LES HARRIS

Les Harris, the 'bridge' between the old Meriden Triumph factory and the new John Bloor models, died last week. From the South Devon Herald Express:

A MOTORCYCLE display team will sound a throttle roar in memory of a Torquay businessman who resurrected the Triumph Bonneville motorbike and met Margaret Thatcher.
Les Harris, 69 and from Torquay, died at Torbay Hospital on February 17 from a progressive lung condition, which he suffered from for more than 10 years.
Mr Harris leaves behind his wife Shirley, his children Carole, Debbie, Angela and Chris, and 10 grandchildren.
Mrs Harris said: "Les was a decent, very hardworking man, with an all-encompassing passion for work, life and his family. He had a mischievous sense of humour and an irreverent intolerance for snobbishness. He also had a dress sense all of his own. Les has left behind a great legacy in our children and grandchildren and our lives have been immensely enriched by his larger than life character and absolute unconditional love for us all."
A motorcycle enthusiast, Mr Harris set up his own business in 1974 manufacturing and selling spare parts for classic motorcycles. As British motorcycle firms Norton Motors, BSA Small Heath and later Triumph collapsed, Mr Harris would pay for and store parts to be delivered straight to customers. As the parts stocked up, L F Harris International Ltd started trading out of a warehouse in Newton Abbot before acquiring an engineering company in Leighton Buzzard and opening a retail shop in Paignton.
Mrs Harris said: "With the demise of the Triumph motorcycle factory in Meriden, Les and I made a bid for the rights to the Triumph name in 1983. Unfortunately we were unsuccessful in this; however, we were offered the opportunity to licence the name for five years [by John Bloor, current owner of the Triumph name] and so an incredible journey began with the move to a bigger factory and warehouse."
Press coverage of their venture was global and resulted in an invitation to Buckingham Palace and the Houses of Parliament. In 1987 the Harris' were visited by the then Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.
"Les was so proud of these visits. For years he has been hailed as the saviour of the traditional classic Triumph motorcycle all over the world. He loved this time, making many new friends as he dealt with customers around the globe," Mrs Harris said.
In 1988 the couple decided not to re-licence and Les began to design his own motorcycle, producing The Matchless G80. The production of the motorcycle ceased after 1990 in the midst of the recession and the business returned solely to the production of spare parts for classic motorcycles. The family-run company now trades from Pavor Road in Torquay.
At his funeral this Saturday, six soldiers from the Royal Corps of Signals White Helmets Motorcycle Display Team will carry the coffin and provide a 'throttle roar' as Mr Harris enters and leaves the church.
Mrs Harris explained: "Les was not in the White Helmets, but our company built their bikes and donates motorcycle spare parts to them."

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I don't preferably like eating crow but the older I get, the easier it is. I feel that when you are a real man you are O.K. with admitting when you are wrong. I've done it publicly on my blog before, and why not here again.

My wife and I for what ever reason, for likely the last 6 months have argued about weather or not the 123456789101112 thing was from Sesame Street of Electric Co. I said Electric Co, she said Sesame Street. She was right again. I searched it out and found a YouTube video of it, and it is clearly Sesame Street.

Click on the image to watch and enjoy the nostalgia of it all.

New Yamaha Mio Racing


New Yamaha Mio Racing

CHARLES SGONINA, PART 2: RACING RICARDOS

Readers of George Cohen's 'Flat Tank Norton' have already heard the story of the 'Sgonina Special', but Charles Sgonina had more than one ace up his sleeve, and was a talented rider as well as a development engineer. By the age of 22 he had accumulated over 50 race wins, and was third in the French Grand Prix .

In 1921, Charlie snagged a Works ride for Triumph at the Isle of Man TT, on their new 4-Valve 'Ricardo'-engined machines. Sir Harry Ricardo was a pioneer in scientific engine development, and created the four-valve layout to reduce thermal stress on the inadequate valve materials available, while improving airflow through increased valve area (see pic above, at the TT).

During practice Charlie learned that Scientific Development didn't necessarily equal the fastest bike; the new Triumph was too slow for a decent placing. Another lesson learned before the race was to keep his eyes on the road; waving friends distracted him momentarily at one point, and he found himself riding on the sidewalk! He gained the nickname of 'Pavement Artist' in the bike rags, also being described as "a Welshman with an Italian name, a sunny smile, and a mop of fair hair."
Sgonina was the third rider flagged away at the Senior TT, a minute behind Howard R. Davies, riding his A.J.S. 'Big Port', which shortly achieved immortality as the only 350cc machine to win that 500cc event. Charlie reckoned on keeping H.R.D. in sight to keep up his placing; at the end of the first lap he was in 7th place, but halfway through lap 2 the 'Riccy' (see an example bovve) dropped a valve.

