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MONTLHERY VINCENT: 100MPH FOR 6 HOURS

March 11, 2013, 2:21 pm
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Coming to the Bonhams Stafford auction April 28th; the Montlhéry Vincent Black Shadow
The Montlhéry race circuit, just 15.5 miles south of Paris, holds a place much like Brooklands in England in the hearts of European speed-fans, but the track isn't a fractured memory from pre WW2, its a living thing in continuous usage since constructed in 1924.  Today the track is regularly pounded by automotive companies, being engineered to withstand 5,000lb racing cars traveling at 150mph - a far-sighted vision for 1920s engineers.  But then, French engineers of the early 20th Century were exactly that, out on the exploratory limbs of technology, making double overhead camshaft four-valve multi-cylinder motorcycles even in the 'Teens.  What Montlhéry became best known for, though, was long-distance record-breaking; while nearby Arpajon was an excellent spot for Land Speed Record attempts in the 1920s and 30s, Montlhéry was a perfect venue to circulate for hours around its steeply banked oval, being relatively smooth (well, smoother than Brooklands...) and amenable to 24-hour full-bore, unsilenced riding.
The most visible modification from 'standard' spec is the large capacity racing fuel tank.  The Shadow is a matching #s machine with History...
On May 13 1952, a pair of mildly modified 1,000cc Vincent Black Shadows arrived in Paris to attempt a new 24-hour speed record, with a slew of Vincent factory employees (including 18 year old apprentice John Surtees), a few pressmen, plus a French team contingent of riders, the record-attempt team manager, and timing officials from the FIM.  One of the machines was a 'test hack' which circulated for hours during testing, on which modifications were made for an average/acceptable riding position for the 11 riders participating; Phil Heath, John Surtees, Robin Sherry (AMC factory racer), Cyril Julian (TT rider), Vic Willoughby (infamous writer for The Motor Cycle), Dennis Lashmar,  and Danny Thomas, plus four French riders; Ken Bills was team manager.  All the riders save Danny Thomas were able to keep up the 100mph pace, so he was relieved of duty.
The Montlhéry Vincent Black Shadow in 1952, at the track
 Paul Richardson, the Vincent-HRD Service Manager, described the record-breaker thus:
"The record breaking machine is a standard Black Shadow with 8:1 compression as supplied to the American market. ... We used 1-5/32" T.T. Annals in conjunction with two inch open pipes, the fuel being non-leaded 80 octane... Lightning cams... We removed our front brakes and rear flap, fixed rearward foot rests were fitted... special five Gallon petrol tank and a Feridax perspex flyscreen. Modified handlebars gave a very flat riding position and riders lay on a Sorbo 'mattress' fastened to the tank top...Avon...Standard 300 x 20 front racing and 3.50 x 19 rear racing tyres..."  His complete (and delightful) account of the attempt can be found here on the VOC site.

Ted Davis, the Vincent competition manager, originally built the Montlhéry racers with a caged big-end bearing, an improvement over the standard crowded-roller item, but Philip Vincent insisted the standard item was good enough, and ordered them changed back to standard, 'to demonstrate the reliability of the standard Black Shadow', which of course it did, but not with the intended outcome!  It didn't help that France was having its hottest May on record - so hot that the Avon rear tires on the pair of Black Lightnings (brought over for high-speed records) shed their treads at high speed, and the Castrol XL oil was described by Davis (read here) as 'dirty hot black water' when drained from the engines.  


After ten hours forty minutes, the standard big-end of the Vincent crankshaft failed, and a deafening silence rang in the speed bowl; the team ran to the far side of the track (a mile!), and waited 20 minutes to push the bike over the 'line' to take the 11hour record.  While a Vincent never took the 24hr/100mph record (it took a Velocette for that one), the Vincent team still took and impressive eight World Records, including the six-hour record at 100.53mph and 1,000km at 100.67mph, and 10 hours at 99.17mph.   Other records were 7 hrs @ 99.73mph, 8 hrs @ 99.73mph, 9 hrs @ 99.40mph, 10 hrs @ 99.17mph, 11 hours @ 91.98mph, and 1,000 miles @ 99.20mph.

I mentioned above that TWO Black Shadows were taken to Montlhéry...one a 'test mule' and the other used in the attempt; both were tuned and prepared for the attempt, and both machines survive.  One is coming up for sale at the Bonhams Stafford sale on April 28th.  Apparently there is no record of 'which bike was which', but both can rightly claim to be part of the attempt at Montlhéry...
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THE 'ALMA FOUR'

March 14, 2013, 3:42 pm
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Story by Kim Scholer; Photographs by Jeppe Sorensen
Looking perfectly 'period', the Alma Four is a credit to its creator, Mads Bartholin
The original Indian Four is a design icon, in its time among the most elegant motorcycles to grace the roads. Many attempts have been made to build a 'modern' copy, often using water-cooled car engines, but stylistically they're failures.  Except one, which lives an ocean away from where the Indian, ACE and Henderson Fours were brought to life. Mads Bartholin always wanted an Indian Four, but like most of us, he couldn't afford one. Well-kept Fours go for about US$50-80K, and restoring a bad one will likely cost the same. ACE and Henderson Fours were just as out of reach, and acquiring something slightly less glamorous, like an Indian Scout, was not an option; Mads was firmly in the 'straight four' phase of his life.

An original ca.1928 Indian Four...
Mads had already built one such four; a Danish Nimbus, which he rebuilt with an Indian Four style exhaust system, 16” rear wheel, Harley-Davidson solo seat, and a wide handlebar, and ridden it as far as to North Africa a few times. But much as he liked the Nimbus, he found its 22 bhp engine too weak. Realizing the futility of tuning the stock 750 cc engine, he decided to replace it with a 1000cc straight four from an NSU car. "The NSU engine is air cooled, inexpensive, looks kind of right and there are loads of them around”, claims Mads. The fast, brutal looking Münch Mammoth used just such an NSU Prinz TTS engine, with five times the power of the Nimbus.  In 1997, he made moulds for a new Nimbus flywheel/clutch assembly housing to adapt to the NSU motor, plus a new sump to resemble the angular Nimbus original. A local foundry took care of this for a pittance, and after a few tries it looked right. Mads had suspected the car engine would be a bit on the large side for a Nimbus frame, which turned out to be the case. "It would fit – barely – but there simply wasn't any room for the gearbox or the gas tank", he notes, "so it was back to the drawing board".
First it ran with an Amal carburettor, then with a leaky updraft Tillotson, and finally with this updraft Solex. Gearshift mechanism is from a Nimbus motorcycle, the generator from a VW.
The project was redirected with the goal of creating a 1920s-style American Four. Many evenings and hours were spent at the basement workshop, where Mads would sit, beer in hand, carefully studying various 1:1 scale drawings hung up on the wall. Finally a version reminiscent of a 1928 Indian was decided upon. These first Indian Fours lack the comfort of rear suspension, and the elegance Art Deco fenders of the later Fours, and the upper frame backbone runs across the fuel tanks. The hybrid machine would be a couple of inches longer than its spiritual forefathers, because of the NSU's separate, longitudally mounted gearbox. Maintaining momentum on this project wasn't easy, mainly because Mads, while studying Industrial Design at The Royal Academy of Fine Arts, was perennially broke as a student. "Getting married and having two kids took its toll, too," says Mads, "although thankfully my wife – bless her - has given this project her full support all along the way". On the other hand, with only partial employment, and an uncanny ability to trade favors with people 'in the know', he was able to move forward. Slowly, the sorry remains of an Indian frame, as well as a good number of repro parts, were acquired. Like the frame lugs, both fenders, the solo seat, a complete leaf spring front end and the throttle assembly. Initially a BMW or Moto-Guzzi gearbox was considered, but Mads soon realized that because the NSU's engine rotation would give a lot of reverse gears!  Eventually, a Nimbus gearbox with a new Swedish-built four speed gear cluster arrived at the workshop, along with its shaft drive and rear hub assembly. Somewhere on this journey the motorcycle acquired the name 'The Alma Four, 'Alma' being Latin for 'a particularly beautiful soul' [ah...hence Alma Mahler's legendary magnetism...pd'o].
The Alma Four is of necessity longer than the original Indian 4, to accomodate the longer engine, plus the gearbox and final driveshaft housing
Old brochures and factory photographs usually show the Indian Four from the right hand side, where the elegant exhaust system makes the bike look fast even while parked. In contrast, the left side of Indian Four engines were a mess, cluttered up with the carburettor, the magneto and the dynamo. Paying homage to the original, this is the case with the Alma Four too, even if the distributor hides tidily at the back of the camshaft cover. The updraft Solex carburettor, more commonly found on Ferguson tractors or 1930s Citroën Traction Avants, is mated to a modified NSU intake manifold, and a belt drive spins a Bosch VW generator. In 2002, the engine came together, while a stainless steel four-into-one reverse cone exhaust system was built, mounted on shortened exhaust stacks. At the same time an aqcuaintance rebuilt the frame to match the one-off engine and shaft drive rear end. Many other members of the world-wide Indian motorcycle fraternity had been watching the Alma Four project from the sidelines, helping whenever possible and enthusiasticly cheering Mads on. One of them even flew in from the Fiji Islands to have a look. 
An 'old school' conversion; a Nimbus shaft-drive engine installed in an Indian 4 chassis, some time ago...
Once back from the welder, the frame was placed on the workbench and the engine dropped in. The twin fuel tanks had to be designed and built from scratch, because the ohc NSU engine was much taller than an original engine from Springfield. This was a bit of a problem, as Mads wanted to keep the bike low.  Like the flywheel housing and engine sump, the fuel tanks were cast in aluminum. On the outside they appear stock, but underneath they're shaped to accommodate the large camchain housing, the overhead camshaft, and the valve covers. Plenty of work remained, of course; knurling the fuel caps, welding a bracket for the stock headlamp to resemble a cast item, even grinding the fender bolt heads to half their height were some of the dozens of jobs neccessary to make it all just right. The Indian designers back in the 1920s were damn good and Mads, now officially an industrial designer, was determined do at least as well.
Twin cast-aluminum fuel tanks are hollowed out to accomodate the tall overhead camshaft engine, and the protruding valve covers
In 2006, the Alma Four was finished; "The engine starts first kick, pulls strong, and the bike is steady like any other old 1920s large hardtail, at least up to the 100 mph I've taken it so far", according to Mads. Stopping the quarter-ton behemoth from high speed is a different matter, as the performance of the old Nimbus and Indian brake drums is limited. This NSU engine makes 40 bhp in its stock configuration, while the 1200cc version in the Münch Mammoth made more than 100bhp, and the final 1300cc NSU rally car versions made upwards of 300bhp, with oil-cooled cylinder heads and a turbocharger. "The engine is overengineered and the Alma Four weighs about one-quarter of the car it came from, so reliability is not an issue. Should something undesirable happen to it anyway, it's a fair guess that NSU parts will be cheaper than those for an Indian,” says Mads. "The front end is a repro Scout item, but a Chief version would have looked better, and a real paint job would have been nice too". But these are minor niggles. Unsurprisingly, even vintage bike purists give it a nod of approval, recognizing that no Indian parts were harmed to make this motorcycle. Was it worth spending all those hours building his Four, instead of working the same hours at a regular job, and simply buying an original Indian Four? "Definitely, if not for its value - which probably is on par with a 70-80 year old four anyway - then certainly for being able to ride a unique and comparatively much more reliable motorcycle”. The experience gained by designing and building a motorcycle almost from scratch, is priceless.  It will come in handy for the ohv Super X hillclimber now on his workbench...
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DRAPING KATE IN MATCHLESS ATTIRE

