4KICKBACK –THE FIRSTBIG CUSTOM BUNFIGHT OF 2025 10TRIUMPH BOBBER –SO COOL YOU’DCOMMIT ANYSIN…
16BOSTED BL ADDER RALLY –I’M SURE I’ VE NE ARLY HA DTHATONA LONG JOURNE Y
18XS650 –FIRST BUILD, FIRS TCLA SS
24VT X180 0 –JAPANESE IMPORTED LOVELINE SS
54HOWTOAIRBRUSH –PART 2, FL AMES
28AT TITUDE ULTIMA –THE PENULTIMATENCC KERNOW BIKE
60TANK ART –SOMEO’ THE BEST TANKSINTHE LAND
64REAL WORLDROADTEST –HONDA’S CB350S
70AYEARINCUSTOM BIKING –RIDING CUSTOM BIKESYEAR-ROUND
72MR BRIDGES’ MOTORCYCLE DIARIES –THE GURU OF MECHANICING
32BEER BIKES&BANDS –EARLYSEA SONVINTAGE CHOPPERS
36Z1000 DIGGER –LOW N’ TOUGH
42BATABITB IKESHOW –CHOPPERS N’ STUFFIN QATAR!
44EL LOBO PAN/SHOVEL –S TAINLE SS -FRAMED PERFEC TION
76FICTION –TRUE LOVE ANDMORINIS
80NEWS –ALL THE LATE ST FROM THE CUSTOM BIKE WORLD
50SPREAD –ANARTIS TICTYPE POSTER FORYOU TO PUTONYER WALL
52SUBSCRIBETOBSH –SEEHEREFOR THEBES T SUBSCRIP TION OFFERS
82PRODUC TS –LOA DS OF GOOD STUFFTOSPEND YOUR HARD -E ARNED ON
84LETTERS –IT’SOKAY, YOUC AN TALK TO US, WE’REALL FRIENDSHERE…
86EVENTS –HOR DE SO’ THETHINGS, FECK IN’ HORDES
95DEVIL’SADVOC ATE –ANOPINIONATED, ARGUMENTATIVEBUGGER SPEAKS
96REMINISCING –MEMORIES OF THE DISREPUTABLE YE ARSOF BIKING
91READERSLIVES –YOUR LIVE SINPIC TURE S
94MAGNEWS –THE LATE ST FROM MAG’S NATIONAL CHAIR
Morning /afternoon /evening (deleteas applic able), how’sitgoing?Welcome to this newissue of BSH!
I’mn ot goin gtom es sa ro un dw ithp ream bl ethi si ss ue,sol et ’s ju st ta lk ab ou ts tu pidi ty,s ha ll we?
T’othe rd ay Iwas at ap ub,pic ki ng up so me stuf ffro ma n even tI’d he ld th ere, an dwas be in gtal ke da t by at ypic al ca rdriv in gk now- it-a ll wh o, wh en he overheardm ea nd amate sayin gtha tthe weathe rb eforethe we eken d’dp erha ps pu ta fewfol ko ff,o pi ne dtha t, ye s, that wa sb ec au se ridi ng bi ke s in th ewet ’s da ng erou s, is n’ti t? Now, no rmally,I’d ju st ig no re this so rt of co mm en tcos,well, yo uk nowthe an no un ce r’s neve rb ee no nabikei nhis li fe,b ut this gu ywas su ch an ob that Ifel tcom pe ll ed to says um ma t.
“No, ma te,rid in gbikes in th ewet,i ni ts el f, is n’td an ge ro us –w ha t’sd an ge ro us is be ll en ds in ca rs wh od ri ve ba dl y.
97RICK HULSE –ONE OF THEMOS TELOQUENT THINKERS IN BIKERDOM
98NEXT MONTH –JUSTTO WHET YOUR APPETITE…
Bi ke s’re abso lu te ly fin e– it twat ty driv in gtha tmakei t da ng erou s.”(Ma teyhad, se co nd sb efore, be en boas ti ng of howh e’dg ot hi whatever-i t- wa ssid eways ro un drou nd ab ou ts,a nd on ly ju st mi ss ed th ebac ko atru ck…)
“O h,”h es aid, an dthe n ra llie dmag ni ficen tl y, “Yea h, ba dd ri vin g’sn ever th eres to’the pe op le at th ebar ex plod ed in to la ug hter.
