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GARETH WILLIAMS publisher:
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JANE SKAYMAN
jskayman@mortons.co.uk 01507 529423
Independent publisher since 1885 Having trouble finding a copy of this magazine? Why not just ask your local newsagent to reserve you a copy each month? The Professional Publishers Association Member
Well, a few issues back I talked about how we ought to be looking at different ways of encouraging young people (I hate saying that, makes me feel really old…) into the biker/rally lifestyle, I don’t know if you remember? I’d been to a few rallies that have very over-the-top rally virgin ceremonies and while I, and lots of other folk too obviously, did enjoy watching them, safe in the knowledge that that’s something I’ll never have to go through again, it was the reaction of some of the ‘victims’, and other young folk elsewhere too, that got me thinking about it.
Add that all together and, I reckon, anyone who’s still trying to join the great brotherhood of two-wheelers should be applauded because, despite all the above bollocks and expense, they’re still willing to put themselves through it all, to jump through all the ridiculous hoops that the Government’ve foisted upon them.
So here’s what I propose; instead of making anyone who comes to their first rally do the virgin thing, how about we do something to I’ve spoken to a few other folk over the months welcome them? I’m mainly talking to event since, and discussed this in some depth, and I organisers and clubs here, but it’s worth thought I’d share our ideas with you. Are you telling the rest of you too. How you do that sitting comfortably (or even uncomfortably)? is something that I’m sure you can come up Then I’ll begin… with your own ideas for, but one idea is this; How about twisting the idea of rally virgins how about getting them up on stage of an through 180 degrees? Instead of putting newbies evening, say during the trophy presentations, through something unpleasant that may put them and presenting them with something that shows off going to a rally, how about doing something them that their efforts towards becoming a that rewards them for making the effort? We real biker are appreciated? If you run your who’ve passed our tests back in the dim and own bar, then perhaps a voucher for a few free distant days of the 1960s/’70s/’80s, even the beers (once you’ve ascertained they’re over ’90s, sometimes forget how difficult it is for 18, of course)? If you don’t how about some people who want to get their licence these days. form of special, new-riders-only T-shirt? You Compared with what most of us had to do to wouldn’t need to get that many printed as, gain our ‘pass’, the test these days sounds like a unless your rally is one of the really big ones, nightmare – a series of often pointless-seeming you probably won’t get more than five or six hoops that they have to jump through as though ‘virgins’… although, of course, you could extend they’re some sort of performing monkey. They it to include anyone who arrived on a bike with have three tests these days (a theory test, an L-plates, and make them feel wanted too. off-road test, and finally an on-road one), and The idea behind this is, as I said, to encourage a series of bewildering power-limits that mean young riders to come to rallies, and to encourage that they have to wait until they’re older than them to encourage their mates too. If we can get 24 to be able to ride a full-power bike (while them saying to their friends on Facebook (other no such power restriction applies to young car drivers). That’s nothing like when I took my test social media are available... apparently) “I went to the Frotting Donkey Rally at the weekend, it back in the mid-Eighties; back then all I had was great – the booze was cheap, the music was to do was ride round a few cones in a school good*, and they gave me free beer/a new T-shirt/ car park to pass me Part One, and then ride summat cool… you shoulda come. Hey, we’re off around a block where an examiner stood and to the Skanky Wombles’ Wimbledon Waste-Fest watched. Hell, he couldn’t even see me for in two weeks, come with us?” then we might be half the test as I was out of sight! Basically, as getting somewhere, mightn’t we? long as you didn’t run the bloke over when he stepped off the pavement to do your I’ve decided that, as the organiser of an event, emergency stop you’d pass – simple as that. albeit a tiny little one, I’m going to