6STORMIN’ THEC ASTLE –THEBIGGE ST BUNFIGHT IN THE FARNOR TH!
12HARDTAILSHOVEL –SO COOL THERE’SARISKOF FROS TBITE… LITERALLY
18HA FAMILY YARD PART Y –L AURENTRAVELS TO KENT FORTHE DAY
20GSX-RSTREETFIGHTER –TRICK-FRAMEDSUZI… SOUNDS LIKE ASTRIPPERNAME
26THETRIPOUT –THE MOST LAID -BACKE VENT AROUND
32BSASCR AMBLER –STUNNING ANDUBERSHINY
38CALSTOCK BIKE SHOW –THE LA ST ONEE VER
40ENGR AVED SPOR TY –COMPUL SIVELY CRUELT Y TO DREMEL S
44OUTL ANDISH GSX- R –THECOVER BIKE IN ALL ITSGLORY
50SPREAD –ANARTIS TICTYPE POSTER FORYOU TO PUTONYER WALL
52SUBSCRIBETOBSH –SEEHEREFOR THEBES T SUBSCRIP TION OFFERS
54PATINA PAN –OLDLOOK ING, ANDCOOLER THAN ALIQUIDNITROGEN FR APPE
Hello, andwelcome to this newissue of BSH!
60TANK ART –SOMEO’THE BEST TANKSINTHE LAND
64REAL WORLDROADTEST –LEGACYBSA TEST
68AYEARIN… RIDING CUSTOM BIKE SYEARROUND, PART FIVE
70MR BRIDGES’ MOTORCYCLE DIARIES –THEGURUOFMECHANICING
74FICTION –DEATH COME STOUSALL ,BUT NORMALLY ON ATRITON
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
95DEVIL’SADVOC ATE –ANOPINIONATED, ARGUMENTATIVEBUGGER SPEAKS
96REMINISCING –MEMORIES OF THE DISREPUTABLE YEARSOFBIKING
97RICK HULSE –ONE OF THEMOS TELOQUENT THINKERS IN BIKERDOM
98NEXT MONTH –JUSTTO WHET YOUR APPETITE…
(p ic byP a m)
Sc an ni ng id ly th ro ug hFac eb oo kaw hile ag o, Ifou nd ap re tt y go od ex plan atio no fw hy we,a sbiker s, do wh at we do.Is ta rted read in gi t, ch an gi ng it ab ou tabit,a dd in ga bi th ere, ta ki ng aw ay abit th ere, costha t’sw ha twee di to rt yp es do,a nd en de du p pret ty mu ch rewritin gi ta sthe Am eric an ne ss (I ’m gu es si ng)o fi t didn’t really fit wi th us lo tove r‘ere.
“I can’treallytellyou whyI first wanted amotorcycleall thoseyears ago, or whyI stillwantone now, butIcan tell youthat, sinceowninga bike,mylife’sso, so much better.Yes,Iget wet, Iget cold,I’vebeen afraid,and I’ve hurt myself more timesthanIcaretoremember, but I’ve also seen wonder fulplaces, andmet andbecomefriends with perfec tstrangers,someofwho Imight only seeveryoccasionally, butwhenwedomeetupagain it’s like we’venever been apar t–that’s thebond thesethingsgiveyou.
“They’re also good foryourhead; Imight go outboiling with frustration, butalwaysreturnwithafeeling of peace–I leavethe troubles andcares of theworld behind,evenjusttemporarily, andI feel I’mabetterpersonfor doingso. My bike is,often,the oneconstantinmylife; people come andgo, butitkeeps me on
thestraightn’narrow, keepsmyhead straight,and as Isailthrough linesof stationary or slow-movingtraffic, dodge throughcities, or swingintoa country bend,Ifeelalive,completelyalive.I’ve laughedout loud in thewind, talked to myself athousandtimes (and still do), sang andshouted with joylike amadmanand,yes,sometimes I’ve cried. Yes, Iknowhow dangeroustheycan be,but thebenefits faroutweighthe risks, andit’smylifeI’m risking–I’m willingtotake thoserisks because, if Ididn’t, Iwouldn’tbeme. I’ve stoodincourts andfaced up to thepowers-that-be, andmostlylostagainst ‘em, but I’ve stillstood up forwhatI hold dear,and Ihave, andstill do,spend moneyIdon’t have on ‘em. I’ve givenup(many)thingsother people consider essentialtokeepitonthe road,but it’s allbeenwor th it –it’snot really ameans of transpor tation,it’ssomething that I’m blessedwith, it’s part of whoIam. Andone day, when I’mtoo oldto ride anymore, I’ll standitinmygarageasa trophy of my life.”