“W ha t? ”h es aid, look in gg en ui ne ly co nfus ed Irony? That ’s li ke co pp er yo rb ro nzey,i sn’t it?Watch ou tfor me,they’re ou tthe re…
IT’S BEEN AGOODFEW YEARS(IACTUALLY CAN’ TREMEMBERHOW MANY EX AC TLY) SINCEI LA ST WENT TO AKICKBACK EVENT, BUTI’D HE ARDGOODTHINGS FROM PEOPLE WHOSEOPINIONS IRESPECT ABOUTHOW GOOD IT WA SSINCE IT’D MOVED TO THE THREE COUNTIES SHOWGROUNDINGRE AT MALVERN, SO ITHOUGHT I’DGIVEITAGO.
And d’y’ know what?It waswellwor th thetrip across thecountry from over ‘ere to over there, it really was; threehalls of customs,bikes,and cars, plus theTwo Brothers Racing StuntTeam arena, andaHarley- Davidson ride -n’-tr y area,too.There wasonsitec amping a fewhundred yardsaway, andloads of parking, and, importantly, theweather stayed good,which always pu ts asmile on people’sfaces.
Rockinguponthe Friday to unload the Spondon?, Iwas very impressedwiththe sheernumberofbikes entered; therewas awhole sizeable hall full of,ifyou like,our kind of customs, andanequally sizedone
housing what they call ‘Butchered Classics’, butwhatwe’dcallstreetfighters,aswell as scooters,and classics of theold dripper variety. Finally, by openingtimeonthe Saturday,the thirdhallwas full of custom cars andhot rods –something to seefor anyone who’sapetrolheadofany kind
Thecustomhallwas,ofcourse, theone that’s most relevant to us ‘airy-arsedtypes as it waschock-fullof‘proper’motorcycles in thechopper/bobber/’tracker/custom styles.Walking in thedoor, immediatelyto your left wasJonny Edds’ultra-long-fork Hayabusa (winnerofthe Best Chopper classinlastyear’sBSH Custom Champs), andfromthatpoint on it wasjustwall-towall cool motorsickles:the lil’blueAJS, andthe little red‘un with thetanklikean
insect’s thorax;PhilTurner’sbig-wheeled blackCBX (another Champs winner in 2023); Emma Poole’spinkIronheadchop; freelancer Tony Smith’sneatboneshaker of an XS650; LarryHoughton’sincredible new-buildNortonRotary(notTriumph Rotary as organiserLorne Cheetham repeatedly said at thepresentationon Sunday); aRaw SteelChoppers-built Sporty with acantilevermonoshock back end; Nick’s ‘OriginalSin’Triumph (as featured this issue);MarkGovindasamy’s 750/4; Royal’sSpeedshop’s Ironhead chopper(whichyou’llbeabletosee here soon); an amazinglyodd diesel…er, thing; andasuperbly rattyplunger-framedBrit single that just oozedcool; theincredible turbocharged Yamvee LeeJones (drop
me an email, Lee, if you’re readingthis?); DavidGallier’s lil’blueTriumph (which Iphotographedoutside on theSunday and’ll be in themag soon), andanother two of hisbikes,too;MikeStocks’ steampunk Harley (another you’ll seesoon);and… and… loads! Honestly,ittookmefor feckin’evertowander roundand getpics of them all, andI’m notconvincedI sawall of them at all– therewerethatmany! Bike
of thehallfor me was, Ihavetoadmit,not Larry’sNorton(whichwasn’taTriumph) or Lee’sX VS,but theWickedMotorcycles (Worcester)2-D GSX-Rstreetfighterthat wasso well painteditdidn’tlookreal–no matter from what angleyou looked at it, it looked as though it should have props roundthe othersideofitholding it up, like thestore fronts in Westerns.Ilosttrack of howmanytimes Iwas drawnbackto
it,mylogical braintelling me onething, butmyvisualbrain another– absolutely inspired andoriginal!
