N E W S L E T T E R O F T H E B R I T I S H

M O T O R C Y C L E C H A R I T A B L E T R U S T

BMCT News

November 2013 Issue 25

In This Issue:

Message From The Chairman

BMCT AGM

Stafford Show

New Books For Christmas

Museum News

Bonhams Stafford Sale

New Brough Superior

Diary Dates

Mallory Park Under Threat

The BMCT Collection

ISSUE 25 DECEMBER 2013

A nother year draws to

a close, and it‟s been a

busy one for the BMCT.

We have completed the

purchase of Robin

Spalding‟s important

collection of British motor

scooters following its

successful exhibition at

Co ve nt r y T ran sp o r t

Museum, and have secured

the long term future of the

collection by reaching an

agreement with the

Haynes International

Motor Museum to display

the machines in their

newly revamped museum,

which is due to open fully

to the public in the Spring

of 2014. Robin‟s book

about the collection is still

available, incidentally.

Phone him on 01737

555895 if you‟d like to

buy a copy.

The Trust is also close to

announcing affiliation with

another museum with a

link - albeit a little-known

one - to the British

motorcycle industry. And

a very rare West Country

made competition bike is

due to be repatriated for

exhibition in a local

museum by the time you

read these words. More

details in the next

newsletter.

Elsewhere on these pages

you will read of a new co-

operation between the

BMCT and The National

M o t o r M u s e u m a t

Beaulieu. My fellow

trustees and I are proud to

be associated with the

developments to increase

the profile of British

motorcycles in the

country‟s most popular

transport museum.

All of which brings me to

an announcement of the

standardisation of the

terms under which BMCT

members have access to

our affiliated museums.

Our longest standing

associate member is Roger

Taylor of Steyning, who

joined on 3rd November

Museum. The meeting was

chaired by Ian Walden and

attended by ten of the

Trust‟s twenty voting

members. The annual

accounts and report of the

trustees was accepted in a

motion proposed by Trevor

Wellings and seconded by

Nick Jeffery, and the

trustees retiring by rotation,

John Handley and Steve

Bagley, were re-elected

unanimously on a vote

proposed by Trevor

Wellings, seconded by

Nick Jeffery. Williams

Anderson and Dudley were

appointed as auditors for a

further year, and there was

S teve Bagley and his

team were once again kind

enough to host the Annual

General Meeting of the

B r i t i s h M o t o r c y c l e

Charitable Trust on

W e d n e s d a y 1 8 t h

September 2013 at the

C o v e n t r y T r a n s p o r t

M e s s a g e F r o m T h e C h a i r m a n

P a g e 2

B M C T A G M

B M C T N e w s

2 0 0 3 w h e n t h e

subscription was £20, and

that fee has remained the

same ever since. From 1st

January 2014 your

membership card will

allow free museum entry

to the card holder only,

and any other members of

your party will be

expected to pay the

normal admission price.

Please also remember

your card is non-

transferrable and you may

be asked to provide an

alternative form of ID

wh en v i s i t i ng t he

museums. These terms

already apply to Beaulieu,

Bickenhill and Gaydon,

and by adopting them at

all of our other affiliated

museums we hope to

avoid any confusion or

possible embarrassment,

and also keep our

membership subs at 2003

levels.

I hope you will all

continue to enjoy the

benefits of supporting a

unique and worthwhile

charity, and wish you a

very Merry Christmas and

Happy New Year.

a lively debate about

the future direction of

the Charity with some

very const ruc t ive

suggestions coming

from the members.

The full annual report

will be available to read

on our web site soon.

