4BIGT WINB IKESHOW –THEBRITS WENT ACROSS THEWATER AN’DUN GOOD!
10TWIN -SHOCK ENFIELD –3 00 AND50CEE-CEE S OF COOL
16BOYD’S WINTER BL AST –ITWERECOLD, BUTIT WERE ABLA ST!
18LONG N’ LOWEVO –THIS IS THEBIKEJACKBUILT
24OLDBOOTB IKERS –NO,I’M NOTBEING RU DE ABOUTTHEM, THAT’S THEIR NAME
263- LITREDIESEL MERCEDES TRIKE –I’M BATMAN OR IAMTHE LAW, YOUDECIDE
32CHOPPERCLUBWALES SHOW –LOA DS OF COOL CUSTOMS, LOOK YOU
34 GSX110 0 –TOU GHER TH AN APIG WI ’A FL ICK- KNIFE
40ODDBALLS RALLY –THEIRWINTERR ALLY, ALMOST IN APRIL…
42GRUMPY’S OPEN DAY –THECOOLE ST PL ACEIN STOK E- ON -TRENT BY FAR!
44LONG -FORKSHOVEL –THECOVER BIKE IN ALL ITSGLORY
50SPREAD –ANARTIS TICTYPE POSTER FORYOU TO PUTONYER WALL
52SUBSCRIBETOBSH –SEEHEREFOR THEBES T SUBSCRIP TION OFFERS
54HOWTOAIRBRUSH –PART 1, UNIONJACK FL AGS
60TANK ART –SOMEO’THE BEST TANKSINTHE LAND
64REAL WORLD ROADTEST –HARLEY ’S LOWRIDER ST
68AYEARIN… –RIDING CUSTOM BIKE SYEARROUND, PART SIX
70MR BRIDGES’ MOTORCYCLE DIARIES –THEGURUOFMECHANICING
74FICTION –IK NE W LISTENINGTOTHE ARCHERSWAS BA DFOR YOU…
78NEWS –ALL THEL ATES T FROM THECUS TOMBIK E WORLD
80PRODUC 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
91READERSLIVES –YOUR LIVE SINPIC TURE S
94MAGNEWS –THE LATE ST FROM MAG’S NATIONAL CHAIR
Helloand welcometothisnew issueof BSH!
Thebig news this monthisthatMAG (MotorcycleActionGroup… as if there’sanyonewho doesn’tknow) have announced theirbig Riders’ Resistance weekendof demonstrationsupand down the land,protestingatthe Government’s stance on internal-combustionenginedbikes,onthe weekendof5 and6 July.
Nowthisis, Ithink,anentirelycommendable thingtodo, andone that,asone of themanythatdid thebig demosinthe ‘90s,Ifeel is somethingthat’slongoverdue but(youcould feel that coming, couldn’t you?)they’re only releasingthe plansfor it now? Barely a monthawaybythe time youreadthis? Should they not’ve star ted bangingonabout this months ago? Ithink they should’ve…
Th eworld,y ’s ee,i saver yd if fe re nt plac etoh ow it wa si nthe ‘9 0s .Wewereyou ng an dc arefre ethe n, in ou rt we ntie sa nd th ir ti es,b ut we’ren ot anym ore–we’re in ou rfi ftie s, si xtie s, an d seve ntie s, an dweh avecom mi tm en ts,thi ng sweh avetod o, fa mily ti es,l on g-te rm plan s; we’ren ot as ab le to ju st ju mp on ou rbikes at th ed ro po fah at,a nd head ou ttog ivethe powe rsth at-b ew ha t-fo r. No,the se days ma ny of us plan th in gs we ll in ad va nc e, an dtha twee ke nd,4 -6 Ju ly,i sa really,rea ll yb us yo ne
95DEVIL’SADVOC ATE –ANOPINIONATED, ARGUMENTATIVEBUGGER SPEAKS
96REMINISCING –MEMORIES OF THE DISREPUTABLE YEARSOFBIKING
97RICK HULSE –ONE OF THEMOS TELOQUENT THINKERS IN BIKERDOM
98NEXTMONTH –JUS TTO WHET YOUR APPE TITE…
wi th fif te en even ts th at Ik nowo fa nd,I gu aran te e, aw ho le load mo re th at Id on’t kn ow ab ou t. We ne ed abit mo re th an a mo nth’sn otic e!
