JUNE 2014 Update

 

Warbike Project

So much information and not enough time. We are just about on target for publication and thanks to our friends at Brooklands Museum we have seen a lot of fantastic images relating to the racing circuit before and during WW1. We now have to sort out the images from the National Archives and pay a visit to the Imperial War Museum and even try to get to the RAF Museum, The Royal Engineers Museum and the Vintage Motor Cycle Club Archives!!!! Maybe we are not on schedule after all.

Kempton Park Classic Motorcycle Show

 

We were at the show supporting the Brooklands Motorcycle Volunteers with transportation of the BSA Empire Star and Douglas that were featured in the April Edition of Classic Bike Guide. There was lots of interest in the bikes....even more when the Heavens opened on the Auto Jumble.  It looks like there is a lot of support for the forthcoming events at Brooklands especially Ton up Day on 6 July. Also promoting this event was the London Ace Cafe who will be leading a ride out from the north circular venue to Brooklands on the Day.

Brooklands was well represented at the show which also included a VMCC Brooklands Section Stand and Historics @Brooklands Auctions who were promoting their Auction at Brooklands on 7 June.

Despite the jest above the Auto Jumble was mainly dry and we got time for a swift look round. There seem to be more and more bikes for sale on the stands, some of which looked like worthwhile projects, or maybe they were abandoned winter projects!

Trondhjemsridtet Vintage Rally

Gunnar Hop's Harley almost ready for the big Day

On 7 June riders will start the trondhjemsridtet Vintage Rally from Oslo to Trondhiem in Norway. This event commemorates the inaugural run of the Norsk Motorcycle Klub (Norwegian Motorcycle Club run in 1916. Check out our Twitter feed for Updates from 7 June @Fenlandclassics. The rally will begin at 1200 noon local time.

See video of the last Rally run in 2012

 http://youtu.be/yEskOHlwoTc

Goodwood Festival of Speed

 

 

The Goodwood Festival of Speed will take place later this month. Motorcycles will as usual feature in both static displays and runs up the Hill. The Brooklands BSA Empire Star will feature and is expected to run up the Hill during each session.

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

MARCH 2014 Update

Don’t want to keep on about the weather, but this really is beyond a joke. However this does mean there have been no excuses to get on with the Warbike Project which is well on track for publication later in the year. Also managed to catch up with Brooklands Motorcycle Volunteers projects and we will be previewing some Brooklands events in May.

Warbike Project

The research has been focusing in a bit more depth on some of the individuals who signed up to become WW1 dispatch riders. Many will already know Corporal Watson, author of Adventures of a dispatch rider, which we have mentioned here before. He paints an interesting picture of the early months of the war from the relatively privileged position of a dispatch rider. Spending time in taverns he never seemed far from another omelette and coffee, something far removed from the bully beef, and long marches the ordinary Tommy had to endure. This period August 1914 to February 1915 was, a very mobile period, and it was May 1915 before the stalemate of trench warfare set in. We have looked at the Army records of a well known racer of the period and some other riders, who seem to confirm the relative privilege of the Dispatch Rider Corporal. We now need to look into a bit more detail at those motorcyclists serving with the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and the Motor Machine Gun Service (MMGS) set up late in 1914.  If you have any information on these or any other aspects of Military Motorcycles please contact us at Warbike@fenlandclassics.co.uk or on Twitter @fenlandclassics using the #WarBike.

Brooklands Motorcycle Volunteers

We caught up with the Brooklands Team recently and the Earle Cotton Jap restoration is coming on nicely. Gary Pinchin from Classic Bike Guide dropped in to take a look and some other projects, so they should be appearing in the mag soon. Whilst on the subject of Magazines, we would urge you to continue to support your favourite magazine by buying it rather that checking it out on the shelves at W.H Smiths. We may have a digital presence ourselves, but we do subscribe to our favourites, and would hate to see any of them to only be available as eMags.