March 15, 2013, 9:18 am
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From WWD (Women's Wear Daily), possibly the best source of revamped motorcycle brand information on the planet!  Remember that Kate Moss was among the first models hired by the Malenottis to launch their Belstaff brand.


"MATCHLESS MAKER: Matchless, one of Britain’s oldest motorcycle brands, is set to launch men’s and women’s outerwear collections in June — and the face of its fall/winter ad campaign is Kate Moss. Terry Richardson shot the black-and-white campaign at MC Motors, a former warehouse in London’s Hackney. Moss is pictured on a Matchless motorbike along with fellow model Andre Van Noord. The ads will break in June issues of “top-tier” titles, according to the company, which is still finalizing its media plans.
Kate Moss posing on a Matchless G9 twin, in a Matchless-brand jacket, with superstar photographer Terry Richardson.  Photo by Courtesy
“We are delighted to be working with Kate Moss on this first Matchless advertising campaign of this new era of the brand,” said Michele Malenotti, a member of the Matchless board, and the company’s marketing and business expansion director.“The campaign reflects the heritage of the brand, which we are excited about sharing with Matchless enthusiasts and consumers alike.”
Kate Moss for Belstaff.  I don't think Kate rides, but she ought to!
The brand makes leather and washed cotton jackets both for motorcycle enthusiasts, and for those who get their thrills looking hip on city streets. Prices range from 900 pounds to 1,300 pounds, or $1,340 to $1,940, for leather jackets, and from 600 pounds to 900 pounds, or $890 to $1,340, for washed cotton ones. All figures have been converted at current exchange. WWD reported in February [as did The Vintagent - read it here] that brothers Manuele and Michele Malenotti, the former owners of Belstaff, have taken control of Matchless. The passion for bikes runs in the family, as their father Franco Malenotti, founder of the family business Clothing Company, is an avid motorcycle fan. In 2011, Labelux Group bought Belstaff, known for its waxed cotton biker gear, and has been relaunching and expanding the brand globally.
In the current wave of celeb moto-gear, we present the revamped Velocette clothing line...just kidding!  Nice Venom; Ewan MacGregor for Salvatore Ferragamo; Ewan has a tasty collection of vintage motorcycles.  Will he be photographed wearing Matchless soon?  
Henry Collier, a design-engineer, entrepreneur, and winning rider, and his brothers founded Matchless Motorcycles in 1899.

 - story by Samantha Conti"
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THE BLUE BIKE

March 28, 2013, 9:45 am
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Marty Dickerson on his Rapide in 1953 at the Bonneville Salt Flats
In 1948, an eighteen year old walked into ‘Mickey’ Martin’s Burbank Vincent-HRD dealership, putting a cash deposit on the $1120 sale price of a new ‘Series B’ Touring Rapide, starting a payment plan on what was then the most expensive motorcycle in the world.  The inspiration for his trip to Martin’s LA emporium were the boasts of a Vincent-owning Scotsman who spoke of leaving ‘long black streaks’ on the highway while passing cars, in third gear and 70mph no less. Readers of the late 40s motorcycle press were familiar with Vincent-HRD ads touting impossible speeds, right beside ads for x-ray glasses and miracle bodybuilding powders.  Very few Americans had actually seen a Vincent, even less had ridden one to test the claims.

Marty Dickerson, the youth in question, thought the Rapide was ugly, but he “wanted that power, wanted that speed”.  He was not disappointed with his purchase, and quickly came to understand he now owned the fastest motorcycle on the planet, and soon, as young men will do, set about proving that fact to SoCal motorcyclists who believed they had the fastest bikes.  Harley Davidson had been around since the early part of the Century, as had rival Indian, and their American devotees used the collected wisdom of decades of engine-tuning to make some pretty hot bikes by the 1940s, the toughest and fastest of which tended to be ‘strokers’ with huge motors of over 100 cubic inches displacement (1600cc).  Dickerson and his Vincent aroused the curiosity and pride of LA’s fastest street-racers, who formed an increasingly short line to challenge him to a ‘drag’.  No matter the fame of the engine builder or skill of his rival at fast getaways, it was always Marty’s Rapide which first crossed whatever waved-sweater or crossed headlamp finish line was laid, out there on the lonely roads appropriate for such contests.

There were other ways to test speed, and the SCTA (Southern California Timing Association) provided timed evidence to bolster a reputation gained on the streets.  At Muroc Dry Lake that year, Marty squeezed 118mph from his Rapide, while his buddy ‘Tex’ Luce, a Vincent mechanic fated to make his own mark on the racing world, found just a bit more, and recorded 122.04mph on the bone-stock machine, with all lights, mudguards, and mufflers intact and present. Motorcyclists are a stubborn and loyal bunch, and the evidence of a new ‘fastest’ motorcycle didn’t translate into immediate sales.  In truth, Vincent-HRD sales were dismal in California, and by June 1949, ‘Mickey’ Martin had 20 unsold Vincents languishing on his showroom floor.  Knowing of Dickerson’s antics in back-road street racing, and more importantly his success at the game, Martin hatched a plan to send young Marty on a ‘tour’ of the southwest quadrant of the US, to raise awareness of the Vincent-HRD marque in the best way – nudge, wink – he knew how.  Martin offered to cover all travel expenses, and take over the Rapide’s loan payments, and soon Marty Dickerson had the best possible job in the world for a 19 year old, being paid to street race all comers in small towns across America, astride the fastest production motorcycle built.
The Rapide becoming 'Californized', with a bobbed rear fender, trumpet exhaust, cowhorn 'bars...
For one month in that summer of ’49, Marty Dickerson had the ‘drag racing adventure of a lifetime’, covering 5000 miles through Phoenix, Dallas, Tulsa, Ft.Worth, Tyler, Kansas City, and smaller towns in Colorado and Utah.  He raced the fastest motorcycles And cars the locals could muster, sometimes legendary monsters which had never been bested.  There were close calls, such as when he didn’t have time to change a fouled spark plug before a race, and the Vincent spluttered on one-and-a-half cylinders while his rival rocketed ahead.  Quick thinking and a ‘poor man’s tuneup’ (downshifting from 3rd to 2nd at high revs to blast the plugs clean) cleared the cough and saw Marty take the lead once again. There were other times when ‘sore losers’, with much time and reputation invested in their Harleys or Hotrods, made a hasty exit the prudent choice for young Mr. Dickerson.  It must have been infuriating when some short, big-nosed kid on a strange motorbike (‘Harley R Davidson?’) kept pace with the Knucklehead you’d spent months tuning for speed, until your throttle was hard on the stop while you crouched low over the tank…only to watch ‘that kid’ shift into 4th gear, and leave you eating his dust.

The Vincent had its problems in that hard month of racing, requiring the total replacement of a clutch cable and a few engine shock absorber springs, which weren’t expecting such abuse. 
Dickerson’s exploits were legend, and rumors spread like pond ripples from a cherry bomb about ‘a kid’ with a really fast Vincent, kicking butt all over the Southwest.  He came and went through towns so fast nobody remembered it was ‘Marty Dickerson’ riding, he was the Street Racer with No Name, but tales of his exploits reverberate to this day, and form the actual backbone of the Vincent story in America.

On his undefeated return to LA, Dickerson was employed at Martin’s Vincent emporium as a mechanic, joining ‘Tex’ Luce and another fellow with a history of street racing and record-breaking; Rollie Free. In 1950, Free and his pal Marty took a newly delivered Vincent Black Lightning to the Bonneville Salt Flats, and set about taking records in Class ‘A’ racing, in which special fuels were used. Rollie Free raised his infamous ‘bathing suit’ record (taken at 150mph, in 1948), making his Vincent again the fastest standard motorcycle in the world, averaging over 156mph. 

The salt bug bit Marty deep, and he decided to modify his trusty Rapide for higher speeds, choosing Class ‘C’ (pump gas) to avoid direct competition with his pal Rollie.  The Rapides’ transformation from ‘daily rider’ to ‘salt flat racer’ was completed with Lightning parts from the Vincent factory, and a change of color scheme: she was now the ‘Blue Bike’.   A new set of crankcases was required after 3 years of drag racing, and the Blue Bike gained engine cases marked ‘301’.  Two years of development were required before things really came together for this machine; larger carbs and hotter cams gave a new Class ‘C’ record in 1953, averaging 147.58mph, with a fastest timed speed of 150.959mph, on pump gas, with Marty sitting on the seat (not stretched out as Rollie did), and a class-mandated 8:1 compression ratio.  The Blue Bike was massaged, but all the parts were Vincent items, and the bike wasn’t so high strung that it couldn’t be ridden on the street.  That 150mph record stood for over twenty years!  It took a change of rules (allowing higher than 82 Octane fuel), and a hot Yoshimura Kawasaki, to break it.

