Februaryishere, and that can only mean one thing –it’stime for The Bristol Classic MotorCycleShow Get ready to revyour engines for one of the biggest biking events in this beautiful corner of England.
Thisyear’sBristol Classic BikeShow is acan’t-miss weekend for enthusiasts, collectorsand families alike, bringing together hundreds of classicmachines in one place. From rare vintage gems to beloved icons, everyinch of the
Bath &West Showground at Shepton Mallet will celebrate the verybest in motorcycling heritage.
We’rehonoured to welcome special guests Alex George and Chas Mortimer,star racers from the late Sixties through to
the early Eighties and whose stories and achievements have helped shape the sport. Don’tmiss the chance to hear from these icons as theyshare unforgettable tales from their racing days.
Come along for the club
displays, trade stands, and autojumble that promise fantastic finds forcollectors and restorers. With something for everymotorcycling fan, this is your chance to soak up an atmosphere of pure biking nostalgia and excitement.
Time to motor west for this year’s kicks
Forloversoftimeless ridesand vintage bikes, Bristol is the place to be this February
Hello and welcome to the Bristol Classic MotorCycle Show,where the historic motorcycling fraternity descends upon the RoyalBath and West Showground for our annual Februaryfill of two- and three-wheeled enjoyment.
While Februarystill feels, for themajority of us, alittle early in the season for too much riding, especially on our hard-to-clean and exposed classics to which road salt is the enemy, it does have asense that we’renearly there; hopefully,winter projects have just about reached their conclusion andare at thefettling and fine adjustment stage, ready for spring and summer and another joyous yearof motorcycling.
But until that time when itis the full-on riding season,wefind
our ways of entertainment; shows such as thisone being agreat ‘fill in’, plus of course an opportunity to buy things, meet up with old friends, makenew pals and, at the show,look at some fabulous machinery, renewour club (and magazine!) subscriptions, as well as listen to some interesting stage interviews and talks –this year provided by 1970s racing duo Chas Mortimer and Alex George.
Personally, my yearly journey west issomething Ilook forward to, the opportunity to see people and motorcycles Igenerally don’t often see anywhere (or hardly anywhere) else being afitting way to startthe season ahead. Enjoythe show,see you there.
James Robinson, editor,The ClassicMotorCycle magazine
Get ready to feast your eyes on atrueclassic of motorcycle design at this year’sshow –a1924 DouglasTS.
If you head over to The Classic MotorCycle stand in the main hall you’ll see this stunning pieceof British engineering up close.
With ahorizontally opposed engine layout first designed by Douglas in 1907, and arich heritage,the TS (two-speed) is a shining example of motorcycling
innovation from abygone era.
This particular machinehas found aloving home as partof asmall familycollection.The current owner,MarkBlacklock, said theyhad been on thelookout for this iconic model forsome time. Purchased in excellent condition, it’sa credittothe dedication and craftsmanship of those who restored it.
The Douglas name has long been synonymous with qualityand innovation. The TS, alightweight
road bike, wasknown forits reliabilityand advanced design forthe time. Featuringa348cc flat-twin engineand adistinctive low-slungframe, thisbikewas afavouriteamong riders in the 1920s
While theoriginal registration wassadly lost to history, this bike’scharm andcharacter is plain to see. Itssleek lines, period-correctdetails and polished finishes aresuretocaptivate anyone with an appreciation for
vintage motorcycles.
So,whether you’re adie-hard fanofclassic bikes or simply love discovering thestoriesbehind theseincredible machines, this Douglas is amust-see at the show.Swing by thestand and get up close to this magnificent piece of motorcycling heritage.