FORTHE BEGINNING OF THIS ARTICLE, I’LL STARTBY SHOWINGYOU THREE NUMBERS: 4256,129 AND 32.WHAT’RE THEY ABOUTTHEN? I’LL EXPL AIN…
The firs ti sthe ea sy on e: it ’s th en um be ro f pe op le wh oa tten de d th e2024Sto rm in’the
Ca stle –an um be r whic h, I’mtol dbythe MAGcom mi ttee,i so na neve np eg gi ng wi th th eFarmyardPar ty,w hich ma rk s th em bo th as th ebig ge st even ts of th e ra ll yyea r.
Th es econd wa sa hu ge su rp ri se to me,a swas th ea mo un to f ti me it took to ph otog ra ph ea ch item that ma de it up.W ha ti si t? It ’s th en um be ro f
bikes en te re di nthe cu stom sh ow.I’ve no ts ee ns uc havarie da nd in te re stin g se le ctio na ta ny even ta ll season
An dthe third? We ll,tha to ne’s th e be st on eyet,a nd I’ll leavei t‘ tilthe en d to ex plai ntha t… Ik now, Ik now, mean, aren’t I?
So,w ha thap pe ne da tSto rm in glas t year?Well, th erewerethree li ve mu sic stag es,a trad er s’ ma rket,afun -fai r, load so ffoo dven dor s, as tu nt sh ow, axe-th rowi ng,a nd mo re.M usic wi se, th eHob go blin Stag eh os te dFro go n th eTyn eo nFriday, an dO il Ci ty Shaker s
on th eSaturday; Th eIri sSta ge ha d Ki ng size Vood oo Travelle r, an dSwa mp Teao nthe Frid ay,w ithB ig Ri ve r, Be ssie &T he Zi nc Bu cket s, an dT he Al ex Ha milton Ba nd on Sa tu rd ay,w ithB ig Re d&T he Grin ne rs head li ni ng.T he Ma in Stag eh os te dL oz Ca mp be ll,T he Brea kfas tClu b, Lo ck n’ Load,a nd Th e Fu Figh te rs on th eFriday, an dFiz zy Fi sh,a nd So uthe rn In c. on th eSaturday, wi th th el eg en da ry Phil Ca mp be ll &T he Ba stardSon sh ea dlinin g. Lu ck il y, gi ve n that it wa sS ep te mb er an dthe ra ll ywas al most in Scotla nd,the ra in he ld of fa ll
we eken d(al th ou gh th etem pe ra tu re so n Frid ay nigh t, in to Sa tu rd ay,wered ow n in to si ngl efigu re s)
Saturday dawned bright andsunny, andtemperaturessoonclimbed into thebalmy 20 s, settingthe dayfor the custom show.Bikes star tedrolling in from midday,takingtheir placeinthe arenaalong theedgeofahugecircle which, I’mguessing, hadadiameterof
at leas t100 feet.Theykeptcomingin, too, whichmeant asecond innercircle’d been formed by mid-af ternoon, andthis in turn ledtoa thirdoutside,the firs t beingneededtoaccommodate thefinal bikes, readyfor judging. As it wasdue to be judged late af ternoon, with theprizes beingpresented at 5pm, that just left time forfolktowatch thes tunt display (bythe Ex tremeBikeBat tleStunt Show)
