beryl was not content to be just an ordinary 1950s housewife and she developed a passion for motorcycles which found its outlet on the race track.

She was soon competing at Brands Hatch, Silverstone and Snetterton, with Eddie preparing the bikes and driving the van, as well as acting as pit crew. She also tried her hand at speedway, racing 500cc machines at Hackney Wick at a time when a lady speedway racer was even rarer than a lady road racer.

But with her small build and light weight, Beryl found her forte in the 50cc race class. She first raced a 50cc Maserati (that she also used on the road), before switching to an Itom which had better performance. It was this little Italian motorcycle that she took to the Isle of Man in 1962, becoming the first woman solo rider to ride and finish the Island’s Tourist trophy course in an official event. It was the first year in which the 50cc Ultra Lightweight class had been granted world championship status and attracted a large field of competitors.

Beryl negotiated the two laps of

WORDS: BLUE

1

the 37-mile course with aplomb, although she dropped back to 22nd place when the Itom lost its top gear on the second lap. She still finished with an average speed of 48.3mph but, more than that, she had proved that she could compete in what was regarded as a male preserve. The plummy voiceover on a 1962 British Pathe newsreel refers to Beryl’s ‘unusual hobby of motorcycle racing’, pausing for a second to say incredulously (and clearly with raised eyebrows), “… and she’s good at it!” She wasn’t, it must be said, the only woman racer of the time. For example, Margo Pearson was campaigning a 125 and Pat Wise raced a 350 Norton, while Inge Stoll-Laforge was the

“I presume that because I am a woman I must be lucky that I am allowed to ride at all.”

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1: Racing the Itom, the successor to her Maserati. After a race meeting, she would bolt the number plate – YYO 571 – back on the Maserati and use it on the road.

2: Beryl at the 1962 Isle of Man. Checking over the bike is her husband, Eddie.

first ever female competitor at the TT, passengering a sidecar outfit with Jacques Drion in both 1954 and 1957. (Both she and Drion were killed the following year in the Czech Grand Prix.)

Good she might have been, but Beryl Swain would never be given a chance to demonstrate just how much better she might become. Shortly after the 1962 TT (and after Beryl had announced she would be returning to the TT the following year), the FIM, the sport’s ruling body, decided that Isle of Man TT racing was much too dangerous for women—and the publicity that would surround the death of a woman racer too devastating to contemplate—and revoked her international race licence. This it did by changing the minimum weight requirements for riders. At just seven and a half

2

4

3

5 6 stone, Beryl was far too light to meet the regulation.

Beryl didn’t take the decision lying down. She fought to get her licence back, trying (unsuccessfully) to enlist the help of the Lieutenant Governor of the Island of Man. While she had a lot of support for her cause, there was an equally large number of people who backed the FIM’s decision and felt that TT racing was not, well, ladylike.

It was not the first time that Beryl had encountered opposition to her chosen sport. Speaking to a newspaper in 1962, she said; “I have been doing all I can to give lady riders as much publicity as possible. If you happened to see [me on] BBC Television’s ‘Sportsview’ programme, you may remember that the announcer commented on the fact that I am always placed on the last row at Brands Hatch and as I usually come in with the first ten riders

3: Glamorous, fast and determined; Beryl in her leathers with her 50cc Itom.

4: Posed, ready to race but always with her trademark lipstick in place!

5: Waiting to go out for practice at the Isle of Man 50cc TT and wearing a snazzy jumper against the cold.

6: Working on the bike at home although, as Eddie had his own motorcycle shop, we suspect this might be staged for the press!

I should be placed on the second row, but I presume that because I am a woman I must be lucky that I am allowed to ride at all.”

As part of that television programme, a film crew followed her at Brands Hatch where, despite having not ridden for a few months, she was within three seconds of the lap record for 50cc bikes. With her blond hair, red lipstick and distinctive star-bedecked helmet, many other riders regarded her as little more than a decorative addition to the pits—until they had to race against the little Walthamstow housewife.

But the revocation of her international licence broke Beryl’s heart. She might have carried on racing at a lower level, but she didn’t see the point.

When it became clear that the FIM wouldn’t change its mind,

she hung up her leathers and helmet and never raced again.

