NSA at Weston Zoyland, May 2016

National Sprint Association meetings at Weston Zoyland are becoming my favourite events to attend as they combine the atmosphere that comes with a sprint event, with the social and accessible elements that come with low key events such as this.

Suzuki GT250 X7

(ink sketch with gouache)

Bought in 1990 for £90 this Suzuki GT250 X7 was run as a road racer and then began sprinting in 1997. At that time it was still fairly original and over time the machine has been slowly tweaked and altered to become more competitive within the sport of sprinting. The day before I visited Weston Zoyland Tonmy had achieved a course record for it's class of 10.79 seconds for the quarter mile and hitting 119mph.

John Young’s Tri-JAP special

(ink sketch)

I was thrilled to be asked to sketch this great vintage class sprinter. Using a combination of a 1936 Triumph Tiger 70 frame and a 500cc JAP engine, this is one of two JAP engined sprinters built by John E. Young. As John was riding his other sprinter on the day, I had the luxury of sketching this one uninterrupted.

On returning from one of his runs, I asked John how he did…

 “12.63 seconds at 106.4mph” he answered modestly. That’s quick indeed!  

John started sprinting about 16 years ago. Before that, he started riding grass track at Burton, Somerset and also rode successfully on a trials sidecar outfit and competed at expert level on a 500cc Cheney BSA. 

This particular machine has been out to Bonneville twice, once in 2014 and then again in 2015, but with the issues with flooding and then over harvesting, the bike hasn’t run on the famous salt flats yet. I hope this bike and John do make it out to the salt flats within the next few years, so he can achieve one of his life goals, though in the meantime he seems happy sprinting here in the UK.

Revolution Show Hastings, 2016

In May I was thrilled to be part of the Revolution show in Hastings. In this show Revolt Motorcycles showcased a great mix of custom and classic motorcycles alongside a whole gallery of motorcycle based art. The location was the Observer building in Hastings, the old print works for the local newspaper.

1904 Buchet

(ink sketch)

The Buchet started life as just an engine. Jake Robbins, famed for his girder fork work, was commissioned to create the rest. Jake managed to track down the only other known Buchet of this year and model, which was in Australia. The owner kindly traced round the frame by laying it down on a large sheet of paper and drawing round it. Measurements were taken of the tube widths and lug work so that Jake could make a replica frame and forks. Jake has done an amazing job, fabricating all the various aspect of this veteran machine.

It is unusual to see early machines like this at what is mainly a custom show. The variety of machines on show was great, as it provided a great insight into what people are building, be it modern customs or replicas such as this. You could argue that this is a custom motorcycle by the fact it has all been hand made in the same way a good custom motorcycle is, but I think replica is more appropriate as Jake has done such a great job creating a period machine. 

One item of note is the fact that the engine is mounted very low with not much ground clearance. This may be because the original was built as a cycle pacer, as a roadster would surely have had more ground clearance, due to the roads being rather bumpy back then…

Kingdom of Kicks vs Will Barras Triumph Chopper

(ink sketch)

This was my favourite custom of the show as it used the combined talent of Kingdom of Kicks and the abstract talent of Will Barras. The bike was assembled days before the show, hence some unfinished bits like a missing brake line etc. this didn't matter as it stood out as a full on motorcycle that plays on the traditions of choppers whilst doing it's own thing.

Harris Turbo

(ink sketch)

It was the engine that attracted me to this Harris racer turned custom. The turbo on the engine was original to the race machine that has now been changed into a custom, which apparently won't be ridden which is a shame, as at the heart of this custom is a real race machine that could easily be raced on a track or even sprinted to do what was originally intend by Harris.

1964 Honda 50cc Racer

(ink sketch)

 Indian Board Track Racer

(ink sketch)

The 36th Carole Nash International Classic MotorCycle Show, Stafford

The April show at Stafford is always a treasure trove of classic motorcycles and this year I was commissioned to sketch three of the pieces found below, which made my decisions a lot easier.

c.1959 Norton-JAP 998cc sprinter ‘Thor’

(ink sketch)

Known as ‘Thor,’  a name given by its later owner Ernie Woods, this was the second 1000cc machine built in the 1950s by the former Brooklands competitor Francis Williams. Williams built this in 1959 to compete for the outright record at the Brighton Speed Trials. Based around a Norton Featherbed frame, this sprinter was built on the knowledge gained from building its predecessor in 1955.

The engine is a JAP V-twin using Alfin alloy cylinder barrels topped by Speedway JAP cast-iron cylinder heads. Running on methanol, the engine was reputed to produce 100 horsepower. When Williams sold on his remaining sprinters to Ernie Woods around 1960, Ernie continued to campaign Thor successfully at sprints and hill climbs, achieving 186mph on the Caragrohane Straight in Northern Island. Woods also broke the Ramsey Sprint record set by George Brown on Super Nero.

