KEMPTON MOTORCYCLE JUMBLE Saturday, October 21, 2017
5AQ Kempton Park Racecourse TW16 m) OPENS 9.30am (early bird 7.45a £10 Adult £6, Child/OAP £5, early bird kemptonparkautojumble.co.uk
Buy, sell and browse at
’Normous Newark Autojumble
Upcoming dates… Sundays, October 22 and November 19, 2017 newarkautojumble.co.uk
October 2017 £2.10 ISSUE
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Happiness beams from this delightful image from the Mortons Archive captioned simply ‘Girls just want to have fun, 1931’. The BSA ‘boat’ combination and old-fashioned caravan in the background are striking reminders of the between-the-wars world of 86 years ago. Photo: Mortons Archive www.mortonsarchive.com
2 NEWS
October 2017
Pete’s Prattle
www.oldbikemart.co.uk email: info@oldbikemart.co.uk
Editor Pete Kelly OBMEditor@mortons.co.uk Designer Charlotte Fairman Production editor Pauline Hawkins Picture Desk Paul Fincham, Jonathan Schofield Divisional Advertising Manager Billy Manning Advertising Matt Hansom mhansom@mortons.co.uk Alan Green agreen@mortons.co.uk
01507 524004 Marketing manager Charlotte Park Circulation manager Steve O’Hara Publisher Tim Hartley
F
rom the latest incoming mail, the tempo in the discussion about the merits or otherwise of Meriden and Hinckley Triumphs seems to have quickened, with some of the emphasis on the real meaning of the word ‘heritage’. It can be argued that any manufacturer buying the rights to a cherished brand name rather than simply inventing one of its own must already have one finger on the ‘heritage’ card, but it can also be argued that doing so must logically be a mark of respect rather than disdain for what went before. I mean, if those ‘real’ old bikes were the unreliable, oil-leaking monsters that
so many people still insist that they were, why on earth would anyone want to perpetuate the name in the first place? If I was going to buy a brand new Triumph Bonneville (which I’m not), I’d be buying it for what it is – a pleasant, well-built, reliable machine that’s light and nippy enough to deliver virtually everything I could wish for from a bike, and I’d buy it whatever the badge on the tank said – but would you? If I wanted to go back to the 1950s and 60s (how I wish I could!) I’d buy a ‘proper’ Meriden Triumph because one of the best machines I ever rode was a unit-construction 1966
orange and ivory Bonnie – light, fast, economical and nice-looking (even though I cannot deny that some bits did fall off it during our Motor Cycling road test). But even then, would some enthusiasts still make out that it wasn’t a ‘proper’ Triumph because it didn’t have the original-style engine with a separate gearbox? Just as what we ride, and why we ride it, is entirely up to us, so is the choice between simply enjoying the amazing comradeship of our hobby (whatever our machines might be), or cutting ourselves off into an evernarrowing clique whose members see no merit in anyone else’s
machines but their own. This one’s going to run and run, isn’t it?
Publishing director Dan Savage Commercial director Nigel Hole General Queries Customer Service Number: 01507 529529 Telephone lines are open: Monday-Friday 8.30am-7pm, Saturday 8.30am-12.30pm and 24hr ansaphone Archive Enquiries Jane Skayman jskayman@mortons.co.uk 01507 529423 Founder Ken Hallworth OLD BIKE MART (ISSN:1756-9494) is published monthly by Mortons Media Group Ltd, PO Box 99, Horncastle, Lincolnshire LN9 6LZ UK. USA subscriptions are $48 per year from Motorsport Publications LLC, 7164 City Rd N #441, Bancroft WI 54921. Periodical Postage is paid at Bancroft, WI and additional entries. Postmaster: Send address changes to OLD BIKE MART, c/o Motorsport Publications LLC, 7164 City Rd N #441, Bancroft WI 54921. 715-572-4595 chris@classicbikebooks.com PUBLISHED BY
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Pendine Sands bring that sinking feeling! The two-day Straightliners speed records event on Pendine Sands in South Wales on September 23-4 proved disappointing, with a surface so wet that the bikes were actually standing up on their own as their wheels sank into the sand. On the Sunday the surface was even wetter, and among those frustrated was Chris Davies of
Meriden Off-Road, whose heavily breathed-upon Terrier-framed Triumph Tiger Cub was once again quite unable to achieve its potential. At Elvington airfield, near York, on Tuesday, October 17, though, his machine might well become the world’s fastest Tigger – so watch this space in the next issue.
Date change imposed on Somerset autojumble Because a major event has taken over the original booked date of February 24 for the popular autojumble run by the Somerset section of the Vintage Motor Cycle Club at the Bath and West Showground, the date has had to be
changed to Saturday, April 28. The section apologises for the inconvenience to regular stallholders and visitors, and although it is trying to arrange a further date later in the year, at present this doesn’t look likely.