Her marriage to Eddie eventually ended in divorce and, with no children, she concentrated on her job managing various Sainsbury’s branches in London as well as volunteering for the Women’s Institute. Her last years were spent in Epping (sadly, I only found out after her death that for several years I had lived just a couple of miles from her), her final days blighted by Alzheimer’s disease. She died on 15th May 2007, having lived to see not only the return of ladies to the TT circuit when Hilary Musson was allowed to compete in 1978, but women competing at the top level of motorcycle sport. She never commented on that, but she must have always wondered what might have been. p

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EVENT FEATURE

TWISTED IRON TURNOUT

TWISTED IRON TURNOUT THIS IS YOUR GARAGE, CULHAM, OXFORDSHIRE WORDS & PHOTOS: BLUE

It’s a simple idea. Have a space. Have some tools. Get together with your mates—or on your own if they’re all clumsy liabilities—and work on your bike while having the odd break for tea and a bun

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imple, yes. But actually surprisingly complicated in real life. First you have to have a suitable space, preferably on a grander scale than a garden shed or a single lock-up garage. Then you have to equip it with tools and appliances. Finally you have to have someone to make the tea.

Now, while most of you will indeed have somewhere on which to work on your bike, I dare say that you will have had the odd situation where you didn’t have the right tool for the job or you needed two pairs of hands when you only had one or you just would have liked someone else’s input on a problem.

This is where This Is Your Garage comes in.

The facility opened in rural Oxfordshire three

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miles from Abingdon about eighteen months ago and provides virtually everything you could wish for when repairing your motorcycle or car (except, I think I am right in saying, for welding equipment— apparently the insurance company got a little nervous at the idea of naked flames). You can rent a bay and tools by the hour, while there’s also secure storage available if the job takes longer than you expect.

Basically, for a reasonable fee, you get access to all the equipment you could want (including lifts, from four posts to scissor lifts) and a nice, clean environment in which to work. Yes, there is tea and buns, as well as hot snacks and cooked meals available from D’s Diner upstairs, while the place also has showers if you need to clean up before going home.

But This Is Your Garage has set out to make the unit a place to meet as well as to work (although it is a business so the latter is paramount), and the diner, with its booths, sofas and even a pool table, is somewhere to relax, too. Unsurprisingly, it’s proved popular not only with people wanting to save money on garage bills but with local clubs and organisations and this is what took me to Culham on a decidedly wet November Sunday morning.

For the last year, Twisted Iron has been holding a monthly meet on the third Sunday of each month.

It has to be said that on this occasion it was a purely social event with the only heavy lifting being the heaving of Frank Sizewell’s 1959 survivor Triumph chopper in and out of his ’51 Ford truck (wouldn’t

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EVENT FEATURE

TWISTED IRON TURNOUT

it be easier to have a ramp rather than hope you’ll always have four or five strong young men about, Frank?!). But that’s really what the monthly Turnouts are all about—a chance to get together over a cup of tea and a bacon roll and talk about custom bikes or whatever, especially on a dank winter day when the last thing you want is to stand around in a car park at a bike meet.

There was a distinctly Triumph feel to this particular meeting, partly because it was the one year anniversary of the Turnout and also because Triumph has been very supportive of the Happening, the Twisted Iron flagship event run by Russell and Bev Cort which we covered in our last issue. While various bikes braved the rain and cold to park up outside, in the garage facility itself was a cluster of fine Triumph customs. There was Frank’s chopper which was originally built in 1985 and was, by all accounts, a death trap thanks to substandard components. The bike has spent much of its life as an ornament, primarily due to the fact that no-one wanted to ride the damn thing. However, now with a decent—and above all safe—springer front end, it’s having a new lease of life.

In the next bay was James Rogers’ lovely little bobber, teaser shots of which have been appearing on these very pages for the last few months. I have to admit a bias here and say that it’s one of my favourite bikes of 2016. Another favourite and a familiar sight all over the place is Carl Seaman’s T140V Bonneville in a Fenland Choppers frame. It’s just a lovely little timeless motorcycle, as is Jim Evans’ Triumph which I first saw at NCC Sussex’s show during the summer.

Once again, it’s a build based on a Fenland Choppers’ frame and a Bonnie motor, but this time with help from BSA in the shape of the tank and forks.

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There was a distinctly Triumph feel to this particular meeting Rounding out the handful of Triumphs was Candee Chivers’ sweet little 1958 350cc 3TA. It should also be also be mentioned that, while husband Steve turned up in his Ford pickup, Candee braved the rain and rode her bike there, even managing to look unfeasibly glamorous in full camo waterproofs!

Each Twisted Iron Turnout runs from 10am to 2pm and it’s surprisingly how, once you get nattering about bikes, that time flies by. When the weather is a little more clement, there’s also regular swap meets but, at this time of year, it’s just good to have somewhere to sit in the warm, cast your eyes over a few bikes and talk rubbish with likeminded people. For details of future Turnouts, visit www.twistediron.co.uk. p

SHED HEAD

SHEDHEAD IS OUR REGULAR LOOK AT ALL ASPECTS OF BIKE BUILDING, DONE BY OUR RESIDENT METALWORKING GENIUS, BLACKJACK

FUSE FOR THOUGHT

Fig.1

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do a fair amount of wiring partly because it’s easier to sit on a stool with a box full of spools of wire than it is to haul lumps of metal around at this time of year, and partly because, on the occasions when I don’t know what I’m supposed to be doing, I know enough to look it up.