If you are into Velocettes, then you need to get yourself down to the Musuem on 23 March 2014 for the Centenenary Celebrations. To celebrate the Centenary of Velocette Motorcycles there will be a display of over 100 Velocette bikes in and around the Paddock. There will be action on Test Hill (subject to weather).
Entry for Velocette Motorcycles is through the Campbell Gate, and tickets are £8 per person arriving on a motorbike or arriving with a Velocette.
Contact: Brooklands Museum events@brooklandsmuseum.com

June is the Centenary of the Red Cross Field Day held at Brooklands in 1914 to test the organisation’s readiness for war. Brooklands have nothing organised, but it may be used to promote the Great War Commemorations that are to be held at the Museum on 3 August 2014. This will be well worth a visit as besides WW1 era race starts, and a vehicle cavalcade there will be a flying display of Great War Aircraft.  

As ever please check out all the latest news from the Motorcycle Volunteer Team at their facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Brooklands-Museum-Motorcycle-Volunteer-Team/330068980426392

All Our Yesterdays

From July onwards, we will be extending the ‘All Our Yesterdays’ page to provide more information prior to and following the outbreak of WW1. We hope this will be an educational resource that will  help provide an insight into the period from a motorcyclists prospective.  

Bring on the Sunshine

Old Timer

FEBRUARY 2014Update

January was another wet and windy and not the sort of weather to do any riding. We did however continue to do some work in the warmth of the workshop, but most of the month was spent in the National Archives working on the Warbike project.

Rhony'x Project

This is currently at a standstill although we did have a good look at the parts to understand the exact nature of the work that needs to be done.

The frame is actually good although it will need one new fork end. The mudguards could perhaps be rescued, but they do also look similar to a much later mobilette pattern which could work as a replacement. The wheels are rusted away, but will be used as patterns whilst the handlebars are a bit bent but could be rescued. Looking at the control leavers these will need to be replaced which leaves the engine.

The engine or what is left of it is in good nick, just wish there was more of it in place. We may even have to temporarily substitute it for a small villiers motor as the Stainless engines appear to be quite rare.

Warbike Project

THE CANADIAN ARMY IN THE UNITED KINGDOM DURING THE FIRST WORLD WAR© IWM (Q 53568)

A lot of time during February was spent glued to fascinating documents in the National Archives. It is interesting to note that the military plans had been in place since 1907 meaning that by August 1914 every last detail seemed to be in place, even down to where motorcycles and their riders would be placed on trains. The next job will be to look at some individual dispatch rider’s diaries, with a visit to the London Motorcycle Museum in early February to see what military motorcycle they have.

Trondhjemsridtet 2014

On 7-10 June 2014 The Norwegian Veteran Motorcycle Club (NVMC) will be re-running an ambitious rally for vintage motorcycles. The entry list is now closed, but we will be reporting on it as it happens. It the meantime this is how it all began.

 

Typical Roads used for the Rally

In 1916 Seven motorcyclists gathered at the Park Cafe in Olso, Norway. These were the founder members of the Norsk Motorcycle Klub (Norwegen Motorcycle Club) Who went on to arrange road events in a country which at the time consited of muddy cart tracks. Members of the club carried out a run to Krokkleiva which is near Sundvollen in the west of the country. This was at the time an epic run and gained lots of publicity. Petrol rationing precluded more events until 1919 when the club ran what was effectivly a reliability trial from Oslo to Trondhimiem.

The Trondhjemsridtet was the first long distance rally for motorcycles in Norway It started in Oslo and followed narrow gravel roads through valleys and across mountain passes to Trondheim and back over 2 days – a distance of about 1150 kilometers or 715 miles. The rally was run a further six times until 1924.

In 2012 The Norwegian Veteran Motorcycle Club (NVMC) organized a “replica” event to commemorate the Trondhjemsridtet (TheTrondhjem Ride). It was run as a test rally to find out whether a similar event could be run on veteran vintage and classic bikes 88 years later.