Over the years,  Marty continued to develop the Blue Bike, returning to Bonneville in 1976, ’80, ’86, ’96, and finally, at 67 years old for the man and 49 years the machine, in 1997.   His later years competing at Bonneville were less dramatically successful than those early days, but had the important function of cementing Dickerson’s reputation among younger riders and new generations of racing enthusiasts, amazed at his stories and respectful of the legends around Marty and his Rapide.  All of which happen to be true.

The number of motorcycles worldwide which have endured serious competition for 50 years can be counted on one hand.  Within this very special group, machines which have taken world records at Bonneville, and cemented the reputation of an entire brand in recognizably stock form, can be counted on one finger.  The Blue Bike is unique.

If you want to see it in person, the Blue Bike is on display at Altai Design in Los Angeles.
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BACK TO WORKWEAR

March 31, 2013, 9:27 pm
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A recent Double RL 'popup shop' in Bushwick Inlet Park, Brooklyn NY
A recent move to NYC brought the welcome impression that America has gone back to Work!  Especially in the former epicenters of industrial labor like Brooklyn and Portland, places where men and women would gather to make Things, in riverside industrial hubs renowned the world over for their products, gritty realism, and pollution - all signs that production is really Happening.  So it appears on the streets of Williamsburg, where bearded, denim-clad young men pound the pavement looking like extras from 'The Gangs of New York'.  I haven't seen this much dress code uniformity since the 1970s in San Francisco, with packs of 'Castro clones' roaming the streets in...jeans and flannel! (But highly tailored). Now we are 'worker clones', in which irony compounds on irony - Labor is dead, or at least, we're not doing any, we all just look like factory workers, lumberjacks, and tradesmen, while we click away on keyboards. 

A recent photo-op at Lumberjack Fetishists Anonymous
Real industry moved to China and the Third World, which are busy despoiling the landscape, a sure sign that actual Workers are hard at Work.  Since Chinese Communism has switched to state-controlled Libertarian Capitalism (is that even POSSIBLE?), Chinese workers have shed their 'Mao' uniforms of drab green... but have they discovered Workwear?  Is DoubleRL supplying the multitudes with authentic garb appropriate to an actual life of Labor?  I don't know, but they should.  Mao jackets were chic in US in the 70s, perhaps we can sell Chinese laborers distressed denim and flannel, which is actually made in China!  That would be a coup.
Tattooed pigs pulled from the Huangpu River, downstream from the Tattoo Academy of Jiaxing.  Pigs are used for practice by students, their skin being similar to humans'.  At the end of each school year, thousands are simply dumped into the river, upsetting Shanghai residents downstream.  'Hipster Pig Soup' is how Shanghaians refer to the river at these times.
While we're talking China, did you know that all 15,000 of those pigs floating in Haungpu River were TATTOOED!?!  It seems the Chinese are intent on winning the 'culture wars' as well as the dominating the global economy, and a massive tattoo training academy in Jiaxing is churning out new artists by the thousands!  Not only that, the factories which actually produce the 'authentic workwear' found in hipster shops worldwide is made right next door to the Tattoo Academy!  It boggles the mind. 
DSquared, figuring it out...
I predict the whole Workwear thing will soon float down the East, Thames, and Columbia rivers like so many tattooed pigs.  What's next?  We better start googling 'Conart' on ebay, because 80s/90s Hip Hop gear will shortly see middle-class hipsters spinning on their backs atop cardboard squares... mark my words!  


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BIKER CHIC!!!

March 31, 2013, 9:28 pm
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Mary Kate Olsen sporting the latest in protective streetwear...
It just keeps coming back, like Herpes, and now Biker Chic is stronger than ever!  Every major fashion house has re-discovered the magnetic sexual pull of the black-clad motorcyclist, and cargo ships from China and Pakistan are foundering under the weight of thousands of cheap leather jackets headed to our shores.
LiLo in black leather..ish.  She's got a biker attitude, and looks like she's been chasing white lines...
It doesn't matter that the leather is under 1mm thick, as these jackets will never be used 'in anger', not even on a moped, because let's face it, ACTUAL motorcycling is dead as a doornail.  Kids today could give a hoot about escaping their schools, parents, or towns using two wheels; they're not interested in Anything but playing with their little screens.
Appropriate footwear for an oil-spewing Shovelhead?  Let's see you kickstart that puppy in heels...
A few oddball youngsters will pick up motorcycling like a foreign language, because they're strange, or their parents ride, but in general, motorcycling has lost its mojo.   The skills, fresh air, danger, and freedom granted by riding matters nought, and new bike sales graphs skid downhill like ski slopes.
On the runway, not the roadway...
But the 'Look' of motorcycling is HOT! Who needs to ride when HandM and Zara are selling such cool 'bikerish' leather?  When every model is stretched across an old bike, but are never photographed handling a 500lb motorcycle...or are fakey-photographed on a 'moving' bike, while perched on a trailer! 
A Matchless G9 in a 'fashion' shoot of the 1960s...eat your heart out, Kate Moss


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'THE QUAIL' IS GROWING

April 2, 2013, 12:30 pm
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The most welcome news for the upcoming Quail Motorcycle Gathering (May 4, 2013) isn't just that the Quail Lodge is open for business (with rooms at very reasonable prices given the locale)...the best news concerns Gordon McCall's new relationship with Quail Lodge, following the retirement of former President Lawson Little.  While Gordon isn't taking the mantle of President, he's become more involved in scheduling new events at the Quail, and making the existing events better, which means the visibility and outreach of the Motorcycle Gathering is already increasing.  I noted a nice full-page ad in Cycle World this month, and that CW is sponsoring an open 'after party' on Saturday night, post-Concours.

McCall, who organizes the best events during Pebble Beach Week (the Monterey Jet Center party and Quail Motorsports Gathering), has taken a very patient approach to building up the Motorcycle Gathering, after securing the calendar date in early May formerly occupied by the fantastic Legends of the Motorcycle Concours, which is sorely missed, and which remains the only motorcycle Concours to draw a truly international crowd, who mingled in a massive spread of top-tier motorcycles.  McCall has long wanted his Motorcycle Gathering to have the impact and reach of the Legends, but is content to allow his event to build organically, in increments.

As usual, the Quail Ride runs on Friday May 3rd, and is rumored to cover a different route this year, but will include a few laps around legendary Laguna Seca raceway.  The Ride is turning out to be almost as much of an attraction as the Gathering, with a huge turnout of diverse machines, from Shinya Kimura's hand-hammered customs to exotic hub-center Bimotas and a mix of beautiful vintage machines with Craig Vetter's 'green fleet' of fuel-economy contestants.

As usual, I'll emcee the Motorcycle Gathering with Gordon, and scrub sidewall rubber on the Ride on Friday.  Hope to see you there!

More information:
To Enter a Motorcycle in the Concours click here:

To Purchase Tickets to the Motorcycle Gathering click here:

For Lodging at the Quail click here (enter group code: motorcycle): or call 866.675.1101

To Participate in the Quail Ride click here:

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STARTING SMALL

April 3, 2013, 11:18 am
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The as-yet unnamed electric moped from Dr.Nathan Jauvits
I bumped into Nathan Jauvits on a San Francisco sidewalk, and was intrigued by his moped, the first home-made electric two-wheeler I've run across.  The chassis is based on a '78 Puch Magnum, but an off-the-shelf electric motor and a power pack built by Nathan transforms the machine into something far from the buzzy, smoky original - an example of which I 'accidentally' purchased at the Bonhams Las Vegas auction - that will teach me to gesticulate in the front row!
I'd consider this conversion for my Puch Magnum...
Dr. Jauvits, an engineer for product designers New Deal Design (who packaged the Lytro variable-field camera), also added a regenerative braking system to the moped, which has a range of 20 miles using a high-output motor which no young man could resist ('It beats all the cars at traffic lights')...I reckon with a less powerful motor and a lighter throttle hand, more miles could be squeezed out of that battery pack.  The moped, which he's yet to name, can be plugged in anywhere for a recharge, and he hopes to market a version when the bugs are worked out.
Looking ordinary on the streets of SF's Mission District, until you look closer...
When I queried him about the safety issues with a completely silent 35+mph moped, he pointed at the speakers atop the battery pack, 'I let my iTunes announce me'...which is probably beats the open expansion chambers used by Moped Army regulars...  The electric moped apparently requires no driver's license or road registration, falling into the same legal category as the ubiquitous NYC delivery-guy electric bicycles.  Good luck with your project, Nathan!

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BICYCLES AND A PIERCE 4

April 4, 2013, 8:43 am
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Original paint 1911 Pierce 4 to be auctioned
A massive private collection of bicycles from the Pedaling Through History museum in Buffalo, NY, is being liquidated following the death of founder Carl Burgwardt two years ago.  His was the largest bicycle museum in the world, and included a few motorcycles.  The auction on April 19th, the second of three big auctions selling off the bicycles and related parts and ephemera, has over 600 lots of interesting stuff, quite a bit of it related to early motorcycling.
Pierce racing bicycle poster ca.1902 showing the current American champion, Frank Kramer
Star of the show will be a 1911 Pierce 4-cylinder motorcycle in original paint, running condition, which has only seen its tires and handlegrips replaced.  I've seen this bike in person, and its simply fantastic, and in the same condition as the original-paint Pierce 4 which won the Concorso di Villa d'Este two years ago.  Like most early motorcycle makers, Pierce built shaft-drive (and chain-drive) bicycles before building motorcycles of single and four-cylinders, which were distinctive (and well ahead of their time) in using large-diameter frame tubing as fuel and oil tanks, making both a stronger frame and fewer parts to build, repair, or keep from vibrating to bits on the unpaved roads of the early 1900s.  Pierce was 'inspired' by the FN four-cylinder design, and these first American 'fours' (débuted in 1909) have moved slowly into mainstream consciousness as a very important part of Motorcycling history.
1880 Pneumatic Star bicycle produced by the HG Smith Machine Co, Smithville NJ

Check out the Copake Auction website here.