Something that does surprise me a little is the number of times that I hear a variant of “Does it really need fuses?” To which the answer is yes … and no. What you do need is some sort of protection against excessive current flow, which is what a fuse does, but it’s also what a circuit breaker does. The difference is that if you overload a fuse it will blow and need to be replaced, whereas a circuit breaker will ‘trip’ and break the circuit, but will then either reset itself once it cools down or it can be manually reset.

Either way, the point is that replacing a fuse or resetting a circuit breaker is less hassle than replacing burnt out wiring—or even a burnt out motorcycle. That aside, having a fuse box makes it easier to wire a bike because a wiring loom is a collection of separate circuits and each of those circuits needs to draw power from a common source. Taking a 4 (or more) way fuse box and connecting all but one of the fuses together on one side (Fig.1) lets you connect the power to the remaining fuse and then to the ON/OFF switch and back to power the remaining fuses; one for ignition, one for lights,

and one for the brake light, horn and indicators. As all those circuits have to come together somewhere, it might as well be a fusebox. As a rule, the easiest place to take the main power feed from is the starter solenoid, and lately I’ve been using solenoids that have a built in fuse which feeds the two power out spade terminals. This means that the main fuse protects the whole of the wiring loom (Fig.2) but also means that not all the fuses are in the same place.

Fuses come in three basic types (at least for our purposes).

Most commonly found these days are the ‘blade’-type fuses which come in four different sizes, most often the type in Fig.3. Blade-type fuses are the most widely available as they are what most stuff from around the 1980s and the years after uses (Fig.4). This fact makes them a sensible choice for something you ride every day since anywhere that carries even the most rudimentary stock of components is likely to have them on the shelf. There are a wide variety of blade-type fuse boxes available (Fig.5), and there are circuit breakers configured to fit them, too.

Then there are the glass ‘cartridge’ style fuses that were commonly used from somewhere around the dawn of time up until the late 1970s and early ’80s (Fig.6). These are probably the second most common variety and most motor accessory shops will have them. But, aside from the pointy ended GM

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SHED HEAD

Fig.2

Fig.3

Fig.4

BLADE-TYPE FUSES ARE THE MOST WIDELY AVAILABLE AS THEY ARE WHAT MOST STUFF FROM AROUND THE 1980S AND THE YEARS AFTER USES car variety in Fig.6, they also come in several lengths; the 20mm version is normally confined to car radios, while the slightly fatter 30mm and 32mm versions are usually (but not always) interchangeable. Slightly oddly, it seems to me that single inline fuse holders for this type of fuse are easier to find in a retail outlet then the ones for blade type fuses. There are a number of Lucas fuse boxes readily available which might make glass cartridge type fuses a good choice if you’re looking for something retro or steampunky, especially if coupled with fabric covered cable and, as a rule. these are pretty reliable.

The last variety are the ‘continental’ or ‘ceramic’ type fuses (Fig.7). Generally only found on vehicles from mainland Europe including Italy, I think it’s fair to say that this style

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of fuse is at least in part responsible for the poor reputation of Italian electrics. Basically they’re a good choice if you’re a masochist or feel that pushing a bike home every other day is a cheaper cardio-vascular workout than joining a gym. In short, otherwise best avoided.

Obviously fuses come in different ratings. Choosing which rating to use isn’t all that hard and, in fact, just cribbing from a factory set up has a lot of merit if you have an aversion to maths. If the ignition fuse for your engine was 7.5 Amp (Fig.6) according to the manual, then either a 7.5 Amp fuse will work for you, or something is wrong. The maths is fairly easy for circuits with bulbs. The total number of Watts divided by the Voltage gives the Amps. So a 60 Watt headlight bulb on a 12

Fig.5

Fig.6

Fig.7

I THINK IT’S FAIR TO SAY THAT THE ‘CONTINENTAL’ OR ‘CERAMIC’ FUSE IS AT LEAST IN PART RESPONSIBLE FOR THE POOR REPUTATION OF ITALIAN ELECTRICS Volt bike is drawing 5 Amps, although on a 6 Volt system, it’s drawing 10 Amps. Since most headlight bulbs are 55 Watt, they tend to have 15 Amp fuses to allow for things like current surges. The cable used to wire the head light should be rated for a higher current than the fuse.

