Back Street Heroes - January 2021 - Preview

ISSUE 441

JANUARY 2021

£4.40

accessories

clothing

12: MR BATCHELAR’S SCRAPBOOK – COOL OLD PICS SENT IN BY THE MASTER BUILDER 18: BSH CUSTOM CHAMPS WINNER – BEST PAINT 24: BSH CUSTOM CHAMPS WINNER – BEST CUSTOM 30: BSH CUSTOM CHAMPS WINNER – BEST ENGINEERING 36: BSH CUSTOM CHAMPS WINNER – BEST NEW SKOOL 42: HAYLING ISLAND BIKE NIGHT – BOSUN BY THE SEASIDE

6: NEWS ALL THAT’S NEW AND HAPPENING IN THE CUSTOM BIKE WORLD

70: LONG-TERMER SAYING GOODBYE TO OUR LONG-TERM KAT (SNIFF)

8: PRODUCTS LOADS OF GOOD STUFF FOR YOU TO SPEND YOUR HARD-EARNED ON

74: MR BRIDGES THE GURU IMPARTS MORE OF HIS KNOWLEDGE OF MECHANICS

10: LETTERS SOUND OFF, ONE, TWO, SOUND OFF, THREE, FOUR!

78: JIM FOGG FICTION NOT ACAB…

50: CENTRESPREAD AN ARTISTIC POSTER FOR YOU TO PUT ON YER WALL

84: READERS’ LIVES YOUR PICS, OUR CAPTIONS… YEAH, SORRY ABOUT THAT

52: SUBSCRIBE TO BSH SEE HERE FOR THE BEST SUBSCRIPTION OFFERS

90: MAG NEWS OUR REGULAR COLUMN BY THE MAG CHAIRNON GENDERSPECIFIC PERSON

44: BSH CUSTOM CHAMPS WINNER – BEST CHOPPER & BEST IN SHOW 54: BSH CUSTOM CHAMPS WINNER – BEST BUTCHERED CLASSIC 60: ROUTE 11 TRIUMPH DAY – MIND YOU DON’T SLIP OVER ON ALL THAT OIL! 62: IRONHEAD CHOP – FAIRLY SURE BOD NEVER RODE ONE LIKE THIS IN ANY EPISODE I SAW! 66: STONHAM BARNS BIKE NIGHT – AND A SWEEPING GENERALISATION ABOUT WOMEN’S GEOGRAPHY… 68: ICE-RACING ROCKET SLED – YOU, SIR, ARE REALLY NOT RIGHT!

96: SMALLS SELL YOUR BIKE HERE FOR FREE! 97: NEXT MONTH JUST TO WHET YOUR APPETITE… 98: RICK HULSE THE MUSINGS OF ONE OF THE MOST ELOQUENT THINKERS IN BIKERDOM

TO GET THE DIGITAL EDITIONS APP, SIMPLY SEARCH FOR ‘BACK STREET HEROES’ IN THE APPLE APP STORE FOR iPAD OR ON GOOGLE PLAY FOR ANDROID CHECK OUT THE BSH FACEBOOK PAGE (BACK STREET HEROES) AND THE BSH FACEBOOK GROUP AT BACK STREET HEROES – THE OFFICIAL GROUP

NIK SAMSON

GROUP ADVERTISING MANAGER:

07884 052003

CIRCULATION MANAGER:

DAVE MANNING

MARKETING MANAGER:

EDITOR:

nik@backstreetheroes.com

SUE KEILY

STEVE O’HARA

STAFF WRITER:

dave@backstreetheroes.com

CHARLOTTE PARK

DESIGN:

PUBLISHING DIRECTOR:

PUBLISHER:

COMMERCIAL DIRECTOR:

GARETH WILLIAMS TIM HARTLEY

DAN SAVAGE NIGEL HOLE

DIVISIONAL AD MANAGER:

