bmct news autumn 2011
DESCRIPTION
Banbury Run reportTRANSCRIPT
Under lowering skies one of the early
competitors (above) gets under way on
the 63rd running of the VMCC‟s Banbury
Run, billed as “the largest gathering of
Veteran and Vintage machines in the
World”. Starting once again from the
extensive grounds of the Heritage Motor
Centre at Gaydon, the event was as usual
well over-subscribed, with the maximum
number of 600 machines taking part. Well
almost, since Sammy Miller, due to start
at number one on his 1920 Wooler, had
been taken ill during the days leading up
to the event and wasn‟t up to the long
journey north from his New Milton base.
Happily he has since made a full recovery. Even
without Sammy there was a fair contingent of
BMCT members in the field, including Peter
Burrows from Stafford on his 1915 269cc Royal
Ruby (below), Chris Oliver from Bartley near
Southampton with his splendid 1927 Zenith V-
twin (above), and Richard Duffin on the unique
680cc Burney that has featured in these pages
previously. One machine eagerly awaited machine
notably absent at Gaydon was the AJS in-line
four, latest restoration to emerge from the
Sammy Miller Museum, which James
Robinson, editor of The Classic Motor
Cycle, was down to ride. Unfortunately the
bike succumbed to trouble in the clutch
department while being tested before the
event and despite the best efforts of the
team it couldn‟t be fixed in time.
Fortunately for us however it will be
available to take pride of place on the
BMCT stand at the NEC Classic Motor-
bike Show in November. For details on how
to obtain discounted tickets and help the
BMCT, see page eight of this newsletter.
2011 BANBURY RUN
BMCT News Newsletter of The British Motorcycle Charitable Trust Autumn 2011
Inside this issue:
Trustees
Peter Wellings (Chairman)
Steve Bagley
Paul Barnes
John Handley
Mike Jackson
Nick Jeffery
John Kidson
Ian Walden OBE
Editor
Andy Bufton
Registered in England
No. 01445196
Registered Charity
No. 509420
www.bmct.org
Banbury Run
Ace Café Coventry
Milestones Parade
Haynes Show
1,000 Bikes
Book review
Norman Vanhouse
Museum News
Bonhams
Salon Privé
Members’ Page
NEC Show
1
2
2
3
4
5
5
5
6
6
7
8
Registered Office and
Administration
Matchless Management
Holly Cottage
Main Street
Bishampton
Pershore
WR10 2NH
This summer, the Rockers
returned as Coventry Transport
Museum and Ace Café London
presented a new exhibition
telling the story of how a
London transport cafe became
an international icon, and how
the café's customers redefined
what it meant to be a teenager
in the 1950s and 60s. Planned
as a transport café for lorry
drivers during the 1930s, the
Ace Café on London's North
Circular Road quickly became a
place where motorbike riders
gathered. In the 1950s the Ace
became the destination for a
new breed of motorcycle riders;
teenagers who met there to
listen to rock 'n' roll, and to
burn up the road doing “the
ton”. They were daring and
dangerous, and their lifestyle
has influenced fashion, music
and motorbikes ever since. For
“Coming of Age at the Ace
Café”, the Ace as it was in the
day is lovingly recreated inside
the Museum, filled with bikes,
clothes and stories from the
1950's and 60's. If you haven‟t
seen it yet, don‟t worry, there‟s
still time to catch this iconic
exhibition inside Coventry
Transport Museum before it
closes on October 2nd.
ACE CAFÉ RECREATED IN COVENTRY
Page 2 BMCT News
BMCT trustees at
the Ace Café
e x h i b i t i o n a t
Coventry Transport
Museum are (l to r)
Steve Bagley, Paul
B a r n e s , P e t e r
W el l in gs , Jo hn
Handley and John
Kidson
In June the Isle of Man celebrated 100
years of the Mountain Course with the
“Milestones of the Mountain” parade
lap. Among a host of star names
BMCT members John Kidson and
Ivan Rhodes were invited to take part
by the organisers who were paying
tribute to the riders and machines who
had left their mark on TT history over
the last century. John (right, at Bray
Hill), mounted on Ivan Rhodes‟ ex
works 495cc „Cammy‟ AJS R10, was
representing Jimmy Simpson who set
the first 50, 60 and 70 mph lap
records around the circuit, and Ivan
himself (left, at Creg-ny-Baa) was
playing the part of Stanley Woods,
winner of 10 TT races between 1923
and 1939. Ivan was mounted on the
same 1937 works 500 Velocette that
Woods himself rode in the TT parade
laps from 1979 to 1983.
