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UK OFFSALE DATE: 05/03/20

MARCH 2020

ISSUE 431

£4.20

12: BULLDOG BASH, THE EARLY DAYS WE LOOK BACK AT ONE OF THE MOST FONDLY REMEMBERED EVENTS OF THE BRITISH CUSTOM SCENE 18: H-D SHOVEL BARE METAL BRUISER!

6: NEWS ALL THAT’S NEW AND HAPPENING IN THE CUSTOM BIKE WORLD 8: PRODUCTS LOADS OF GOOD STUFF FOR YOU TO SPEND YOUR HARD-EARNED ON 10: LETTERS SOUND OFF, ONE, TWO, SOUND OFF, THREE, FOUR! 54: CENTRE SPREAD AN ARTISTIC POSTER FOR YOU TO PUT ON YER WALL 56: SUBSCRIBE TO BSH SEE HERE FOR THE BEST SUBSCRIPTION OFFERS 66: YAMAHA NIKEN LONGTERMER BACK TO THE REALITY OF WINTER… 74: TECH BSH’S RESIDENT SPANNER MONKEY TWIRLS HIS IMPLEMENTS… FNURK

78: MR BRIDGES THE GURU IMPARTS MORE OF HIS KNOWLEDGE OF MECHANICS 86: EVENTS YOUR ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO THE BEST RALLIES, SHOWS AND PARTIES 94: MAG NEWS OUR REGULAR COLUMN BY THE MAG CHAIRNON GENDERSPECIFICPERSON 95: READERS’ LIVES THREE PAGES OF YOUR PICS...

AND OUR SILLY CAPTIONS 104: SMALLS SELL YOUR BIKE HERE FOR FREE! 105: NEXT MONTH JUST TO WHET YOUR APPETITE… 106: RICK HULSE THE MUSINGS OF ONE OF THE MOST ELOQUENT THINKERS IN BIKERDOM

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22: NCC MERCIA CUSTOM BIKES IN ALCESTER...

AND NOT ULSTER AS I THOUGHT THEY SAID… 24: VT500 CHOP MATT BLACK, BUT COOL AS HELL

28: BARREL BIKERS’ CUSTOM SHOW GENUINELY BORN IN A BARN… WELL, OKAY, AT A BARN 30: HINCKLEY TRIUMPH INSPIRING STORY, AND AMAZING PAINT! 34: LLAN BIKE FEST DOWN IN A VALLEY, LOOK YOU! 36: VN900 KWAK RUSTY, BUT IT AIN’T NO RATTER! 42: YORKSHIRE PUDDING RALLY WOR DAVIE’S ENJOYING HIMSELF FAR TOO MUCH AGAIN 48: NESS-STYLE DIGGER THE COVER BIKE IN ALL ITS GLORY 58: Z550 CHOP DARK AND MYSTERIOUS! 62: MALTA HARLEY PHIL PIPER BUILDS ANOTHER STONKER! 70: 350 ENFIELD OLD SCHOOL AND PROPER COOL!

Welcome to the new issue of BSH, hope you’ve got your woollies on?

As I sit here typing this, last night over ‘ere in East Angular we had our coldest night of the winter so far – a smidge under minus 4 degrees C. Now, I know that doesn’t really compare with the temperatures in certain parts of the country (Scotland, for example), where it’s been so cold polar bears’ve started thinking about migrating south, but it’s cold enough to make even the thought of riding a bike, to me anyway, a not very attractive one. Maybe I’ve got nesh in me old age?

I’d better get me head together though ‘cos, not long after you read this, meself and a couple of mates’re off to the most hardcore British rally there is – Conwy MCC’s Dragon Rally, up in the mountains of North Wales. In February. Me, a bloke who doesn’t really like the cold much. Don’t ever believe anyone who tells you I’m a smart cookie, will you? (I know they’re unlikely to, but…) ✱✱✱✱✱✱✱✱✱✱✱✱✱✱✱ Anyway, plans for 2020 are well underway, and it looks like this year’s going to be a doozy. We’ve confirmed two of the three venues we need for the free BSH custom shows we’re planning this year (well, actually three of four if you include the one at the Ace Café in September), and the list of events we’ll be attending is growing almost daily (and it’s only feckin’ February!) so if you’d like us to come to yours, please get in touch (but do it asap as the list is, as I say, filling).

Similarly, despite the fact that we were a little over-enthusiastic in bike shooting last year (if we’ve got pics of your bike and it hasn’t been in yet, please bear with us – it will!), as soon as the weather gets a bit warmer we’ll be back out on the road taking pics of the best custom bikes in the land so, if you’re building something cool for this year, please let us know and we’l do our best to come and see you. Drop me an email at nik@backstreetheroes.com or come up and buttonhole me at an event, yeah? ✱✱✱✱✱✱✱✱✱✱✱✱✱✱✱ There’s been a lot of talk about car headlights getting brighter and brighter as technology moves on, and how these days they’re so bright that they’re quite literally blinding (and don’t get me started on them feckers with the blue ones that, on bumpy roads, look like police blues-and-twos in your mirrors…

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bastards, they’ve taken years off my life, I’m convinced of it).

Apart from the obvious, that they’re stupidly bright, there’re another couple o’ things I’ve noticed, both of which affect bikers. Firstly, the fact that they’re so dazzling means that it’s often very difficult to see the indicators of cars coming towards you as they’re lost in the glare, meaning you’re never quite sure if the car’s turning or not. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve been sat at the end of my road, waiting to pull out, only to have car after car turn into it, their indicators lost in the searchlight-like beams of the headlights. You have to assume they’re not turning, don’t you, and just patiently wait until you’re sure, or risk being mown down by two tons of speeding steel. Me, I’m quite happy to wait until I’m quite certain but, judging from the horns being sounded behind me, other people’s attitudes to road safety aren’t quite as relaxed as mine, obviously.

Secondly, since the inception of daytime headlamps on bikes in 1987 (yes, I know the law doesn’t say you MUST drive with your headlight on, but for all vehicles first used on or after 1st April that year the regulations in the UK stated that all new vehicles have to be equipped with a ‘dim-dip’ device that, effectively, is a daytime running light, and bike manufacturers found it easier to just do away with the switch that turns the lights on and off), we’ve kind o’ got used to seeing bikes with their lights on. Now, leaving aside the arguments that say that having your lights on changes the onus of responsibility, from the driver having to actually look where they’re feckin’ going to the motorcyclist to make themselves more visible, the fact that most cars have their lights on all the time, and the fact that new headlights are so bloody bright, bikes’ve become almost as ‘invisible’ again as they were prior to 1987. In fact, bikes now are probably more difficult to see than they were back then because the brightness of the new car lights completely drowns out the light from a bike’s headlamp – prior to ’87, people who said the classic ‘Sorry, mate, I didn’t see you’ were generally just myopic numpties, but now they genuinely can’t see us ‘cos (a) everyone has their lights on, which makes bikes difficult to distinguish from other traffic, and (b) they’re feckin’ blinded by the brightness of car headlights!

What the answer to this is I don’t know – all we can really do is try to be extremely careful out there, y’know?

See you next month!

NIK

FREELANCE CONTRIBUTORS:

EDITORIAL ADDRESS:

SIMON EVERETT, ZIPPY, BILLY LUDLAM, GARRY STUART, PHIL PIPER, ALAN CARVILLE, JAY RANSOME, MR BRIDGES, SELINA LAVENDER, RICK HULSE

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The Herald Motor Co. recently launched their new Brat 125, the latest addition to their range.

Available in military green, iron grey, and copper, it comes with a digital dash, LED lights, monoshock rear suspension, and a premium stainless steel exhaust.

The Brat 125 is now available to purchase from Herald’s network of authorised dealers, and comes with a two-year parts, and one-year labour, warranty, as well as two years' RAC breakdown cover, and has an RRP of £2,999 (plus OTR charges).

Get more info from their website at www. heraldmotorcompany.com

ASE Custom Motorcycles is a custom builders based in the West Midlands who’ve made a bit of a name for themselves over the last few years, building some very nice examples of new skool customs (café racers, scramblers, etc.). They recently finished a minimalised Kawasaki KLR650 scrambler, with a Z400T tank, which was raced at the Bike Shed

Festival at Lydden Hill, and this very, very nice XV920 Virago café racer, which was good enough to qualify for a place at the Bike Shed show in London last year.

As soon as the weather gets better, we’ll get along and get some pics of the Yam, but until then you can contact them on 07800 932577 or at www.asecustommotorcycles.co.uk

Late last year, Mitas Tyres launched their new custom bike tyres – the new Custom Force range, and they’re available in sizes 130/90/16, 100/90/19, 21 and 80/90/2 fronts, and 170/80/15, 130/90/16, and 140/80/16 rears.

Get more info from your local tyre supplier or aswww.mita moto.com 6

MARCH 2020

Needles & Pins UK Ltd, based in Somerton, hand-makes bespoke protective covers for all types of modern and classic bikes. Their covers are made-to-measure in-house by talented seamstresses using traditional methods, as well as the latest technology such as laser 3D scanning.

They’re perfect for fitting unusual shapes, are long-lasting and tight fitting, and they can be made in a range of colours.

Anyone wishing to have a bespoke cover made can contact Needles & Pins UK Ltd by calling 01458 272057 or visiting www.needlesandpins.uk

A BRIEF, NOT TOO SERIOUS EXPLANATION OF TERMS COMMONLY USED IN THE MAGAZINE. THIS MONTH, THE Js:

The Adventurists are organising two amazing tours of India by rickshaw this year; one in April, and one in August.

The Rickshaw Run travels the length of India, covers nearly 3,000km up the west coast of the country, and there’s no actual set route, just two obligatory rules – ‘get off the tourist trail’ and ‘experience the real India’. It’s hard for participants not to oblige, given that driving rickshaws on major roads isn’t advisable, and breakdowns in random places way off the beaten track are inevitable. All of the 85 rickshaws, which carry up to three people, are ‘pimped’ to your own design by local artists.

It costs £1,995 for a team of up to three, and includes a rickshaw pimped to your own design, all the necessary paperwork, test driving, a launch party and a finish party, a jerry can, key spare parts (plus the tools to change them), and two weeks of some of the most underpantstirring adventuring possible! For more details visit www. theadventurists.com/ rickshaw-run

After years of research and development, Brighton-based Sinnis International has launched the new learner-legal vee-twin Hyosung Aquila GV125S. Looking a lot like a three-quarter scale Sportster, the bike has a low seat, LCD instruments, improved power and handling, 70mph performance, water-cooling, a linear power curve, and larger, in keeping, tyres.

Available in two colours, Black and Storm Grey, the Aquila GV125S is distributed exclusively

by Sinnis International, and costs from £3,629. To find your local dealer, go to www.hyosung motorcycles. co.uk

JACK – the pet name for Jack Daniels Tennessee whiskey, drunk, as everyone knows, by ‘real’ bikers…

JIS – the type of cross-headed screw used on Japanese machinery (it’s Japanese Industrial Standard), and for which a JIS screwdriver should be used, not a Philips or a Pozidrive JOCKEY SHIFT – moving a diminutive horse-rider from one place to another... also a hand-operated gear-shift directly connected to the transmission (i.e. without a linkage on to a tank-mounted lever). See also suicide clutch

JACKSHAFT – in reference to bikes, an intermediary shaft, usually connected by a short chain to the engine sprocket, that’s used to transmit power from the engine to a new, much wider rear wheel without having to make complicated modifications to the front sprocket to bring it in line with the rear one

JOCKEY WHEEL – an additional sprocket (or wheel), usually used as a chain tensioner, and often sprung to retain tension under suspension movement

JAP – proprietary engines built

by John Alfred Prestwich, in single cylinder and vee-twin forms, in the Tottenham factory from 1902 until Villiers had taken over production by 1957. Their most famous usage was in Brough Superiors of yore

JUGS – Colloquial term for cylinders

JAP – colloquial name for a motorcycle made by any of the four Japanese manufacturers (Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki, Yamaha). Back in the ‘70s it was often followed by the word ‘crap’, usually by someone who was rebuilding their Triumph or Norton for the fourteenth consecutive time…

JAWA – small, robe-wearing alien from Star Wars… okay, also a rather agricultural Czechoslovakian twostroke motorcycle beloved of weirdos and the technologically perverse JET – brass tubular metering device used in carburettors to control the amount of fuel and air entering the combustion chamber. Discussions about them in pubs have been known to bore women, and less technicallyminded men too, catatonic JIG – a heavy-duty construction used, when building a frame, to hold the constituent parts in the correct position before and while they’re welded. Also a funny kind of Irish dance where the legs appear to defy the laws of physics…

JOURNAL – the part of a shaft that rotates within a bearing, either crank, cam or transmission (or barrels) that leaves anyone who isn’t an American sniggering into their tea

JUICE BRAKE – another odd American term, this time for a drum brake operated by hydraulics, rather than a rod or cable

JUMP-START – getting a recalcitrant motorcycle to start by connecting electrical leads between the battery terminals of a healthy machine, and the poorly one. Not recommended for motorcycles with fuel-injection systems due to an occasional tendency to fry the system’s ‘brain’…

JUNK – in custom bike building terms, the parts of a donor motorcycle that aren’t being used to create the new bike, often referred to as parts to be ‘junked’ or those thrown on to the ‘junk pile’ (parts being kept are thrown on to the ‘keep pile’). In American terms, a slightly derogatory name for a man’s genitalia, usually used by cool doods who, despite appearances, probably don’t like themselves very much…

JUPITER’S TRAVELS – the inspiring book by Ted Simon detailing his global travels aboard a Triumph twin in the Nineteen-Seventies

Smokehead Islay Single Malt Whisky recently teamed up with a US custom builder, Tyler Lunceford, to create a one-of-a-kind customised Ducati, inspired by vintage motorcycles.

Lunceford, of North Motorcycles, known as the Ducati Whisperer of the New York Tri-State area, has over 20 years’ experience customising bikes for bikers and rock stars, and recently relocated to Edinburgh where he crafted The Smoker.

Iain Weir, Smokehead Brand Director, said: “We’re overwhelmed with how The Smoker has turned out. Tyler has exceeded expectations and created something incredible. Just like our whisky, The Smoker is bold, daring, independent and, most importantly, not for everyone.”

For more info on Smokehead Whiskey, go to www.smokehead.com MARCH 2020

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The Savage is the first open-face helmet with full Bluetooth 4.1 capability built in. Hidden beneath the composite fibreglass shell is a top-of-the-line Sena communication system for bike-to-bike comms, phone calls, turn-byturn GPS, and FM radio/Mp3 music on the move. It connects with up to three riders, and has a one mile range for easy bike-to-bike chat, Bluetooth speakers built into the ear cavities, a high quality mic, advanced Noise Control software to minimise wind noise, and easy-to-use Jog Dial Controls and voice prompts.

The Savage comes with a choice of two peaks, is fully ECE2205 approved, and is available in classic Matt Black, sizes medium to XL, for just £289.99. Visit UK distributor www.motohaus.com f details. d il for

Inspired by tactical combat mba gloves, the Matrix are light and tough, made from a full-grain leather/textile mix, have dual-layered leather at critical zones, TPU reinforcement over the knuckle, vents on each finger, and silicone grips on the fingertips.

They’re available in Sand or Black, in sizes S-3XL, and retail for £59.99 from anywhere that stocks the Weise range or www.weiseclothing.com

This 5.0 Bluetooth headset is a perfect group intercom that connects an unlimited number of riders up to a 1200 metre range, and all other functions such as telephoning, listening to music, or navigation are also supported. It can be connect to different Bluetooth devices from any manufacturer, and has an U-Safe Crash sensor that alerts up to three contacts via SMS with GPS lo ocation in the event of strong helmet impa acts.

They come with three brackets, and are suitable for all motorcycle helm mets, and they’re available from all Zodia ac dealers. Go to www.zodiac.nl to find your nearest stockist.

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MARCH 2020

These are CNC-machined from billet aluminium, with a forged alloy top clamp, for excellent strength and rigidity, and have clean, yet aggressive styling featuring machined windows and d sculptured pockets. They’re made for 1” ‘bars, and fit all yokes with 3.5” (89mm) centre-to-centre riser mounts.

Available in black or chrome, and in 2.5” ”, 6”, and 10” high sizes, they’re available from all Zodiac dealers. Go to www. zodiac.nl to fi fin nd your nearest stockist.

These urban-style boots are made from ful-g grain leather, have an ARMR R TEX waterproof and breathable membrane to keep your feet dry and cool, and an anti-slip solle, and are heat an nd oil-resistant.

Available in all th he usual sizes, they cost £109.99 from anywhere that stocks the ARMR range or www.tri-mo otive.com

T This handy little toolkit has 27 pieces including ergonomic soft gel handles,, chrome vanadium steel sockets (8mm/10mm/12mm/13mm/14mm)/ extension bar/hex keys (2-6mm), a compact storage case to keep under yo rear seat (18.5cm x 10.5cm x your 4cm), a mini ratchet handle, and a 20mm adjustable mini spanner suitable for most sizes of bolts, a 10-piece screwdriver bit set, mini wire cutters, mini needle nose pliers, and cable ties.