October 20 deadline looms for 2018 wallplanner entries Time is running out fast if you’re planning to promote the dates of your motorcycling events for next year by inclusion on our large fold-up 2018 wallplanner. Why miss out on telling the world all about your motorcycling runs, rallies, shows, autojumbles, concours events etc. when getting the details to us couldn’t be simpler? The best way, of course, is to inform our readers month by month on our Diary Dates page, but for the annual wallplanner itself, the final deadline will be Friday, October 20. All you have to do is go to www. oldbikemart.co.uk/wallplanner or
post the basic details (typed copy only) to OBM Wallplanner 2018, Attn of Heidi Lamb and Julie Wood, Mortons Media Group Ltd, Morton Way, Horncastle, Lincolnshire LN9 6JR. The same address is also the correct one for month-by-month Diary Dates notices. If you wish to inform our editor of such events for possible use as very short news stories, it’s best to email OBMEditor@mortons.co.uk completely separately. Please note that it is your responsibility to submit correct information, as we cannot be held responsible for incorrect entries.
NEWS 3
October 2017
Three-cylinder showstopper at Stafford A sensational prototype threecylinder two-stroke racer will be taken by Sammy Miller to the Carole Nash Classic Mechanics Show at Stafford on October 14-15, when it will
The evergreen Sam looks well at home on the fully faired 500cc Gilera four.
be joined by the historic 500cc Gilera four in celebration of the late Bob McIntyre’s first 100mph lap of the Isle of Man TT course during the Senior in 1957. The 750cc triple, featuring a five-speed gearbox, leading link forks and a twin-cam front brake, was designed by the late Bob Tait, who was overcome by cancer before he could finish it. The prototype racing machine was sold to the Sammy Miller Museum so that Bob’s lifelong desire to have it completed could be realised. Both machines will be on the Footman James stand in the main hall at Stafford (see full review on next page).
Immaculately completed in memory of its designer, the late Bob Tait, this is the beautiful-looking 750cc two-stroke triple prototype that Sammy Miller will be taking to the Stafford show.
NMM gears up for best free ‘Museum Live’ event yet This year’s ‘Museum Live’ open day at Birmingham’s National Motorcycle Museum on Saturday, November 4, when visitors will be invited to view its vast collection of British-made motorcycles free of charge, promises to be the best yet. Also free will be ‘stars on stage and riders’ wives’ one-hour chat shows in the Britannia Suite presented in association with the museum’s wheel builders, Central Wheel Components Ltd. The sessions will be hosted by Steve Parrish at 11am and 2pm, and the guests will be Freddie Spencer and Carl Fogarty and their partners. Other motorcycling personalities from the past and present will include Peter Hickman, Michael Rutter, Maria Costello, John Cooper and Peter Williams, and both Peter and Freddie Spencer will have their newly published books at the event. Adding to the enjoyment will be a large indoor autojumble and trade area, with trade stands and
Peter Hickman and Tony Rutter will be among the guest stars at the annual free event.
displays from many well-known names including Footman James insurance brokers, Triumph, Norton, Bonhams Auctioneers and H&H Classic Auctions. The raucous ‘Start-Up’ area has been enlarged for this year, with the machines you’ll be able to see and hear including some of the museum’s famous racing inventory along with ex-MotoGP bikes by courtesy of Phil Morris Racing and the Brackley Festival of Motorcycling. Some of the museum’s specialist suppliers and craftsmen, including its own restoration team, and other classic motorcycling personalities will answering questions in ‘Meet the Experts’ sessions. Superb catering by the museum’s chefs will be available in the Ballacraine Suite food court and bar area, with a live band providing lunchtime music. Someone will have a huge smile on their face after the draw for the museum’s top summer raffle prize – a 1960 500cc BSA Gold Star worth more than £20,000 – live on stage in the afternoon. Raffle tickets are still available either online at www.thenmm.co.uk or by calling 01675 444123. The museum is located at the heart of the Midlands transport network, with Birmingham International railway station just a five-minute taxi ride away. It boasts more than 1000 British motorcycles making it the largest such collection in the world.
Multiple world champions Freddie Spencer and Carl Fogarty, along with their better halves, will be taking part in two fun questions-andanswers sessions hosted live on stage by Steve Parrish.
After the winning ticket in the National Motorcycle Museum’s summer 2017 raffle is drawn during the afternoon, someone will become the proud owner of this £20,000 BSA Gold Star.
This is the inviting frontage to the National Motorcycle Museum.