Don’t miss out –join us at The BristolClassic MotorCycle Show foranunforgettable weekend celebrating thebest in classic motorcycling
Rev-up forthispairofracinglegends
Visitorstothe Bristol ClassicMotorCycleShow will be able to meet,listen to andrevel in thestories of twotitansofmotorcyclingthis
February –AlexGeorgeand Chas Mortimer
From theverylatesixties,for over adecade, thepairenjoyed high-speed triumphs on top
circuits andtheir competitive spiritsand mettle were forged in thewhite-hot heat of competition. You’ll be able to catchthemon
stagethroughoutthe weekend, sharingmemoriesofrivalries, races, andthe machines that defined theircareers,and as they spendtimeatthe show youcould
Chas Mortimer
Few riderscan claim the versatility andachievements of Chas Mortimer.The only rider to win grands prixinevery solo class from125cc to 750cc, he wasa master of adaptation and consistency.With over 250 international races and acareer spanningmore than two decades, he wasaforce to be reckoned with in the 1970s and early 1980s.
Not just aracer,Chas wasalso a skilleddevelopment rider,helping manufacturersrefine the bikes that wouldgoontobecome icons of their time. His triumphs, particularly on the Yamaha TZ series, cemented hisreputationasone of the most accomplishedand respectedridersin racing
well seethemout andabout Expect laughter,drama,and a behind-the-sceneslookatwhat it took to become race starsina golden ageofthe sport.
Alex George
AnIsleofMan TT hero,Alexwas renowned for hisfearless riding and remarkable skill on the world’s toughestroadcircuits With multiple TT victories to hisname, includinganunforgettable SeniorTTwin in 1975 aboard the Honda 500cc twin, he establishedhimselfasone of the finest ridersofhis era. Competing at atime when bravery wasasimportant as talent,hetookonthe toughest street courses and top rivals with determinationand flair. His careeris atestamenttothe golden age of road racing,where ridersbattled not onlyfor victorybut also for survival on some of the most dangerous tracks in sport.
Turn up and be tuned-in
See, hear and feel the classics
Ifyou love thesound of a classicbikeroaring to life,you won’twanttomissthe Live Firing-UpAreaatThe Bristol ClassicMotorCycleShow. It’s wheremotorcyclinghistory isn’t just on display–it’srunning, rumbling andmakingitself heard.
This area is allabout getting up closeand personal with a mixofmachineswhich areold enough to know better,but love it anyway
From theearly trailblazers to bikesyou mightremember from afew decadesago,there’s always somethingfascinating beingkickedintolife. Engines will be fired-upthroughoutthe weekend, giving youthe chance to hear andfeelwhatthese bikes areall about– sights,sounds, smells,the lot.
Andthisyear, we’vegot somethingextra special. Race starsAlexGeorgeand Chas Mortimer will be on hand, starting up some incredible bikes andsharing abit of theirstory It’s notevery dayyou gettosee iconslikethese in action
Theareaisrun by afriendly bunch of volunteers whoknow
Private parts...
One of the mostexciting aspects of the show is the individually entered motorcycles,and after a busy winter spentonyour full restoration… or maybe just fettling your prideand joyand tendingtoall those little jobs… where bettertoshow off your handyworkthanthe Bristol Classic MotorCycle Show?
Assembledfor your pleasure will be hundredsofour readers’ classic bikes on displayacross the weekend.
Apanel of judges will be on hand looking for the machine which will scoop that elusive Best in Show award, along with over 30 other trophies to be given out to not just the private motorcycles on displaybut also all the club member bikes too.
theirstuff andlovesharing it Whetheryou’realifelong bike fanorjustcurious aboutthe classics,they’ll happilychatand answer your questions.
TheLiveFiring-Up Area is one of thehighlightsofThe Bristol ClassicMotorCycleShow, happeningatthe Bath &West Showground on February 22–23. Come alongand experience thesebikes theway they’re meanttobeenjoyed –it’snoisy, it’s nostalgic… andit’sawhole lot of fun.
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Sporting single
Words: JAMES ROBINSON
Picture: GARYCHAPMAN
Itiswell known and widely reported that Velocette excelled in motorcycle road racing,with the HallGreen, Birmingham-based concern racking up 15 TT wins between 1926 and 1967, ahost of European championships, providing the machineryfor the inaugural 350cc world champion Freddie Frith in 1949 (and again in 1950 for rider Bob Foster) as well as doing well in various trials and even, for atime, moderately well in speedway.
But what about scrambling,or motocross as it became known? Not so much.
