HOW DEEP IS YOUR LOVE? PART 2

David Steube isn't the only person to commit his skin to motorcycling (see my earlier post); these shots of 'Maurice' date from the 1950's... and clearly he was a dedicated fan! With a pair of Featherbed Manx Norton's racing across his pectoral muscles, the St. Maurs 'Winged Mercury' trophy center stage, and a victor's laurel wreath linking the composition, Maurice was either a racing man, or an ardent follower of the Isle of Man TT races...

These photos are taken from the website of the tattooing Skuse family of Bristol, England; patriarch Les Skuse opened shop in 1928 (57 Lower Ashley Rd), founded the British Guild of Tattooing (grandson Jimmy is now president), and ultimately earned the title Champion Tattoo Artist of All England in 1955. Skuse Tattooing is now in its third generation; I wonder how large might be the demand for motorcycles today?

And a shout out to the entertaining blog The Selvege Yard, where these photos were featured.

DOWNUNDER AJS 10R?

Jim Scaysbrook, publisher of the excellent Old Bike Australasia (and really worth a look - order it here), sent along this photo of an 'AJS 10R' (click here to read the previous post about this mysterious 'never built' racer') which may or may not have come from the factory in this guise, ridden by Elmer McCabe. Jim adds:

"Loved the story about the AJS 10R . Attached is a photo of Elmer McCabe's version here in Australia. Elmer has always been a staunch AJS man and what was probably a G45 was raced for many years as an AJS, complete with AJS timing cover and his own, hand-made version of the massive Porcupine 'saddle' tank. The shot was taken at the old Amaroo Park track in Sydney in the late 1970s."

The wonderful illlustration below is from the late Alan Puckett, whose website is well worth a look (he passed away just last October). Puckett's description of the machine is a 'G45 with a Works Porcupine tank'...and a measured top speed of 136mph at the Bathurst circuit in New South Wales, Australia. The Australians always seemed to extract just that bit extra out of any British design, perhaps because the motorcycles had a longer racing utility than anywhere else.

The National Motor Racing Museum at Bathurst should be on any gearhead's tourist route when visiting Sydney, as several of the motorcycles on display are unique and memorable, including an incredibly developed Matchless G50 with four-valve cylinder head and very special chassis, reputedly the fastest single-cylinder racing motorcycle in the world in it's day.