July 2018 £2.10 ISSUE
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On their 1928 498cc Triumph Model N Deluxe combination with its distinctive ‘torpedo’ sidecar, Brian Empsall and his passenger battle through the heavy traffic near Banbury Cross during the Vintage Motor Cycle Club’s 70th Banbury Run on Sunday, June 17. Our report, with photos by Martin Gegg, appears on pages 37-38. Photo: Mortons Archive www.mortonsarchive.com
2 NEWS
July 2018
Pete’s Prattle
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Editor Pete Kelly OBMEditor@mortons.co.uk Staff writer Dave Manning Designer Charlotte Fairman, Tracey Markham Production editor Pauline Hawkins Picture Desk Paul Fincham and Jonathan Schofield Divisional advertising manager Billy Manning Advertising Kieron Deekens kdeekens@mortons.co.uk Alan Green agreen@mortons.co.uk
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T
here’s only one subject I can possibly write about in this month’s ‘Prattle’ – the wonderful achievement by Michael Worthington-Williams, who has been a much-respected contributor to Old Bike Mart for around a quarter of a century, in being made an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List. Now 80, Michael, of Newcastle Emlyn, Carmarthenshire, received the award for services to automotive history, and he’s still supplying those services in full with his monthly ‘Unearthed’ and ‘Feedback’ pages in this journal. He’s been writing features about vintage vehicles for an amazing 63 years now, ever since his first was published in Brighton’s Evening
Argus in 1955 when he was just 17. His love affair with motorcycles began in 1956 when he acquired a 1926 BSA V-twin combination. After a life as a police squad bike with Hove police, the BSA was later used as a motorcycle taxi on Brighton’s sea front with a coach-built Noxall coupe sidecar. Michael spent 19 years as head of Sotheby’s vintage vehicle department, and the following 20-odd years as a consultant for Bonham’s, a capacity in which he remains to this day. His encyclopaedic knowledge in helping retrieve original registration numbers is legendary, and the time it must have taken him to do all this over the years is incalculable.
Of all the features that come in to Old Bike Mart each month, his ‘Unearthed’ and ‘Feedback’ pages always intrigue me more than most, for they reveal makes of motorcycle I’d never heard of before (some of them not even listed in so-called definitive works), and his love of old vehicles and ever-helpful nature never fail to shine through. Michael’s citation states: “His contribution to the field (of services to automotive history) has been immense, through publications, books, magazine features and sometimes as the editor of journals”, and I’m sure many of our readers will heartily join me in offering this doyen of automotive history
our warmest congratulations. “It was a pleasant surprise, if totally unexpected,” said Michael, “and it is very nice to be recognised” – and we all say “Hear! Hear!” to that!
Publishing director Dan Savage Commercial director Nigel Hole General Queries Customer Service Number: 01507 529529 Telephone lines are open: Monday-Friday 8.30am-7pm, Saturday 8.30am-12.30pm and 24hr ansaphone 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. 715-572-4595 chris@classicbikebooks.com PUBLISHED BY
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Target £25,000 as Wemoto expands MGP Supporters’ Club charity range In a bid to raise more money for the Manx Grand Prix Supporters’ Club’s Injured Riders and Helicopter Fund, Wemoto has produced more items for sale to complement the Jurby T-shirts which this year commemorate the 40th anniversary of Mike Hailwood’s comeback to mainstream motorcycle racing and his remarkable Formula 1 TT win on the Sports Motorcycles Ducati. Hoping to achieve its £25,000 target by the end of the Classic TT Festival,
Wemoto has added caps, badges and fridge magnet bottle-openers to its Jurby range, with all profits going to the charity. The MGP Supporters’ Club helps fund the lifesaving helicopter ambulances on practice and race days during the Manx Grand Prix, and also supports injured riders and their families as well as donating money to help with medical equipment. With products ranging from £1 (posters) to £10 for T-shirts, everyone can help
to support this important cause. Wemoto’s Jurby merchandise is available to buy on www.wemoto.com or in limited numbers at this year’s festival. The email address is sales@wemoto.com or call 01273 597072. LEFT: Ross Noble is backing the sale of the charity Wemoto T-shirts featuring the celebrated TT comeback of Mike Hailwood 40 years ago.