Next race was the French G.P., where he placed 3rd, at an average of 56.96mph. Bill Phelps, in the VMCC Newsletter, relates; "unlike the TT, in France you could practice any old time and they had great fun going flat out through a bunch of chickens - but French chickens know how to look after themselves. One incident Charlie recalls is going around with Freddie Edmunds who was one of the Triumph team. They were riding abreast at about 70mph when they saw a cloud of dust ahead; about halfway through it Charlie noticed a steam roller, and wondering what happened to Freddie, pulled up. Freddie also pulled up and said 'that was a close one; I heard my clutch lever go click against the back wheel of the roller!' (pic below; Sgonina is far left, with the '21 Triumph TT team).
During the race, Charlie was bothered by salt on the road, used to keep dust down, which gave him a sore throat. As he finished on the winner's rostrum, he was able to gargle with a bit of champagne. His mechanic stripped the engine for post-race measurement, but as much more champagne was available, he was unable to reassemble it!

In the Belgian Grand Prix (at Spa-Francorchamps) 'that valve' reasserted itself, and tire trouble too. So it was back to England and Brooklands, where he had never raced previously. During his first event, he was following Freddie Dixon, who burst a tire at 80mph and rolled endlessly, shedding clothing. Charlie thought it would be a long time before Dixon raced again, but Freddie was tough, and jumped back in the race.
At Brooklands, Sgonina hung around a few days to test fettle his Triumph in peace, but found more trouble, and left the bike with Frank Halford to sort out before the Catsash Hill Climb. Halford worked closely with Harry Ricardo and helped develop a bronze 4-valve cylinder head for his Triumph. Charlie was confident he might gain best solo and sidecar times, given such expert tuning, at Catsash. Race day dawned wet though, and the road turned muddy, so Sgonina used sidecar gearing for his first solo run. George Dance (above) on his Sunbeam went first, then Charlie gave the Triumph some welly and went very quickly, spinning his back wheel on the slick surface. At the finish line, the Triumph's brakes were useless on the muddy road, and he approached a T junction at 60mph; he tried to break right but laid the bike down on its footrest, slid into the hedge, and landed in a heap on top of the machine. George Dance was the first to render aid, commenting that HE had turned left and found a softer landing!

Although injured, Sgonina (above, again at the TT) attached a sidecar to his Triumph and made the Fastest Time of the Day on 3 wheels. George Dance stuck to his solo machine, went straight through the hedge, and ended up in the hospital.

When Sgonina returned the Triumph to Brooklands, Frank Halford again sorted the bike out, and promptly used it to break the One-Hour Record on the track, at 76.74mph!

Dance and Sgonina again squared off at Pendine Beach in Wales, a favorite spot for racing and speed work, being long and broad with a slow taper to the sea; a perfect racetrack, refreshed daily by the tides. Plus, Britain's ban on motor competition on public roads didn't apply to public beaches. In a One Mile sprint race, Dance made his customary 'hole shot' (being a past master of Sprint takeoffs) and leapt two feet, nine inches into the lead, which Charlie just managed to close within that mile. When they stopped, Dance congratulated Sgonina on a win, but he demurred, claiming Dance was yet 3 inches ahead... This was the fastest Charles Sgonina traveled in his bike racing career; Dance confirmed that his own Sprint Special would do 95mph 'any day of the week' (see Dance 'down to it' below).

As mentioned, Charlie gave up motorcycle racing shortly afterwards, but owned quite a few interesting cars, including a 1959 Aston Martin, a veteran of the LeMans 24 hours race, with which he would terrorize Welsh roads and tracks into his 60's...

Many thanks again to Bill Phelps for his images of Charles Sgonina, and for the use of his article which I've adapted here. The images of George Dance are from Robert Gordon Champ's definitive 'The Sunbeam Motorcycle' (Haynes, 1980).

Kanji

Kanji is a Japanese pictogram. It is what we usually think of when we see Asian writing of any kind. I can not tell the difference between Korean, Chinese, Japanese, or any other. They all look the same to me.

I amongst others in the motoblogosphere have been getting the shit spammed out of me big time. I've been deleting the comments left by this "ed" mutherfucker. Ed is using Kanji, or some other similar Asian pictogram writing to get his message across. I think he's got some nifty software working for him, or a company doing it because he is either manually wasting his time, or somehow bypassing word verification. This shit takes time! I deleted 14 comments left from him today alone!

