Wednesday 28 October 2009

Barn Job



One of the first crappy jobs I had after I left school was working in a factory making commercial catering equipment . Like most manufacturing jobs , it was tedious to the extreme . The only plus point was , I had a nice sideline getting mine and my mates bike parts polished and chromed , the plating was much better quality than the stuff you got on off the shelf parts . They also had a huge machine shop , with a lot of engineers who would do `homers `.
This was around the time when the craze for buying Oast Houses was in full swing . Builders would buy up farm buildings cheaply , do them up a little and sell at a massive profit . One of the draughtsmen from the factory drawing office bought such a property and I can remember him coming into work saying he had found an old bike in one of the untouched outhouses on the property.
Sure enough , a few months later , he rode into the factory car park on a freshly restored Panther sloper . I can still remember the lazy beat of the engine , the smell of the thing and just how fucking cool it was .
Anyway , here`s some more from my mate Rowan . In the pictures , we see a nice little plunger BSA , which Rowan acquired from a farmer for a very modest sum . The farmer even lent him a lawnmower fuel tank and temporary seat padding . After a little tinkering with the carb , he was able to ride the thing home !

Monday 26 October 2009


Friday 23 October 2009

First and Foremost

What Lies Beneath


Ever wondered what`s under all that filler on the raked Triumph frame your going to build a bike around one day ?
Wonder no more , we have our 1970`s correspondant Rowan to fill in the blanks for us . Thanks Rowan .

Monday 19 October 2009

The Grapevine




This bike has been a big favourite of mine since I first saw it.
I don`t know if it`s the `just so` rake or the neat little oil tank but it just hangs so nicely.

Thursday 15 October 2009



500cc unit Triumph , light , fast , fun.

Faster Pussycat ,Faster.

I don`t know about art but...

While I was looking for my old Irvin jacket , I came across this old leather jacket . Aside from being pleasantly surprised it still fits me (just!), I`d really forgotten how good the artwork on the back was.

It was painted back in `91 by my friend Jelly , he did it all with an airbrush from a poster I had found.

Nice thing is , he`s still at it .
Take a look at this Series 2 Lambretta he did recently.

Monday 12 October 2009

Thunderbirds are Go!


Nice double feature from AWoL magazine in`92 , featuring two 6Ts in very different styles .

Oz`s bike (the rigid chopper ) looks like it may be an older build , which has been given a makeover in the smooth and chunky late eighties style.
The pre unit Triumph motor in the stretched and raked BSA frame is classic English chopper material .

Neil`s orange Streetracker is a total contrast .I could live without the rearsets , but otherwise this is a great Bitza hooligan machine .
Love the seat unit and that`s a great colour for a bike like this .

I`d have to change a heap of stuff on Oz`s bike if it was mine , but back in`92 mag wheels and psuedo HD styling were very much `in`.


Thunderbirds look great in any build style.
I think Ginge ( who gets mentioned in the first line of the article) might be the same bloke who built the 45" in a BSA previously featured here.

Saturday 10 October 2009

WWII Jacket



Dug this old `Irvin` jacket out of the loft today . I hate selling anything vintage , `cos you`ll never find another one , but I`m probably putting this on eBay this week .
Contact me (my e,mail addy is on here somewhere) if you want to own a piece of history.

Friday 9 October 2009

1951 TR5 Trophy



The TR5 shares many common parts with the Side Valve TRW , which probably makes it one of the most `fake~able` high value vintage Triumphs .
Special short wheelbase frame , 20" front wheel and that beautiful tank .
The engine is mainly Speed Twin but with the alloy head and block as used on the GP model.
I love the shorty rear mudguard and the lovely (not shown in pic)high level siamesed pipe.

Tuesday 6 October 2009

Caution ; Stolen Content.



Borrowed this from Gasketpants , check it out via the link in my reading list.
I wonder if they`d still give a free replacement if anything cracked or broke ?

Sunday 4 October 2009

`48 Triumph GP Racer



Things I like about this bike ;
# the rims and tyres
# the kicked up megaphones
# the little remote oil filter in front of the gearbox
# the fork covers
Things I dislike about this bike ;
# Nothing.

Friday 2 October 2009

More Megacycle







I`ve been enjoying the pictures Stretch from Nostalgia on Wheels took of the (recently restored and auctioned) Ed Roth Megacycle and Hauler over on the Show and Go Cycle Shop site . So when he offered me some of the pics Show and Go didn`t use , I couldn`t say yes quick enough .
.
Thanks a lot Stretch.