Margate less than 10 British Bikes pre 1991

[johnnyboy-wonder57]

Where have all the Old bikes gone?
London to Margate run..
Went to Margate for the Meltdown, which has some link to the Ace Cafe, I consider there was 500+ bikes, there was probably less than 15 Jap Classics & I counted  in British bikes, not including the Hinkley Triumphs, 2 Goldstars trailered there I believe for effect in front of the stage, a 650 pre-unit BSA Cafe Racer, a Golden Flash, a late '60s Triumph Trophy, 2 Bonnevilles, an Ariel Square 4, no Norton's, Enfield's, or Velocette's, in fact not even a CB750 Honda, no Z650s, less than 3 Z900's.

All in all there was 1 "Rocker" Machine was ridden there, the pre-unit, BSA, outnumbered 60 to 1 by the Scooter Club turn out, in fact there were more Trikes than "Classic" British bikes, I know the TT's are on, but ...... a Featherbed Norton would have stolen the show, anyone care to explain the rarity of British iron on public roads, incidentally this was a run out, not a trailer event, if people can make it on Lambretta's, what's everyone else's excuse....everything getting a little too precious?


JBW

[rogerwilko]

No, just old and apathetic like me. We've done it all before! You're just a young buck full of enthusiasm!

[Bomber]

I tink Roger hit the nail rather squarely on its bonce there.. besides Margate is a bit more than a ride  out for some of us (240 miles)

[Goldy]

It must be a southern thing. I go to a weekly bike meet in the Midlands where there are well over 100 bikes, and over half are old Brit bikes.

[Rex]

So there were few British classics, even fewer Jap classics(??) but lots of scooters. Maybe most potential riders thought (rightly or wrongly) that it was a meet for scooters, then? Maybe the "Margate" part was a clue, thinking back to the headlines of the Mods and Rockers days?

Never seems to be a shortage of proper classics when the run is advertised as such.

Personally I think I'd far rather see Lambrettas and Vespas than the usual hordes of two and three year old Jap plastic things which now seem to infest every meet and run; talk about a vicarious existence....

[johnnyboy-wonder57]

Guys,
No one is expecting people to ride from the provinces!
But London & the South-East must have a lot of British bikes around, in fact when I first came to Kent there was a strong British bike following, especially round Maidstone, Ashford & Canterbury, Ramsgate had its Sprints and Brighton still does.  George Brown came down here regularly, Derek Minter was a local hero, in fact if I remember rightly, Hallets in Canterbury still had a Minter "corner"  up to the late 70s. Rural Kent was poorer than industrial Lancashire where I grew up, so there were more blokes going to work on bikes here than in cars, up to & including a later social "history" period & the Grass-track racing scene was much bigger in the rural South-East.

The point I am making  is that , you & others may have done it before, but then you did it for yourselves,  these runs are about less of yourself & a bit more for others, prices may stop people riding their prices of precious metal on the roads, but it also stops people especially the young from getting involved, money is tight, fuel is expensive, legislation is getting ridiculous, would you or I have got involved,30-40 years ago, if a Bantam to restore had been £600 quid instead of £65, or some Great Uncle hadn't told you tales about motorcycling from the dark old days of our glorious past?

Theres NO EXCUSE, when you too old & being sedated in a Nursing home on Complan & Statins & the only thing you can cling onto is a Zimmer frame, then its TOO LATE to pass any kind of legacy on to others, your knowledge, experience & any enthusiasm left just goes to that void, we all pretend isn't there & the World is a less richer place for it!

I know some of you guys do an awful lot of stuff, but perhaps we ALL including me should a little bit more, ride it like you stole it, treat each day like its you last, were appropriate!

DISCLAIMER: This in no way is an instruction for anyone to consider I condone motorcycle theft, or any theft, hands hung out to dry comes to mind!


