Autumn 2017 UPDATE

BOOKS & DVDs for the Dark Evenings
With autumn upon us, it is time to check out the bike related reading and viewing for the winter months and if you have not yet read Mondo Enduro, now is the time to get hold of a copy and follow the exploits of a group of friends as they tackle a 40,000 mile round the world trip on Yamaha 350cc enduro bikes (unsupported). 

The book is compiled by motorcycle legend Ausin Vince, from the log and diaries of fellow riders Clive Greenhough Louis Bloom, Charles Plenty, Mark Friend, Nick Stubley and brother Gerald Vince. The exploits were serialised at the time on MTV and there is also a Video of the same name. 

Although the Video is fantastic, I think that you also need to read the book to get a feel of the day to day experiences. The route they took was monumental; taking in Europe, Africa, Central Asia, the former Soviet Union and the length of the American Continent. This journey took place in 1995-96, years before McGreggor and Borman past through some of the same places on the Long Way Round and Long Way Down trips. 

Mondo Enduro DVD is now available through our Shop at www.fenlandclassics.com

Dave Greenhough, younger brother of Mondo's Clive was determined to crack the trans siberian highway which beat the mondo Enduro Team. Dave was joined on his round the world trip, cristened Tera Circa by Matt Hill Charles Benner Austin and Gerald Vince. Terra Circa is another epic unsupported journey which is also available on DVD from our shop. 

 You now can buy these direct from us at From our online bookshop 

In 2013 after a period in the TV business Austin Vince was keen to hit the road again. This time the plan was to ride unsupported across the Sahara. How do you do that I hear you ask. Well in true Austin Vince fashion he go a mate to bury some fuel and provisions at strategic points, so what can possibly go wrong. Find out how he got on in  Mondo Sahara which is also available in our shop.

Commenting on Mondo Sahara Austin Vince said

 "The aim was, starting in London, to ride off-road, across Spain, Morocco and Western Sahara. With this behind us, we would meet up with Richard Kemplay of Beast of Burden. Whilst we were riding out, he would have been burying food, fuel and water across the deserts of Mauritania. Once we rendezvoused at the Mauritanian border post he would hand us a GPS plot of the supply dumps and off we’d lunge into the Empty Quarter of the Sahara. Englishmen and Americans, following a Garmin speck across the wilderness for 1200 miles. Each night locating and digging up the supplies for the next day. Nobody had done anything like this before. It was only going to be four weeks but would still be a class-A adventure!" 

This  should be on your viewing list this autumn (and now available on our website) Click Here for more info and a trailer. 

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2017 Update

Events in 2017

Its the time of year to start planning events and as always we will be at the Kempton Park Bike Jumble. The dates for this year are:

11 March

20 May (Includes Southern Classic Motorcycle Show)

22 July

16 September

21 October

2 December (includes Southern Classic Off Road Show)

More details of the event can be found at www.kemptonparkautojumble.co.uk

On 6-7 May we will be off to France for the Vintage Revival at Montlhery in France. Well worth a visit and check out the video below.

July is the Chateau Impney Hill climb  and in September we will once again be participating in the Shere Hill Climb. watch out for more news on these later.

Website

The website has been somewhat dormant over the last few months, but work continues in the background to build a shop and to include some more interactive content. This blog will also find its way onto Fenlandclassics.com from this month forwards.

Next Month we will bring you up to date with events covered in the last couple of months.

Old Timer

MARCH Update

Photo-shoot

Steve Parrish and the Brooklands BSA Empire Star

February has mostly been spent finalising the website but we did get out earlier in the month to do a publicity shoot with Steve Parrish. It was blowing a gale when Steve arrived, but thanks to an Ace team in the shape of Perry Barwick ad Rob Overy we were able to quickly able wrap up some shots which will be used as publicity for the premier Brooklands Museum Motorcycle Event of 2016.

Steve Parrish at Brooklands

The event titled The Brooklands Motorcycle Show “Then and Now” to be held on 4 July will feature iconic motorcycles of the last 80 years including many original Marques with their modern counterpart. Steve Parrish will be attending as guest of honour. Keep posted for more news.

