Old Bike Mart - March 2021 - Preview

March 2021 £2.20 ISSUE

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The inimitable Dave Bickers as the leading stuntman in the 1979 film, Escape to Athena. Bickers was supposed to be riding a German military BMW R75 but it was actually a Wasp/BSA motocross outfit gussied-up to look like a Beemer. Bickers, however, even under that helmet was unmistakable!

• To find this and thousands more images visit: Mortons Archive www.mortonsarchive.com

2 NEWS

March 2021

Editorial

www.oldbikemart.co.uk email: info@oldbikemart.co.uk Editor Blue Miller OBMEditor@mortons.co.uk Designer Tracey Markham Production editor Sarah Wilkinson Divisional advertising manager Tom Lee Trade Advertising Team Leader (Classic & Modern Division) Leon Currie lcurrie@mortons.co.uk | 01507 529465 For Private Enquiries please visit

www.oldbikemart.co.uk

Marketing manager Charlotte Park Circulation manager Steve O’Hara Publisher Tim Hartley Publishing director Dan Savage Commercial director Nigel Hole

I

t is with immense sadness that I have to tell you that, on February 8, 2021, Mike WorthingtonWilliams passed away.

For many years, Mike’s Unearthed and Feedback columns have been one of the most popular and helpful elements of Old Bike Mart (and were among the main reasons I took this job), but those pages were only a small part of Mike’s incredible career.

Mike was born in Sussex where his father was a chauffeur, and so it was perhaps inevitable that he would be interested in vehicles. But his enquiring mind soon wanted to know much more about motoring history, and that led to his first published article in 1955 in the Brighton Argus when he was just seventeen years old. A year later, he acquired his first motorcycle, a 1926 BSA 986cc combination

General queries Customer Service number: 01507 529529 Telephone lines are open: Monday-Friday 8.30am-5pm and 24hr answerphone Archive enquiries Jane Skayman jskayman@mortons.co.uk 01507 529423 Founder Ken Hallworth OLD BIKE MART (ISSN:1756-9494) is published monthly by Mortons Media Group Ltd, PO Box 99, Horncastle, Lincolnshire LN9 6LZ UK. USA subscriptions are $48 per year from Motorsport Publications LLC, 7164 City Rd N #441, Bancroft WI 54921.

Periodical Postage is paid at Bancroft, WI and additional entries. Postmaster: Send address changes to OLD BIKE MART, c/o Motorsport Publications LLC, 7164 City Rd N #441, Bancroft WI 54921.

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Mike as many people will remember him, with his neckerchief, luxuriant beard and Arthur.

for research would help which had started life as a police thousands of people bike with the Hove police and then, over the years, whether with the addition of a coach-built assisting with registrations chair, became a motorcycle taxi or providing information on Brighton seafront. He wrote the on forgotten marques and story of the combination for the models. His encyclopaedic new Veteran and Vintage magazine, knowledge came in useful the first of many, many historical in the 19 years he worked articles.

His uncles were also keen amateur as head of Sotheby’s vintage car department, competition riders and successful and later while working grass track racers which kindled for Brooks and Bonham’s the young Worthington-Williams’ auction houses. He was lifelong love of motorcycles. His elected vice-president of uncle Harry rode Scott and Levis the Society of Automotive machines, while his uncle George Historians in the USA piloted Calthorpes and New Imperials. They also bought and sold (eventually being made a Friend of Automotive a few cars, many of them found in barns or scrapyards, and Mike would History, the society’s highest award) and helped inherit that enthusiasm for finding found the Society of Automotive unloved vehicles, calling scrapyards Historians in this country, serving “my spiritual home”. as chairman, and, when he He became an avid collector of retired from that post, being made vehicles, delighting in the obscure, Chairman Emeritus. but the car with which he will be In 2018 he was awarded a indelibly linked in many people’s somewhat overdue MBE in the mind was ‘Arthur’, a 1927 Austin 20 Queen’s Birthday Honours List saloon. for his contribution to automotive Arthur was, to be fair, not the history and, as the citation read, smartest looking vehicle in the “his unstinting readiness to help, world and had already covered assist and advise owners of historic a million miles, but Mike kept it vehicles, sharing his knowledge and mechanically sound and drove it being held in great esteem among everywhere, using it as his daily vehicle for 25 years. Over those years, historic vehicle enthusiasts.”

