Innholdsfortegnelse for # 53 i Old Bike Australasia

In December 2014 NZ Classic Motorcycles opened in Nelson New Zealand, in the north east of the South Island. The impressive collection has around 300 veteran, vintage and classic motorcycles superbly displayed in a purpose-built building. The collection belongs to Tom and Heather Sturgess who live in Nelson. Tom started the collection eight years ago when he bought a restored Triumph Tiger Cub, which he still owns. Since then some 300 or so motorcycles have been acquired and a number sold or exchanged. The collection has a good balance between American, British and European machines. The collection was initially housed in some disused offices in the middle of Nelson. Two years ago I was lucky enough to have a sneak preview, with every little office offering a mouth-watering collection of…

Solo speedway is one form of motorcycling that has traditionally been male dominated. Back in the pioneering days, Irish lass Fay Taylour learned race craft on English grass tracks before switching to solo speedway, where she was quite successful. Her battles with another speedway lady, Eva Askquith, were a promoter’s dream. She also realised her worth and toured the world extensively, including several stints in Australia and New Zealand. But when women were banned from motorcycle speedway in Britain in 1930, she switched to cars, as well as campaigning to break down the stigma that surrounded female participation in many sports, not just motor racing. That stigma kept women off the dirt tracks for many years until the arrival in Sydney of the tiny Japanese lady racer Nanae Okamoto. She…

Cigarette sponsorship of sport is very much the elephant in the room these days. We can pretend it never happened, avoid the accusing stares of the moralists and the do-gooders, but the fact is, the tobacco industry funded one of the most exciting periods in motor sport history – one that can be almost precisely dated from the time the Lotus Formula One Team set jaws dropping and chins wagging with their red and white ‘Gold Leaf’ livery in 1968, to the final banishment of the evil weed from the flanks of cars, motorcycles, trackside hoardings, tender vans and team uniforms in 2007. In what smacks as a passage from George Orwell’s famed book 1984, museums around the world that display such vehicles as part of their collections are increasingly…

Australia’s first Ducati representative It seems to be more regular now than ever before that I end up meeting, usually by chance, some very interesting people, and Fred just so happens to be one of them. I had left my bike’s registration renewal to the last minute, and as usual I needed a pink slip pronto before full expiry arrived. I jumped on my bike, a very special bike, a Paul Smart Sports Classic which had been left to me by my fallen mate, “Michael”. AKA “Alby”, a long time schoolmate and Ducati nutter like me. After my arrival to the mechanics station I waited patiently for my turn to be served as there seemed to be some sort of problem for the customer before me who was also getting…

• 9-10 May, 2015 – Mt Gambier, Qld Blizzard at Mac Park Despite constant changes from a dry track to intermittent showers with windy conditions on both days, riders were generally unfazed and lined up regularly for their events. Many categories were included in the 39 starts and even then two or even more classes were often run concurrently to cater for all age groups and types of machines. The strong entry for the 45 to 53 years riders on 501 to 1200cc bikes saw local Darren Trotter start his run of successes, taking his 600cc Suzuki to win overall from Adelaide’s Mark Schuppan on a 600 Kawasaki and Darren Willis with a 1000cc Suzuki after keen battles. Switching to Dave Atkinson’s Period Three G50 Matchless for the 45 to…

• 17-19 April, 2015 – Inverell NSW Wet and dry at Inverell The weekend began with beautiful sunshine but by Sunday the rain appeared, to cut short the final day’s ride but overall it was another great Rally enjoyed by all who attended. The riding began on Friday morning with a short 90 km return trip via Rural Wrecking where our riders were able to view a display of approximately 200 tractors in a new very large shed, then on to Delungra for lunch before returning to the Inverell Pioneer Village. This ride focused on judging for pre 1960 bikes although some newer ones did take the ride. We had approximately 45 riders take part and enjoyed the day immensely. In the afternoon all entrants were given the opportunity to…

For as well as his headlining exploits on the race tracks of the world, and the other headlines that frequently appeared in newspapers and journals linking his name with yet another glamorous lady of means, Edgar knew even his considerable charm was often insufficient to keep him in the lifestyle to which he had long been accustomed. Accordingly, and although it rankled deeply, he was forced to accept employment in whatever area flourished at the time, and more often that not, this involved complying with the whims and wild schemes of his long-time benefactor, Sir Carruthers Spagforth. And so it came to pass, just three weeks after he had been feted by royalty following yet another TT success, that Edgar was summoned to the guvnor’s spacious office to suffer the…

In a glittering career, Watson won 41 National Titles, and would probably have added to that tally but for a spate of injuries which curtailed his career. In addition to his legendary prowess on Dirt Tracks, Watson was a very successful Speedway and Long Track competitor both in Australia and overseas. He competed in World Long Track Championships in Europe and represented Australia in Speedway test matches. Chris was born into a motorcycling family, his father George also a successful Dirt Track competitor on both solos and sidecars. In recent years following his retirement from racing in 2004, Chris has become just as successful in business as he was on the track, operating a major motorcycle dealership at Cessnock NSW. “I have heard a lot about the Broadford Bonanza, “…

In 1967 the two Sydney friends decided that Sydney to London by motorbike would be a great thing to tackle. The big issue was – what bike? Their preferred choice became a 600cc BMW but a visit to Tom Byrne Motorcycles quickly revealed that even second hand this was beyond their budget. So they fell back on their second choice; second hand Harley Davidsons, which had a reputation for being durable and relable. Rob found an ex-army 42 WLA Harley (42 cubic inch, 740cc); almost 30 years old but cheap, built like a tank, mechanically simple, and with low compression and revs. The rigid frame and springer forks meant that the handling was horrendous and learning the hand gear change, foot clutch system was almost like learning to ride all…