Clearly, if you use a double lamp set up with two headlight bulbs, then the current draw is doubled to 20 Amps, which would mean a 25 or 30 Amp fuse. As a side note, it’s unlikely that the original cables are rated for that kind of current and this means that those twin 3½-inch headlights you see all over eBay aren’t really a plug-in option if they have 60/55 Watt bulbs. They’ll work a lot better using the dip switch to work a couple of relays, one for main, one for dip, wired with suitable cable and switched by the original wiring.

If you’re still not convinced, then it’s worth remembering that having a main fuse for the feed to the ignition switch and separate fuses for the lights, the ignition, and at least one more for everything else, means that in the event of a fault in the first place you’re more likely to find yourself tracing a fault than fighting a fire, and in the second place if a fuse has blown, you’ll have a fairly good idea of where the fault lies. As I’ve probably mentioned before, you can get all this stuff from Vehicle Wiring Products either directly from their website, or by ordering over the phone on 0115 930 5454. p

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millennium2000bc.

25-26th February: Centurions MCC’s Rock Night at Campbell’s Bar, The Old Classic Bar, Spencer Road, Waterside, Co Derry BT47 6AA. 9pm-2am. £5 on the door.

26th February: Normous Newark Autojumble at the Newark Showground, Newark on Trent, Notts NG24 2NY. Car and bike display, indoor and outside pitches, trade stands, cafe. £10 for early bird (8am) entry or £7 after 10am. Ring 01507 529470 or see www.newarkautojumble.co.uk.

26th February: Inland Bikers MCC’s Honda 50 Run. Meet at Delvin Livestock Mart, Castletowndelvin, Delvin, Co Westmeath, Ireland to leave at 12.30pm. Prizes, refreshments.

20 euros per bike. In aid of the Meningitis Research Foundation.

100% Biker brings you the best upcoming events for your diary To make this your ‘one-stop shop’ for events and give you all the lowdown you need in one place, we try to include as much information as possible. So please include a brief list of attractions, ticket prices and contact details and continue making the 100% Biker events diary the only one you’ll ever need. Please check with organisers prior to travelling. We cannot take responsibility for cancelled or rescheduled events. Send events details to Events, 100% Biker, The Old School, Higher Kinnerton, Chester CH4 9AJ or email editor@100-biker.com.

FEBRUARY 12th February: Greater London MAG’s Fred Hill Run. Leave the Ace Café, Stonebridge Park, London NW10 7UD to run to HM Prison Pentonville, Caledonian Road, London N7 8TT. For details see www.acecafe-london.com.

12th February: South Wales MAG’s Fred Hill Run. Meeting at multiple points to run to the Owl’s Nest Tearoom, Llandovery Garden Centre, Lower Road, Llandovery, Carmarthenshire SA20 0DJ. See Facebook for details.

13th February: And every Monday thereafter. Bike Night at the Anchor, Liverpool Road, Hutton, Preston, Lancashire PR4 5SL. Free tea and coffee, biker menu, all welcome. 7-9pm.

15th February: And every Wednesday thereafter. Bike Night at the Ranch Café, Canterbury Road, Wingham, Kent CT3 1NH. For details ring 07715 475057.

17-19th February: Olympia Historic Automobile Fair and Auction at Olympia, Hammersmith Road, London W14 8UX. 12-5pm. See www. olympiahistoric.com.

17-19th February: Carole Nash MCN London Motorcycle Show at ExCel London, One Western Gateway, Royal Victoria Dock, London E16 1XL. £17 prebook or £21 on the door. Ring 0844 873 7346 or see www. mcnmotorcycleshow.com.

18th February: MT Heads MCC’s Valloween at the Ukrainian Club, Mere Street, Rochdale, Lancashire OL11 1HK. Free buffet, lover or horror fancy dress.

Free entry. 8pm-midnight. See ‘Valloween 2017’ on Facebook.

18-19th February: Unfixables MCC Eire’s No Acting the Bollix Rally at Napper Tandys, Main Street, Stradbally, Portlaois, Co Laois. Live music, stalls, tattooist, etc. 15 Euro on the gate. Ring 0353 85 297 9724 or 00353 85 117 1212 or email marygriffin@live.ie.

19th February: Bike Day at the Ace Café, Ace Corner, North Circular Road, Stonebridge Park, London NW10 7UD. Ring 0208 961 1000 or see www.acecafe-london.com.

19th February: 13th North West Fred Hill Run. Leave from the Petre Arms, Whalley Road, Blackburn, Lancashire BB6 8AB at 1pm to run to Blackburn Cathedral.

Refreshments afterwards.