before theformalities began. Oh,and Bessie &The Zinc Buckets– aStormin’ Saturday af ternoontradition
Th eawa rd swen tto: Gl en’s Ho nd a Cu b(Pu nter s’ Ch oice); Bobster ’s 1100 Ka ta na (B es tJap); Ma rk Le ig h’sPan th er M100 (B es tB ri t);Coo kie’sg arde ns he d lo ckdown sp ec ia l(Be st Al te rnative); Snar ffro mHolla nd ’s Go ld wi ng ou tfi t (B es tT hree -W he el er); Shau n’sS po rt ster
(E xhibitor s’ Ch oice); Ke ithTen na nt ’s BSAM20 (Run ne r- Up Be st Clas sic);Ron’s Brou gh Su pe rior ou tfi t(Be st Clas sic); Pu ss’s BSAA10 (Run ne r- Up Be st Pa in t); th eV-Rod wi th pa in tbyTJStu dio (B es tPai nt); Ch ri sSte ph en’s tu rb o Ba nd it (Run ne r- Up Be st Stre et fig hter); Fe rg ie’s Ba ndi t- en gi ne dGSX-R (B es t Stre et fig hter); Ho lt y’sBan sh ee trike (Run ne r- Up Be st En gi ne erin g);W il co’s 13 40 Ha rl ey (B es tEng in ee ri ng); Ji m’s 1200 Sp or ts te r(Ru nn er-U pB es t Cu stom); Davey’s133 -i nc hS&S ch op pe r (B es tCus to m);Tom’s GSX140 0K atana
(Ru nn er-U pB es ti nS how);a nd Towz a’s VN20 00 ch op (B es ti nS how);How th e ju dg es ma na ge dtopic kthe wi nn er sI’ll neve rk now, as th ereweresom etru ly stun ni ng ma chin es . Th efi na le of th ep rize pres en ta tion he ra ld ed th eban ds re star ti ng –a lways am ixed ba gfor th os efi rs to na sm os t pe op le te nd to head of ffor abitetoeat be fo re th eeve ni ng’s fe stiv itie s, floatin g be twee nthe twomarqu ee stoe njoy th e ba nd so fthe ir ch oice
That,rea ll y, ju st leaves me to te ll yo u ab ou tthe final nu mb er,32, do es n’t
it?Well, it ’s arecordn um be rfor th e year (well, wh ereI we nt anyway), an d it re la te stomyc us to ma ry co un ti ng of th en um be ro fbikes wi th L- plates at ea ch ra ll ya nd,I’m pl ea se dtos ay,tha t Stormi ng th eC as tl es et an ew re co rd at 32 –32l ea rn er sa tarally!Ih ea rthe wo rd sa lo ng th elin es of ‘bik ing’s dy ing –we’re be co mi ng ex ti nc t’ etc.,e tc ., ever yw he re (a nd I’ve even be en gu il ty of sayi ng it myse lf ), bu tSto rm in’g ives us ho pe fo rthe fu tu re,d oe sn’t it?L et ’s se e if anybiker even ti n2025b ea ts that!
BACK IN ISSUE
487INOCTOBER LA ST YEAR WE SHOWED YOUJUHA ROUHIKOSKI FROM FINL AND’SSWINGARM SHOVELHEAD HARLEY, BUILTBYSAMIRISKU –THE STUNNING WHITESHOVEL ON THECOVER OF THE ISSUE. IN THAT PIECE IMENTIONED SAMI’D BUILTANOTHER SHOVEL ,TOO,AND PROMISED WE’D SHOW YOUTHAT, TOO, AND, AS AMAN O’ ME WORD,HEREITIS.
