1901 Minerva

A very early moto photo this one. Identification was thankfully easy as a close look will reveal. A pity that a family's personal album got broken up but if there are no relatives or those that are aren't bothered then what is to be done?

I'm not sure who this chap is, he seems rather distinguished and certainly wealthy. The building looks quite academic in style, I am wondering if it is in Cambridge? There was a prominent naturalist by the name of Charles Swinhoe in Cambridge but he would have been 62 or 63 when these images were taken. Perhaps his son (or sons - looks like the same chap in each photo to me but the initials are different..)

Either way, nice photos and an unusual early photo that uses the motorcycle and rider in the composition of the image rather than as the subject.

A C Swinhoe with his 1901 Minerva.

M C Swinhoe in 1901.

Beaulieu Autojumble 2023

My first time going to the Beaulieu Autojumble through the main gate as a regular paying customer. Every other year I've gone has been with a stall. It was a different experience but still highly enjoyable, in fact slightly liberating to know that there was no stall to look after and all time there was purely to browse and chat.

To add to the experience Dan kindly provided the event transport in the shape of his 1934 Crossley Torquay Saloon. A very classy way to turn up and a beautiful drive through the New Forest where it was in its element in the 40mph national park blanket speed limit.

The Autojumble seems to be picking up slightly after the post-covid and brexit doldrums. There were a good few more stalls than the last couple of years even if it's not quite back up to 2019 levels. It's great to see a lot more international visitors back even though there are still understandably very few overseas stallholders.

Our transportation for the event - Dan's
1934 Crossley Torquay Saloon.

This is what Beaulieu is all about. Stall with a grand
piano, it was well played too.

John Tickle frame kit for Manx Norton engine
on offer for £2500 seemed quite reasonable.

My favourite bike of the event. 1926 Rudge. I thought
I had gotten somewhere with the owner in persuading
him to part exchange it with me for one or more of my
machines but I haven't yet heard from him. Still
waiting.... go on, if you read this you know you want to!

Rudge detail showing the linked braking mechanism.

100mph Bonniksen speedo on the Rudge.
Very classy.

Bonniksen speedo drive on the Rudge's
rear wheel.

And sticker from the IOM Steam Packet.

Never seen one of these before in the flesh, a Brutsch
Mopetta. Yours for £24,000 sir.

1904 Humber forecar on the Veteran Car Club stand.

The Auburn Aero. A 1931 Auburn fitted
with a 1915 Sturtevant aero engine. For sale
and an impressive beast. I've since looked it
up online and it looks a lot nicer from a distance
than up close. It's a weird mix of eras of parts
but no doubt that makes it significantly better
to drive and no doubt it is exhilarating with 140bhp
available and 70mph cruising at just over 1000rpm.

The Sturtevant aero engine in the Auburn.

Gorgeous 1924 Coventry Eagle flying 8. Very impressive.
Currently on ebay for £75,000. I don't know the
history of this bike but I'd guess it was used for sidecar
racing at some point with its braced forks 

Coventry Eagle again. Beautiful.

Very nice Rover combination.

Full view of the Rover.

Arbuthnot Trial 2023

The excellent Arbuthnot Trial organised by the Salisbury Motorcycle & Light Car Club was last Sunday and 2023 was the Centenary edition of the event. As such it was more popular than ever and was fully booked, this was found out when Matt and I tried to book a ride at late notice hoping for a repeat of our top combo prize of last year (after a war of attrition we were the only sidecarists of a very limited field to get to the end, so tenacity and luck rather than skill). My back took several weeks to recover but the memory of that had faded and it seemed like repeating it all over again would be a wonderful idea.

Entering wasn't to be but it's still a great event to spectate. I turned up at the lunch break at the Tollard Royal Golf Club to have a nose at the bikes entered and then followed the route on my BSA Bantam to spectate at sections 6 to 9 (of 12).

Below a series of pictures taken of entrants both static and in action, no captions really necessary. And if you really have time to kill I made a short clip of a few of the riders that's published on youtube.