My wife gave me strict instructions to take photographs especially of any Vincents I saw, I didn't have the heart to tell her no one rides them anymore & to see a Vincent is the twithgher equivalent of seeing a Wallcreeper, "Tichodroma muraria"  in our Sceptered Isles, or finding an Observer's book in a charity shop @ a reasonable price!

Cheers

JBW

[johnnyboy-wonder57]

Errata:
For twithgher read Twitcher, & there's a do missing from "we ALL including me should DO a little bit more,
Rex
80-83% Modern Japanese; last 15 years;
1-2% Old Jap;
10% Harley Davidson;
5% to10% others including a Reliant-engined Trike! 2 BMW's & maybe 5 or 6 Italian bikes.

The Reliant engine makes the Imp engine look space-age!


Cheers

JBW

[rosko]

Or maybe riders of older stuff like me, rigid Matchless, vintage Sunbeam, other old tat just do not want to get involved in some blast out in company with a lot of poseurs and born agains?

Last time I went on one of these runs, allegedly for "vintage and post vintage bikes, it was nearly all late 60s 70s twins, all trying to out do each other, no pleasure in that on an old un, I quit the run after about half an hour it was too risky and just not my thing.

As for the trike/ beer gut/tattos/beard/rat bike  fad, which I fail to understand at all, if you had turned up on one of those at the Ace Cafe in its heyday you'd have been laughed off the forecourt.

I don't think its any pleasure, even on say a decent late T120 to try to keep up with such a crew as you mention. Not to mention the likelihood of doing harm to your valued machine.

As for having anything to do with the "Ace cafe" commercial venture, I'd rather not thanks.

and lastly, for the youth thing, I don't want to know, they can go to hell on their own hand carts.  (or chopper bobber trikes how I loathe the custom bike thing)

Just my 2d worth you are welcome to disagree.

I rather prefer to tootle around on my own choice of route, at my own speed.

[Rex]

Blimey, you don't sit on the fence, do you?

Mostly agree with your sentiments though. Some poor old B31 stripped of it's mudguards or a shi*tty matt black  CB750 with fender struts I can well do without, thanks.

[rosko]

I reserve the right to be  a bigoted grumpy old git.

what I really resent about these newer bikes is that they wake me up as they blast past me.........

[bikerbob]

Hi there. Been following this thread and up here in NE England  we had quite a number of old bike shows but over the last 4-5 years they seem to have died out and they were well attended. I did here of a  bike meet that meets twice a week Wednesday and Sunday at the Washington wild fowl car park from 5.30 till 8.30, so last Sunday I went along, there were at least a hundred bikes there including some weird trikes but mine was the only old British bike there, maybe I went on a bad night so I stayed for about an hour then went home. I may go again on aWednesday night. Mind you when I left and was riding along the Washinton Highway there was 2 bikes that passed me I was doing about 55-60mph and they passed me as though I was standing still gave me quite a shock engines were screaming don't know what revs but must have been quite high. Did get a brief wave from them though. 

[rosko]

Did get a brief wave from them though.

not waving but drowning,? going too fast to get his hand back on the bars.

I have a vintage Sunbeam, when flat out the flies get a chance to move out the way.

[rogerwilko]

I still ride of course, but fussy as to whereto! 

[wetdog]

if its british you want then get to Banbury on @ the 17th (i think ) this month, the show is ok but i prefer sunrise hill for about 2 hours mid day , i will never do epsom/brighton again as this route is a joke for my 1912 humber and mines one of the more modern machines on the run . The british bike seen does seam to be on the decline unless its bobbed , i see more of these about than standard , they are cheep to build so owners do appear to use them more . I have some myself and none o me a fortune but would if i built them back to standard , ariel 500 , bb34 gs , 500 triumph , 350 triumph , i make it a rule never to cut or alter the frames , im just looking at a KSS incomplette project i have , the lines of the frame are a work of art and would make a great bobber maybe next year

[rosko]

No I won't take the bait