Theproblem is,because of this shor t notice,Ithink,awhole boatload of folk well disposed towardsMAG andtheir goalson ourbehalfaren’tgoing to be able to make it to thedemos planned, andsowhatstarted of fasagreat idea,and one that so many of us’d’vebeenmorethanhappy to suppor t, because it’s been droppeduponusattoo shor tnotice, mightnot have the impact we need it/themto, andthat’sarealshame –itreallyis. Ihope, Ireallydo, that I’mwrong andall theevents’re suitably at tended,but Ican’t help feelingthatmaybe giving us just amonth’s notice aboutsomething so importantisabit of ashotinthe foot.A s Isay,IhopeI’m wrongand,ifIam, I’ll hold me hand up to it,but Allthe detailsofall theeventsare on Neil’s page towardsthe back of themagazine, andonMAG’s website, too(search ‘motorcycle ac tion group’), andifyou’regoing I’ll seeyou at theAce on the Saturday –fingerscrossed!
THEBIGTWIN EXPO,HELDANNUALLY IN HOUTEN,NETHERL ANDS,ISONE OF EUROPE’S PREMIERE VENTSFOR CUSTOM MOTORCYCLE ENTHUSIA STS, ANDBRINGS TOGETHER CUSTOM BUILDERS,PARTS SUPPLIERS,AND ARTISTSFROMACROSS EUROPE ANDBEYONDTOSHOWC ASE UNIQUE DESIGNS, INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGIES,AND THER AW PA SSIONTHATFUELS THE CUSTOM MOTORCYCLE CULTURE.
Hos te di nthe spac io us ha ll so fthe Ex po Ho uten,the even t of fe rs an en ga gi ng spacetoexp lo re, ne twork, an dcel eb ra te this shared pa ssio n. At te nd ee ss pa na ll wa lk so flife, bu ttheys ha re acom mo n love fo rc us to mm otorcycl es,a nd th e free dom th es emac hi ne srep re se nt Un li ke ma ny trad itio na ls hows,w hich’re fo cu se dp ri ma rily on prod uc tion bi ke s an db ra nd sh owca se s, it lean sh eavily in to th ec us to ma nd ha nd ma de as pe ct s of th em otorcycl eworld.H ere, vi si to rs fin drareo ne -o ff bu il ds,a rtis anal
craf ts ma ns hi p, an db ol dd esig nc hoices that challe ng econve ntio na ln orms . Fo rove r3 0yea rs,the Ex po’s se rved as acorne rs to ne even tfor th eEurop ea n motorcycl ecom mu ni ty,p re se nting th elates ttre nd sa nd pu shin gthe bo un da ries of cu stom mo to rc yc le de sign.E ac hyea r, it draw sb uild er s from Eu ro pe’s most ce le brated ga ra ge s, alon gsid es ma ll -sca le ar ti sa ns an dn ew ta le nt seag er to ma ke th ei rmark. From ha nd bu il tc ho pp er stom etic ulou sl y de sign ed ca fé ra ce rs,the bi ke so n di sp lay’re ates ta me nt to th ed ed ic atio n an dc reativ it yo fthe ir bu il der s. Th emai na ttra ctio ni su nd ou bted ly
th ec us to mm otorcycl ed is play,w he re hu nd re ds’res howc as ed,w ithe ntries ra ng in gfro mo ld -sch oo lb ob be rs an d ca fé ra ce rs to fu tu ri stic bi ke stha t look li ke th ey ’res traigh to ut of asci -fi movie. Th es eo ften featurehan dc ra fted de ta il s, in nova ti ve us eo fmateria ls,a nd cu ttin g- ed ge te ch no lo gy,o fferin ga fa sc inatin gg li mpse in to th efutureo f cu stom mo to rc yc le de sign.Ina dd itio n, th eE xp oh os ts aran ge of ac ti vi ties to ke ep at te nd ee se ng ag ed:livem usic pe rforma nces,lifes ty le sh opstha t em bracea ll as pe ct so fbiker cu lture, cu stom pa in ta rtis ts de mo ns tratin gthe ir sk ills li ve fo rthe crowd, an dm ore.