It costs just £29.99 from anywhere that stocks the Oxford Products range or www.oxfordproducts.com

The Harrington is a casual short jacket, in the traditional Harrington design, and is great for warmer weather. It has a laminated Dry2Dry outer shell, and taped seams, for waterresistance, a Dupont Kevlar lining,, back/elbow/shoulder armour, a cottonlined collar with two press studs and a storm flap, two handwarmer pockets, and press studs on the cuffs.

Available in Black or Green, and in all the usual sizes, it costs just £139.99 from anywhere that stocks the Oxford Products range or www.oxfordproducts.com

This rather cool, and very patriotic, open-face helmet is made from moulded thermo-plastic, and has quick-release fastening, removable cheek and centre pads, an integral dropdown tinted visor, and costs just £69.99.

Get one from anywhere that stocks the Spada range or www.spadaclothing.co.uk

C b ’ very cool Ghost helmet, Caberg’s which is both an open-face and a full-face (the front/bottom is a mask that lifts up), now comes in a carbon fibre option. It has a carbon fibre shell, an anti-scratch visor with Pinlock, a micrometric buckle, and a removable and washable liner. The mask foam is available in three different thicknesses, and the helmet’s ready for Caberg’s Just Speak Bluetooth communication system or other Bluetooth systems, too.

Available in sizes XS to XL, it costs £289.99 (the non-carbon variants start at £172.99), and you can get one from anywhere that stocks the Caberg range. Go to www.cabergcares. co.uk to find your nearest place.

Sort out old steel or fibreglass rusty fuel tanks with this new tank sealer kit consisting of a phosphating rust converter that stops rust immediately and converts it into a noncorrosive metal compound, and a transparent singlecomponent tank sealing resin that fills small holes and porous tanks too, by making a new and flexible protective inner tank, and can be built up to 3mm thick for really bad ones.

There are two kits, a smaller 10-litre one and a larger 40-litre one, and they cost £29.50 and £39.50 respectively, from Custom Cruisers UK or 01773 835666 or www.customcruisers.com

MARCH 2020

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Need to agree, or even disagree, with something you’ve seen in the mag? Heard a bloody awful joke you think we should groan at? Email nik@backstreetheroes.com or send it snailmail to the address in the front (somewhere) of the mag!

It’s that time of year when the sun dies and is born again, the midwinter solstice and all that, and I find that what Rick Hulse says rings true.

I remember back when the only glasses I had were shades, and I didn’t know what a backache was. Now in my 63rd year I’ve come to a decision – I’m only putting up my tent when the sun is high in the sky. Next year I’ve booked a lovely B&B for my Brittany rally trip in May, and I’ll book a magic camping teepee, with a bed, for the Trip Out, as last year I seized solid trying to get out of my sleeping bag and into my boots in my cramped, cold tent. Also I’m not ashamed to say that I’ve taken to wearing long johns under my jeans, even Kevlar ones, which keep my family jewel’s toasty, as well as my arse safe – I must admit that, when you don’t bounce as well as you did 30 years ago, it's wise.

It’d be nice if all doctors were as un-judgemental as Rick’s – at my last check-up all was fine, taking into account my anno domini, but when I answered the booze question with “a few beers of a Friday night, a bottle of vino with the old lady, and a glass or so with my grub”, I was met with a frown and, “That’s more than I recommend.”

Cheers!

Just got the new edition of BSH, and read the retroperspective on the Kent show – awesome! I managed four Kents in a row, including the 10th anniversary, and was also around 19/20 years old when I did my first. I had an XS650 chop, which broke down about 10 miles from my home in Rushden when the solder on the back of the ignition switch came loose. Having long hair at the time, I used my hairband and wrapped it round the ignition switch, and it got me to Kent and back! Having had holidays as a young boy in Folkestone (Great Nan and Grandad lived there) made it even more special to me, and being able to ride down the coast to Folkestone and go and see them was extra-special.

Absolutely fantastic days – around 30,000 of us, all having a great time! There was nowhere else like it for me. I have the Engine set, introduced by the late Dr Maz Harris, from the 10th anniversary gig on CD. I look forward to the Bulldog Bash next month.

I won free tickets from BSH for one of them! What with the late Jim Fogg stories, the Kent show and the bikes, life is f**king great!

MARK

CLIVE

Now that it’s getting cold enough to freeze the balls of a brass monkey, I’d like to offer the following observation: The brass monkey, discussed several issues of BSH ago, was indeed a triangular container in which cannonballs were stacked in an inverted cone-shape on the decks of warships, and that severe cold weather would indeed cause the brass monkey to contract and, indeed, burp the cannonballs out and over the deck, a most undesirable situation. While I know little about the differing expansion/ contraction rates of brass and iron, except that they differ, and while my brief and indistinguished career was Army, and not Navy, it was a Royal Navy tour guide on HMS Victory who informed me of the above.

However, as far as we are concerned, freezing the balls off a brass monkey is best described by the late Jim Fogg (RIP) in his recent gem in BSH ‘A Place in the Country’.

Some of us of more… ahem… advancing years may remember back to Paul Sample’s Ogri cartoons in Bike back in the ‘70s (now I’m showing my age!), namely number eight – Biking in Winter. This says it all. Ever had hypothermia? Not nice. Had we even heard of the term hypothermia in the ‘70’s? I think we just froze to death in those days.

Enough of that. Nik, I salute your reference to freedom of choice in regard of the pros and cons of open/closed face helmets.

Some of us oldies can remember back to the days when freedom of choice extended to being able to choose whether or not to

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MARCH 2019

The writer of this month’s Star Letter wins a pair of Duchinni Sherwood boots (classic full grain leather boots with a waterproof lining, and zip closure) worth £129.99. Find out more at www.thekeycollection.co.uk

wear a helmet in the first place. Summary of conversation with several police officers after a MAG rally in the 1970s: “What would happen if somebody stole my helmet?”

No comment.

“I wouldn’t be able to ride home.”

No comment.

“What would happen if I didn’t have a spare helmet, and I had to give someone a lift in an emergency?”

No comment.

“What would happen is that I’d give them my helmet, and I wouldn’t pay the fine.”

No comment.

I rest my case.

Nik, once again I salute you, reference encouraging young riders on 125s to join the merry throng, and swell the depleting ranks.

Hell, I like 125s. I passed my test on one (and promptly traded it in for a Bonneville 650, but that’s another story). You can pootle around and get incredible fuel economy, or you can screw the guts out of the little blighter and get there in respectable time.

They’re also perfectly suitable for longdistance touring – it just takes a bit longer to get there, that’s all, but at least you can take some interest in the scenery, which is probably more than you can do with a Kamikaze Neurofighter F36 (or whatever they’re called these days – an indicated 171mph on an autobahn? Sod that).

I’ll conclude with a couple of sundry observations which were broached in the letters at one time or another. The Palestines got what they wanted – the Gaza strip.

Hamas then turned it into a fortified military slum to fire Kassam rockets (flying dustbins) at innocent Israeli citizens. And the world throws up its hand in horror when the Israelis defend themselves! Do I detect an element of hypocrisy here? Israel is a Jewish nation.

To be anti-Israeli is by definition to be antiSemitic. Sorry, but that’s how it is. If religion didn’t exist, mankind’d only have to find another excuse to vent their unholy spleens on others. That’s the lust for power for which you blame on certain sections of humanity.

Oh, yes, waterproof luggage carriers. I long since gave up there. I have, untested as yet, a Jack Pyke rucksack of 75 litres, more coal sack than rucksack, with an estimated hydrostatic head of nil, which means that it’s probably as waterproof as a bath sponge. That can be rectified by the use of stuff bags, carrier bags or bin bags, so problem solved, and the rucksack itself is probably bomb-proof.

To conclude, to those who are unaware of, or refute, Paseal’s Wager and Gilbert Ryle’s Ghost in the Machine, to those who confidently assert that there is no life after death, I pose a simple question – how do you know? You’ve never been dead.

MIKE WHALLEY

H1 Mach 111 1976 Well, like everyone else, I’d had my share of bikes, They all had their songs, you know the thing, FSIE perched on stand in lurid banana yellow, RD 250; joined the blue haze club, flat on the tank, And then content to potter awhile on my old Triumph.

I still remember the evening strolling down to the Rolle Arms, Thumbs locked firm in my studded leather belt, Collar up, turn-ups just so above my battered leather boots, Settled, content: had my reference point in the world, When like a meteor she came, blitzed up from behind, A searing cacophony of scorching pistons, burning rubber, Unearthly growl; guttural, rancid, gut-wrenching, That scorched my soul, left an indelible mark, I wheeled just in time to see a hoodwrapped figure, Crowding over low bars in black streaming leather, Tortured limbs wrestling to control the Beast, That spat and gnarled and strained at the leash.

Such beauty in a sound that ripped conformity asunder, Seismic powerhouse of evil locked in those alloy fins, Like a shark; impassive. Searched and hunted, Devoured, broke, dismembered, thrilled and enchanted.

I never forgot the moment as black damper tightly screwed, She banked to the right, footpegs shearing sparks of fire, As cracking down a cog she screamed away, With a howl from the demented bowls of the Earth, Triumphantly mocking as I stood, watched and wondered…

MARK PINCHIN

As I sit with my fresh copy of my favourite biker mag, I read the readers’ letters and, as always, find myself ranting and agreeing with like-minded old school bikers.

As for bikers not stopping to see if you’re okay, I can relate to this completely. Back in the day, in 1970, when I got my first bike (Yam FS1E, of course), I felt proud as punch that I was a biker, and I thought it was great that older bikers used to wave or nod. I thought it was fantastic, and more so when one day I was coming home and, in the middle of nowhere, about 20 miles from home, my chain snapped (as a new young biker, a lack of proper maintenance). Anyway, not knowing what to do, I had one hell of a walk in front of me when, out of nowhere, a biker came by on a Bonnie. To me as a kid it was a real bike, and the rider matched (proper scruffy leather, dirty jeans, the full monty). He said: “You okay, son?” I told him what'd happened, and he said: “Okay, I only live a few miles away, I’ll be back in a bit,” and off he went. I didn’t know the etiquette, and thought I wouldn’t see him again – well, how wrong was I? Around 20 minutes later a van pulled up and, yes, there was the biker – big smile, fag in his gob. He proceeded to load my Fizzie into his van, and drove me and my busted ride all the way (20 miles!) home.

My mum thanked him with a cuppa, but he wouldn’t take any money, and all I know was his name was Tom. Now, to me that’s what being a biker is all about – not like today’s wannabees who buy a bike and think they’re bikers, don’t make me laugh! Half of them wouldn’t know how to change a spark plug! I always nod or wave to passing bikers, and you can tell the old school as they always nod or wave back. Young or new riders haven’t got a clue.

My other gripe is when did it become a fashion to ride with no gloves, sometimes just T-shirts and shorts? OMG! It’s obvious to me that they’ve never come off a bike because, if they had, then they’d never get on a bike without the proper safety gear.

Thank God for old school bikers to show us the way.

Yeah, we now shave our heads where once we had flowing locks, and proper bikers either have beards or goatees (and the way we can tell we’re old school is because they’re grey). If you’re a wannabee, learn from the old school what etiquette means, nod or wave, and if you see a biker on the side of the road, take five minutes to stop and see if they’re okay – you never know, next time it could be you stuck miles from home.

WAYNE THE BRUMMIE OLD SCHOOL BIKER

While I appreciate the ethos of ball-pein hammer and a bit of 4x2 in making a mudguard, as they are often handy items, should you come across old plumbers’ tools, the lead-bashing ones seem to work well on thin metal. They’re mainly eggshaped on a wooden handle, and made of hard timber. I often use mine for corking wine bottles as they’re softer than metal hammers, with just a little bit of give (I should’ve taken a pic... sorry!).

All the best,

DAVE MARCH 2019

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WORDS: NIK PICS: BSH ARCHIVE

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AS WITH OUR LOOK BACK AT THE KENT CUSTOM BIKE SHOW LAST ISSUE (GET YOUR HANDS ON A BACK ISSUE FROM OUR WEBSITE IF YOU MISSED IT), THIS TIME WE’VE TAKEN A LOOK BACK THROUGH THE NOW, SADLY, DEPLETED BSH ARCHIVES AT THE EARLY YEARS OF THE BULLDOG BASH.

stablished way back in the heady days of the late ’80s, 1987 to be precise, the Bulldog was revolutionary amongst biker events as it had a twin focus – it wass traditional in that it had bands, beer, food,, a custom show, stands and all that, but it also had an on-site drag strip on which no ot only could you watch proper drag bikes and cars being given what for, but you u could go out there, on your bike, and givee it a go, too.

Yeah, I’m awaree that there’ll be pedants out there who’ll argue that Santa Pod Raceway in Northaamptonshire’d had events where you could Run-What-Ya-Brung, and there were bands there in the evenings too, but they weren’t reeally biker festivals – no,

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they were mostly car-biased, with bikes let in almost in suferance. he Bulldog was very, very diferen. It was a biker event through and through, and because of that, just like at Kent, it had a very diferent, very welcoming feel. It started as quite a small event on the former airield at RAF Long Marston, just outside Stratford-uponAvon in Warwickshire, and grew until, at its reported heyday in 2007, 50,000 people attended. Sadly, in the mid part of the last decade, plans were announced to sell of the land to build houses on, and the last Bulldog was held in August 2017.

For many out there, the Bulldog was the irst big event they ever went to, and because of the drag strip it seemed to attract a slightly diferent crowd to other biker events. he ’strip seemed to attract a diferent breed MARCH 2020

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of petrolhead – one that was more into speed and power than the usual big rally attendee, and, in fact, the event could be said to be one of the cornerstones of the streetighter cult, with fast, loud, cut-down ds locking there in motorcycles of all kind nt on my drag-tuned their droves. I irst wen Z1000 MKII in about ’89 (I think!), and member being utterly raced it there, and I rem heer f**k-ofness of blown away by the sh some of the bikes theree. I remember racing ZX10, with clip-ons a guy on a hardtail Z n though I got to the and rear-sets, and even was insanely jealous top end irst (just!), I w have a sot spot for of his bike, and still h the original kind of strreetighter (minimal hardtail frame, soddingg great engine, little n to this day. handlebar fairing) even Over the next few years, meself and

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a crew of mates made the pilgrimage over to Warwickshire from Sufolk, and had an absolute ball every time we did. My then girlfriend, Nicky, raced her Zephyr one year, and spent the entire weekend on an adrenalineinduced high, and although I didn’t get to race again myself for quite a few years due to the fact that I was too poor to aford a fast bike, I still spent a huge amount of time down by the ’strip almost drinking in the spectacle – demo passes by pukka drag bikes, Ford Pop’ Competition Altereds that wheelied of the line, Top Fuelers (both cars and bikes) and, of course, the FireForce jet cars. It was like being at the ’Pod, somewhere I’ve always liked, but with loud, shouty rock bands, naughty ladies whose clothes kept coming of, and enough beer to drown in many times over. It was, in short, bloody ace!

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As I said in the Kent retro article, rather than just have me waling away, I’vve been through the BSH archives, or what’s let of them these days, and graabbed a load of old pics from articles bacck in the day. It was damn good fun goiing through them, and I hope they givve you as much of a grin as they did mee. hese are from the early days (’87 to abo out ’91), and we’ll do another piece on lateer Bulldogs in a couple o’ three issues’ tim me, but for now …

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THE SOUTH & WEST CUSTOM & CLASSIC

THEY SAY THAT LIGHTNING NEVER STRIKES TWICE. THAT, LADIES AND GENTS, IS UTTER COBBLERS...