iket he pics of Ju ha’s bi ke,t hese were ta kenlast
LFebr ua ry on mi ne andPam’s tr ip to thefar nort h (somet hi ng I’mnot enti rely su re she’sforgivenme forasshe real ly wa nted to go somewherewarm forahol iday,not to acou nt ry that was-7deg rees Catbestwhi le we were there, and-25 at worst). Shetookt hese pics forme, too, as Iwas over theother side of the riverf romSami’sworkshop, photog raphing(anot her) Ju ha’s Shovel (asfeatu redi nissue 485),as thedaysa ren’tver ylongt hatfar nort h at that ti me of year
Tis’erehardtai lShovel, of 1975 vi ntage, whichmakes a120 0 (74cubic inch), wasbui lt by ag uy na medJor iJantu neni n2019 andfou nd itsway to Sa mi in 2021.It’ dhad af ul leng inerebui ld by Toni Haapakoski of East la ndsEng ineeri ng,who specia lise in v-tw ins, usinga nA nd rews A2 ca m, an S& SSuper Ecarb, an open BDL(whichsta ndsfor Belt Dr ives Ltdi fyou were wonder ing) clutch andbeltpri ma ry conversion,RevTech gears, andpoi nts ig nition,a nd ru ns ha rd andstrong. It sati nahardtai ledstock ’75f ra me,a nd ru ns dr um brakes fronta nd rear,21- and16-inch wheels respec tively,hig hlypol ished39m mforks andyokes,a nd an aferma rket ta nk,a nd wasaver ycoolbikewhenSamigot it (“ Ta nk stoJor ifor thef ne craf smanship of thebike”)but,asis usua llyt he way, he wa nted to puthis ow nsta mp on it,a nd that wi nter,whent he temperat ures droppedt hrough thefoora nd snow coveredt he la nd,heset aboutdoi ng just so.
As thebike’ dbeenbui lt so well in thef rstplace androdeso nicely,norad ical su rger ywas needed,sohel imited hi msel fto doingcosmeticcha nges andt weak st hat’ dpersona lise thebiketo hi m. Beingquite adab ha nd at ma ki ng exqu isitel it tlecomponents that real ly embell ishabike, he made,a mongst ahostof ot herpar ts, hisown neater,sma ller,a nd much,muchshi nier ai r-clea nerfor theS&S ca rb,scu lptedanew setofk icked-up ex hausts that su it the
SPEC:
1975 H- DShovelhead120 0( 74 cube) engine (spilt rocker cove rs,homemad e oilfeeds,A ndrews A2 ca m, S&S Supe rE ca rb,hom emad eair-cleaner, BDLclu tc h/open primar yconve rsion, RevTec hg ea rs,point signition, home made poin ts cove r, home made ex haus ts,brass kicker pedal)/fra me (modif ied),homemad emid -mount ‘pegs/leve rs,Fires tone tyres(fron t/ rear), RS Tw he els(21-inc hfront,16inch rear), H- Ddrumbra kes, 39mm H- Dforks/yokes,homemad erisers, TC Bros ha ndle ba rs,a fterma rket controls,homemad eswi tc hes, af te rmarke tpetroltank, home made seat,homemad erea rmudguard &s trut s, modified H- Doil ta nk / ba tter ybox,homemad esid e- moun t, home made minimalloom, Ma rc hal headligh t, unknow na fterma rket rear light
FINNISH(SORRY):
WhitePea rl pain tbyMatofromRaven MC,c hroming/polishing by Jori Ja ntunen &owner
ENGINEERING:
Bike buil tbyJoriJan tune n, re furbed / upgrad ed by owne r, engine re buil t by Toni Haapakoski at Eastla nds Engine ering
THANKS TO:
“JoriJan tune nfor hisf ine craf tsma nship;ToniHaa pa koski at Eastla ndsEnginee ring;Mato; & anyone whohelped…”
li nesoft he bi ke perfec tly, anew points covera nd splitrockercoversw it hoil feed betweent hem, made anew mi ni ma list spru ng seat,a newrea rmudguard andits associated st ruts, and… and… well,due to li mitedu nderstandi ng of each ot her’slanguages (especia llyonmypar t), it ’s al it tled ifcu lt to work outwhich components Jori made andwhich Sa mi made as thequa lity of ’emisso high.Idok nowMatof rom Ravens MC didt he pearl whitepai nt whichsta nds outsostronglyaga inst the blackf ra me,t he brassa nd polished engi ne andpar ts and, of course,t he snow, andt hatbot hJor ia nd Sa mi dida lot(alot!) of the polishing, butmostother deta ils’re al it tlesketchy, y’ know?