Opinions divided as VMCC’s Gibson House purchase falls through To the disappointment of some members of the Vintage Motor Cycle Club, a muchanticipated purchase of a large property called Gibson House, on the site of the former RAF Hemswell, which would have been funded by legacies of more than £463,000, has failed to materialise. The 7000sq ft freehold premises, with extensive grounds and room for 40 car parking spaces, had limitless possibilities, including a new retail outlet in the form of a 1930s motorcycle shop that would have been developed, but the issue – which has been causing serious controversy within the VMCC – was finally decided when chairman Rob
Reaney, taking due note of these disagreements, decided not to go ahead. Some objections to the purchase came from club members in Scotland, but the opinions between members remain so sharply divided that it doesn’t look as if the issue will be going away any time soon. Reflecting the origin of the generous legacy, the new shop would have been called Cobbings Motorcycles, and would have allowed the club to retail more towards the paraphernalia and specialist products members had been calling for, and it was hoped to have it open by Christmas. For members worrying about the effect the purchase
would have had on the VMCC’s Allen House headquarters, assurances were made that there would be no loss of jobs there, nor any wholesale move out of the premises, and that it would even have given the club an opportunity to restyle it as the VMCC’s library and main research centre. Among those disappointed by the decision not to buy is club director and management committee member Jim Lee, who believes the purchase would have significantly enabled the club to grow and multiply. “The heritage aspect alone would have enabled us to use everything the site has to offer, quite apart from the property
and heritage involved,” he said. “It would have been a major club-appreciating asset, providing the VMCC with major opportunities to expand in every respect.” He had even compiled a history of the site, which was first used by the Royal Flying Corps during the First World War, long before the Government decided to extend it in 1937 to become RAF Hemswell, the home of Lancaster bomber squadrons that were the first to drop bombs on Germany. It continued as a major RAF base until 1967, when it became surplus to MoD requirements, and is now the major antiques centre in Western Europe.
4 NEWS
October 2017
Honda RC45 heaven at Stafford’s autumn show One of the biggest gatherings of Honda RC45 racing machines ever seen will grace the Classic Racer Grand Prix Paddock at this year’s Carole Nash Classic Mechanics Show at the Staffordshire County Showground over the weekend of October 14-15. Every one of them has a genuine racing history, including Jim Moody’s TT record-breaking factory bike, and many will be fired up during the weekend. Even this year’s guest of honour, New Zealander Aaron Slight, will be drawn to them as a large part of his World Superbike career was as a factory Honda rider on just such machines. The Vintage Japanese Motorcycle Club will be running a unique Restoration Theatre and sharing its combined years of knowledge with show visitors, and the Classic Dirt Bike Hall will hold some of the tastiest off-road machines to be seen.
It’s show time again! This is the usual crowded scene as showgoers make their way to and from the Staffordshire County Showground’s exhibition halls and the countless trade and autojumble stands.
Guest of honour will be Aaron Slight, seen in typically fiery action on a Castrol Honda RVF.
On site will be almost 1000 trade and autojumble stalls, club stands and private motorcycle entries, making the event a must for classic bike fans. Among the machines up for auction in the Bonham’s Stafford sale on the Sunday will be a 2007 250cc Aprilia grand prix racing motorcycle that was ridden to world championship victory by
Jorge Lorenzo and the collection of speedway supremo Ivan Mauger, who holds six world records including that of the most speedway wins. To find out more, or to buy advance tickets at £12 for adults, £11 for seniors or £3 for under-12s, go to www. staffordclassicbikeshows.com/ october or call 01507 529529.
It’s the way you tell ’em that counts! From being an impoverished kid from ‘the wrong side of Warrington’ to one of the world’s best-known motorcycling writers, Frank Melling has come a long way in his life – and at Stafford he’ll be signing copies of his fresh-off-the-press Ride of My Life, published on high-quality glossy paper in the colourful, well-designed ‘bookazine’ style of Mortons Media Group Limited. It’s a riveting collection of some of the best-remembered bikes he ever tested, from the humble BSA D14 Bantam Sports, “A happy
little soul, but too little and too late” to the mighty 500cc Moto Guzzi V8, “I still get goosebumps thinking about it” – and other gems include the BSA Rocket 3, BMW R90S, BSA’s ‘hush-hush’ speedway bike, the 1907 TTwinning Norton, Kawasaki Z1 and Honda’s sublime CB400F1. As with the old theatrical adage “It’s the way you tell ’em”, it’s Frank’s thoughtful, honest and descriptive writing style that makes the difference, and at just £7.99, this brilliant 132-page publication is not to be missed.
Former Bill Beevers Junior Manx coming up for auction at Driffield Auctioneers Dee Atkinson & Harrison have been asked to auction a piece of local history in the shape of a 1960 348cc Manx Norton at their next Classic Car & Motorcycle Auction at Sledmere House, just outside Driffield, East Yorkshire on Saturday, November 4. The machine was raced by Sheffield’s Bill Beevers before being passed to Noel Stephenson of Hull, and then Driffield rider Ben Noble. Although Norton pulled out of grand prix racing in 1954, the Manx became the backbone of privateer racing and the last Bracebridge Street Manx Nortons were sold
in 1963. This particular example was first owned and raced by Bill Beevers, who had begun his motorcycle racing career on solos back in the early 1930s. His first Manx Grand Prix came in 1933, when his Norton expired on the first lap, and by the time his racing career ended he’d ridden in 43 TT races and amassed no fewer than 29 replica trophies. His swansong came in 1960 when he reached the age of 55, and he entered three races, resulting in his best Isle of Man sidecar position of sixth. In the Junior and Senior events, he finished 44th and 35th respectively.