put my money where my mouth is; at this year’s Rat & Survival I’m Bikes and insurance were a lot cheaper back going to award anyone who arrives on an L-plated then too; you could get a 125 for a couple of hundred quid, and insurance was about £500 125, as well as anyone who’s coming to it for the first time, summat cool. I’m not going to say here – bloody steep to a young lad (or lass) who exactly what as I want it to be a bit of a surprise, but didn’t earn very much, but still doable… it should make ’em smile, I hope. I’ll let you know just. These days a decent second-hand 125 how it goes but, in the meantime, it might be worth is closer to a grand/grand and a half, and you and your club seeing if you can come up with insurance is about the same, but wages something. Whaddya reckon? haven’t really increased similarly. Jobs NIK are harder to come by too. Distribution by Marketforce UK Ltd, 5 Churchill Place, Canary Wharf, London E14 5HU. Tel: 0203 787 9001. Printed by William Gibbons and Sons, Wolverhampton. ISSN: 02679841. BSH is copyright to Mortons Media Ltd 2018 and all rights are reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted, in any form or by any means electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system without prior permission in writing from the publisher. The publishers accept no responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts or photographs. If you send material to us for publication, you are strongly advised to make copies and to include an SAE. Original material must be submitted and will be accepted solely on the basis that the author accepts the assessment of the publisher as to its commercial value. BSH UK subscriptions £40.00, European subs £55.89, all other countries £67.89, from BSH Subs, Mortons Media Ltd, PO Box 99, Horncastle LN9 6LZ. USA subs $60 per annum from Motorsport, 31757 Honey Locust Road, Jonesburg, MO 63351-9600 and additional mailing offices. Periodicals postage is paid at Jonesburg, Missouri, USA. Postmaster: send USA address changes to BSH, Motorsport, 550 Honey Locust Road, Jonesburg, MO 63351-9600.
*We’ll talk about this another day as it potentially opens a whole new can of creeping or burrowing invertebrate animals with long, slender, soft bodies and no limbs.
So the first real editorial of the year (yeah, I know there was one in the last issue, but I wrote that in December so it doesn’t count), what shall we talk about then?
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BUELL CAFE RACER
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(pictured)
STORMIN’ THE CASTLE
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there doesn’t appear to be any rain in the pictures, what’s going on?
Nick Hailes’ beautifully daubed V-Rod
CHAMPS WINNER: BEST CUSTOM CHAMPS WINNER: BEST ENGINEERING
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Grub’s skinny-wheel Sportster
CHAMPS WINNER: BEST CHOP
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DRUIDS RALLY, IRELAND a properly made, traditional Irish rally
IRONHEAD SPORTSTER
built by a hillbilly… from Kent. Sorry?
OGRI RALLY
sunshine and shenanigans in Cirencester
WOZWOLF RALLY
hordes of silly buggers in the Midlands
TRIUMPH THUNDERBIRD
old meets new in South Wales
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E F THROES O T E AR TH BE PSTREE UNIT Y K M BAC COM
TO GET L A THE DIGIT, SIMPLY P P A EDITIONS FOR ‘BACK SEARCH S’ IN THE APPLE EROE E E STR T H TORE FOR iPAD S P P LAY A OOGLE P OR ON G NDROID E FOR A OOK PAG SH FACEB ES) O UT THE B CHECK O ACK STREET HER (B K GROUP FACEBOOROES – SH B E AND TH CK STREET HE OUP AT BA ICIAL GR THE OFF
MARCH 2018
SOGGY MOGGY RALLY
crashes and gore galore! (Well, the first one anyway…)
XS650
another blacked-out and minimal wee beastie
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CHAMPS WINNER: BEST NEW SKOOL
Tommy Docherty’s long-fork Suzuki
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CHAMPS WINNER: BEST PAINT
James Rogers’ hybrid Triumph bobber
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minimal and in-yer-face
the cover bike in all its glory!
Aled Corps’ stunning 1936/’8 Norton ES2
BLACKED-OUT BMW
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6 OPENFACED
all that’s new and happening in the custom bike world
8 PRODUCTS
loads of good stuff for you to spend your hard-earned on
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12 SUBSCRIBE TO BSH see here for the best subscription offers
14 LETTERS
sound off, one, two, sound off three, four!