23-26th February: London Classic Car Show at London ExCel, One Western Gateway,

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Royal Victoria Dock, London E16 1XL. 10am-6pm. Ring 03300 555 740 or see www. thelondonclassiccarshow.co.uk.

24-26th February: Oddballs MCC’s Frozen Balls Up Rally at Sleap, Harmer Hill, Wem, Shropshire SY4 3HE. Old school rally, heated control tent, heated marquee. £12 prebook only.

300 limit. Tickets (cheques payable to Oddballs MCC) from Karen Roach, The Orchard, Old Shortfall, Lee Cross, Shrewsbury, Shropshire SY5 8JG or ring 07779 866869 or see www.oddballsmcc. com. Strictly no cars.

24-26th February: Race Retro at the National Agricultural Centre, Stoneleigh, Kenilworth, Warks CV8 2LG. Historic race bikes and cars, stalls, spares, autojumble, etc. See www.raceretro.com.

25th February: Millennium 2000BC’s 17th Birthday Bash at the Canberra Club, Samlesbury Aerodrome, Balderstone, Lancashire BB2 7LF. Live music, DJ raffle, free camping. 8pmlate. See www.facebook.com/

26th February: Sidecar and Shaftdrive Sunday plus Honda CX and GL Day at the Ace Café, Ace Corner, North Circular Road, Stonebridge Park, London NW10 7UD. Ring 0208 961 1000 or see www.ace-cafe-london.com.

28th February: Leeds MAG’s 5th Comedy, Curry and Cupcakes at the Cross Keys, Britannia Road, Morley, Leeds, West Yorkshire LS27 0AU. 7.30-10pm. See www. leeds-mag.co.uk.

MARCH 1st March: And every Wednesday thereafter. Bike Night at the Ranch Café, Canterbury Road, Wingham, Kent CT3 1NH. For details ring 07715 475057.

3rd March: Jacks Hill Café Bike Nite at Jacks Hill Café, Watling Street, Towcester, Northants NN12 8ET. Sponsored by Northants V-Twin. 6-11pm. All bikes welcome.

5th March: Penrith Autojumble at Penrith Auction Mart, Skirsgill, Penrith, Cumbria CA11 0DN. Farmers café, free

parking. £3.50 entry. 9am-1pm.

Ring 07836 331324 or see www. garstangautojumbles.co.uk.

5th March: Trike Day at the Ace Café, Ace Corner, North Circular Road, Stonebridge Park, London NW10 7UD. Ring 0208 961 1000 or see www.ace-cafelondon.com. In aid of the NABD. 5th March: Huddersfield Auto Jumble at the Old Market Building, Brook Street, Huddersfield, West Yorkshire HD1 1RG. Open at 10am to public. Food, parking, toilets, hot food. For details see www. phoenixfairs.jimdo.com or ring 01773 819154 or 07795 505388.

5th March: Malvern Drive In Classic Car & Bike Autojumble at Three Counties Showground, Malvern, Worcs WR13 6NW. 10am-3pm. For details see www.classicshows.org or ring 01484 667776.

11th March: Kempton Park Autojumble at Kempton Park, Staines Road East, Sunbury on Thames, Middlesex TW16 5AQ. 9.30am start. £6 entry. £10 early bird entry from 7.45am. See www. kemptonparkautojumble.co.uk.

11-12th March: Scottish Motorcycle Show at Royal Highland Centre, Ingliston, Edinburgh EH28 8NB. £17 on the door. Ring 01775 768661 or see www. scottishmotorcycleshow.com.

12th March: British and Classic Bike Day at the Ace Café, Ace Corner, North Circular Road, Stonebridge Park, London NW10 7UD. Ring 0208 961 1000 or see www.ace-cafe-london.com.

17th March: Road Reapers MCC’s St Pat’s Rock Night at Ellesmere Road Recreation Club, Ellesmere Road, Bolton, Lancashire BL3 3JT. In aid of the Air Ambulance.

17th March: Northern Cross MCC’s 7th Annual Party

Night at the Wood Bottom Working Men’s Club, Otley Road, Baildon Bridge, Shipley, West Yorkshire BD17 7EP. Live band, buffet, curry, rock disco, free raffle. £5 on the door.

Ring 07948 553249 or email mariacb1000ft@gmail.com.

18th March: Unwanted MCC’s St Patrick’s Party at the Rockbar, Shobnall Sports & Social Club, Shobnall Road, Burton-on-Trent, Staffs DE14 2BB. Live band, rock disco, film and light show, free camping, raffle. £5. Ring 07761 931226 or 07988 521400 or see www.unwantedmcc.co.uk.