BILLIE MANNING

bmanning@mortons.co.uk OFFICE HOURS: 9-5PM 01507 OUT OF HOURS: 07775

529414 753966

PIC: CHRIS GRAVES

Well, we made it to December, but what a year it’s been. It started off so well (me and a few mates did New Year’s in Portugal, and spent a few days at the Moto Clube de Faro’s clubhouse) with many of us looking forward to a great summer of riding, rallying, and having a great time. Then,

by March, that’d all gone to shi… err, hell as the world cowered in the face of the indiscriminate virus and then, as if that wasn’t bad enough, everyone seemed to go stark, staring crazy with thousands of people in every country protesting about a variety of issues, completely ignoring the advice of the medical professionals doing their best to keep as many of us alive as possible. The fall-out from these protests, along with that from the actions of the deluded who didn’t (and still don’t) believe Covid-19’s real, is still being felt – as I write this we’re still a couple of weeks away from the end of (hopefully) a second countrywide lockdown (assuming infection rates’ve fallen sufficiently by that point). There’ve been, in the first days of November, whispers of a vaccine being available early(ish) next year, and that’s great news for those of us out there classed as ‘vulnerable’ due to our age or health condition. That, invariably, includes us bikers ‘cos, as you’re no doubt aware, many, many of us fall into one or both of those groups – we are, as a sub-genre, closer to getting our bus passes than our provisional driving licences, and for many (me included) the years of partying’ve taken their toll on our bodies, too. Don’t get me wrong, given my chance again, I wouldn’t really do anything differently with my life (save for staying in bed on a few select days) ‘cos since I got my first one back in 1983, biking’s been my life, and I’ve had a bloody good, if occasionally farkin’ painful, time of it. And, given that there’s still so much I want to do, the news of a vaccine that’ll give me a fighting chance of making it to collect said bus pass (assuming some myopic twat in a car doesn’t intervene) is, for me anyway, A Very Good Thing.

So, while we’re not out of the woods yet there is at least a light at the end of the tunnel (dan dan dan, Captain Cliché!), even if the tunnel is very, very long, and the light’s one of them piddly little candles on a Barbie birthday cake. For the first time in a few months I’m feeling optimistic about 2021, and maybe the 40th Faro in July or actually being able to ride my elderly Harley to an event aren’t quite as much of a pipe-dream as they were not that long ago. Fingers crossed, eh?

Moving on, this issue, the four hundredth and forty-first since BSH began all those years ago, has a couple of notable wossnames. Firstly, we’re starting a new series of articles using a whole bunch of great old pics sent to us by Mr David Batchelar Esquire, the man-who-can at P&D Customs in Sussex, and one of the most respected guys in the custom bike building industry. They’re mostly from the Kent Show back in the ‘80s, and really take you back, they really do.

Secondly, we have the overall winners of the six classes in the BSH Custom Champs that we ran all summer. Well over 1,000 folk entered a pic of their bike in the on-line rounds we ran over the summer, making it probably the biggest custom show ever run in this country, and judging it was, as I’m sure Vic and Lin from Destiny Cycles, Paul from Zodiac, Dutch from The Bike Shed, and Murrells from the NCC will agree, bloody hard going. They made the final decisions though, and the winners you can see here in all their glory – how many of them matched your choices then? Have a look and see…

Thirdly, we’re saying a fond adieu to our long-term test Katana this issue ‘cos Suzuki’ve asked for it back to keep HMRC happy by tying up all their loose ends, and so there’s a look back at a very different eight months of riding. I am a little sad to see it go, but its departure gives me absolutely no excuse not to get my own little fleet up and running again. I mean, what’s the point of spending years getting exactly what you want, bike-wise, and then leaving ‘em in the garage with blankets over ‘em? They’re motorbikes – they should be ridden! Now, where’s me jumperpack and that can of Easy Start?

See you next month… sorry, sorry, year!

FREELANCE CONTRIBUTORS:

DAVE BATCHELAR & CHRIS NICHOLS, BOSUN, LAYLA LEATHAM, LAUREN ‘FAZERDAZE’ RADWELL, DEL HICKEY, JOHN & TANIA ELLWOOD, MR BRIDGES, THE LATE JIM FOGG RIP, LOUISE LIMB, SELINA LAVENDER, RICK HULSE

NIK

EDITORIAL ADDRESS:

BACK STREET HEROES, MORTONS MEDIA, MORTON WAY, HORNCASTLE LN9 6JR SUBSCRIPTIONS:

01507 529529 WEBSITE:

WWW.BACKSTREET HEROES.COM ENQUIRIES AND BACK ISSUES:

01507 529529

Independent publisher since 1885 Having trouble finding a copy of this magazine?