The first recorded scramble/ motocross took place on Bagshot Heath, Surreyin1924, its100th anniversarybeing celebrated last year with a series of events. Whether there were anyVelocettes in it that first race I’m not sure, thoughit waswon by atwo-strokeScott
In 1924,Veloce wasthe makerofthe Velocette, atwostrokewith, as yet, nofourstrokes in the company’srange, though there had been earlier, with both 350c and 500cc singles made before the First WorldWar
By 1924 it wasall two-stroke though –well-made ones, acut above the proprietaryenginepowered offerings for saleby other makersatfar lowerprices. The Velocette wasa premium product, with aprice to match.
Around the time of that first happeningonBagshot Heath, the Veloce/Velocette concern wasengaged in developing its newfour-strokeengine which, likethe two-strokebefore it, wassomething of acut above
the often-proprietarypowered modelsthat were prevalent. In the mid-1920s, the fourstrokemotorcycle industry, especially in asporting context, wasbeginning to shift away from the likes of bought-in Blackburne and JAP power units being housed in chassis by ‘motorcycle makers’. Instead the likes of AJS, Norton, Sunbeam and soon, Velocette, with their own engines, came to the fore. By the end of the decade Velocette wasareal force. Known for building quality, race-winning machinery, with its roadstersand racersall powered by variations on the same 350cc overhead camshaft engine, the long-running 250cc GTP two-strokeand variants aside, that changed with the 1933 introduction of the 250cc overhead valve MOV, followed a season later by the 350cc MAC and then joined, in 1935, by the 495cc MSS.While the MOVand MACshared manycomponents, includingachassis, the MSS wasaheavier beast altogether, with the chassisitused based on the Mk.V KTT and also in service for the Mk.II KSS and KTS,the later employing the same running gear (19in wheels, avalanced front mudguard) as the MSS. Thishas, to me, alwaysseemed weird; why wasn’titthe MTS as ‘TS’ stood for touring special, ‘SS’ for sport special,with theKSS having a 21in front wheel, plus skimpier front mudguard and 20in rear tyre. Surely for ‘MSS’ to make sense it shouldhavemirrored these specifications? Or to have an MTS and an MSS? Though perhaps therewas alate change
of heartover what ‘spec’the new, pushrod 500 should be?
Whatever,the MSS soon became afavourite, its longlegged nature endearing it to both solo and sidecar riders.
The first tuned version of the MSS wasthe model we see before us here –the MSS Scrambler
It seems it wasworks racing mechanic TommyMutton, a veteran who’dbeen at Velocette since before the Second World Warwhen the companywas aworldwide racing force, who first recognised that there wasperformance potential to unleash in the new, short-stroke 500cc engine and so set about some tuning modifications.
Apparently –asrecounted in Rod Burris’sbook Velocette Motorcycles –MSS to Thruxton, “…[Mutton] wasamember of the RedditchMotor Cycle Club and wasinvolved in organising scrambles, so the transition seemed alogical step.”
Basically,the models were based on standard MSS roadsters–which wasfairly normal practice at the time, for the off-roaderstobeclosely related to the on-roaders–with the engine modified. Though the standard frame wasretained, stiffer springs were fitted at the rear,while the front forks had two-way damping.There wasa 21in front wheel and 19in rear, with knobbly tyres (300 section at the sharpend and 400 at the back) of course, plus a shield under the crankcase for protection. There wasadifferent rear hub attached by six bolts, as opposed to four,with abig rear sprocket too.
The competition-bred MSS Scrambler wasn’t the most capableoff-roader,truth be told, butitdid
The first machines were built in late 1953, withvarious riders used as racersand testers including–astold by Burris–BSA great JohnnyDraper during abrief interlude in his ‘Beesa’ career.Alan Bell and Mel Bayliss were the more usual riders, the latter,inBurris’sbook, recounting how the machine ‘handled likeacamel’ off road.
