Another dose of 1906 yarns came my way so what’s a chap to do. You’ll find a delightful tale of of “Some Motor Cycling Experiences harking back to 1908, a grim report of a motor cyclist’s demise caused by a motorist and a cyclist and a report of a grudge mate between the Liverpool and Manchester MCs (when the Scousers had established an unassailable lead the Mancs threw in the towel and they all went in for tea and cake). There’s also a great ad which smugly announced that Roc’s military model was being supplied to both the British and German armies. Right…back to 1954. ttfn
Liverpool threw down the gauntlet and trounced Manchester. Head protection comprised blue caps for the Mancs and white for the Scousers.
I’ve just this minute finished uploading the Green ‘Un report of the 11th ACU National Rally and am feeling self-indulgent enough to make a couple of remarks on changing times, not least because my chum Julian has trust returned to our South Island base having won a gold in the Scottish ACU Rally (bloody well done mate, by the by). Most ACU checkpoints are automated nowadays; in 1954, when so many ACU clubmen were roadriders as well as sportsmen, all-night controls routinely offered rest and sustenance. Before the advent of ‘adventure bikes’ riders had ACU Rally adventures on bikes of all shapes and sizes—the overall winner, for the second year running, rode a Bantam, which was by no means the smallest bike to complete the event. There was a sizeable Army entry, riding WD machines. The Mayor and Corporation of Rhyll were happy to welcome nigh on 1,000 motor cyclists to the North Wales seaside at the end of the rally, which included checkpoints from Launceston to Berwick, where Joe Lucas provided breakfast for all and Castrol offered a filmshow. These were happy times when motor cycling was an integral facet of society and swaggering machismo had yet to cross the Atlantic. However, as Julian’s exploit reminds me, the spirit of motor cycling remains strong. So do take a look at the rally report, you’ll also find some excellent WW1 pics just added to Melange V, thanks to mon ami Francois. And I will get back to work.
This snap was captioned “Typical of the hospitality laid on by clubs is this scene at the Birmingham MCC HQ, where Ariel’s Bert Perrigo chats with some competitors.” Callow youths may need reminding that Bert, a world-class trials rider, was a driving force behind the development of the BSA Gold Star, ISDT gold medallist, Maudes Trophy team manager and, by 1954, BSA chief engineer. Of course he was happy to hang out with the lads and lasses who shared in the great obsession. Of course there was a jolly lady on hand to serve tea and buns, supported by a shy nipper who was up way past here bedtime, and of course one of the lads was smoking a pipe. For the spirit of motor cycling look no further.
There’s already a lot to see in 1954, including Motor Cycling’s report of the 50th anniversary Edinburgh Run. The report includes a retrospective on what the Green ‘Un reckoned was the first sporting event and. not surprisingly, features some fine images from previous Edinburgh Runs. All fine and dandy, but I couldn’t resist inserting them in their respective years which burned up at least a pint of midnight oil. If you’re as obsessive as I am you’ll find the new/old images in 1904, 1906, 1908, 1909 and 1927.
It’s 1908 and 18-year-old George looks proud to be riding one of his dad’s bikes in the Edinburgh Run
As promised, and thanks entirely to the IT nous of my esteemed progeny Harry (hello Nozzer), Melange V is now accessible via the main menu. As promised, it carries the surplus (from le mélange original) images from the Great War and our colonies in the Americas. Should Melange IV fill up I’ll also use Melange V for general images of motor cycles and motor cycling. Meanwhile I’m back at work on 1954, where you’ll find roadtests of what we used to call a noddy bike (LE Velo to you, sonny) and the mighty 150cc version of the Bantam, as well as a report on the Brussels show and a reader’s letter in praise of shiny black rubber. Innocent times. I’m adding yarns to 1954 on an almost daily basis (depending on how guilty I feel about neglecting much needed work on the A10, M21, M100 and Triton) so feel free to watch that space. ttfn
From Brussels: this Belgian Buyden, powered by a 174cc French Ydral engine/gear unit, put Brit tiddlers in the shade.