With a long recorded race history, this is the 348cc Manx Norton, originally raced by Bill Beevers, that’s coming up for auction at Driffield on Saturday, November 4.
The 1960 Manx is seen in full flight on the Isle of Man TT circuit.
After selling the three-fifty to Noel Stephenson, it was raced in the Junior Manx Grands Prix from 1961 until 1965, when his best result was 12th in the 1964 event. In late 1965 or early 1966, Yorkshire privateer Bernard (Ben) Noble of Driffield sold his 500cc BSA Gold Star to fund the purchase of the Norton, and, being the first member of the Driffield & District Motor Cycle Club to compete on the Island, was given £5 by the club to help with expenses! The bike, still with the red fairing that Ben always used, comes with a metal five-gallon tank and a spare glass-fibre three-gallon item, and even the original ‘pudding basin’ helmet that Ben wore. The auction estimate is £15,000 to £20,000 plus 10% buyer’s premium and VAT, and as we went to press further entries were still being accepted (contact Andrew Spicer on 01377 253151 or email andrews@dahauctions.com).
October 2017
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6 NEWS
October 2017
Flat-tankers in Northumberland Thirty-six flat-tank and girder-fork motorcycles took part in this year’s Bamburgh Run, organised by the Vintage Motor Cycle Club’s Reivers section and the Marston Sunbeam Club & Register. Using a Northumberland flag, Andrew Joicey waved the riders away in pairs from the new venue of Ellingham Village Hall, where lunch was also served, and in pleasant sunny weather both the long and short routes provided quiet roads and spectacular views. The tea stop was at Ellingham Village Hall, where villagers enjoyed chatting with the riders. The oldest entry was Jonathan Hill’s 1910 Douglas Model C, which covered the 60-mile short route without difficulty and just a touch of light pedal assistance. The accompanying photos were taken by Andrew Kitchen, Dave Angles and Craig McKenna.
As a smoke haze rises, and the sound of old engines fills the air, Ian Reavley yowls away on his 1929 Scott Sports Squirrel.
With the centuries-old Black Bull in the background, Tony Leedal bumpstarts his nice-looking and very fast 1928 TT Cotton.
Villagers line the road as John Earnshaw sets off with his young son Jake on the back of the 1916 Triumph Model H.
Checking brake pad wear the easy way Laser Tools has come up with a quick and easy way to measure the thickness of brake pads that entails neither wheel removal nor even the necessity to see the pad material – and the brake pad
The oldest motorcycle on the run was Jon Hill’s 1910 Douglas Model C, seen nearing the tea stop in the village of Ellingham.
thickness gauge (part no 6678) allows you to check the amount of remaining pad material in seconds. All you have to do is locate the end of the lightweight aluminium gauge against the surface of the brake disc, then slide back the measuring peg until it stops against the back plate of the brake pad. You can then read off the thickness of the pad material in millimetres or be advised by the green, amber or red symbol as to whether you need to replace the pads. Although a typical price for the gauge is £24.24 including VAT, it’s always worth looking for the best price or special offers.
Checking brake pad wear with Laser’s new brake pad thickness gauge is simple to do.
More details are available from www.lasertools.co.uk.
Stars flocking to celebrate 90 years of grass track at the National Motorcycle Museum A who’s who of grass track racing stretching back over many years will gather at the National Motorcycle Museum on Saturday, October 14 for a huge celebration of 90 years of grass track racing, with some people coming from as far afield as Australia and Canada. Organiser Rob Lidgate and friends have gathered together a wonderful display of solo and sidecar machines dating from the 1930s up to and including today’s championship-winning bikes, and the riders confirmed to be there just before we went to press were Alf Hagon, Gerry Wheeler, Julian
Wigg, Peter Collins, John Britcher, Stan Luck, Steve Smith, Alan Artus, Reg Luckhurst, Graham Hancock, Gerry Goodwin, Dave Nourish, Graham Hurry, Rod Gooding, John and David Meill, Mike Garrad, Alan Gardiner, Steve Hartley, Kevin Ward, Rob Smith, Bob Stanford and Arthur Browning, with hopefully many more. There will be a buffet meal and interviews with the great champions of the past, and displayed on screens will be photographs taken from the 1930s to the present day by some of the best action photographers in the country.
October 2017
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8 NEWS
All change at Joey Dunlop Foundation Following the completion of the new works at Braddan Bridge House, there have been a number of personnel changes at the Joey Dunlop Foundation. Kevin Quirk, one of the original trustees who’d been managing the complex since it opened, and long-standing committee member Bob Stimpson, who’s been heavily involved in the planning of the new building, have stepped down (although Kevin will continue to help with special projects). John Watterson, who’s been chairman for eight years, is leaving that position, but will remain a trustee and continue with other responsibilities, including management of the foundation’s property-owning company. The new chairman is Bruce Baker, a trustee for many years, who paid tribute to Kevin and Bob’s contributions. He will be supported by a small committee of volunteers including Gilly Keown, Barry Steels and Charlie Bond.