The 1911 Pierce 4 motor and pedaling gear; note shaft drive and flywheel (with clutch, with lever for a two-speed gearbox above)
A remarkable 1898 Cygnet 'Swan' ladies' bicycle built by the Stoddard Mfg Co of Dayton, OH

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LEWIS LEATHERS

April 25, 2013, 8:15 am
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Proprietor Derek Harris outside the Whitfield St, London, home base of Lewis Leathers
On a recent whirlwind trip to London and Paris, I had a chance to catch up with Derek Harris, proprietor of Lewis Leathers, the oldest motorcycle-clothing business in the world - founded in 1892.  Derek is a breath of fresh air as proprietor of an internationally recognized 'brand', and the very opposite of today's capitalist-opportunist-vultures who snag a dead name, creating Franken-brands stitched up from skins of the 'cool' dead, in the feverish pursuit of money money money.  (Ask me how I really feel).
Trying on an all-Lewis vintage racing setup - jacket and pants from the late 1930s, boots from the 1940s, outside the Whitfield St. shop.  Photo by Marcus Ross, from his London magazine Jocks And Nerds 
Harris is the reluctant proprietor of this iconic name in moto-gear, and never intended to own the company, yet had a curious relationship with Lewis Leathers before he ever worked there.  He spent years researching - independently - lost patterns and designs from LL and its sometimes confusing web of related sub-brands (D.Lewis, Aviakit, Highwayman, S.Lewis), working as a mediator between super-hip Japanese clothing importers and various British brands, to satisfy a peculiarly Japanese hunger for English heritage clothing, and rocker gear in particular, during the late 1980s and 90s.  [I played a small part in this story as well in 1989, modeling Rocker gear and bikes - my Velocette Thruxton - for 'Nicole Club', a Japanese company producing super-retro biker fashion gear].   Lewis Leathers had no 'heritage' division at the time, and was busy producing 'non-iconic' designs from the 1970s/80s at the time Harris approached them to begin remaking their older styles.  As LL had no patterns for their older jackets, Harris conducted his own research, purchasing old Lewis Leathers and D.Lewis jackets and pants, and created new patterns for clothing made from the 1930s - 60s... all this while a non-employee, starting in 1991.
Yep, Steve McQueen wore Lewis Leathers; Harris recently found this photograph of McQueen riding in the Greenhorn Enduro in 1963, matched the jacket with an LL design, and has recently begun producing the model again, the 'Universal Racer Jacket'
Richard Lyon had owned Lewis Leathers since 1986, and was ready to sell the business in 2003, having larger interests elsewhere which required attention, and informed Derek not only that he was finished with LL, but had already sourced a buyer.  Harris feared the loss of the company and the history he'd worked hard to preserve, and asked with sinking heart who the new owner would be...only to hear, "You." With the help of friends and loans, Harris did indeed buy the company, and continues to develop and research the brand and its long history, while producing both an exceptional range of traditional riding gear, as well as cool contemporary designs, including a range of sneakers.
One of Harris' many vintage leather jackets on display
The shop is something of a museum of artifacts from Harris' years of collecting vintage Lewis Leathers riding and racing gear, and related paraphernalia.  Harris has a rack of vintage leather, and the walls of the shop are festooned with old Rocker jackets.  Several of these original jackets will be displayed at the Ton Up! exhibition I'm curating with photographer Michael Lichter, at the Sturgis Motorcycle Museum in early August.  The full story of Lewis Leathers and their relation to café racer culture will be explored in a book (called Ton Up!, naturally), which I'm currently writing for Quayside Publishing, based on the exhibition.  If you're in Sturgis this summer for Bike Week, definitely stop in to see the show, and if you're in London, you must stop by Lewis Leathers, which is just off Oxford Street, and stick around for a cup of tea.  Just don't ask to buy the vintage jackets!
Fantastic folk-art Rocker jacket
Naming the un-nameable as a brash taunt and talisman of bravery
1928 advertisement for a 'Dirt Track Outifit' - how to look like an agent of Doom without wearing a cape.  Perhaps where Jean Cocteau got his inspiration for Death's henchmen in his film 'Orphée'? (Read my article here)

Harris collects vintage ephemera to research old Lewis Leathers ads and the riders who wore them; here is the late Father Bill Shergold, founder of the 59 Club, on the very first issue of 'Link', the 59 Club magazine.  Father Bill is wearing the classis Lewis Leathers 'Bronx' jacket
Hiro Maeda, pattern-maker for LL, parks his 1950 Velocette MAC outside the shop
MAC, Steve, Pacto vintage-style helmets
A little madness never hurt, and dig that skull taillamp!  Aren't the chopper boys jealous!?
Original Slazenger helmet display and vintage Triumph 'mouth organ' belt
You never know who'll come through the shop...

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A VISIT TO VERRALLS

April 26, 2013, 9:09 pm
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I don't often get the chance to stop in Verralls in Handcross, just south of London, but it's a venerable place with a great selection of older motorcycles, and a great pleasure to visit.  Ian Hatton, who took over the business when Brian Verrall died a few years ago, has been a pal since 1987, when he was a lowly mechanic on Brian's machines (and about 19 years old, while I was a lofty 25).  Ian liked my painted-up Velocette jacket, and I purchased an MZ 250 from his father, which I then rode to the Soviet border and back in a great loop around Western and Eastern Europe, a trip of many thousands of miles - all on back roads, with zero mechanical trouble.  That's another story, but we've since remained friends, and I've long been a fan of the business.  Ian has continued Brian's policy of looking after machines they've sold - if there's a problem, they'll deal with it, usually for free (unless you run the bike without oil).
Stop in sometime, and have a chat with Gordon Button while he serves tea.
1939 Coventry Eagle 148cc with pressed-steel frame
Greeves trial machine with aluminum I-Beam front downtube, leading link forks, and Villiers engine
BMW R60/2 and Steib S500 sidecar
BSA sidecar attached to a big BSA v-twin
BSA Bantam motor peeks between Post Office legshields
Gorgeous 1926 Rex-Acme with Blackburne external flywheel 350cc motor
The Rex-Acme was a fantastic little hot rod in the day, with a tireless engine and exceptional handling
Brough Superior SS80 JAP sidevalve powerplant - finned magnificence
This crusty Barbour waxed cotton Trailmaster jacket literally stands up on its own
Sunbeam Model 6 with 500cc sidevalve engine; a lovely machine to ride
Sightglass for the oil feed supply to the big end of the engine.  Note the Sunbeam's lovely enclosed 'Little Oil Bath' primary chaincase, which holds its grease well
An 'oily rag' original finish 1914 Douglas in rare grey paint
Ex-Post Office BSA Bantam in the window
Tools of the trade
Jon Dudley of 'The Automobile' chats with Ian Hatton


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PROUVE, ENNUI, AND THE PROBLEM OF CASH

April 29, 2013, 11:17 am
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[Note:  I now write a monthly column for the revamped Classic Bike Guide, which is a Morton's Media publication.  New Editor Gary Pinchin was my 'connection' at MCN for years, and has moved into the world of Classics, where he belongs.  Check out the new magazine; here's my inaugural column from from Feb.2013]
Not Yves' house, but an example of a Jean Prouvé table being used at home...
I have a friend in Paris – Yves - with a lovely Jean Prouvé dining table he found cheap at the flea market (les Puces!) years ago, when Prouvé was iconic to connoisseurs, but not especially valuable. That changed; Prouvé is dead, his work is brilliant, and greed-panic is symptomatic of our 21st Century consciousness, so Yves’ dining table is worth well north of a Million, in whatever currency you care to calculate.  Yet he still uses that table, every day.

Not Susan's 18th Century folk art/modernist chest, but an example of the coveted genre
Susan has an unusual old chest (slap your wayward mind!), painted with a strange mashup of 18th Century American folk art collided with 60s Pop Art patterns. The piece is insanely cool, and when it was appraised for insurance recently, it too rung the carnival bell above 7 figures.  Susan is no fool, and knew the thing was rare, but she likes it where it sits, holding the guest linens, and has sensibly decided to carry on using a family heirloom, which she’ll pass on to her children.  Her attitude is completely at odds with the ‘Roadshow/Pickers’ mindset, the modern game shows where 'Box #3' is your own damn garage. Susan is a responsible steward of the antique in question, just as were the past 15 generations of its owners.
The 1935 Koehler-Escoffier 'Monneret' pictured at the Vintage Revival Montlhéry event in Apr.2013; a unique machine with incredible history, owned by the Musée Mallartre in Lyon, France, the machine is kept in running condition and taken regularly to events.  Stewardship at its best.
‘Stewardship’ is a word tossed around Christian think-tanks and techno-hippie chat rooms, but rarely mentioned over the oil-stained concrete on which our old motorbikes typically rest.  But the term is cropping up at bike shows, in specialist media (Classic Bike Guide, Oily Rag, The Vintagent), and even at auctions, as motorcycle collecting - for many decades the purview of eccentric obsessives – slouches inexorably toward the Mainstream.  A very uncomfortable shift for some, especially the Volunteers, who created a network of old bike enthusiasts, and obsessively searched the countryside for motorbikes, hoarding parts and machines beyond the point of rationality, at a time when bikes were worth sod-all.
c.1929 Brough Superior SS100 at an English rally in the late 1970s, when such a machine could be purchased for £1500. People complained of the high and rising prices for old bikes even then!
They may have had larcenous hearts, greedily selling an SS100 for £15 back in 1949, but we laugh at their naivéte, just as our kids will laugh at us in 20 years when that same Brough tops £1M. Let us praise the Volunteers, whether their pants are secured by rope or alligator belts – I’ve met them all, and they share a common heart of gold, at least for motorcycles; they may well dislike You, as competition! While an imperfect lot, they’ve done their best to keep motorcycles out of the scrap-merchant’s destroying clutches, when they were basically worthless.
Looking at 1960s private adverts can be a painful experience!
Rising values, a dearth of really good unrestored machines, and a growing consciousness of the beauty of an ‘Oily Rag’ original finish, have all fertilized the understanding of Stewardship in the bike world.  For whatever reason, the Magpies – hoarders of shiny things – still dominate the Automotive collecting world, which has everything to do with the Car’s social function as self-perceived penis enlarger. Strange, given that a passing Ferrari is more likely to elicit sins of covetousness and avarice, but not envy of the owner, in whom we see said member, actual size.
A dirty old motorcycle is rarely the answer to a midlife crisis...
Motorbikes can make us feel superhuman (a necessary illusion perhaps, given their danger), and we feel pride while riding, yet we’re also aware the general population greets us with open indifference, or at worst, complete invisibility. With motorcycles Out as a symbol of social status, what’s left is a cadre of enthusiasts willing – to put it bluntly – to risk life and limb for the sheer pleasure of two-wheeling. That’s a different sort of passion than the standard Collector’s obsessions; those motivations are present too, but it’s a richer mix with bikers, who were generally seen as cranks until the 'Art of the Motorcycle' exhibit at the Guggenheim Museum. That’s probably why we’re far ahead of our four-wheeled brethren in the Stewardship stakes.
A tale of two Pierces; unrestored at left (sold for over $110k), restored at right (did not meet $42k reserve)
The trend at auction houses is clear; we are increasingly demanding machines bearing their original manufacturer’s paint job. A case in point; two identical ca.1910 Pierce single-cylinder motorcycles went for auction in Las Vegas last January, one dans son jus, the other restored, which failed to meet its $42,000 reserve. The heavily patinated Pierce, by contrast, fetched over $110,000. What Susan and Yves and the new 1910 Pierce owner understand is that the real treasure is not from the restorer’s hands, but from the maker’s workshop, unmolested. In this, they are in accord with art and furniture collectors, who are a century or two ahead of us in this game.
'Super Kim', probably the only unrestored / running 1920s supercharged record-breaker, built from Zenith chassis, Brough Pendine engine, Amilcar supercharger, and well-engineered adaptations from Argentina, ca.1930.  A famous machine which took many South American speed records, and certainly worth 7 figures these days.  Carefully preserved/maintained with actual rideability the goal; hence this test ride shot at Montlhéry in 2011.  An excellent example of Stewardship.
The reluctance of some motorcyclists to actually Use their treasures, as our examples above continue to do, is, one hopes, merely a symptom of a sudden rise in prices. We haven’t gained proper ennui at all this money talk, which is horrifically boring. After all, we’re in this game to Ride; if we wanted to throw money around, we’d have become bankers or rappers. But you can’t ride a pile of cash down the road, and a MacEvoy Anzani 8-valve shares the greatest thing with a Honda CB72 – they’re both really fun.
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QUAIL RIDE: 2013