Why not just ask your local newsagent to reserve you a copy each month?

The Professional Publishers Association Member

24hr answerphone

ARCHIVE ENQUIRIES:

JANE SKAYMAN

jskayman@mortons.co.uk 01507 529423

Distribution by Marketforce UK Ltd, 5 Churchill Place, Canary Wharf, London E14 5HU. Tel: 0203 787 9001. Printed by William Gibbons and Sons, Wolverhampton. ISSN: 02679841. BSH is copyright to Mortons Media Ltd 2020 and all rights are reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted, in any form or by any means electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system without prior permission in writing from the publisher.

The publishers accept no responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts or photographs. If you send material to us for publication, you are strongly advised to make copies and to include an SAE. Original material must be submitted and will be accepted solely on the basis that the author accepts the assessment of the publisher as to its commercial value. BSH UK subscriptions £45.00, European subs £55.89, all other countries £67.89, from BSH Subs, Mortons Media Ltd, PO Box 99, Horncastle LN9 6LZ. USA subs $60 per annum from Motorsport, 31757 Honey Locust Road, Jonesburg, MO 63351-9600 and additional mailing offices. Periodicals postage is paid at Jonesburg, Missouri, USA. Postmaster: send USA address changes to BSH, Motorsport, 550 Honey Locust Road, Jonesburg, MO 63351-9600.

Fowlers Triumph has scooped the Public Choice Award in this year’s Bonneville Build-Off Challenge with their striking entry, the VE Day Commemorative Bike.

Thousands of votes were cast via the new Bonneville Build-Off website over four weeks, as nine Triumph dealerships across the UK competed to create the best custom Bonnie they could, using a combination of genuine Triumph accessories and exceptional in-house engineering skills.

To commemorate the 75th anniversary of VE Day in 2020, Fowlers’ winning bike featured girder forks, canvas bags, big ‘bars, a blacked-out engine and exhaust, and commemorative badges on the cases and clocks with genuine WW2 accessories.

All the finalists can be seen on the Bonneville Build-Off website or Triumph’s Facebook page.

The National Motorcycle Museum has launched its winter raffle, and first prize this time is a brand new/old stock 1979 Triumph T140D Bonneville Special which’s never been run or registered, and is showing just 11 ‘push’ miles!

There’re good second and third prizes too – a Sealey MC680E electro/hydraulic motorcycle lift, and a luxury hotel break and dinner for two, respectively.

Tickets cost just £2 each, and may be purchased on-line from www.thenmm. co.uk, and the draw’ll take place on Sunday 25th April 2021 at the International Classic Motorcycle Show at Stafford.

Good luck!

6

JANUARY 2021

The Bristol Classic Bike Show, usually held in February at the Royal Bath & West Showground in Somerset, has switched weekends, and now it’s on 24-25th July instead due to the continued uncertainty over the pandemic.

To find out more please check out the event’s website at www.bristol classicbikeshow. com

OUR REGULAR, NOT TOO SERIOUS, LOOK AT SOME OF THE MORE POPULAR TERMS USED IN THE MAGAZINE – THIS ISSUE, A VERY SHORT LOOK AT THE LETTER ‘Q’.

Back in September Bod’s Custom Cycles relocated from a slightly confusing sprawl of three units to one bigger, better purpose-designed one in Tewkesbury in Gloucestershire, and now have a dedicated fabrication area, an extra bench in the workshop, more tools and equipment (so they can offer a wider range of services), and they can now accommodate trikes as well (at the old workshop they couldn’t get them in. There’s also a new customer area where you can discuss their bikes or even relax with a copy of Back Street Heroes while they’re being worked on.

Bod’s Custom Cycles are now at Unit 5a, Delta Drive, Tewkesbury, Gloucs (GL20 8HB), and you can ring them on 01684 437080, or check them out online at www. bodscustomcycles.com

Our Louise (Limb), illustrator par excellence, has a new Motorcycle Art calendar for 2021 available with a selection of classic images from her massive archive of beautiful bike illustrations.