October 2017
Perfect conditions for 20th Sammy Miller Run Great weather, a great crowd and great atmosphere marked the 20th Sammy Miller Run on Sunday, August 27, but the sweltering conditions made the chosen 59-mile route quite enough for most riders, who were waved off by clerk of the course Percy Gosling. Percy, who is now standing down after fulfilling the role for two decades, was presented with a trophy by museum curator Bill Gibson in recognition of his excellent organisation and route planning. The lunch stop was at Drusilla’s Inn, Horton, and
the awards were presented by Rosemary Miller in the courtyard after the riders returned to the museum. The trophy winners received memento trophies to keep. This year it was a pleasure to see a ‘mum, dad and dog’ trio in their sidecar outfit all the way from Holland. They’d heard about the run at their holiday accommodation and turned up to watch the departure – and the organisers were so impressed that they awarded them a Sammy Miller Trophy, much to their surprise and delight!
Trophy winners’ machines are lined up at the conclusion of this year’s Sammy Miller Run on August 27. Nearest the camera is David Murray’s 1938 Rudge Sports Special, which took the best post-vintage award.
AWARDS
Can anyone smell burning rubber? With a new Avon Storm 3D X-M rear tyre fitted to his Harley-Davidson Street Rod, Polish stunt rider Maciej Bielicki has set a new world record for the longest recorded rolling burn-out on a motorcycle. The specially closed road near the H-D dealership in Rzeszow in south-east Poland included a small roundabout that had to be negotiated while still spinning the rear tyre! The burnout lasted for just under three miles.
On holiday from Holland in their Ural outfit, this couple and their dog dropped in to watch the start and finish of the event and enjoy a day out at the Sammy Miller Museum – and to their surprise and delight received a special trophy!
This sparkling Ariel Square Four combination ridden by Andy Osborne, with Charlie Weight as passenger, was the winner in the best three-wheeler class.
Best machine (Sammy Miller Trophy), Robert Jones (1957 Triumph T110); best original bike, Basil Stocker (1935 Velocette MSS); best vintage, John Guy (1920 Terrot OS); best post-vintage, David Murray (1938 Rudge Sports Special); most technically interesting bike (Mike O’Rourke Award), Royston Houghton (1957 RJH Special); best Japanese, Steve Brady (1976 Kawasaki Z900); ladies’ award, Lu Travers (1957 Yamaha YDS7); best three-wheeler, Andy Osborne with Charlie Weight (Ariel Square Four combination); long-distance award, Basil Stocker from Cornwall (1935 Velocette MSS).
Trials ace Dougie Lampkin to star at Stoneleigh Park Dirt Bike Show
On a bog-standard Avon rear tyre and bog-standard H-D Street Rod, Maciej Bielicki goes for the rolling burn-out record.
Revamped for this year, Europe’s leading four-day indoor off-road event, the Dirt Bike Show in partnership with Motul from October 26-29 will see live action from 12-times trials world champion Dougie Lampkin’s display team as the organising Mortons Media Group looks to build on last year’s successful 4.2% increase in attendance. New features this year will be a motoball match between
France and Germany, a minibike supercross track, a wall of death and several havea-go experiences. Major manufacturers including Beta, Honda, Husqvarna, KTM, Sherco and Yamaha will have stands showing their new-for-2018 machines, and the Monster Energy DRT Kawasaki race team will be attending for the first time. In the retail hall, hundreds
of traders will be offering great deals on a huge range of riding gear and accessories, and tyre manufacturer Bridgestone will be joining Goodyear, Michelin and Dunlop. Another firsttime attendee will be off-road products distributor Race FX. Team product sponsor and leading gear/accessories distributor Bike It International will be staging a state-of-theart race bike paddock display, and visitors will be able to talk
tech with the factory team technicians of the MX2 and MXGP bikes. The distributor will be showcasing its ranges of off-road apparel to dealers and showgoers in the huge Monster Energy DRT Kawasaki team vehicle which doubles as a hospitality marquee. Advance tickets can be obtained via the dirtbikeshow. co.uk website or by calling 01507 529529.
October 2017
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10 NEWS
October 2017
Wolsink and Dommett will be Telford Off-Road Show guests
Ardingly show to celebrate 50 years of the Norton Commando To mark 50 years since the introduction of the Norton Commando at the Earls Court Show in 1967, Peter Williams will be guest of honour at the South of England Classic Motorcycle Show and Bikejumble at Ardingly, West Sussex, on Sunday, October 29. Bikes booked to appear include Peter’s original 1973 JPN Monocoque, a genuine Thruxton Commando, an original 1963 500cc Dunstall Domiracer, one of the first fastback Commandos ever made and a Seeley Commando, and all will take part in the popular Fire-Up Paddock. Peter will be taking along copies of his recently republished autobiography Designed to Race, which had been out of print for many years, to sign and sell to showgoers. He’ll also be present at a question and answer session hosted by noted collector Mike Braid, which will also feature Plumstead works testers including Bill Brooker, Nick Hyde and Alan Jones, together with design shop developers Bob Cakebread and Bill Cakebread, who has written two books about Associated Motor Cycles.