The 2012 Rally “Trondhjemsridtet 1919” was a great success. The route followed, where possible, the original narrow roads – many of them with gravel surface, through beautiful Norwegian rural landscape.

2012 there were 32 participants – 16 from Norway and 16 from abroad (England, Denmark, Germany, Sweden, Holland) In the 2014 the Rally will aim for ca. 60 participants with bikes built before 1955. Veteran and vintage motorcycles have been given preference although the organizers say that the he event will not be suitable for the oldest single-speed bikes with belt transmission. Although there maybe a few pioneers turning in their graves who think different!

See a Trondhjemsridtet 2012 video below:

Old Timer

JANUARY 2014 Update

Cambridge: 1 Jan 2014. On the Water in any Weather!

As you can see from the photo it is rather a wet New Years Day in Cambridge and as I write this introduction I hear that lots of people are arriving at Brooklands Museum to enjoy the annual New Years Day Meet which is growing every year. This is particularly good news following the news that parts of the Museum were flooded on Christmas Day. Thanks to the dedication of the Museum Staff and Volunteers all the exhibits were kept from harms way and work is already well underway to get the worst affected areas ready for today. I gather that the ground floor of the club house may still be closed for a few days but other areas are open.

Southern Classic Off Road Show

December turned out to be quite busy. We were supporting the Brooklands Motorcycle Volunteers at the Southern Classic Off Road Show at Kempton Park. Stars of the show were the Record Breaking Brough Superiors which were run at this years Bonneville speed week by Riders Eric Patterson, Alan Cathcart and Henry Cole.



The Eric Patterson Record Breaking Brough

Also on the Brough Stand was The new Brough Superior SS100 on one of its first outings. We try not to do press lines in this blog, so it was great to have a chat with Brough Superior CEO Mark Upham about his own personal views of the project. This is a man who is passionate about delivering a modern state of the art machine which earns it's place beside the George Brough Marque. In a parallel to developments in the aerospace industry this motorcycle is a European engineered machine and a lot of time and care has been taken to develop what is a beautiful motorcycle.

The New SS100 Photo: Fenland Classic Motorcycles

I have to admit that I was not sure about the bike when I first saw the pictures and Mark explained that despite taking a lot of time which the publicity shots he was not sure that they captured the full essence of the bike. Surrounded by others prior to the show as the bike was placed on its stand it was clear that others were also sharing my view that it looks so much better in the flesh, and therefore my final verdict is that it is worthy of the name and could easily be the sort of machine produced if there had been continuity of production over the last 80 or so years. It is details like the retention of a state of the art girder fork suspension as well as the positioning of the cylinders and radiator that I found were not so evident in the photos.

Mark Upham and the new SS100

You too can get to own and ride one. However, this is not something that you just go down to your local bike shop for. No; you will get the Mclaren style service in keeping with its state of the art engineering heritage. Mark says that the bikes are essentially bespoke and buyers will be measured for their machine, then taken through a range of options including a number of performance packages as well as bike part options. All I will say is the price seems competitive when viewed against other specials and limited editions. And as they say if you have to ask you can't afford it! More Information at http://www.broughsuperiormotorcycles.com


It would be unfair to do a stand by stand report, because I am sure that I would miss something, particularly as my viewing time was limited. It was good to see the Pendine Landspeed Record Club guys and they won a few awards. The Frends of Speedway stand made a big effort and were rewarded with best stand, and we should also mention The London Motorcycle Museum which I need to pay a visit soon.

As for the Brooklands Stand we had a lot of interest and gave away thousands of leaflets and New Years Day promo flyers. As always, the Motorcycle Volunteers and events can be found on their facebook page.

Brooklands Motorcycle Volunteers Christmas Lunch

It was great to attend the Brooklands Motorcycle Volunteers Christmas lunch. Good to see so many people from the world of motorcycling present. This was their end of term bash and turned out to be an end of an era event as Team Leader John Bottomley announced that he would be leaving. You can read a statement from John on the facebook page and we which him all the best in 2014.