On eo fthe uniq ue as pe ct so f th eB ig tw in Ex po is it scom pe ti tion se gm en t, wh ereb uild er sv ie fo r awards in va riou sc ateg orie ss uc ha s Be st Cu stom,B es tCho pp er,a nd Be st Ca fé Ra ce r. Th ew in ne rs no to nl yg ai n in du stry re co gnitio n, bu to ften al so re ce ivesig ni fic an tm ed ia ex posu re th ro ug hB ig tw in ma gazi ne.M os to fthe wi nn er sa re,o bv io us ly,Europ ea n, bu t th ereweret wo bi ke sfro mB ligh ty th ere, an dtheyb othg ot awards:V ic an dL in from De stinyCyc le s’ Th eGatekee pe r
wo nthe Cu stom Mo di fie dc la ss,a nd Grae me Me rcer from Roya ls Sp ee dS ho p go tathi rd wi th hi sX LL S(eX pe ri me ntal Ligh tweigh tL an eS plit te r) Iron head in th eCho pp er/B ob be rc la ss . Fo rmanya tten de es,the ex po’s an id ea lp la ce to pick up sp ec ia li se dpar ts an da cces so ries that ’reo th er wi se ha rd to fin d. It ’s amarke tp la ce fo rm otorcycl e pa rt sd ea le rs,c lo thin gb ra nd s, an d li fe st yl ea cces so ry prov id er s, wi th stalls of fe ri ng ever ythi ng from ra re pa rt sfor clas sicbikes to th elates ti nn ovatio ns
in mo to rc yc le te ch no lo gy.T he ve ndo r se ctio n’sk nown fo ri ts ec le ctic mi xo f big- na me bran ds an ds ma ll er nich e su pp lier s, allowi ng vi si to rs to di scover prod uc ts that alig nw iththe ir sp ec ific ta stes an dp roje ct ne ed s. Po pu la r item si nc lu de leathe rg oo ds,c us to m ha nd le ba rs,v in ta ge he lm et s, an du niqu e ap pa re ltha tresonates wi th th erugg ed, in dep en den ts pi ri to fbiker cu lture, an d fo rthose look in gtos ta rt or co mp le te a cu stom bi ke bu il d, this ma rketplacei sa n inva lua bl eresou rce.
Whil ee stab li sh ed bran ds an d bu il der s’re asig ni fic an tp re se nce, th e even ta lsoa ctivel ys up po rt se me rg in g ta le nt in th ec us to mi nd us tr y. It prov id es ap la tformfor yo un gb uild er s to ga in ex posu re,l ea rn from season ed ve te ra ns,a nd ne tworkw ithp oten tial clie nt sa nd co llab orator s. Ma ny as pi ri ng bu il der sa nd me chanic sa tten dtog lean in sigh ts from in du stry lead er s, at te nd pa ne ld iscu ssio ns,a nd pa rtic ipate in wo rk sh opstha tcover va riou s as pe ct so fm otorcycl ec us to mi sa tion an dmai ntenan ce,a nd it al so invi te s prom in en tfigu re sfro mthe cu stom bi ke wo rl dtos ha re th ei rexp er ti se.
Beyo nd th ebikes an dpar ts,i t’s ul ti ma te ly ab ou tcom mu ni ty.T he even tfos te rs as tron gs en se of ca ma ra derie,b ri ng in gtog ethe rlikemi nd ed in di vidu al sw ho sharead ee p ap prec ia tion fo rm otorcycl es an dthe li fe st yl ea ssoc ia te dw iththe m. Bi ke rs from allove rEurop ea nd beyo nd co nverge to shares to ries,ideas,a nd ad vice,c reatin ga uniq ue environ me nt that ce le brates free dom,i ndi vidu alit y, an dc ra ft sman ship,a nd th elivel y atmosp he re’s en ha nced by li ve ro ck an d bl ue sm usic ,a dd in gtothe fe stival vi be, an da rt an dfas hion –a sm uc hapar t of th esce ne as mo to rc yc le s, an dfoo d
truc ks an db everag es ta tion sa lsoa dd to th efes ti va l-likea tm os ph ere.