18-19th February: International Weymouth Beach Race is CANCELLED. 18-19th March: LGPAFO BC’s March Mayhem Madness Rocknight at Falkirk Rugby Club, Dorrator Road, Camelon, Falkirk FK2 7YW. Live music, raffle, food and beer, free camping. £5 prebook. 175 limit. Tickets (cheques payable to LGPAFO BC) from Rocknight, 44 Torwood Avenue, Grangemouth FK3 0DN. Ring 07946 179201 or 07429 276225 or email al.con@ blueyonder.co.uk.

19th March: Brotherhood Quest and the Anchor’s Motorcycle/ Auto Jumble at the Anchor Inn, Liverpool Road, Hutton, Preston, Lancashire PR4 5SL. Trade stands, hot food, etc. 10am to 4pm. Free entry. Jumble pitches £5, trade stands £10.

19th March: Garstang Autojumble at Hamilton House Farm, Garstang, Preston, Lancashire PR3 0TB. Refreshments, free parking.

Outdoor pitches £15, indoor from £10. £3.50 entry. 9am-1pm. Ring 07836 331324 or see www. garstangautojumbles.co.uk.

19th March: Overland and Adventure Travel Bike Day at the Ace Café, Ace Corner, North Circular Road, Stonebridge Park, London NW10 7UD. Ring 0208 961 1000 or see www.ace-

Evening With Nathan Millward at Squires Café Bar, Newthorpe Lane, Newthorpe, Leeds, West Yorkshire LS25 5LX. 8-10pm.

cafe-london.com.

19th March: Sunbeam MCC’s Pioneer Run. Leaving from Tattenham Corner, Epsom Downs, Epsom, Surrey to ride to Madeira Drive, Brighton, Sussex. See over 300 pre-1915 motorcycles and three-wheelers. Spectate at Tattenham Corner at 8am or Brighton from 10am. See www. sunbeam-mcc.co.uk.

19th March: 5th Shoebox Run. Leaving from Streetbike, Dudley Road, Halesowen, West Midlands B63 3NS to ride to Bassetts Pole. Please bring items or shoebox of toiletries, snacks, books, sweets, DVDs, etc. For details, see ‘Shoeboxes for our Heroes Bikers’ on Facebook.

20th March: Straightliners’ Top Speed Monday at Elvington Racetrack, Whitley Road, Elvington, York, North Yorkshire YO41 4XW. Ring 07921 712266 or 01724 347801 or see www. straightlinersonline.co.uk.

25th March: Ribcrackers MCC’s Mad March Mayhem & Soapbox Derby. £5 on the gate. Ring 07824 997779.

25th March: Spring Transport Festival at the Museum of Transport, Cheetham Hill, Manchester M8 8UW. 10am-5pm. £4 on the door. Ring 0161 205 2122 or visit www.gmts.co.uk.

25th March: Doggs Bollocks MCC’s Spring Party at Stoke Green Cricket Club, Stoke Green, Slough, Bucks SL2 4HT. Live music, DJ, raffle burger van, camping available. £5 on the door. 7pm start.

25th March: Leeds MAG’s An

25-26th March: Manchester Bike Show at EventCity, Phoenix Way, off Barton Dock Road, Urmston, Manchester M41 7TB. Bike displays, stalls, exhibitors, clothing, helmets, stunt shows, etc. Ring 01484 667776 or see www.manchesterbikeshow.com.

26th March: Straightliners Championship Round 1 at Santa Pod Raceway, Airfield Road, Podington, Wellingborough, Northants NN29 7XA. Straightliners and NSA championship round, RWYB. £10 entry. Ring 01724 347801 or 07921 712266 or see www. straightlinersonline.co.uk.

26th March: Scooter Sunday and Raleigh Chopper Meet at the Ace Café, Ace Corner, North Circular Road, Stonebridge Park, London NW10 7UD. Ring 0208 961 1000 or see www.acecafe-london.com.

31st March—2nd April: Beermonsters MCC’s 21st Handpulled Rally at Ripon Racecourse, Ripon, North Yorkshire HG4 1UG. Live bands, DJ, 24hr showers and toilets, trophies. £15 prebook only.

300 limit. Free badge for first 200. Ring 01423 529255 or see www.beermonsters-mcc.org. uk. Strictly no cars except Blue Badge holders BPA. In aid of Yorkshire Air Ambulance.

31st March—2nd April: MattBlackRat.com’s Spring Meet at the Bruce Arms, Easton Road, Easton Royal, Pewsey Vale, Wiltshire SN9 5LR. Bike show, bands, pub food. £10 on the gate.

Ring 07854 106694. No fires. In aid of Wiltshire Air Ambulance.