Moving on,the ButcheredClassics hall wasevery hooligan badboy’s dream with aruckofglorioustricked-up, in the main,Katanas andZedsthat, back in theday,would’vegracedthe pagesof Streetfighters. Even though my firstbig bikeswereKwaks,and thereweresome
absolute killersthere (the slammedand stretchedMKIIwiththe twin-shock billet swingarm andturbo!),myheart these days belongstoKats, andthere were twoultra-desirable examples of thefeline genus:AndyHarriman’s1230ccblue‘un, andDaveBaughan’s 1400cc turbo. Geof f Mumford’sMagnum2 Harris wasglorious; VJ’s Honda/Suzuki thingwas ‘orrible and ace; theHonda‘crosserwiththe GSX-R400 motorbonkers;DaveSolomon’s Bandit Zed(anotherChampswinner) sublime; and JamesRogers’ double -engined Triumph (another onewe’re featuringsoon) just wonder ful. In thecar hall,there were groovy four-wheelersaplenty,but it was theolder hotrodsthatIwas drawnto; the ModelTsand the‘32sand thelike.
Anyway,the winnersofthe various categorieswere: Best ButcheredClassic –Ian Jevon’sZ10 00 MKII (asmentioned above);BestNon-Butchered Classic–SteveFox’s CB50 0; Best Chopper– Lee Jones’ XVS110 0; Best Tracker-Richard Bloomfield’sBSA A65; Best Harley –Paul Bromhead’s Heritage Softail; Best Streetfighter –the Wicked Motorcycles 2-DGSX-R;BestCafeRacer –Matthew Dean’s TriTon;BestCustom–James Rogers’ double -engined Triumph; Best YoungBuilder –Harry Whittle’sYam AT2dir tbike; andBestinShow–Larry Houghton’s Rotary Norton (which,evenby theend of theday,still wasn’t aTriumph). Congratulationstoall of them! Away from thebikes thereweretrade
stands by thelikes of MidlifeClassics (lotsofcoolstuff andBSAs),Gasoline Ally (frames),FlakeyDave’sCustomPaint Studioand Freespirit Studio(frankly incredible paint),and Oily Rag(cool tees n’ stuf f),and more,and therewerefood stalls andabar,cof feetrucks, andbike bits forsale. TheTwo Brothers Stunt Team guys,Vandaland Toddy, didanumber of showsoverthe weekend, andwereas awe-inspiringasusual and… yeah,itwas good,verygood.
Th en ex tK ic kbac keve nt is on 7S ep te mb er at th eSam my Mill er Mo to rc yc le Mu se um,a nd th en it ’ll be Ma lverna ga in in th es prin g–g et mo re in fo’o n‘em bo th at www. kickba ck sh ow.com
IT’S ONE OFTHE GREATBIKER CONVERSATIONS, ISN’T IT? IF A CUSTOMBIKE CHANGESSOME OF ITS COMPONENTS, IS IT STILL THE SAMECUSTOM BIKE?
NickEddison,you see, is the custodian, as he describes himself, of apiece of British chopperhistory –he’sthe thirdowner of ‘TeOriginal Sin’,a1960Triumph Tunderbirdoriginallyput together by the legendaryDickSmith of thehallowedSouth London workshop Baron’sSpeed Shop.He’s world famous forbeing oneofthe best in putting together period correctstock andcustomBritish bikes, especially Triumphs,and hasanimpressive client list whichincludesA-listcelebrities as well as humblercustomers (likeNick),too Te Or ig inal Si nwas bu ilt15yea rs agoto showcase theski llsofBaron’s SpeedShop, and wasorigi na llyowned by DelRussell,who was then pa rt of theorigi na lset up.Att hatt ime, thebikewas in ad iferenti ncarnation,w it h ad iferentpai nt job, di ferent oi la nd petrol ta nk s, ad iferentsissy-bar,d iferentfootpeg andhandlebar rubbers, andt he rear lightwas positioned di ferent ly.However,t he majority of what yousee here is st il lwhatDickbui lt back then,a nd thelookoft he bi ke,a nd what ma kes it what it is,hasn’t, he says,rea llycha nged . Back then,t he petrol ta nk wasad iferent Spor tsteritem, andt he oi ltan kwas pa intedi n ablue/pu rple fip-fop. Te rear light(aone-of made fort he bi ke)was at tached to thetop of theside-mounted’plate, insteadoft ucked underneath thesma ll sissy-ba rasitisnow,a nd theorigi na lsissy-bar waslower across thetop of themudguard, butt he engi ne,t he frame, the fork s, thewheels, the’ ba rs,a nd theexhausts’re st il lt he sa me so,a lt houg ht here’vebeensome changes, they ’renot anyt hi ng you’ dconsidersig ni fcant. Te ma in change,apa rt from theage-related weat heri ng,has been in thepai nt work .W henDel decidedtomovet he bi ke along, it was pu rchasedbya nother Sout hL ondoner, Ca rl Pa rker,atalentedpanel beater andsprayer.Del ’d kept theorigi na lpet rola nd oi ltan ks as pa rt of thesaleagreement so Ca rl sourceda nother Spor tstertan k