Thor is one of the few sprinters that has remained intact. Luckily after it failed to sell at the Woods’ family auction in 1996, it was bought by a sympathetic owner who has kept it running, stopping it from being broken for its valuable race parts, which many of these machines do. Sold by Bonhams, I hope the new owner is just as sympathetic to its history and that Thor gets to bring its thunder to sprints in the coming years.

1937 250 Rudge Rapid

(ink sketch with gouache)

A while back I was asked by Mike Griffiths of the Rudge Enthusiasts club to sketch his Rudge Rapid. I finally sat down in front of the machine last April. 

Originally owned by John Cansdale of Surrey from 1960-89, the machine was ridden in worse than barn find condition, though this didn’t happen often due to its bad state. It was then bought by Martin Toft, who spent over five years restoring it to a better than factory condition. In 1995 it won Autoglym Bike of the show at the Birmingham NEC. Later that year John Cansdale’s wife bought it back as a surprise for John. From then on, the Rapid was shown a lot in Rudge Enthusiast Club displays, and this is where Mike came to know John and the machine. John died around eight years ago, and the Rapid passed to his son, who after six months decided to move it on. Mike was offered first refusal, as John knew he was keen on it, though at the time Mike had a fair few machines and so he didn’t take up the offer. It then went to Milton Keynes. After a while Mike, saw the machine for sale and so decided to buy it. I love the fact that it has now come back to a genuine enthusiast and friend of the original owner, showing how motorcycle clubs can keep relationships and histories going through continued ownership.

The 1st Velocette Venom

(ink sketch with gouache)

Whilst sketching Mike’s Rudge, I was asked by a member of the Velocette Club to sketch this very special machine. This Velocette was the first production Venom (engine No. VM1001) and the show bike from the 1955 Earls Court Motorcycle Show. One very individual aspect of the Venom was its beige paint job, somewhat controversial as Velocettes were predominately black.  After the show, it was sent to one of the top Velocette dealers, L Stevens of Shepherds Bush, from where it was sold to Dennis Bradbury in January 1956. Two years later it was involved in an accident where the frame was bent. Keith Gooding took on the motorcycle and during the restoration he painted it black.

For the next 20 years it was used for both commuting and weekend riding by Mr Gooding. In 1981, Les Froad restored it back to its original colour, which is how it is now. The next owners were a small consortium of Velocette Owners Club members – the colour made this purchase a controversial one. Many in the club felt it should be black, but luckily it has stayed Dove Grey Beige. Velocette must have chosen this colour to make it stand out at the 1955 show and it certainly has been a talking point since. A brave decision on behalf of the maker, but seeing that this was the first of what was to become an iconic machine it seems right to me that the colour remains as is, as this is an integral part of its history. The bike differs from the production models as certain extra parts were chromium plated rather than painted and the crankcases were highly polished.

The Venom was important in Velocette history as it was the company’s range leader and successfully campaigned in production racing, competing in the Thruxton 500 mile race, where Velocette was very successful. The Velocette Thruxton model came out of this development and went on to win the first TT Production 500cc class race in 1967.

CBX Turbo Custom

(ink sketch with gouache)

Prescott Bike Festival 2016

It's been a few years since I've attended the Prescott Bike festival and on returning to the beautiful location of Prescott I remembered what a great place the paddock is to sketch in. 

1969 Smith Honda CR750 Racing Type

(ink sketch)

The Grief Kriedler 50cc Racer

(ink sketch)

This particular machine was bought by father and son team Zac and Sam Grief in 2013. They were building a Kawasaki AR50 after seeing a 50cc racer at the Telford show earlier in the year but when this complete Kreidler came up for sale, they changed their plans. The Kreidler was one of the 50cc racers of choice in the 1970s due to the success of the Kreidler and Van Veen factory racers. The Kreidler, although in poor shape, was a great basis for their racer. This became their summer project and entered its first race at Darley Moor in September. Sam was only 14 at the time and worked hard to ride a bike that was unfortunately plagued with problems throughout the meeting. So that winter was spent making lots of modifications, ready to compete in 2014. A 9bhp but reliable engine earned them third place in the championship that year and several wins including the local circuit of Darley Moor, the scene of the previous year’s problematic first race, so a great moment for the father son team. 

More work that winter on the engine yielded 13bhp from the little air-cooled piston port 50cc machine, with a 20bhp liquid cooled disc valve engine also in build. The winter’s work paid off and 2015 continued to be good for the Griefs as they won all 22 races they finished, with two falls and one machine failure. Lap records were taken at all four circuits they raced at and even won in the 250cc class outright at Tonfanau, showing power to weight really matters.

