Road Signs in Australia
This was the view from the 1965 Velocette Thruxton I borrowed from John Jennings for the Australian Velocette Owners Club Rally in Sydney, October 2005. The winding road was somewhere in the midst of the Blue Mountains, a couple of hours outside Sydney, as the rally HQ was Richmond NSW. The VOCA began holding their week-long 'Good Companions' rally in 2003, at Margaret River WA, which I was lucky to attend. It was indeed an adventure, as Western Australia has a very low population density, with 90% of its population in Perth, and a whole lot of unpopulated bush for 1000 miles around it. As I tend to ride alone and explore whatever catches my fancy, I went 40km 'off piste' to explore a row of old-growth Kerri trees that had been made into a park. On finishing my lunch and taking some photos, I found my borrowed (from John Jennings again!) Velocette Clubman had no compression. I had enough tools with me to determine a valve seat had dropped, which is very unusual, and not repairable by the side of the road. Lucky for me, a bush mechanic happened along the otherwise deserted dirt road, gave me a ride to a house with a phone, and I was able to call ahead to our evening's rally stop for some roadside assistance. My reputation as a hotrod preceded me, and I was castigated Aussie-style for breaking the Clubman, but of course I was simply puttering along a dirt road for the prior 40km. Turned out the valve seats had been recently installed by an expert...but one never forgets the hard looks and hard feelings of the blamers. John, of course, understood, and we carried on loaning each other our bikes for many years on rallies in the USA and Australia.
C.T. Ashby's Zenith Racer
C.T. Ashby on his Zenith, Brooklands 1925. Zenith motorcycles held more over-100mph lap times at the Brooklands track than any other make, and the competition machines were personally supervised by Freddie Barnes, owner of Zenith. The bike is stripped down to the essentials, with a big pillow strapped to the tank for rider comfort on the notoriously bumpy Brooklands bowl. The crucial components; big 1000cc JAP OHV engine, Harley-Davidson forks with an Andre bump damper, 'square' ML magneto at the front of the engine, two big fishtail mufflers poking beyond the rear wheel, 21" wheels front and rear, and a dummy rim rear brake. Ashby, always a practical rider, is wearing a turtleneck sweater under his collarless leathers, and what looks like a kidney belt to help with the pounding he must have received while doing 110mph. I owned a similar machine - Super Kim - which I'll show in a future post.
Trouble on Highway 1
The consolation of bike trouble on Highway 1 is the view. This is Chris Potempa on an AMCA club ride in 2003, working on his 1934 Indian Chief that was having multiple 'issues' on the day, including shedding the rivets which held on the rear brake drum. That fix took a trip to the hardware store, which luckily was only 10 miles away, and we managed to squeeze some bolts into the rivet holes for the trip home. Chris has since sold the bike!
Cec Weatherby at the 1933 Isle of Man Junior TT
This is 'Cec' Weatherby, from Australia, about to start in the 1933 Junior TT, on his '33 Velocette MkIV KTT. Dennis Quinlan sent this from his archives in Sydney; clear photos of rigid-frame Velocette racers in the IOM TT are rare, even though they figured highly in the results. The other makes visible in the photo are Norton and Rudge; Rudge had won its last TT in 1930, and a pushrod-engine machine would never win again. Nortons, though, won this race and many others to come! Visible on top of the scoreboard are the Boy Scouts who updated the rider positions during the race. One 'bobby' (a sergeant by the looks of it) stands by to keep order, and the race team sponsors/owners are wearing their tweed suits and ties.
Racing riders are wearing baggy leather separates, as one-piece racing suits weren't common until the early 50's; they wear double-breasted button-up short jackets with high-waisted jodhpurs and suspenders underneath. Some of the riders wore shirts and ties, but Sartorialism was on the wane for motorcyclists by the mid-30's. Brooklands riders kept their neckties until the war, with 'Barry' Baragwanath keeping his detachable collar and bowtie until the end of his career - how charmingly old fashioned.