WORDS: DAVE MANNING PICS: SIMON EVERETT

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oy C Sullivan, a park ranger in Virginia, was hit no less than seven times during the 71 years he was on this Earth and, more relevantly, Lightning Services in Trowbridge have had a number of bikes featured over the years and, like the thunderstorm over the mouth of the Catatumbo ENGINE: Harley-Davidson FLH 1340 river in Venezuela (which has Shovelhead, S&S Super E carb, up to 280 lightning strikes per LSDmoto cold-start/fast-idle hour between 140 and 160 days device, modified Super B BirdCatcher air-filter, H-D crank, each year), they show no sign of Delkron cases, Primo clutch (MCS stopping at any point soon. hub/Alto Red Eagle plates)/2” open he particular bike you see belt-primary, Revtech 4-speed ratchet-top kicker ‘box, one-off here was built by Baz and crew stainless fishtails by Pete Sutton, for a customer, using a Paughco Moon points cover rigid frame, and a 1340cc FRAME: Modified Paughco rigid, pattern Shovelhead motor. It’s not H-D footrests/hangers, PM foota totally original Shovel – the controls/rear master-cylinder crank is genuine Milwaukee, but STUFF: it sits in Delkron cases, and is Avon SM 21” tyre, 21” wheel, Chopper Stopper mini drum brake, fed by an S&S Super E carb, and one-off LSDmoto stainless brake waste products are disposed of torque arm/Ultra-Narrow Glide billet yokes/brake cable/one-off stainless via a pair of gloriously short, spindle/WireThru hollow polished ishtail pipes fabricated by the stainless bolts/internal throttle, stainless steel wizard, Pete modified Custom Chrome forks (shaved/polished), one-off stainless Sutton. A four-speed kicker ’box, ‘bars/built-in risers/sissy-bar/struts by an open Primo belt-drive, and a Pete Sutton, mini stainless switches, fully spec’d Primo clutch ensure mini speedo (transmission drive), Coke bottle grips, modified NOS smooth delivery of the vee twin’s eBay fuel tank with early ‘70s ribbed copious torque. flush-fit filler/Pingel fuel tap, leathercovered sprung seat/pad, aluminium Held by a pair of Baz’s own stand-offs, modified ribbed Lowbrow slimline yokes (the top being Customs Stingray mudguard, Cobra ‘blind’), the front end consists oil tank, unknown number-plate holder, 16” stainless rim/hub/spokes, of shaved FL fork legs holding PM disc/4 piston caliper, Avon a 21” front wheel, with a teeny5.00x16” SM tyre, minimal loom, Bison tiny drum brake that just Motorworks polished aluminium headlight with amber lens, unknown about gives enough retardation custom tail light, Hotop reg/rec to get an MoT pass, and yet FINISH: still looks almost as clean and Bodywork hand-satined, HOK AdherTo/clear coat/black flames unobtrusive as a spool hub.

by Gavin at Reef Paint Shop (01225 Braking is improved at the rear, 754300), powder coating by Griff’s not by a big hydraulic drum as Reality Motorworks (01179 042339 or www.realitymotorworks.com), you may’ve assumed with an polishing by AG Metal Services older Harley engine, but with a (01179 046359)/Lightning Services whopping great disc grabbed by THANKS TO: “Pete Sutton; Andy at AG Metal a Performance Machine caliper, Services; Lowbrow Customs (www. which’ll bring a little less panic lowbrowcustoms.com); Nick & to situations involving hairpin the guys at Reality Motorworks; & Roger the Blaster…” corners, myopic car drivers and errant farm animals…

Supported by a bespoke stainless sissy-bar, again by Pete, the ribbed rear mudguard was sourced from Lowbrow Customs in ’Merica to match the ribbed fuel tank (and its ribbed cap) that was found on eBay. It, the tank, needed a few modiications, such as the old fuel tap mount being welded closed, and a new Pingel moved to a position where it didn’t foul the rear rocker cover, as well as new front and rear mounts, and a breather tube brazed in, too. A battery box was tucked down behind the ishtails, a rather large tank, mounted under the seat, holds the oil, and the pillion pad’s been covered in leather to match, and’s been put on aluminium stand-ofs to clear the rib on the ’guard. he tank and muddie were hand-sanded, and given a coat of House of Kolor Adherto to allow the black lames to adhere properly to the bare steel, and then clear-coated, allowing the attractive bronze brazing of the tank modiications to show through. he shiny stuf was polished (mainly by AG Metal Services, although some was done in-house), while various smaller parts were powder coated black by the guys at the south-west’s best known ’coaters, Grif’s Reality Works. A bespoke, and minimal, loom was used to connect the necessary vital parts, including an aptly styled, yellow-tinted headlight sourced from the US of A, and the customer-supplied rear light and number-plate arrangement. he Shovel also has a number of Lightning Services’ own parts, including the LSDmoto cold-start/fast-idle device on the carb, the yokes, and the ‘wire-thru’ bar-riser bolts, while the stainless ’bars and built-in risers were made by Pete Sutton to Baz’s design.

Of-the-shelf parts such as the ‘coke bottle’ grips, and the Avon tyres, complete the build.

As mentioned, this was a build by Lightning Services for a customer, and Baz is always ready for future builds, servicing, and much more. You can contact him on 01225 785164, although, like many small businesses with noisy workshops, it could be best to use email via the website at www.motorcyclesbath.co.uk

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WORDS & PICS: NIK

MERCIA, THE ANGLO-SAXON NAME FOR THE AREA THAT TODAY IS KNOWN, PRETTY MUCH, AS THE MIDLANDS, WAS ONCE JUST ABOUT THE MOST IMPORTANT REGION IN THE BRITISH ISLES… DESPITE THE FACT THAT ITS CAPITAL WAS TAMWORTH.

I’m sure I’ve said before (look, I’m getting on, okay, and me memory’s not what it was), I do like National Chopper Club shows because they really are about custom bikes – it’s the Club’s raison d’être, isn’t it, and that means that the machines you get attending are proper custom bikes… well, except for my Niken.

Billed as both a car and bike show, there weren’t that many cars, it has to be said, but the bikes more than made up for that. Three long, long lines of chops an’ bobbers (and others) stretched the length of the field, and I ended up taking a frankly ridiculous number of pics as there was just so much there (what you see here is just the merest fraction), and walked far enough to ensure that my rather large cheeseburger (with onions, natch) didn’t really affect my racing snake figure too much… what? What are you laughing at?

Sitting here all these months later writing this, one thing I do remember very clearly is how good the music that accompanied the

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day was. While we obviously go to bike shows to see bikes, music, background music, plays a huge part in establishing the right kind of atmosphere – too much or not enough can make or break an event. The music at this one was the best I’ve heard in ages; a bit o’ trad’ rock, a bit o’ modern rock, a bit o’ reggae, a bit o’ dubstep, a bit o’ pop – it was varied and interesting, and a thoroughly pleasant background to the day. Whoever was responsible for it, nice one.

The NCC don’t do actual categories as such at most of their shows – they just pick out a number of exemplary bikes.

The winners here were no exception to that, and the awards went to: Bob’s ‘39 International (car award), Dave’s Sportster, Rob’s Triumph, Jamie’s twinturbo Suzuki (second mention this issue!), Mick’s Harley, Steve’s XS650, Derek’s Harris Magnum, and Justin’s Sportster.

The date for this year’s show has yet to be finalised but, as soon as we know, we’ll let you know too – watch the events pages for info!

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WORDS: ZIPPY PICS: NIK

IT ALL STARTED BACK IN 2003 WHEN A MATE NEEDED TO BORROW SOME GARAGE SPACE FOR HIS ONE-OFF HARLEY SIDE-CAR OUTFIT. IT WAS ONLY SUPPOSED TO BE FOR THREE WEEKS, BUT ENDED UP BEING THREE MONTHS, SO TO SHUT ME UP HE LET ME BORROW THIS LOVELY LITTLE CHOP FOR THE SUMMER.

was a VT500E that’d been built by the legendary Twizzle and, as he was a minimalist freak, it had no speedo, no mirrors, no indicators, and no bales (made my ears bleed riding home ater a hedonistic weekend at the PissEdds rally). Of course I fell totally in love with it and, when he inally evicted the tractor, I was loathe to give it back. he following winter I spotted it, ‘Stealth’, rotting away in the corner of his garden. I pleaded with him to sell it to me, and pestered him relentlessly until he capitulated. For the princely sum of £500, it was mine… and it was a total mess. I spent the next few weeks stripping it down, cleaning it up, and repainting it using Halfords rattle-cans. Full service, and then, inally, it was back on the road.

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ENGINE: Honda VT500E, K&N airfilters, hidden ignition, ‘scaffold pole’ exhausts, billet exhaust clamps FRAME: One-off hardtail by Twizzle, rear end cut/ shaped to accommodate tube welded in to bolt bevel drive to frame using original shock mount, assorted footrests/controls FRONT END: Stock Honda VT500E wheels/inboard front brake/drum rear brake/forks (2” over)/ master-cylinder/ controls/switchgear/ front ‘guard, one-off slab yokes, Goodridge hoses, apehanger ‘bars, Koso digital speedo, aftermarket grips, Sportster tank, one-off seat/rear ‘guard/sidepanels/torque arm/ loom, Daymaker Led headlight, Lucas LED tail light, LED micro bullet indicators

All was tickety-boo for a couple of years. I nearly won my irst ‘Best Rat’ trophy at Salisbury MAG’s show, but lost out to a bloke on a beat up old Vespa who'd only stopped to ask for directions! It won the next two years running, though, but I’ve never really considered it a rat – it’s just a nice-looking, old school chop. I like the symmetry of the forks/apes/zorsts being in harmonious alignment – it speaks to my soul. Its simplicity, and slightly rough edges, is what Stealth is all about, no bullshit.

After an accident where a woman pulled out from the let on a roundabout, while texting on her bloody phone, as I was halfway across, it remained in pieces for many years as I slowly started collecting the bits to put it back together. Unfortunately one of those spanners that life occasionally lobs your way rendered me incapable of putting it back together myself, but with the help of some good mates, some exchange of labour, and a small amount of wedge, it was inally back on the road.

Since then I’ve itted LED lighting all round, and some discreet mirrors and indicators, and also some VeeDub cheese-grater bales to take the sting out of the noise.

It may not look it, but it’s one of the most comfortable bikes I’ve ever ridden. It handles very well for what it is and, because there’s no suspension nonsense getting in the way, road conditions are detected and corrected

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FINISH: Satin black by owner, Stealth logo by Shane Redmonds of Inshane Art (07833 688683 or Facebook) ENGINEERING: Frame by Twizzle, lots of work by owner THANKS TO: “Garry Samm & Nige Ratford for slinging it back together after I was taken out on a roundabout by some bint using her mobile; Shane Redmonds for the paintjob; & Charlie Delve for sorting out electrics…”

with the minimum of fuss. he apes keep my eroded vertebrae stretched (which helps with the sciatica), and the missus riding in front (on her Reliant trike, as featured last issue) makes for an excellent early-warning system for potholes. Future plans are just to tidy up the wiring (‘cos it’s horrible) and replace the switchgear, and no, it’s not for sale... well, perhaps not until it’s time to pull on the wooden overcoat – when I can no longer ride it, I’ll hang it on the wall in the sitting room.

WORDS & PICS: NIK

THE LAST TIME I ATTENDED ONE OF THE BARREL BIKERS’ ANNUAL CUSTOM SHOWS WAS ABOARD ME WONDERFULLY MAD RAT-ROD SUZUKI THING AND, LET ME TELL YOU, PILOTING THAT THING THROUGH MILTON KEYNES’ MYRIAD ROUNDABOUTS WAS AN INTERESTING EXPERIENCE!

always a good event, the Barrel’s August show. Held at the very scenic Cruik Barn and its environs (just down the road from the famous concrete cows!), which is touted as a high-class wedding venue, the whole area fills up with people that’d give the average wedding planner screaming nightmares… and lots and lots of motorbikes, natch.

Somehow (I suspect it involves chickens, big knives, and buckets with suspicious dark fluids in), the club always seems to get good weather for the day – not necessarily sunny per se, but always warm and, most importantly, dry. It’s always laid-back too; it’s one of those days when you leave feeling good, having spent the whole time chatting and laughing (usually at really stupid shite)… and having checked out hordes and hordes of really cool bikes.

As, unfortunately, the space available for the trophy presentation is too small to allow the winners to ride their bikes up to get their awards, I don’t have a clue who won wot, as people just wandered up when their names were called, grinned inanely for the cameras, and wandered off again, leaving the rest of us none the wiser as to which bikes they’d won trophies for. This is why it’s always good to have folk ride their bikes up to collect their awards, y’know?

Anyway, the machines that stood out for me were the drop-seat Suzuki (Bandit?

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Gixer? Teapot?) chop, the immaculate Katana with the three-spoke wheels, the gorgeous lil’ black ‘n’ orange Triumph bobber, the Sportster with the twisted purple and white Mobius strip paint, Jamie Anderson’s totally hat-stand twin-turbo hardtail Suzook (as seen on the Custom Heroes stand at the NEC last year, and soon to be featured), the blue big-tube Spondon, and Pete Roberts’ post-apocalyptic Gold Wing (yes, you did read that right, it really is a Gold Wing) Thunderdog (another from Custom Heroes), but they were just a few of the many there.

The date for this year’s event’s just been released, and it’s Sunday 2nd Aug. Entry is, as always, free, and you can get any more info that you may need from their website at www. barrelbikers.co.uk

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DS: N IK : SIM ON EVE

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IR NUMBER A F A N E E B E ’V HICH BIKES, W IN THERE S R A E Y E ER TH OF ARTICLES OVCUSTOM BIKES, HAVE BEEN AND BUILDING HE OWNER/BUILDER AS BEING DESCRIBED BY TRAPY THAT’S KEPT THEM A KIND OF THE H THE DARK GOING THROUGEIR LIVES. PERIODS OF TH

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elv Exton, the guy whose bike this is, has deinitely been through more than his fair share of shite. Back in 2014, ater ive years of looking ater her, his good lady, Linda, took a turn for the worst, and passed away. By his own admission, it hit him really, really hard. “I was devastated, angry, and lost. I hit the bottle and the dope.”

In remembrance of her, he designed a picture of an angel with her face, a lone wolf, and the words ‘In he Spirit of Linda’, and commissioned John Callaghan at Spray Artist to paint it on the tank of his Kawasaki (which you’ll be able to see in a future issue).

He completely brought the picture to life, and while it did help, Melv was in a dark place for a very long time.

A life-long biker, he’d bought a Triumph Speedmaster to build a bobber from but, ater this, he, quite understandably, just lost interest. He is, he says, not much of a mechanic, and he couldn’t aford to have anyone build it for him, and so the planned project was put on hold pretty much indeinitely. hen a good friend, Denny, pulled him back from the brink, and suggested that he should have a go at building it himself, put his own mark on it. When he protested that he wasn’t a mechanic, Denny, who is, said he’d guide him through it. hat was the spark that, he says, brought him back to life – gave him something to live for.

He’d always wanted a proper bobber – hardtail, springers, the works. He knew exactly who to contact too, and so got on the phone to Joe at Fenland Choppers to order a neat, short frame, and a load of the other parts that he’d need to create the bike and, despite the fact that he’s no spring chicken these days, really went for it; rigid frame, springer forks (DNAs), Quickbob tank, short ape-hangers (’cos being a shortarse, I didn’t actually want to hang of ‘em!). Age is just a frame of mind, isn’t it? If you don’t think old, you don’t feel old.

Once everything needed’d been collected, he, with Denny looking over his shoulder, set about building the bike you see here. It was hard going at times, he admits, but they did have fun doing it, oten laughing until they could no longer speak, and it deinitely occupied his mind in the way Denny knew it would, stopping him from dwelling on the heartache he’d sufered. When it was inally inished, they had a bit of trouble with the new carbs (the original fuel-injection system’d been removed) as they kept pissing out petrol, but they persevered, and it was sorted eventually.

As for the bike’s crowning glory, the tank (although the whole bike is clearly a cut above the norm), was painted once again by John Callaghan at Spray Artist and, once again, he made a masterful job of it. he picture of Death on horseback on the top, and the gravestones on the side with ‘To Hell & Back’ on them, is to remind him, as if he needs to be reminded,

ENGINE: 2012 Triumph 865 Speedmaster, fuelinjection removed, earlier carbs (modified/ jetted), one-off stainless bell-mouths/two-intoone exhaust by Custom Chrome (024 76 387 808 or www.customchrome.co.uk)

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FRAME: Fenland Choppers hardtail, mid-mount aftermarket controls STUFF: Avon MT90x16 tyre, 16” black rims, H-D hub, stainless spokes, DNA front disc/springers, Brembo calipers, braided brake lines, 12” apes, Yamaha 650 mastercylinder, minimal switches, small GPS speedo in one-off surround by Dave West, aftermarket grips, 3.5 gallon Quickbob tank with flush-filler, one-off Fenland Choppers seat (recovered by Rob)/ battery box/electrics box/side-mount ‘plate/ mudguard struts, Honda FireBlade fuse-box, ribbed aftermarket rear ‘guard, 150x16” Avon tyre, H-D hub/disc/mastercylinder/rear sprocket, Triumph front sprocket, Morris Minor ignition switch, modified stock loom, Bates headlight, aftermarket tail light

of the ive years of hell both he and Linda went through as he tried to look ater her with absolutely no help from the Government – he’d worked hard all his life, and put a little bit away, so the powers that be decided he didn’t qualify for any help from them. It’s an old adage, I know, but that doesn’t make it any less true – when it really comes down to it, no matter what people may say, the only person out there who’s going to look ater you is you…

Mind you, I think Linda’d be proud of him. For someone who knows they’re not a whizz with the spanners to’ve created a bike this good, with nothing more than the help of a good friend, is pretty damn impressive, don’t you think? Good on yer, Melv!

FINISH: Base coats/artwork by John Callaghan at Spray Artist (01621 856757 or www.spray-artist. co.uk), powder coating

by Maldon Shot-Blasting & Powder-Coating (01621 841100 or www.ctcpowder-coating.co.uk) ENGINEERING: Fenland Choppers (01945 582533 or www. fenlandchoppers.co.uk), Denny & owner THANKS TO: “Joe at Fenland Choppers; Dave West; Denny; & John Callaghan…”

WORDS & PICS: NIK

FOR MOST FOLK OUTSIDE THE ENVIRONS OF THE ANCIENT LAND OF CYMRU, OR WALES AS MOST NON-GAELIC SPEAKERS CALL IT, ONE OF THE BEST KEPT SECRETS ON THE BIKING CALENDAR IS THE LLANGOLLEN MOTORCYCLE FESTIVAL, OR LLAN BIKE FEST AS IT’S MORE COMMONLY KNOWN.