John "Brooklands" Bottomley at Brooklands Ton-up Day

Warbike Project

The Warbike Project continues to be the main focus at present and once again I would like to say thanks for the information I have received so far, but we are still on the look out for stories of individuals and details such as maintenance of machines in the field (World War One). Email us with any information warbike@fenlandclassics.co.uk

Plans for 2014

We will continue to support the Brooklands Motorcycle Volunteers and also look forward to expanding the site which will also include a sales area later in 2014.

This year we will be promoting Sense, who provide support for Deafblind people. Find out more about Sense on their website and how you can support Deafblind People By Clicking Here

Old Timer

DECEMBER 2013 Update

November was an interesting month. We were supporting the Brooklands Motorcycle Volunteers with a trip to the Sammy Miller Museum and spent some time at the National Archives working on the War Bike Project.

War Bike Project

THE CANADIAN ARMY IN THE UNITED KINGDOM DURING THE FIRST WORLD WAR© IWM (Q 53568)

 

The research continues and last month we were looking specifically at the work that went into setting up military motorcycles for use supporting the Army. There was initially some debate about the role of motorcycles and it seems to be the Royal Flying Corps that did the most planning for the use of motorcycles in the field, both as methods of transporting intelligence and possibly transporting pilots and mechanics. The documents we have reviewed relate to the organisation of the Special Reserve just prior to World War One and we are still on target to publish volume one of Warbike in July next year.

 

Brooklands Motorcycle Volunteers

The motorcycle volunteers continue to make history at Brooklands by maintaining the Museums interesting collection of Bikes and promoting the Museum at outreach events such as the VMCC Festival of 1000 Bikes and the forthcoming Southern Classic Off Road Motorcycle Show at Kempton Park on 7 December 2013.



Bowser Pump after Restoration

The volunteers are nearing the end of refurbishing the BP Petrol Pagoda which included a fine restoration of a BP Bowser hand cranked petrol pump seen here after restoration.

 



 

 

 

 

 

 



 

 

Last month also saw the start of the restoration of the Earle Cotton Jap.

The Brooklands Earle Cotton Jap Pictured before the start of the Restoration



The Earle Cotton Jap Frame

 

This bike was built as a recreation of an outer circuit racer created in later life by Doug Earle who raced at Brooklands in 1938.  The bike has a Cotton Frame powered by a 498cc Jap engine. It is thought that the bike may have been used as a grass track racer before being created in its current form. It remains a controversial bike as it is a later and somewhat eccentric build. However, it helps tell the story of racers like Earle and continues to provide a relatively smooth ride.

The Volunteers also took a visit to The Sammy Miller Museum with Tommy Meeten’s record breaking Francis Barnett for a photo opportunity. Sammy could not resist a ride on the little 2 stroke and was surprised to learn that it averaged 50mph in its record breaking endurance race. The bike benefits from three separate fuel tanks which extended the range well beyond some of the larger and faster bikes that had to stop to take on fuel. Mr Miller also fired up his V4 AJS for a couple of circuits of the courtyard.

Sammy Miller on the Tommy Meeten Brooklands Special



Keep up to date with the volunteer's their Facebook Page.

Caterham Bikes  

Whist we remain committed to keeping old bikes running, regular readers will know that we also have an eye on the future and are always on the look out for sustainable solutions which will help save precious fuel for older bikes. So we did not hesitate in contacting the newly formed Caterham bikes to find out more about their e-bikes launched last month. The Classic e-bike is modelled on a 1920s racing motorcycle and Caterham tell us that it will be ready next year so keep an eye on our twitter feed @fenlandclassics for more information. For more information on the Classic e-bike and other bikes in the range see our news page and Caterhambikes.com.  




The Caterham Classic E-Bike

F1 Fantasy Team

News hot off the press is that the Fenland Classics Fantasy F1 team finished 9,560 places higher than our starting position back in March but sadly still finished in 1,427^th place.

Old Timer