Kempton Park 2014

www.london-motorcycle-museum.org

Southern Classic Bike Show 2014

As usual preparations start long before any show with the LE Owners Club night on the last Tuesday of April. I go in the car to let Chris F borrow my bike trailer as his bike is not running yet. I have put in the applications for the club and am waiting for the entry tickets to turn up. They arrive on the Wednesday so I have to post them out to everyone. Paul is having the splines done on the rear wheel of his LE and is pretty sure he will have it back on the road for the event. I have four for the stand. On the club night I collect all the prints and club documents, banner and rope stands for the display from Chris W. I only have to provide staple gun, sellotape and scissors plus a few tools and wire coat hangers (always good to hang something from) pliers, Stanley knife and screw driver. A few days before the event Paul is having trouble getting his splines wheel to fit the drive unit and lets me know that he will be unlikely to get to the show. I am not able to help him as I head for St Ives near Cambridge on the Buell to visit my brother who is on holiday there. I arrive home on the Friday morning and load up the car and pick up George to go to set up the stand at Kempton Park. Its all a bit sunshine and showers here but my trip from St Ives was quite sunny and dry. Friday afternoon and the traffic is not moving as I duck and dive around Heathrow to get to Kempton. Chris F is already there and has his bike, the Police box and manikin PC on the stand. It takes about an hour to get all the posters and pictures on the walls and the banner across the front. The sellotape is not sticking to the backing boards so we will have to staple some posters to them. Bunting is draped up high and other than the staple gun, that I forgot, we only have to turn up on the bikes in the morning.

It is a very wet trip on the Valiant first thing and I get to Kempton just after eight. I am just behind George on his Viper Sports. Chris F arrives a little later. Everything is in place other than Paul. I wait until the last minute before positioning the bikes. Paul does not arrive by the time the show starts. Probably a blessing as there is only really room for three bikes. I like to have enough space to invite people in for a chat or closer look. There is a great deal of interest in the LE's and a few take away application forms. It is quite a busy day. I do get a little time to visit the London Motorcycle Museum stand. Pete and Chris are doing a grand job talking, persuading and handing out fliers. So good are they that all the fliers are gone by mid day. I have a little stash that I carry everywhere with me and hand them over.

I do a little shopping and see a 250 BMW, a little tatty but it was ticking over so sweetly I almost bought it but then where would I put it? My garage is full already! Around four the prizes were handed out. After getting a highly commended last year for the Valiant and the Museum Tiger Cub there was nothing this year. Never mind there are other shows in the pipeline. Best stand this year was the New Imperial and pride of place was the streamlined 125 racer.

A Rocket Gold Star gets best in show and Museum Chris's Gold Star does not get a look in, neither does Trusty. I was hoping to get my wife, Gita, into a nurses uniform to get a cameo set up. Pete's mum did have her own period inform. Perhaps next year.

 I think the peach of the oldies was a very well restored 1911 Raliegh. There were so many good examples of bikes at the show with a WW11 Triumph 350 single getting runner up.

Another MOT

london-motorcycle-museum.org

1911 BSA

It is that time of year again and MOT time for my Velocette LE. I have used Jack Lilys since 1993 when they were first in the High Street in Shepperton and then when they moved to Ashford. The MOT was last Friday and I always feel a little uneasy when I have to be at a destination at a specific time on a 50 year old bike. Needless to say it performed as it should and got me there and home again with no problems. I usually ride a much bigger bike so only having 200cc available you have a different approach to how you ride. Starting with some trepidation with the A312 which is a speedy dual carriage way I expect to be be run over or carved up at any moment but after that it is a much more slow speed journey but still with the same risks. I got to Jack Lilys in plenty of time, got an MOT and made my way home again. Leaving more fliers behind. Pete had been there too as there were still a few left and I also left application forms for the BMCT. On the way home, this time of day, in much heavier traffic I now had the upper hand! I could filter and maintain my progress. All those motorists that whizzed by me only got to the traffic jam sooner, I passed with ease and left most behind. I was well pleased with my trip home and with the traffic, as opposed to the norm of being harassed by impatient drivers.

On Saturday I zipped out to Tescos on it a well and Sunday, after a trip out on the Buell to the Wey Valley Advanced Motorcycle Observed Sundays handing out more flyers for the Museum and the BMCT I was out on the LE again to drop in to the Museum to see what was going on. The Thames Valley Velocette Owners Club had paid a visit the other Sunday Pictures of the bikes is on the Museum Facebook page. Sorry I missed you. I was hanging around to hear Rowley get the Venom Clubman fired up for the first time after rebuilding it. I left before it was started up.

It was a nice sunny afternoon and he was hot and bothered by all the kicking. While waiting I had a close look at our new acquisition the 1911 3 1/2 HP BSA. If you compare it to other machines of that era it was bristling with innovation. BSA had been producing motorcycles since 1906 so had some idea about what they were doing.

On early BSA models the tank badge actually has Birmingham Small Arms in the logo. Later models did not have this. From the outside it had something on the right side that looks like a cloth cap box.

I'm not sure what that was for but the mechanical ideas are very interesting. Heal and toe gear change that operated a Sturmey Archer style hub gear. Unlike the bicycle that you pull the gear into position BSA had used a rod on a screw thread that pushed or pulled it into the right gear. Even the gearbox was connected to the pedal and chain drive.

It must had been a bit heavy to pedal along. The other departure was the type of leather belt used. Instead of using a studded belt they used a link one. I guess that the studded belt ran a bit rough so the linked one would be much smoother.

On the cylinder head is a tap and a pipe that comes from the petrol tank. The carburettor does not appear to have a tickler so I, again, guess that this was a way of getting fuel directly into the engine to aid starting. I think Rowley might need this on the Venom! On the way home I did more filtering on the LE. I think the sun had brought out something nice in the motorists and was quite a pleasant ride.