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eld in the small Denbighshire town of Llangollen, at the foot of the famously scenic Horseshoe Pass, it’s a really good one-dayer or, more accurately, two one-dayers (Saturday and Sunday) with a huge range of attractions held at the respected Royal International Pavilion. No, I mean, seriously, there really are a lot of attractions: trials demonstrations, a wheelie machine, a massive classic bike display, talks by famous and learned people on just about every form of motorcycling you can think of, live music, a veritable village of trade stands, a sizeable range of food stalls, numerous and varied club stands, a custom display and, of course, a bike park so eclectic that you could lose yourself in it for ages.

Away from the site, if you choose to go for a wander, the lovely little town of Llangollen itself is worth eyeballing, too. It’s got a very picturesque river running through it, a steam railway (with a matt black steam train!), groovy

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shops with interesting contents, and some very nice pubs indeed. I only had a day to visit (but I’ve been back since), and it’s one of those places that it seems almost criminal to go to only briefly.

Of course, the most important part of the event for us BSH types is the custom bike bit, and while it was small and, it has to be said, more than a little tucked away in a small, dingily-lit hall that really didn’t show them off to their full advantage, what was there was definitely worth a look. The legendary ‘Flakey’ Dave Addis was doing an airbrush demonstration all weekend long (sadly, I didn’t get to see the finished offering) , and a few of the choice names of Welsh custom building, including Dragon Custom Cycles, had small stands and some rather tidy examples of the custom builder’s art. I was particularly taken by the ex-Robbie Robinson CB750, and also the quite, quite mad monowheel (there should’ve been demos of that!), and the really, really neat little grey and white Enfield. The organisers want to expand the custom side of things, and are looking for folk to enter their bikes for this year’s event – contact them through the website address below.

This year’s bash’ll be held over the weekend of 1-2nd Aug, at the same site, and you can get more info’ from www.llanbikefest.co.uk MARCH 2020

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WORDS: BILLY LUDLAM PICS: SIMON EVERETT

GROWING UP RACING MOTOCROSS, I ALWAYS RODE SPORTS BIKES, YES, LIKE A KNOBHEAD, AND I KNEW I COULDN’T CONTINUE DOING THE STUPID SHIT I USED TO, SO I DECIDED TO RESTRICT MYSELF BY BUILDING A CUSTOM, AND THAT’S WHEN THE BUG BIT. bought this VN900 brand new, and it stayed standard for a total of seven miles – the distance from the shop to my dad’s. Ater he stopped laughing, because cruisers really aren’t his thing, we got the tools out. I modiied bits and bobs straight away, and literally smashed huge spikes down the brand new exhausts just to make them louder, but not long ater that my mate Roger the welder came round to measure up for some new ’pipes. A few weeks later he arrived with new sections to it into the heads and, ater working with lengths of big-bore tube, he created my vision piece by piece. Nearly ten years later they still look, and work, beautifully, and I really do need to thank him because he’s become a great friend since then.

I messed about with styles and, once I’d wrapped the ’pipes, I put hot rod scallops on the tank to give it that old school hot rod look. hat didn’t last long though, and it was soon stripped down to nothing, forced into the back of my girlfriend’s Seat Ibiza, and driven to my mate Richard Flowers’ garage where

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ENGINE: 2010 Kawasaki VN900 Custom, modified Drag Specialities air-filters, one-off wrapped exhausts

by Roger FRAME: Modified 2010 Kawasaki VN900, 45 degree rake, 4” stretch, new backbone, neck lowered 2” with hand-bent downtubes, BMX pedals, custommade foot-controls with foot clutch conversion

we drank beer, smoked fags, and cut the shit out of my frame whilst listening to Limp Bizkit. In my head I was saying “What would Billy Lane do?” (he’s a huge inluence on me and, ater meeting him once, I found him to be a really nice chap). he bike had many trips backwards and forwards between my place and Richard’s as it was cut up and about, and then I got a job working for my now good friend Geof Law, where I could use the steel-itting tools, and fell in with another now friend, Steve Bailey, and his welding skills helped create what you see today.

During the build I spent many nights in the workshop, sometimes just looking at the bike and thinking of colours and styles. In a weird way I was letting the bike tell me where it wanted to go, and I think the rust/rat rod look works well with the aggressive stance. he look was achieved by hitting everything with the company sandblaster, and then pouring Budweiser (only the best for my bike!) all over it, and covering all the wet steel in salt. Ater four days I was happy with the colour, and the markings, let by the

STUFF: Avon Cobra 130/60/23 tyre, H-D hubs/discs/ rear pulley, custom rims, stock calipers/forks/yokes/ controls/master-cylinder, modified caliper brackets, one-off fork brace, Goodridge Stealth brake lines, one-off ‘bars, spark plug mirror blanks, genuine brass 50mm anti-tank shell casings as grips, modified stock petrol tank (by Polar Cycles)/side-panels, oneoff seat by Polar Cycles with denim hand-stitched pad, West Coast Choppers 200 section rear ‘guard, Scootworks 34 tooth front pulley, Avon Cobra 18/200 tyre, stock loom (modified)/headlight, Autojumble tail light FINISH: Genuine rust (achieved with Budweiser/salt) lacquered/gold leafing/ pin-striping by owner, powder coated hubs/rims

by CBF Powder-Coating (0114 269 7926 or www. cbfpowdercoating.com) ENGINEERING: Bike built by owner, tank mods/seat pan by Polar Cycles (01302 752414 or Facebook) THANKS TO: “Roger the welder; Richard Flowers; Geoff Law; Steve Bailey; the girl I’m no longer with; & my Dad…”

process, so I jet-washed all the excess salt away and, once home, heated the frame to remove any moisture, and used around three litres of lacquer to seal the frame and stop the rusting process. It’s worked really well, and ater ive years it’s still mint.

It still needed something else though, and I decided on gold leaf. I’d never done it though, so I watched some YouTube videos, and gave it a go. It was tricky, and took some time, but I think it came out okay, and the same goes for the pin-striping.

Looking back, I don’t know why I went for the foot-clutch/jockeyshit, but I’m glad I did because I adore the feeling of bang-shiting through the ’box away from the lights – it’s like nothing else I’ve ever experienced… in fact, riding the bike full stop is like nothing else. I adore the sound from the ’pipes Roger made, and I adore the riding position (even though everyone else who sits on the bike hates it!), and wouldn’t change anything on it at all.

As for the future, I’ve already got another donor bike to use, a sketch drawn, and already know the name of it (a dedication to my girlfriend, a right little irecracker). I don’t really want to sell the VN, but I fear I may need to for funding. Since building it, I’ve entered it at the last two Kickbacks, and met some fantastic lads, like Luke Cormack and Mike Leary of Bristol Bobbers, and Rob Wood of Twisted Spine Customs, and I just want to get cracking with the next build because I know how good it’s going to be. Be warned, lads, I’m coming for your trophies!

WORDS & PICS: DAVE MANNING

AS WE SHIVER THROUGH THE COLDEST MONTHS OF THE YEAR, IT’S EASY TO FORGET JUST HOW MUCH GOOD WEATHER WE HAD LAST SUMMER, AND JUST HOW HOT IT GOT AT TIMES. ONE EVENT IN PARTICULAR ALWAYS SEEMS TO GET FAVOURABLE CONDITIONS…

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orkshire’s MAG’s Yorkshire Pudding Rally, aka YPR or, simply, ‘The Pudding’, is held in the grounds of Escrick Park just a few minutes from Selby and, regardless of which direction that you travel from, an adventurous spirit, a little inventive map reading, and a total disregard for sat-nav directions can result in a fantastic ride to the venue.

After rolling on to the site, I headed to what has, for me, always been the easiest place to find

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somewhere to camp – the ‘overflow’ field, the furthest point away from the excellent views over the Escrick estate’s main house. This part of the site seems to attract early arrivals, meaning that I usually miss out, what with being a little tardy in dragging my arse there. Year by year, more people seem to be discovering it (through the gate past the poultry cages) and, while at one time there wasn’t anyone who’d camp further than about halfway down the main field, nowadays people are spreading out and getting a bit more room. My initial thought, that the MARCH 2020

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event was getting busier, was utter twaddle – the numbers are limited, so it can’t get any bigger, but it still sells out each year.

The traders’ stands and marquees are laid out around Holy Joe’s café in the centre of the show field, with the main marquee on the easterly side, and the acoustic marquee diametrically opposite.

Having the bar in a separate marquee works really well, especially in hot weather, giving space for people to hang around between the bar and main marquee, thus with easy access to charge their glasses, and to hear the shenanigans in the main marquee whether comedy club or band, yet still enjoy the weather.

Friday night in the acoustic tent was Matt Black and Libbi Unplugged, while in the main marquee Break Out, Aftershock and Helter Skelter all kept the happy punters bouncing and boozing.

Saturday morning gave a chance to enjoy a pleasurable experience that most rally sites cannot offer – showers on site!

While the flow of warm water can’t be said to be reliable, it’s got to be better than diving into the pond on the horse course… probably. After a brew and a bite, a late morning wander around the camping field revealed two WLA Harleys in original military garb that must’ve been the same two that I saw at a custom show in Scunthorpe the

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previous year; a trio of rather cool café racers (a Kwak W650, an XS650, and an SR500); a lovely scarlet Triumph twin and trailer;a beautiful side-valve Indian; and a fair few sidecars too… and a man who was quite clearly a wizard. As I’ve mentioned it before, The Pudding seems to attract more trikes than at almost any other event, although the diversity of machinery attending is certainly as eclectic as any other – from side-valve singles to modern ‘shift-cam’ BMW Boxers, all motorcycling life is here.

It’s clear, too, that the modern fascination for ‘adventure bikes’ seems to be having an effect; Beemer, Ducati, Triumph, Enfield, and even MV Agusta on/off roaders were all in attendance, and while I don’t know what kind of an adventure any of them saw on their way there, they’re clearly a bike type that’s becoming very popular amongst rally-goers.

Saturday really starts rockin’ and rollin’ with the Smacked Arse comedy club, starting with Andy Watson, then two Search For A Star comics (Liam Tuffy and Roland Gent), followed by Lindsey Davies and, finally, the utterly hilarious headliner Steve Harris. I’ll not go to any length explaining how funny they all were because, as with all live humour, you had to be there really. That was followed by a lass having her head shaved (by her daughter-inlaw!) in aid of Macmillan, and with cancer clearly having an effect in so many folks’ lives, it had a truly incredible and heart-warming response – so many people throwing money into the collecting buckets, and much of it notes rather than just change!

Many folk stayed close by, with the appeal of the bar and the bike show keeping people entertained. And while there are naysayers, I do feel that the number of bikes being ridden into ride-in shows is on the rise again now, as the lack of spare space at The Pudding proved. Highlights included the Yamaha vee with the horror take on ‘Alice in Wonderland’ paint, and the superbly finished ‘Dream Warrior’ Lambretta chop.

As the heat began to wane, and sunburnt skin began to tingle, folk moved into marquees for live music with Rory Hall in the acoustic tent, and Hoodoo, Paddy McGuire, and headliners Angelfire in the main marquee all rounding off a truly superb weekend that held true to the Yorkshire Pudding tradition.

TICKETS FOR THE 2020 PUDDING, HELD OVER THE WEEKEND OF JULY 31–AUGUST 2, ARE NOW AVAILABLE ONLINE FROM WWW.MAPEVENTS. CO.UK, AND REMEMBER THAT NUMBERS ARE LIMITED!

AS ANYONE WHO HASN’T BEEN LIVING UNDER A ROCK (OR IN DEEPEST, DARKEST NORFOLK) FOR THE LAST FEW YEARS’LL KNOW, THERE’S BEEN A HUGE RESURGENCE IN 1960S AND ‘70S CHOPS – AN ERA OF BIKE BUILDING WHEN ‘PRACTICALITY’ WAS CONSIDERED ALMOST A DIRTY WORD, AND FORM WAS WAY MORE IMPORTANT THAN FUNCTION. WORDS: NIK PICS: SIMON EVERETT

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Martin Bradbrook, the owner and builder of this wonderfully ’70s digger-style Ironhead Sportster, kind o’ has a foot in both camps. He’s done more than a few customs over the years, of various diferent genres, and although he’d never done one, he’d always had a hankering for a genuine Arlen Ness-style digger.

Ater a few years away from the scene, his lovely wife, Elle, gave him her blessing, and he set about putting plans together.

In February 2017 he found a ’76 Ironhead at a reasonable price, brought it home, and started dismantling it almost straight away. He then called the venerable Dave Batchelar at P&D Customs, a man who’s not opposed to building the odd digger or two, and commissioned him to make all the parts he’d need for the project: a Ness-style frame and tank, suitably tilleresque ’bars, minimal exhausts, a seat/rear ’guard ensemble in a suitable style, and a few more bits to complete the design. hey sourced a pair of 80-spoke wheels (21” front, 18” rear), a set of Drag Specialities springers, and a brace of DNA discs (the rear a sprocket afair) and calipers, and Dave set to work.

While the frame was being made, Martin stripped the engine, changing the gear-shit arm from a ’76 to a ’74 (so that it was on the right-hand side of the engine as he felt it was more authentic that way), and itted new pistons, valves, and numerous other parts, but kept all the casings totally original and as they would’ve been in 1976.

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With everything back from P&D, next he spoke to Gary Collins at Surrey Customs (07930 152620 or www. surreycustoms.com) about suitably ’70s paint, and they worked out a beautiful scheme of silver ’lake scrollwork over a blue candy base. While that was being done, he rebuilt the engine, and polished it to within an inch of its life, and took it, and a few other choice items, to the legendary Don Blocksidge (01527 861453 or www.donblocksidge.weebly. com) to have him work his magic over them with his ENGINE: 1976 Harley-Davidson trusty hammers and chisels.

XLCH 1000 Ironhead Mr Blocksidge is, as I’m Sportster, S&S Super E sure you know, in his 80s carb, Barnett clutch, one-off exhaust by P&D Customs, now, but his work is still engine engraving by Don exquisite, and his reputation Blocksidge as a master cratsman is well FRAME: deserved. Mind you, the One-off rigid digger by P&D Customs, Arlen Ness same can be said of pretty forwards, petite Zodiac much everyone who’s had controls a hand in this build – none STUFF: Avon Speedmaster tyres, 80 of their work could be spoke wheels (21 front, 18 described as anything less rear), DNA front/rear discs/ calipers/master-cylinders, than amazing, really.

Drag Specialties springers, Once everything was Goodridge brake lines, back in the garage at Chez petite Zodiac switchgear, MMS clocks, Arlen Ness Bradbrook, Martin spent grips, one-off handlebars/ many, many hours in the tank/seat/oil tank/rear ‘guard/battery box/’plate freezing cold putting his holder by P&D Customs, dream digger together one-off electrics box/loom by owner, Zodiac headlight/ (and, okay, also drinking tail light beer and just staring at FINISH: it, as we all do at some Blue candy over silver metalpoint), and ater two years flake by Surrey Customs, all original casings polished, of hard work it was inally engraving by Don Blocksidge inished. To say he’s happy ENGINEERING: with it is something of an P&D Customs & owner understatement – “I can THANKS TO: truly say I have fulilled “Dave & Chris at P&D Customs (01403 791038 my dream of building and or Facebook); Gary Collins owning a true ’7os custom for the amazing paint; Don Blocksidge for the truly digger!” Yeah, I don’t know amazing engraving; & my about you, but I think I’d wife Elle for getting me to be quite pleased if I had a build custom bikes again...” bike like this, too…

PIC: SIMON EVERETT

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WORDS: NIK PICS: GARRY STUART

WHILE I’M NOT ONE OF THOSE PEOPLE WHO SO SNOBBISHLY DECLARES THAT IF YOU DIDN’T BUILD YOUR BIKE YOURSELF IT DOESN’T COUNT, EVEN I CAN SEE THE (SLIGHT) DOWNSIDE TO THE LIKES OF EBAY, GUMTREE AND OTHERS…

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hops and customs’ve been bought by folk who haven’t built them themselves since time immemorial – that’s how most bike-building folk fund their next project, by selling of the one they’ve just built. I can remember seeing an ad in the Smalls in an early BSH for a mildly custom BSA A10 that I really, really wanted but, being just a spotty yoof with less disposable income than Mahatma Ghandi, I couldn’t stump up the required £175… wish you could still get ’em for that nowadays, don’t you?

Sorry, I’ve digressed… since the launch of the famous Internet selling sites, it’s become almost ridiculously easy to buy yourself a custom and that, in the main, is a Good hing because it means that a whole horde of people who don’t have the required skills, or time, to build one themselves can have a groovy custom bike, and be part of the scene that we know and love. Yeah, it may be defeating the object in a few folks’ eyes, but if you were to take away the option of selling your build to someone else, how long do you think the custom bike scene would’ve really lasted? he only downside to this is the fact that, every so oten, the fact that someone’s purchased a bike means that the information on it is a little sketchy, especially if they buy it third-hand, if you like, and by that I mean from someone who wasn’t the original builder.