In fa ct,i t’sm oretha njus tam otorcycl e sh ow –i t’sa ce le bratio no fc reativ it y, craf ts ma ns hi p, an dcom mu ni ty.Eve ry year,i tb ri ng stog ethe ra di ve rs eg ro up of pe op le united by th ei rlovefor mo to rc yc le sa nd th eu niqu e, cu stomdriven cu lturetha ts urro un ds th em.For th os epas sionatea bo ut mo to rc yc le s, wh ethe ra sb uild er s, rider s, or fa ns,i t’s am us t- at te nd even ttha te mb od ie sthe spirit of in dep en den ce an di nn ovatio n that ma ke sthe cu stom mo to rc yc le wo rl d so ca ptivatin g.
THIS VERY SUBTLELIT TLE SINGLE’S BEEN BUILTOUT OF A350 BULLE T ROYALENFIELD –ABIK EYOU DON’ TOFTEN SEECUS TOM VARIANTS OF.
The 350Bul lethas ar icha nd stor iedhistory dati ng back to itsi nt roduct ioni n1932.
Or ig inal ly ma nu fact ured in Redd itch in Worcs, it qu icklygai neda reputation forits robust ness andrel iabi lity and, du ri ng theSecondWorld Wa r, played acrucial role as amil itar y motorc ycle,ser vi ng in va rioust heat resofwar
Afer thewar,product ionoft he Bu llet forusciv vies resu med, anditbecamea popu la rchoicew it hits ti meless design, charac terisedbyits signat uret hu mpingeng inea nd classic st yl ing, capt ur ingt he hear ts of riders arou nd theworld .O vert he decades, themodel underwentnumerousupg radesa nd iterat ions, butits essenceremai nedu ncha nged
In the1950s,Royal En feld establ isheda ma nu fact ur ingpla nt in India, layi ng thefou ndat ionfor itsendur inglegac yi nt he countr y, andt he Bu llet beca me sy nony mous with advent ure andexploration,earni ng acultfol lowi ng amongr idersseeki ng freedomont he open road .In1962, though,product ionoft he Br it ish-made 350Bul lets ceased (t he 50 0s hadt he year before), andt he UK factor yclosedfve yearslater,never to reopen. In India, though,t he 350conti nued to be bu iltr ig ht up to themodernday,cha ng inga nd refningt he design,whi le st il l keepingits essent ia l‘Bu llet ness’tocopew it ht he dema ndsof acha ng ingworld –i ndeed, we feat ured one, anew one, in a roadtest afew mont hs ago.
Despitecha nges in ow nershipa nd technology,t he 350Bul let’s dist inct ivet hu mp andt imelessdesig nconti nuetoevoke nostalgia
andadventu re,mak ingitabeloved classiccherished by riders across generations, andi npar ticu la ra guycal ledJul ia n. His journeyw it hmotorcycles bega natayou ng age, fuel ledbya thri ll ingr ideonaSuzuk iGT750 and, grow ingupsurroundedby al lt hi ngst wo-wheeled,itwas on ly natu ra lt hathe’ dfol lowi nhis fa mi ly ’s footsteps, eventual ly becomi ng deeply entrenched in the busi ness of sell ingbikes
Afer decadesi nt he indust ry,hemadea bold move in 20 05, transitioningtosel li ng motorc yclesonl ine, embracingt he digita l agew it hg usto.L ater,i n2015, he emba rked on anew vent ure, combininghis love formotorcycles with anot herpassion,g uita rs, star ti ng abusinesscal ledMotomusic andsel lingg uita rs as well as sell ing/serv icingmotorcycles.Heact ua llyret ired from Motomusici n2020, leav inghis busi ness pa rt nertodea lnow,only with gu itarsashe, Ju lian,was the‘Moto’i nMotomusic
Tatsameyea r, he emba rked on hismosta mbit ious projec tyet: acustombui ld of a350 Bu llet.Wit haclear vision in mi nd,heset to work,str ippi ng thebikedow n to itsbarebones,a nd meticu lously correc ti ng anypreviousa lterat ions Te projec twas alabou roflove, with each componentcaref ul ly selected andmod ifed to hisexact specifcations; from custom-made wheela xles to st yl ised yokes pa instak inglycra fedbyhand, ever y deta il wasi nf used with hispassion andexper tise.
