▲ Otto Walker by Martin Squires. If this image doesn't make you choke on your Rice Krispies, you probably need to adjust your medication. Walker raced from around 1910 to the early twenties and is said to be the first man to win a motorcycle race at over 100mph. By 1913, at the age of twenty-three, this Californian was the numero-uno West Coast amateur racer. The following year, Harley sponsored "Camelback" Walker (so named due to his unique riding profile) who wowed the crowds and helped put the Big H firmly on the racing map. He died in 1963 after a decent enough 73 years. Artist Martin Squires can sell you a print of this wonderful image at £50 (A3 size, unframed), or £40 (A4 size, also unframed). Just as Otto Walker had the right touch on the track, it looks like Martin Squires has got it on canvas. Check out his blog. Our prediction is that you'll be seeing a lot more of his work, quite probably right here on Sump.
April 2012 Classic bike news Bert Weedon: 1920-2012 Norton set to race at the 2012 IOM Senior TT Three Crockers head for Stafford New Genuine Sump T-shirt - £15.00 Antique Bike Day at "mythical Montlhery" H&H Hurricane to sell at Duxford 80th Royal Enfield birthday party Dirt Quake: motorcycle mayhem Radical new parking tax introduced Continental wax cotton jacket from
Chequered Flag Thames water "pride" initiative 2012 Festival of 1000 Bikes Jim Marshall, OBE: 1923-2012 New Triumph Bonneville T-shirt Frank "Radco" Farrington has died Think Bike, Think Biker "a success" Supercool Sump "Goggles" T-shirt 1939 Triumph Speed Twin on eBay The Humber Bridge scraps bike tolls
March 2012 Classic bike news Ex-Brian Verrall Vincents to sell Somerset targets faceless bikers £80,000 Brough Superior SS120 An end to rural petrol stations? Interesting BSA WM20 3-wheeler Jampot Spares scheme has rebranded
Interphone Motion Cam
Willie G Davidson retires
Big release of US oil reserves expected
BSA M20 & M21 T-shirt—£15.95 Mick Walker: The ride of my life British bike magazines losing sales Bonhams Bristol Sale: Sold out. Almost
February 2012 Classic bike news Brightspark "EasyCap" Condensor C03 "Autopilot cars within 10 years" Derek and Don Rickman: The Métisse Story Norton Transformer video DVLA set to close all regional offices by 2013 In search of Mr Nelk 1,000,000 UK drivers are aged 80+
Spare some change for the BNP?
Drivesafe goes live
Dennis Slaughter gets an MBE
"Time warp" c1917 BSA 4¼hp sold at Bonhams' February Paris Sale
OEC-Anzani replica outfit
Girder Fork & Classic Motor Cycle Club
Kevin Schwantz to ride at the 2012 Festival of 1000 Bikes
January 2012 Classic bike news AP Racing brake calipers are back on sale.
But not just yet ...
BMW to fit Datatags as standard
£65.72 KLG spark plug (and tin) on eBay
London Mayor Johnson opens Red Route bus lanes to bikers, permanently
8th Hotrod Hayride
Daylight saving bill thrown out
"Mandatory French high-visibility vests" to be replaced by armbands?
"Dayglo" e-petition gathers support
France bans SatNav speed camera warnings
Eighty bikers quiz MEP Pete Skinner
South of England RealClassic Show & Bikejumble Sunday 11th March
Du Pont Vegas sale hits $1 million
"High visibility jackets" to become
compulsory in France
New Tiger Cub on the way?
New winter classic show gets off to
a warm start
New Raleigh bicycle book
Continental time for British bikers?
MEP Pete Skinner's biking surgery
Triumph to build bikes in India
Carole Nash free iPhone app(lication)
VMCC July-Dec competition winner
"Wrong way" cycling to be legalised?