Front cover: Santa’s on his way! BMCT trustee John Kidson blows away the cobwebs on Graham Rhodes’s Manx Grand Prix-winning

Seeley G50 in the Past Masters Parade at the 2013 VMCC Festival of 1,000 Bikes

Seen at Stafford, clockwise, from above left:

(1) An impressive Matchless Metisse

owned by Graham Nock, son of the former

owner of DMW. Graham also showed the

Greeves Silverstone behind. (2) Getting

nearer completion, the V6 dohc BSA. Can‟t

wait to hear it! (3) Graham Bowen‟s lovely

1969 US-spec T120R. (4) Terry Hoyle‟s

Norton Classic was on a stand full of

Suzukis and beat them all to take Best

Rotary. (5) A tidy Rudge in the Autojumble

looking ready to ride away. (6) The bike we

would like to have ridden home - a

Thruxtonised T120 Triumph. (7) A nice

military pair - 16H Norton and M20 BSA on

offer in the jumble at £4,750 apiece. (8) This

350 twin port Sunbeam Model dating from

1935 was on offer at £6,500. (9) In the

Bonhams sale a very shiny Ascot-Pullin

exceeded its pre-sale estimate to reach a

lofty £29,900! (10) On the VMCC stand we

found this extremely rare 1923 PV, a

London make with 350 Bradshaw engine, of

which more in another issue. (11) “Best In

Show” was this Yamaha Liberty trail bike.

Compare this with what British factories

were offering in 1959! (12) Bling‟s

definitely the thing at Stafford in October,

although this RD Yamaha is taking the

autumn colours theme to extremes...

S t a f f o r d C l a s s i c M o t o r c y c l e

M e c h a n i c s S h o w

P a g e 3 I s s u e 2 5

1 2

3

4

5

6

7

10

11

12

7 8 9

J ust in time for

Christmas! The story of

the Triumph Bonneville –

its conception, design and

production, how i t

c o m p a r e d t o t h e

competition (British and

Japanese), and how it was

seen at the time. With

insights into the company

that built it, from the boom

times of the 1960s,

through struggles in the

70s, and eventual closure

in the „80s, plus guidance

on buying a Bonneville

second hand, this is the

fascinating history of a

British icon.

This is a meticulously

detailed history of the

Triumph Bonneville: its

antecedents, how it came

about, and year-by-year

production changes, with

d e t a i l e d t e c h n i c a l

s p e c i f i c a t i o n s a n d

contemporary road test

reports showing how the

Bonneville compared with

its rivals. However, the

history of the bike cannot

be separated from the

turbulent story of the

company that built it.

Triumph went from huge

successes in the 1960s,

when the Bonneville

conquered North America,

to troubled times in the

early 1970s, leading to the

formation of the workers

c o - o p e r a t i v e t h a t

heroically kept the

Bonneville alive for a

further nine years. All this

is covered here, plus

details on how Triumph

spares producer Les Harris

took over production into

t h e l a t e „ 8 0 s .

Unlike other Bonneville

books, this one also tells

you how to buy one of

these iconic bikes second

hand – all the pitfalls, what

to look for, and what they

are really like to live with.

Whichever one you

choose, it should be fast,

“Tales of Triumph

Motorcycles and the

Meriden Factory” by the

late Hughie Hancox.

From the 1950s through

to the 1970s, Hughie

worked at the Triumph

Meriden factory in various

capacities – a fitter, a

member of the famous

Royal Corps of Signals

Motorcycle Display Team,

in the experimental

department (where he

actually worked on the

A nother offering from

Veloce is the follow-up to

prototype Bonneville), and

eventually as one of the

l e g e n d a r y T r i u mp h

P rod uc t io n T es te r s .

This latter role provided

c o u n t l e s s u n i q u e

experiences with some of

the most iconic British

m o t o r c y c l e s e v e r

manufactured. The story

of testing new motorcycles

at Meriden has never

before been published, and

t h i s i n t i m a t e a n d

pragmatic account comes

N e w B o o k R e l e a s e s

P a g e 4 B M C T N e w s

a g i l e a n d go o d

looking ... on a twisty

country road, there‟s

nothing like a Bonnie,

and with information

on clubs, websites,

spares, and the latest

modifications and

upgrades, this book will

help you get the right

o n e f o r y o u .