That’s why stalwart of the Sydney vintage scene (and now a resident of Yass, NSW) George Keats set out to rectify the situation. It began when George acquired a vintage 1922 Royal Enfield V twin, which came with several old suitcases and trunks full of parts. The Enfield was originally owned by a sign writer, who used to travel between jobs with the tools of his trade stored in the sidecar. It later passed to Cec. Spratt, who eventually sold it to dealer, collector and vintage buff Paddy Ryan. On closer inspection, the cache of parts amounted to a pair of Vickers engines and one Wolseley. As a background, Wolseley was founded by the Vickers brothers, Thomas and Albert, and these 1,000cc side valve engines were developed and patented by…

The VMCC sprung from a display of vintage bikes at Burling & Simmons motorcycle showrooms on Parramatta Rd, Sydney on 29 April 1955. Some of the motorcycling identities and riders at the display were so concerned about the loss of some fabulous historic bikes, they decided to have a meeting at the Hollywood Hotel in July to form the ‘Vintage Motorcyclist Club’. Convened by Ray Corlett, Paddy Ryan (Ryan’s Motorcycles at Parramatta) volunteered to be interim chairman, with Jack Borradale as secretary. The new Club held its first event, the Annual Trial at Parramatta Park in Western Sydney in December 1955. Held every year since then, the VMCC is celebrating it’s 60th annual rally, as it is now known, on 30-31 October – 1 November this year at Cowra, the…

No visit to Mount Panorama is complete without a stop at the National Motor Racing Museum, right beside the track at Murray’s Corner. Inside you’ll find a constantly-changing array of vehicles that have made their mark on not only Mount Panorama, but Australian motorsport in general. The main hall is packed with not just touring cars, but open-wheelers, motorcycles and all sorts of fascinating memorabilia - trophies, driving suits, leathers, helmets, posters and photographs. Take a break in the 40-seat theatrette and watch the videos covering the glorious history of racing on Mount Panorama since 1938, and the just-released version on the history of motorcycle racing at the track. Enjoy a coffee and check out the museum shop. It’s packed with official team merchandise, books, video and collectables. Naturally, any…

In the early ‘seventies, a great wave of admiration swept through the racing rank with the release of the water-cooled Yamaha two stroke twins. Hailed as a breakthrough in terms of performance, and even more importantly, reliability, the range of TZ racers and LC/RD road-going twins achieved immediate success and acceptance, and made Yamaha a lot of money. But was this really the breakthrough it purported to be? Hark back to the turn of the 20th century – to Bradford, England and the slightly eccentric world of Alfred Angas Scott. Alfred was born in 1874; one of twelve children in the family, and was apprenticed as a marine engineer, specialising in steam engines. He was also intrigued by the growing popularity of the bicycle, and in 1897 applied for his…

There can only ever be one contender for the accolade of the ultimate British single on road or track, and that’s the final evolution of the series of special-framed Arter Matchless G50s on which the legendary rider/engineer Peter Williams finished second no less than four times in the Isle of Man Senior TT between 1967 and 1973, most frequently to Giacomo Agostini’s MV Agusta. Built by Kent tuner Tom Arter in 1969 when the era of the British single was most decidedly over – except nobody told him and his studious-looking bespectacled rider that – the last of these bikes was officially named the Arter Special Mk.3, but was better known to all and sundry as ‘Wagonwheels’, in recognition of its pioneering status as the first bike to wear cast…

Mind you, those Grand Prix racers were a fair degree removed from the consumer models, but the quality, the sophisticated engineering, the innovation and the superb finish were certainly present in every model sold to the public. Should one be lucky enough to purchase one of these superb machines, you were part of a very exclusive club indeed. The company itself began when Giuseppe Boselli and his three elder brothers – all of Italian nobility – formed the F.B. company (Fratelli Boselli, or Boselli brothers) in Milan in 1929. The aim was to manufacture their own light commercial delivery vehicles, powered by various small capacity two stroke and four stroke engines. Giuseppe was a talented rider and earned a Gold Medal in the 1935 International Six Days Trial which was…

WIN a Triumph One lucky attendee at the Laidley (Qld) Swap Meet on October 24/25 will take home a 650 Triumph, which is this year’s lucky door prize. This will be drawn at 11am on Sunday 25th October and you must be present to be in the draw. Sunday will also feature a bike show from 8am to 10.45 am. For details, contact Brian Holzigal on 0459 211365. Alwyn’s address When featuring Motocross legend Roger de Coster with Alwyn Gill’s WFO model motorcycles last issue, we inadvertently listed Alwyn Gill’s email address incorrectly; it is abgill@telus.net. Edgar is everywhere. In Britain, registration plates are required by law to carry the name of the vehicle’s supplier. David Kidd sent us this photo of his Honda Pan European, which has obviously been…

• 2-3 May, 2015 – Wellington NSW ‘Elevens on parade The Yamaha XS1100 Rally is held annually on the first weekend in May, this event has been an annual event since 2012 with the first two rallies being held in Bourke NSW being the most central point for all to meet. In 2014 the event was held in Nymboida just south of Grafton, and this year the event was held in Wellington NSW. This year saw a smaller turn out than previous years. That may have been due to no attendees from South Australia or Victoria, there was a fairly good turn out from the Queenslanders coming from as far as Bundaburg. The Queenslanders also experienced a lot of rain as the wild weather escorted their journey to New South…