It is for that willingness to help he would add another 250,000 miles that so many of you will remember to Arthur’s history (when he finally him, whether through personal parted with it in 2007, he drove a Ford Sierra which he referred to as “a contact or indirectly through Feedback and Unearthed. At 83 male menopause”!). years of age, his mind and sense of In his career, Mike wrote for every humour was as sharp as ever and classic magazine in the UK as well his thirst for knowledge undaunted. as many overseas, not to mention While it might sound like a cliché editing Old Motor and founding to say that he had forgotten more Classic Car Mart and writing a than most of us will ever know, in number of books on a variety of this case it is absolutely true. He will motoring subjects. His passion

Mike Worthington-Williams MBE, having just received his honour at Buckingham Palace.

be missed more than he can ever have imagined.

My first reaction was that we would, with the loss of Mike, bring an end to the Unearthed and Feedback pages. But, after a great deal of thought and with discussion with his wife, Pam, I have decided to carry them on. Pam thinks that Mike would have liked to see the pages continue and, while they will not – cannot – be the same without him, I will do my best to ensure they carry on the spirit of a fascinating and remarkable man. To Pam, their children, grandchildren and wider family, I offer my heartfelt condolences. We shall not see his like again.

March 2021

NEWS 3

We are all looking forward to the return of our favourite classic show.

Stafford Show scheduled for July

W

e know that you’ve all been looking forward to the Stafford Classic Bike Show in April but, as we all also know, these are times when the best laid plans of mice, men and show organisers have to have a degree of flexibility.

But the good news is that the Stafford Classic Bike Show is now scheduled for 3-4 July 2021 and will be, of course, held at the Stafford Country Showground. Don’t worry, having moved the date, we’re not going to confuse things further by changing the venue! Altering the date wasn’t, as you can imagine, done lightly, but the decision was taken for a number of reasons, not least

the fact that more people will have been vaccinated by then and we hope that events will begin to return to the normal that we all love and miss. And, of course, we’re hoping that the July date will bring a little much welcome sunshine.

All advance ticket purchasers, whether from last year or this year, will be issued with new tickets for the new date in due course. Anyone who has a valid ticket but finds that they can’t make the July weekend will of course be offered a refund. Find out more at www.staffordclassicbikeshows.com.

There’s also another move that sees the Classic Dirt Bike Show now being held on

18-19 September (rather than 15-16 May as previously planned or February where it really belongs). On this occasion, there will be a change of location as the Classic Dirt Bike Show bags its bags and decamps to the Stafford County Showground. However, this is only for 2021. Next year, the show will be back at its home at the Telford International Centre and in its rightful slot in February. As with the Stafford show, all advance ticket purchases will be honoured for the new date and venue or, if that proves inconvenient, will be issued with a refund.

More details and updates can be found at www.classicdirtbikeshow.co.uk.

Win a Triumph – it could be you!

Still looking a little surprised at his good fortune, Craig Lee with his Norton Commando.

Courtesy of Triumph Motorcycles, the top prize in the latest NMM raffle.

You will have found a book of raffle tickets with your February issue of Old Bike Mart which are for the National Motorcycle Museum’s Triumph Over Adversity Recovery Appeal Raffle. As with the museum’s previous raffle in the latter part of last year, this is to raise funds to be able to reopen the museum once restrictions are eased. The museum has a reopening target of £500,000 but is still some way short of that, so it would very much appreciate people participating in the raffle – and, look at the prizes on offer, it’s certainly worth it!

In third prize is a partially restored 1956 Triumph Tiger T100 while the runner up will win a low mileage, one owner 1978

Henry Cole, seen here with his friend and sidekick, Sam Lovegrove, will be hosting chat sessions at October’s Museum Live.

Triumph Trident T160. But the top prize is a brand new 2021 Triumph Trident 600cc, donated by Triumph Motorcycles. Tickets for this raffle are £6 – yes, a chance to win another addition for your garage for just over a fiver! – and can be purchased online at www.thenmm.co.uk. The draw will be made at the museum on 25 June 2021. We hope by then the lucky winners will be able to ride their motorcycles home.