Featuring comprehen-

sive appendices of

facts, figures, contacts,

technical specifications

(including correct

colours for each year),

engine/frame numbers,

a n d r o a d t e s t

performance figures,

this is the definitive

book of a bike that

truly deserves the term

„practical classic.‟

“ T h e T r i u m p h

Bonneville Bible” is

available now in

hardback at £35 from

good booksellers or

d i r ec t f ro m the

p u b l i s h e r s o n

www.veloce.co.uk

And as a special bonus

Veloce are offering

40% off all books

ordered between now

and 31 December!

straight from a man who

was at the heart of it.

With many previously

unpublished pictures and

service bulletins, plus

helpful advice on

problems that still exist

with the bikes today, this

is a unique book about a

fascinating time and

place in the British

motorcycle industry.

Softback, £19.99 from

Veloce and good

booksellers.

revamped Motorcycle Display

developed with the help of the BMCT

will take over some of the space when

the exhibition closes on 5th January

2014.

The Sammy Miller Museum would

like to remind all BMCT members of

their winter opening hours. From 2nd

December 2013 until 17th February

2014 the museum is closed on

we ekd a ys , b u t t h ey‟ re o p en

Wednesday 1st and Thursday 2nd

January, good news for those who

have gone stir crazy over Christmas

and need their motorbike fix! If you

haven‟t seen it yet, get along to the

museum and take a look at Sam‟s

magnificent Moto Guzzi V8 racer, the

latest addition to his wonderful

collection.

And don‟t forget the London

Motorcycle Museum is now open on

Mondays as well as Saturdays and

Sundays. Hours are 10.00 am till 4.00

pm.

been involved with the museum

for 20 years, said: "It's fantastic,

absolutely fantastic. "Aircraft

outside over the years slowly

corrode away, they get birds

nests in and the water gets in and

they won't last. They are made of

alloys and they have to be under

cover and kept dry in order to

survive."

The original museum closed in

2000 after it was announced the

main hangar was to be

demolished. Volunteers have

been campaigning and raising

money ever since to get the

collection back on permanent

display. Aviation enthusiasts will

G loucestershire's Jet Age

Museum is to reopen in the Spring,

13 years after it closed.

Work on a new hangar at

Gloucestershire Airport in

Staverton has almost finished. The

museum will house delicate

aircraft, such as a 1925 Gloster

Gamecock, and contain archive

photos and documents - and also a

motorcycle that was made in an

aircraft factory. Initially the

museum will be open to the public

at weekends and on bank holidays

only while the team put the

finishing touches to the building.

Chairman John Lewer, who has

find much to interest them in the

museum, which is dedicated to the

enormous amount of aviation

heritage to be found in the

Gloucester area. The pioneering

work of Sir Frank Whittle, whose

first jet engined aircraft first flew

at a nearby air field, is

commemorated with replica

aircraft and an audio visual

display, while a team of

enthusiasts are fa i th ful ly

recreating the cockpit area of a

WW2 Horsa glider, examples of

which were assembled locally.

It‟s a little known fact that in the

early nineteen twenties the

Gloster Aircraft Company

N e w s F r o m T h e M u s e u m s

N e w M u s e u m N e a r s C o m p l e t i o n

P a g e 5 I s s u e 2 5

Y ou only have a few weeks left to

enjoy the Bond in Motion exhibition at

the National Motor Museum,

Beaulieu. Alongside the most famous

vehicles like the Aston Martin DB5

and the Lotus Esprit S1, there is a host

o f t r e a s u r e s d a t i n g b a c k

to Goldfinger including the iconic

1937 Rolls-Royce Phantom III, the

buzzing autogyro from You Only Live

Twice and Octopussy‟s screeching

Acrostar Jet alongside cars, bikes,

trikes, sleds and boats. A much

diversified into motorcycle

production with an innovative

machine called the Unibus.