This lovely limited edition calendar retails for £18.50 including UK postage, and the first 100 are personally signed by Louise herself. Get yours, and a huge selection of Christmas cards too, from her website at www.louiselimb.com

With the demise of Smiley Monkey Customs in Weeley, near Clacton, the shop that built the wonderfully bonkers BSH rat-rod a few years ago, one of the guys who ran it, BSH’s old mate Jim Ord, has set up again in the same place under a new name, Ashbarn Motorcycles, and is back on with building custom bikes again. (The last two out of the workshop were featured in BSH 439, the NCC issue.)

If you’d like Jim, and his good mate and four-cylinder specialist Barry, to work their magic over your bike, then ring them on 07835 969900 or 07521 438148.

QUAD – four-wheeled motorcycle ridden

predominantly by hoodie/trackie-wearing chavs, and farmers in wax cotton jackets (chewing straw optional)

QUAIFE – engineering company in

Kent who make small, and very strong, gearboxes that can be fitted to trikes to get them a reverse gear

QUANTUM – actually Quantum 2, a very

futuristic hub-centre-steered single-sided (front and rear) bike designed by legendary frame/suspension guru Tony Foale that totally freaked the world out totally ‘cos it had vertical handlebars

QUASAR – unusually styled feet-forward, sit-in machine designed by Malcolm Newell, initially using 850 Reliant engines and leading-link forks, but later models had hub-centre steering and an option of different engines

QD – quickly detachable, a particular hub designed by Triumph in the Meriden days which really, really solved a problem that no one else’d even noticed QUICK-SHIFTER – electronic doohickey

wired into a bike’s loom that cuts the ignition momentarily as you change up to negate the need for the clutch. Useful on race-bikes, chocolate teapot on road ‘uns…

Q-PLATE – DVLA registration for vehicles whose age/identity is in doubt, and a great way to register a custom bike (for MoT purposes, they’re treated as being first used on 1st January 1971 so invalidate a lot of later legislation). Contrary to popular belief, they don’t make insurance more difficult to get QUICKBOB – a type of twin-cap (okay, one’s

a dummy) fuel tank that looks like a larger Mustang, and was fitted to lots of cool bikes (the best known of which was probably The Changeling) back in the ‘80s/90s. Sadly, they’re rarely used these days

QUICKLY – famous old German moped made by NSU that sold more than a million between 1953 and 1968. Really, really not fast, Nik did manage to ride one round the outside of two 650 BSAs at a classic bike track-day QUIKE – a five-wheeled trike QUIFF – the archetypal rocker hair-cut back in the day that’s now been hipsterised, and’s sported by millions of ‘individuals’ worldwide who think they’re a bit edgy because of it

JANUARY 2021

7

Hydraulic clutches are usually much easier to operate than a cable clutch, but the OEM Harley hydraulic clutch seems to be the exception to the rule. These Müller Easy-Pull Hydro Clutches give a 35% lever effort reduction on Twin Cams, and 45% reduction on Milwaukee Eights.

They’re a direct replacement for the OEM hydraulic slave cylinder, and’re now available at your Zodiac dealer – go to www.zodiac.nl for more info.

Keep your tootsies toasty this winter with these very warm, but breathable (so your feet don’t get pongy) bamboo boot socks (clothing made from bamboo’s more absorbent than cotton, and it wicks away moisture better), that’re designed to be hard-wearing for long days under your boots.

Available from www.bambooclothing.co.uk or anywhere that stocks the BAM range, they cost £15, and’re available in a range of colours and styles.

A true Le Pera classic, these King & Queen-style rigid frame seats’ll complement any classic build. They measure 10” (25.4 cm) wide for the rider, and 6.75” (17.1 cm) wide for the passenger, and have a universal custom fit.

They’re available with buttoned, our diamond, or pleated finishes, from yo nl Zodiac dealer – go to www.zodiac.n for more info.

These Weise Montana 150 gloves give maximum weather protection with minimal bulk, giving feel and feedback from the controls. They feature a 150-gram Thinsulate Supreme lining that keeps the hands warm, yet’re thin and flexible, with a soft, silky feel for day-long comfort. There’re stretch panels on each finger and the back of the hand, and the palms have silicon prints for improved grip on wet handlebars, tough and durable full grain leather, an integrated visor wipe on the left index finger, and Scotchlite piping for added visibility in the long, dark evenings.