Peter is seen with the low, light and compact Arter Mk III.
Seen with the top moulding raised, the brilliant Norton Monocoque will be on display on October 29.
Memories to savour as racing and design genius Peter Williams, who’ll be star guest at the South of England Classic Motorcycle Show and Bikejumble, is pictured with the blue John Player Norton.
The South of England Showground is located eight miles from Junction 10 on the M23, and entrance is via the North Gate opposite the Gardeners Arms Pub. Gates will open at 10am and entry will cost £6 adults and £5 seniors, with under-16s admitted free. For more details call 01797 344277 or email events@elk-promotions.co.uk.
Appeal to surviving 1953 SSDT Army team riders Following his obituary of Eddie Dow in our August issue, Stephen Meadows is hoping to hear from surviving members of the teams who rode with Eddie in the 1953 Scottish Six Days’ Trial. In the B34-mounted A Team were L/Cpl J B Houghton (38 BN 87) and team captain Cpl G Norton (38 BN 85), while in the B32 Gold Star-mounted B Team was L/Cpl W A Bell (38 BN 89). In 1998 Eddie gave Stephen official photographs of them all together at Small Heath with the compliments of BSA Cycles Ltd before they departed
for the Scottish, together with photographs taken by Ray Biddle in Edinburgh both before and after the event. Stephen says: “It would be my pleasure to send copies on to Messrs Houghton, Norton and Bell if they are still alive and respond, or to their families.” He also has the frame numbers for each machine which Lt Col M J Tizard at RHQ REME (Army MCA) obtained for him in 2013, scanned from the old, dusty ledgers found at Chetwynd Barracks, Nottingham, and the respective engine numbers with frame
numbers provided by the secretary of the GSOC. After the event, Eddie Dow’s machine was recorded in the despatch book as having been sold second-hand by BSA to ‘McLean, Dundee’; Mr Bell’s machine was dispatched to ‘Green, Newton Abbot’, and Stephen himself has Alexander Nicolson’s machine. “I’d be delighted if any correspondence received by OBM enabled me to reunite the provenance of these machines with their unknowing current owners,” he concludes.
Pictures: Mortons Archive www.mortonsarchive.com
competing, but his greatest Gerrit Wolsink, twice runner-up in the world motocross championship, moments came in sidecar trials when, between 1976 and 1980, he and four-times British sidecar won the British crown four times champion Colin Dommett will be – three on a Beamish Suzuki outfit star guests for the Telford Classic and once for Bultaco. Off-Road Show on February 18/19. The long journeys from his The spectacular Dutch dentist Cornish base were testament to was one of the giants of the 1970s the commitment that reflected motocross scene, finishing in the his utter dominance of the then top three places in each of the five sidecar scene. years to 1979, the year in which Jack Burnicle will interview both Britain’s own Graham Noyce beat guests on stage each day, and they’ll the all-conquering factory duo of be talking at the show’s evening Wolsink and Roger de Coster to dinner at the Holiday Inn next to the the crown. Telford International Centre. In the US, Wolsink is The halls will be full of classic offremembered particularly road bikes and bits, and the outdoor Colin Dommett – four times the for stemming the flow of US autojumble will also be busy. dominance by winning the United British sidecar trials champion. States Grand Prix five times. After his competitive riding career he remained active by promoting Masters MX and taking on roles such as clerk of the course of the International Six Days’ Trial. Colin Dommett has done it all, riding in solo trials for the Cotton factory, competing in the ISDT, branching into classic scrambling and latterly becoming the voice of the classic scrambles scene behind the commentator’s microphone. Sixty years on, he’s still Gerrit Wolsink will join Dommett as star guests at next year's Telford show.