July 2018
NEWS 3
UNEARTHED – AN MBE!
Michael Worthington-Williams’ services to automotive history recognised in Queen’s Birthday Honours awards
O
ld Bike Mart’s long-term ‘Unearthed’ and ‘Feedback’ writer Michael Worthington-Williams got the surprise of his life when he was informed that he’d been made an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list for his lifetime’s service to automotive history. Michael has been ‘in print’ for 63 years, ever since he successfully contributed his first article about vintage vehicles at the age of 17 in 1955. “My dad was a chauffeur all his working life, driving and maintaining quality cars,” said Michael. “He really kindled my interest, as did his two brothers, who were both keen amateur competition motorcycle riders. Harry was works-supported by Scott and Levis, and George rode Calthorpe and New Imperial machines. Both were successful grass track riders and members of Streatham & District Motor Cycle Club.” After acquiring a 1926 V-twin BSA combination (see ‘Prattle’ opposite) and writing about it for a local newspaper, he then wrote the whole story in Veteran & Vintage magazine. Since then he’s never stopped writing, researching and, most importantly of all, helping countless thousands of fellow enthusiasts with their registration requests and enquiries about their machines, whether two, three or four-wheeled. He’s written for every classic magazine in the UK, and several in the US as well, and was elected vice-president of the Society of Automotive Historians in the US, winning their Cugnot Award twice and eventually
being made a Friend of Automotive History, their highest award. He also won the Moto Award from the International Society for Vehicle Preservation in the US. He edited the Veteran Car Club’s Gazette on and off for 20 years from 1968, and was awarded their Dowsing Trophy before eventually being made an Honorary Life Member. The same Hon Life Membership was accorded him by the Vintage Motor Cycle Club, the Society of Automotive Historians (US), the Society of Automotive Historians (of which he was a founder) in Britain, three regional clubs and one American one. The Guild of Motoring Writers awarded him the Pemberton Trophy, and the National Motorcycle Museum the Prince Henry Trophy. Michael was the founder editor of Classic Car Mart, and won the Journalist of the Year Award at the Savoy in 1994 when the magazine was just a year old. He has written for The Automobile for every issue since the first, 36 years ago, and for Old Bike Mart for about 25 years. For more than 40 years, through the SAH, he recovered registration numbers for hundreds of bikes and cars, and issued dating certificates for many more until the club withdrew from the DVLA scheme four years ago. Michael was an assistant editor and contributor to Old Motor magazine for many years, and wrote for Classic Motorcycle as well. He was on the dating
“My beard is a bit whiter now,” says 80-yearold Michael Worthington-Williams, whose richly deserved MBE was totally unexpected, but “a very pleasant surprise”.
committee of the VCC for more than 20 years, and was a contributor to three editions of The Complete Encyclopaedia of Motorcars. He has written books on automobilia, cyclecars, motorcycles, toy and model cars and other automotive subjects, and spent 19 years as the head of Sotheby’s vintage vehicle department and the following 20-odd years as a consultant for Bonhams, in which capacity he remains.
Lakeland Motor Museum voted Britain’s best classic destination
The Britain’s Best Classic Destination award is handed over at the Lakeland Motor Museum.
After being nominated as part of a 30-strong list by Practical Classics magazine readers and clients of Footman James insurance brokers, the Lakeland Motor Museum, complete with its motorcycle displays, was announced as Britain’s Best Classic Destination on May 22. In the museum’s 40th anniversary year, director Les Micklethwaite said: “This is a fantastic accolade and a tribute to the hard work and dedication of a team who are committed to telling the story of a diverse heritage in an interactive and accessible way.”
With its friendly, informal atmosphere, the museum is home to more than 30,000 fascinating collections and exhibits that trace automotive development throughout the 20th century, including classic bikes, classic cars and automobilia. It has attracted more than 1.5 million visitors over the past four decades. With more than 150 motorcycles on display, and standing next door to a really great cafe, the museum is at Old Blue Mill, Backbarrow, Ulverston LA12 8TA (015395 30400).