Dealer decals from Val Emery
December 2011 Classic bike news Manx Norton screen for Thruxton Bonnies 2012 Andy Tiernan calendar Top five UK biker gripes revealed Harley-Davidson sued over "dodgy" ABS warning light London bus lane victory for bikers JVB Brit Bobber—yours for €15,000 Annual SORN to be scrapped. And V5Cs too? Royal Enfield Crusader info wanted "Joint enterprise" bikers cleared 50-plus classics found in a hall BBC online road death map Warning: London Low Emissions Zone, 2012
November 2011 Classic bike news Royal Enfield Bullet Desert Storm Bonhams to auction WW11 POW One hundred years of Watsonian Newly minted Commando bearing shells from Andover Norton Du Pont Collection to be auctioned New McQueen photo book Hot Work by Hepworth & Grandage 2012 Triumph Speed Triple R Brussels protest ride gathers pace Von Dutch Bonnie: last chance to buy Triumph Tiger Explorer 1200 Rollerburn picks Davida $250,000 Brough offered online MoTs to be scrapped for pre-1960s bikes and cars?
October 2011 Classic bike news Classic "Rode Safely" YouTube vid
VMCC BSA Rocket Gold Star raffle closing...
Steve McQueen T100 Bonneville
Moby Dick fails to reach estimate
Bonhams back in Harrogate
Grand Prix helmets set for launch
Sammy Miller's honorary membership
New law is set to target dangerous drivers
$13,975 for a BSA M20?
Indian production re-started
London Motorcycle Museum expansion plans
2012 AJS and Matchless owners club calendar
Riders Digest is bust
Fonzie's Bud Ekins Triumph sale
September 2011 Classic bike news 80mph limit back on the agenda?
Diabetes driving licence woes
Thirty years of the Suzuki Katana
John Favill to talk at Coventry
Tell it to Penning
Thomas Humber gets a plaque
10th anniversary of the Davida Jet
"Gus Kuhn" Commando: £6,670
Wideline Featherbed from Andover
Mike Wheeler: new Royal Enfield dealer
2012 Triumph 675 Daytona unveiled
1936 Panther on eBay - £14,999
Three dead at the 2011 Manx
August 2011 Classic bike news Hughie Hancox:1938-2011
John Howard Davies: 1939-2011
Radical shake up of the MOT regulations?
Custom BSA takes World Championship freestyle second
MOSI's Customising, Culture and Harley-Davidson exhibit
Cheffin's T140 Bonneville bargain
Mick "Hesketh" Broom hospitalised
Solicitors from Hell
Gary Nixon: 1941-2011
Vince Cable's Norton Loan
Bill Saker's new venture
Rick Edwards: 1967-2011
Rockingham Classics & Sports have closed
July 2011 Classic bike news
June 2011 Classic bike news
May 2011 Classic bike news 
April 2011 Classic bike news
March 2011 Classic bike news
February 2011 Classic bike news
January 2011 Classic bike news
December 2010 Classic Bike News
November 2010 Classic Bike News
October 2010 Classic Bike News Low sun warning from the IAM "Plain clothed" traffic wardens 100,000 anti terror suspects stopped
in 2009: zero arrests Bud Ekins memorabilia auction Brough Superior makes a record £286,000 Triumph 675R Daytona tank badge intrigue Philip Hammond criticised over insensitive suicide remarks EC rejects ABS "switch off" option 100 Years of AA Ireland stamp issued Norman Hyde triple pistons Norvin cafe racer auction result Quarter of a million pound Brough? Dave Aldana's Rocket for sale Andy Tiernan Air Ambulance calendar Big UK freeze on the way Helmut Fath's URS outfit sells for
£102,700 at Stafford New sliding gear for BA or BAP gearboxes Triumph Trident and BSA Rocket Three oil pumps from Hyde AJS 7R & Matchless G50 looking for £25-£28k & £28k-32k, respectively Triumph Trident and BSA Rocket Three oil pumps from Hyde AJS 7R & Matchless G50 looking for £25-£28k & £28k-32k, respectively Triumph Tiger XC images released 2011 Adventure Travel Film Festival Keis bodywarmer Eric Patterson at the Ardingly Show Motorcycle Action Group organising
mass lobby of Parliament Tom Swallow James Comet for sale Mayor Johnson launches
motorcycle safety campaign Sussex Police on TV 2011 ABS Triumph Speed Triple Bonham's £12,000-£16,000
1939 Triumph Tiger 100 Norman Wisdom 1915-2010 New driving test rules take effect 125p per litre petrol soon? New Rocker culture book Legendary 100 Club set to close Cycle lobby to challenge motorcycle
bus lane access M4 bus lane now open to cars Norvin cafe racer to fetch £29,000? 1931 500cc Sunbeam Model 9 Plus
September 2010 Classic Bike News
August 2010 Classic Bike News
We showed up, and they didn't sling us out...
