JANUARY Update

A very cold start to the New Year, but there are still some brave classic bikers braving the salt for some good riding in the crisp winter sunshine. In December we caught up with two more classic motorcycle record breakers that have been braving the salt.

WarBike Project

The book is beginning to look like a finished work, but there are still some editing and images to work on. During the research we discovered more about the part played by Brooklands Race Track during WW1. This included testing motorcycles for the War Office, and a previously un-discovered scratch meeting held in September 1914 by a group of workers from the Royal Aircraft Factory. This has resulted in a spin off publication for Brooklands Museum, part one of which has just been published in the Museum Trust’s Magazine with a further piece planned for later in the year.

A summary of the early history of military motorcycling has already been published in the October edition of the Classic Motorcycle and we hope to be commemorating the three 1915 Brooklands motorcycle events later in the year in conjunction with the Brooklands Museum. At this stage I would also like to thank the Manx Aviation & Military Museum for providing some stunning images of Dispatch Riders which are to be included in the book.

Southern Classic Off Road Show

WW1 BSA Bicycle

Period WW1 Combination

Kempton Park Race Course was the location of EGP Enterprises second show of the year and crowds flocked to the ever-popular event which was bolted on to the December motorcycle jumble. Organiser Eric Patterson took time out from his busy schedule of Record Breaking and events management to explain that the Jumble is one of the few that is organised by bikers for bikers. He recalled the first events in a Village Hall which had to be closed down because of overcrowding. He then moved to Ascot Racecourse before arriving at the current venue. If you have never been, you need to get down there as it is a unique experience. There are some who say that a Jumble is a Jumble, but somehow Eric manages to retain that Village Hall vibe on a large scale. In the relaxed atmosphere it seems that you will always run into old mates for a chat; and twice a year there is the bonus of a bike show for an extra quid on the ticket price.

On a 15 minute look round the December Jumble we found a very original (Knackered!) WW1 vintage combination, a restored BSA WW1 military Bicycle, a twin engined French Barn find and custom Cafe Racer seats.

This neat Norton won Best in Show & Sounded great too!

It was back to the Grandstand for a bit of an impromptu Engine run by some of the Bikes. We had transported the Brooklands Museum Exhibits and rather ironicly spent what seemed like hours the night before draining the tank of The Tommy Meeten Francis Barnett, there was no way we were going to go through that again, so it stayed on the stand. A beast of a grass track combination finally roared into life together with a selection of other track and field machines.

Back in the hall the Brooklands Tommy Meeten Francis Barnett had a visit from Sam Lovegrove, builder of the 2013 Alan Cathcart/Henry Cole record Breaking Brough Superior featured on The Travel Channel’s Greatest Motorcycle Journeys . 

Sam Lovegrove Chats about the Francis Barnett

Sam took time out to chat with the volunteers about the rebuild of the Francis Barnett which itself holds an endurance record. In 1927 this plucky little 172 cc 2-stroke was able to fend off the big boys by staying out on the track with its three petrol tanks averaging  50 MPH over a six hour period. 

Tommy Meeten on the 172cc Fanny B

The Rebuilt 1927 EW Douglas

Meanwhile, other visitors to the stand were learning about how a Cement Mixer engine, an old frame and collection of bits were born again as the 1927 EW Douglas featured in April 2014’s Classic Bike Guide. Incidentally the Brooklands Volunteers are currently working on a re-creation of an outer circuit racer which should be ready later in 2015.

It was soon time for prize giving and Peter Allan won the prize for the best Record-Breaker with his bike “Epsom Salt” built by Baron’s Speed Shop. 

Prize-winner Peter Allan with "Epsom Salt"

The prize was a small consolation for a challenging year. Peter explained that he was all set to do some more runs at Bonneville in August but was thwarted by appalling weather after which the lake bed returned to being a Lake! The event was called off and he returned empty handed.

The next Kempton Jumble is on 24 January 2015 and the next show at Kempton is the Southern Classic (Road) bike Show on 23 May 2015.  See the EGP Enterprises website for more about the Motorcycle Jumbles and Eric Patterson’s Record breaking machines.