I'd hate to have to do comment moderation. Hopefully he'll get tired of us soon. Your best weapon is to delete his comments folks! If you leave them, he wins. If you put your cursor over them, you'll see they are hyper links. I would not click on them to see where they go. They may link into VIRUSville, or he may get money for clicks, which could be his motivation.

Ed, I have one thing to say to you....




Oh, yeah, ed, In case you can't read Engrish, turn your head ed sideways, to read Go Fuck Yourself!

THE LINE UP AT THE DOGFIGHT SALOON






Charlie Taylor forwarded this photo recently - I had seen it months ago and wondered how such an amazing lineup of machines came about. Here is his explanation:

"The 1947 B Rapide on the far left was my Vincent. Coburn Benson, New England Vincent guru, had advised me that I needed a "B".He was right. Mickey Mouse Antiques of Amherst MA sold it to me - cardboard boxes packed with rust and mouse nests. It became my daily rider for several years, and is the Vincent I wish I'd held onto.

The Norton '66 Atlas was Howie's, and he bought it in Panama after a stint in the Peace Corps in Nicaragua, and drove it all the way to Connecticut, developing what he called 'Norton arm' in the process. 'Norton arm' was akin to 'Vincent knee', which I sometimes had. The former was permanent, and the latter temporary. One night, when Howie was returning from doing the Eleven Step at the Nick, the quick detach wiring harness quickly detached when he hit a pot-hole, and he was plunged into total darkness. It was a dark and stormy night, but fortunately the ignition died too, and he didn't crash. There's a moral in this, but I don't know what it is. Howie sold it to Jocko, and he rode it for several years. Jocko actually paid me to work on this bike, and I did quite a lot to it. After Jocko's untimely demise (he is still greatly missed, as is Howie), I was involved in selling it to Peter Shallenberger (sp?), and I also sold Jocko's magnificently ratty Vincent to a lawyer in upstate New York. I rebuilt the Vincent, and it's in a museum somewhere. Peter didn't ride the Atlas much, making excuses like 'my lizard is inactive'. I lost track of it after that. Where are the Rats of Yesterday?

David the photographer [who took the photograph with a mahogany and brass glass plate camera] bought the '49 Norton International in '66 from Harold Perrault in Shelburne Falls Mass. He used it to commute to work at Mystic Seaport, and eventually Kenny Bean blew it up racing rednecks during a summer party at Dogfight. Rednecks didn't catch him, though. I traded David a Velocette scrambler for the Intersaur, rebuilt it, and rode it for many years, until I restored it and sold it to a collector in Maine. The yuppies were a'comin' in.

I worked on most of these bikes, except for the '60 BSA Goldstar, which was owned by Gold Star Kenny, who packed all his worldly goods on the back, and drove it from Georgia to take a job at the Guild Guitar factory in Westerly R.I. He kept it in razor tune, and it always (almost) started on the first kick which was a good thing, because he weighed about 120 lbs.

Ello's Triumph 3T was the hardest working bike of the lot. It was purchased either at Comerfords or Pride and Clarke in south London. Ello used it to commute to her town-planning job in R.I., and if remember correctly, it morphed into the 'bobber' 650 Thunderbird, which I brought back from London in '75, when we did a trade. The 350 then became Marian's bike when we lived in Tomales CA. She put a lot of miles on it, commuting to Dominican College in San Raphael, a 150-mile round trip. She also used it while working as a reporter for the Point Reyes Light, interviewing geezers about clever ways of doing in gophers etc. When we moved back to Stonington, it sat festering in the barn for several years. After charging the battery and draining the carb, it started right up. I remember the burning carcass of a mouse blowing out the left muffler, followed by its nest. Harsh. Marian rode it down the vineyard road and back, and said, no, I don't want to do this anymore, so we sold it to a lady dentist in Mystic.

The '66 Velocette Thruxton mostly lived in the Quonset hut over the bullshit pit, but was hauled out now and then and started for ceremonial occasions, like this one. I sold it to a couple of guys from up north. It started on the first kick and the sale was sealed.. God loves me.