Five Vincents in H&H’s National Motorcycle Museum bike sale Five Vincent motorcycles – two Series C Comets, a Series C Rapide, a Series B HRD Rapide and a rare Series D Black Knight, will be among more than 200 machines being sold in H&H’s biggest National Motorcycle Museum auction to date on Thursday, July 26, a quarter of them being with no reserve. Vincent made motorcycles from 1928 until 1955 after the
business was established by Philip Vincent, who bought the existing manufacturing name HRD, initially renaming it as Vincent HRD. From 1934, two new engines were developed in 500 and 1000cc categories, and production grew from 1936. After the war, the most famous models were developed from the original designs in the late 1940s,
This 1947 HRD Rapide Series B is expected to sell for £35,000£40,000 at the July 26 sale.
and the 1948 Black Shadow became the fastest production motorcycle in the world. But there will be much more to the sale than the Vincents, with other bikes ranging from a 1901 Dart to a modern 961 Norton. With standing room only at the last sale, the same again is highly likely, underlining the importance of booking your place early (see also page 6).
This 1955 Series-D Black Knight combination could be the top seller among the Vincent quintet.
This red-tanked 1951 Series-C Comet single is one of the Vincents with no reserve.
4 NEWS
July 2018
Goodwood hillclimb debut for Triumph’s Moto2 test missile Triumph’s Moto2 test bike will make its public debut at the Goodwood Festival of Speed from July 12-15 in the hands of fourtimes World Superbike champion Carl Fogarty and double Isle of Man TT winner Gary Johnson. It will be the perfect opportunity for fans to see the future of Moto2, with Triumph set to become the exclusive engine supplier for the series, and better still hear the triple’s demonic howl on the circuit’s famous hillclimb. Both riders will also head up the hill on a pair of classic 750cc racing bikes supplied by the National Motorcycle Museum – a Triumph works machine from a batch of just three experimental models built in 1970 which won that year’s 24-hour Bol d’Or endurance race, and a 1971 works seven-fifty that took several prominent victories that season
This is the Triumph test machine that will change the face of Moto2 next year – but wait until you hear the sound it makes!
including three wins from six races in the Anglo-American Cup. It also competed at Daytona that year and finished second in both the F750 Isle of Man TT race and
UK Superbike series. All three bikes will go up the hill on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday alongside a modern-day Speed Triple RS.
All set for the Brighton Speed Trials Burning rubber and exotic exhaust fumes will be among the olfactory delights when Brighton’s National Speed Trials will return to the famous seafront on Saturday, September 1. As around 200 cars and motorcycles are launched for their timed runs, spectators will be able to get really close to the noise and action as they watch from the start line. Organised by the Brighton and Hove Motor Club and sponsored by Frosts Cars, this year’s event will be in support of The Chestnut Tree House Hospice for young children, which will be fundraising on the day and running a Scalextric competition. B&HMC chairman Len Wooller said the club had enjoyed a fantastic response already, with a really diverse range of vehicles entering the event. Spectators will be able to follow the competitors’ progress on a 21sq m LCD screen, and the event will also have a dedicated viewing area for the disabled and a raised viewing platform.
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Boom time as a well-stretched Ducati roars off the line at the Brighton Speed Trials.
Vintage machines on two, three and four wheels will also be showing their paces on September 1, as this girder-fork JAP-engined machine demonstrates.
Wake up and smell the burnt rubber! This is the kind of action that spectators can expect on Madeira Drive.
For those still wishing to enter, entry forms and entry criteria are available now at www. brightonandhovemotorclub.co.uk. Practice runs will start at 8.45am, and timed runs at 11.15am. Admission, including a programme, will cost £15, or £12 when bought online through the website above.
Classics at new Hoghton Tower event The fortified manor house of Hoghton Tower near Preston, Lancashire, has been chosen as the venue for a brand new Mark Woodward classic event on Sunday, September 2 from 10am until 4pm.