The Velocette MkIV KTT was a production racer produced from 1933-35, and was the first substantial revamp of the KTT line, introduced in 1928. Many riders did well on the MkIV, winning Grands Prix and TTs around the world, and many Gold Stars at Brooklands for turning 100mph+ laps during a race, which is significant for a 350cc machine [see our article on David Vincent's Gold Star ride on a Velo here]. The KTT line evolved in 1935 with the MkV, which used the same full-cradle frame as the new KSS roadster, and the aluminum cylinder head of the KSS as well: it was not as successful as the MkIV, being heavier and a little slower. The MkVI that followed was a strictly limited production for selected riders, and the subject of much speculation - read our story here. The KTT MkVII was a brilliant machine with a wholly new all-alloy engine, and a revised frame geometry based on feedback from Stanley Woods. The MkVIII KTT was the ultimate of the KTT line, built from 1938-50, using the world's first swingarm rear suspension with separate shock units, as we see on most motorcycles to this day. The MkVIII was the swansong of the KTT line, and the most successful of all.
2006 All-British Ride
The 150 bikes attending the 13th annual All-British Ride ranged in age from Pete Young's 1914 Premier to brand-new Triumph Rocket 3's. The BSA club has taken over management of this event from Don Danmeier, who previously held the event as his annual 50th birthday party: perhaps the joke became untenable after ten years! Volunteers staffed the sign-up table at our meeting point in downtown Novato. The ride cost $15, which included a back-up vehicle and lunch stop at the ride's end, the Cheese Factory.
The Velocette KTT MkI
Regardless of the value of the Cyclone in the previous post, this is my idea of a truly compelling motorcycle: a Velocette KTT Mk1, built between 1928-1931. A real gem of a motorcycle, a landmark competition machine, and still cheaper than a new Harley-Davidson. Distinguishing features include a 350cc shaft-and-bevel driven OHC motor with ultra-narrow flywheels and lightened crankcases. Chain driven magneto (a square ML item), a 3-speed gearbox with no kickstarter but a strengthening strap connecting the rear of the crankcase with the footrest lug. The fuel and oil fillers are on the left, 'TT style', and the Webb front forks have an extra strengthening strut, and an André steering damper, which is totally unnecessary. The carburetor is an Amac racing item, and the footshift was the first in the industry to have a ratchet return - as seen on every motorcycle today. The KTT could be tuned for 100+mph, and many riders earned Gold Stars at Brooklands with them, running on alcohol.
Spaceman Spiff
Craig took this pic on the 49 Mile Ride; I thought it was pretty funny; the Vintagent on his cell phone. Those crazy Spaceman Spiff goggles were purchased from Allyn Scura out of LA (who shows up at the Vintage Fashion Expos), and has a line of vintage-inspired eyewear, as well as a huge supply of nos sunglasses and frames. I buy far too many from him, but I have a lot of very cool sunglasses!
[Note: Paul is wearing a WW1 leather aviator's jerkin, with wool police jodhpurs, and Italian laceup boots. He's also wearing a vintage Wakmann watch from the 1960s - a real mashup of vintage fashion. He no longer wears Davida pudding basin helmets - they are useless!]
Cyclone - 2006 Legend of the Motorcycle
This week's theme is yellow... actually a pic of one of the most compelling motorcycles ever. This yellow Cyclone (1000cc OHC racer) was displayed at the Legends of the Motorcycle Concours, and was clean enough to eat from. Unfortunately it will never be ridden again, and is basically sculpture at this stage in history. Pound for pound as valuable as a Rodin, and arguably just as beautiful. Comments?
49 Mile Ride 2006, Part 2
49-Mile Ride; Kim Young rode The Mule as her '30 KSS Velo is broken, and she didn't flinch at how filthy the KTT has become, even in her white leather jacket. Lower pic shows some of the variety of machinery; tasty purple/white Knucklehead chop with Kawasaki H3 in the background.
2006 49 Mile Ride, Part 1
49 Mile Ride! Almost 160 bikes arrived at Cafe Trieste this morning, of all varieties. Top photo shows a fellow (sorry no name) who rode a Ural with sidecar, who said his outfit was inspired by his great-grandfather. It's hard to see but he's got pinstripe slacks under chaps - something I've never seen before, which gave him a real old-west air. Lower pic shows James and Kumi on their Royal Enfield and Ariel, as always looking stylish.