In the background is the Mosquito Breeding Experiment, Old Blue the Dodge Dart station wagon, whose oil never needed to be changed because David kept ripping the pan out on the dirt road to Dogfight, and the Yellow Truck, a 24-volt Korean War military Dodge which was used for Dogfight dump runs.
But where are the Dogs? Maybe moving invisibly like Civil War soldiers in a Brady photograph.---"

Daytona Bike Week - Get a Start on the Rally Season

The 68th anniversary of Daytona Bike Week is being held February 27 - March 8, 2009 in Daytona Beach, Florida. The start of Daytona Bike Week is often announced on the morning TV news shows. You know, where somebody sticks their face in front of the camera and announces: "We're at the opening of Daytona Bike Week. Good Morning America," and then you see a whole line of bikes roar off in front of the camera. Unfortunately, most of the remainder of Bike Week will not be seen by non-motorcyclists.

Check out my article, Daytona, for details.

Here in the frigid Northeast, I hear plenty of people talking about going to Daytona. Some are riding down with friends. Riding sometimes means riding in a car and towing a trailer with the bike on it. After all, the 1500 miles down with uncertain weather conditions has left many a rider stranded in a snow storm or Nor'easter. After that happens to you once, you tend to be a little more cautious the next time you go.

Maybe you want to skip Daytona and concentrate on planning to go to some smaller rallies this year. Be sure to read my article, Motorcycle Rallies, where I discuss rallies and give you information about the top rallies that I like. Of course, your views may be different -- this is Motorcycle Views after all.

I just got my registration information for the Americade Motorcycle Rally. That one is my favorite and I've gone every year since 1994.

It can get expensive going to lots of rallies, especially if you're taking two bikes. Double gas, double tolls. You just have to pick and choose what appeals to you most in these uncertain economic times. Motorcycle rallies are a lot of fun. If you've never attended a rally, you owe it to yourself to go. You just might find a rally or two that you'll want to go to every year, just like I go to Americade, regardless of the weather.

Cancel your credit card before you die

(hilarious!)

I tried to Snopes this to check it's validity, and they found nothing, so if not true, still funny as a joke.

Now some people are really stupid!!!!
Be sure and cancel your credit cards before you die.


This is so priceless, and so, so easy to see happening, customer service being what it is today.

A lady died this past January, and Citibank billed her for February and March for their annual service charges on her credit card, and added late fees and interest on the monthly charge. The balance had been $0.00 when she died, but now somewhere around $60.00. A family member placed a call to Citibank.


Here is the exchange
:

Family Member:
'I am calling to tell you she died back in January.'

Citibank
: 'The account was never closed and the late fees and charges still apply.'

Family Member
: 'Maybe, you should turn it over to collections.'

Citibank
: 'Since it is two months past due, it already has been.'

Family Member
: So, what will they do when they find out she is dead?'

Citibank
: 'Either report her account to frauds division or report her to the credit bureau, maybe both!'

Family Member
: 'Do you think God will be mad at her?'

Citibank:
'Excuse me?'

Family Member
: 'Did you j ust get what I was telling you - the part about her being dead?'

Citibank
: 'Sir, you'll have to speak to my supervisor.'


Supervisor gets on the phone
:

Family Member
: 'I'm calling to tell you, she died back in January with a $0 balance.'

Citibank
: 'The account was never closed and late fees and charges still apply.'

Family Member
: 'You mean you want to collect from her estate?'

Citibank
: (Stammer) 'Are you her lawyer?'

Family Member
: 'No, I'm her great nephew.' (Law yer info was given)

Citibank:
'Could you fax us a certificate of death?'

Family Member
: 'Sure.' (Fax number was given )


After they get the fax
:

Citibank
: 'Our system just isn't setup for death. I don't know what more I can do to help.'

Family Member: 'Well, if you figure it out, great! If not, you could just keep billing her. She won't care.'


Citibank:
'Well, the late fees and charges will still apply.'

(What is wrong with these people?!?)


Family Member
: 'Would you like her new billing address?'

Citibank
: 'That might help...'

Family Member: ' Odessa Memorial Cemetery , Highway 129, Plot Number 69.'


Citibank
: 'Sir, that's a cemetery!'

Family Member
: 'And what do you do with dead people on your planet???'



(Priceless!!)

You wondered why Citi is going broke and need the feds to bail them out!!

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Crack in the windshield

Sooooo,
Driving down the road, out of the blue a very large crack appears in the windshield. I try to look left, I try to look right, either way, that damned crack was still in my vision.

.

Can you even put words into an explanation for this???

Kawasaki Issues Recall of 2009 NINJA ZX-10R Motorcycles for Oil Leak Defect

Kawasaki has issued a recall of certain 2009 NINJA ZX-10R motorcycles.

