Week Twelve: Watch Out For The Second Wave

Thought for the Week

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!

Week Eleven: Let's Hope Things Don't Go Backwards

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.

Week Ten: How's Life in Your Sector

Thought for the Week

Those of us who grew up in the 1960’s were spared the anxiety of wartime, but we did face the Cold War and the ever present threat of vaporisation. However, we were OK as we had the knowledge to build a shelter under the Dining-room table.....But hang on a moment that seemed to give even less protection than my Dad had in his WW2 Anderson Shelter!

The world has moved on  to a new Century and just when I thought its safe to go outside we have been faced with an invisible viral enemy and a Lockdown. 

Take a look at this somewhat prophetic post-apocalyptic sketch from Mitchell and Web notice anything familiar?

Whats Next

With the weather getting better, thoughts of getting back to Brooklands are ever present. However, the Museum remains closed and there are not likely to be any events for some time yet. 

So, its time to start thinking about what a virtual Motorcycle Show might look like. I was grateful for the quick turn-round of comments from members of the team and there is still time to let me know your ideas and I am particularly keen to learn of any people that could contribute a video guide to their bike or even just a message of support. My latest advice is that it would be possible to live stream the event for real-time interaction with viewers via social media and this could also be viewed after the event. I will try and have a Publicity Trailer that people can share for next week or week of 11 June.

2013 At Brooklands

By the state of my hard-drive, 2013 seemed to be a busy year. I seemed to be catching anything that moved.

I have picked out the Christmas Dinner Roundup film and a teaser film of Ton Up Day. I think I will save the full 13 minute version with footage of every bike fired up on the “Sound Stage” for the Virtual Event.

Montlhery

I also have some images and a bit of film from what I believe is the 2013 trip to Montlhery which features John Bottomley on the Wicksteed Triumph.

The theme for the rest of this weeks blog is bike building.

Zenith Bradshaw 2013

The following film was put together with clips of The Zenith Bradshaw recorded on a beautiful November morning at the Museum.  

Allen Millyard

Just about the last event I attended before the Lockdown was a talk given to the Brooklands VMCC Section by Allen Millyard. He talked us through the build of his Japanese Multi-cylinder projects and ended with his Vellocette V twin. Over the next few weeks I will post his films of his latest multi-cylinder Kawasaki Z1 Super Six project. I just love his laid back can do attitude. It almost got me thinking it was easy!

Part 1 The Crankshaft

Part 2  Sprocket Cover and Crankcase modifications

Board Track Racer Build

Now this is what I would love to be doing during lockdown. Its good to see that there is a wealth of young talented people out there to keep motorcycling history alive. However, I am not sure if there will be any fuel to run them!

Manufacturing a pioneer Rover imperial motorcycle (Silent)

This is a wonderful film. I could watch it over and over. It shows the building of the bike from sand casting the cylinder right through to assembly and test ride.

Running a 1912 Excelsior Engine

Next week: More from 2013 at Brooklands and Allen Millyard.