Classics at Hoghton Tower will feature a full motorcycle display as well as cars, light commercials, ex-Army and other vehicles, as well as arena demonstrations, full-commentary parades, autojumble and trade stands.
With stunning views all around, Hoghton Tower stands on the highest hill in the area and is the ideal venue for the Classics at Hoghton Tower event.
Located off the A675 Preston Road and easily accessible from the M6, M61 and M65 (for sat navs, use the PR5 0SH postcode), Hoghton Tower stands on the highest hill in the area, and has been home to the de Hoghton family since the 12th century. It boasts daunting defences, grand state rooms and a wealth of art and historic artefacts. Admission to the event will cost £7 for adults and £2.50 for children, and includes the walled courtyard, tilting yard, gardens, extensive grounds and tea room offering special afternoon teas. Dogs on leads are welcome in the grounds. For a small additional fee, tours of the tower itself will run from 11am. For more details, or to exhibit a classic vehicle or reserve a trade plot, contact Mark Woodward on 016974 51882 or see www. markwoodwardclassicevents.com
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6 NEWS
July 2018
Heartbeat’s Fanny-B patrol bike – an arresting H&H auction lot! The 198cc Francis-Barnett police patrol bike that became a star of the early series of the 1960s-based TV police drama Heartbeat will be coming up for auction at H&H Classics’ National Motorcycle Museum sale on Thursday, July 26 – and it will be offered with the full police uniform worn by Nick Berry. The machine is estimated to sell for between £3500 and £5000 – but who knows what might happen when the auctioneer’s gavel comes down?
Set in the North Riding of Yorkshire, Heartbeat was based on the ‘Constable’ series of novels written by ex-policeman Peter N Walker using the pseudonym Nicholas Rea, and was broadcast on ITV in no fewer than 18 series from 1992 until 2010. The early series consistently drew more than 10 million viewers, and peaked at 13.82 million – and the episodes are still being repeated and enjoyed to this day. With its head office near Warrington, Cheshire, its private
sales garage near Hindhead, Surrey and specialists based throughout the UK, H&H holds regular sales at the Imperial War Museum at Duxford, Cambridgeshire, the National Motorcycle Museum in the West Midlands and at Woodcote Park in Surrey. The purchaser of this Heartbeat Francis-Barnett patrol bike will be leaving a smoke trail of history in its wake.
New calendar will boost Exmoor Run charity fund Open to all motorcycles, Taunton Classic Motorcycle Club’s annual charity Exmoor Run will start from Sheppy’s Cider, just outside Taunton, on Sunday, August 12. Entrants will cover just over 100 fully marshalled miles, enjoying coffee breaks and a lunch stop in picturesque Dulverton, before
returning to Sheppy’s for the presentations and raffle, and the chance to buy a slice of delicious cake and a cuppa. This year, 2019 calendars (for which 12 club members have been brave enough to take off their kit for some ‘interesting’ photos) will be on sale at £5.
All profits from the run and calendar sales will go to the club’s chosen charities, the local Air Ambulance and Freewheelers. For full details of this year’s run, and to view photos from previous years and request an entry form, visit https://tauntonclassicmc. weebly.com.
Fundraising at Saxilby Saxilby Bikers’ Club’s annual fundraising event, with all proceeds going to the Lincs & Notts Air Ambulance, will take place at The Anglers, High Street, Saxilby, Lincolnshire, from noon until 6pm on Sunday, July 29.
As well as live bands, refreshments, fundraising stalls and a fine display of classic bikes, there will be a ‘best bike on the day’ competition and a record-breaking mono wheel. The raffle prize will be a trip to The American Motorcycle Experience.
Clumber Park date change
This rider’s-eye view shows one of the quiet narrow roads that formed part of the route of last year’s Exmoor Run.
Last year’s winning bikes in the Taunton club’s 100-mile charity ride line up outside Sheppy’s.