Kawasaki is recalling model year 2009 NINJA ZX10R (ZX1000E9F/E9FA/E9FAL) motorcycles. The timing inspection caps on the starter clutch cover may come loose due to improper tightening and fall out, allowing oil to leak onto the rear tire.

The number of units has not been specified.

Check out my Motorcycle Recalls feature for more details.

Kawasaki Issues Recall of 2008-2009 KL650E for Wire Shorting Problem

Kawasaki has issued a recall of certain 2008-2009 KL650E motorcycles.

Kawasaki is recalling model year 2008-2009 KLR 650 (KL650E8F/L, KL650E9F/L) motorcycles. Wires in the wiring harness might be damaged due to rubbing contact with a portion of the motorcycle frame.

The number of units has not been specified.

Check out my Motorcycle Recalls feature for more details.

Kawasaki Issues Recall of 2008-2009 KL650E for Loose Muffler Bolts

Kawasaki has issued a recall of certain 2008-2009 KL650E motorcycles.

Kawasaki is recalling model year 2008-2009 KLR 650 (KL650E8F/L, KL650E9F/L) motorcycles. The muffler assembly is secured to the frame of the motorcycle by two bolts. It is possible that heat expansion cycles of the muffler, combined with vibration from vehicle operation may cause loosening of the muffler mounting bolts.

16,500 units are affected.

Check out my Motorcycle Recalls feature for more details.

CHARLES SGONINA, PART 1: THE 'SGONINA SPECIAL'

The name of Charles Sgonina languished in obscurity until fairly recently, when George Cohen included the amazing 'Sgonina Special' in his 'Flat Tank Norton' book. Created originally as a speed upgrade for his Norton 'Brooklands Road Special', Sgonina (born in 1901) eventually built a Double-Overhead-Camshaft conversion for the former sidevalve machine, and honed the motorcycle into a spindly and extremely purposeful tool, on par aesthetically with George Dance's sprinting Sunbeams, but with far more technical interest.

I recently asked Bill Phelps to fill me in on his old friend Charlie's story, and the following is edited from an article Bill wrote in a 1966 V.M.C.C. newsletter:

"Charlie is in the engineering trade in Cardiff; my first encounter with him was several years ago, when I required some work on my motor-cycle. He does not talk much about the Twenties, when he rode in many International events, and it was a few years after my first encounter with him that he did chat some on the Vintage era.

He bought his first motor-cycle in 1918; a belt-driven 4hp Triumph. His next machine was an Enfield, which gave him his first taste of chain drive. Next, at age 18, he purchased a secondhand 'B.R.S.' Norton (example above), belt-drive with a certificate that it had lapped Brooklands at 70mph. With this machine, Charlie entered the world of motorcycle competitions, and in 1919 he converted it to O.H.V., using a steel cylinder with detachable inlet and exhaust ports - this was three years before Norton introduced their own OHV machine. He raced the bike at Weston Speed Trials and won a few events, then at Pendine [beach], then at Style Kop, Birmingham - he raced Graham Walker in a Novice event, and managed to beat him; they formed a lasting friendship.

Even in the late Forties Charlie wrote articles for Graham, who was editor of Motorcycling.
However the engine of his Norton had a short life; the piston cracked around the gudgeon pin, then Bang! Only the camwheels were salvageable... But by now the Speed Bug had bitten, and Charlie managed in 1920 to persuade Norton to part with an actual T.T. frame and gearbox. His new engine wasn't as good as the first OHV, but with alterations it eventually get a move on, performing in quite a number of events with moderate success. (above, Sgonina on his OHV machine, with Dr. Lindsay and Jack Thomas on their sidevalve racers, 1920).

Charlie said, "About this time I started to alter valve timings and cam design and found out what a lot of study must be put in on this subject, as to make a cam that looks good is just silly. Anyone thinking of making new cams must first of all consider valve gear reciprocating weight, strength of valve springs permissible, and from this work out what kind of constant acceleration cam would be suitable. I always tried to fill the cylinder as full as possible at fairly high engine revs, and run on a compression ratio to suit the hottest plugs available which meant that I was running on a lower compression ratio than many and yet getting more power."

In 1922, after building his own frame, he added a chain-driven Overhead-Camshaft cylinder head, which caused a considerable stir (above); a number of drives were tried, as the chain thrash at certain revs was disconcerting. The best solution [remember, this is pre-Weller tensioner for chains] was to drive the magneto and camshaft on the same chain, but soon Sgonina switched to a vertical bevel gear drive, which cleaned up the appearance, solved the chain thrash, but did not increase speed.

