The Classic MotorCycle March 2018

Coincidences in motorcycling seem to occur with a reasonable degree of regularity. Some are just odd – for example, we bump into our friend Dave, who we met on an Irish rally years ago, in unexpected places, the strangest being the fish market in Venice. Others places include the quay at Blakeney, Norfolk last summer (he lives in Surrey), while my brother spotted him at a Fleetwood Mac concert at Wembley. Obviously it’s no surprise when I bump into Dave at Brooklands or Banbury, or any of the other places our paths cross, but the north Norfolk coast or an island off the Italian mainland came as a bit more of a surprise. This came to mind over the Christmas period, looking through a folder that accompanied my latest acquisition.…

The reason for the African/Arabian/Turkish pastiche garb (and the camel!) was that Riverside County, California, was just about the only place north of Africa where dates could be grown. The rider of the lightly customised Triumph twin was Skip Fordyce, a local motorcycle trader. Skip’s Triumph was a new motorcycle too, one of the launchedfor-1959 5TA Speed Twins, which were based upon the 350cc 3TA/ Twenty-One and implemented to supersede the long running, super successful original Speed Twin, designed by Edward Turner, and arguably the most important British motorcycle ever made. Launched for the 1938 season, the Speed Twin was a revelation which sparked a revolution. For years, a sporting 500cc model wasn’t a sporting 500cc model, unless it was an overhead valve (or overhead camshaft) big single, as hairy-chested…

The Vintage Motor Cycle Club is very active in Scotland at present and a meeting to consider setting up a new section in North Argyll and Lochaber is to take place on February 23. Anyone with an interest in old motorcycles is invited whether or not they are VMCC members. Location is the Alexandra Hotel, The Parade, Fort William, PH33 6AZ at 7.30pm. The VMCC’s president Rodney Hann will chair the meeting. If you are interested please get in contact with local resident Chris Jones on 07768 268854 or email cjoneshome@btinternet.com…

It’s all trails leading to the Telford International Centre for the Classic Dirt Bike Show, over the weekend of February 17/18. Well-known off-road exponent and raconteur Colin Dommett is one of the guests of honour, and he’ll no doubt have some good tales to tell, with Colin joined by Gerrit Wolsink (twice runner-up in the 1970s in the 500cc GP table) and ex-ISDT rider Peter Duke, who’ll be talking about his late father Geoff as well as his own riding career. There’s also the usual raft of off-road iron – be your preference motocross, trials, racing or speedway… anything that doesn’t take place on the road. Gates open at 10am, advance tickets from 01507 529529, the postcode is TF3 4JH.…

This year’s Prescott Bike Fest is set to be the biggest and best yet, with so much to do that organisers have now extended it to cover two days. The event will return to the Gloucestershire hill climb venue on April 14/15, and it will feature a hugely diverse range of machinery covering virtually every era of motorcycling. Throughout the weekend there’ll be live music, special guest appearances, a large zone for youngsters, more than 100 quality trade stands, clubs, plus beer and food tents. All proceeds go to the Nationwide Association of Blood Bikes and regional Blood Bike group Severn Freewheelers. The latter is one of 27 Blood Bike groups around the UK that provide a free out-of-hours courier service for medical essentials. The life-saving service is run by…

A superb single owner collection of motorcycles, many of which predate the First World War, is set to go on sale with French auction house Artcurial next week (February 10). Belonging to a French enthusiast who started collecting in the 1960s, the collection comprises nearly 80 pioneer, veteran and vintage machines. The majority are unique and offer a fantastic testimony to the early days of the motorcycle. The collection was based in Thiers, the knife-making capital of France. Old motorcycles often found their way to the central French region to be dismantled so the metal could be melted and recycled to make knives. This collector rescued some rare and very unusual motorcycles from this fate and displayed many of them on the walls like paintings. From early on, he was…