Originally scheduled to take place on Sunday, July 8, the Clumber Park Classic Car & Motorcycle Show has had to move the date back a week to Sunday, July 15 through reasons outside the organisers’ control. Tickets for the original date that had been bought by visitors, exhibitors, traders and autojumblers will remain valid, and
for those unable to attend on the new date, refunding arrangements are being made. Last year’s inaugural event, with more than 700 vehicles on display, attracted more than 10,000 visitors. Admission charges for this year’s event are £8 for adults and £3 for children aged between seven and 14.
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8 NEWS
July 2018
Mike Hailwood inducted into the Motor Sport Hall of Fame After more than 40,000 enthusiasts from around the world voted for their favourites in a number of motor sport categories, motorcycling legend Mike Hailwood topped a shortlist including TT hero Joey Dunlop and American world champion Kenny Roberts, and was duly inducted into the Motor Sport Hall of Fame at the Royal Automobile Club’s Woodcote Park estate on Monday, June 4. At the star-studded event hosted by broadcaster Suzi Perry, Mike’s widow Pauline received the award from her late husband’s former Honda team-mate Stuart Graham. Stuart spoke warmly of Mike, a nine-times Grand Prix world champion on 250cc, 350cc and 500cc machines, and entertained the audience with memories of their time together racing for the factory Honda team in 1966.
“When we went to Monza in September 1966,” said Stuart, the son of 1950s motorcycling hero Les, “I got used to the bike and found that, being small and light, I could pull a higher gear than Mike and overtake him going past the pits. During practice, I asked him whether Curva Grande could be taken flat-out and he told me casually: ‘Oh yeah – no problem!’. “I went back out, wound myself up and finally did it. I came in and told him that it was a bit hairy, but that yes, it could be taken flat-out and he said: ‘You silly so-and-so – I was only joking!’ “Mike was so laid back and such a natural,” Stuart continued. “He didn’t think too much about it because it all came naturally. If you’d asked him how he did it, he wouldn’t have been able to explain it.
Honda star Mike gets well cramped over on the fabulous Honda six.
Mike Hailwood is pictured in action on the Sports Motorcycles Ducati in his glorious 1978 TT comeback.
“It’s difficult to compare different generations, but he was the best of our era. He was so versatile, and could win on anything. When he came back to the Isle of Man (after years of car racing) and, in 1979, rode that RG500 Suzuki, on modern tyres and completely different from everything else he’d ridden, it proved beyond doubt that he had exceptional talent. “He was just such a lovely guy. We became friends because in those days there was a wonderful camaraderie between riders, and we watched out for each other. No one had a bad word to say about Mike.”
Trying out the RG500 four-cylinder Suzuki for size.
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10 NEWS
July 2018
Sun shines on Wells CMC’s Tortoise & Hare charity run P icturesque Wells Market Place was packed with 160 motorcycles of all ages awaiting the start of the 8th annual Tortoise and Hare Run organised by the Wells Classic Motorcycle Club to raise funds for the Dorset & Somerset Air Ambulance on the morning of Sunday, June 3. Entries came from as far afield as Yorkshire, Surrey, Wales, Devon, the south coast and the Isle of Wight, and the sun shone all day long. Assisted by the town crier, the Mayor of Wells flagged away the various run groups on their journey over the East Mendip Hills to Castle Cary Rugby Football Club, where entrants in all three run sections took a coffee break. This was followed in the afternoon by more scenic routes for both the ‘Tortoises’ and ‘Hares’ over the North Mendips, again
A Rudge Special and a Panther Sloper make an attractive pair.
Riders are flagged away from Wells Market Place at the start of the Tortoise and Hare Run on Sunday, June 3.
following different routes, and this year the ‘Snail’ group was also well attended as participants took in fairly level roads around the Somerset Levels. All three groups then returned to Wells for refreshments, after which the Mayor presented the various class awards and announced the raffle winners. This year’s main sponsor, Alpha Classic Motorcycles, took along a display and Blood Bikes were also welcomed to the event. Go to www.wellsclassicmotorcycleclub. co.uk for club details and more event pictures. Next year’s event will take place on June 2.
