Friday Bike

Above is a nicely up dated Bimota KB1, fitted with an early type Kawasaki Z1000 motor, below is how it would have looked when new.

Just a Photo

Kempton Park

The Redmax Norton


Kev from Backstreet Thunder has been out and about with his camers again, this time at Kempton Park, click on title to take you to his site and a link to his photos

Friday Bike

This bike popped up a few years ago, a nicely modified Kawasaki W650 to look a bit like the old Kawasaki W2TT/ 650TT. I don't know whos project it was, anyone know the builder?

Brough Superior

Would one wish to buy a new Brough Superior, although not at the price in the above advert, well you can order one from the company, click on title for link to the Brough Superior site.



Jay returns to the motorcycle paddock for another visit with Mark Upham of Brough Superior. This year, Mark brings four motorcycles, two originals and two replicas, including the infamous George V, which T.E. Lawrence raced against an airplane.

Just a Photo

Moto Guzzi Le Mans with Alloy bodywork

National Motorcycle Museum

In April last year I had a trip down to the NMM. The VMCC AGM was on that day, so while they were at the meeting I had a wonder round the Museum. Click title for a slide show of some of the pics from that day.

MZ GT250 "werks" model

GT250 "werks" model made in 1980

While looking for a Friday Bike I came across the Vintage Enduro site, link in the title. There are loads of old ISDT bikes for you to drool over and a fair bit of info.

The MZ in the above pic really caught my eye, it shows they were up there with the rest of the European manufacturers in the 80s with their competition bikes.

You'll see the GT250 a few times in the Vid below

Friday Bike

The MZ ETS 250 G5 was produced in small numbers from 1972 to 1976 to be export to the USA and UK. The G5 is very similar to the 1968 factory bike. The fork springs are external and the frame is derivated from the road bikes. The engine has more power than the regular ETS and a 5 speeds gear box (instead of 4).

Old Advert

Moto Melee 2011

There seems to an increasing amount of events around the World that I've never heard of, so now and again I'll post a bit about the ones I think are interesting.
Belows a bit on the history of the event that I copied from their site, link in the title. its worth looking around in the photo section

So what exactly is this "Moto Melee?"

"Well, it's three-days & ~850 miles of back-roads adventure for pre-1971 motorcycles with a START/FINISH in San Francisco. Established in 1998 by enthusiasts Jeff Guzaitis and Harley Welch, the Moto Melee was the natural progression from their wildly successful California Melee classic sports car rally.

On the Melee you'll get the opportunity to dodge suicidal squirrels, splash through stagnant water, stay at a seedy motel, possibly run out of gas and maybe... just maybe win a recycled trophy and the sweet taste of Melee fame.

What's that you say? You ride your old bike but are ashamed of its shabby appearance. Maybe it has 3 different shades of primer, or pipes that are made out of old coffee cans? Hey... we understand, a lot of us ride those too. We welcome everything from the pedigreed to the proletariat, a wide diversity of machinery is represented at the Moto Melee. So dust off that Indian bobber, put new tires on that Heinkel scooter or slap a Yamaha tank on that Zundapp, what ever it takes to have your machine ready for the ride. Just be there, because the Moto Melee is only ONCE a year, and if you miss it you have 362 days of waiting until we ride again!

Stop being a spectator... saddle up and BE THERE. The only requirements are a good attitude and of course any pre-1971 motorbike. Entry is limited and priority is always given to early entries and unusual bikes. So contact us and together we'll RIDE!"

Fleet Lions

Just seen Kevs latest post on his Blog, Backstreet Thunder, about his day out on the Fleet Lions Charity Run. He has posted a link to photos he took on the day, well worth a look at! Click title as usual for link.

Old Adverts

VINTAGE REVIVAL MONTLHERY

I was just looking at some blogs I follow and noticed on the excellent Vintagent site (click on title) there is the start of a report on this years event, which is taking place now (May 7-8) at the famous Linas-Montlhéry circuit. "On the track will be 250 pre-1940 vehicles (sports and racing cars and motorcycles, cyclecars and three-wheelers), while in a vintage car and bike park there will be a similar number of pre-1940 vehicles on display. Come and join us for a trip into history, whether on the circuit, in the vintage park or simply as a spectator."

A bit about the background of the event from the offical site.

"The circuit and its surroundings are an outstanding monument to French motor sport. The "Vintage Revival" Association was created by Vincent Chamon (a vintage enthusiast) and Laurent Poulain (a lover of the circuit) who had realised with sadness that the calendar of events at Montlhéry did not include anything which was purely pre-war. 2011 was selected for the initial event in agreement with our Honorary President, Mrs Jacqueline Potherat, being ten years after the death of her husband, who was such a friend to us all. The "Vintage Revival" Association will bring together enthusiasts and clubs with their cars for a private weekend, embracing vintage runs on the circuit, period clothing and even demonstrations on the track by vintage bicycles behind pacemaker motorcycles."

http://www.vintage-revival.fr/index.php5?page=accueil&lang=en

Friday Bike

I remember reading about this bike back in the 80s. It has two cylinders sliced off a Rolls Royce Merlin V12 piston aero engine of 27-litre, which makes the twin nearly 5litres.
This engine was built in 1982 by Australian engineer Lucky Keizer.
If you click on the title there is an article from The Kneeslider about the engine

Old Adverts

No words needed!

Little Honda

It looks so good I just had to post the pic. A lot of effort and time went into building this bike, click on title for the story

Just a Photo

Posted for no other reason than I like the look of this bike :-)

Friday Bike

This follows on from a post from a while back, "nice bike, but what is it?" Which turned out to be a Kawasaki Z400 in 60s off road style. Well here's another of Japan's small twins, a Yamaha XS400 in a similar style. Nicely done, even has Triumph/ BSA conical hub wheels for "that" look.