October 2017
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12 BOOK REVIEWS
October 2017
The Essential Buyer’s Guide to BMW Boxer Twins Written by Peter Henshaw, and to the fixed format of this handy series of paperbacks, this title covers all of BMW’s air-cooled R45, R50, R60, R65, R75, R80, R90, R100, RS, RT and LS (not GS) models produced between 1969 and 1994. Known colloquially as ‘airheads’, these simple, practical machines, while far from perfect with their clunky gear-changes, lack of topend power and torque-reaction handling quirks, remain popular with thousands of devotees who wouldn’t change them for anything, and because so many of the bulletproof flat twins remain in use, with mileages of 100,000 to 200,000 easily achievable, the spares supply situation remains buoyant. With his easy writing style, The colour illustrations, too, are Peter fills in the set chapters of more than adequate to back up the Is it the right bike for you?, Cost considerations, Living with a BMW writing. PK Boxer, Relative values, Before The Essential Buyer’s Guide you view, Inspection equipment, to BMW Boxer Twins, by Peter Fifteen-minute evaluation, Do you Henshaw. Published by Veloce really want to restore?, Problems Publishing Ltd, Veloce House, due to lack of use, Paintwork Parkway Farm Business Park, problems and so on with his usual Middle Farm Way, Poundbury, accuracy, and if, like this reviewer, Dorchester DT1 3AR (01305 260068, you’re lucky enough to own an sales@veloce.co.uk). 64-page ‘airhead’ (albeit with a sidecar 195x139mm paperback with 101 attached!) this little book is worth colour illustrations. ISBN 978-1much more than the three pints its 78711-005-2, £12.99. £12.99 purchase price would buy.
Moto Guzzi Sport & Le Mans Bible
Lone Rider While understandably most books that come in for review are about the motorcycles themselves, every now and then an absorbing adventure story crops up – and Elspeth Beard’s Lone Rider, telling the story of the remarkable 35,000mile solo journey around the world on a 1974 BMW R60/6 which she undertook in 1982 at the age of 23, is one such title. Reeling from a recent break-up, halfway through her architecture studies and armed only with limited savings from her pub job, she left her family and friends in London and set off into the wide blue yonder with just a tent, a few clothes and tools packed on to the back of her bike. Although she’d ridden bikes since her teens, nothing could prepare her for what lay ahead, and when she returned to London two-and-a-half years later, she was stones lighter and decades wiser. During her amazing journey she rode through unforgiving landscapes and countries ravaged by war, witnessed civil uprisings that forced her to fake documents and fended off sexual attacks, biker gangs and corrupt police convinced she was trafficking drugs. She survived life-threatening illnesses, personal loss and accidents that left permanent scars and a black hole in her memory.
Told with honesty and wit, and reflecting her life-changing adventure in intimate detail, this story about the first British woman to motorcycle right around the world – and who today still rides bikes and has become an award-winning architect – will keep you glued to every page. Lone Rider, The First British Woman to Motorcycle Around the World, by Elspeth Beard. Published by Michael O’Mara Books Limited, 9 Lion Yard, Tremadoc Road, London SWQ4 7NQ. 312-page, 234 x 153mm paperback with 16-page colour plate section. ISBN 978-1278243-804-5, £14.99.
Motorcycling in the 50s Raiding the bound volumes of the old ‘Green ’Un’ and ‘Blue ’Un’ weeklies in Mortons’ impressive Archive month after month for Old Bike Mart material, this reviewer loved the black and white, almost ‘scrapbook’ design of this largeformat classic reprint by Jeff Clew from Veloce Publishing. All the spontaneity, simplicity and promise of things to come that defined the 1950s come to life on every one of its 144 pages – and who needs colour anyway? Liberally laced with old photos and period adverts, it takes the reader on a fulfilling trip back through time, from the ‘things can only get better’ feeling of the decade that began with the
Festival of Britain in 1951 and the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953. There was none of the fancy riding gear of today, and for the 1950s motorcyclist, finding the ‘right’ bike gear could be something of a problem. The cheapest way of meeting this need was to look up the ex-servicemen’s offerings from the Army & Navy Store or Pride & Clarke, or (if you could afford it) buying a properly tailored riding suit from the likes of Armadrake or Belstaff. From the slowly evolving bikes of the time, including autocycles and early scooters, to the burgeoning trials and scrambling competition scene, everything that defined the
mid-20th century motorcycling boom is covered. There’s a great chapter on the TT, and as the pound in people’s pockets slowly grew, the gradual decline of the sidecar outfit and the brief popularity of the bubble car (before the Mini of 1959 made car ownership possible) are also described. A colourful BSA advert featuring a Golden Flash and a Bantam makes the perfect front cover. PK Motorcycling in the 50s, by Jeff Clew. Published in the Classic Reprint series by Veloce Publishing Ltd, Veloce House, Parkway Farm Business Park, Middle Farm Way, Poundbury,
“The answer was seen as a purely temporary stopgap – take the existing 750cc Atlas engine, find a way of taming its legendary vibration, and get the result on to the Norton stand at Earls Court in just 11 weeks’ time.” The idea was that, a year or two later, an all-new double-overheadcamshaft 750 twin would be ready, and the stopgap, having served its purpose, would be dropped unceremoniously. We all know now that this never happened, so the stopgap – which in any case turned out to be a great machine – had to carry the flag for a whole nine years as the British industry gradually collapsed into oblivion. After describing the rubbermounted Isolastic system that did indeed isolate the vibes, Peter tells how the Commando models made their mark in 196870, including racing successes on machines like the Gus Kuhn Commandos, how they rode the crest of a wave in 1971-2, the approaching troubled times of 1973-4, and the mid-1970s in which MBH still wasn’t making the predicted profit the Meriden co-operative was launched. The sad final battles of 19767, when even the great white hope of the rotary Norton failed
Moto Guzzi Sport & Le Mans Bible, by Ian Falloon. Published by Veloce Publishing Ltd, Veloce House, Parkway Farm Business Park, Middle Farm Way, Poundbury, Dorchester DT1 3AR (01305 260068, sales@veloce.co.uk). 160-page 250 x 207mm paperback with 167 illustrations in black and white and colour. ISBN 978-1-787110-95-3, £30.