SPEC:
1960 Triumph6TThund erbird ENGINE (E3134 ca m, Amal 389Monoblock ca rb, alloyope nbell- mouth, LucasK 2F magneto igni tion,12vol tLuc as al te rnator,one -off ex haus ts,Wassellexhaust clamps)/frame (modif ied)/foot- rest s(Ba ron’sSpe ed Shop whiterubbe rcovered)/rear wheelhub & brake/forks/yokes/switchgear/handlebar &footcon trols, Avon tyres(3x 21-inc h Speedmas te rMKIIfront,3x16- inch Sa fe ty Mileag erea r),Rad elli WM121- inch fron t rim, TriumphSport sCub fronthub/bra ke, ta pe redBaron’s SpeedShopforkshrouds, pe riod neopre ne fork gaiters, one- of f z- ba rs,Baron’s Speedshopgrips,H -D Spor ts te rpetroltank(modified), Ba tes tuck &rollsea t, Wassellunive rsal rear mudgua rd (modif ied),one -off oiltank, one- of fsid e- mount, 3.x16- inch drop -centre H- Drea rw he el rim, Powe rbox elec tric al componen ts,one -off loom,Bates 4. 5- inch headlight,one -off tail -light
FINISH:
Ex pe rime ntal blue/purpleflip-flop wi th rainbow‘ flakebypreviousowner,f inishing / pins triping by Neil ‘The Stripe r’ Mellia rd (07768901853 or neilmellia rd@gma il. com), polishing by Ba ron’sSpe ed Shop
ENGINEERING:
Bike buil tbyDic kSmi th at Ba ron’sSpe ed Shop,various pa rt sbyTony‘Cookie’ Cook,w he elslaced by HagonProduct s, seat cove rbyL ee at Viking Motorc ycle Seat s(07977874075 or ww w.vikingmotorc ycle -seats.co.uk); loom by Steve ‘The Spar x’ Hallam at theMotorcycling Wiring Company
THANKS TO:
“Dic kSmi th at Ba ron’sSpe ed Shop;&C arl Pa rker…”
a nd commissioned acustomoil ta nk from Dick,a nd decidedtoput hisown ma rk on the bi ke,lay ingdow nadeepblue/pu rple basecoat, with arai nbow ’fake(whichrea llypopswhen thesun hits it), andcom missionedt he amazing pi nstr ipinga nd custom pa intworkf romNei l ‘TeStr iper’Mel liard, anot herSouth Londoner who’scustom-pa intedmanyhot rods andd rag ca rs.His work on ‘TeOrigi na lSin’, Nick says, real ly is stand-outa nd in aclass of itsown
He frst saw‘ Te Or ig inal Si n’ at thet hi rd Tr ip OutatSca ld EndFarmi nBed fordshire, andi nsta nt ly fell in love with it.Att hatt ime Ca rl hadn’t done therepai nt ingyou seehere, butjustt he stance of thebike, andt he ki ller upsweptpipes real ly diditfor hi m. In the interi mper iodCarla nd Nick beca me fr iends, especial ly as they ’d both star tedtobui ld projec ts forshow-st ylechoppersw it hDick at roug hlyt he sa me ti me –Carlf nished his abouta year ago, whilst Nick ’s is st il longoi ng, andt he bi ke he produced,a nother Tr iu mph pre-unit,isjustasspectacular as ‘TeSin’. He decidedhed id n’trea llyneedt wo show bi kes, so put‘ Te Si n’ up forsalea nd,asNick’ dcoveted it foryea rs (a nd hadt he avai lablef unds sati n theban kgat heri ng dust), it wasa done deal Si ncet henhe’skeptupw it ht he polishing andcleaning, andhad af ul ltop-end rebu ild done with Dick .T is revealed abit of coki ng on thepistons andbar reltops, anda fewper ished gaskets, butnot hi ng else –testa ment to the qual it yoft he or ig inal bu ild. He’s also ta ken thebiketoacoupleo’t hree shows: theBike Shed Moto Show at TobaccoDocki nL ondon, the101 Show in Ma rgate, Te Tr ip Out(as you’ ll seen in ou rfeatu re on last year’s), andK ickback, andit’s been feat ured in DicE maga zi ne,a nd nowBSH,a nd he says he’s determi nedtoshowher arou nd so as ma ny people as possible ca n sharei nwhathet hi nk stobeone of thef nest examples of oldBritish iron arou nd
THEJUGSTERSMCC RUNA PROPER OLDSCHOOLR ALLY AT THEMOIRA SPORTS & SOCIAL CLUB,INDERBYSHIRE, WITH FOCUSFIRMLYON SOCIALISINGAND RAISINGMONEY FORCHARIT Y.