They come in sizes S-3XL, and retail at £99.99 from anywhere that stocks the Weise range or www.weiseclothing.com

Perfect for these Covid times, these Comfy necktubes from Oxford keep the wind out, and act as face coverings too. Available in a vast range of colours, they cost £14,99 for a three-pack from anywhere that stocks the Oxford Products range or www.oxfordproducts.com

8

JANUARY 2021

Oxford Products do a range of ‘barend mirrors, offering bo oth round and rectangular mirrors that mount above and below the ‘bars. Prrices start at £49.99, and you can gett them from anywhere th hat stocks the Oxford Products range or www.oxfordproductss. com

This Forcefield Tornado Advance Neck Warmer is probably the best neck/wind protector we’ve come across. It drops ovver your head and sits on your shoulders, and really does keep the draughts out. Made from Defender fabric, it’s windproof, water-resistant and breathable, and has a micro fleece lining that’s thermal and breathable even when wet, and traps air for greater insulation.

Available in one-size-fits-all, it costs just £19.99 from o anywhere that stocks the Forcefield Armour range. Go to www.forcefieldbodyarmour.com for more info.

One in five drinkdrive convictions happen the morning after. We all process alcohol differently, and just four pints, or large glasses of wine, can still leave alcohol in yyour system y the followin ng day.

AlcoS Sense’s range o of fuel-cell breatha alysers may sound p pricey, but how mu uch is your licence worth?

There a are four models in the range (the Elite 3, the Excel, the Pro and the Ultra), all of which’re easy to use. Simply turn on, insert a blow tube, blow intto the device for approximately six seco onds until it beeps, and a few secondss later your blood alcohol content will be sshown.

Pricess start at £69.99, and you can get them from Halfords, Amazon, or their website e at www.alcosense.co.uk

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!

Reading the buzz about electric cars and bikes, etc., why is it that cars are available in many choices (pure electric, hybrid, self-charging, etc.), but electric bikes only get one charging option?

I’ve come up with an idea for a human/petrol hybrid – in a frame, a motorcycle engine of the rider’s choice, and under it the last driver to pull out on you at a junction/turn right when you’re filtering/tailgate you. They, by means of a subframe and a hand crank, should be made to pedal!

BILL BAINBRIDGE

Little Jack Hornier In California LA or ‘Frisco Bay It was like real cool Cats and dogs rainfall And spark plugs flamin’ NGK! THE PRESIDENT OF POINDEXTER MOTORCYCLE GANG (World Chapter)

Okay, Nik, I must grudgingly admit you’re right about always wearing good gear. Sorry for having taken the piss…

Well, anyway, I was heading out one fine day when I forgot about the disc lock (and, yes I’ve a yellow cord, which I forgot to attach). Long and short of it, the bike ended up on top of my foot but, fortunately, I was wearing my heavy French Army para boots , which protected my foot. It got bruised black and blue, but nothing broke even though the bike revolved a bit! Had I been wearing trainers or something I don’t know what would’ve happened!

So, in future, I’ve decided proper bike jeans and good boots at all times for me!

Won’t take the piss out of Captain Sensible again!

CLIVE Cool... says the bloke who invariably rides in Converse – jacket with armour, Kevlar keks with armour, double or triple-stitched gloves, but Converse. N.

I am a parish clerk for a small village on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales, and I’ve been asked by the parish council to write to you in an effort to make your readers aware of the misery very loud engine noises from illegal bikes’ve been causing many residents throughout the Yorkshire Dales, particularly since the easing of the first lockdown.

I’m sure all your readers’re aware that noise pollution can make people’s lives an absolute hell, and has very serious health impacts. Studies’ve found that exposure to noise can have significant physical and mental health implications, with heart attacks, high blood pressure, Type 2 diabetes, and stress all linked to long-term contact with loud environments.

I live a couple of hundrred d yard yards from the A65, and the noise of normal traffic doesn’t bother me.