APRIL 1st April: Heritage Transport Show Kent at the Kent Showground, Detling,

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Maidstone, Kent ME14 3LF, Cars, buses, motorcycles, tractors, autojumble, trade stands, competitions, guest speakers.

10am-5pm. £10 on the gate.

Ring 01622 633054 or see www.kentshowground.co.uk.

1st April: Reunion of the Rockers at Hammersmith Town Hall, London W6 9JU. Live music, DJ, bar, hot food. £16 prebook or £20 on the door.

Email reunion-of-rockers@ virginmedia.com.

1st April: Piston Sisters’ Rock Nite at the Brigade Cricket Club, Limavady Road, Derry Londonderry, Co Derry. Live bands, rock DJ, chippy, camping available. £5 on the door. In aid of the Fibromyalgia Association.

1-2nd April: Kickback and the National Championships for Custom Motorcycles at Stoneleigh Park, Kenilworth, Warks CV8 2LG. Custom bikes, drag bikes, stun show, trade stands, café, bar, etc. £8.95 prebook or £10 on the door.

2-7pm Saturday and 10am-4pm Sunday. For details see www. thecustomshow.com.

2nd April: The Wirral Egg Run Tribute Ride Out. Leaving from New Brighton, Wallasey, Merseyside at 11.30am to ride to Claremount Farm, Old Clatterbridge Road, Birkenhead, Wirral CH63 4JB. For details see www.wirraleggrun.org.

2nd April: Normous Newark Autojumble at the Newark Showground, Newark on Trent, Notts NG24 2NY. Car and bike display, indoor and outside pitches, trade stands, cafe. £10 for early bird (8am) entry or £7 after 10am. Ring 01507 529470 or see www.newarkautojumble.co.uk.

2nd April: Old Warden Aerodrome 6th Classic Rally and Autojumble at Old Warden Aerodrome, Biggleswade, Beds SG18 9EP. Hundreds of classic cars and motorcycles. £8 on the gate. Ring 0845 879 1029 or see info@geminievents.co.uk.

2nd April: Surrey Harley Boot Fair at Pippbrook Car park, opposite Dorking Hall, Reigate Road, Dorking, Surrey RH4 1SJ. Pitches £25—setup from 6am. Entry £2.

8am start. Ring 01306 712297.

2nd April: Bike Day at the Ace Café, Ace Corner, North Circular Road, Stonebridge Park, London NW10 7UD. Ring 0208 961 1000 or see www.ace-cafe-london.com.

2nd April: Malvern Drive In Classic Car & Bike Autojumble at Three Counties Showground, Malvern, Worcs WR13 6NW. 10am-3pm. For details see www.classicshows.org or ring 01484 667776.

2nd April: Charity Ride for Action on Addiction 3. Leaving from South Coast Motorcycles, Unit 7-8 Oxford Court, Granby Industrial Estate, Weymouth, Dorset DT4 9GH at 10.30am to ride to Exmouth. Learnerfriendly ride. £5 donation per bike. In aid of Clouds House.

5th April: And every Wednesday thereafter. Bike Night at the Ranch Café, Canterbury Road, Wingham, Kent CT3 1NH. For details ring 07715 475057.

6th April: Thunder Thursday Bike Night at the Leadburn Inn Motor Crossroads Cafe, Leadburn, Pencuik, Midlothian, Scotland. All welcome. From 5.30pm. ring 01968 676077 or see www.theleadburn.co.uk.

7th April: Jacks Hill Café Bike Nite at Jacks Hill Café, Watling Street, Towcester, Northants NN12 8ET. Sponsored by Northants V-Twin. 6-11pm. All bikes welcome.

7-9th April: Beerhounds MCC’s Duggy’s 50th Birthday and

Pet Food Run at the Plough Inn, Ploughley Road, Arncott, Oxon OX25 1NY. Live music, free camping, showers. Free entry.

Raising money and food for the Oxfordshire Animal Sanctuary.

8th April: Tony Cleere & Paul Davey Memorial Charity Run. Leave from Tesco’s car park, Clonmel, Co Tipperary at 1pm to travel to the Parish Pump Pub. Tea and coffee, evening entertainment, raffle. Free entry but all donation appreciated.

Ring 00353 83 107 2498. In aid of New Ross River Search & Rescue.

8th April: Straightliners Championship Round 2 at York Dragway, Seaton Ross, East Yorkshire YO42 4SS. Straightliners championship round, RWYB. Ring 01724 347801 or 07921 712266 or see www.straightlinersonline.co.uk.

8th April: Bugsplatz MCC’s Open Day and Bike Show. See www.bugsplatzmcc.co.uk or ring 07723 055874.

