October 2019 Update

After a long break the blog is back. A busy schedule both in the workshop and out on the road means that it is often difficult to also get stuff down on paper. I recently asked Rick Parkington how he manages his seemingly endless record of activity. His answer was " I don't". Whilst on the subject another prolific practitioner is  artist Martin Squires. Just how he manages to produce so much material is beyond me. I put the same question to him whilst he was launching his Banked Track Heros project and the answer was characteristically modest. More on Martin's Project in a future Blog, but in the meantime  I intend to fire of a few words when I can and leave the rest to be picked up on the Instagram and Twitter feeds at @Fenlandclassics 

Hollis Motorcycles

The Hollis Type 'A' Motorcycle

Jumping right back to the beginning of the year, I was getting to know the team behind the Hollis Type A Motorcycle. 

Steve Hayes joint owner explained that he met Custom Bike builder and business partner Steve Lowe a few years ago and they got talking about re-creating something old, but built using modern techniques. It started out in theory as an Edwardian pioneer motorcycle, but as these idle thoughts moved to more serious discussions about the feasibility of producing a machine more relevant to the current market, the Hollis Type ‘A’ was born.

An early Type 'A' taking shape in the Hampshire Workshop

Sketches became drawings, and the detailed drawings slowly became a concept build. That, it transpired was the easy bit.  They soon realised that if they were serious about going into production they would have to get involved with the DVLA. However, their intention was always to bring the vintage classic up to date with the latest state of the art suspension and brakes, so the rigorous standards applied by current legislation in these areas was unlikely to cause any concerns.

The Steve’s were clear about the goal, which was for a practical bike for the twenty-first century. Something stylish to run down to the pub, whilst not compromising on the heritage styling which was inspired by a 1930 Model 18 Norton. Steve Lowe recalls Steve Hayes’s obsession with the design detail, such as the straight line of the exhaust and the subsequent challenges of manufacturing the pipe’s exit from the engine. “We would send out the pattern, only to get it back in the post a few days later with a can’t do it note” Steve Lowe went on to explain how nobody seemed to be able to achieve what manufacturers had done as a matter of course back in the day, so they decided to fabricate it themselves. Steve Lowe’s modest “can do” attitude is built on a solid foundation of good old fashioned craftmanship and knowledge built up over 20 years of experience creating custom motorcycles.

The completed bike earns its place on the iconic Brooklands Race Track

Castle Coombe

The AJ leads the pack as Camera Bike, during a filming session

In April I got the Model 22 AJS out on track at Castle Coombe, Its only 250cc, but it was an opportunity to see what happened when it was given its legs. Well the result was predictable, and I was overtaken a few times! However, I had planned ahead and fixed a rear facing Go-Pro which made for some interesting footage on what was a specially organised track session for eight vintage and classic bikes. 

Vintage Revival Montlhery

The Auto-jumble is full of Veteran Gems

In May I was proud to represent Brooklands Museum as on of the Motorcycle Team at the Montlhery Vintage Revival. We were planing the trip against the background of a Brexit in March, but that didn't happen and the Journey was much more straght-forward than expected. 

We arrived for scrutineering on  Friday 11 May setting up the Brooklands Paddock before retiring. Following biblical rainstorm overnight we were greeted by a collapsed Gazebo. Luckily non of the 10 bikes we had bought were damaged and the organisers quickly stepped in with a replacement  and the offer of further shelter if required.


As one of the riders who had attended  the last event on 2017 I was worried that this was going to be another wet event. However, the sun quickly broke through and although we lost the Saturday morning sessions, there was time for an impromptu photo-shoot and interview session with The Vintagent (Paul D'Orleans) before getting everyone out on the track after a bit of creative accounting.