Dorchester DT1 3AR (01305 260068, sales@veloce.co.uk). 144-page 250 x 207mm paperback with 166 black and white illustrations. ISBN 978-1-787110-99-1, £25.
The Honda Valkyrie
The Norton Commando Bible Covering all models of these highly successful Norton twins from 1968 until 1978, and written with great authority by Peter Henshaw, this book tells not only the entire story of the Norton Commando, but also those of the ‘disastrous’ prototype P10 Norton twin that preceded it and the Norton Cosworth Challenge that failed to make its mark in road racing despite all the high hopes that had surrounded it. Peter also looks into the monocoque John Player Nortons that worked wonders in the hands of their developer Peter Williams, who notched up some impressive victories to keep British hopes alive before a disastrous crash at Oulton Park put an end to the racing career of this brilliant engineer. As Peter Henshaw records: “In mid-1967, Roger Dennistoun Poore had a problem – coming up with a new flagship for the motorcycle division of Manganese Bronze Holdings in less than three months. “The previous year, an existing prototype 800cc twin had been dusted off and resurrected, but it had turned out to be a disaster, with fundamental design flaws. A redesign was under way, but it would be costly, and in any case wouldn’t be ready for the vital Earls Court Show in September.
Guzzi V-twin fans will love this title in Veloce’s Classic Reprints series, which charts the evolution of these transverse-engined, shaft-drive machines from the V7 Sport of 1971-1973 to the Le Mans 1000 Mk IV & V models that marked the end of the line as far as the scope of this book is concerned. Author Ian Falloon sets the scene with an intriguing chapter about the in-line Mandello del Lario V-twins (Bicilindrici) that made their mark in world championship road racing right up to the final 1951 version. The evolution of the rather fat-looking V7 into the V7 Sport, the mouth-watering De Tomasostyled 750S and 750S3, the 850 Le Mans, the ‘Square-Head’ Le Mans Mk III and the Le Mans 1000s is soundly researched, with a huge number of illustrations in both black and white and colour leaping from the pages as you read. A very informative nine-page appendix includes specifications and production figures.
to materialise, are described in great detail before the concluding chapters look at the Cosworth Challenge, the blazes of glory in motorcycle sport, the practicalities of living with a Commando and the 21st-century Commandos that prove the story is far from over yet! Four very useful appendices conclude this extremely informative title. PK The Norton Commando Bible, by Peter Henshaw. Published by Veloce Publishing Ltd, Veloce House, Parkway Farm Business Park, Middle Farm Way, Poundbury, Dorchester DT1 3AR (01305 260068, sales@veloce.co.uk). 144-page 205 x 251mm hardback with 157 illustrations. ISBN 978-1-78711-0069, £35.
At its launch in the early 1990s, the horizontally opposed six-cylinder Honda Valkyrie was seen as one of those over-the-top dream machines that many of us at first fantasised about and then quickly put out of our minds as too big, too heavy, too expensive, too impractical and perhaps more of a chrome-ridden showboat than the kind of fast, light, nimble and sharp-handling motorcycle that arguably most of us would prefer to own. But that was here, not America, where the art of showing off is part and parcel of the motorcycling lifestyle. Peter Rakestrow’s book tells the entire history of the ultra-smooth cruiser, from its conception to the ever-bigger, bulkier and more showy models that evolved from the original GL1500 Valkyrie/F6C model of 1991. The book begins with a very interesting chapter about Honda’s founder, Soichiro Honda, a blacksmith’s son born in the village of Komyo in 1906. Hands-on in nature just like his father, he eschewed book learning so instead took an apprenticeship in car mechanics in Tokyo. This led to him opening a car repair shop in Hamamatsu, growing rich and taking up car racing. With basic transport an urgent need as Japan recovered from the Second World War, he started manufacturing motorised bicycles
using surplus 50cc Tohatsu radio generator engines, and from such humble beginnings blossomed the global giant we know today. If the lavish cruiser style is for you – and its many keen UK followers enjoy a wonderful social calendar – then you’ll love this book. PK The Honda Valkyrie, by Peter Rakestrow. Published by Amberley Publishing, The Hill, Merrywalks, Stroud, Gloucestershire GL5 4EP (www.amberley-books.com). 96-page 234 x 165mm paperback with 108 illustrations. ISBN 978-1-4456-7486-5, £14.99.