58 CENTRESPREAD
62 (ALMOST) A ROADTEST
94 EVENTS
84 PROJECT BUILD
100 2018 BSH CUSTOM BIKE CHAMPS
the Honda CMX500 Rebel the last part of our new project bike build before the big reveal… well, allegedly, anyway
88 MR BRIDGES’ MOTORCYCLE DIARIES
the best technical know-how anywhere
92 MAG NEWS
our regular column by the MAG chairnongenderspecificperson
the fullest listings of the best summer rallies, shows and parties anywhere!
all the gen’ on this year’s competition
102 READERS’ LIVES
your pictures and our silly captions... yeah, sorry about that
106 SMALLS
sell your bike here for free!
114 RICK HULSE
the musings of one of the most eloquent thinkers in bikerdom!
Louise Limb’s latest artistic offering
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MARCH 2018
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KILLOW MOTORCYCLE GARAGES Killow Construction specialise in making bespoke but cost-effective garden rooms and bike garages for those who don’t have huge amounts of space, or vast amounts of money, and offer an effective alternative to brick-built garages.
They can offer various lighting, power and security options, interlocked ground anchors, remote roller shutter doors, shelving, heaters and dehumidifiers, alarms, CCTV and a whole lot more. Contact them via their Facebook Page (Killow Construction) or ring them on 01903 654320.
JOHN LENNON’S MONKEY BIKE! Once in a while a motorcycle comes to market that’s guaranteed to create huge excitement – John Lennon’s Honda Monkey-Trail, for sale with H&H Classics, is just such a machine. He used the bike as a fun way of getting around his Tittenhurst Park estate in Surrey, where he lived from 1969 to 1971, and H&H Classics say it’s estimated to sell for £30,000-plus. The bike was acquired by a gentleman called John Harington 47 years ago from a Henry Graham who, at the time, was owner of a bike business in Hampshire, and he, in turn, had bought it from John Lennon. It’s due to be auctioned at the National Motorcycle Museum on 4th March, and yyou can g get more info on it from H H&H Classics on 01925 210035 or www.handh.co.uk
W&W CYCLES CATALOGUE
The new W&W Cycles catalogue, featuring thousands of cool parts, both for Harley-Davidsons of all shapes and sizes and custom bikes (bobbers, choppers, flattrackers, street scramblers etc.) is now available. The new catalogue, so thick and heavy that if you drop it it’ll brain your cat, is available from all good W&W Cycles dealers or online; check out www.wwag.com to find your local stockist or order your copy.
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MARCH 2018
This year’s Prescott Bike Fest is set to be the biggest and best yet following the announcement that, for the first time, it has been extended to two days.
CIRCUS OF HORRORS TICKETS
The Circus of Horrors, once described as ‘If Quentin Tarantino had directed Cirque Du Soleil…’, is on tour again with a new show, Voodoo. Awoken by an Ouija board, the curse of the Voodoo is causing devastation in New Orleans – this spectacular features an amazing amalgamation of bizarre and fantastic
circus acts all woven into a sensational shock/horror story with the darkest of magic, taking the show to a whole new level. It features a devil-driven soundtrack, and is definitely performed (forked) tongue in cheek. We’ve two pairs of tickets to give away to you lot, to be used at the venue of your choice (see the Circus of Horrors’ website for your nearest venue) as well as two runners-up prizes of Vince Ray-designed T-shirts. To stand a chance of winning all you have to do is go to the BSH website at www.backstreetheroes. com and follow the link there. Terms and conditions apply, as they say on the telly. Good luck! If you’re not lucky enough to win this time (and you won’t be if you don’t enter, will you?), but you’d like to see the show (’cos it is a cracker), then get more info and tickets from their website at www. circusofhorrors.co.uk
The popular, family-friendly event will return to the Prescott Speed Hillclimb at Gotherington near Cheltenham (GL52 9RD) on 14-15th April, and will once again boast a brilliantly diverse range of machinery. Saturday features ‘Electric Avenue’, the latest in electric bike technology from universities and Formula E, TT Zero, and the new electric HarleyDavidson. There’ll also be classic bikes galore, engineering genius Allen Millyard with no less than five of his marvellous creations, and Zef Eisenberg and the Mad Max Race
ATIK GRAPHICS Atik Graphics are a company based in Lowestoft in Suffolk who offer a huge range of designs, and custom logos too, to help you restore or customise your bike or finish off your project. They offer a quite staggering range of designs, and they can come up with anything that you can dream up.