Tax Discs

The excitement regarding tax discs has died down a bit, but don’t forget that you still need to SORN or “Tax” your classic even if there is no fee to pay. It seems a bit daft but the DVLA still need to record “Tax” or SORN against the vehicle for it to remain legal.  It seems to us that it is better to “Tax” than SORN as this provides the greatest flexibility for bikes that are nil rate tax.

For those who miss the experience of a soaked ink run disc on the bike Greg Powell can provide you with a reproduction disc for your empty holder from 1921 to 1986. You can even get the date stamp of your choice. See more at poplargreg.com. 

Old Timer

DECEMBER Update

Richard "Dick" Standing

Dick's Silver TT Replica from 1967 complete with entry pack

Late October brought sad news of the death of Brooklands Motorcycle Volunteer Richard Standing. “Dick” was a wonderful character who always had a tale to tell about his career as an engineer at Hawker Sidley and British Airways, flying model Aircraft, sailing and bike racing. He was very modest about his own achievements on the track and it was not until his funeral on 17 November that many of us knew of the two Bronze and one Silver TT replicas that he had won on the island. The Silver was won in the Diamond Jubilee year of 1967, in a race that featured the period greats of Agostini and Hailwood. Over 87mph not bad for a part-timer! Many members of the VMCC Brooklands Section, where he served as a Committee Member, accompanied him on his last ride out, and 150 family and friends squeezed into the chapel to hear tributes from his close family and friends. You can read a full tribute to Dick on the Old Bike Mart website.

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Warbike Project

The book is (still) nearing completion and it seems that the last bit is never ending. The pictures are looking great and it should not be long until we can get the first full draft off the press. Meanwhile this is an ongoing project; so if you have any WW1 military motorcycle information to contribute please write to warbike@fenlandclassics.co.uk or check out the warbike project facebook page.  We are still looking for a 1914-20 Phelon and Moore bike to photograph at the Brooklands circuit to commemorate the many bikes tested at the Weybridge track before and during WW1. If you have or know of a P&M bike please contact us at warbike@fenlandclassics.co.uk  

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The Southern Off Road and Racing Show

Brooklands Stand at Last years Kempton Show

The Southern Off Road and Racing Show will be held at Kempton park Race course on 6 December 2014. The ever popular Bike jumble will be supplemented by the show all for the price of just £6 with reductions for pensioners. The Brooklands Volunteers will be promoting the Museum with two bikes from the collection. 

Sammy Miller Prepares for a ride at his museum in 2013

The first is a 1927 Tommy Meeten Francis Barnett. This is the Record Breaking minnow that went up against the big boys in 1927 winning the 6 hour endurance race at an average speed of 50 mph. The high average speed was maintained with the addition of two auxiliary tanks mounted to the rear on each side. The pocket rocket was fully restored a few years ago by the volunteers and still runs regularly.



At present the bike is at present being prepared for a trip to the Montlhéry vintage meeting in May 2015. 

Ian Prepares for a run during the 2014 photo shoot

The second bike on the stand will be a 600cc EW Douglas which was built from a collection of bits that were donated to the museum. Volunteers Ian and Carl spent many hours converting the diverse collection into this this stunning bike. The Douglas that was featured in The April 2014 edition of The Classic Bike Guide Magazine is also regularly run on the test track at Brooklands.   

The dangerously low ground clearance is a challenge

The motorcycle makes its second appearance at the Kempton Venue having previously featured at the Southern Classic Bike Show. A full review of the December show will appear in the January Blog.

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Brooklands Military Vehicle Day

Whilst on the subject of Brooklands there was the usual big turn out for the Brooklands Museum Military Vehicles Day on 16 November. Bikes were represented by a WW2 RAF BSA and a GI Indian. 

These solos were heavily outnumbered by several Zundapp and BMW combinations. They relished the challenges of the Mercedes World 4x4 test track in the morning and most were out again for a rumble up Test Hill. 

Barnes Wallis was turning in his grave, but Churchill and Monty were also on hand to save the editorial balance of this piece.

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Road Improvement Programme

The PM visits a single carriageway section of the A1. Without any Traffic!

Transport Secretary Patrick Mcloughlin announced today (1/12) what he called “the biggest, boldest and most far reaching roads programme for decades” We don’t want to get into politics in this space other than to say that governments come and governments go. Every few years they propose a tunnel under Stonehenge and other major projects before retreating again. For bikers the priority must be repairing what is already there, particularly on the twisty B roads and country lanes we love so much. To be fair there has been improvement in some areas since a recent injection of cash, but the poor weather over the winter is bound to compound many roads already in dire need of a make-over.  