Adventure Motorcycling Evening

One of Zoe's stunning shots of the open road

On 16 February, I was invited to host an Adventure Motorcycling evening with the VMCC. In typical Chat show style I was joined on the couch by Zoe Cano, who headlined the evening with an interactive discussion about long distance motorcycling and her trip across the USA. 

Zoe's Bike

We were also joined by Brooklands VMCC Chair Richard Huckle and Gavin Shaw who gave us an insight into their recent trips to Scandinavia. The Evening was billed as Riders of the Lost Art of Solo Adventure Motorcycling. Our conclusion was that the art is still alive and kicking. 

Norway land of the midnight sun

Zoe’s excellent chronicle of her trip “Bonneville Go or Go Bust” is available on Amazon.

Warbike Review

Thanks to Pete Kelly of Old Bike Mart for reviewing Warbike: British Military Motorcycling 1899-1919. 

The review will appear in the March edition of the paper, and the book is available via our new website. Fenlandclassics.com

Fenland Classic Motorcycles Website is Live

The Website is now up and running, but the shop will follow later after it is fully tested. This blog will also remain separate until April whilst pages are transferred.

Log on and enjoy.

Old Timer

MAY 2014 Update

A bit of a busy month, but not much to show for it. Lots of preparation for the second half of the year means that hands have been on keyboard instead of spanners.

Warbike Project

Things are progressing well and it looks like we should be on target to publish volume 1 WW1 motorcycles on time. More about the exact dates should follow in June.  

BBC's Crimson Field WW1 Field Hospital Drama

Fans of Crimson Field may be interested that we are hoping to do a small photo-shoot in June to commemorate the 100 year anniversary of the Red Cross Field Day at Brooklands. This was a huge undertaking for the time and included many local Red Cross Volunteers as well as local Reservists practicing the treatment and recovery of casualties from the battlefield to treatment stations. This event also included Motorcycles as well as Aircraft spotters with dummies playing a supporting role as casualties. Not that much is known of the event as it was serious contingency planning rather than event open to the public. The shoot will act as publicity for the Brooklands WW1 Commemorations on the first Weekend of August. We are still looking for some WW1 period bikes so if you have one and fancy dressing up we would love to hear from you at Warbike@fenlandclassics.co.uk

We have been working on the Warbike Facebook page which will act as a number of channels for research and sharing military motorcycle information. Not much to see at present, but if you have anything to share then please visit the page by clicking here. If you have any other suggestions or information please write to Warbike@fenlandclassics.co.uk

Brooklands Motorcycle Volunteers

We will be supporting the Brooklands Team at the Kempton Park Motorcycle Show on 24 May. This will provide publicity for other Motorcycle Events at Brooklands including Norton Day on 8 June, Ton-up Day on 6 July and The Cotton Centenary Day on 20 July.

Brooklands Reunion Meeting 13 July 2014

For those into the whole Vintage scene there is also a new event on 13 July. The Brooklands Reunion commemorates the 75^th anniversary the closing of the Circuit and aims to capture the Sprit of the 1930s Guests are encouraged to dress in period costume and there will be Grids of Brooklands Cars and motorcycles, Track demonstrations and Aircraft engine running. Not forgetting period vehicles running up Test Hill. The organisers are interested in attracting more period motorcycles to fully represent the sights and sounds of the 1930s. So if you have a 1930s bike why not take a trip down memory lane. More information on all the Brooklands events at www.brooklandsmuseum.com

 

Other Developments

We are slowly bringing together the elements that will eventually be the ecommerce channel or (shop in old money). We will try and concentrate on some hard to obtain items but this is still at the conceptual stage.

The new website is almost ready and will include video content in a section called Fenland Classics TV. This will be a collection of our favourite items from across the web as well our own films.

The Bike Shed Event III

The Bike shed gang are putting on the third of their events at Tobacco Dock in London on 24/25 May 2014. This is a bit outside our normal period of interest, but this is an epic event which showcases some of the best bike building talent around. We have our tickets Do you?  

Click here to see the trail.

Click Here to find out more and buy tickets 

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

Vintage Bike Test 2013

On 21 March 2013 we joined the volunteers of Brooklands Museum Motorcycle Section track testing motorcycles before they go off to the Vintage Revival meeting at Montlhéry near Paris in April. Here are a few shots of the day and a full report will appear in the April Update 

http://www.vintage-revival.fr/