Team with their new V8 and the 235mph street-legal jet bike. And the Sunday is race day with riders taking to the Hill. You can too – just book a place on their website. There are also passenger rides too in sidecar outfits. There are also bands, more than 20 regional and craft beers, guest appearances, a large kids’ zone, more than 100 quality trade and club stands, and much, much more. Tickets cost £10 in advance, and you can get them and more info from www.prescottbikefestival. co.uk
If you’re looking for somewhere in Yorkshire to get your trike MoT’d, then might we recommend Andrew Seagust Motors in Malton? They can, and will, MoT all kinds, and weights, of trikes, and will do so without giving lots of condescending advice (like a fair few trike testers do, sadly). Ring them on 01653 690069 or bob round to see them at Rye Close on the York Road Industrial Estate (YO17 6YD).
Contact them via their website at www.atikgraphics.com or ring them on 01502 534827.
FIX YOUR CLASSIC The National Motorcycle Museum is running a Friends of the Museum Workshop Training Day on Saturday, 24th February. It will be held in the museum’s Compton Suite, and there will be two sessions presented by experts brought in specially for the day, and the museum’s own restoration team will also be on hand to discuss ‘tricks of the trade’! The day is free to anyone who has signed up to the museum’s Friends of The National Motorcycle Museum programme, which gives you access to many of their excellent events. Becoming a Friend costs £29.95 for adults 18-65 (senior citizens 65-plus £27.45, juniors 0-18 £19.95 or family £49.95), and you can do it by calling the National Motorcycle Museum on 01675 444123 or online at www.thenmm.co.uk MARCH 2018
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These kick-start kits for all HarleyDavidson Sportsters have all the required hardware, including a gearbox counter-shaft, kicker arm, pedal and sprocket cover (kits for 2004 to present models also include a gearbox main shaft). They fit 1991-present H-D Sportsters, and come with a choice of raw aluminium or chrome sprocket covers, and cost from £500. Be aware,, though, g , that due to the wide variety of stock and afterm market exhausts, the pedal may interfere with your exhaust system. They’re available e at more than 2500 Zodiac dealers acrosss Europe; get more info from your closest place or www.zodiac.nl
AIROH CITY ONE HELMET
The new Airoh City One has been developed to allow more efficient circulation of air inside the helmet, and the elongated visor and integrated d sun visor offer a feeling of security and d the ability to shield the rider’s eyes from m the sun while riding. Available in sizes XS-XL, and a choice of four colours (orange/ matt, yellow/matt, anthracite gloss and white/gloss), it costs £134.99 from anywhere that stocks the Bike It range – go to www.bikeit.co.uk to find your closest stockist.
Not strictly a biking travel book, although it does have bikes in it, the third of Geoff Hill’s excellent travel books is a kind of a roundup of his many years as a travel writer, and is guaranteed to bring out the wanderlust in even the most hardhearted reader. Taking in all four corners (err…) of the globe, he finds beauty and humour everywhere he goes, and the stories vary from rock ‘n’ roll, almost gonzo, to more traditional
travelogues. He definitely has a way with words, a keen eye for what’s going on around him, and an engaging and wry way of writing about it. Anyway, Where Was I? – Geoff Hill’s Alternative A-Z of the World is available from all good bookshops, and Amazon and other online retailers.