SPEC:
20 06 RoyalEnf ield 350 Bullet engine (panca ke air-filter,ceramic-coa ted ex haus t/af te rmarke t sile ncer)/fra me (modif ied)/ footrest s/ ha ng ers/controls/ swingarm(modif ied)/rea r wheelhub/rea rbra ke, Suzuki VS70 0Intrude rfront wheel/ brake/forks, one- of f billet yokes, Goodridg e brakelines,a fterma rket ‘bars(modified)/fron tbra ke master-c ylinder,Yamaha switches/ ha nd -con trols, af te rmarke tgrips,KOSO digi talspe edo, Spor ts te rst ylefueltank, sprung solo seat,a fterma rket rear mudgua rd (modif ied), dummyoil ta nk (bat te ry &electrics), af te rmarke t shoc ks,16- inch rear rim, one- of floom, Ba tes- st yle headligh t, Spar to rear light
FINISH:
Redmetalflake&gra phic s by Sean Wood ford, powd er-coa ting by Nick at Grif f’sReali ty Motorworks ( 0117 9042339 or www. realit ymotor work s.co.u k), polishingbyPaulthe Polisher
ENGINEERING:
Ow ne r& Robina tR D Design
THANKS TO:
“Furry John forthe elec tric s; Sean forthe pain t; Paul thePolishe r; &Robin for brac ke ts etc.”
Onecha llenge that arosedur ing thebui ld wasget ti ng thenew front endf roma700 Intr uder Su zu ki into theEnfeldf ra me,but he tack ledit head-on, ha nd-mak ingnew yokes andperseveri ng unti lt he issuewas resolved to hissat isfact ion. Te framewas modi fedtotakeamuch morecustom-look ingSportsterst yletan k; anew spru ng seat was sourceda nd ft ted; anew mi ni ma l rear mudg ua rd wasshapedto look right; andadum my oi ltan k wasmadetoholdt he batter ya nd elec tr ical gizmos.New shor terrea r shocks were pu rchased, andt he rear hub/ brakelaced to a16-inch ri m usingasimilar spokepat tern to that of thef ront wheel. AcustomSpa rto rear lightwas deemed necessar yfor thelook, as wasaBates up front, andaset of aferma rket higher pr imar ilybarspri ma ri ly were cut andw idened to su it,too.
When it ca me to aest hetics,heopted fora bold meta lfakered agai nstamat tblack frame, done by Sean Wood ford in Caer phil ly, ensu ri ng hiscreat ion’ dsta nd outwhereveritwent, andt he resu lt wasnot hi ng shor tofspectacular –astu nningbiket hatt urns headswhereveritgoes.
However, as he ga zeduponhis fnishedmasterpiece,anew real isat iondaw neduponhim -hewasn’tready to ha ng up his bi ke bu ildi ng hatjustyet.Tejoy of thebui ld ’d ig nitedapassion, andhefou nd hi msel fa lready plot ti ng hisnex tproject.Tat meant, though,hehad to ma ke thedecisiontopar twaysw it h hisbeloved creation,a nd thebikewas sold last year –hehopes thenew ow ner’ ll appreciate themet iculouscra fsma nshipa nd at tent iontodetai lt hat’sgonei ntoits creation.
