'INSPIRATION L.A.' AND THE FUTURE OF THE VINTAGENT

Complicated tales take time to recount properly, and this one is no exception, with plenty of 'unfortunately/fortunately' personal tidbits thrown into the mix. I'll dwell on the fortunate, barring a note that my 6-year-old Mac PowerBook finally bit the dust... but Fortunately I had just purchased a fully supercharged MacBook Pro to replace my ageing but trusty silver Mac. Thanks are due to Mimi at Apple for the killer deal, and to a generous sponsor of The Vintagent for making it all possible. Now there's four on the floor, a blown hemi, and we're leaving long black streaks on the internet.

As scrutineers of my sidebar have noted, the massive pile of parts which supplemented my income for the past 25 years (used to refurbish hundreds of motorcycles) is rapidly shrinking, for I've steered my ship into the parlous waters of Motorcycle Writing. To answer a very common question about this website, I have always had a 'day job', and the answer to The Question is, 'no TV'. Yes, greatly ironic given my involvement with Classic Motorcycle Roadshow, but life would be dull without such paradoxes. I rely on friends to Tivo my appearances on the tube, however brief.

Last Friday witnessed the VintaSprinter fully loaded with 2400lbs of spares, bounding southwards for a powerhouse weekend of horsetrading, gladhanding, dealmaking, and visionary hard work.

First on the agenda was the 'Inspiration' event at Santa Monica airport, hosted by Rin Tanaka. I've long been a fan of fabulously obsessive books on motorcycle jackets, helmets, riding apparel, and obscure subjects like SoCal surf T-shirts from the late 1960s. His 'My FreeDamn' series has become the de facto handbook of the vintage collectible clothing movement, and a constellation of Japanese and American clothing makers hover around his star, making faithful reproductions or re-introductions of iconic shoe, motorcycle, or clothing designs. More on all this later, suffice to say there was plenty to marvel over at the event.

My local representative of this Movement is Kiya Babzani (above), proprietor of Self Edge here in S.F., a shop stocked with limited-edition Japanese denim and other übercool stuff... including my '28 Sunbeam TT90, currently on display in the shop window!

Justin from Glory Sales & Service had a booth as well, with his Norton Atlas café racer standing guard over the period and modern gear on offer.

My business wasn't with clothing per se, but with Ian and Amaryllis of Falcon Motorcycles.

Falcon and The Vintagent have teamed up to create new business, CafeRacers.com, which is already 'live', but will be filled with content in the next few weeks - again, stay tuned! We're very excited to offer a wholly new perspective on our favorite subject, combined with products we personally endorse as the very best available anywhere. We're roping the pinnacle of talent for the website, including Nick Clements (below), who among his other projects is a major contributor to Men's File magazine (they're doing it Right. Full review coming shortly). Nick's 'period' photographic setups are so good they boggle the mind. It's going to be very exciting to see what he comes up with for CaféRacers!

2010 RETROMOBILE, PARIS

Photos by Yves J. Hayat, info from Bernard Salvat:

While Retromobile is the largest vintage automobile show in France, they have provided increasingly high profile space to a vintage motorcycle display, curated by esteemed French motorcycle historian Bernard Salvat, author of 'Les Motos Français; Cent ans d'histoire' (1999, E/P/A), 'Motos Peugeot' (1998, EBS), 'Side-Cars; Cent ans d'histoire' (1996, E/P/A), etc. For 2010, Salvat has assembled a full barrage of Peugeot motorcycle history, from 1902 - 2010, 'Toutes les Motos Peugeot' from the earliest road and race machines of the 'Noughts, 'Teens and 'Twenties, to their postwar lightweight race and roadsters. Many unique and historic machines rubbed shoulders for the first time ever in one location - quite an historic achievement, and yes, I wish I was there!

One of the most remarkable machines on display is this replica of the Peugeot Double Overhead Camshaft 494cc parallel twin racer from 1921. A tantalizing photo of this machine sits nestled in The Best Book in the World, 'The Vintage Years at Brooklands' (Dr. Joe Bayley, Goose, '68). An astounding technical tour de force from an incredibly early date, when a machine like the Duzmo, with overhead valves and an oil pump, was Advanced! What must have the Brooklands clubmen have thought when presented with a machine fully fifteen years ahead of its time, like an echo of the future? More on this machine in a later post!