It wasbasically too heavy and the engine wastoo tallfor sufficient ground clearance, but it went on sale in 1954, finding favour withsome riders, though arguably itsmost significant role wasthat it proved the ‘square’ engine could be made to go quickly and wasstrong
It directly led to the Venom and Viper –announced in 1955; the 350cc Viper wasasmaller Venom (withthe 86mm stroke) not simply areworkedMAC (which had astrokeof96mm), while theVenom wastolead to the Thruxton, which produced a claimed 41bhp. The Scrambler wasreckoned to make40bhp, so the lineage wasclear.In fact, the closest to the MSS Scrambler wasthe Venom Clubman; theyshared the same compression ration (a standard Venom wasthe lower 8:1) and the TT carb.
This nicely restored Velocette MSS Scrambler Mk.I was supplied to influential US dealer/distributor Lou Branch of 2019 West Pico Boulevard, Los Angeles, California in April 1956. Branch and the US market wasimportant to Velocette; Scramblerswere popular there. Some were even supplied with a19in front wheel, rendering them suitable forflattrack, while
350cc versions were exported too.The machine featured went to Branch and one wondershow much competition use it had, as it still has itsoriginal engine, bearing the usual MSSletters, then the engine’sown numbers, then the ‘S’ at the end, which denotes it’s aScrambler
The bike wasdiscovered by Velocette enthusiast Alan Lawrence while he wason holidayinFlorida, circa 2010. Alan had it repatriated and set about restoring the bike. Already having another Scrambler,which wasfeatured in our sister title Classic Bike Guide some years ago, Alan sold it around 10 years ago and it went intoacollection of old British machines… whereitlived until recently. It wasunused during that time, though well stored in aclimatecontrolled showroom. It then went to dealer Venture Classics –which had actually sold it when Alan passed it on –who recommissioned it,though did advise the tyres, albeit new, were looking abit perished and would require changing if it was to be used in anger.Itwas from Venture that it wasacquired by a Japanese enthusiast, afriend of John Oakes, and it wasJohn who collected it,brought it home, changed the tyres and invited us to have aride, before it headed to itsnew home in Tokyo. What wasitliketoride?
Youcan find that out in The Classic MotorCycle magazine. Scan the QR code below to purchase your copyand read more great features every month, or meet us on our stand.
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Hundreds of traders, one truly epic event
The Bristol Classic MotorCycle Show is packed with hundreds of traders, offering everything from rare parts and tools to bespoke accessories, ridinggear,and memorabilia.
Whether you’re huntingfor the final piece for your restoration, seeking inspiration for your next project, or simply browsing for something unique, chances are what you need is right here. With so manyexperts, enthusiasts andspecialists in one place, this show is the ultimate destination for classic motorcycle lovers.Sodivein, explore the stalls, anddiscoverall thetreasures waiting for you.
Club bangers
The heartofthe Bristol Classic MotorCycle show is, of course, the clubs. And believe it or not, the motorcycle club scene seems to have been having something of arenaissance over the last 12 months.
It’salso fair to saythat this event has perhapsthe best club stands of anymotorcycleshow in the UK, and here’swhy Over 70 motorcycleclubs will be displaying hundredsof their members’ motorcyclesacross theweekend and more often than not, all wrappedupinatheme. There’ll be faux dealer showrooms, dioramas of motorcycling’sheyday and, more importantly,members on hand to talk shopabout marques, models and technical help… all from real people!
From Norton to Rudge,Honda to Harley, the clubs will be out ‘en masse’.
Get to know afew of the traders...
Whether you’re on the hunt for avintage gem,the perfect accessorytomakeyour bike stand out, or tools to breathe new life into your restoration project, the trade stands at The Bristol Classic MotorCycle Show pretty much have it all. Here are afew of the businesses you’ll find:
Components Wheel Central
Rolling into the West Country, Central Wheel Components has everything you need, from classic rims and spokes to complete tyres and accessories. If you’re piecing together arestoration or upgrading your wheelsfor the riding season, stop by the stand to see what the team has brought to Bristol.