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hat’s the case with this bike you see ’ere in front of you – Graham Cox’s Z550. He purchased it from someone in Nottingham, and was told that while it did have a few little problems, mostly it was all good. hat turned out to be not strictly true. As well as a few little things that Graham sorted out, the wiring was described by Richard at Motorcycle Wiring Specialists as the worst he’d ever seen (and he couldn’t believe it hadn’t caught ire), and the carbs hadn’t been set up correctly for the new freer-lowing exhaust and atermarket air-ilters. he wiring was redone, and is now a lot less likely to spontaneously combust, and with a little bit of internet ENGINE: searching for correct jetting sizes Kawasaki Z550, aftermarket air-filters, oneand stuf, the motor now runs off exhaust sweetly enough.

FRAME: Apart from that, all he really Unknown rigid, unknown knows is that the wheels, brakes forwards and USD forks are from a ZX-6R STUFF: Kawasaki – everything else was Kawasaki ZX-6R wheels/ brakes/forks/yokes/ there when he bought it. He says switches/controls, that, in the main, it’s been nicely aftermarket ‘bars, mini built, and a lot of thought has speedo, aftermarket custom tank with pop-up gone into its construction – the cap, one-off sprung seat, frame, and all the other onemodified aftermarket rear of parts (the sprung seat, the ‘guard, one-off battery/ electrics box, one-off battery/electrics box, the rear rack, aftermarket siderack, etc.), are quality items made mount, one-off loom by someone who knew what they

by Motorcycle Wiring Specialists, Bates-copy were doing, and everything else headlight, aftermarket that’s been bought or modiied to rear light suit is pretty good, too.

FINISH: Once the problems’d been sorted Black with artwork by unknown painter out, the little Zed (if you can call ENGINEERING: a 550cc capacity ‘little’)’s been a Unknown cracking little bike – it rides nicely, THANKS TO: sounds great, and draws the sort “Richard at Motorcycle of attention that every chop owner Wiring Specialists wants from/for their bike. Graham (01242 681056 or www.motorcycle has no plans to sell it, and is just wiringspecialists.co.uk)” enjoying riding it whenever and wherever he can.

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WORDS: SHOVEL PHIL PICS: ALAN CARVILLE

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WHAT IS A CHOPPER? EVERYBODY HAS THEIR OWN DEFINITION AND PREFERENCE, BUT I GUESS THE HISTORICAL ONE IS THAT OF A STANDARD MOTORCYCLE THAT’S BEEN ‘CHOPPED’ TO CHANGE ITS APPEARANCE, AND PERFORMANCE.

he bike you see here began life as a ‘factory chopper’, more speciically a Big Bear Reaper. It was imported direct from the USA to Malta in 2005 in kit form, and duly assembled, and painted, using a 96” S&S Evo-type motor, and a ive-speed Baker transmission.

In the hands of the original owner, it underwent several changes, and paintjobs, but essentially

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remained the same as it’d been built. Eventually they decided to part company with it, and Kenny became the proud new owner. He rode it around for a few years, making just minor changes as he went, but eventually decided it was time for a makeover to bring it up to date. Enter yours truly! Kenny’s a frequent visitor to our shop, and oten stops by for a chat and MARCH 2020

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frame! A couple of ‘experts’d had a go at it over the years, and there were badly drilled holes and cracks a plenty, not to mention the nasty ‘devil’s tail’ swingarm ends, a cobweb neck gusset, fractured head steady, etc. he list just went on and on. Several days with the welder, grinder and pipe sander had everything looking up to date, and structurally a lot safer, and cutting all the crap of actually lightened it by over ive kilos!

A new Penz rear ’guard was cut and shut, and mounted in place, along with some neat stainless struts, and new axle covers were machined, a new rear brake set up made, and a new seat base fabbed up in steel, and sent over to dear old Blighty to be covered by Caer Urfa Leather. It took a while but, in the end, all the fab’ work, and then the dry build, was complete, and it was time to strip it down and make it pretty. he paintwork is, in fact, all powder coat, done locally

by Goliath Coatings, and the tank was then sent to the UK to Flakey Dave to apply the gold leaf. Polishing was handled locally by David, who did his usual lawless ENGINE: S&S 96”, S&S Super E carb job, and then it was all back to yours truly with mini teardrop filter, Paul for a top-end motor build, reassembly, and Yaffe Phantom exhausts, Baker wiring. A new HiPo lithium battery was five-speed gearbox, BDL 3” open belt primary with internal put in place, and it ired up irst turn of the hidden coil, one-off belt cover button, and has been on the road ever since.

FRAME: What started out as a mild facelit Big Bear Choppers Reaper Softail, modified by turned in to a full restyling exercise, and Choppershack only the drive train and frame (albeit STUFF: heavily modiied) remain from the Avon tyres/King Spoke wheels original bike. Kenny is a happy man; the (21” front, 18” rear)/front brake, RST 10” over wideglide forks/ bike rides, and performs, far better than yokes, XLX ‘bars, 4” risers, it ever did before, and draws crowds and modified King Sporty tank, one-off seat (base covered by admiring looks wherever it goes.

Caer Urfa Leather)/stainless FTW! Chopper Forever! mudguard struts/side-mount/

a cofee. He’d seen the customs I was turning out, and decided it was time his factory chopper got the chop, and turned into something a bit more radical and up-to-date, and what started out as a proposed facelit actually turned into a full head transplant!

Firstly we decided to shorten the wheelbase so the 14” over forks, and 6 degree raked yokes, got the heave-ho in favour of zero-rake yokes and 10” over forks – much better! he mag wheels were ditched, and replaced by much smarter King Spokes with black rims and stainless spokes; ditto the brake rotors and rear pulley, and a King Sporty tank was modiied to sit high on the frame to give it that classic Frisco styling.

Unfortunately, like a lot of the factory choppers of that era, this one was covered in pointy things and spikey things, including the frame, ’guards, grips, forwards, air-cleaner, lights, etc., etc. hese were all discarded, and replaced by much nicer contemporary and classic items, and now was time for the real challenge – the

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axle covers, modified Penz rear mudguard, one-off stainless mudguard struts, K-Tech rear brake, modified blue lens Bates headlight (dipswitch in back), LED porthole-type tail light, all wiring through frame FINISH: Frame/tank powder coated

by Goliath Coatings (www. goliathcoatings.com), gold leafing by Flakey Dave (01527 558829 or Facebook/ Instagram), polishing

by David ENGINEERING: Welding/fabrication/frame mods by Choppershack (www.choppershack.com) THANKS TO: “Clint at Goliath Coatings; David the polisher; Keith Calleja; Flakey Dave; & Syd at Caer Urfa Leather (0191 426 2174 or www.caerurfa leather.co.uk)”

STARTING MILEAGE:

THIS MONTH’S READING:

Sandringham – Her Maj’ was out that day… thankfully, Prince Philip wasn’t driving around either

Scenic Essex on a bloody cold day

SO IT’S THE NEW YEAR… OKAY, STRICTLY SPEAKING IT IS, FOR YOU, THE SECOND MONTH OF THE NEW YEAR, BUT FOR ME IT’S ONLY THE THIRD WEEK OF THE FIRST MONTH, AND I’M STILL HAVING TO CROSS OUT ‘2019’ EACH TIME I WRITE THE DATE. ow, I don’t know what the weather’s been like for you so far this year, but over this way, in the bit of the country east of the M11, it’s been pretty poo – if it’s not been raining, it’s been cold enough to cause holidaying Geordies to think about putting a jumper on and, given that I’m old(er) and a bit broken,

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those aren’t the sort of weather conditions that’re exactly conducive to racking up miles.

Just before the beginning of 2020 though, on the last Saturday in December, I did drag the three-wheeled beastie out and, after dropping off a couple of late Chrimbo pressies to a friend out in the Fens where the skies are huge, the land is flat, and the numbers of fingers are many, I decided to tag along with the annual Brass Monkey hot rod and classic car run from Brandon up to Wells-next-the-Sea on the north Norfolk coast. Yes, I’m aware that a brand new three-wheeled motorcycle is neither a hot rod nor a classic car, but I’ve always been a fan of old motors, especially Yank ones, and anyway the fact that the fish ‘n’ chip shops on the front at Wells do, in my opinion, the best fish ‘n’ chips in East Anglia is always a good reason to go there, too.

The Brass Monkey always calls in at Swaffham on the way up, and the plan’d been to ride over from Wizbechistan (as it’s charmingly called by the natives)… sorry, sorry, Wisbech, and catch up with it there, but a second cuppa meant that I missed me chance so, instead, I decided to ride up via the ever-popular biker haunt of Hunstanton.

Well, I say ever-popular ‘cos on Saturdays and Sundays in the summer it’s rammed, absolutely rammed, full of motorcycles, but on the last Saturday in 2019 it was quieter than a mime artist’s tomb. There were just two other bikes there, a BMW ‘brick’ and a Harley, and so I didn’t really bother to park the Niken there, just hopped off, took a picture on me ‘phone, and hopped back on again.

Not very sunny, or busy, Hunny… that’s Hunstanton to anyone outside East Anglia

Passing the Old Lighthouse on the way out of notoverly-sunny Hunny, I turned on to the A149, the main north Norfolk coast road. This is a lovely road, but not necessarily an easy one as there’s often run-off from the fields that line it, and sand from the coastal dunes too, that leaves detritus on the roads at often inopportune points.

Previously, on other bikes, I’ve had to almost tiptoe along it for fear of having a wheel skid out from underneath you, but on the Niken… I can’t say I actually took it any faster than I would do normally (it’s busy, not that wide, and very twisty), but I can say that I don’t think I’ve ever had a more relaxing ride along it – the Yamaha’s surefootedness (which I may’ve mentioned once or twice before…) meaning that not once did the Just a small section of the amazing expanse of beach at Brancaster, sadly you’re not allowed to ride on it

You’ve got to stop near windmills, haven’t you?

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Wells-next-the-Sea, one of the most visited places on the north Norfolk coast… although I’m not really sure why

Beautifully restored AA box at Brancaster Staithe, a little bit of history right by the road

possible slipperiness of the surface detract from the pleasure of riding.

It passes through the tiny hamlets of Holme, Thornham, and the aptly named Titchwell, and then the slightly larger Brancaster (where a lot of folk go walking on the amazing beach), Brancaster Staithe, the slightly confusingly named Burnham Deepdale (this is Norfolk, there isn’t really anywhere that’s too much higher or lower than sea level), and Burnham Norton, Burnham Over Staithe (must look up what a staithe actually is one day), Holkham (another amazing beach, and the stunning 19th Century Holkham Hall), and into Wells.

I assumed that the hot rods’d be down the long road that leads to the beach, so rode down there to see them, only to find it full of modern cars. Huh? It turns out that they’d actually gone to the car park on the outskirts of the town that I’d blithely ridden past, but I didn’t find that out ‘til I was sat comfortably on the harbour wall eating me fish ‘n’ chips.

Oh well, there’s always next year…

The next day I was due to go and see a mate who builds bikes down Clacton way and, as I was in the area, it’d’ve been rude not to call in for a cuppa at Revved Up in Walton-on-the-Naze. There were significantly more bikes there than’d been at Hunstanton, although it was equally cold, and the wind really howls in off the sea – Essex bikers must be made of sterner stuff!

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Look, I wasn’t the only idiot out on the road that day… sorry, sorry, scenic view of the dunes at Wells

Cup o’tea on the Essex coast, sir?

Revved Up in Walton-onthe-Naze

THE YAMAHA NIKEN COSTS FROM £13,499 AND YOU CAN GET MORE INFO FROM YOUR LOCAL YAMAHA DEALER OR WWW.YAMAHAMOTOR.EU

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THE IDEA FOR THIS BIKE CAME ABOUT IN OCTOBER LAST YEAR WHEN WE, SO LOW CHOPPERS (01359 253600 OR WWW. SOLOWCHOPPERS.ORG), RECOMMISSIONED A ROYAL ENFIELD BOBBER THAT WE’D BUILT A FEW YEARS AGO (IT WAS FEATURED IN BSH, AND ON THAT YEAR’S BSH CALENDAR) AFTER IT’D BEEN STOOD FOR A WHILE. WORDS: JAY RANSOME PICS: NIK

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hile it was in the shop, it got an amazing response, even ive years ater we’d built it originally – people were just going mad over it, asking to buy it all the time, but it wasn’t for sale. hat one was a really highend build with Harley springers, K-Tech everything, the works, and would be out of a lot of people’s price range, so I decided to have a stab at building another one, but this time utilising more of the original parts to keep down costs.

I sourced the donor bike on Facebook from Alistair who helps run the Copdock Bike Show; it was a 2007 350 Bullet, and while it started easily and ran like a sewing machine, it was dog-rough – apparently it’d been owned by a priest who used it every day (and obviously never cleaned it). I picked it up on a hursday night, and by the following Saturday I’d cut it, hardtailed it, and had it back on its wheels, and from that moment on I knew I was on to something special – it just sat so right.

I started playing around with tanks to see what suited, using ones we had lying about in the shop, and I found a Frisco-style Wassel tank (from Lowbrow Customs) that a customer’d decided they didn’t want any more, and the second I lay it on the top tube I knew it was the one.

I also used a Lowbrow rear mudguard. I know I was trying to keep down costs, and Lowbrow stuf isn’t cheap (but it is good), but the quality and shape are not to be argued with – they’re the best on the market for old school bikes at the minute, in my opinion.

I wanted to keep the styling very ‘60s bobber with a BMX twist – the bike, being so small, really lends itself to skinny styling. I didn’t want to go over the top though, it had to stay classy, elegant, and able to grab your attention without being garish. Ater deciding not to go down my usual ’70s paint route, I saw a simple, but striking, paint design by Imperial House in America, and decided to rework that. I prepped it, primed it, and based it, and got Sam Trench, an excellent artist and signwriter from Ipswich, to hand-paint the elegant black

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scrolls you see on it today, and they really pop out from that Candy Fool’s Gold base.

When it was irst built it was running fairly stock tyres, but my friend Oliver gave me the wonderfully named Fuckstone rear tyre as a git and, once itted, it transformed the look again – so much so that I had to get a front to match. I did try a couple of others, but they just didn’t suit, y’know?

I had all the cases soda-blasted ENGINE: to clean them all up, and make it 2007 Royal Enfield look new again, replaced the head Bullet 350, refurbed/ polished/painted, gasket, and gave it a good once-over.

Hitchcocks Motorcycles I polished all the casings myself (it’s (01564 783192 or a guilty pleasure), and I had planned www.accessories. to use an Amal carb conversion hitchcocksmotorcycles. com) velocity stack, new as they’re amazing looking, but exhaust down-pipe with couldn’t justify the extra expense upswept cocktail shaker as, again, they’re not cheap, so I FRAME: polished the original carb, and the 2007 Royal Enfield Bullet results were great. he electrics and 350, hardtailed, 2” stretch in rear, modified stock battery are all hidden in the one-of foot-rests/controls horsehoe box that looks like an oil STUFF: tank, and I did a deal with Mark, our Fuckstone 19” tyres, stock electrician, on all the parts I took of wheels/brakes (polished), brand new Royal Enfield in exchange for a sterling rewire. It forks (from India), Royal all now runs through the frame, and Enfield 350 Thunderbird every joint is soldered (no crimp yokes, BMX-style rubbish here!). As the intention all apes, rewired Domino switchgear, Vans-style along was to sell it, I wanted to make grips, Lowbrow Customs it as user-friendly as I could, so easyFrisco-style Wassel tank/ to-use switchgear, and indicators, rear ‘guard, one-off were a must. seat (covered by GB Upholstery)/horseshoeAs she stands it rides really style battery/electrics nicely; you can throw it about like box/side-mount/stainless the bicycles it was loosely based on, mudguard support loop, fully soldered rewire, whilst making plenty of classic noise Bates headlight, LED through that pipe. he motor really Vincent-style tail light, sounds good, and runs like a sewing miniature bullet indicators machine, and even though the bike FINISH: looks small the riding position is just Candy Fool’s Gold by owner with hand pinperfect – nearly anyone can get on striping by Sam Trench it, short or tall, and not be cramped at Sam’s Signs (07946 or stretched.

570410 or Facebook), It’s going to be sad to see it go polishing by owner as it’s been so much fun building ENGINEERING: Owner it, and riding around the Sufolk THANKS TO: countryside, but on to the next one!

“The rest of the team at Ring me on the number above, or So Low Choppers; Sam contact me through the website, or Trench; & GB Upholstery (01284 388777)…” our Facebook page, if you’d like to own it.

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WORDS & PICS: MR. BRIDGES

T

in the silencer, even with all pters removed (Fig.2). A little mmaging, and I found a piece t into the sleeve, and into the (Fig.3). If your workspace red with the remnants of entures in exhaust building, then Bosal, who make nt exhausts for cars, sell ed tube in two-metre iameters from around -ish) up to somewhere mm-ish), in increments

of aroun little pers the next siz given piece, a expensive.