It's been said many times, and with justification, that the public doesn’t know what it wants until it sees it. So it was with the seminal 498cc Triumph Speed Twin, launched at the London Motorcycle Show at Olympia in November 1937 ... (read more)
The BSA M-Series sidevalves (M20 and M21) were introduced in 1937 and owe their existence to the draughting pen of a certain Valentine (Val) Page—the same highly-talented ex-JAP and ex-Ariel designer responsible for machines suchas the technically creditable (if stylistically wanting) Triumph 6/1, the redoubtable BSA Gold Star and, not least, a wide range of highly underrated Ariel singles ...
(read more)
The Royal Enfield Bullet is like a great stage show that just runs on and on, season after season, year after year, moving from town to town, continent to continent, easily understood and enjoyed by whoever’s gluteus maximus occupies the best seat in the house ...
(read more)
When the 1946 Sunbeam S7 was unveiled to the post-war biking public, it was one of the most technically advanced motorcycles of its age. With its all-aluminium, "unit construction", single overhead-camshaft, horizontally split engine, it also boasted shaft drive, a smooth power delivery and numerous other technical refinements that ensured it was going to be a massive hit ... (read more)
Judy Westacott, 1928 Douglas “This Douglas has a three speed ‘box with a hand change – which means you’re handicapped against the foot-change riders who can click-click-click through the gears without losing precious time. “I shaved two seconds off my quarter mile time by mastering ‘cross tank’ changes - where you reach across the tank with your left hand to change gear allowing you to snap the throttle open with your right while the left is still making its way back to the bar. A foot-operated clutch prevents any damage to the gearbox... (read more) ▲ Back to the top | The fun starts here... We've gone into the movie business—in a very minor way.
Not content to amuse ourselves with creating the numerous free classic bike pages seen here on Sump, we decided to try our hand at other media. Unsurprisingly, our first efforts are a little amateur. That's partly because we are amateur, and partly because the UK Film Council and the various National Lottery committees all turned down our request for a £100,000 grant with which we were hoping to buy a couple of Panaflex cameras, a lighting rig, some sound recording equipment, and a canteen wagon. Stingy, huh? So we had to make do with the equipment we had at hand—which was a couple of ancient digital cameras that had been kicking around in a box in the garage along with some other basic junk. Additionally, the video editing software we had was primitive in the extreme, and took some figuring out. And pretty much everything we knew about the movies was the view as seen from behind a box of popcorn. But hey, we managed to knock up a few rushes (that's, er, movie speak, you understand), and we bought a roll of Sellotape to stitch it all together. And now the footage is on the web for all the world to see. It looked good when we originally test screened it (that's, er, more movie speak). But now that a couple of weeks have elapsed, we can see all the cracks and have spotted a dozen ways it could have been done better. Re-editing is an option. In fact, we already re-edited one of the videos. But then we decided to leave well alone. You live and learn, etc. You move on. Anyway, now we've got the movie making bug in a big way, and we're learning new tricks all the time—and we've got plenty of ideas in the bag that will come out sooner or later. Meanwhile, if you want to take a look at our videos, here are the links: 
Matchless Silver HawkPat Gill's beautiful OHC, V4, four-speed, hand-change, rear-sprung Matchless was filmed with a budget camera and edited with budget software - but we think we got away with it. This pre-war motorcycle failed to sell in significant numbers. But as an example of 1930s British industrial exuberance, it's hard to equal, let alone beat. The pioneering Collier Brothers really pushed the envelope and took a huge commercial risk with this fabulous bike. You can read about Pat's Matchless Silver Arrow elsewhere on this site. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EA_G-UYZnD4 