Many motorbikes that

I’ll have a quarter of what you’re smoking… no, actually, I won’t. N.

This month’s Star Letter wins a Weise Outlaw Jacket worth £149.99. Blending classic styling with thoroughly modern ma aterials, protection and practicality, the Weise Outlaw is warm, waterproof of an and AA-rated for safety. Find out more at thekeycollection.co.uk

One for the Harley haters…

It’s a strange world in which we live – not the world in general (though that is a very strange place indeed), no, the world to which I refer is the world of Harley-Davidson motorcycles. In its long history the H-D Motor Company has achieved a lot by any standards.

At one time in the non-too-distant past H-D accounted for over 60% of over 750cc motorcycle sales in the UK alone, and the sporting achievements are legendary, mostly in drag racing, hill climbing and off-road, etc., etc. They also, incidentally, built the first motorcycle factory in Japan in 1933 (the Japanese went to war with the USA on Harleys!). Despite this, how many times have you heard (or said) the words, ‘I flipping hate Harleys?’ I’ve bought and sold H-Ds for the last forty years, and I’ve heard it a lot. So why do bikers hate Harleys?

In the ‘70s, when H-D made a proper job of setting up dealerships in the UK, the bikes had a reputation for being expensive and unreliable. That reputation was well deserved. However, since the mid ‘80s, when the Evolution motor came on the scene, with improved carburation and better electrics, unreliability hasn’t been so much of an issue. Build quality has improved, and prices had to be more competitive when the Hinckley Triumphs hit the showrooms. Spare parts cost about the same price as Triumph, or any other European and even Japanese machines, so where does this hatred come from?

I’ve also heard on many occasions the words, ‘I love Harleys’ or, at least, ‘I love my Harley’. You’ll also be aware of the proliferation of HarleyDavidson tattoos. Yes, there are other motorcycle tattoos, but nowhere near the, literally, millions of H-D based inkings. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of H-D only clubs, runs, and rallies at home and worldwide.

The odd fact is that no other manufactured product on the planet has ever instilled such positive and negative emotion – did you ever see a Microsoft tattoo? Or Vauxhall? There are a lot of owners of these brands too, so why H-D (and hardly any other brand) permanent markings?

If we are going to hate a brand of motorcycle it should be something truly crap like those bloody awful Russian two-strokes from the ‘70s, or cheap Chinese bikes with chocolate gearboxes but, no, we just don’t care about those.

10

JANUARY 2021

So now we get to the nub – the riders. Harley haters are convinced that we all belong to HOG, and that we all wear the latest Harley gear, and just pose about like leather-dressed robots. To be fair, I have no ill feeling toward HOG members, and I don’t care if he or she’s a full-time advertising executive who only rides 40 miles round trip on a Sunday with the chapter. I’d still rather they did that, than hook up a caravan to the BMW and head for the coast – any rider’s better than a driver in my book.

I’m a big fan of The Hu, a Mongolian heavy metal band, and in their main video they’re all riding Harleys – not Gold Wings.

When H-D riders put on the Harley logo, it’s not about advertising the product (like a Nike T-shirt), it’s more like wearing a football shirt – it’s a statement of character, and says something about the person. A football shirt tells the world that you support this team, but not that one, and similarly a Harley logo also tells other like-minded souls that you speak their language.

All the arguments against Harleys I’ve heard’ve been logical ones, but there’s really nothing logical about motorcycles in general, let alone Harleys in particular. There’s no logic, for example, in tattooing a fullsized eagle on your back (or elsewhere). There’s definitely something odd about the world of Harley-Davidson motorcycles that transcends even motorcycling itself, and goes straight to the heart of us enlightened human beings. And not just us menfolk either – plenty of ladies out there have the bike, the tattoo, the jacket, the boots, the tool roll...

So, despite the supposed technical inferiority of these machines, and the lack of recent road racing trophies, they’re still massively popular with the enlightened and the unenlightened alike. Yes, you can blame it all on Easy Rider, but all The Company did was exploit the fact that their chopped-up bikes were the main feature of a rebellious movie (they learned their lesson from The Wild One, where they prohibited the use of their bikes).

Where does this all lead us? I have no idea, but I must get that Sportster chop running soon before it goes too rusty.