I’m sure that so all you’re going to connect a silencer to exhaust, but I can’t th occasion where it ever out that way as, usually that the link pipe needs direction. The obvious s

which allowe 17 degree a eant that I cou .5 degrees (Fig.6 , eld it back on (Fig. at end of the pipe i a 17 degree angle to ing the sleeve at a tot grees (Fig.8) with a r th transition. h the front end of the welded together, I fitte motorcycle and measure

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MA C M CH 2020

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VOL.III PART XXIV

WORDS & PICS: MR. BRIDGES

5

N

aw, and he wasn’t too happy e idea of me messing with ding gear, and using up gas s without producing any elds. Still, it did leave me t of a fascination for tubular torcycle frames. eventually figured out the art, the biggest obstacle I o frame building was the be part. To be clear about t tube bending was the but that it played into

everythi to do. For point of hav positions the and mount for t rear wheel or swi can’t accurately be connect the parts? It’ to hardtail a steel tub don’t need a specialise swinging arm provides point, and simply boltin into the axle plates, and

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.

VOL.III PART XXIV

That doesn rouble as lon he same plane, hen you have to d left-hand versio ing, and the planes rotated by 11 degre r? Do you need to ad ees that the former is al, or take it away? Pe er to level the bender, y flip an adjustable bu nd to measure each tube

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,

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2020 EVENTS

accessories

2020 EVENTS

clothing

2020 EVENTS

Advertise your events here for free and get them seen by everyone in bikerdom! Email the info to nik@backstreetheroes.com

FEBRUARY 1st Feb: Uxonians’ Kick Off Party at the Bradley House Club, Bradley Street, Uttoxeter, Staffs. Free entry. More info from Facebook.

1st Feb: Brigantia Rebels MCC’s Birthday Bash at The Old Spring, Springs Road, Wigan, Lancs. More info from Facebook.

1st Feb: Barrel Bikers MCC’s Late Christmas Party at Newport Pagnell Working Men’s Club, Silver Street, Newport Pagnell, Bucks. More info from www.barrelbikers.co.uk 2nd Feb: Bike Day at the Ace Café, London. More info from www.london.acecafe.com 2-3rd Feb: Carole Nash Bristol Classic MotorCycle Show at the Royal Bath & West, Shepton Mallet, Somerset. Tickets £14. More info from www. classicbikeshows.com 7-9th Feb: Dangermouse RC’s Last Frozen Nuts Rally at Bignall End Cricket Club, Boon Hill Road, Bignall End, Stokeon-Trent, Staffs. Tickets £15 (£16 if paying by Paypal) prebook or £18 on gate. More info from 07735 958566 or www. dmrallyclub.co.uk 7-9th Feb: Southport Original Cruisers’ Rally in a Chalet at Pontins, Southport, Lancs.

Tickets £18. More info from 07732 696438 or Facebook.

9th Feb: Bike Day at the Ace Café, London. More info from www.london.acecafe.com 9th Feb: MAG Fred Hill Memorial Ride-Out at 11am

from the Ace Café, London.

More info from www.london. acecafe.com

Co Wexford, Eire. Tickets 10 Euros or 13 with badge. More info from Facebook.

15th Feb: Stunt Fest at Santa Pod Raceway, Podington, Bedfordshire. More info from www.StuntFest.co.uk

29th Feb: HAMC Manchester Party Night at 16-22 Liverpool Road, Cadishead, Manchester.

More info from Facebook.

15th Feb: Unwanted MCC’s St Valentine’s Party at the Rock Bar, Shobnall Road, Burton-onTrent, Staffs. Tickets £5. More info from www.unwantedmcc. co.uk or Facebook.

15th Feb: British Bulldogs MCC’s Valentine Bash at the Balcarres Arms, Copperas Lane, Aspull, Wigan, Lancs.

Free entry. More info from johnpf23@yahoo.co.uk or Facebook.

16th Feb: Bike Day at the Ace Café, London. More info from www.london.acecafe.com 21-23rd Feb: Oddballs MCC’s Frozen Balls Up Rally at Sleap, Harmer Hill, near Wem, Shrops. Tickets £15 prebook only. More info from www. oddballsmcc.com or Facebook.

21-23rd Feb: Barrel Bikers MCC’s Firkin o’ Bitter Rally.

Prebook only. More info from www.barrelbikers.co.uk 23rd Feb: 59 Club Day at the Ace Café, London. More info from www.london.acecafe.com 23rd Feb: Ardingly Autojumble at the Abergavenny Building, South of England Showground, Ardingly, West Sussex. Tickets £5 early or £3 normal. More info from www. horshamhistorics.co.uk 29th Feb: Pilgrims RC’s Penance Rally at the Horse & Hounds Hotel, Ballinaboola, Foulksmills,

MARCH 1st March h: Sidecar Sund day at the Ace Café, London. More info from www.london.acecafe.com 1st March: Normous Newark Autojumble at The Showground, Drove Lane, Winthorpe, Newark, Notts. Tickets £10 early bird (before 8am) or £10 (after). More info from www. newarkautojumble.co.uk 7-8th March: Dirt Track Live at the Adrian Flux Arena, Saddlebow Road, Kings Lynn, Norfolk. More info from www. dirttrackshow.com

22nd March: Spring Bikejumble at the Churchill Arms, Daggon Road, Alderholt, Fordingbridge, Hants. More info from www. churchillpub.co.uk 27th March: BMAD Rock Night with Hells Bells at The Foundry, Torwood Street, Torquay, Devon. More info from www.bmad.co.uk 28th March: HAMC Manchester Party Night at 16-22 Liverpool Road, Cadishead, Manchester.

More info from Facebook.

28th March: Black Shuck MCC’s Easter Egg Run from the Kingfisher, Hawthorn Drive, Ipswich, Suffolk at 10am. More info from Facebook.

8th March: Classic Bike Day at the Ace Café, London. More info from www.london.acecafe.com

28-29th March: MC Pecquencourt’s Salon de Moto at Pecquencourt, France.

More info from www.mcpecquencourt.mobi

13-15th March: Well Oiled MCC’s Saddle N’ Sup Rally at the Saddle Inn, Sidgreaves Lane, Preston, Lancs. Tickets £12 prebook or £17 on gate. More info from Facebook.

14th March: Straightliners Dakota Drag & Drift Day at Smeatharpe Airfield, Upottery, Devon. More info from www. straightliners.events 14th March: NCC Newcastle’s Rock Night at the Lord Barrington, Gordon Terrace West, Stakeford, Choppington, Northumberland. Free entry.

More info from Facebook.

21st March: Unwanted MCC’s St Patrick’s Day Party at the Rock Bar, Shobnall Road, Burtonon-Trent, Staffs. Tickets £5. More info from www.unwantedmcc. co.uk or Facebook.

21st March: North Kent MAG’s MAGs at the Nags at the Nag’s Head, High Street, Rochester, Kent. Free entry. More info from Facebook.

MARCH 2020

22nd March: Overland & Adventure Bike Day at the Ace Café, London. More info from www.london.acecafe.com

8th March: Kenley Autojumble at the Portcullis Club, Kenley Airfield, Victor Beamis Avenue, Caterham, Kent (junc 6, M25).

More info from Facebook.

15th March: Bike Day at the Ace Café, London. More info from www.london.acecafe.com

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22nd March: Straightliners bike-only RWYB at Santa Pod Raceway, Podington, Bedfordshire. More info from 01484 718164 or www.

StraightlinersOnline.co.uk

28-29th March: Manchester Bike Show at Event City, Phoenix Way, Barton Dock Road, Urmston, Manchester.

Tickets £15 prebook or £18 on gate. More info from www. manchesterbikeshow.com 29th March: Scooter Sunday & Raleigh Chopper Meet at the Ace Café, London. More info from www.london.acecafe.com 29th March: South of England Classic Show & Bike Jumble at the South of England Showground, Ardingley, W. Sussex. More info from www. elk-promotions.co.uk 29th March: Roughleys Egg Run from Tesco Extra, Tiviot Way, Stockport at 11am.

Donations please. More info f r o m Fa c e b o o k .

APRIL 3-5th April: Matt Black Rat Spring Meet at the Bruce Arms, Pewsey, Wilts. Tickets £15. More info from www.matblackrat.it or Facebook.

REBECCA STORR TEL: 01507 529357 OR EMAIL: RKSTORR@MORTONS.CO.UK 3-5th April: Beermonsters MCC’s Hand Pulled Rally at Ripon Racecourse, Ripon, Yorks.

Tickets £16 prebook only. More info from 01423 529255 or Facebook.

4th April: Kempton Park Auto Jumble at Kempton Park, Staines Road East, Sunbury on Thames, Middlesex.

Tickets £10 before 9.30am, £7 after. More info from www. kemptonparkautojumble.co.uk 4-5th April: Assembly Chopper Show at the Flatlands Motorama at the Autotron, Rosmalen, Holland. More info from Facebook.

4-5th April: South Wales Sunbeam MCC’s Cardiff Classic & Contemporary Motorcycle Show at Llanishen High School, Heol, Hir, Llanishen, Cardiff. Tickets £5. More info from www. southwalessunbeammcc.co.uk or Facebook.

5th April: Kawasaki Sunday at the Ace Café, London. More info from www.london.acecafe.com 5th April: Ink & Iron at the New Bingley Hall, Hockley Circus, Birmingham. Tickets £15 prebook or £20 on door. More info from www.inkandiron.co.uk 5th April: Normous Newark Autojumble at The Showground, Drove Lane, Winthorpe, Newark, Notts. Tickets £10 early bird (before 8am) or £10 (after). More info from www. newarkautojumble.co.uk 5th April: Beaky’s Motorcycles Surrey Harley Boot Sale at Pipperbrook Car Park, opposite Dorking Hall, Reigate Road, Dorking, Surrey. Pitches £25, entry £3. More info from info@ beakysmotorcycles.com 9-12th April: Unwanted MCC’s Ride-In Weekend at the Rock Bar, Shobnall Road, Burton-onTrent, Staffs. Free entry. More info from www.unwantedmcc. co.uk or Facebook.

10-12th April: Festival of Power at Santa Pod Raceway, Podington, Bedfordshire. More info from www.SantaPod.com 12th April: Rocket III Owners Club Meet at the Ace Café, London. More info from www. london.acecafe.com

12th April: Mods & Rockers Day at Revved Up, Walton-onthe-Naze, Essex. More info from 07851 644281 or Facebook.

12th April: Reading MAG’s Easter Bike Show at Burghfield Community Sports Assoc, James Lane, Burghfield, Berks. More info from www. readingmag.org.uk 12th April: Museum of Power’s Transport Fest at the Museum of Power, Hatfield Road, Langford, Maldon, Essex.

Tickets £7. More info from www. museumofpower.org.uk 12th April: WSSW Moorlanders’ Moorlanders Egg Run from Davistow Airfield, Nottles Park, Davistow, Cornwall at 10am. Tickets £5.

More info from 01208 816554 or www.widowssonssw.co.uk 13th April: Devitt Southend Shakedown at Southend sea front, Essex. More info from Facebook.

13th April: Gosportians Car & Bike Show at Ford Brockhurst, Gunners Way, Gosport, Hants.

Tickets £1. More info from 02392 583077 or wecanhelp@ gosportians.co.uk 13th April: Ashford Classic Show & Bikejumble at Ashford Market, Orbital Park, Ashford, Kent. More info from www.elkpromotions.co.uk 17-19th April: Krazy Old Gits’ Rally at the Breighton Ferry, Breighton, near Selby, Yorks.

Tickets £10. More info from Facebook.

17-19th April: Jugsters MCC’s Bosted Bladder Rally at Netherseal Sports & Social Club, Main Street, Netherseal, Derbys. Tickets £20 prebook or £22 on gate. More info from 07552 606126 or 07307 889344 or deborahvickers352@gmail.com 18th April: NOTAS Charity Run & Party in aid of RNLI at Salhouse Lodge, Vicarage Road, Salhouse, Norfolk. Tickets £5.

More info from 07737 602776 or Facebook.

19th April: Kenley Autojumble at the Portcullis Club, Kenley Airfield, Victor Beamis Avenue, Caterham, Kent (junc 6, M25).

More info from Facebook.

19th April: English & Proud St George’s Day Parade from Stratford Road, Shirley, Solihull, West Mids at 6pm. More info from Facebook.

19th April: British & Classic Bike Day & BSA Special at the Ace Café, London. More info from www.london.acecafe.com 24-26th April: HDRCGB Region 7’s Drovers Rally at Llandovery RFC, Church Bank, Llandovery, Carmarthenshire. Tickets £15 members, £20 non. More info from hdrcgbregion7@hotmail.co.uk 24-26th April: Ridgeway MCC’s George to the Dragon Rally at a site near Oxford. Tickets £20. More info from www. ridgewaymcc.org.uk or Facebook.

24-26th April: Muddy Bum Crew’s Bum in the Mud Rally at Essex Outdoors, Rewsalls Lane, East Mersea, Colchester, Essex. Tickets £25 prebook or £30 on gate. More info from www.buminthemud.co.uk 25th April: Straightliners Dakota Drag & Drift Day at Smeatharpe Airfield, Upottery, Devon. More info from www. straightliners.events 25th April: HAMC Manchester Party Night at 16-22 Liverpool Road, Cadishead, Manchester.

More info from Facebook.

25-26th April: Carole Nash International Classic MotorCycle Show at Staffordshire County Showground, Weston Rd, Stafford, Staffs. Tickets £13 prebook or £16 on gate. More info from www. classicbikeshows.com 26th April: Vintage & Classic Jap Bike Day at the Ace Café, London. More info from www. london.acecafe.com 30th April-4th May: Stan & Co’s On The Edge Rally at a site on the Isle of Wight. More i n f o f r o m Fa c e b o o k .

MAY 1-3rd May: Yorkshire MAG’s Into The Valley Rally at Sledmere, East Riding, Yorks. More info from www.yorkshire.mag-uk.org

2-3rd May: Springspeed Nationals at Santa Pod Raceway, Podington, Bedfordshire. More info from www.SantaPod.com 3rd May: Poundbury to Poole Prostate Cancer Run from Queen Mother Square, Poundbury, Dorchester, Dorset at 10am. Tickets £5. More info from Facebook.

3rd May: Italian Bike Day at the Ace Café, London. More info from www.london.acecafe.com 3rd May: Greedy Pigs MCC’s Charity Bike Show at the Freebird Freehouse, Liverpool Rd, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffs. Tickets £3. More info from 07985 239224 or www. greedypigsmcc.co.uk 3rd May: North Weald Air Ambulance Motorcycle Show at North Weald Air Base, Merlin Way, North Weald Bassett, Epping, Essex. More info from 0345 2417 690 or Facebook.

3rd May: Leominster Classic Motorcycle Club’s Ancient & Modern Motorcycle Show at Withington Village Hall, Coppice Close, Hereford.

Tickets £2. More info from www.lcmcc.uk or Facebook.

3rd May: Bod’s Custom Cycles’ Open Day & Custom Bike Show at Bod’s Custom Cycles, Newton Farm, Ashchurch, Tewkesbury, Gloucs. More info from 01684 437080 or Facebook.

8-10th May: Shadow Crew’s Out of the Shadows at the St John’s Arms, Knotting Road,

SPONSORED BY

WWW.BIKERSPARADISE.CO.UK MARCH 2020

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Tickets £15 prebook or £20 on gate. More info from 0191 264 3506 or Facebook.

15-17th May: The Doorslammers at Santa Pod Raceway, Podington, Bedfordshire. More info from www.TheDoorslammers.co.uk 15-17th May: Wycombe MAG’s Dirty Donkey Rally at Mill Lane, Chalgrove, Oxon.

Tickets £10. More info from www.wycombe.mag.co.uk or Facebook.

Melchbourne, Beds. More info from www.shadowcrew.co.uk 8-10th May: NSRA Nostalgia Nationals at Santa Pod Raceway, Podington, Bedfordshire. More info from www.NostalgiaNationals.com

16th May: Southern Classic Bike Show & Motorcycle Jumble at Kempton Park, Staines Road East, Sunbury on Thames, Middlesex.

Tickets £10 before 9.30am, £7 after. More info from www. kemptonparkautojumble.co.uk 16-17th May: Bikes & Beer Festival at the Churchill Arms, Daggon Road, Alderholt, Fordingbridge, Hants. More info from www.churchillpub.co.uk 17th May: Loughborough Bike & Trike Show at Loughborough, Leics. More info from Facebook.

8-10th May: National Association for Bikers with a Disability (NABD)’s You’ve Been Nabbed Rally at the Cheshire Showground, Clay House Farm, Flittogate Ln, Tabley, Knutsford, Cheshire.

More info from www.nabd.org.uk

17th May: Chiltern Hills Vintage Vehicle Rally at Weedon Park, Aylesbury, Bucks. More info from www. chilternhillsrally.org.uk

8-10th May: Race The Waves at the beach, Bridlington, Yorks. More info from www. backfirepromotions.com

17th May: Two-Stoke Blue Haze Day at the Ace Café, London. More info from www. london.acecafe.com

10th May: Stonham Motorcycle Show at Stonham Barns Showground, Pettaugh Road, Stonham Aspal, Stowmarket, Suffolk. More info from 01449 711111 or Facebook.

17th May: Campers, Customs & Rods at Burley Park, Burley, Hants. More info from Facebook.