For those interested the key improvements announced are A1 to become a dual carriageway from end to end, A303 & A358 to be improved including a Stonehenge Tunnel! Meaning dual carriageway from London to within 15 mile of Lands End. (I hope the car-park is being increased) Improvements in the midlands include the M62 becoming a “smart” motorway and further work on the M42 so that in years to come we can get to the NEC Motorcycle Live more easily.  

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Fenland Classics TV

Another collection of our favorite motorcycle films from the web including Series 8 Episode 2 of Bike World. Select Playlist to skip a film.

by
Old Timer

APRIL 2014 Update

March has been very busy working on the Warbike project with not much time for anything else. However we did find a couple of days for a trip out to Eric Patterson’s Kempton Bike Jumble and the Veleocette Owners Club day at Brooklands Museum at the end of March.

Warbike Project

A lot of time has been spent in the National Archives. It is a chilling thought to realise that many of these young lads signed up as volunteers in 1914 believing that they were off on their bikes for a six month adventure to give the Bosh a bloody nose and would be back for a warm beer and a Sunday Ride out with friends. The tragic truth as we know was very different. Although relatively speaking the Dispatch Riders did have slightly better conditions. Often Billeted away from the front, the protection of rank gave them freedom to move through villages able, to eat and drink whilst their Tommy brothers and even motorcycle machine gunners were stuck in the trenches. 

We are also now setting up a Facebook page for contributions. This will be followed by a website that will act as research resource later in the year. If you have any information or documentation about any aspect of Motorcycles and WW1 please contact us at: Warbike@Fenlandclassics.co.uk or via twitter @fenlandclassics.

 

Kempton Jumble

The weather was good for the 2nd Kempton Jumble of 2014. There were a few French bikes and engines for sale and for a moment we thought we might source some parts for our rescued 1930’2 RhonyX. We did however discover that the tank shape was also used on similar Peugeot’s. We also got to see a 1935 Sunbeam for sale with remanufactured silencer. Sadly the work was done before the current owner acquired the bike, so we will have to keep digging for a replacement for our Sunbeam project.

Velocette Day at Brooklands



Will he make it ?

The following day it was the Velocette Owners Club event at Brooklands Museum in Weybridge. Our friends at the museum were running a museum Velo. There were hundreds of Velocettes of all ages shapes and sizes on site and many took a trip up the famous Test Hill in the afternoon led by racing Legend Ivan Rhodes.

Below are a few pictures from the day:

Just a few of the many that turned out

A nice looking Straight Line Racer

Ivan Rhodes Checks directions with members of the Volunteer Team 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

More Brooklands

 The April edition of Classic Bike Guide available now, carries an excellent 10 page Brooklands Special providing more information about the history of the site and the bikes. There is also a piece on Volunteer Ian McCaw’s rebuild of a 1927 Douglas which was donated to the museum.

Cotton Jap sporting referbished forks

Ian’s latest project is the rebuild of the Doug Earle Cotton Jap which now has a new tank and repaired forks. Why not get down to Brooklands to see this amazing collection.

The museum is open every day and the Premier Bike Event of the Year is Ton-up Day on 6 July 2014 (Twitter #TonUpDay14) with other bike events on:

• 8 June 2014 – Norton Day

• 20 July 2014 – Cotton Day

Photographer Mykel Nicolaou Grabs a shot of the Douglas for the Brooklands Special

 

Mondo Sahara

Motorcycle Adventurer Austen Vince has taken a group of like-minded mates on a trip into the desert on Honda XR400 cross over bikes. Sounds simple, and yes it is; the point of the exercise was to prove that you can still have the pure adventure experience and don’t need back up trucks and film crews as has been seen in other films in recent years. In fact they had no back up, relying on food and petrol that had been buried across the desert. Their only luxury item was “The IT Guy” whose job it was to navigate mostly off road from the UK across Spain, Morocco and into the Sahara. Well worth a watch and needless to say everything does not go exactly to plan, but they do achieve their goal. Bit of a sudden ending and some great extras (including your very own Mondo Pin Badge in ours).

We give it 9½ out of 10.

Old Timer