Visitwww.central-wheel.co.uk
Callingall Triumphenthusiasts. Russell James Motorcycles is coming to the Bristol event, offering astunning selection of classicand rare Triumph bikes. Whether you’re looking to buy, sell,orsimply admire, the stand is amust-see for Triumph fans at theshow.Head over to www.russelljames.co.uk
Watsonian Squire
The iconic Watsonian Squire is at the show,and the team members will bring their renowned expertise in sidecarsand Royal Enfield motorcycles. Whether you’re dreaming of athreewheeled classic or fine-tuning your Enfield setup, they’ll steer you in the right direction. Visit Watsonian at the show or online at www.watsonian-squire.com
Makeyour bikesparkle likethe showpiece it is. The Polishing Shop’sproducts are ideal for preparing your bikefor thisyear’s rideouts or events, or for simply adding alittleextra shine to your restoration projects. Don’tleave without picking up one of the premium-grade kits. Explore more at www.thepolishingshop.co.uk
S& TElectroplate
When it comes to giving your bikeashowroom finish, S&T Electroplatehas you covered. From high-qualitypolishing to expertplating services, thisis the perfect partner forvintage motorcyclerestoration. Chat with the staffatthe show to see how theycan help bring your classic bikeback to life. Visit www.stchrome.co.uk
Revving back into action after asmashing debut last year, the Dore &Rees auction returns to The Bristol Classic MotorCycle Show
Whether you’re aseasoned collector,a curious enthusiast, or just someone wholoves the sound of agavel dropping for the sale of incredible bikes, this auction is the place to be.
Last year’sauction proved a roaring successfor all concerned,
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and 2025’ssale is shaping up to be even better,withanincredible line-up of iconicmotorcycles set to go under the hammer. Let’stakeacloser look at a coupleofthe showstoppers:
1985 Ducati Mike HailwoodReplica
Firstup, we have a1985 Ducati MikeHailwood Replica –a bikewith history, pedigree, and serious wow-factor.This beauty
celebrates Mike‘The Bike’ Hailwood’sbrilliant 1978 Isle of Man TT comeback victory, a moment that left the racing world stunned. Ducati captured that magic with the Hailwood Replica, aroad-going tribute to their racewinning machine.
This particular example, fresh from aprivate collection, is in tip-top shape with just 11,000 miles recorded. Sporting its iconic red, green and white livery, lightweight Campagnolowheels and Brembo brakes, it’severy inch amasterpiece. And with a top speed of 135mph, it’sasfast as it is fabulous!
2004 ConfederateHellcat
If you’re after something abit wild, the 2004 Confederate Hellcat might just steal the show BorninBaton Rouge, Louisiana this brute of abikeblends rebellious design with earthshaking performance. Its 124cu in S&SV-Twinengine pumps out abeastly 140bhp and 145 lb-ft of torque, making it an absolute powerhouse.
With fewerthan 50 ever made –and manylost to Hurricane
Katrina –this Hellcat is rare, desirable and downright jawdropping.Described as the “.357 Magnum of two-wheelers”, it’s ahead-turner forcollectorsand adrenaline junkies alike.
Amust-see event
The Dore&Rees auction isn’t just an auction, it’s an event. It’s where dreams meet reality, and motorcycling historyfinds new
homes. Whether you’re bidding or just soaking up the excitement, you won’twant to miss this. So, markyour calendars forFebruary22–23, and join the team at the Bath&West Showground. With entries still open at time of going to press, there’sbound to be even more treasures rolling intothe line-up. Don’tmiss your chance to be part of the action.
TIMETABLE
SATURDAY
10.30am Alex George and Chas Mortimer on stagewith
commentatorRob Jones
12 noon Paddock fire-up with guests Alex George and Chas
Mortimer plus commentator Rob Jones
2pm Alex George and Chas
Mortimer on stage with commentator Rob Jones
3.30pm Paddock fire-up with guests Alex George &Chas
Mortimer with commentator Rob Jones
5pm Show closes
SUNDAY
10.30am Alex George and ChasMortimer on stage with commentator Rob Jones
11.30 Paddock fire-up with guests Alex George and Chas
Mortimer with commentator Rob Jones
1pm Paddock fire-up with guests Alex George and Chas
Mortimer with commentator Rob Jones
2.30pm Alex Georgeand ChasMortimer on stage with commentator Rob Jones