May 6, 2013, 5:50 pm
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Shay Zak aboard a tasty Velocette Thruxton
It sells out quickly, so the 120 motorcyclists (plus guests) who shelled out for the Quail Ride must consider it worth $290 for a light breakfast, a CHP-guided tour of Central Coast back roads, a few hot laps of Laguna Seca racetrack, a catered lunch, a fantastic banquet dinner (with speakers like Cook Nielson, yours truly, and a preview of the upcoming feature film 'Why We Ride' - more on that later), and two passes to the Quail Motorcycle Gathering the next day, which also includes an excellent free lunch and booze.  With room rates at the newly-reopened Quail Lodge averaging $160/nite, its no wonder at all that the entire hotel was booked, too, as the Quail is ridiculously nice for the money.  But its not all about the dough, is it?
You don't see many riding shots IN the 'Corkscrew'... so thanks to my intrepid passenger Susan!
Last year's Quail Ride dodged the rain, but we trod on cat's feet across the narrow, wet, and tree-shaded lanes of Carmel Valley and beyond.  This year was full sun all day, with the temp peaking at 85 degrees heading down Laureles Grade Road, after creating our own heat around Laguna Seca.  In a nutshell, it was perfect, with a little bizarre thrown in for entertainment - I'll let you spot the strange, and let the photos do the talking.
A show winner at last year's Qual; the Magni-chassis BSA triple sounded fantastic while hammering around the track
Actually, this is a Chopper.  But not that kind; the rear section can be attached to the rider's 'cage' with the engine vertical, and yes, that's a rotor in back of the rider.  He's promised next year he'll 'Ride to the Quail, and fly home'.  Brave.
Sweet Commando under the oak trees
This year's iteration of the Crocetti Special Triumph
Deb ditched the Dream for this new RE
Hot Dunstall Norton with distinctive alloy 810cc cylinder barrels (years before the factory made an 850cc) and early disc brakes; all Dunstall equipment - rare!
Some were happy to pay $11/gal for 110octane race gas!
Ride organizer Gordon McCall blew past me at 90mph on his local-roads playground
Nice to see the show bikes, especially the Customs, come out to play.  This is a well-done Panhead
Other kinds of horsepower
'Fass Mikey' Vils with Irma and his Cannonball Harley JD inside Talbott Winery
Journalist John Stein and his nifty ex-Catalina GP Yamaha
Ken Arman on his Commando, just about to drop into the Corkscrew, a blind-left-right-downhill combination: fun!
Immaculate Suzuki 'Kettle' GT750 watercooled two-stroke triple 
Our host Rob Talbott at his winery in the Santa Lucia Highlands, with his high-mileage touring BMW GS.  He'd just returned from an 11,000 mile round-America tour
Preparing to re-enter the gorgeous Salinas River Valley
Sometimes 'The Man'...isn't!
My humble ride, two-up; the 'Project Desert Rat' Triumph TR5T, proudly covered in Mojave Desert dirt 

Turn 2 at Laguna Seca
In the 1970s, Craig Vetter built the 'Mystery Ship'; he should have waited.  This is his high-gas-mileage special, now clad in aluminum
Two Zero electric sports bikes joined the ride; silent and swift...
...at least, they passed me going up the big hill to the Corkscrew!
Chasing the silver fish


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1933 O.E.C.-Rudge 'TT Replica'

May 7, 2013, 3:00 am
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[Mitchell Barnes of Australia is an expert on Blackburne and Excelsior 'Manxman' history, and sends along this story of an O.E.C. racing chassis he found, which he built to replicate a long-lost Isle of Man TT racer from that unusual marque - pd'o]

"It was a red-letter day for small motorcycle manufacturers when Rudge's Depression-era financial woes forced them to wholesale ‘loose’ engines and gearboxes. Ironically, this move helped boost the Rudge name, as a great number of formerly mundane machines suddenly scorched around England and the Continent, Rudge ‘Python’ powered – 250cc to 500cc, the bigger engines with Rudge’s famous 4 valve cylinder heads, capable of propelling any motorcycle to 100mph.

A Rudge 'Python' 500cc engine, as sold to numerous small manufacturers in England and Europe; superior in performance and reliability to the usual JAP engine...
O.E.C. (OsborneEngineering Co.) of Gosport (in Hampshire, England) were one such small company, always on the lookout for something new. Their best days followed WW1 when they built bikes exclusively for Blackburne in a large former aircraft factory. After Blackburne cancelled their exclusivity deal, O.E.C. embarked a series of seemingly brilliant associations, most of which came to nought. Their technical director, Fred Wood, was a man bursting with ideas, and had designed the impressive ‘Duplex’ frame before leaving an indelible impression on the motorcycling fraternity with his 1926 ‘Duplex’ steering system, using a unique set of parallel links for steering stability and suspension. A couple of years later Fred added a swinging-fork rear suspension system, controlled by spring boxes and a damping link. The Duplex steering system got a serious publicity boost at Olympia in 1930 when O.E.C. displayed their World Record breaker, built by Claude Temple and ridden by Joe Wright at 137.32mph at Arpajon, France, just outside the Montlhéry race circuit.  [Of course O.E.C. also claimed a later recordactually taken by Wright’s Zenith, which you can read about here]

Joe Wright at Cork, Ireland, on August 31st, 1930 in Arpajon, France (near Montlhéry), where he recorded a World Speed Record of 137.32mph using a supercharged 1,000cc JAP engine in an O.E.C chassis; note the 'Duplex' forks
Like so many others, the Depression badly wounded O.E.C, and production costs needed to be cut. During 1932, Wood designed a new welded-up Duplex frame; the only lugs remaining controlled the swinging fork damping system and, on the girder-forked machines, the steering head. These welded frames were light and considerably cheaper to manufacture than traditional lugged frames…but would a conservative public accept such advanced thinking? All O.E.C. needed was an engine with sufficient urge to prove the new frames' potential.  Enter the Rudge ‘Python’.
Freddie Clarke riding an O.E.C-Rudge in the 1935 Lightweight TT
After some years’ absence, O.E.C. entered 4 machines in the 1933 TT: two 250s and two 500s. All were Python-powered, and both Senior and Lightweight machines used one each of the Duplex steering and Webb girder forks. The frames were identical save for the power units and brake diameter.  O.E.C. appointed ex-Sunbeam works rider Arthur “Digger” Simcock their team leader. The first machines built were the Webb-forked pair on which Simcock practiced, and subsequently rode in the TT. The Duplex machines were assembled at the TT by the second rider Alf Brewin and an assistant - no Ferrari budget here – and with little in the way of preparation, its not surprising that all the O.E.C's retired. Brewin did race them on the Continent after the TT but without success. This was typical of O.E.C's modus operandii - great ideas but poor organization.

Seven years ago I acquired a brace of OECs; one a race frame with Webb forks, the other a road bike with Druid forks, housing a genuine Blackburne racing engine. Years of research finally revealed that in 1936, the Australian O.E.C. dealer had acquired a racing machine with a Blackburne engine to promote the brand. Naturally, I wanted to re-unite the racing frame with its original engine, but this left a ruddy great hole in the “restored” frame. I decided Simcock's ‘lost’ Lightweight TT bike would be the inspiration, but no photos of it exist; I do have photos of his almost-identical Senior mount, so that became the template. The 1933 O.E.C. catalogue offers a J.A.P-engined, Druid-forked bike for £37/15-, and for an extra £7, you could buy Rudge or Blackburne power. This was the only year OEC offered ‘Python’ engines in this frame, for OEC fell into receivership later that year and Matchless engines were used thereafter. A 250 Rudge radial engine was what I really wanted but I couldn't find one in Australia. They are as rare as an ethical media baron here. In the absence of a Rudge engine, I briefly toyed with a J.A.P engine but my brain fade only lasted a few weeks. Five years ago the Australian Dollar was low against Sterling but it started climbing and eventually I was able to acquire a 1932 engine from the UK without having to mortgage the kids.

The O.E.C. rear-fork suspension system, introduced in 1928
The biggest problem was the gearbox. I could not find a Rudge 250 box anywhere and so

reluctantly used the original Albion one. Interestingly, Dunelt's 1933 Lightweight TT bike combines a Python engine with an Albion gearbox, so a protocol existed. It took only three tries to successfully marry the engine and gearbox with the frame, thanks to laser cutting. The gear change mechanism required several cups of tea to sort, because unless you are Toulouse Lautrec or a contortionist, the original is far too high for aging hippies. Although O.E.C./Rudge 'TT Replica' engines did not have bronze heads, the exposed radial-valve arrangement is Rudge's signature and deserves pride of place. Heat resistant gold paint applied to the head and new laser-cut stainless rocker side plates should help drag people's eyes from the awful Ariel-green rear wheel.