WEISE MUNICH JACKE ET The new entry-level textile jacke et from Weise gives cost-consciou us riders p premium performance, features an nd specification. It’s waterproof, windpro oof and d breathable, has a removable 120g th hermal liner, CE-approved C protection at p tthe shoulders, elbows and e back, Velcro and b po opper adjusters at tthe waist, arms, collarr and cuffs, plentyy of extern nal and internal pockets, inclu uding a large ‘map p po ocket’ at the rear – ideal for ca arrying a pairr of waterproof ovver-trousers. The Munich comes in sizes S-5XL, 5XL in a choice of black or black/neon yellow, and retails for just £149.99 an nd, d llike k allll Weise kit, k has h a two-
year warranty. For info call The Key Collection on 0117 971 9200 or visit www.thekeycollection.co.uk h k ll i k
Quick and easy to transfer between helmets, Sena’s new SMH5 MultiCom communication system is ideal for riders who own more than one helmet. It allows you to connect to up to four other units, ideal for mates riding to rallies, and its Quick Clamp allows it to slide on or off a helmet in seconds. The jog dial and large intercom button make it easy to use with gloves on, and Bluetooth 3.0 ttechnology allows you to make hands-free calls too, and it can also be paired with GPS devices, smartphones and MP3 players, for navigation and music on the move. The new Sena SMH5 MultiCom comes complete with a mono speaker, Quick Clamp, removable microphone and everything else needed, and retails for £129. Ring Motohaus Powersports on 01256 704909 for more info or visit www.motohaus.com
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MARCH 2018
Easy to install, they fit all 22mm handlebars (22mm left, 25mm right grip), and are supplied complete with bar-ends. They cost just £49.99 from anywhere that stocks the Bike It range – go to www.bikeit.co.uk to find your closest stockist.
The Biketek heated grip set is designed to provide efficient heat output to your hands while you ride on through the colder months. It comes complete with a simple, twobutton controller box that can be handlebar-mounted for operation while wearing gloves and riding.
DRAGGIN DRIFT WOMEN’S JEANS
CARHARTT BROOKVILLE VEST This quilted nylon vest will keep you warm in the depths of winter under your jacket, and has a Rain Defender water-repellent finish, Thinsulate insulation, two inside pockets and an adjustable draw-cord waist. Available in three colours (black, gravel and green), you can get one from your local Custom Chrome dealer – check out www.custom-chrome -europe.com to find your closest stockist.
This combination brake/ tail-light has a diameter of just 13mm, but uses Extreme Optical Transparency technology, providing spectacularly bright lighting. They feature minimalistic M5x6.5 mounting studs, and are also available as an indicator with bright or dark amber lenses. Kellermann lights are available at more than 2500 Zodiac dealers across Europe, and prices start at £62. Get more info from your closest place or www.zodiac.nl
Muc-Off Dry Shower is an innovative antibacterial body wash designed for people on the move. Ideal for rallies and longer motorcycle trips/holidays, it’s specifically formulated to kill odour-causing bacteria and germs with its gentle, yet effective, coconut-derived cleaning ingredients. Dry Shower leaves you feeling (and smelling) fresh and clean, and is the perfect way to freshen up without water! It costs just £4.99 a can from anywhere that stocks the Muc-Off range – check out www.oxprod.com to find your nearest retailer. 10
MARCH 2018
As an alternative to ‘skinny’ women’s styles, Draggin now offers its Drift jeans to female customers who prefer a boot cut and a slightly more relaxed fit. Manufactured in a hand-distressed dark blue denim for a ‘street fashion’ look, they’re cut with a mid-rise waist that’s higher at the back to provide comfort and protection when on the bike, and the boot-cut hem is wide enough to fit over boots without being excessively flared. They’re made from the very latest Kevlar and Dyneema to provide excellent abrasion resistance, and have heavy-duty seams, a locking zip, and knee and hip pockets that accommodate Draggin’s CE approved armour. Available now in a full range of sizes, they cost £169.99 from anywhere that stocks the Draggin Jeans range – go to www. dragginjeans. net/store-locator to find your nearest place.
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