Pre-war race meeting photos

Some pictures scanned from a family album (not mine!) of a trip to a late pre-war race meet. Absolutely no idea of the location. 

Lovely picture of a race-kitted Triumph Tiger 100.

Obviously a Norton, can't make out the model.

The combo is a Norton and a, presumably spectating, HRD
Meteor in the background.




Cracking ohc race BMW. The chap by the bike is from the
family album rather than the rider. 

Postscript - have received a mail from Ian Clarke. Apparently the above picture I identified as an ohc BMW is in fact a 1937 R5. Here are Ian's comments, 'Just looked at your BMW blog. Interesting piece on the RS. The photo of the pre-war 'ohc' twin is actually, I think you'll find, a 1937 R5. It's '37 because it has the air filter in the gearbox and R5 because it's a rigid frame and, as far as I can see from the photo, a pushrod motor.'
Thanks Ian for the information.

Marcelle Villiers alloy barrel conversion

The Marcelle conversion was one of several power up alloy barrels offered for Villiers engines through the fifties and sixties. More succesful than most the Marcelle became a factory option on DOT motorcycles.

Marcelle alloy barrel brochure page 1.

Marcelle alloy barrel brochure page 2.

Marcelle alloy barrel brochure page 3.

Marcelle alloy barrel brochure page 4.

Cotton Motorcycles 1961 brochure

Here's the brochure for Cotton motorcycles from 1961. A nice range of Villiers machines for most purposes. It's a large format brochure so has scanned less well than some of the others due to the creases down the middle of it but it is still quite readable.

Cotton motorcycles brochure 1961 page 1.

Cotton motorcycles brochure 1961 page 2.

Cotton motorcycles brochure 1961 page 3.

Cotton motorcycles brochure 1961 page 4.

Cotton motorcycles brochure 1961 page 5.

Cotton motorcycles brochure 1961 page 6.

Cotton motorcycles brochure 1961 page 7.

Cotton motorcycles brochure 1961 page 8.

Noel Pope painting

Noel Pope made his name in the motorcycle world as a speed merchant and record racer of note. His motorcycling biography, 'Full Chat' is one of the classic motorcycling books. As the man who held the ultimate speed records for both solo (124.51mph, 1939) and sidecar (106.6mph, 1937) at the Brooklands speed bowl on a supercharged Brough Superior it comes as a surprise that he was the son of an artist. He was a keen amateur artist and sculptor himself. Post War he spent some time in Switzerland and the below oil painting is signatured 'Noel B. Pope 1952'.

Noel Pope oil on canvas landscape 1952.

Seeley Racing Bikes 1968 brochure

Brochure for Seeley AJS 7R / Matchless G50 based racing machines from 1968.

1968 Seeley racing machines brochure page 1.

1968 Seeley racing machines brochure page 2.

1968 Seeley racing machines brochure page 3.

1968 Seeley racing machines brochure page 4.

Matchless G3L scrambler

Nice period pic of a Matchless G3L tackling the mud in an early post war scramble. No details on this photo at all. I would guess that it is an ex-wd bike.



Ex WD Marchless G3L in the bog at an early post-war scramble.

Winter Rallies 2012 2013 season

Summer has drawn to a close and a young man's thoughts turn to winter rallies. The perverse thrill of loading the bike up at the wrong end of the year and heading off to the low, cold, frosty sunset.

The joy of a winter rally is in the camaraderie generated by the wanton wrongheadedness of aiming your moto into the ice and snow for a night under frosty canvas. The winter rally is the leftfield underground of the motorcycle rally scene. As such folks organising winter rallies often take joy in their obscurity, locations are not publicised until shortly beforehand, numbers are strictly limited and published information is hard to come by.

To help the way of the hardy winter ralliest here is a short list of gatherings this coming cold season. A couple I have first hand knowledge of, the majority I don't, but all sound promising. In not all cases do I have dates or links, for some rallies such information is pending at time of writing, for others it will never be widely announced. As above, part of the joy is in the preparation. Do not take the below as gospel, check dates and locations with organisers and do not fully trust me!

Altes Elefantentreffen. 15 Feb to 17 Feb 2013, Nurburgring Germany. Confusingly the'Old Elefant rally' is in fact the upstart new Elefant Rally and held at the Nurburgring.

Elefantentreffen / Elefant Rally. Late January, dates at time of writing tbc. Loh/Thurmansbang-Solla near Passau, Germany. The original Elefant Rally.

Dragon Rally. 9 & 10 February 2013, Wales. The British Elefant and a grand tradition.  

Force Ten Rally. 4 to 6 January, Cheshire, UK. Mayflower MCC.

Rallymans Rally: Early January, near Halifax, Yorkshire. Dean Valley MCC,no further details at time of writing.

Hot Rod Rally. Can’t find any info for 2013 yet, usually late February in Holland. Organised by the Dutch BSA Owners Club and well worth attending. Have a look at the BSAOC UK events list for details.

Krystall Rally. February 2013, date tbc at time of writing. Spidsbergseter Gudbrandsdal Hotel, Norway. Just because it is in a hotel don't think that this is an easy option. Temperatures this time of year can drop to minus 20 degrees.

Primus Rally. 22 to 24 February, Velmunden near Bjøneroa

 Bjoneroa,  Norway. This is the hardcore of all winter rallies and not to be attended lightly...

Pinguinos Rally. 10 to 13 January 2013, Valladolid, Spain. The largest of European winter rallies, an easier option than the northerly rallies but still liable to be cold!  

Finally, if you are planning to attend any of the above this is a good guide to winter motorcycle riding: http://www.mc-addict.com/aguidetowinterriding.htm.