8th April: Lone Wolves Brotherhood’s Rock Night at the Ivy Bar, Castle Street, Newtownards, Co Down BT23 7PA. 7.30pm start. £5 on the door.

8-9th April: Shakespeare’s Vintage Steam Rally at Stoke Prior Sports & Country Club, Westonhall Road, Stoke Prior, Bromsgrove, West Midlands B60 4AL. Steam engines, vintage and classic cars and bikes, fair organs, fairground, stalls, refreshments, rescue dog show, evening entertainment, etc. £5 on the gate. Contact 01646 278815 or 07808 173400 or see www.shakespearesrally.co.uk.

9th April: Nottinghamshire Motorcycle Egg Run. Leaving from the Forest Recreation Ground (Goose Fair site), Mount Hoot Road, Nottingham NG7 6HB at 10am to ride to Mansfield Fire Station, Rosemary Street, Mansfield, Notts NG19 6AB. Please bring an Easter egg or donation.

For details, ring 07816 148023 or see www.eastereggrun.com.

96 | 100% Biker | issue 217 | www.100-biker.co.uk

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E C E I P TAIL

S E I L L A R R E WINT

T

Grav is wellknown to many as one of the stalwarts of the rally scene, keen advocate of the NABD and now a 100% freelancer sneaking up on you at rallies.

He’s also an all-round good bloke, and, in his role as indefatigable admin, he now helps to keep both the 100% Biker Facebook page and forum in order. He likes custard.

here is a certain breed of biker that is a subculture all of its own. You can tell them a mile away and it’s impossible to not admire their cheerful outlook on life. I’m talking of course about winter bikers.

When the fair weather ends and the temperature plummets, many will generally put their faithful steed away and resort to whichever four-wheeled transport takes their fancy. As gritting lorries start appearing, many folk simply believe it’s a no brainer—the bike is securely locked away until spring.

Some of you may agree with their sensible approach and, to be fair, there’s nothing wrong with that chosen course, it’s their life, after all. However, for some the choice to put the bike away is anathema and brings out a determination to take on the elements and carry on regardless.

These are your winter bikers.

I know many of them and have spent many a happy weekend as I joined them in a quest to stick two fingers up to the ice and snow and camp out in January. For us, the biking season ended on December 31st and began again the very next

day. Quite a few of my winter biking chums kept a bike just for winter; the Honda 250 Super Dream was often the weapon of choice and Steve from Wrexham had quite possibly the rattiest Superdream on the planet during the 1990s. It won many awards for its awful brilliance.

Winter rallies are a place where nobody cares about shiny stuff. People would get their hack out as they saved their shiny pride and joy for the big shows, although, for most of us, that hack was actually the bike we used all year round, comfy all-rounders that could eat the motorway miles and put a big grin on your face through twisty A and B roads.

It didn’t matter what you rode, you got there whatever Mother Nature threw at you.

Monsoon rain, hail, sleet and snow were the norm and that was just Derbyshire’s Cat ‘n’ Fiddle pass, a place famous for having all four seasons in one day. Folk would turn up, pitch their tent and enjoy a good natter with friends they may not have seen since the same rally the year previously, regaling each other with tales of derringdo about the journey there and reaffirming lifelong friendships.

Getting from A to B is great, but the important thing is getting from B back to A and telling your friends what a great ride you had

98 | 100% Biker | issue 217 | www.100-biker.co.uk

There are winter rallies that have become legendary. The Dragon Rally in Wales, the Thistle Rally in Scotland and the Elefantreffen in Germany, for example. In my years of biking and attending rallies and shows across the UK, I always enjoyed winter rallies the most. I have met some of the most brilliant folk over the years and, despite the quantities of alcohol we consumed, I remember the times we shared with great affection. The freezing cold weather and the annual flirtation with hypothermia were offset by the roaring fire and the craic we had before heading off to a tent that was frozen solid.

After a hearty breakfast and hot drinks, the journey home was the last piece of the adventure. It’s where I first thought of the phrase I used to say at the end of my shows on BikerFM: Getting from A to B is great, but the important thing is getting from B back to A and telling your friends what a great ride you had.

That is true whatever the season, but especially so in winter. There were times when I really didn’t think I would make it. A night when I rode home from a local rally in temperatures so low it made the gritting lorries admit defeat is forever etched into my memory.

It was the most mentally and physically intense ride I’ve ever had on my bike. I have never had that kind of experience in spring, summer or autumn, and if I was a summer biker, I would never have truly known how my riding skills had become so expertly interconnected with my clench reflex. After all, isn’t that what biking is really all about?