Three lucky gentlemen received the ultimate Christmas present as winners of the National Motorcycle Museum Covid-19 raffle, the results of which were drawn on 21 December 2020. Dipping into the hat, Mark Bryan, motorcycle expert at H&H Auctions, drew out the winning tickets with the third prize of a 1959 BSA B31 being won by Stewart Bramham in Cornwall and the second prize of a 1948 Ariel NG 350cc going to Phil Sherratt in Staffordshire. Both the BSA and the Ariel have been restored by the National Motorcycle Museum, but the top prize was something even more special, a brand new/old stock 1977 850cc Norton Commando which will now find its new home in South Yorkshire with Craig Lee. We bet Craig didn’t get a Christmas gift that topped that!

While we’re visiting the National

Motorcycle Museum (albeit only virtually at this moment), we also bring you news of the museum’s annual free open day. Museum Live will be held on 30 October 2021 and everyone is invited to visit the museum collection free of charge.

In addition to the museum exhibits – that's more than a day’s entertainment in itself – there will be a number of events during the day. Henry Cole and Friends will be live on the stage in one hour chat shows during which Henry will regale people with his engaging stories and anecdotes as well as welcoming a number of motorcycling personalities to the stage.

It’s also a chance to meet some of the museum’s specialist suppliers and craftsmen, the folk who are responsible for many of the immaculate restorations on display, along with other classic motorcycling experts who will be on hand to chat and answer questions.

As if that wasn’t enough to persuade you, there will also be a large autojumble and trade area and, even better, given Museum Live is held at the end of October, this will be in a warm and dry indoor arena. We will bring you more details in due course but put this one in your diary (you probably have space!) right now or visit www.thenmm. co.uk.

4 NEWS

March 2021

New products from Clive Scarfe For many years, Clive Scarfe has been designing and fabricating stainless steel Triumph T150 and T160 items which now grace motorcycles all over the world. Designing and testing all his products to his own exacting standard, Clive has quietly built himself an impressive reputation.

Now he is pleased to announce the addition of two new lines to his ever-increasing range. First are air filter intake sleeves which were originally made by Amal in the late 1960s with a thread cut into them and were fitted to the early Triumph and BSA Triples.

However, they have been unavailable for years. Clive is now offering faithful reproductions of the originals

manufactured in stainless steel and that, he tells us, have the added benefit of not falling off when you removed the air filter! There speaks the voice of experience. The air filter intake sleeves are available in sets of three for £39 or individually for £13 each. Post and packing is extra.

Also new from Clive are indicator arms for both the T150 and T160.

Made in highly polished stainless steel, the arms are supplied complied with all fixing nuts, washers, etc, and are available for both front and rear. Prices start at £33.50 per pair plus shipping.

You can find out more by visiting clivescarfesystems.co.uk or calling 01502 583915 or 07443 611731.

d New Honda CB750 t-shirt

New from CBFour. us is this t-shirt which has been produced in tribute to the legendary Honda CB750 Four.

‘Old Bikes Rule!

CB750 Four since 1969’ is the slogan emblazoned across the front, complete with a high definition image. This t-shirt is available in black, olive or navy blue and in sizes M through to 3XL. Prices start at 25 euros and the shirt can be found exclusively at www.cbfour.us.

Golden Era Run cancelled Remembering

Dale Walksler

www.oldbikemart.co.uk

An early Golden Era Run from back in 2009. We don’t reckon you’d get all three of those young men in a sidecar today!

For the past few years, the Golden Era Run, an annual gathering for pre-1931 motorcycles and threewheelers organised by the VMCC’s North East Section, has been a popular date on the events calendar.

Based around the Yorkshire Air Museum at Elvington, North Yorkshire, the Golden Era Run gives participants an opportunity to ride a carefully planned route around the magnificent local countryside.

Due to Covid-19, the run had to be cancelled last year and we have learned that, sadly, it

has also fallen victim to the pandemic again in 2021. The Air Museum has taken the decision to cancel its entire calendar of events for the forthcoming season and the Golden Era Run is one of the casualties.

The VMCC North East is considering organising an alternative event and we will keep you posted on that, but it would like to assure everyone that the Golden Era Run will return in 2022. OBM will be there – we’ve heard good things about the after-run catering in the NAAFI building!