Sa mi says thelongest ride he’s done on it wast he tr ip with fr iendsf romR aven MC andA liensMCtot he Bi ldtNot Boug ht chopper fest in theNet herlands in 2023 (it’sonaga in this year,13-15 Ju ne,looki nt he events list ings). It was, roug hly, 1, 50 0miles each way, and, he says:“Ihad zero issues with thebike, anditt urnedout to be ag reat travel bi ke!” On topof that,ast heywerea ll wa it ingfor theboatacrosst he Ba lt ic at thefer ry port in Helsin ki,hemet ag uy na medBjorn HenningL arsenwho was look ingfor bi kesfor theOsloMotor Show in Norway in Oc tobert hat year –“He li kedmybike, andi nv ited me to br ingt he Shovel to the show.Itwas ag reat tr ip,a nd thebikewon theCustomclass.”
An internat iona lshoww inner– yousee thebestbikes in BSH!
“ANGEL
SHAVEFAMILIESTOO”’ WA SVERYMUCHTHE THEME OF KENT HA’S FAMILY YARD PART Y–AFAMILYDAY WITH AN ADDEDBIK E SHOW!
Justbeforewriting this,I happened to be reading an oldarticle JimFogg’d writtenabout theKent Show back in theday, anditremindedmehow much things’vechanged,and howmuch Imissall theinterac tionsthat’ve been ‘progressed’ outofour dailylives.He mentionedthe banter with thebloke when payingatthe Dartford crossing kiosk (rememberthat?), anditmademethink of otherinterac tionsthat’ve been taken away by progress;nomorebanterwith thepetrolpumpguy and, rarely,unless you’re outwithyourmates,do yousee anotherbiker at thepetrolstation?Backin theday Ilived in Sussex,and didn’t go to Kent very of tenbecause it waslocal and wasn’t much of aride– it wasmoreabout thejourney than thedestination back then, andnow IwishI’d notbeensopicky and been more of ten. Times’ve changedand I’mremindedall toooften thesedaysof thephrase‘useitorloseit’,so grab any andevery opportunityfor banter with
fellow bikers whilewestill can.
There’snodenying that event successes’re weatherdependent,and the high windspredicted forthisweekend precludedthe safety of bouncy castles this time around (and,unlikeinJim’s day, theQueen ElizabethBridgewas a bitblowy,too), butkids, beingkids, still managedtoenter tain themselves playing ball andchasing each otheraroundthe grass. GemmaRollins wasonsiteagain, enchanting thechildrenwithher fabulous face painting and, emphasisingthe family inclusiveaspec tofthisYardPar ty,there wasalsoUncle Mac’sMagic to entertainin theafternoon,firstlydoing sleightofhand tricks on theadultsout in theyard, before puttingona magicshowfor thechildren that washeavy on audience participation andenjoyed by all.
Thebikeshowwinners here’restill chosen by public vote and, amusingly, the XS650thatwon Best Custom in roundsix of theBSH Custom Champs in 2023 won theBestRat categoryhere! Thankfully, ownerGregBrockwell sawthe funnyside,
and’sstill very happywithhis two-year labour of love,and thecashprize,no matter what thecategory. Best Paintwent to TerryPrice’s 20 06 TriumphRocketIII, paintedina stunning Game of Thrones themefouryears agobyGaryCooperin Sutton Coldfield;BestTrike waswon by Alan Frostwho migrated to hisFordPintoengine trikeabout sixyears ago. Both Best Bike andBestinShowprizesweretaken by theNCC’s GraigColes forhis groundup buildofa’76 Shovelhead engine and Attitude Cycles frame–the buildtook just shor tofayearwithhelpfromhis dad, John;copper-coloured powdercoatingbyBigfoot Customs&Blasting, andpaintwork by Hanger 10 Airbrushing in Kent.The lovely combinationofmetal finishes, with minimumuse of blackto accent thegoldonthe paintwork, make this averystrikingbike.
Thenex tFamilyYardPar ty at Angel Farm’llbea two-nighteragain,and moving well away from theBankHoliday weekend to 5-7September