Triumph T140 BonnevilleA brief look at the 750cc oil-in-frame Bonnie with an uplifting piece of music from Malcolm Arnold. This video is aimed at viewers with no previous knowledge of the T140 Triumph and want to see what all the fuss is about. Take a look when you've got three minutes and twenty-two seconds to spare. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=obzF8kEyRLo 
BSA WM20We were goofing around at Southend on Sea, Essex and had the helmet camera running, as ever. It was one of those memorable days that you just don't want to let go of. So we didn't. This video is the first part of our homebound trip to the Smoke. That's all. Nothing to get excited about. And a jazz fusion soundtrack will keep you entertained if the pictures don't do it for you. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAVFYYt_UuE 
BSA WM20This video is a kind of war story—as told from the saddle of a BSA WDM20. It might interest someone out there. The music is a little haunting. You might enjoy that too. Take a look. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sMhEDiHd69g 
Try to rememberThis one's a little different. It's not necessarily about classic
bikes, and not necessarily about bikes at all. It's about life and death and eternity. If nothing else, it will make you think. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5RMo4r19AY Meanwhile, we were chuffed to be present at the October unveiling of a Blue Plaque commemorative award made to Mr Edward Turner, the man who put Triumph Motorcycles firmly on the international map—and didn't do Ariel any harm, either. Overall, that was a pretty good day, and a day that was long overdue. You can read all about it by or clicking here: Edward Turner Blue Plaque, or by clicking on the blue
plaque above. Meanwhile, we created another little eBook on the BSA B50. It was a long time coming, but it might interest B50 fans. You can find it by going to the BSA B50 page link on the right and scrolling down the page. It's there somewhere. Or you can go directly to the eBook by clicking here: BSA B50 eBook. Your computer ought to flag a warning about this, note. That's because it's an .exe file, which means that it's an executable program. But it's safe to download. Either trust us, or don't trust us. If your computer doesn't flag a warning, you need to check your system and/or get some virus protection software. Our little A5 softcover guide to the T140 has been selling well. In fact, we ran out of copies (twice) and had to rush out a second edition (with one or two minor revisions). North America seems to be a strong market for this publication, but we're posting them off to New Zealand, Australia, South Africa—and a surprisingly large number to Germany, Sweden, France and Spain. You'll find a link to this book at the top of this page. Feedback has been terrific, and quite a few people have come back for second helpings (gifts, probably). Anyway, get yours while they're available. 
The printed book isn't dead. Not by a long way. But eBooks are in the ascendancy, and rightly so. There's a lot to be said for them in terms of convenience, cost effectiveness, and distribution. Also, you can correct them on the fly when readers point out the errors of your ways. With all this in mind, and other considerations, we threw together this little homage to the BSA A10 Golden Flash. But stop! Don't put your hand in your pocket and tease out that wallet until you've checked it out properly. Click on the book cover and whisk yourself off to our Golden Flash eBook page and make sure it's what you want. We think you might be pleasantly surprised. Classic bike trade talkWe see that the economy is still a bloody mess and is still hitting the classic bike trade hard. Sure, dealers are reporting being busier than ever. But that isn't the same as making money. All the signs are that next year is going to get even tougher, and there will be more losses. But let's not talk it all the way down, because one way or the other, most of us are going to come through it. However, if you're looking for new parts for your classic bike, how about doing what you can to support your local bike shop? Sure, if you're on a tight budget, you're naturally going to go to the cheapest source. But cheapest is rarely the best, and budget parts can cost you a lot of money in the long term. Just try and spare a few coppers for the non virtual trade that's an essential part of the classic bike community. That's it. I'm off. I can feel another movie coming on. So until next year, it's lights, camera and action... Etc. Danny DeFazioLondon |
Edward Turner Blue Plaque