The Jet Age Museum have

located one of the few

remaining examples of the

marque, and the BMCT is

pleased to announce we are

assisting the museum with

their plans to put the machine

on long term exhibition in the

h a n g a r fo l l o wi n g i t s

restoration. More in a future

issue of BMCT News.

B onhams annual sale

of collectors' motorcycles

at Stafford on Sunday 20th

October made a total of

£1,337,475, with 80 per

cent of the 436 lots sold

and created a brand new

world record.

Top performer among the

competition machines on

offer, the c.1966 Norton

350cc Manx prepared by

legendary tuner Francis

Beart and raced by Joe

Dunphy and Keith Heckles

found a new home for

£61,980, more than

doubling the top estimate

and setting a new world

record for a Manx sold at

auction. Hot on its heels

came the modern Molnar

Norton Manx, prepared

and entered by Fred

Walmsley for the late

World Champion Barry

Sheene, which sold for

£55,200.

But it was a technological

marvel from an earlier era

that produced the sale's

best result when the 250cc

Moto Morini Grand Prix

racer from the 1960s

fetched £83,260.

The Michael Buttinger

collection of Japanese

motorcycles provided one

of the star lots of

Bonhams' autumn Stafford

sale when the limited

edition c.1992 Honda

NR750 superbike - an oval

piston, 32-valve, V4-

engined technological tour

de force, the like of which

has not been seen since,

sold for £57,500. Ben

Walker, head of Bonhams

Motorcycle Department,

comments: "In strictly

performance terms the

Honda NR750 wasn't any

faster than many of its

more mundane contempo-

raries. What really blew

everybody away was the

bike's sex appeal when it

came to style: never before

h a d a p r o d u c t i o n

motorcycle looked more

like a two-wheeled

Ferrari."

Two of Britain's premier

marques, Brough Superior

and Vincent, again put in

their customary strong

showing, the 1950 Vincent

998cc Black Shadow

Series C selling for

£57,500 while the 1940

Brough Superior 990cc

SS80 - the last to leave the

factory with a Works

Record Card - made

Some 70 years after the last bike left

their Nottingham factory, Brough

Superior have announced a new

model. The company has been owned

by Mark Upham since 2008, and so

far he has been producing replicas of

the original machines. Now he has

revealed this modern take on the

theme with an all-new dohc 140bhp

997cc V-twin engine housed in a

modern frame, and featuring an

interesting dual wishbone front fork.

B o n h a m s S t a f f o r d S a l e R e p o r t

P a g e 6

B r o u g h S u p e r i o r i s B a c k

B M C T N e w s

£54,050. 'Barn find'

examples from both

m a r q u e s a g a i n

d e mo n s t r a t e d t h e

healthy demand for such

projects, the 1938

Vincent-HRD 500cc

Meteor (below) owned

by the same enthusiast

for 60 years, selling for

£25,300 while the

seriously distressed and

i n c o m p l e t e 1 9 3 9

Brough Superior SS80

made an above-estimate

£19,550.

NEW MEMBERS We welcome the following new members

and supporters of our cause:

Colin Jackson, Dawlish

Craig Fenton, Frome

Barry Holden, Portsmouth

Sally-Ann Rollinson, Bognor Regis

Martin Rollinson, Bognor Regis

Jacky Howard, Freshwater, IoW

Mike Ricketts, France

Mark Booth, Basingstoke

Edd Crooks, Dudley

Jonathan Markes, Southampton

David Gough, Warwick

Andrew Gough, Warwick

Jean Gilpin, Bognor Regis

Tony Rothin, Kidderminster

Giles Vodicka, Winchester

Clem Peake, Burntwood

Peter Dunfored, Andover

John Dullea, Gloucester

Nicola Dullea, Gloucester

D M Grandy, Southampton

Ron Hockley, Stony Stratford

Glen del Medico, Ashtead

M B Appleford, Crowthorne

P Coombs, Lymington

Stephen Elsom, North Baddesley

Lee Gibson, Doncaster

Paul Martin, Southbourne

Ian Murfitt, Hersham

Here are some of the notable dates to look forward to early in 2014. Get them in your diary now!