Thank you Sir Tom Moore On 2 February 2021 Sir Tom Moore passed away while suffering from pneumonia, but what a remarkable impression this gentleman had made on the nation.

When, on 6 April 2020, Captain Tom began to walk lengths of his garden in order to raise £1000 for NHS

Charities Together by his 100th birthday, he could have no idea of what the next few months would hold. By the time that his birthday rolled around at the end of April, he had become a national hero, raising £32.79 million, and becoming known around the world. He went on to receive over 150,000 cards and a flypast on his birthday and was knighted by the Queen on 17 July 2020.

A keen and competitive motorcycle racer, he also set up and ran a training programme for army motorcyclists while stationed in India in 1941.

That would be reason enough for us to once again print this wonderful photo of Captain Tom on his Scott, but this gentleman brought people together when they needed that most and for that we thank and salute him.

The last year has not been kind to motorcycle museums. Many, from the largest to the smallest, are fighting for survival having had to close their doors to the public. Last month we brought you news of the devastating fire which destroyed the Top Mountain Motorcycle Museum in Austria.

Now the museum and motorcycle world has lost one of its luminaries with the passing of Dale Walksler after a long illness. In 2002, Mr Walksler opened the Wheels Through Time Museum (renamed Dale’s Wheels through Time in 2018) in Maggie Valley, North Carolina, a collection which is now acknowledged as the world’s leading collection of rare American motorcycles and memorabilia. Although Wheels Through Time is only open for six months of the year – the winter is devoted to restorations – it attracts over 100,000 visitors each season.

The museum was the culmination of a lifetime of collecting motorcycles and now Wheels through Time features around 400 bikes that trace the evolution of motorcycling up to the 1960s. Virtually every motorcycle is functional and many were used by Dale and his son, Matt, in events ranging from short runs to the Motorcycle Cannonball Runs which crossed America.

In latter years, Dale and his passion for vintage motorcycles had reached a whole new audience with his appearances on television programmes such as American Restoration and American Pickers, as well as having his own internet channel on his web site which documented the many restorations undertaken by the museum. Dale passed away on 3 February 2021. He was 68.

Dale Walksler, 1952-2021. Safe home Dale, safe home. [Photo by Horst Rosler]

6 NEWS

Pulling things together We’ve all done it (well, some of us!) – yanked on a zip only to have the puller come off in our hand.

And we’ve all tried quick fixes with paper clips, cable ties and pliers (or perhaps that’s just us!). Now Oxford Products has a neat and simple solution with these handy little replacement zip pullers that clip onto the zip mechanism and make A quick your zip work like new once fix for a more. The zip pullers are sold in a pack of four for sickly zip! £4.99, which is a lot cheaper than having to retire and replace a favourite jacket.

Find out more, including your local stockist, at www. oxfordproducts.com.

March 20 021

Gone missing This month’s Gone Missing column doesn’t feature any motorcycles stolen from people’s garages and sheds, but we do have two timely examples of the cons that can be perpetrated on even knowledgeable and savvy bike owners.

Philip Ridley contacted us to tell us that last August he put a wanted advert in Old Bike Mart for a mid-1960s Triumph Bonneville. He had four replies offering machines and, as he ruefully admits, he took the least expensive option. “On reflection,” says Philip, “that wouldn’t even have bought a road-going Tiger Cub”. He paid for the motorcycle unseen from a man called Kelvin Max, who gave an address in Eastriggs, Scotland, close to Gretna Green. An octogenarian, it appears that Mr Max died during the transaction and the sale was concluded by his son, James Max. Philip transferred the payment into a Starling Bank ‘agent account’ in the name of Thomas Savaker to a bank in London, He was emailed a picture and detailed specification of the bike.

You’re probably ahead of us already, but, yes, it was a scam. Mr Ridley’s money disappeared and no Bonneville appeared.

Philip has alerted the police and is chasing up the money he paid through his own bank although he isn’t hopeful of a positive outcome. He says; “It’s a case of ‘buyer beware’. Don’t buy ‘sight unsee’’. Still, sensible folk will know this anyway.” Should this case ring a bell or anyone has any information on a Kelvin Max or James Max, please email Philip at phil.ridley@uwclub.net.