As it turned out, the hardest part was the easiest. The exhaust pipes really are impressive. We are lucky to have a master in the otherwise lost art of exhaust pipe bending. Exhaust pipes should have an ever changing radius which, to achieve without flat spots, is a precious art form. John d'Arrietta uses the traditional method of packing the pipes with sand and skilfully applies heat in exactly the right places with exactly the right temperature before bending. The pipes hug the frame and primary cover where they should and are mirror images of each other. To my knowledge (and I have spent countless hours googling O.E.C, Python, Rudge, etc), it is the only OEC-Python 250 in existence and while not an exact clone of Simcock's historic machine, save for the hidden magneto pulley arrangement, all parts are correct for the period. It's on its way to northern France and the new owner intends to use it. It will soon be seen at historic events in England and the Continent.


Special thanks to Greg Rowse (splines and precision machining) and John Harris (welding), and Mervyn Stratford for advice on timing."
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'TOP 20' MAKES ROOM FOR TWO MORE...

May 10, 2013, 2:00 pm
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My 'Top 20 Motorcycle Prices at Auction' webpage has been updated; the recent HandH sale at the Imperial War Museum in Duxford, England, on April 13th brought two heavy-hitter motorcycles to the auction block; a 1948 Vincent-HRD 'Black Lighting', and a very rare 4-cylinder Brough Superior from 1932.
This 1932 Brough Superior 'BS4' with watercooled Austin 7 motor and twin rear wheels sold for £266,500 ($377,950)
The infamous 'three wheel Brough' is one of 10 produced, and this particular example is well known in the Brough Superior world, having been in Frank Solano's possession for many years.  While the watercooled Austin-engined motorcycle was intended for sidecar work, it was perfectly possible to ride the machine solo, which was Solano's preference.  He delighted in demonstrating the odd handling of the non-differential twin rear wheels - which means one of the rear wheels was usually airborne; a disconcerting feeling, as I found when he offered a ride many years ago, but the handling was perfectly safe.  Click here for The Vintagent's 2009 road test of this model.
The 1948 Vincent Black Lighting needs no introduction - one of the most sought-after motorcycles, with the most recognizable name of all.  Discovered in Argentina, it has been rebuilt to 'as new' spec.
The 1948 Vincent-HRD Lighting was found in a highly modified form in Argentina, and was brought back to 'as new' condition from a derelict state, and the oil tank/frame is from a Black Shadow.  The Vincent Owner's Club gave its blessing to the machine though, stating in effect, 'a Lightning is all about the engine', and the engine on this machine is the genuine article. Click here for The Vintagent's road test of this model.
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NUOVO NUOVO FALCONE CAFE

May 13, 2013, 8:34 am
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Straight from the AMD press office, their pic of Don Cronin's 'Rondine', winner of the 2013 AMD World Championship of Custom Motorcycles, based on a Moto Guzzi Nuovo Falcone
Just when you thought all Custom shows were tail-chasing exercises in better-bobberism, Don Cronin delivers a Moto Guzzi Nuovo Falcone updated for the 21st Century.  Don's custom shop in Ireland - Medaza - focusses on Italian powerplants for his creations; Ducati, Moto Morini, Moto Guzzi.  
Love that the 'bologna slicer' flywheel echoes the wheels
While plenty of customizers have messed around with the Moto Guzzi v-twin engine, few have worked around the far more venerable flat-single design with which Guzzi established its name back in 1921, and was the mainstay of their business until the introduction of their transverse 750cc v-twin in 1967, the  'V7' - a hilarious designation from the company which famously built a racing V-8!
The large-diameter discs (two up front) are clearly visible in this shot from the Medaza website. Also note the flat 'waffle box' silencer suspended from the motor
Cronin's 'Rondine' ('Swallow' in Italian) just won the top prize at the AMD World Championship of  
Custom Bike Building in Essen, Germany, which is as good as it gets in the world of modified bikes. A close inspection of the machine reveals H-D V-Rod wheels and swingarm (modified), rim disc brakes, and a very café-inspired look; a Nuovo Falcone hotted up for the present, using the old workhorse engine originally pressed into service as a police and military mule, and never a sports machine.  A few people have upgraded their Falcones to café style, but never quite like this!  Congratulations to Don Cronin and Michael O'Shea for their build, and their win.
Don Cronin aboard his Morini V-twin based custom, the Medaza.  Wonder if he's seen Paladin's sketches from the 1980s?
(Top photo c.AMD, next 3 pix c.Medaza, taken from their website)
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DOMIRACER UNDER THE HAMMER

May 18, 2013, 9:16 am
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The massive warehouse of long-time British and European motorcycle/spares/memorabilia dealer DomiRacer (also known as Accessory Mart until a few years ago) is coming up for auction.  Business founder Bob Schanz, a former editor of Cycle magazine, died in 2003, and his wife Reba continued to run the business for a further 10 years.  Its certainly difficult to fill the shoes of such an outsize personality, and if you ever did business with Bob, you know what I mean.  In the 1990s, Bob tracked me down as the owner of a particular Brough Superior 11-50, as he had the original sidecar for that machine, as noted in the Works Records; he convinced me I 'needed' to buy the chair, as it 'belonged' to my bike, even though I didn't want it - now that's salesmanship!  Due to advancing age of Reba Schanz, the family has decided to simply sell the business after 40 years in the trade.   Whether the business, its 26,000 spares, its warehouse, and its trained staff of 6 employees will remain as DomiRacer, or be absorbed into other businesses selling spares, remains to be seen.  For about $3M, the entire inventory plus the real estate it sits on (a 30,000 sq' warehouse) is for sale - retail value of the parts alone is $12M.
The auction begins May 26th.  For more information go to DomiRacer.com.
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BROUGH SUPERIOR BACK TO THE SALT

May 19, 2013, 10:10 am
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Brough Superior CEO Mark Upham at Bonneville in 2011, where the Brough reached a peak speed of 127.1mph
After a two-year hiatus spent developing a new race machine, Brough Superior returns to Bonneville for the BUB speed trials August 24-29.  Brough director Mark Upham is confident in their new attack on 10 World's Speed Records in their class, having started from a clean slate after their successful Bonneville runs in 2011, and will return with TWO Brough Superior 'SS101's for speed record work.  Pictured below is 'the second machine being road-tested, after the 5th dyno test.  We are more than happy with the results.'  
The keen-eyed will spot a twin-carb and twin-magneto setup on the new Brough Superior Bonneville racer, plus a Pendine-style fuel tank (with metal straps), and a JTOR-style engine with enclosed rockers.  The 'Castle' forks have been reinforced, and gone are the distinctive air scoops from the 2011 machine. Whether this machine is as-yet unpainted, or will be nickel plated as per the 'Works Scrapper' remains to be seen...
This is the first photograph yet released of the new Brough Superior record-breaker; Mark Upham promises "Better pictures will be available in August.  You have the first one - no one has this picture yet."  Upham continues, "We are going back to run for 10 world records this year; ITV will make four one-hour films about Brough Superior and the Bonneville challenge.  There will also be, Henry Cole will also film for the Motorbike Show and The Discovery channel.  Our rider's this year are Eric Patterson, Alan Cathcart and Henry Cole."

Brough Superior goes back to the Bonneville Salt Flats from Revival Cycles on Vimeo.

The Vintagent will be at Bonneville this August to document the action!
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VINTAGE-REVIVAL MONTLHERY 2013