IRONHEAD ROB

pass also are clearly within the legal boundaries, but conservatively I would guess about two or three out of every 10’ve been illegally altered to scream and roar down the road. Weekends’re generally miserable because of this, particularly on fine Sunday afternoons, and Bank Holidays necessitate closing all windows and doors, and remaining inside. Unsurprisingly, many in the village’ve commented on the noise pollution from bikes. We understand that you very much enjoy the lure of the open road on your bike, and have no problem with the majority of bikers, but I just cannot understand why some deliberately alter their machines to make such a terrible amount of noise, knowing that their progress is upsetting to many along their route.

Prior to the onset of the pandemic, the Government was trialling a noise camera system which’ll help tackle extremely noisy vehicles breaching legal noise limits. Other parish councils in the Dales’ve been responding to rising levels of noise pollution, and I will be recommending to the Action Group that’s being proposed to petition the Department for Transport to install these in order to identify and fine the offenders. I would therefore urge all your readers to get their bikes fixed, and give us some peace.

ALISON HACK

Got the latest copy (439); good to some things are normal, but just one small comment…

I don’t normally say anything, but the Hulse article can’t go unanswered. I agree with his views up until the education bit. Yes, they were different days back then. My mum had a bad time too, education cut short, had to give up the dream of being a nurse, did all kinds of jobs to make ends meet, etc., but today is a bit different on a lot of levels.

The day I let a complete stranger tell me how I should bring up my kid, what to do about the lockdown with schools, etc., then that’s the day that stranger can pay my bills and take my responsibilities. Until that day, that stranger can shut it. My daughter has ambitions, and is very driven. Online college then uni’ won’t work. I sat and saw the disappointment on my child’s face when they had to return home for the lockdown.

As for the mental health comments, get a grip, you prat. Keep your comments to biking, no one needs idiot comments about issues you clearly have f××k all clue about.

JAMES BIND

Nik, hey mush, I’m getting all Cocteau Twins on my own ass! But AC/DC Chase The Ace still the honey pot in my foggy eyes.... you speak truth and knowledge, but why don’t you tell us to gather our spirits, Gods and Trinkets and prepare?? Have you become a shallow man?

Regards Without Symptoms.

MARK LEE I’d love to be able to reply in kind, Mark, but I gave up the ‘erb years ago… N.

Reading Nik’s editorial in the latest mag (September issue), I too unintentionally drive my

van like I ride my bike, taking the ‘racing line’ around corners, etc. Funny that!

Cheers for putting my letter and photo in.

I forgot I’d sent that letter, so it was a nice surprise, thanks. I’m always excited to see the new issue each month – the first pages I look at are the Letters and Readers Lives, and I’m not alone here as I expect all the readers who send their letters and pics in do the same.

The photo, IOM 1980 – I nearly didn’t make it there as two days before going, I crashed my CX500 on way home from work, and totalled it!

This stupid bitch pulled out in front of me in her Morris 1100, and I hit her front wheel, and was catapulted over the bonnet of her car, sailed through the air, and hit the bank before ending up on the white line. Luckily, I only grazed my heel as my shoe’d come off. Two rozzers arrived in separate cars, neither of them’d take me home, bastards – I should’ve asked them if their parents were married? I had to pay for a taxi.

Don’t know if you’ve ever come off yer bike, but when you sail through the air, like I did, it really is in slow motion – very weird.

Love the Foggie tales as well – I got into biking in the late ‘70s/early ‘80s, and I can really relate to his oratory skills.

STEVE WARREN

Just read Nik’s editorial about Volvos. In the late Eighties/early Nineties we had a friend called Kris, and we shared magazines like BSH, BigTwin, Classic Bike, etc., and LPs from mostly metal bands like Judas Priest, Saxon, Black Sabbath, etc. Almost every evening and weekends we were enjoying our bikes, and we made jokes to watch out for Volvos and white Escorts.

On a Saturday another friend called on the phone. Kris’d had an accident – he rode into a white Volvo who’d made a turn when he was coming from the other side, and died instantly!

This was 1992.

