Classic Bike November 2022

THE BRITS love an underdog. And, what’s more, if that underdog happens to also be British, we love them even more. And it seems the Ausies have a like-minded attitude – at least they do when it comes to the Irving Vincent. A venerable British V-twin concept capable of trouncing super-tuned Japanese four-cylinder bikes and Italian V-twins? Yeah, we’ll all have some of that. The Irving Vincent, the successor of a bike that was born in Stevenage and turned into a giant killer in Australia, is our cover bike this month – and rightly so. Not only is it fearsomely competitive on the track, but its thuggish lines also look a million dollars standing still. Another story of giant killing in the issue is how Frenchman Patrick Godet developed the…

November 2022 EVENTSS PORT WAY WEWEREL ETTERS S ometimes the simple ideas are the best. And the concept behind the Norton Owners Club’s Norton Day, held at Maldon, Essex on July 31 this year, couldn’t be much simpler. Ride your Norton to a waterfront park, park it up with scores of other Nortons and spend the day talking about, looking at and admiring other people’s Nortons. Oh, and grab a brew and a bacon sarnie while you’re there, before riding home again enthused by great bikes and great company. Simple, low-key – and an absolutely cracking day out. Norton Day is one of the three annual events organised by the NOC but, like everything else, it was hit by the Covid pandemic. Last year saw a tentative return with a…

This summer was a hot one – but then, it’s always hot at the West Kent Run. The only exception being last year when – as if outraged at mandatory Covid restrictions scaling the event down to a one-day run – the heavens opened! With all that (we hope) now behind us, baking sunshine blessed the return of the usual long weekend format over the first weekend in August. The event’s full title, ‘The International West Kent Run,’ reflects the original concept – making use of the south-eastern location to welcome visitors from overseas; a formula so successful that the entertainment now spans five days, making the journey worthwhile for people coming from afar. Originally based at Avery Hill College in south-east London, the awkward relationship between Metropolitan traffic and…

La Bañeza is the principal town in the region of León, some 300km south-west of Santander. Every year since 1952, there’s one weekend in August when motorcycle racing comes to town. Literally. The entire centre is closed off, the streets are lined with hay bales, and spectators come out in their thousands. Back in the 1950 and ’60s there were virtually no permanent motorcycle racing facilities in Spain – a time when it was customary to race motorbikes through the streets as part of a town or village’s annual festival. Hence, much like Ireland, Spain has a rich history of pure road racing. Except, unlike Ireland, when the time came that the sport needed to progress, the Spanish found the cash – and the land – to build permanent racing…

My dad, Wallace (Wally to his friends) died recently at 97 and I found these two pics of him. He loved the Triumph Speed Twin, but I’m not sure which year/model it was. He rode it in all weathers in an army great coat and waders. My mum went on the back all over the country – wearing a headscarf! The other bike is, I think, an OK Supreme. His last biking exploit was on my then brand-new Bonnie 750 in 1976. It was damp and he locked the front disc – fortunately at low speed. He put a hole in his trousers and grazed his knee. “Don’t tell your mother!” was my instruction, and he didn’t pay for the dented tank and broken indicator. Any more detail you can…

Triumph Grand Prix’s untimely end IN YOUR TRIUMPH anniversary issue, you mentioned in your write-up that early Triumph Trophies in original condition are few and far between, because they only made them in a smallish quantity – but an even rarer model appeared within our crowd in the late ’50s/early ’60s – a Triumph Grand Prix. However, it was soon to change hands for an undisclosed amount when the vendor had his eyes on a BSA Super Rocket. The new owner, who was somewhat small in stature, wanted to upgrade to something a bit bigger than his Tiger Cub. The GP was soon bungled off to a local expert to upgrade it so it looked more like a café racer – with clip-ons, ill-fitting mudguards, a mega and a racing…