Meanwhile, Kim Anglish is a member of the Royal Enfield Owners Club and last spring placed an advertisement in the club magazine seeking RE2 spares. At the end of 2020, Kim was contacted by email by someone who sent a photograph of an RE2 that they said was being broken for spares. Kim says; “I negotiated a price for the whole bike. I paid half of the money and when they produced a shipment bill I paid the rest. Needless to say, I have had heard nothing since. I also received another email from someone else offering spares and a photograph of a RE2, which I thought I recognised, Googled RE2 images and, lo and behold, the exact same image. I don’t know if these scammers are joining club magazines

or the likes of OBM or looking through other publications for wanted ads.”

This really is a worrying trend if scammers are now using club magazines in order to try and commit their cons. But, as we have said before, these cases really are in the minority and the vast majority of adverts are genuine.

However, as the old saying goes, if it seems too good to be true, it probably is.

Now, we at OBM would never condone violence or putting yourselves in danger in any form but we will admit we did have a little chuckle at this story spotted on the Staffordshire Live news web site. One January evening, a gentleman spotted a ne’er-do-well trying to push away an 80-year-old neighbour’s vintage motorcycle from a nearby garage into which he’d just broken. The gentleman called the police and then tackled the thief, giving him a bloody nose and holding him on the ground until the police arrived to arrest and detain him.

Well done to that gentleman!

Spring ahead with Sealey!

WEEBLES WORLD

Polished to perfection It turns out that, when polishing engine casings, it’s only the casing that ends up clean and shiny.

Weeble needed a bath. Dog was just gonna roll over and clean himself on Mrs Weeble’s freshly cleaned living room carpet.

Leading producer of professional tools and workshop equipment Sealey has launched its Spring Promotion which sees the launch of 118 new products as well as offering some rather good discounts on existing items (up to 85% off isn’t to be sneezed at!).

Among the new products on offer are an insulated tool tray and socket trap, ultrasonic

cleaning tanks and a smart Auto Darkening Welding Helmet with Powered Air Purifying Respirator (PAPR) which provides the user with a constant filtered stream of air to their head and face for up to approximately eight hours. The filter is designed to reduce or remove dust and particles and features an audible alarm to alert the user of low battery/low airflow while the inner hood

has a protective clear visor.

Sealey’s complete product range with the change to enter competitions can be viewed on its new website at www.sealey. co.uk where you can see the Spring Promotion catalogue online or request a real printed copy to be sent to you.

Alternatively, call the Customer Service Department on 01284 757500 for copies of the latest promotions and catalogues.

8 NEWS

March 2021

New acquisitions for Sammy Miller

A

lthough the Sammy Miller Museum may be closed at present due to current circumstances, that hasn’t stopped the man himself from adding a couple more gems to his evergrowing collection.

Currently – or at least when it reopens – the museum has almost 500 machines on display. Now, Sammy has acquired a very rare motorcycle from the late Joe Ryan, County Antrim’s tuning wizard. Joe was, of course, synonymous with

This 1923 Zehnder is a new addition to the New Forest-based Sammy Miller Museum.

Weise goes large One of the side effects of lockdown is that while many of us have not been able to get out, we have compensated by perhaps eating a little too well (or is that just the OBM’s team’s addiction to custard creams?). If you were of a more statuesque physique even before lockdown, you will know the problems of getting decent motorcycle clothing that fits. And by ‘fits’, we, of course, mean ‘does up’.

Now Weise has introduced the Core Plus, a textile jacket tailored for plus sizes up to 5XL. For example, whereas a ‘regular’ Large jacket would have a 44-inch chest (112cm), in ‘plus’ sizing it is a much more generous fit, at 52.5-inch (133cm). AA-rated for protection, this jacket comes with CE-approved shoulder, elbow and back armour as standard, and reflective detailing. It has a breathable waterproof and windproof liner and a removable quilted thermal lining. Zipped vents also ensure airflow for when we finally get to the few days of the Great British Summer.

Adjusters at the biceps and forearms reduce annoying billowing, and provide a snug fit, while three external pockets with zipper closure and four internal pockets offer plenty of places to carry everyday essentials. Sizes range from L (52.5”) to 5XL (60.5”) and the Weise core Plus retails for £169.99. For more details and stockists, visit www. weiseclothing.com

Nortons – quite simply, in the 1950s and 1960s he built some of the quickest road racing motorcycles in the world.