Well that was a bit of a slog, but lots of fun. The towering pile of pics from mon esteemed ami Francois has all but been absorbed into Les Melanges; the remainder are dated and will be slotted into their respective years. Highlights include more than 150 pics of American bikes and their riders which you’ll find at the start of the forthcoming Melange V which will appear in the main menu soon. This page also has dozens of Great War pics—the original Melange page with its huge selection of US and WW1 pics is full. Loads more WW2 pics have ben added to the WW2 Gallery; the usual random mix of bikes and riders have been slotted into Melange IV. Confused? Me too. Just think of Les Melanges as boxes of pics of bikes, motor cyclists, dealers, sporting events and anything else to do with the great obsession. I’m now busy on the main timeline, which means 1954. See you there.
More images are being added to Melange IV every day as I chip away at the backlog; by way of variety I’ve uploaded some more Edwardian advertising posters including this one, which says as much about French attitudes during La Belle Époque as it does about the quality of their drive chains.
…so there I was happily uploading pics to les melanges when I was presented with a splendid cache of yarns and pics from 1906, including results from the ACC End-to-End trial (“Of the 75 starters from Land’s End on Monday in the long trip from end to end of Great Britain, 35 competitors reached John o’ Groats on Saturday evening in the annual reliability trial promoted by the Auto-Cycle Club…”); an interview with Indian designer Oscar Hedstrom who dropped in to visit The Motor Cycle‘s London HQ; and this rather charming report: “The Birmingham MCC held a very novel competition on Saturday, the 30th ult, viz, a slow hill-climb for motor bicycles with single gears and no clutches, pedalling not allowed. Tho committee had fixed the above date as a ladies’ day, and in order to provide something to amuse the visitors, the above happy idea was hit upon.” You’ll also find lots more ads, including…
…100 miles a day for a year; a time trial from Land’s End to John o’ Groats…and a slow race to amuse The Ladies. Motor cycling had matured astonishingly fast.
Before getting stuck into 1954 I plan to tackle the picture backlog. I’ve made a start by adding a dozen or so images to “ARTWORK/HUMOUR”; here’s a brace of shell ads to whet your appetite.
Blimey that was a slog. All the material I’ve accumulated from 1953, when ERII was crowned and your ‘umble scribe rolled off the production. line, awaits your attention. I (more accurately countwordsfree.com) have just checked, and am mildly surprised to find nigh on 200,000 words as well as oodles of pics. It was a busy year. Before ploughing into 1954 I’ll take some time out to whittle away at the many (many!) hundreds of pics, most from mon ami Francois, in the swollen pending files and will also indulge myself down a number of rabbit holes—starting with letters written in 1927 by Oily Karslaske giving a blow-by-blow history of the Dreadnought. I might even find time to work on at least one of the four Brits that are languishing in the reserve fleet. Meanwhile, here are a couple titbits from that glorious year. As always…enjoy!
“Another surprising Chinese exhibit was an auxiliary ‘motor wheel’ for a bicycle which bore every resemblance to the British 32cc Cyclemaster. The only apparent difference was that the manufacturers’ nameplate had been replaced by a likeness of Piccasso’s Dove, which also appeared on the 350cc twin…it has a two-cylinder horizontally opposed sv twin engine of 350cc with unit-gearbox, shaft final drive and a pressed-steel frame; it is somewhat reminiscent of the German Zündapp.”
“Described as the ‘most powerful dragster in motorcycledom’, ‘this monster has two 1,300 Harley-Davidson engines. While a speed of 150mph is anticipated, so far the machine has attained a mere 129mph.” “Margaret Hood, wife of the co-builder of the ‘Brute’, is herself an ardent dragster.”
Head down, working through the blue ‘un’s monstrously thick 1953 show report, and I realised I hadn’t posted any updates for many weeks. So here’s an update: the timeline’s progressed to autumn on 1953 and I hope to have completed the year within the next couple of weeks. More than 100 pics have been uploaded to Melange 4 and some additions have been made to 1900. My favourite feature of 1953, which I’ve been looking forward to showing you, is Vic Willoughby’s tale of his 150mph run along Pendine Sands aboard the awesome Nero. It really is a treat.
My hero, Vic Willoughby, tucked in for a ride on the beach.
Motorcycle Timeline 