There were plenty of troubles with pistons and and head joints, and a con-rod broke just below the gudgeon pin. There was little trouble with the valves though, using heat-treated Tungsten steel. He used a Petrol-Benzole fuel mix, and always rode his machines to events, but was not always lucky enough to ride them home!

He tried supercharging this engine but was disappointed, and after having a few fires the project was dropped. You can be assured that the flame coming from a blower will beat any brazing lamp!

In 1923, Charlie's last modification to this engine was a 90-degree inclined-valve Double Overhead Camshaft cylinder head - this was fully 14 years before Norton introduced their own DOHC motor. The Sgonina Special used bevel drive, a steel cylinder and silicone alloy die-cast piston. This was his first attempt at die-casting, and made at least six before making a really good one. The pattern for the cylinder head was quite a difficult piece of work and some beautiful castings were turned out. He was surprised at the strength of the valve springs required to prevent valve float, as only light thimbles were used between valves and cams to keep down reciprocating weight. This new engine was installed in a modified Sunbeam Sprint chassis.

This engine was never fully developed, but seemed to have great possibilities and even in this state was better than any of Charlie's previous efforts, being reliable and speedy and with slight alterations would have been ideal to run on alcohol fuel. It was road tested early one morning down Allensbank road in Cardiff and clocked 86mph.

Unfortunately he broke his arm practising on a grass track - with this, and the ban on motor racing on public roads, and the trade depression, Charlie had no encouragement to continue, but once the speed bug bites, you never seem to give it up, and he began to race on four wheels.."

Many thanks to Bill Phelps for the article, and George Cohen for the use of the images from his excellent 'Flat Tank Norton', which you can order here.

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Bobber

This is the cyber bobber I built. I named it Bob. Go figure.
Go ahead and try it. It's really cool and really easy. Besides, while you are at it, you can enter to win a Perewitz chopper! Just click on the picture to go directly to the site.


You could always use a cash advance to help pay for a new bike!

Motorcycle Pictures of the Week - Joe

Here are my Pictures of the Week as displayed on the Motorcycle Views Website. These are taken from the Moto Pic Gallery. See Joe on his Silver Wing Scooter. For details, see Motorcycle Pictures of the Week.

If you'd like to see your bike as Picture of the Week, submit a picture of you and your bike along with a description of the bike.

Desert Dawgs motorcycle rain guards user reviews

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Gnats Ass

As quoted by Lady Ridesalot A.K.A. Glider Rider on Thursday Feb. 19th, in her Too close for comfort post..."He just missed hitting the front of my car by a gnat's ass!"

This reminded me of all of the different things we say for terms of measurement.

Just how big of a distance is a gnats ass anyway?

Maybe it's only about 6".

Maybe It's about 1 foot.

Maybe even a foot and a half

Or two feet even!

Nah, I think it's closer measured in.....



THE RACE IN SPAIN IS MAINLY ON THE PLAIN

Dave sent this photo today, and it deserves a click to see the details. Great atmosphere; the old buildings in the town center with a narrow and unlined main street, the expectant crowds wearing suits and fedoras, the Spanish flag bunting (convenient to use a tricolor as the flag - it can stretch endlessly), the marginal start line, all speak to a 'local' race in a small town, where a bunch of motorcycles blasting through the streets is the most exciting thing to happen since the Civil War ended about 10 years ago...
What we see is three professional racers in this 350cc event; two on Velocette MkVIII KTTs (#s 3 & 31), an early AJS 7R (#8), plus the 'local talent' who likes to ride his motorcycle quickly between farm and town, riding a wholly inappropriate Sarolea (?) with hand-shift, heavy valanced mudguards, wide handlebars with up-turned levers, and most dangerously, studded trials tires. He is wearing leathers, but his jacket has epaulets (never seen on racing kit), his pants are bulky, and he appears to be wearing his shiny street shoes rather than the purposeful boots of the other racers.
Worst of all is the utter disdain being shown by #3, literally looking down his nose at #1.
But, he is NUMERO UNO for the moment! Tally ho!

Crazier than riding twisties on a motorcycle...

SWISSPASS 2 : GRIMSELL jean yves blondeau buggy rollin


Due to copy right, this cannot be embedded, so when you click on the picture, It'll take you to YouTube.

This guy actually passes this motorcycle.
(Enjoy the adrenaline rush!)

Yamaha Spark 135 Road Racing


Yamaha Spark 135 Road Racing
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