Sammy visited Joe at his fireplace shop (he was, by trade, a fireplace maker, not an engine tuner) many times, meetings that were probably more sedate than when Sammy had battled against the Ryan Nortons on his NSU SportsMax. But this bike is arguably rarer than most Nortons and is a marque of which many people may not have heard. German manufacturer Zehnder produced motorcycles between 1923 and 1939 (although the original company was absorbed

by Standard and by 1928 moved to Switzerland), establishing a reputation for reliability as well as enjoying some success on the racetrack.

Although they were small capacity motorcycles aimed at commuters,

Well, you’d look jolly pleased too if you’d just acquired this fantastic New Hudson!

their styling set them apart, as seen in this 1923 machine. The second new motorcycle to join the collection is this rather wonderful 1929 350cc ohv twin port New Hudson, built by the firm founded

by George Patterson in Birmingham

in 1903. A New Hudson was the first motorcycle to break the 100mph record at Brooklands when Bert le Vack piloted a 500cc New Hudson to that magic speed in 1927. When the museum reopens, both bikes will be on display for visitors to enjoy.

LS2 Bob Carbon helmet The choice of traditional open face helmets continues to expand, with many of the new variants coming with specifications that are usually associated with more contemporary full-face lids.

The LS2 Bob Carbon is one such open-faced helmet, with not only a carbon fibre construction giving an impressively light weight – the XL version here is a mere 1020g complete with the peak, the XS is just 850g! – but also with

an integral, optically-correct slide-down dark visor (which can be replaced by a clear visor if required), being much easier to use while riding than sunglasses or tinted goggles.

It comes complete with the short trials-style peak, attached by three press studs, as is traditional.

And there’s a magnetic clip to the rear of the helmet’s shell, to keep your goggle strap secure if you choose to wear goggles in addition to the flip down visor.

Retention is by a double D ring strap which has a magnetic tip to prevent any flapping, while the shell comes in three different sizes to allow the best fit and to give the smallest profile possible for any given size.

The Bob Carbon is available in sizes from XS-XXL (53-64 cm) and has a breathable and hypoallergenic liner.

It is priced at £199.99, and more details can be found at the website www.ls2helmets. com

The best Norton T-shirt ever As an amusing diversion in these current grim times, the Norton Owners Club recently ran a competition for its worldwide members and friends to find the best-ever Norton-themed T-shirt.

After assessing almost 200 entries from all around the globe, the NOC has now announced the winners, as judged by Marcello Oljemark Minale.

As well as being a lifelong motorcycle rider and a big fan of

Judge Marcello Minale giving all the entrants the thumbs up.

the Norton marque, Marcello is managing director of the worldwide design agency Minale Tattersfield in London, so was very well qualified to make the decision.

When Marcello carried out the judging, he had no idea from whom or where the T-shirts came, and he made his judgements on the design criteria of: 1. Relevance to Norton 2. Uniqueness 3. Longevity 4. Creativity 5. “What I would wear to a gig?”.

The entries were varied – in one case Marcello was heard to comment, “So bad it’s good!” – but he finally made his choices, with the winning T-shirt having a pedigree which stretches back over two decades.

It’s the work of NCOA (Norton Clubs Of America) vice-president Marc Bouchard in Washington DC. He created it for the “Nation’s Capital Norton Owners Annual Rally XVIII” in 2000.

The featured bike, by the way, is a 1972 750 Roadster Combat Commando, which is still owned by

Suzi Greenway wearing her wellloved Marc Bouchard-designed T-shirt, judged the best-ever Norton themed. Her prize of a bottle of gin is mysteriously missing in this photo…

Second place was this T-shirt belonging to Steve Edwards.

Chuck Collins won third place with his Dave Bradford T-shirt.

NCOA member Christian Kelleher.

However, this particular shirt was entered for the competition not by Mr Bouchard but by Suzi Greenway.

She was given the shirt while recovering in hospital after being hit by a deer in a motorcycling accient.

“Almost lost my right leg,” she commented pithily while wearing her T-shirt and cradling her prize, a bottle of fine craft gin.