All in all a fantastic weekend and the opportunity to ride a diverse range of bikes ranging from a 1921 ABC to the 1930's Cotton Jap. See Tim Huber's piece on the event on the Vintagent Website

Paul D'Orleans with the Brooklands Zenith, whilst we wait for the surface water to clear on track

Brookland's Perry (Pezpix) Barwick takes a chicane on the Freddy Clarke Tribute Triumph

Martin Gegg keeps it low and slow on the Brooklands ABC

An impromptu photo shoot after the Cotton JAP decided to stop half way into the session for the second time

Bikes prepare for another session at the iconic track

Banbury Run 2019

Bikes in the Gaydon Car park after the Run

In just over a months time we were at Banbury. But not on the 1928 Model 8 Sunbeam, which was still without wheels as I had planned. Instead I supported my co-rider Tony Baxter on a 1927 Sunbeam, whilst I filed a report from the event for Old Bike Mart, a summary of which appears on the OBM Website (12 July2019) This years event was cloudy with a few scattered showers, but the roads had been affected by very heavy rainfall over the previous days. As for the 28 Sunbeam, the wheels are almost done and it should be on the starting line for 2020. 

Competitors out on the Road just outside Banbury

Tony Baxter has just dodged a shower with a light lunch at the Brasenose Arms, Cropredy

Next Time:

Brookland's Motorcycle Show, Goodwood Festival of Speed, Shere Hill Climb and More.

Old Timer

April/May 2017 UPDATE

As the clocks go forward and the sun appears from behind the clouds; Bikers start to emerge from their sheds after a long winter hibernation. 

We are starting to think about this year’s events and how we can bring you closer to the action. For example, last year we had some stunning action clips but there were just not enough hours left in the day to get them uploaded. The answer we think is to go for shorter highlight clips and expand later into a review of the year.

The Banbury Run

Brooklands Motorcycle Team Member at last years event

Last year saw the first road event for the 1927 Sunbeam light Tourist owned by Brooklands Museum. This bike had some issues even before it reached the start line in the shape of a worn kick-start quadrant. However, with the aid of a mechanical starter and a few pushes it performed very well. In-fact so well that it was the only Brooklands Motorcycle Team related entrant to finish the course.

The Sunbeam has been entered in the 2017 Banbury Run. There is little prospect of getting the quadrant fixed for June so we will be relying again on the starter and a push start if needed out on the course.

The preparation continues during May with some adjustment to the 1927 Sunbeam’s forks before a pre-Banbury independent check in the form of an MOT Test. The test gave Banbury entrant Tony Baxter about an hour road time. Now the paperwork is completed we will carry out some final adjustments including an oil change nearer the Banbury Weekend.

Montlhѐry

L’autodrome de Linas-Montlhéry, located about thirty kilometers south of Paris

We will shortly be off to France for the 3^rd Biennial Vintage Revival. Check in later for Images and film. 

Warbike Project

I would like to take an opportunity to say thanks for all those people who have bought the bike and continue to support the project with information. Sales worldwide have exceeded expectation, but please continue to contact us with information about Military Motorcycles from 1919 to 1945 which is the next phase of the research. Please contact warbike@fenlandclassics.co.uk

NOVEMBER 2013 Update

November is here already and although there have been some good riding days in October I fear that many older bikes will be going away for winter in order to preserve them for future years. The Sunbeam is now partly striped down for what is likely to be its first major overhaul since its restoration in the 1980s. as mentioned last month this is aimed mainly at checking that the Frame, Forks and cycle parts are safe. So far there is a broken stand that needs fixing and the stand retention clip on the rear mudguard has snapped. This will need to be a new part if we can't repair it.

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.




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.



It has been a couple of years since I have seen the DVDs so I will be digging them out again soon. You now can buy these and more online direct from us at From our online bookshop 

After first watching the original DVDs I was keen to find out what Austin Vince was doing. Alas, he had returned to teaching and was invisible on the web. That was until I picked up a Tweet from Ross Noble recently who said that he had made a new film. After checking Its seems that Austin has given up the day job to promote low budget DIY adventures. The latest of these adventures is Mondo Sahara and the DVD is now available online.