4-5 January The Classic Bike Guide Winter Classic, Newark Showground, Newark, Notts.

8-9 February The Bristol Classic Motorcycle Show, Bath & West Showground, Shepton Mallet, Somerset

22-23 February Alan Wright‟s Off Road Classic Motorcycle Show, Telford International Centre, Shropshire

22-24 February Race Retro Historic Motorsport Show, National Agricultural Centre, Stoneleigh, Warks.

13 April Sunbeam MCC Pioneer Run, Epsom Downs to Brighton

26-27 April International Classic MotorCycle Show, Stafford Showground, Stafford

8 June VMCC Banbury Run, Heritage Motor Centre, Gaydon

activity per year, as per the

agreement. The circuit operators

protested that the extra track days

they had been running were the

only way to make the operation

viable, but a court hearing found

that they were in breach of the

planning regulations and levied a

hefty fine, plus costs. In

September the operators (Mallory

Park Motorsport Ltd) were put

into receivership by the British

Automobile Racing Club and all

racing and testing was stopped. It

now appears that a new company - not

entirely unconnected with the BARC - has

been set up to run race meetings at the

track, which if it‟s true would mean that

the Festival of 1,000 Bikes - the circuit‟s

biggest event - will return next July, as

originally planned. So watch this space….

As this year‟s sun-kissed VMCC

Festival of 1,000 Bikes drew to a

close, rumours were circulating

around the paddock that there was

some doubt that the event would

return next year. Apparently the

circuit has for some time been

operating outside the terms of their

1985 planning approval (with the

knowledge of the local council) but

newcomers to the area were

complaining of the noise and

lobbying for the circuit owners to

abide by the limit of 92 days

M a l l o r y P a r k U n d e r

T h r e a t

D a t e s F o r Y o u r D i a r y

P a g e 7 I s s u e 2 5

O ur trustee Mike

Jackson is pictured

left in his pith helmet

on the Salt Flats at

Bonneville, USA.

Mike was there

assisting the Brough

Superior team in their

efforts to set new

records at the annual

Speed Week.

Riders Alan Catchcart

(750cc) and Eric

Patterson on the

1150cc version set

new AMA records at

101.328 and 124.334

mph respectively.

Photo courtesty of Paul d’Orleans / The Vintagent

Registered Office:

Holly Cottage

Main Street

Bishampton

Pershore

United Kingdom

WR10 2NH

Phone: 01386 462524

Mobile: 07754 880116

E-mail: info@bmct.org

The Trust was originally formed to

facilitate the building of the National

Motorcycle Museum at Bickenhill, near

Solihull in the West Midlands, but since

1995 the BMCT has been an entirely

separate organisation, a grant - making

Charity dedicated to the promotion of

British motorcycle engineering heritage

through a network of affiliated transport

museums throughout the country.

Membership is open to all, and allows

free entry to all the museums in the

scheme. Our funding comes from

membership fees, bequests, donations

and income from investments. Please

direct any enquiries to the secretary,

Andy Bufton, at the address on the left.

T H E B R I T I S H

M O T O R C Y C L E

C H A R I T A B L E T R U S T

T h e B M C T C o l l e c t i o n

Preserving the past...for the future

WE’RE ON THE WEB! WWW.BMCT.ORG

Trustees: I N Walden OBE (Chairman) P J Wellings, S Bagley, T P V Barnes, J F R Handley, M Jackson, J N Jeffery, J Kidson,

Registered in England No. 01445196

Registered Charity No. 509420

Published by Matchless Management Services, Holly Cottage, Main Street, Bishampton, Pershore WR10 2NH

In that big box is the latest addition to the BMCT Collection. It‟s pictured leaving Philadelphia en route to

New York, from where it is due to be shipped to Felixstowe, and then on to be exhibited at a museum in the

UK city where it was made fifty years ago. All will be revealed in our next issue...

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