2006 49 Mile Ride, Part 4
More pix from the 49 Mile Ride; Jeff Wu on his incredibly oily and scruffy late 1940s-ish BMW - an interesting bike, with an ex-military R75M engine (750cc) in a civilian chassis. As-found! Your scribe on his 1928 Sunbeam TT90, wearing a WW1 pilot's leather jerkin.
49 Mile Ride; James and Kumi
Kumi and James Johnson outside Cafe Trieste in San Francisco. I do believe James is a Sartorialist. The 49 Mile Ride follows a signed tourist route through San Francisco, sort of, and is organized by Pete Young.
Don't Break Down!
This is what REALLY happens at an old motorcycle rally... some unfortunate sod ('Fass Mikey' Vils) has a difficulty with his motorbike, and is anxiously attending his 1915 Harley, while several of his friends stand around and make jokes at his expense, and jibes at his improvised solutions. And he takes it all in stride. Note the doctor's bag on the rack, which was full of tools and spares, which he used! From the Pre-16 Rally, Atascadero, May 2006.
Evel Knievel in San Francisco, 1967
Evel Knievel made one of his trademark jumps on a Triumph in San Francisco's Civic Center, November 23, 1967. He's riding a brand-new and mildly customized 'TT' Bonneville. It's widely thought that Evel only jumped using Harleys, but Triumphs were his bike of choice in the mid-60s; lighter and faster!
The Amazing Zelocette!
A nice pic of Paul Zell and one of his amazing Zellocettes; this one is the MeSS, with around 700cc of raw power, utilizing a special cylinder head/barrel/piston to create shocking stomp on the road. He regularly humbles riders of new machines, and this bike has proved to be fairly reliable, after much experimentation on earlier versions of 'bigger banger' theme. His previous Velocette special, the monstrous 780cc Thruxton (featured in Cycle World), produced amazing power, but was prone to mechanical gremlins. At this point, Paul is reverting to a standard 500cc engine in his Thruxton, as he's tired of chasing the weaknesses in an overstressed engine. But, the MeSS has been going strong for a couple of years now.
2006 Velocette Owners Club Summer Rally
Summer Rally '06, Crater Lake Oregon. Ken Vincent of Perth, Australia, rode my 1933 Velocette MkIV KTT for a day, and my 1960 Venom Clubman the rest of the week. That's the sort of hospitality such clubs offer - when I traveled to Australia I was loaned bikes, and more bikes when those broke! The VOCNA Summer Rally lasts one week, and the ride is a 5-day, 1000-mile adventure in a different location every year. The rally has been held from the mountains above Los Angeles, to the canyonlands of Utah, to Vancouver BC, to Alberta BC, all down the Rockies, and the whole of the West Coast. That's around 35,000 miles of backroads explored, all over the West. If you have an interest in joining, check out the VOCNA here.
Vintage Gear: 2005 Goodwood Revival
Okay, talk about Vintage Gear; this is the Goodwood Revival, England Sept. '05. A huge vintage car/motorcycle/plane weekend at Lord March's estate, with racing all day on his private racecourse, and the car park (pictured) has hundreds of amazing vehicles which on any other day would have BEEN the show. Best aspect of the event; you're expected to wear 'period' (30's - 50's) clothing! So almost everyone does in fact. Peter Miles gave me a ticket on short notice (usually 100 pounds), so I had to scare up an outfit pronto. I found a tiny vintage shop in the village of Louth where I was visiting Rob Drury, and the fellow had a wool tweed suit, detachable-collar shirt, wing-tip shoes, plaid tie, and 'flat hat', all of which fit me, for 100 pounds. The pants were a little tight, but the fellow advised skipping a meal before the event!
The bike is a '38 BMW R51 racer, an example of which has been sitting in boxes in my garage for 19 years!
Brooklands Relived 2005: David Vincent
David Vincent is among the last surviving veteran of racing at Brooklands, which shut down in 1940 to be used as an RAF base. David won a Gold Star for a 100mph lap in a race at Brooklands in 1936, riding a well tuned 1934 Velocette KTT MkIV. He explained how he was inspired to begin racing after his friends grew tired of being blown off by his fast riding, and insisted he take it to the track! He competed on his ride-to-work Velocette KSS in the very first Clubman's race held at Brooklands, netting a lowly position, so he immediately sought out a real racing machine.