Commenting on the latest adventure 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 will definitely will be on our viewing list this autumn (and now available on our website) Click Here for more info and a trailer. 

Greatest Motorcycle Journeys

The Travel Channel are currently showing Henry Cole's Greatest Motorcycle Journeys of the world and watching one last week across Norway reminded the old Timer of his own trips following a similar route. My first trip to Norway on a bike was in the 70s and you could drive all day and hardly see another person. Henry's decent of Trollstigen (The Trolls Pass) was he said spoilt by the traffic. When I did it the road was not even fully tarmaced, but it could get a few coaches. I choose to camp in nearby and run up the zig-zags early in the morning, then over the icy wastelands before returning to the tent for breakfast. A few years later I went up at dusk and was surprised to see thousands of lemmings. They may not in reality jump of cliffs, but they sure do get squashed by the unsuspecting driver or rider.


Also one to catch up on BBC i-Player, if you did not see it is  Full throttle: The Glory Days of British Motorbikes shown on BBC4 at 9pm on October 28. It charts the rise of and celebrates all facets of the British motorcycle industry covering T.E. Lawrence, aka Lawrence of Arabia, IOM TT racing and the Ton-Up Boys of the 1950s

Click http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01k4jm4 to view clips.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b03fv7sl to watch. (Expires on 7 Nov 13)


We maybe into pre-war bikes, but we like to keep an eye on the retro scene. October was also the month chosen for the world wide launch of the Royal Enfield Continental GT Starting at the Ace Cafe London over 50 of the new bikes and press drove off across southern England including a stop off at Brooklands Museum, the UKs very own home of motorsport. The latest Enfield incarnation is a recreation of the bike of the same name first launched in 1963. Lets face it the only thing it really has in common with its namesake is the numberplate (63) but that said Indian Enfields do capture the feel of an older bike with the advantage of a reasonable price and mod cons such as electric start and ignition. Looking at the original and the new model face to face against the backdrop of the recently restored BP Petrol Pagoda at Brooklands it does capture the cafe racer look, but will not appeal to the dyed in the wool Ton-up Boy. We can't say much more as we have not yet tried the bike, but for more information or a test drive go to www. Haywards.co.uk or your local Royal Enfield dealer.

OCTOBER 2013 Update

How time flies, and already the evenings are getting cooler and the old bones are wishing the summer could go on forever. However now is the time to start planning for those winter projects in the warm workshop. Maybe you got that last missing part or new project from the many summer autojumbles, but if you were busy enjoying the weather you better get yourself sorted soon.

Warbike Project

 

The response has been excellent, and still more information is required about motorcycles and riders of World War One. We need those personal stories, not only to build up the background but to act as a lasting commemoration of all those brave men and women motorcyclists who were involved in the battlefields Europe and beyond. The reality is that after over 95 years since the armistice we are already too late for first-hand accounts and for many the reminiscences were too painful to recall during their lifetime. There are some interesting accounts to be found, the most well known of these is “The adventures of a Dispatch Rider During the First World War” by Captain W.H.L Watson first published in 1915 and as such is a contemporary account. The cover of the version above shows dispatch riders preparing to re-supply pigeons to the trenches.

Jobs for Autumn

 

Sunbeam Forks & Wireing in need of repair

After what has been quite a good summer it is time to take a look at some of those jobs that keep being put off. They say you should leave well alone, but this 1930s Sunbeam needs a few parts to avoid a potential breakdown. We believe this is an older restoration that was done some 30 years ago and is in good condition. We will start with a new set of cables followed by rewiring to the original pattern and an overhaul of the girder forks. No doubt it will turn into a full rebuild as these simple jobs often do, but we will keep you updated on progress.   

Online Update

Our main job for the autumn is updating the website which will make way for the e-commerce site which will come on line during 2014. Which this space for more information.