10th May: BMW Bike Day & GS 40th at the Ace Café, London. More info from www. london.acecafe.com 10th May: Stratford Autojumble at Stratford-UponAvon Racecourse, Luddington Road, Stratford-upon-Avon, Warks. Tickets £5. More info from www.stratfordautojumble.co.uk 14-17th May: BMF’s Bears & Bikes at Traquair House, Innerleithen, Scottish Borders.

Tickets £25 prebook non-BMF members or £20 members.

More info from 0116 279 5112 or www.bmf.co.uk 15-17th May: Tyne Cyclones’ Reivers Rally at Clennell Hall, Alwinton, Northumbria.

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17th May: The Garland Bike Show at The Garland, Brighton Road, Redhill, Surrey. Tickets £5. More info from Facebook.

17th May: Bad-Landers MCC Ride of Respect from Angels Place, Church Street, Sunderland at 9.30am. Tickets £5. More info from Facebook.

20th May: The Victoria Bikers Pub’s John Coghlan’s Quo at the Victoria Bikers Pub, Coalville, Leics. More info from www.wegottickets.com/ thevictoriabikerpub 21-24th May: Kustom Kulture Forever at Zeche Ewald, Herten, Germany. More info from www.kustom-kultureforever.com 21-25th May: Biker Fest Italian Bike Week. More info from www.bikerfest.it

22nd May: Warrington Wheels Youth Bike-Building Comp at Chaigley School, Lymm Road, Warrington, Cheshire. More info from 07949 337507 or bobtowler57@hotmail.co.uk 22-24th May: Beerhounds’ Slurp & Burp Rally at the Plough Inn, Ploughley Road, Bicester, Oxon. Tickets £16 prebook or £18 on gate. More info from Facebook.

22-25th May: The Main Event at Santa Pod Raceway, Podington, Bedfordshire. More info from www.santapod.com 22-25th May: Trikes R Us’ Trikefest at Littleport Leisure Centre, Camel Road, Littleport, Ely, Cambs. Tickets £20 prebook or £25 on gate. More info from www.trikesrus.co.uk 22-25th May: Adventure Before Dementia Rally at Tablers Wood Campsite, Carr Lane, West Cowick, Doncaster, Yorks. Tickets £15 prebook or £20 on gate. More info from Facebook.

23rd May: Bideford Bike Show at Bideford Quay, Bideford, Devon. More info from Facebook.

23rd May: Musos on Bikes’ Musos at the Shelley Custom Show at the Shelley Arms, Old Guildford Road, Broadbridge Heath, Horsham, W. Sussex.

Tickets £5. More info from Facebook.

23-24th May: Coventry Action Group’s Down at Mike’s at Coppicewell Farm, Wolvey Road, Bulkington, Coventry.

Tickets £5. More info from 07816 445906 or Facebook.

23-25th May: Peterborough Festival of Wheels at Peterborough Lions Rugby Club, Bretton Park, Peterborough,

Cambs. Tickets £2. More info from www.pbfow.co.uk 23-25th May: Smoking Dog Rock & Custom Show at Misty Blue Farm, Kirk Merrington, Spennymoor, Co. Durham.

Tickets £20. More info from 07931 177448 or Facebook.

23-25th May: No Bull, Just Beer & Bikes Rally at Penmaenau Farm, Builth Wells, Powys. Tickets £20 prebook or £25 on gate. More info from 07500 850663 or wwwnobullbeerandbikes.co.uk 23-25th May: Enfield Pageant of Motoring at Enfield Playing Fields, Great Cambridge Road, Enfield, London. Tickets £10.

More info from 020 8367 1898 or Facebook.

24th May: Chopper, Bobber & Rat Bike Day at Ryka’s Café, Box Hill, Surrey. More info from Facebook.

24th May: RBLRB Day in aid of the Poppy Appeal at the Ace Café, London. More info from www.london.acecafe.com 25th May: Yorkshire Classic Vehicle Show at Ripley Castle, Ripley, Harrogate, Yorks. Tickets £7.50. More info from www. markwoodward classicevents. com 25th May: Margate Meltdown Run at the Ace Café, London.

More info from www.london. acecafe.com 25th May: Rushden Classic Motorcycle Meet at Rushden Station, John Clark Way, Rushden, Northants. More info from 0300 300 302 or Facebook.

29-31st May: Rat & Survival Bike & Trike Show at the Ogri Clubhouse, Kemble Airfield, Kemble, Gloucs. Tickets £20.

More info from Facebook.

REBECCA STORR TEL: 01507 529357 OR EMAIL: RKSTORR@MORTONS.CO.UK 29-31st May: South West Chopper Fest at a site in Devon. More info from www. southwestchopperfest.co.uk 29-31st May: Perverts in Leather RC’s Fetish Fun & Frolics. More info from www. pilrc.org 30th May: HAMC Manchester Party Night at 16-22 Liverpool Road, Cadishead, Manchester.

More info from Facebook.

31st May: Kent Modified Mash-Up at Faversham Showground, Faversham, Kent.

More info from Facebook.

31st May: Yamaha Day at the Ace Café, London. More info from www.london.acecafe.com

JUNE 4 -7 7th h June: Unwanted d MCC’s Bike & Trike Show at the Rock Bar, Shobnall Road, Burtonon-Trent, Staffs. Tickets £9 prebook or £12 on gate. More info from www.unwantedmcc. co.uk or Facebook.

5-7th June: Leyland Eagles MCC’s Tyred & Exhausted Rally at Edgehill Farm, Bolton Road, Withnell, Chorley, Lancs.

Tickets £20 prebook or £25 on gate. More info from 07393 412265 or Facebook.

5-7th June: Naseby Field HDRCGB’s Roundheads Revenge Party at Market Harborough Rugby Club, Northampton Rd, Market Harborough, Leics. Tickets £18 members, £20 non. More info from 07926 037867 or Facebook.

7th June: Kenley Autojumble at the Portcullis Club, Kenley Airfield, Victor Beamis Avenue, Caterham, Kent (junc 6, M25).

More info from Facebook.

7th June: Dorset VMCC’s Giants Run. More info from events@dorsetvmcc.co.uk 7th June: MAD Sunday (Motorcycle Awareness Day) at the Ace Café, London. More info from www.london.acecafe.com 7th June: Normous Newark Autojumble at The Showground, Drove Lane, Winthorpe, Newark, Notts. Tickets £10 early bird (before 8am) or £10 (after). More info from www. newarkautojumble.co.uk 7th June: Northants V-Twin’s Custom Bike Show at Jacks Hill Café, A5, Towcester, Northants.

More info from 01604 588006 or www.northantsvtwin.co.uk

12-14th June: Reading MAG’s Lion Rally at Gravelly Bridge Farm, Grazeley Green Rd, Grazeley, Reading, Berks.

Tickets £8 prebook or £25 on gate. More info from www. lionrally.com 12-14th June: Gemcc’s Sapphire & Steel Rally at The Sloop Inn, Temple Hurst, Selby, Yorks. Tickets £12.50 prebook or £15 on gate. More info from 07832 491001.

Essex. More info from Facebook.

20th June: Dirtdiggers Unorthodox Flat-Track Racing at the Eddie Wright Raceway, Normanby Road, Scunthorpe, Lincs. More info from Facebook.

20th June: Berks TOMC’s Old Bike Gathering at Burghfield Community Sports Assoc, James Lane, Burghfield, Berks.

More info from Facebook.

13th June: Reading MAG’s Crackin’ It Wide Open Bike Show at Gravelly Bridge Farm, Grazeley Green Rd, Grazeley, Reading, Berks. Tickets £8 on gate. More info from www. lionrally.com

21st June: Custom Bike Day at Ryka’s Café, Box Hill, Dorking, Surrey. More info from Facebook.

13th June: Daventry Motorcycle Festival at Daventry, Northants. More info from Facebook.

26-28th June: AMOC (American Motorcycle Owners’ Club) Rally at Kenley Airfield, Victor Beamish Ave, Canterbury, Kent. Tickets £10.

More info from 07782 357067 or www.amoc1994.com

14th June: Ripon Classic Car & Bike Show at Ripon Racecourse, Boroughbridge Rd, Ripon, Yorks. Tickets £7.50. More info from www.markwoodward classicevents.com 14th June: Triumph Bike Day at the Ace Café, London. More info from www.london.acecafe.com 14th June: Classic & Custom Bike Show at the Churchill Arms, Daggon Road, Alderholt, Fordingbridge, Hants. More info from www.churchillpub.co.uk 14th June: Stratford Autojumble at Stratford-UponAvon Racecourse, Luddington Road, Stratford-upon-Avon, Warks. Tickets £5. More info from www.stratfordautojumble.co.uk 18-21st Jun: Estonians MCC’s Barnstormer Rally at Green Balk, Great Broughton, Middlesbrough, Yorks. Tickets £15 prebook or £20 on gate.

More info from 07533 204101 or 01642 289153 or estoniansmcc@ hotmail.co.uk 19-21st June: Yorkshire MAG’s Farmyard Party at Dunscombe House, Helmsley, Yorks. More info from www.yorkshire.mag-uk.org 19-21st June: HDRCGB Region 19’s New Forest Rally at Trojans Sports Club, Stoneham Lane, Eastleigh, Hants. Tickets £15 members or £20 non. More info from 07887 746441 or region10@hdrcgb.org.uk 19-21st June: Pissed & Confused MCC’s Midsummer Rally at Tufnell Hall, The Street, Little Waltham, Chelmsford,

21st May: Polish Bike Day at the Ace Café, London. More info from www.london.acecafe.com

26-28th June: Punta Bagna French Alps Chopper Party at Valloire, Auvergne-RhôneAlpes, France. More info from www.punta-bagna-valloire.com or Facebook.

26-28th June: Summer Solstice Rock Festival at Southam Rugby Club, Kinneton Road, Southam, Warks. Tickets £20 prebook or £25 on gate. More info from www.ssrf.co.uk or Facebook.

26-28th June: Inner Circle RC’s Goosin’ The Fox Rally at the Fox & Goose, The Street, Greywell, Hants. Tickets £18 prebook or £20 on gate. More info from Facebook.

26-28th June: Bracan MCC’s Pistons & Pints Rally at the Breighton Arms, Breighton, Selby, Yorks. Tickets £15 prebook or £18 on gate. More info from 07895 461487 or Facebook.

26-28th June: Leeds Custom & Classic Bike Show. More info from Facebook.

26-28th June: NOTAS Bits & T*ts Bike & Trike Rally in aid of EAAA & NABD at Salhouse Lodge, Vicarage Road, Salhouse,Norfolk. Tickets £15 prebook or £20 on gate. More info from 07737 602776 or Facebook.

26-28th June: Exiles MC Cumbria’s Ragnarock Rally.

More info from 07736 461239 or Facebook.

27th June: HAMC Manchester Party Night at 16-22 Liverpool Road, Cadishead, Manchester.

More info from Facebook.

27-28th June: Dutch Hardly Rideables at Highlands, Hoogland 1, Ijelsstein, Holland. More info from www. ratbiketreffen.nl 28th June: Ton-Up Day at Jacks Hill Café, A5, Towcester, Northants. More info from Facebook.

28th June: Classic Cars & Bikes & Country Market at Hoghton Tower, Hoghton, Preston, Lancs. Tickets £7.50. More info from www. markwoodwardclassicevents.com 28th June: Triton & Cafe Racer Day at the Ace Café, London.

More info from www.london. acecafe.com 28th June: Hunts Festival of Motorcycles at The Camp, Wood Lane, Ramsey, Hunts.

More info from Facebook.

JULY 2-5 5th h Jully: Unwanted d MCC’s Cock Out Rally at the Rock Bar, Shobnall Road, Burton-on-Trent, Staffs. Tickets £13 prebook or £16 on gate. More info from www. unwantedmcc.co.uk or Facebook.

3-5th July: Wycombe MAG’s Chinnor Bike Dayz at Little Horsenden Farm, Lower Icknield Way, Princes Risborough, Bucks. Tickets £15 prebook. More info from www. wycombemag.co.uk 3-5th July: Llandovery Motorbike Weekend at The Mart, Llandovery. More info from www.llandoverymotor bikeweekend.co.uk 4th July: NCC London’s Diamond Day Custom Bike Show at the Ace Café, London.

More info from www.london. acecafe.com 5th July: Leighton Hall Classic Car & Bike Show at Leighton Hall, Carnforth, Lancs. Tickets £7.50. More info from www. markwoodwardclassicevents. com

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5th July: Honda Bike Day at the Ace Café, London. More info from www.london.acecafe.com 5th July: Crich Tramway Village’s Classic Motorcycle Day at Crich, Matlock, Derbys.

More info from www.tramway. co.uk or Facebook.

9-12th July: Northern Comfort Blackpool V-Max Rally at Villa Football Club, Stalmine, Blackpool, Lancs. More info from 07850 711788 or Facebook.

9-12th July: Rock & Bike Fest at Carnfield Hall, South Normanton, Derbyshire. Tickets £40 earlybird. More info from www.rockandbikefest.co.uk or Facebook.

10-12th July: Pre-Evo Party at Grevenbroich, Germany. More info from Facebook.

10-12th July: Tomintoul Motorcycle Gathering at Tomintoul, Moray, Scotland.

More info from Facebook.

10-12th July: Dragstalgia at Santa Pod Raceway, Podington, Bedfordshire. More info from www.Dragstalgia.co.uk 10-12th July: Freewheelers MC Ireland’s Waterford Motorcycle Festival in Waterford City, Ireland. More info from Facebook.

12th July: Mono Motorcycles’ Summer BBQ at The Greyhound, Cocking Causeway, Midhurst, West Sussex. More info from www. monomotorcycles.co.uk 12th July: Motorbike Show at Beachside Holiday Park, Coast Road, Brean, Somerset. More info from Facebook.

12th July: Indian & Victory Bike Day at the Ace Café, London. More info from www. london.acecafe.com

12th July: Bikes & Trike Show at the Churchill Arms, Daggon Road, Alderholt, Fordingbridge, Hants. More info from www. churchillpub.co.uk

18th July: Berkshire TOMCC’s Classic & Custom Motorcycle Show at Burghfield Community Sports Association, James Lane, Burghfield, Berks. More info from Facebook.

12th July: Normous Newark Autojumble at The Showground, Drove Lane, Winthorpe, Newark, Notts.

Tickets £10 early bird (before 8am) or £10 (after). More info from www.newarkautojumble. co.uk

18th July: Kempton Park Auto Jumble at Kempton Park, Staines Road East, Sunbury on Thames, Middlesex.

Tickets £10 before 9.30am, £7 after. More info from www. kemptonparkautojumble.co.uk

15-19th July: MC Faro’s Concentracion at Faro, Algarve, Portugal. More info from www. motoclubefaro.pt

18-19th July: Summer Nationals at Santa Pod Raceway, Podington, Bedfordshire. More info from www.SantaPod.com

16th July: NCC Mercia’s Bike & Car Show at Alcester Rugby Club, Birmingham Road, Alcester, Warks. Tickets £2.

More info from 07898 267253 or Facebook.

17-19th July: TWATS’ Zombie Rally at the Breighton Ferry, Breighton, near Selby, Yorks.

Tickets £21 prebook only. More info from 01709 648966 or 07766 308668 or Facebook.

17-19th July: HAMC Lincs’ Bullfrog Bash at a site in Lincolnshire. More info from Facebook.

17-19th July: Road Dragons MCC’s Over the Edge Rally at Sycamore Farm, Nether Alderley, Cheshire. Tickets £18 prebook or £20 on gate. More info from 07841 391345.

18th July: Hextable Motor Show at Hextable Park, Hextable, Kent. More info from Facebook.

18th July: Straightliners Dakota Drag & Drift Day at Smeatharpe Airfield, Upottery, Devon. More info from www. straightliners.events

19th July: Prescott Bike Fest at Gotherington, Cheltenham, Gloucs. More info from Facebook.

26th July: Sports Bike Special at the Ace Café, London. More info from www.london.acecafe.com 31st July-2nd Aug: Yorkshire MAG’s Yorkshire Pudding Rally at Escrick, near Selby, Yorks. More info from www. yorkshire.mag-uk.org 31st July-2nd Aug: The Hook Up Chopper Show in Usk, South Wales. More info from www.the-hook-up.co.uk 31st July-2nd Aug: Eye of Ra MCC’s One in the Eye Rally at the Hafodyrnys Rugby Club, Crumlin, Newport, Gwent.

Tickets £15. More info from eyeoframcc@hotmail.com or 07904 977137.

19th July: ‘70s Bike Day at the Ace Café, London. More info from www.london.acecafe.com

31st July-2nd Aug: MAG South East’s MAGfest at the Plough, Plumpton Green, Lewes, Sussex. Tickets £20 prebook or £25 on gate. More info from 07445 761440 or Facebook.

19th July: Classic Bike & Car Show at Warlingham Rugby Club, Limpsfield Road, Warlingham, Surrey. More info from www. warlinghamclassics.co.uk

1-2 2nd d Aug: Llanb bikeffest at Llangollen, Denbighshire. More info from www.llanbikefest.co.uk

19th July: Biker Buddiez Ride Against Cancer from Dartford to Hastings. More info from Facebook.

19th July: HAMC Liverpool’s Ride-In Bike Show. More info from Facebook.