Bikes gleam in the sunshine during the Castle Cary RFC coffee break.
AWARDS
Annual Shield for Best Attended Club, Taunton British and Classic Motorcycle Club; Mayor’s Choice Salver, Bob Murdock, Nailsea, N Somerset (1938 Royal Enfield combination); Best Tortoise, Peter Manley, Keynsham, near Bristol (1966 Greeves 20DB); Best Snail, Paul Lecornu, Wraxhall, Shepton Mallet (1969 Velo Solex); Best Hare, Andy Webb, Creech St Michael, Taunton (1978 Ducati Darmah); Marshals’ Choice, Tortoise, Neville Barham, Northam, Bideford (1937 Ariel Red Hunter); Marshals’ Choice, Hare (Joint Award), Alan Coombes, Simon Coombes and Malcolm Brown, Haslemere, Surrey (two 1948 Douglas Mk 3s and one 1949 T35 Sport); Oldest Bike to Complete Run, Roger Bayliss, Nailsea (1930 BSA Sloper); Most Interesting Bike, David Pollard, Warminster, 1938 500cc ‘Nudge’; Marshals’ Choice of Marshal’s Bike, Howard Harrington, Clevedon (1968 BSA Thunderbolt), Best Non-British, Robert Hale, Wells (1974 KH400); Best Modern, Simon Ensell, Worle, Weston-super-Mare (2014 Royal Enfield Continental).
More than 300 motorcycles to be displayed at Gloucestershire’s 44th extravaganza While displays of motorcycles can be found among the traction engines, vintage tractors, old cars, commercial vehicles, buses, coaches and military vehicles at vintage transport shows all over the country, the bike element at the 44th Gloucestershire Vintage & Country Extravaganza at South Cerney Airfield, Cirencester, from August 3-5 will be exceptional, with a staggering 335 motorcycles attending. Some 230 entries had registered by mid-June! Organised by the Stroud Vintage Transport and Engine Club (SVTEC), the Extravaganza is run entirely by volunteers from all corners of Gloucestershire, and raises money for
national and local charities, up to 30 of which will be represented on site. The event will play host to the BSA Bantam Club’s National Rally, with more than 70 Bantams taking part in a road run culminating there, and thanks to the enthusiasm of the Cotton Owners’ and Enthusiasts’ Club, that famous old brand will also be well represented. Among the other marques on display will be Meteor, Yamaha, Harley-Davidson, Honda, Moto Guzzi, HRD, AJS, James, Triumph, Royal Enfield, Rudge, Baker, BMW, Norton, Velocette, Panther, Francis-Barnett, Matchless and Greeves. There will also be
Yorkshire Classic revving up for annual bike show The Bronte Hotel in Haworth will again play host to around 100 classic bikes and many more fans from 6.30pm onwards at the Yorkshire Classic motorcycle event on July 18. With classes for girder fork, British and foreign classics, mopeds and scooters to 1980, ex-military and competition to 1970, along with reproduction and customised there will be plenty to see, with Gary at the Bronte keeping everyone fed and watered. Local businesses provide many prizes for the raffle and all proceeds from the event are donated to local charities – Manorlands Hospice, The Cellar Trust in Shipley and Yorkshire Air Ambulance. Contact Ian Livingstone on 01484 852184, or email ianhilary@btinternet.com for more details. Right: last year’s best in show was this immaculate 1933 Model K Royal Enfield V-twin. Ian Livingstone, Yorkshire Classic chairman, presents the award but unfortunately the owner’s name was omitted from this report.
an abundance of scooters to celebrate the Mods and Rockers era. Section leader John Grange said: “We aim to bring something of interest to all ages, from the smallest Brockhouse Corgi ‘Para’ bike to HRD Vincents, and from Yamaha FS1Es to Suzuki GT750s.” Opening times on all three days will be 10am until 5pm. Ticket prices remain frozen at £7 adults, £4 juniors on the Friday, and £10 adults, £5 juniors on the Saturday and Sunday. Family weekender tickets (two adults and two children) cost £35 for all three days, and under-fives are admitted free of charge.
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