After three months of Lockdown the Government have anounced an easing of the CoVid-19 restrictions. Also this week Brooklands Museum have announced that they will remain closed, but will be working towards a re-opening in August.
In the meantime there will be a chance to enjoy the Virtual Motorcycle Day here on this blog from 10.15am UK time on 4 July 2020.
The virtual event is being held to promote the Love Brooklands Campaign which aims to help manage the preservation of the site and collection through this challenging time. visit www.brooklandsmuseum.com to find out more.
ARE YOU READY FOR:
THE BROOKLANDS VIRTUAL MOTORCYCLE DAY 4 July 2020
:
COUNTDOWN TO VIRTUAL MOTORCYCLE DAY 10am 4 JULY 2020
It’s
hard to believe that we are now in June, and whilst we are beginning to climb
slowly out of Lockdown there is still a long way to go until things get back to
normal. In fact, the likelihood is that a new normal of surveillance, obsession
with R numbers and partial lockdowns and restrictions on regional level will be
in place for a considerable time to come. Just remember whilst you are out in
the Sun this summer. Watch out for the second wave…..There is always a
second wave!
I have
really enjoyed working my way through my archive and there is a lot more.
However, it seems that now might be a good place to bring this part of the
Virtual Motorcycle Team activity to a close. There is more work to do to prepare for the Virtual Motorcycle Day. I have also realised that I had a few non-motorcycling
projects that need to be done whilst I have a bit more time on my hands; plus,
I should also be spending more research time on the second War Bike book.
Reflecting on D Day commemorations last year and VE Day this year has also made
me think that maybe I should be concentrating on the more recent history,
taking advantage of first-hand recollections. For example our very own John
Porter spent time testing and evaluating military motorcycles in the 70s/80s
and interestingly I found a box of photos at the Royal Logistics Corps Museum
which included some BSA badged Japanese bikes and a diverse mix of bike that
were under evaluation. Who knows one of fuzzy figures riding in the background
could have been John.
To some
extent I find that blogs of this nature tend to write themselves. As I write
this I am reminded of a film of White Helmets hopefuls being evaluated. For a
long time I was not sure if this was real or an elaborate spoof, but I believe
it is part of a documentary. Some of the riding scenes suggest that these are
people who have never been on a bike before! It reminded me that in the first
days of WW1 some Met Police Officers, Army Officers and selected Civilians were
given a tap on the shoulder and asked to join the Intelligence Corps and asked
to report to an address where they were issued with 3½ hp Rudge Multis. Many of
these men had never ridden a bike before so the report and pictures make
interesting reading. Written in that flowery language of the time, this is an
extract of one man’s effort*.“Mechanics
showed him the control, and he started up the hill as Pullin did when he set
forth to win the TT. Maids, Children, dachshunds and Pekinese fled for safety,
and then returning at breakneck speed he skidded almost to a standstill, and
thanks to the excellent Rudge Clutch he managed to execute an 8.”
Anyway
back to the film that I found by chance in my War Bike archive. I have edited
it down as the original is too long for this blog. As for the White Helmets, it
was a sad day when they were disbanded as a result of MOD cuts.
*Warbike P63 ISBN 9781326406677
Douglas Restoration Ends
Back at
Brooklands in August 2013 Ian McCaw and Carl Gebhard had completed the rebuild
of the Douglas.
Here Ian is exercising the bike on its first run.
First off the Douglas seems to have wet stumped
Well too much oil is better than too little, so lets run with it!
The
following year we were pleased to get a visit from Classic Bike Editor Gary
Pinchin and photographer Mykel Nicolaou who dedicated 10 pages to the Museum
and the Douglas restoration.
Garry takes a few notes whilst Mykel takes pictures
Ian & Graham acting as "Flash Harrys"
The Cotton Restoration Begins
Ian and Michael Digby Discuss the build
After
the Douglas, Ian and Carl begun work on the Cotton. There was a lot of debate
about how the work should be done. Clearly the bike as it stood would not been
able to continue being run, and the initial work to strip the bike proved that
it was already dangerous. Underneath the fork aero shrouds the rusty forks were
paper thin. Peter Driver also did some great work recreating the original tank
which was also rusty and quite leaky. Ralph Brough then finished the tank with
a recreation of Doug Earl’s original artwork. The pictures show the beginning
of the strip-down and I will gather the other films and images together for a
restoration film in due course. I also have quite a lot of film and images of
the Freddy Clarke Triumph which deserves the same treatment.
The Original Fork Shrouds hiding some very sorry looking forks
The original Tank. Full of character, but only good for straining vegetables!
The underside of the take reveals just how little fuel it held.