24-26th July: Halfway Heroes MCC’s Leathered in Lincoln Rally at Carbourne Parva, Caistor, Lincs. Tickets £20 prebook or £25 on gate. More info from 07709 907745 or Facebook.

24-26th July: FUBAR MCC’s Fecked Up Forever Rally at Marstons Sports & Social Club, Shobnall Road, Burton-on-Trent, Staffs. Tickets £12.50 prebook or £18 on gate.

More info from 07745 471781 or mrsknobhead.fubar@yahoo.com 24-26th July: Druids MCC Ireland’s Rally at a new venue.

Tickets €20. More info from 00353 861 909201 or Facebook.

25th July: Calne Bike Meet at Calne, Wiltshire. More info from www.calnebikemeet.com 25th July: HAMC Manchester Party Night at 16-22 Liverpool Road, Cadishead, Manchester.

More info from Facebook.

AUGUST 2nd Aug: Lytham Hall Classic Car & Motorcycle Show at Lytham Hall, Ballam Rd, Lytham St Annes, Lancs. Tickets £7.50. More info from www. markwoodwardclassicevents.com 2nd Aug: Suzuki Sunday at the Ace Café, London. More info from www.london.acecafe.com 2nd Aug: Barrel Bikers MCC’s Custom Show at The Cruik Barn, Bradwell Abbey, Milton Keynes, Bucks. More info from www.barrelbikers.co.uk 2nd Aug: Museum of Power Bike Meet at the Museum of Power, Hatfield Road, Langford, Maldon, Essex. Tickets £7.

More info from 01621 843183 or Facebook.

6-9th Aug: Bridge Rats MCC’s Rat Pack Rally at Heath Rugby Club, Stainland, Halifax, W. Yorks. Tickets £15 Friday-Sun or £18 Thurs-Sun. More info from www.brudgerats.com 6-9th Aug: Yorkshire Rock & Bike Show at Squire’s Café, Newthorpe, Sherburnin-Elmet, Yorks. Tickets £25 prebook. More info from www. yorkshirerocknbikeshow.co.uk

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2020 EVENTS

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✱✱✱✱✱✱✱✱✱✱✱✱✱✱ If there’s one thing we’ll never all agree with each other on, it’s politics or, more precisely, party politics. In the recent General Election, the people spoke and delivered a decisive outcome, and the Conservatives now sit in Westminster with a large majority. They’ll be there for some time and, like it or not, we know the colour of British politics – it’s blue.

MAG must continue to work with those in power, regardless of the colour of their tie. The Rt Hon Grant Shapps MP remains Secretary of State for Transport, and we’ve been in touch with him previously, and Lembit Öpik, MAG’s Director of Communication & Public Affairs, began the New Year by requesting a meeting. We want to check where the Minister stands on bikes in the transport mix. He flies planes, we know that, and he’s genuinely interested in transport, which is refreshing, and we hope to focus his enthusiasm towards bikes to reduce congestion, costs and emissions.

Nationally, our primary focus is working with the Conservatives in Westminster, but we’ve also got Labour in Wales, in Scotland the focus is the SNP, and in Northern Ireland there’s a load of parties to reach out to! Remember though, at a constituency level, the relevant elected MPs, and other politicians, work for you whatever their political affiliations.

We’ve written to every elected and re-elected MP, congratulating them on their success, and offering to help in matters relating to biking.

This is a process we put in place some time ago, and we continue to develop relationships in Parliament. Now that it’s relatively stable, we’re working on sending regular relevant mailings, offering opportunities for further engagement, and keeping biking in their awareness.

There’re certainly going to be new opportunities to get motorcycling on the agenda. This Government has the power to deliver on its preelection promises. We know Brexit is high on the agenda, and by the time you read this (if Boris has kept his promise) they’ll have achieved progress.

Some organisations’ve already predicted how this might look in terms of transport and travel, and we’ve tracked all this, and requested a seat at the table when that’s good for biking. Over time, Brexit could also mean we improve areas like the motorcycle test and licencing.

Perhaps the really big news story though, was that the Prime Minister got a bike, a Yamaha TT-R125, for Christmas! Is he looking to avoid the London congestion charge, or move around the streets of London unrecognised in a full-face helmet? Or perhaps, like MAG, he knows the easiest way to get around the capital is on a motorcycle. I’m sure it’s a story that’ll help fill column inches in the media! Now the Prime Minister is one of us, maybe he’ll join MAG, and subscribe to BSH? A biker’s a biker, whatever or whoever they are, and whatever they do for a living, and let’s face it, having the PM on side hardly hurts, does it? ✱✱✱✱✱✱✱✱✱✱✱✱✱✱✱✱✱ Scotland has opened a consultation relating to low emission zones, so if this is of interest to you, then please register your views at the Scottish Government’s website. The complete link is www.consult.gov.scot/ transport-scotland/low-emission-zones but just log on to their website at www.gov.scot and have a scout around, and you’ll find it.

Please respond before the end of the consultation (it closes on 24th February), and remember to mention biking, or that you’re a rider. The more people who complete these consultations, the more we’re heard.

The latest figures released (from the first nine months of 2019) show a marked increase in motorcycle sales across the European Union, so there are more of us, or we’re buying new bikes, but either is good – safety in numbers is key when it comes to being taken seriously by legislators.

On the darker side, we’ve got worries in York as the City Council forges ahead with plans to ban all ‘non-essential’ private car journeys inside the city walls by 2023. If implemented, it'll be the first scheme of its kind in the UK, and sets a dangerous precedent. There’s a gulf between media reports and the reality of the proposals, but Colin Brown, Director of Campaigns & Political Engagement, and Richard ‘Manny’ Manton, the Yorkshire Regional Representative, have been making the case for motorcycles, and are working hard to ensure the final plans will be favourable for motorcyclists.

It's not good enough to simply view this as only affecting car drivers – we can’t risk being banned just because we didn’t speak out. We need to make a stand now in York, and in any location that proposes a ban or a charge zone. Let us know if you hear anything where you are – we need a full picture of what’s going on out there. ✱✱✱✱✱✱✱✱✱✱✱✱✱✱✱✱✱ Moving on, the odds are you’re not out and about quite as much as in the warmer months, so why not use the time to write to your MP to seek their views on bikes, and their inclusion in transport policy? It’s really helpful when riders do this, and now is an ideal time to seek their views. Remember: they work for YOU. Let us know what they say, and if your MP is rider-friendly. ✱✱✱✱✱✱✱✱✱✱✱✱✱✱✱✱✱ One more thing, will you be taking part in Ride to Work Day 2020?

Monday 15th June is International Ride to Work Day, and we’d love you to be involved. If you’ve got creative suggestions about how we can make this a really interesting event for riders, get in touch via centraloffice@mag-uk.org We’re open to any ideas to encourage everyone to use their bike on the day – the more the merrier! ✱✱✱✱✱✱✱✱✱✱✱✱✱✱✱✱✱ Looking ahead, tickets for many of our major 2020 events are now on sale: Into The Valley (1st-3rd May), the Farmyard Party (19th-21st June), the Yorkshire Pudding (31st July-2nd September), and Stormin’ The Castle (4-6th Sept). They’re all there at www.mapevents. co.uk or www.storminthecastle.co.uk ✱✱✱✱✱✱✱✱✱✱✱✱✱ So, it’s 2020 – we’re still here, still growing, and more influential than ever. Let’s make this decade one to remember for riders everywhere, so that we can look back in another ten years and say, ‘We’re still here.’

Ride free SELINA LAVENDER

CONTACT MAG AT CENTRALOFFICEMAGUK.ORG OR CALL 01926 844064 TO JOIN YOU CAN CONTACT CENTRAL OFFICE, VISIT OUR WEBSITE (WWW.MAG UK.ORG – CLICK ON ‘JOIN MAG’) OR SIGN UP AT A LOCAL MEETING OR MAG STAND.

FIND MEETINGS CLOSE TO YOU OR EVENTS, BY VISITING OUR WEBSITE / FACEBOOK PAGES.

Chris on his first Harley, which is also his first bike – the one he’s learning to ride on! What’s life without adventure?

Send pics of your bike, your lady, your bloke (but not your dinner, this isn’t Facebook) to nik@backstreetheroes.com

BELOW: Great old pic of Sebbo on his CB750/4 hardtail, riding back from a party, taken in around 1998.

Pam’s Hornet 600 was bought new in 2007, and late last year passed the 100,000 mile mark. In its life it’s only needed one set of new throttle cables, a new rear disc, and the odd battery.

They’re damn reliable, them ‘Ondas!

BELOW: Chris Leek’s NX650 (that’s Honda Dominator to you and me) flat-tracker, outside Industry & Supply. We’ll show you his GT550 Brat next issue.

Yeah, yeah, we know it’s a factory shot, but this pic from Triumph is pretty damn cool, isn’t it?

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Send pics of your bike, your lady, your bloke (but not your dinner, this isn’t Facebook) to nik@backstreetheroes.com RIGHT: Another great riding shot from Neil Richardson, taken near Castalla, Alicante, Spain.

BELOW: Didn’t know Chelsea Pensioners rode Harleys? Rosie and Steve at the Tuesday bike night on Poole Quay.

Mark Taylor’s zombie mail deliverer! He bought a running XJ600S, and then bought an angle grinder…

ABOVE: Gary Pennick moved from Blandford in Dorset to Hanau in Germany a few years ago, but still has his BSH subscription so he keeps up to date. This is his 2003 Softail Standard, which he rides back to England every summer holiday!

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Gordon Hewitt’s spent two-and-ahalf years building his ’79 Ironhead with lots of parts made especially for it by him himself – hopefully it’ll be on the road come the spring!

Petcu’s VT600 bobber – the day after it was built, it was stolen and written off … bastards.

Simon bought his first ever copy of BSH to read around the pool on his hols in Dubai.

You can go right off people, can’t you?

‘Dear BSH, here’s Mark enjoying his 54th birthday in Kefalonia. Barry.’

“Ready to go and say goodbye to our bro, who we lost in a bike accident on 24th May. RIP Waddell.”

James McColn

Gordon Andrews’ Sporty that he calls ‘Captain America’s English cousin’.

White seat? Mate, your jeans are obviously cleaner than mine are!

BEST PIC EACH MONTH WINS ONE OF THESE OXFORD KICKBACK ARMOURED SHIRTS, WORTH

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YAMAHA XS650 CHOP/BOBBER: Built by Cobra Motorcycles, oneoff springers/frame, full engine rebuild/re-wire (hidden in frame), cost almost £20k for build/parts, needs little finishing/cleaning/registering/MoT, never been on road due to injury/old age, swap for Land Rover Freelander2 TD4 HSE or cash offer. Tel 07825 773013 or email john.fryer3@ntlworld.com (Hants).

THE BSH RAT-ROD: Radical (very!) as hell, pro-built by Smiley Monkey Custom Cycles, Suzuki GSX750 motor, one-off frame/forks/ tanks/seat/bars, hydrodipped/clear-coated, long MoT, runs beautifully, great fun to ride, real (REAL!) head-turner £3,500 ono.

Tel 07884 052003 or email YAMAHA V-STAR 1300: 2007, nik@backstreetheroes.com 29k miles, lovely v-twin cruiser, ready to tour/rally, Yamaha touring (Suffolk). screen/back-rest/hard leathercovered panniers, runs superbly, new front tyre, recent MoT (no advisories), can deliver locally or arrange nationwide courier £3,250 ono. Tel 07966 505892 or email pauljamesmotorcycles@hotmail. com (Dorset).

TRIUMPH ROCKET 3: Unrestricted, 2005, under 11k miles, fully serviced/MoT’d, new Metzeler tyres/Motobatt battery, LED headlight upgrade, fuel gauge, clock, panniers (not in pic), reluctant sale £7,495 ono or p/x early H-D Road King. Tel 07701 040052 or email nickhanning@ gmail.com (W. Sussex).

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YAMAHA TRIKE: 1100 Maxim, Reliant axle, genuine reason for sale, MoT Sept £2,500 ono. Tel 01229 480486.

HONDA CB750 SOHC CHOP: Good condition, built in the early ‘80s, great patina, really nice engine, no rattles/shakes, tax/MoT exempt, ready to ride or customise to your taste £3,500 ono. Tel 07845 53041 or email ole.ravnbo@ hotmail.co.uk (Southampton).

TRIUMPH T110 CHOPPER: Thousands spent, absolute work of art, endless list of custom parts, 1959 Triumph Tiger motor, simply stunning, but practical £7,995 ono.

Tel 07980 817796 or email info@ evoke-classics.com (Essex).

LEATHER WAISTCOAST: Size 44 UK (Large or XL), brand new, never worn, quality black leather

by JTS Biker Clothing, fully lined, popper front fastening, two side pockets, can post no problem £45.

Tel 07501 084121 (Hants).

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BACK IN OCTOBER 2019 THE POWERS THAT BE ANNOUNCED THAT THEY’D DECIDED TO MOVE THE 2020 EARLY MAY BANK HOLIDAY FROM MONDAY 4TH MAY TO FRIDAY 8TH MAY TO COINCIDE WITH THE 75TH ANNIVERSARY OF V.E. DAY (VICTORY IN EUROPE), WHICH HERALDED THE END OF THE EUROPEAN CONFLICT IN WORLD WAR TWO.

his, somewhat short notice, announcement has reportedly thrown many people’s long-standing plans for holidays and weddings etcetera into disarray, but for some it may prove to be a positive, albeit temporary, boon. The weekend of 8-10th May just happens to be the weekend of the 29th You’ve Been Nabbed rally in Cheshire. This iconic event is the biggest annual showcase, and fundraising event, for The National Association for Bikers with a Disability (NABD). In addition to being an event that features more entertainment than you can shake a stick at, including live music on two stages, a huge stand-up comedy show, three bars (including a real ale bar featuring 40-plus ales and ciders), strippers and, of course, a top-quality bike and trike show sponsored by Back Street Heroes, it also has a theme each year to give folk a chance to dress up, and be even sillier that normal, on the Saturday. The theme this year is the Second World War, to coincide with the 75th V.E. Day anniversary celebrations happening around the country.

This should give a huge scope for choice of outfit for those who enjoy getting right into the theme, and we’re also trying to find ways to ensure that, in addition to honouring the WW2 Armed Forces, we also honour all of the facets of service that contributed to the Allied success, including the Merchant

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Navy, the Home Guard, the ARPs, the Land Army, and the hundreds of thousands of women who kept industry going while so many men were overseas.

We’re also hoping to get some WW2 vehicles displayed on site at the Royal Cheshire Showground (just off Junction 19 of the M6 motorway near Knutsford), including motorcycles of that era, so if you have such a machine, or know somebody who has, we’re offering two free VIP Passes (worth £100) to anybody who’s willing to bring their WW2 vehicle along, and display it on Saturday 9th May or for the whole weekend if they wish. Interested parties should contact the NABD office via email to office@ thenabd.org.uk with a photo of their vehicle, or telephone the office on 0844 415 4849.

Of course, the rally's not just a fantastic, fun-packed event, it’s also a showcase of the work being done by the world’s leading support group for motorcyclists with disabilities so, in amongst the wonderful array of bikes and trikes on display in the BSH custom show on the Saturday, there’ll be an appreciable number of machines that’ve been adapted to suit the needs of their disabled owners, and the vast majority of those machines will’ve been specially adapted with the help of grants from the NABD. In addition to being the annual showcase of the work of the NABD, this event is also our most important fundraiser – 100% of the profits from this event go toward the running costs of the NABD office, and the

wages of the office manager and the administrative assistant (the only two paid employees of the Association), so that not one single penny of the donations made go toward administration costs. You’ll have to look long and hard to find another registered charity that can, honestly, make such a boast! The total in grants awarded by the NABD in 2019 (a very tough year for everyone) to help bikers with disabilities to have their bikes, trikes, or sidecar outfits adapted to suit their needs came to £38,071.86, and in 2018 the total was £56,409,74, and that means that, in total, over just the past two years, 126 bikers with disabilities, many of whom’d thought they’d never ride again, were helped back into the saddle where they belong! And for every one of them, there’ve been another three or four who’ve been helped also to gain or regain licences, or sort out legal and/or insurance problems that were keeping them off the road, and it’s only with the support of bikers that we’re able to continue to improve on the figure of 11,000-plus disabled bikers who’ve been directly helped by the NABD over the past 29 years.

When most people think of actively supporting a charity, they think of putting money into a collection pot or putting themselves through gruelling sponsored events such as the London Marathon. We much prefer to offer top-quality entertainment, cheap booze, good facilities, and the superb camaraderie of the most excellent company offered by events like ours in exchange for your support.

We’re hoping that one of the benefits of Friday 8th May being a Bank Holiday will be that people who’ve been put off attending in the past, because of how late they’d arrive after working all day on the Friday, will now give it a go due to having the day off. We have a wonderful site, and an event that creates an atmosphere worth bottling, and we’ll be ready and waiting to welcome each and every one of you to one of 2020’s most iconic and unmissable events.

Advance tickets are on sale for £30 each now via our website at www. thenabd.co.uk or by telephoning 0844 415 4849. Personally, I can’t think of a more enjoyable way to actively support a registered charity, and I’m sure that, if you come along, you’ll think so, too.

RICK HULSE

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