IT SEEMSALIFETIMEAGO NOW, HERE IN JUNE,BUT BACK AT THEEND OF NOVEMBER LAST YEAR BOYDS, AS IN BOYDSOF BEDFORD,RETAILPURVEYORS OF MODERN BIKERCLOTHING TO THE DISCERNING, HELD THEIRUSUAL WINTEREVENT AT THE RUSHDENTRANSPORT MUSEUM IN RUSHDENINNORTHANTS (A MERE STONE’STHROW,IFYOU HAVE REALLY LONG ARMS,FROM SANTAPOD).
nd do yo uk noww ha t?
AIt we re re et grad el y, as th ey sayi nYorks hi re wh en so me thin g’stop -n otch.No, ho ne stly,i twas –the place wa spac ke dw ithfol kcom in g an dg oi ng;the food stalls ou tsid ewereb us y; th ebiked is play in side,a ltho ug hs ma ll,was cool;the in side stalls we re on es I’dn ot se en be fo re an dsol di nteres ti ng stuf fyou’d no ts ee el sewh ere(thin kI go tPam as et of ti ny LED in dica to rs fo rh er Gi xe r);a nd th ec ra ic ,a sthey says,was good.
Mi nt Cu stom swerethe re wi th afew of th ei r bu il ds:the re wa sarathe rcoo lX S6 50 wi th atan kbad ge that looked li ke it sh ou ld say ‘BSA’; acou pl eo fp ro pe rc ho pp er Ha rl eys by th ed oo r; ab ra ce of tric kCubsfor th e smallbikep er v… aficionad os;a750/4 ca ff wi th upside -d ow nies;arathe rnicelil ’b la ck Triu mp hb ob be rw ’a whites ea t(hi sjea ns obviou sl ya re n’ta sg ri my as mi ne); an Evo ch op wi th ston ki ng ta ttoo pa in tworka nd lu ve rl yb ra ss bi ts;a nd Ja me sRog er s’ stun ni ng do ub le -e ng in ed Triu mp h–afuturecover bi ke fo rs ure! He fired it up acou pl eo’tim es in th e ha ll,a nd th en oi se wa so rg as mic… at leas t that ’s my excu se an’I’m stic ki ng to it.O ut side th erewereafew ch oice ma chin es,too,the be st of whic hwas Pa ul Jo ne s’ ol d- skoo l stre et fig hter Ba nd it (a sfea tu re di nBSH 49 0), ridd en allthe wayd ow n, in th ecol d( it wa s pa rtic ularly ni ppytha td ay)fro mt ’o th er side of Ru gby(or so mewh eren ea rthe re anyway). Th erewas mu sic, too; so me acou stic jo hnny doing hi sthi ng,a nd ab un ch of in te re stingl y dres se dg en tl em en in su it s, Mexica nw re stle r ma sk s, an dCro cs,b ut as th ey we re play in g ro ckabilly Iran away an dhid ‘til th ey stop pe d. Th is wa sa ct ua ll yt he la st Wi nt er Bl as tr un by Bo yd sa st he y’ve cl os ed up sh op no w, bu t an ot he rc re w, K-Vi ll eK us to ms ,a re ta ki ng it on ,a nd wi ll be ru nn in gi ts li gh tl ye ar li er in Oc to be r, ca ll in gi tH ed to th eS he d, an d ma ki ng it ab it mo re cu stom -o ri en ta te d. We ’l lp ub li sh th ed et ai ls as so on as we ge t ‘e ms okee pa ne ye on th el is ti ng sa tt he ba ck of th em ag
THIS ISTHE BIKE THAT JACK BUILT
THIS IS THEEVO ENGINE THAT LIES IN THEBIKETHATJACKBUILT
THIS IS AHELLSTOWN CHOPPERS FR AMETHATCRADLES THEENGINE THAT LIES IN THEBIKETHATJACKBUILT
THIS IS THETOLLE FRONTEND THAT SUPPORTS THEFRAME THAT CR ADLESTHE ENGINE THAT LIES IN THEBIKETHATJACKBUILT
THIS IS THE23-INCH FATSPOKE FRONTWHEEL THAT RUNS IN THE FRONTEND THAT SUPPORTS THEFRAME THAT CR ADLESTHE ENGINE THAT LIES IN THEBIKETHATJACKBUILT…