The Oil Tank too had issues
Luckily Peter Diver came to the rescue fabricating both tanks.
Michael McEvoy
Before
we leave the McEvoy Shed I should mention that during 2013 I was asked
directions from two women who turned out to be relations of Michael McEvoy.
Another fascinating Brooklands related person. Did you know that McEvoy’s Competition
Manager George Patchett led the team that developed the Patchett, Machine
Carbine prototype later to become the Stirling Sub-Machinegun.
The Proud descendants of the McEvoy Family
Sammy Miller Workshop Visit
In
November we went on a Team visit to the Sammy Miller Museum, so its time to
take another look at some of his interesting bikes in the workshop and witness
a hair-raising demo in the courtyard.
Allen Millyard
Here are the last in the series of films made by Allen whilst building his Kawasaki Z1 Super Six.
Military Trials Competition
Keeping with the earlier theme of Military Motorcycling here are some slightly more advanced Military Motorcyclists.
Douglas Gymkhana
This is a bit of film showing how they used to have fun on two wheels. None of that ton-up lark for these guys. I notice the ball is a lot smaller than when I saw some Motoball matches in the 70s. In the 70's the goalkeeper had an engine-less moped to move from side to side!
Parachutes and Motorcycles
One Man One Motorcycle One Parachute and a cliff. What could
possibly go wrong. Watch carefully has the hapless Osborne leaves the track on
top of the cliff. The parachute has no time to deploy but maybe hitting the
telephone cable may have broken the fall. This film says more about the robust
nature of the human body than anything else.
Its been great to share some time with you all during this
enforced lockdown. And by the way did I tell you about the stranger in my
garage. I have no idea how they got there!
Thanks for Reading and Watching. See You On The Other Side!
With a slight ease in lockdown open air markets are
back this week although quite how Tony and I will be able to manage social
distancing at Kempton is still work in progress. I took a walk down at the Beach
on Saturday evening and it was still far too busy, whilst a few miles down the
coast at a normally busy resort I was told it was empty. I remembered the
phrase “If you’re in traffic, you are traffic” so we had a quick walk and
returned home. Planning for the Brooklands Virtual Motorcycle Day continues and
thanks for the emails and phone calls. I will do an update via email and there is no trailer film yet. 15 June
is the next big date when non-essential shops can open and the next key stage
will be 1 July when if all goes well more things will be able to start opening
up. I Just hope things don’t go backwards!
Had lots of good feedback from last weeks Humber
film, and I am still in my 2013 archive with more activity around the museum. Don’t
forget you can open all the films to full screen by clicking the box icon in
the bottom right corner
Allen Millyard
In the first film we are back to the workshop of Allen Millyard to find out how he is getting on with his multi-cylinder Kawasaki Z1.
Part 3 Barrels
Part 4 Gaskets
Brooklands Demo Area 2013
Still so much in the 2013 archive and here are a
couple of films of the action at Brooklands. The first is one Thursday in the
Demonstration Area.
The BP Petrol Pump Restoration
The next is a compilation showing work on the BP
Petrol Pump Restoration nearing completion.
Salt Fever
This week is Speed Week so we are off to Bonneville
to experience a bit of salt. By way of introduction I have made a compilation of
trailers featuring Chris Ireland aka Desperate Dan.
Chris Ireland AKA Desperate Dan receives a prize for his bike at the EPE Southern Off Road Show, Kempton Park
Ex Chopper man Tony
Baxter, yes I’ve seen the pictures knew Chris as part of the Chopper scene and tells
me that one day on the forum he posed the question of what should be the next
evolution of his 500cc Indian Scout. Fast forward to 2012 and Chris had built a
straightliner and set a speed record at Bonneville. The ticket speed I have
seen was a modest 81.511 mph however, you have to consider that this was an unmodified engine without
streamlining. In December 2013 he was receiving a prize for the bike at the
Kempton Off Road Show.
Eric Patterson
Next up is the man I like to call the worlds fastest
Patterson. Regular supporter of our Brooklands events, Eric has had a mixture
of good and bad luck on the Salt. Here he is talking to Henry Cole about
his Viscount Motorcycle.
Burt Munro
The legend that is Burt Munro was immortalised in
the Film “The worlds Fastest Indian” starring Anthony Hopkins. I was looking
for some extracts of the film to feature in this blog when I discovered three amazing films which are the story in his own words.
PART1
PART 2
PART3
The Spirit of Munro
Next is a publicity film from Indian
The World's fastest Velocette
We end this section with The worlds fastest Velocette which posted a time of 193.061 at Bonneville.
Next Week
We draw the blog to a close as we head slowly towards a new normal.