I’m a truck driver now, every day on the road, and I see that nothing’s changed. Volvos, and almost every bigger car, don’t use their indicators, and aren’t looking where they’re going or, in fact, outside in the real world at what’s happening there. When on a bike I don’t trust anybody, and this’s kept me safe all those years.

JOS LIEVENSE

MOVING FORWARD When I ride, I think of nothing.

Everyone should try this sometime.

Blank stare, numb the mind.

Peripheral vision absorbs the world…

While I gaze straight ahead, Through midnight black shades, Bare forearms, leather gloves, Old denim jeans and hobnailed boots.

Feel the gentle throb of the motor, Curled up tent, fuel in the tank, Every road must lead somewhere… right?

For sure, and I ain’t going back.

MARK PINCHIN JANUARY 2021

11

PART 1 ONCE IN A WHILE A PACKAGE GETS PUSHED THROUGH THE LETTERBOX OF THE BSH EDITORIAL ORIFICE, AND ISN’T, FOR A CHANGE, A BILL, OR A DEMAND FOR SEXUAL FAVOURS FROM TOP SUPERMODELS – IT’S SOMETHING FAR, FAR BETTER (OR AT LEAST FAR LESS IMAGINARY).

And as long as it hasn’t fallen into the damp patch where the rain water gets through on really, really wet days, and needs drying out, it gets eagerly opened to see what riches’re inside. This particular package did indeed contain treasure – a host of old, 1980s, pictures from the Kent Show and a few other places too, sent in by that doyen of custom bike building, Mr David Batchelar Esquire of P&D Custom Bikes (01403 791038 or Facebook).

There’s no rhyme or reason, he says, as to why he took photos of this bike and not that, that one and not this one; they were just machines he liked, so he took pictures of them, y’know?

ENJOYED THIS PREVIEW? THE BEST ACTION IN TRIALS AND MOTOCROSS

DIRTb bike ke

VELO MAC MA S SPECIAL PECIAL NORTON RT RTON INTER AJS SCEPTRE SCEP E SPORTS! SCEPTR SPORTS POR !

PORTS

CLASSIC

#48

ISSUE

Forty-eight Autumn 2018

OCTOBER 2018

No. 330 October 2018 £4.30 UK Off-sale date 31/10/2018

MOTO MEMORIES // TECH TALK // MONTESA COTA 200 // BULTACO MATADOR

3.60

Running, Riding & Rebuilding Running, Rebuilding Real RealClassi RealC Classic C lassi Motorcycles

BOXER CKS TRIC

HOW THE LEGEEND BEGAN

SUPERMAC’S TRIUMPH DRAYTON

PRINTED IN THE UK

PLUS MOTO MEMORIES TECH TALK MONTESA COTA 200 BULTACO MATADOR AN HOUR WITH: GERRIT WOLSINK

£3.60 US$9.99 C$10.99 Aus$8.50 NZ$9.99 PRINTED IN THE UK

HOME, JAMES!

UNIVERSITY GRADUATE

#48

001 Cover_OCT.indd 1

AT THE CASTLE

DRUMLANRIG 2018 D 20

WINNER

SUPER PROFILE: ARIEL’S HT3

GREEVES ESSEX TWIN BUYING GUIDE // STRIP YOUR TWOSTROKE // BSA B31 RESTORATION // MALLE MILE // CAFE RACER CUP // SHETLAND CLASSIC // THE CLASSIC TT // MIKE HAILWOOD REPLICA

CLASSICS

65 PRE65 PRE

PRINTED IN THE UK

R 2018 ISSUE 174 OCTOBER

N48 2018 US$15.99 Aus$14.99 NZ$18.99 UK£5.50 UK Off-sale date 15/11/18

BUY  SELL  RIDE  RESTORE

13/09/2018 10:34:50

001 CDB Cover_048.indd 1

02/08/2018 14:53:55

001 Cover_174.indd 1

03/09/2018 10:18:26

•SINGLE ISSUES •SUBSCRIPTIONS

CLICK HERE

www.classicmagazines.co.uk

ENDOFPREVI EW

I fy oul i k ewhaty ou’ v e r eads of ar ,whynot s ubs c r i be,ort r ya s i ngl ei s s uef r om:

www. c l as s i c magaz i nes . c o. uk