Second place went to Steve Edwards for his simple, classic Manx engine design.

Steve is a T-shirt aficionado from Middlesex and said: “I’ve enjoyed wearing various Norton T-shirts over the years and they have lasted well – none have been ragged or binned”.

And in third place was Chuck Collins, also from the US. As Chuck tells it, his shirt features “Dave Bradford racing his 750cc Commando in the early 1990s with Preston’s Law race team – he did mighty well against the foreign competition”.

Marcello’s summary of the winning design was: “A brilliant graphic treatment to say ‘Norton’ without saying it. White on black - simplicity with clarity of mind.

No need to add anything else. It communicates the essence of the brand with a single gesture. Perfect solution to the problem.”

Congratulations to Marc for a design that has stood the test of time. The NOC intends to make reprints of the T-shirt from March at www.nortonownersclub.org

10

March 2021

March 2021

BIT ON THE SIDE 11

The effects of Brexit With Brexit now fully implemented, Mick Payne takes a look at how it is now affecting us and also brings news of changes at Ural.

W

hat with all the problems surrounding Covid, Brexit has largely taken a spot on the back-burner, but it certainly hasn’t gone away. There are several ways it could concern our sidecar

Jawa and Velorex spares will still be available post-Brexit.

community, especially the classic and rally scene. Gone are the days of showing your passport at the ferry port and not taking it out again until you return. Well, theoretically. When overseas rallies resume there will be changes, things will go back to when I started riding Continental roads back in the 1970s. Green Card, anyone?

Yes, Green Cards are obligatory again and, interestingly, the regs state that one is necessary for the vehicle and another for any trailer if you happen be towing. These may take a couple of weeks to source so allow plenty of time; you must also display a GB sticker as well as carrying your V5C. Health insurance is recommended and pet passports are no longer acceptable so, if your travel companion is canine, you will now need an AHC and your pet will need to be microchipped and vaccinated.

Touring in Europe will now involve more paperwork, including for Quincy, seen here being piloted by owner, Rob.

Unconnected with driving legislation, I have heard reports of spares for some Continental machines becoming difficult to source. To this end I contacted David Angel of F2 Motorcycles regarding Jawas and Velorex. “I don’t think it will really affect anything,” is his opinion. “We’ve already had a delivery from Velorex and the Czechs seem more informed about it than we are.” He seems to be more concerned about the increase in paperwork that Brexit has caused than continuity of his orders.

Dan Sager, Watsonian’s PR man, is of the same opinion regarding paperwork. “We have distributors in Europe so it will be the exchange rate that will have a greater impact on Watsonian’s sales,” he says. Dan’s major concern is the impact on shipping and lead times caused by the pandemic. “This is obviously out

Watsonian-Squire’s stand (mugs and beers – we want both!) at the Centenary Rally in 2012.

David Angel of F2 Motorcycles will no longer be selling new Urals but will continue to supply spares for older models.

of anyone’s hands,” he adds. To this end, F2 has just imported six Velorex chairs for stock because, David points out, it’s the same amount of paperwork involved in bringing in six as there is in just one.

There remains the problem of some Continental spares dealers not shipping to the UK owing to the fact that they are unsure of the situation.

It rather looks as though buying from home-based spares dealers is going to be okay but using some of the European spares suppliers might be more difficult or even temporarily impossible.

As an aside to this, F2 is no longer a Ural main dealer. “Ural have got a new importer (again) and they have looked into their dealer network and seem to have decided that they would like a change of direction. I really wish them well with their new path, but it isn’t one that I wish to take,” reflects David. After many

years of dealing with the Russian marque he will no longer be selling brand-new outfits and I got the impression that his decision was not made lightly. “I was asked aboard as a dealer but I don’t really want to go down the route they want to take.”

His many years of experience remain, as does his love of the machines: “I will still provide a backup for Urals and continue supplying spares and accessories for them, but only for models up to 2021.”

It’s a shame to lose a hands-on dealer such as David but he will still be there! As he said, he wishes the company well, but what is the route that Ural is going to follow? Probably selling more in the manner of some larger manufacturers; you know, carpets and cappuccino, but will it have the solid knowledge of a man like David? Before long we’ll see Urals with brown seats… End of an era? Possibly.