May 27, 2013, 3:23 pm
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Vincent Prat of the Southsiders MC gets a shove on his Norton M30 'International'
It is hands-down the best combined car/bike event I've ever attended, whether static or track, concours show or oily-rag festival, because it includes all of that, in the most compelling venue possible, the only original autodrome still in use from the early days of motorsport.  The Autodrome de Linas-Montlhéry, to give its full name, is situated only 40 minutes south of Paris, yet feels of another world and another time.  Currently owned and used by a consortium of car manufacturers (for testing), the 2.4km oval was originally designed to handle racing cars of 2200lbs, moving at 140mph; having traveled over 130mph (in a modern rally car) on the banking, I can assure you the track is in no danger from such abuse, only the car itself, and its madly bouncing passengers.  While not as bumpy as Brooklands, Montlhéry is still a concrete track with expansion joints and decades of shifting movement, and the faster you travel, the harder the hammering.
The 1904 Slavia CCCC, newly created by Pavel Malanik, a replica of the Czech Laurin-Klement 4-cylinder machine, their last motorcycle design before moving to car production (Laurin-Klement became part of Skoda)
The Vintage-Revival caters exclusively to pre-1940 cars and motorcycles, their owners and friends, a few pressmen and caterers, and that's about it! While the attendees are expected to wear period clothing, it's nothing like the Goodwood Revival, as there aren't 50,000 spectators milling around in a mad time-warp circus.  Nor are there cordoned-off 'rich folks only' paddocks or seating areas; once you're in, the whole fantastic gearhead playground is yours.  If you're really serious about Vintage vehicles being Used, the two day event at Montlhéry is exactly what you need, especially if you want to see something a little out of the ordinary on two, three, or four wheels.
The 'early motorcycles' class on the banking; a few of these pre-1918 machines had a serious turn of speed, and took advantage of the removal of the chicane from mid-banking to really fly!
I dub thee, 'Eu-Rod'.  A recent, nativist movement in Europe towards the creation of European Hot Rods, using original period components in combinations which never existed, but perhaps should have.  No Ford bits here, everything is Aero engines and original Brasier or Talbot or even Bugatti chassis, built-up with a mix of autojumble-sourced tanks, radiators, instruments, steering wheels, lamps, wheels, etc, plus new bodywork, brush-painted, oxidized, and meant to look old.  Most are insanely cool, like this example, built by Oliver Way, a leading light in the trend.  
The water-cooled, V8 OHV aero engine powering the Oliver Way 'Mors Aero GP' special
My favorite BMW, hands-down: an ex-Works R63 750cc OHV racer, with an extra fuel tank strapped atop the flat tank, and twin carbs for more 'go'.  I used to own an R63, but it didn't go like this one!  From the Hockenheim Museum....
A 175cc Terrot in action.
The business office of the Amilcar C6 of 1927, with a supercharged straight-6 DOHC motor.
The lovely little 250cc Benelli 4TN OHC racer of 1938
The very special BMW R63 racer from Hockenheim Museum, with many deviations from standard, like 6-stud cylinder fixing and an extra-deep sump.  A unique machine.
I could have sworn I saw Tazio Nuvolari...
The original ABC of 1913, a fore-and-aft flat twin with OHV and a good turn of speed - this machine has Brooklands history.
David Borras of El Solitario worships at the altar of French engineering....
The Bentley Boys.
If you've been campaigning your Blower Bentley on the track all day, you might as well stuff the family in the back for the drive home...
Three wheels, three passengers.
The madman; George Cohen in his aero-engine 'Brasier', nominally of 1908 (at least, the chassis dates from then), immediately post-banking, with yours truly as his 'will I die?' passenger.  More on this later!
Team Brooklands
The Coste family ready for the track in their Morgan (and groovy Ruby 'Shibuya' helmets!)
A pair of Unicorns; the 1904 Laurin-Klement 'Slavia' and the 1909 Torpedo '4', both built from scratch using period photographs, by Pavel Malanik in the Czech Republic, an area traditionally rife with clever engineers.  They both run well, and quickly.
Get under!
From the Brooklands Museum collection, the Titch Allen-built replica of the supercharged Triumph Speed Twin which terrorized Brooklands in the late 1930s
The Southsiders' Triton, back from Bonneville...
A short drive in the ex-Malcolm Campbell 1940 Ford 'Woodie'
If you're going to build a non-extant engine, make it a good one;  the Torpedo was built from period photographs, and goes like stink!
From near and far they came, bearing gifts for the eye... the Torpedo and Slavia, ready for a blast around the track.
Unique!  The Sevitame military-spec prototype, with a twin-cylinder two-stroke engine under all that alloy finning.  Note the leaf-springs above the handlebars; these aren't 'Gazda' sprung 'bars, but the springs for the front fork, which has a central rod sliding through the steering head to connect the girder forks with the spring. Clever.
Built by Simca, the Sevitame has an 'inverted' engine, and is meant to be semi-amphibious, using a propeller extension drive out the back; it could power a small boat, with all electrics, carb, etc safely tucked or shielded from a possible dunking.   
Owned and ridden by Francois-Marie Dumas (co-author of 'A Century of Japanese Motorcycles', author of 'Unusual Motorcycles' - and this one qualifies!) and , here speaking with fellow motorcycle author Jean Bourdache (read his blog 'Z'Humoriste' here).
A fine day at the races.
Nice to have a sign-writer on the premises, but he needs to know that Indians were 'Motocycles'...no 'r' for Springfield!
The 1919 Leyat Hélica in all its mad splendor.
Attending the Amilcar gods...the 1927 C6 racer of Mr Kawamoto, former chief of Honda, who flew the car from Japan to France for the occasion.
Do Not Hand-Signal Right; in an impromptu 'road test', The Vintagent tries a Ner-A-Car on the banking, and finds it remarkably stable.  An actual Road Test will follow shortly...
Among the first: the Bert LeVack designed DOHC JAP 350cc engine of 1923, from the Hockenheim Museum, one of a half-dozen such machines built.  LeVack was an Olympian figure of early motorcycling, from the era of the designer/builder/racer, of which he was a prime example, along with the Collier brothers of Matchless.  His contemporary George Brough was more a stylist/builder/racer (not being an engineer, or making his own engines), but LeVack pushed innovation in his engine designs, which moved all of Motorcycling forward technically.  These futuristic little JAP gems with their shaft-and-bevel double-overhead-camshaft motors were also installed in Zenith and Coventry Eagle chassis, at a time when a simple pushrod overhead-valve motor was considered radical, and Norton, Sunbeam, and Douglas were just entering production with 'super sports'/racing OHV machines.  LeVack worked with JAP and Motosacoche as engine designer, after a successful career tuning motors and racing at Brooklands. He was never a road racer, more a 'speedman', although he did pay attention to chassis development as power from his engine experiments began to rise.  Long Live LeVack.
Three men, three wheels, two cylinders with this 1927 Morgan-JAP Aero Super Sports
The banking looms behind the proceedings like a fixed wave, waiting to be surfed.
Moto-porn if ever there was.  The 1935 Koehler-Escoffier 'Monneret', so named because Georges Monneret rode it successfully for decades.  Georges organized the Velocette 24hr/100mph run at Montlhéry in 1961.
The Big Guns...the engine dep't of the awesome Koehler-Escoffier 'Monneret'.
The small guns...a micro version of the 'Hélica', on a bicycle, which sped around the circuit, and the paddock!  Keep your fingers clear, kids.
The Real Guns...a pair of ex-military Matchless G3s
English powerhouse: the 1927 McEvoy 1000cc racer with a pushrod, two-valve Anzani engine...
...and its forbear, a 1924 McEvoy with a British Anzani 8-Valve, twin pipe engine; both from the Hockenheim Museum, which brought 6 magnificent machines.
Every radiator-overflow line should be so elegant...
Ah, the perfume of Castrol 'R'
A tale of two Magnat-Debons...one a simple pushrod racer, the LCMP 175cc of 1934, and behind, a 500cc machine transformed to DOHC by Nougiér.
The little Magnat-Debon LMCP, with a gem of a 175cc racing motor
The unique dashboard of a Majestic, among the most distinctive motorcycles ever built.  Note the 'crackle' or alligator paint finish; while this machine is restored (and the owner taught himself how to paint it!), such a paint finish was originally offered, hand-painted by artisans.  Trés chic!

Handsome, unusual, and impressive from any angle.  They handle beautifully with their hub-center steering and sliding-pillar front suspension.  Read my road test here.

The red 1930 Majestic with 350cc Chaise engine...underpowered for such a strong chassis.  Read my road test of the Majestic here.
Driving to Montlhéry from Paris with Jérome, one never knows what you'll encounter on the road...and this lovely Jag E-Type Series 1 coupé wasn't even headed to the track...

Les Atelier Ruby's designer Jérome Coste modeling his family '35 Norton ES2 racer, and his El Solitario coveralls...en peu Orange Mecanique!
More fantasies!  This cyclecar was built by Tim Gunn of the Old Bicycle Showroom in London, using mostly bicycle components, with a JAP sidevalve engine.  The steering arms are made from bike pedal crank arms, the axles are bike cranks, the steering hubs are bicycle headstocks, etc.  All very simple, clever, and it works!  A good look at cyclecars makes me wonder why more people don't build them just for fun...dangerous fun its true, but hey, we're bikers!

A personal favorite; a 1929 Douglas SW6 600cc pushrod racer - basically their famous 'Dirt Track' racer, but with brakes.  Long and low like a ferret, and very fast.
Stylish young gents in period attire!
It's a rough commute on the train from Paris to the little town of Linas, to reach the Montlhéry circuit, but one must endure!
Deliciously 'oily rag'...a 1927 Norton Model 18 'saddle tank' model
The flying 'Easy Two' - a 1935 Norton ES2 owned and campaigned by the Coste family for many years
Replicas, fantasies, and notional creations mix with original oddments at Montlhéry.  This Excelsior OHC 'Board Track' racer is one of a few replicas built from photographs, as nothing of the 1919 original remains.
Wingless flight - the crazy prop-driven aero-car, the Leyat Hélica of 1919.  The body is built like a plane, with a fabric covering over lightweight ply, and the rear-wheel steered body (sans engine) weighs only 550lbs!  In 1926, a similar Hélica was timed at 106mph at Montlhéry!  Super light, marginally stable, and dangerously fast...the Hélica is for the very brave only!  And magnificent.  Only 30 were built - a fantastic 'oily rag' example can be see at the Musée des Arts et Metiers in Paris.
Fastest by a lap: Frank Chatokhine and his super-quick Triumph racer.
Period attire, or something like it.
Fantasises of flight: aero engines abound at Montlhéry, mostly on cars, but this fabulous 'Ganardz' with 5-cylinder star radial engine is a charming alternative to flight.

'You've got to get under, get out and get under' as the old song went.  Here George Cohen sorts the chain-drive setup on his 1908 Brasier with ca.1914 Hispano-Suiza aero engine...

The original: a 1937 BSA Empire Star, on which the M24 Gold Star was based, in original 'oily rag' condition, from the Brooklands Museum team.