Anables Atom, Monowheel

(ink sketch)

Bespoke 2016

After last years trip to Bespoke in Bristol I was keen to attend again and sketch some more handmade bicycles. Being a local show I decided my trusty 1954 Freddie Grub road bicycle into town, however on arrival I soon realised I had my sketchbook but no pens! I quickly went to my favourite art supplies store Bristol Fine Art and bought some Faber Castel Pitt pens and a rather nice clutch pencil called a Koh-I-Noor to play with. Here's the results...

The Bicycle Academy's Klunker

(ink sketch)

My main revelation of the show was finding out about an event that was held last year called the Hack Bike Derby and event put together by Andrew Denham from The Bicycle Academy. The event was an invitational for a group of 17 bicycle makers were set the challenge to build a bike in the spirit of the pre mountain bike klunkers with a budget of no more than £300. The bikes also had to be fitted with the same tyres to further level the playing field. 

Adi Gilbert did an incredible job of the poster.

Bell Helmets were provided and sharpies were let loose to create individual helmets.

Some very inventive bikes were constructed like the one seen above with a long wheelbase provided by the off set steering!

Love the double forks on Ted James' steed!

Sven Cycles

(ink sketch)

I've been following Sven Cycles since I saw their bikes at Bespoke last year. I love the classic look that they achieve due to their obvious sympathy to vintage aesthetics. The looks are coupled intrinsically with high quality modern components to produce bikes that work to the customers requirements.

Brelis Custom Cycles

(ink sketch)

There was something that caught my eye on this Brelis belt driven fixed wheel machine in the New Builders area, possibly the lugwork. Brelis is a one man operation from Istanbul, Burcak Erbil, qualified in both Metallurgical and Mechanical engineering. Frame building started as an extension of his interest in cycling he is now pursuing it with more vigour and I wish him the best of luck.

Ted James Designs

Not only does Ted make a mean Klunker he is also more well known as a very talented frame and component builder, he was chosen by Reynolds to build the first 921 stainless frame for testing. Find out more about Ted James and his skills at tedjamesdesign.com

More Photos....

 Varonha Frameworks

 Adjustable Geometry Bike with 3 Channel Analogue Data Recorder

Beautiful Flying Gate Frame

Bike Shed Pop In

On the 7th April I dropped off some artwork and prints to the Bike Shed venue in Hoxton, London a great place to get your dose of custom motorcycle culture or just a decent drink and a bite to eat. Whilst I was there I got a little bit of sketchbook time in before my parking ran out...

Triumph Chopper

(ink sketch)

Vintage Motor Scooter Club Extravaganza 2016

After sketching more and more scooters over the last few months I decided to travel to Coventry for the Vintage Motor Scooter Club Extravaganza. It turned out to be a great show with a range of machines from classic Lambrettas and Vespas through more obscure models onto full on customs. There were a few machines that I would have loved to sketch but unfortunately couldn't get a good point to sketch them from, as it got really busy. I did however get to sketch some great machines and here are the results of my days sketching.

1965 Maicoletta

(ink sketch)

I first saw one of these Maico scooters at the NEC show last year and was impressed with the styling and solid look to them. This scooter for the time was expensive but really well engineered. It was very well received in the UK, so much so that when Maico stopped making the Maicoletta in 1966 the UK importer built more from the spare parts they had left up until late 1967. With front and rear suspension and a 4 speed gear box with a heal toe change on the floor this well built large scooter was  a luxury machine. With this came a high price and so they were only produced for 11 years. With a young demographic that came with scooters there was a limited amount of customers and so they couldn't compete with the Italian rivals.

1960 BSA Sunbeam

(ink sketch)

Designed by Edward Turner, the general manager and chief designer at Triumph this scooter was also sold under the Triumph mark as the Triumph Tigress. A prototype of the 250cc BSA Sunbeam was first shown at the 1958 Earls Court Cycle and Motor Cycle Show. The 2 stroke engine was a developed from the BSA Bantam engine, where the 4 stroke was an entirely new parallel-twin which was gear driven to the gearbox. Final drive was by chain in an enclosed oil bath.

This particular Sunbeam was restored between 1983 and 1986. The scooter has been regularly used for holidays club runs and displays since. Only modification has been an electronic charging regulator.

Also woned and restored by the same owner was this 1959 BSA Sunbeam Trials Special. An intriguing machine that I wished I had more time to sketch.

Sting, Quadrophenia, Vespa GS Replica

(ink sketch)

I've been wanting to sketch a Mod scooter for a while and this was a perfect choice for a sketch. It's an exact replica of Stings scooter from the film Quadrophenia. The owner has spent a long time sourcing all the parts to get it right. Apparently one of the hardest parts to find was the amber lamps on the front. Prop makers for the film would have stuck what they could find at the time on the scooters to get them to look right.

More Photos...

 1960 Moto Rumi Bold'or

 1957 Cushman Eagle

 Lui

1966  Triumph  T10 Automatic

 Kieft "Harlequin"

 1967 Lambretta 125 Super Starstream