The club hasacore of eighteen regular memberswho meet at theClubonthe first Sunday each month, andtheyraise fundsfor charitiesonafive -yearcycle –thisyear’s Year Twofor Blesma,acharity helping limbless veterans to live independent andfulfilling lives. VeteranKevin Davis attended to representthe charityin receivingachequefromclubchairman Alex Whitefor onethousand pounds alreadyraisedand,after thepresentation, he told hisstory andhow Blesma’d helped andsupported himtobuild anew life as an amputee, givingencouragement, suppor t, andlegal advice,aswellassourcing prac ticalitems to meet hischanging needs. Blesma covers thewhole of theUK, workingwiththe NHS, andiscommitted to thehealth, welfareand independence of ourService menand women. When notorganisingtheir ownevents, Jugsters membersregularly attend
otherclubrallies,and this love of the sociable side of rallying’s forged longterm friendshipsacrossmanymiles,and a mutual suppor tnetwork’s evidentbyboth thenumberofclubs present(Icounted over adozen), andthe lastingfriendships that bringpeoplebackyearafter year.
Theticketlimit of 250helps to keep theevent smalland friendly;there’s lots of banter,morning,noonand night; and milesofbeautiful Derbyshire countryside to exploreifyou fancya ride -out.The clubhouse’sopenall dayfor people to socialise, andtoenjoy thewonder fulfood provided by location host/chef/licensee JamesBodell. Jameswas working17 hours aday forthe duration of therally, always with asmile on hisfaceand a cheery word foreveryone. As alicensee whopulled2,485 pintsinone weekend, andhad hisbar pretty much drunkdry,he hada lotto smileabout TheChaos discoprovidedmusic,there wasa live band each night, andsilly games forlight-hearted entertainment. Another
funway of fundraisingisauc tions, andthis eventhad two: abottleofJackDaniels (yes,anordinaryone), wonbySpanner forawonder ful£95,and aone -off rally T-shir tfor this year,signedbyall members andframed, wonbyKyle. Otherwinners this weekendwerea PiaggioApe forBest Trike, alovelyold Triumph(with crate sidecaremblazonedwithP&T Mole & Co.) whichwon Best Bike,and awell-used andseldom-washedKwakGPZ wonBest Rat. Best Club Turnoutwas wonbythe Oddballs forthe second year in arow,and jointFur thestTravelled awards went to a pair of German visitors,Norbert andWally –the runner-up, Hans,had come over from Belgium, indicating thefriendlyreputation of this rallyisspreading farand wide Ho ne stly,t we nt yq uidfor awee ke nd of grea tcom pa ny,ban ds,ap ro pe rbar wi th pl en ty of seatin g, an da bsol utel y ma rvello us food –you’d be ma dn ot to!N ex tyea r’sd ates are17-19 Ap rilso book ea rl y!
AS I’MSURE I’VE SAID BEFORE(IT’SME AGE,Y’KNOW,MAKING ME REPEAT REMESELF),THE ASONS FOR BUILDINGA CHOP , OR ANY FORM OF CUSTOM,AREMANY AND VARIED , AND IT’S ALWAYS INTERESTINGAND ENLIGHTENINGWHEN YOU HEAR OF ANEW ONE.