MILESTONES OF THE MOUNTAIN TRIBUTE
The Haynes Motor Museum at Sparkford held
their first annual Motorcycle Show at the museum
in August. Timed to coincide with the second
annual Jeff Clew Run which
starts from the museum car
park, the show offered
enthusiasts the chance to
partake of Ducati test rides, a
wheelie machine, drift car and
Dream Car rides and watch a
stunning display of stunt
riding. If that wasn‟t enough
excitement there were also the
thrills and spills of the Wall of
Death to take in as well. Local
groups such as Bikesafe,
RoSPA and the Freewheelers also had stands, and
the BMCT were represented with an exhibition
featuring our 1937 Brough Superior SS80 (above)
which normally resides inside the museum. The
Jeff Clew Run, organised by the Dorset Section of
the VMCC in memory of the well-known rider,
writer and motorcycle
historian, attracted an entry
of 82 machines, whose riders
tackled either a thirty or
seventy mile route, starting in
the car park at 11 am and
ending up back at the
museum for well-earned rest
and refreshments in the
afternoon. Our photo above
shows riders assembling and
preparing for the start of the
Run, which thankfully took
place under (mostly) clear and sunny skies. On
the BMCT stand we were pleased to meet many
of our members and enrol some new ones too.
HAYNES MOTORCYCLE SHOW INCORPORATING
THE 2011 VMCC JEFF CLEW RUN
Autumn 2011
Other
attractions at
Sparkford
included a
‘Drift Car’
demonstration
(below)
Page 3
Among the entries on the Jeff Clew Run were these nice BSA V-twins (a Model G side valve and an ohv Y13) and this lovely Cotton-Blackburne
FESTIVAL OF 1,000 BIKES IN PICTURES
Page 4 BMCT News
The 2011 VMCC Festival of 1,000 Bikes at Mallory Park was another great success for the club with
huge crowds attending over the weekend. These photos show just a sample of what was on offer.
Graham Rhodes gives a good workout to the fabulous supercharged 1939 Velocette “Roarer” 500 twin
Ariel 3 out-dragging Triumph from the hairpin…? Harley top end, BSA bottom. Weird.
Our stand in the Avenue of Clubs was busy as usual A nice New Hudson V-twin on a club stand
Getting down to it on a Coventry Eagle
Superbly engineered four cylinder 500cc Ariel Arrow
An enthusiastically ridden Arrow rounds the hairpin
Amongst the moderns was this new Norton Commando
Dave McMahon (Rudge)
Rare 1937 Carlton-Villiers
REVIEW
MUSEUM NEWS
Autumn 2011 Page 5
HAYNES INTERNATIONAL MOTOR MUSEUM have announced a
major new £3.4 million museum redevelopment project (see below)
which will start in September 2011. The entire museum frontage will
be replaced with new entrance, gift shop and restaurant as well as
more exhibition space and improved visitor facilities. The museum
will be open throughout the build and everything possible will be done
to keep the disruption to a minimum however some minor disruption
is envisaged. Haynes advise visitors to contact them on 01963 440804
if they have any major concerns about which facilities and displays
will be available during their visit.
Shire Library have recently published a companion
volume to Mick Walker‟s “British Motorcycles of the
1940s and „50s” which came out last year. The new
volume picks up where the last one left off, and
covers the boom years of the early sixties through the
decline and fall of the British motorcycle industry in
the nineteen seventies. Both volumes are in 64 page
softback A5 format, and are clearly not intended as
major reference works, but are instead very readable
accounts of what was happening in the industry
during those periods. The later volume covers the
Café Racer culture, the rise of the Japanese factories,
the dawn of the superbike and the importance to
British manufacturers of the American market. There
are suggestions for further reading for those who want
to delve into the subject in greater depth.
Both volumes available now at £6.99 each from Shire
Publications, West Way, Botley, Oxford OX2 0PH
The late Norman Vanhouse was laid to rest on 2nd June 2011 at
Robin Hood Crematorium, Shirley, Birmingham.
Born in 1916, Norman spent 35 years in motor cycle competitions
and experimental departments before joining BSA in 1952 as a
sales representative. Throughout his life, Norman was a significant
competitor in motorcycle sporting events winning over 150 awards,
notably for hill climbs and trials. But perhaps his greatest claim to
fame was being part of the 1952 International Six Days Trial team
that won both the Team Award and captured the coveted Maudes
Trophy. Riding 4500 miles from Birmingham to Vienna, then
through Germany, Denmark, Sweden and Norway, the 500cc BSA
A7 team -which included Brian Martin and Fred Rist - put on a
faultless performance and returned safely to Birmingham, thereby
securing the Val Page, Herbert Perkins and David Munro-designed
parallel twins' reputation as a competent, reliable, all-weather
tourer.
Norman, who had seen active service with the British Army riding
(notably) BSA M20s, later published a book entitled “BSA
Competition History”, a down-to-earth, amusing and highly
insightful book that's still available today. - from “Sump” August 2011
NORMAN VANHOUSE
Norman Vanhouse (far right) with Brian
Martin, Fred Rist and the Maudes Trophy
One of the Maudes Trophy twins is in the
National Motorcycle Museum
“British Motorcycles of the
1960s and 70s” by Mick Walker
This barn-find 1955 BSA 500cc
Gold Star is just one of the lots
due to be offered at Bonhams
auction at the Carole Nash
Classic Mechanics show at
Stafford this autumn. Estimate
is £3,000 - £4,000.