Rare bird!  A ca.1925 Moto Guzzi C2V, a pushrod-OHV production racer, one step down from their immortal C4V with four valves / OHC.
A late 1930s Norton Inter/Manx, with a large square-fin Manx Grand Prix-type cylinder head in a pre-war International chassis
Related by color only - a 1934 MG KN monoposto racer with an equally blue Bugatti twin-seater
The crew who made it all happen...sine quo nihil (without whom, nothing).
Gents in period attire, as requested; "Tenues d'époques Obligatoires!"
All hats off to Vincent Chamon, the organizer of Vintage-Revival Montlhéry, for another fantastic event!
Waiting for the 'go'... Vincent Prat (Southsiders MC) on a borrowed Norton International M30 racer.
The psychedelic Art Deco grandeur of a Voisin 'Lumineuse' interior, with fabric designed by the great couturier Paul Poiret.  His geometric design is loomed, not printed on the fabric, meaning its a very expensive interior to replace on your Voisin, and nothing else will suffice, as its such a feature of the car.  The fabric also came in red!  
Another grand Voisin 'Lumineuse' tourer, from the esteemed maker of cars and airplanes.  More than 10,000 Voisins were built at their factory near Paris, yet less than 200 exist today (at least until every barn in scoured!).  After decades in obscurity, they're having a day in the sun, recently winning the Pebble Beach and Villa d'Este Concours d'Elegance.  With their elegant lines, Voisins were popular with wealthy artists of the day; both Man Ray and Le Courbusier drove them.  Corbusier famously worked with Gabriel Voisin to re-design Paris with a 'modern' plan, boldly taking challenging the Baron Hausmann redesign of that city from the early 1800s.  The Plan Voisin for Paris is a nightmare of well-intentioned hubris; unfortunately, Corbusier created very compelling images of a tall-towered city, surrounded by characterless parklands...which were unfortunately built in many cities as 'public housing', and are now crime-addled guard-less prisons, or at best, horrifically ugly.
The magnificent Art Deco Voisin radiator mascot, a riveted eagle, suitable for decorating a fine automobile, or the Chrysler Building in New York City...
1936 Velocette KTT, looking very much Mk6 or Mk7 - hard to tell which but the engine looks like a one-of-6 built Mk6.
Koehler-Escoffier 1: a 1928 'Mandoline' OHV racer.
Koehler-Escoffier 2: a 1912 'Mandoline' OHV racer with belt drive, and what looks like an added-later oiling system on the crankcase.
Koehler-Escoffier 3: the awesome 1935 'Monneret' 1000cc OHC racer, used in anger until the 1950s. 
Grace and integration of components; the fantastic lines of a 1928 AJS K10 racer, with its long chain-driven overhead camshaft.  More on OHC AJS racers here.
Rare because Strange; the 1919 Bedelia BD2 tandem cyclecar is from the Age of Experiment, when a super-light four-wheeler, powered by a motorcycle engine, was yet exciting transport.  The Bedelia is steered from the rear seating position, and this is one of few truly 'sorted' examples in the world.
To dream...even the eccentric Bedelia is fuel for young fantasies of skillful mastery over power and speed.
Bug juice.  Hot laps leave this Bugatti panting, and peeing its pants.
Would that more women sat at the wheel of a vintage Bugatti; they complement each other well.
Bug, ready to fly.  A ca.1930 Type 35B Bugatti ready for a spin on the track.
Objects in photo are larger than they appear on your computer; this massive SU carb feeds a hungry supercharger for a Talbot straight-8 racer.
At the beginning...a 1902 Clément with automatic inlet valve motor and battery ignition - I have an identical model in 'oily rag' condition in NYC, purchased at the Bonhams Paris sale two years ago.
The Coste family in their watercooled JAP-engined 1926 Morgan Aero Super Sports
Watch as they grow, and raise them right...in a few short years, this pair will pilot the family Nortons...


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VILLA D'ESTE 2013: THE SOVIETS ARE COMING!

May 30, 2013, 8:27 am
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The IMZ M-35K supercharged sports racer took Best In Show, its Soviet inelegance mocking the delicate trophy girls in their picnic wear.  This is perhaps the first time a major Concours d'Elegance has awarded their top prize to a Soviet-built machine. (photo courtesy Motociclismo magazine)
In a brave and unprecedented move, the jury of the third Concorso di Moto on the shores of Lake Como, Italy, have awarded Best of Show to a Soviet racing motorcycle.  I can recall no moto or auto Concours awarding a top prize to a Soviet-built machine, as industrial products from the Communist era have suffered nearly a century of scorn and derision for being inferior 'copycats' of better-developed Western originals. The celebration of the IMZ M-35K at Como is an important step towards shedding light on the shadowy history of Communist motorcycles, which are nearly invisible to students of Motorcycling.

The gorgeous BMW record-breaker ridden by Ernst Henne from 1929-35, a 750cc OHV machine with supercharger above the gearbox, and a tubular chassis (the metal panels are aerodynamic, not monocoque!).  Good for 154mph by 1935...  Part of a display of '90 Years of BMW Motorcycles' in the Villa Erba rotunda
The IMZ (Irbitskij Moto-Zavod) factory was established in 1940 at Irbit, Siberia (near the Ural mountains), well out of reach of German bombers, once Stalin and Hitler were no longer on speaking terms.  The first 'Ural' M72 models were built nearby, copies of the BMW R71, starting in 1941, and 9799 were built during the War. M-35K has a 350cc pushrod engine with a supercharger, and uses a lighter version of the Ural chassis - a copy of the 1936-54 BMW chassis, which was the gold standard for motorcycling pre-war, road or race, until the advent of the McCandless 'Featherbed' frame in 1951. With plunger rear suspension and telescopic forks up front, and an all-welded oval-tube frame, IMZ wasn't the only company tearing pages from BMW's notebook; Norton had copied the fork design wholesale for their Manx Grand Prix racers pre-war, and eventually all chassis builders would abandon 'lugged' frames.  The M-35K had 45hp @6600rpm, weighed 165kilos dry (363lbs - compare that to the BMW RS255@ 137kg dry, 300lbs). Between 1947-62 IMZ built a range of road-racing 350, 500, and 750cc machines, some supercharged, for Soviet racing and record-breaking; a subject I'll certainly explore further.
The IMZ M-35K showing its BMW parentage, down to the knee pads and tank-top toolbox.  The gearbox is  R71 with the air cleaner casting removed, but the motor is unique, a 350cc pushrod engine with supercharger driven from the crankshaft nose, and fed by a Slavic TT carb.
Before gaining the big laurels, the IMZ won 'best' in a very cheeky class - 'Boxers in Competition with BMW'!  As BMW owns the Villa d'Este Concorso, it's a joke they can comfortably make, especially as 'their' boxers are still in production.  Second and third place went to a very rare Austrian 1937 Puch 800 flat-four (from the Hockenheim Museum), and a Swiss 1947 Condor C580, both elegant and sophisticated machines.  There were plenty of boxers in the wide world of motorcycling - and even a pair of Honda flat twins at Villa Erba; a Gold Wing of course, and a 1962 Honda 170cc flat-twin scooter, the Jumo M85.  I've never seen one!
Ueli Schmid's well-traveled 1932 Standard BT500 Luxus, ridden from his home in Switzerland to Lake Como.  Note the 'Castle'/HD forks up front - the original application for this short-link design was FN's, who apparently never pursued action against Harley, or Brough, or Standard, for poaching their design of 1906! The legshields and panniers are period accessories, and this Swiss-built Standard (this German company had a facility there, probably to ease access to Motosacoche engines) uses an MAG ioe 500cc motor.
In the 'Traveling by Motorcycle' class (ie, touring bikes), Ulrich Schmid took his category seriously, and rode his 1932 Standard BT500 Luxus to Lake Como from his home in Switzerland.  Packed in a 'period manner' (no Givi top-boxes here), the Standard looked amazing with 1930s accessories (including those amazing metal saddlebags), and Ueli wins top marks from me for riding his Standard to the Concorso.  The nicely restored machine took 2nd place to a lovely original-paint 1936 Indian Chief.  
Does this 1926 McEvoy look familiar?  It was at the Vintage-Revival Montlhéry the week prior.  A very rare British Superbike with Anzani OHV 1000cc V-twin motor.  Behind the McEvoy is a Czech-built Walter M750, a transverse V-twin OHV of 750cc, from 1923.  Everyone, it seems, was making big OHV V-twins by the mid-1920s...except the greatest adherents to the big V-twin; Americans!
I wasn't able to attend/judge the Concorso this year (important family matters come first!), and am grateful to Stefan Knittel for providing photographs and information about the motorcycles on show.  I'm looking forward to next years' fantastic event on the shores of Lago di Como; May 16-18, 2014...
A few of the 'other' flat twins (Boxers) at Villa Erba; in front is the test-bed Douglas used as the slave chassis for the very first BMW motorcycle engine, before they built whole motorcycles.  The Victoria KR1 behind was among the first marques to buy the new BMW engine - a practice BMW stopped shortly after they launched the R32 in 1923.
The BMW R10 prototype with 125cc two-stroke flat twin engine.  Installed in an R25 chassis, the little engine fails to adequately fill the frame...probably why only this example was built.
More flat twins!  In front, a 1926 Indian Model O with sidevalve 262cc fore-and-aft twin, a 1923 ABC/Gnome-Rhone with 398cc OHV transverse twin, and a 1922 Harley Davidson Sport with 584cc for-and-aft sidevalve twin.
The exquisite BMW R7 prototype.  Read my report on this machine here. BMW puts on a great display in the rotunda at Villa Erba; this year they celebrated '90 Years of BMW Motorcycles', with 35 machines showing the full development of BMW two-wheelers - excellent!
Close up of the ABC/Gnome Rhone OHV cylinder head.  ABC was built from the post-WW1 remains of the British Sopwith aircraft works, and when they ran into financial trouble, the French aircraft builder Gnome et Rhone took over production.  Lots of aircraft practice in this engine, from the rocker gears to the machined-from-solid-steel cylinder barrels.
All BMW-powered, none BMW itself!   In front is the 1924 Bison, then a 1923 Helios, the Victoria KR1, and the Douglas test-bed.  All powered by BMW's first motorcycle engine, the M2B33, a sidevalve flat twin of 494cc, producing 8.6hp @3200rpm
A closeup of the 1924 Bison's BMW engine with external flywheel and radial-finned cylinder.  
We are living in Good Times for motorcycling: BMW teamed up with custom builder Roland Sands to create the 'Concept 90' custom, inspired by the original 'tangerine' R90S.  Good work, Roland!  The bike was unveiled at Villa d'Este...
The crazy simplicity of a Bugatti engine
As Lake Como is a favorite haunt of movie stars, this '54 Corvette looks right at home, with its chromium smile and carefully shielded eyes...
The unique BMW/Douglas hybrid test mule.
Shiny red boxes, stacked carefully above a flat single motor; the 1930 Moto Guzzi GT500 'Norge'
a better shot of the 1922 Harley Davidson Sport flat twin
Period gear for the original-paint 1924 Bison
The 1962 Honda Jumo M85 scooter with flat-twin motor of 169cc
1903 Humber in original paint
1917 Indian Model O, a 262cc sidevalve flat twin
Original-paint 1936 Indian Chief 1200cc, winner of the 'Touring' class.
1974 'John Player Special' Norton Commando 850, from the '1970s Heros' class
A mechanical landscape full of appeal
Lamborghini Miura on the lawn Sunday at Villa Erba, when everything is open to the public.  I've always especially loved the knock-off wheels on this model... 
A small reminder that BMW once built aircraft too...
'POR'
The 1925 BMW R37; their first OHV sports motorcycle, basically an R32 with OHV cylinder heads.  Not many of these around!
BMW R90S-based racer, with raised engine and interesting anti-dive fork brace
Steib built racing sidecars too...this one attached to a BMW RS54
1923 Victoria KR1
Jaguar XKSS reflects a lovely day to be in Como...










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