Also on offer will be the bike
that was once purported to be
“the fastest privately owned
motorcycle in the World
suitable for road use”, the 1929
Brough Superior SS100 „Moby
Dick‟. Tested by a magazine in
1931 it achieved a top speed of
106 mph, remarkable in an age
when few vehicles of any kind
could reach three figure speeds.
Further tuning to the 1142cc
JAP motor increased the
maximum to 115 mph, with 109
available in second gear of the
three-speed „box. Bonhams pre-
sale estimate is £240,000 to
£250,000.
Also on offer is Phil Pike‟s
1926 Maudes Trophy-winning
588cc ohv Norton (est. £28,000-
£30,000) which helped the
Birmingham factory to win the
prestigious award for the fourth
consecutive year.
The sale is on 16th October.
the Duke and Duchess of
Northumberland. Spectators
stopped in their tracks when
Sam fired up the mighty super-
charged V4 to ride onto the red
carpet where the panel of judges
waited give their opinion on the
Sammy Miller‟s wonderful
1939 AJS V4 took the top prize
at Salon Privé, the summer‟s
most exclusive Concours d‟
Elegance competition held on
the lawns of Syon House, the
West London stately home of
magnificent array of cars and
bikes. Behind Sammy in the
photo above is another example
of AJS ingenuity, the E95
Porcupine, being shown before
its shipment to California where
it later failed to sell at auction.
BONHAMS TO SELL BARN FIND GOLD STAR
SAMMY’S V4 TAKES SALON PRIVE HONOURS
Page 6 BMCT News
More from the Salon
Privé Concours at Syon
Park in July
„Moby Dick‟
Autumn 2011 Page 7 MEMBERS’ PAGE
NEW MEMBERS
We welcome the following new members
and supporters of our cause:
Harry Payne, Ickenham Judith Coote, Warwick Malcolm Griffin, Warwick Robert Shaw, Newbury Charlie Laver, Ascot Alastair Brown, Bexhill-on-Sea P F Chessun, Ascot David Gatehouse, Salisbury Peter Godfrey, Banbridge N.I. Leonard Maskell, Beckenham Steven Morrey, Solihull Jan Barber, Staines Michael Stenson, Higham Ferrers Andrew Holmes, London David Phillips, Blandford St Mary Eileen Phillips, Blandford St Mary Glenville Phillips, Blandford St Mary Tony Crabtree, Daventry Chris Poole, Leigh Sinton Norman Holden, Bisley Mrs D M Holden, Bisley Clive Osman, Beeston Heather Taylor, Bournemouth Jack Phillips, Marlow Geoff Howarth, Bishopsteignton Alan Wrigley, Sutton Scotney Chris Mayes, Lingfield R Broadhurst, Macclesfield Steven Wood, Yeovil Matthew Ridings, Bournemouth Raymond Leggett, Littlehampton Andrew Dovey, Weybridge David Leach, Bournemouth R D Lobb, Bournemouth Mike Kuszyk, Colchester Len Tomkins, Lymington John Bruford, Weymouth Maurice Barnes, Holbury
NEC CLASSIC SHOW TICKETS - SPECIAL OFFER FOR MEMBERS Tickets are now on sale for this year‟s Classic Motorbike Show at Birmingham‟s National Exhibition Centre. Run once again in conjunction with the Classic Motor Show, the event dates are 11, 12 and 13 November. See page 8 for details of how ordering your tickets in advance can help you and benefit the BMCT.
The 1956 BSA C12 above is owned by member
no. A439, J M Atkinson from West Canford
Heath, near Poole. Remarkably the bike has had
only one other owner since new and until recently
had been off the road for some 25 years. A retired
carpenter, Mr. Atkinson now has his sights set on
obtaining a 1947 Matchless of the type he rode in
the nineteen fifties and which never let him down.
John Walters (A193) sends this photo of his 1960
BSA A10 Super Rocket which has a very interest-
ing early history. The bike was first registered to
BSA at Armoury Road, and was owned by them
for just over a year before being sold on. The
original buff log book is in John‟s possession and
shows that this particular A10 was built using an
A7 frame, and other cycle parts that were to be
used in a later model to emerge from the factory -
the Rocket Gold Star. The gearbox is an RRT2,
the front and rear brakes are Gold Star items, and
when John stripped the engine he found that the
internals had been highly polished, all of which
points to this bike being an early RGS prototype,
built following the suggestion by Eddie Dow to
the BSA factory in 1959 that such a model would
be a good seller. John is keen to find out more
about this bike - reg. number 797 BOF. Anyone
with information can contact him through Andy
Bufton at the BMCT office address.
IS THIS A FACTORY EXPERIMENTAL BSA ?
Edited and published by Matchless Management Services, Holly Cottage, Bishampton, Pershore, WR10 2NH