Earliest of the two-wheelers on display was this 1902 'Motobicyclette', introduced at the Salon de Paris in 1901. This was Peugeot's first powered bicycle, after building Tricars and Quadricycles (see the rear of this photo) since 1898. While this machine is a true 'motorcycle', Werner's trademark on the term, filed in April 1898, had been approved just two months prior to this machine's début. While Peugeot had built all the mechanicals of their previous multi-wheelers, for their first motorcycle they chose a Swiss 'ZL' motor, made by Zürcher and Lüthi in Neuchatel. The capacity was 198cc, and used an automatic inlet valve and 'wick' carburetor. The chassis layout with the engine low and central in the frame is per the Werner patent, although soon every motorcycle maker used this solution to 'where to put the engine'. Very few survive.




Another early machine, this time a Racer, and an extremely rare machine, raced for only one year before WW1 stopped everything for four years. This machine appears in the Peugeot catalog of 1915, distinguished by the oversize white lettering adorning the petrol tank, and has a unique configuration; 500cc sidevalve, with twin Claudel carburetors. This machine may have taken part in only one race, at the Circuit de l'Eure in May 1914. The model was quickly abandoned for racing, as the 'Eight Valve', Double-Overhead Camshaft machines took its place!

This 1914 'Paris-Nice' 350cc V-Twin was the backbone of Peugeot's road trial and production before WW1. The quality of engineering and construction is impeccable - and while this motorcycle looks restored, it is in fact in original condition! How do I know? I was offered this very machine 8 years ago... and turned it down! Do I regret it? No need to answer. Almost 5000 examples of the 'Paris-Nice' were sold. Some technical details; 45 degree v-twin, sidevalve, Bosch magneto, Claudel carb, belt drive with options of a clutch and 3-speed Armstrong epicyclic rear hub, weight 45kg, with a 65km/h top speed.

Skipping ahead in time, we find this 1934 'Model 515' racer, which has a remarkable history. On Friday October 5th, at 8:36am, four riders (Marcel and Robert Pahin, Camille Naarcy, Pedro Verchére) attacked the 500cc 24-Hour World Record, established the year prior by rival Jonghe on a 350cc machine. The machine is a stripped road bike, which had first and third gears removed, and stronger forks fitted to cope with the dreaded bumps of the concrete surface of the Montlhéry speed bowl. The large tank held almost 20 liters, but began to leak after 6 hours of pounding - it was replaced by the tank of Pedro Verchére's personal road bike, also a Model 515! Unfortunately, this meant twice as many fuel stops.

At night, the track was illuminated by hurricane lamps on the banking, and the temperature dropped to 7deg C, followed by a driving rain. The rear wheel had to be replaced after so many hours of hammering, but this was the only mechanical fault of the machine. The attempt went so well, that after establishing their 24-Hour Record at an average of 118.74 km/h (71.4mph), it was decided to carry on for the 3000km record as well! This was achieved at the same speed as the 24Hr record. To put this achievement in perspective, it is the same average speed as the Bol d'Or 24-Hr. race... on a Kawasaki in 1974!


Sharing the 515 engine used for the 24-Hour machine was this lovely 1935 Art Deco-inspired roadster, the flagship model of their line and widely used Clubman's competition machine. Road-racing, Enduros, Trials, were all meat and drink to this machine, the French Gold Star of its day. And oh so elegant; by the 1930s, French motorcycle designers had mastered fluid and graceful lines, and their best machines are simply stunning.

Next: More Racers!

ITALIAN MOTORCYCLE NIGHT AT THE CANDY STORE

And what, pray tell, is the 'Candy Store'? It's complicated; about the swankest place to park your seven-figure car, a private club, a former Packard dealership, and a warehouse shared by a bunch of gearheads, who happen to be well-heeled.

Last Saturday night was the second 'Motorcycle Night', with members and friends supplying their special two-wheelers, as there are always crossover enthusiasts who like both cars and bikes. So, with some pretty spectacular sheetmetal as a backdrop, we had a few lovely Italian bikes to discuss before an informal buffet dinner and a few guest speakers.

The top photo is the former Packard display area; Packards are fine, but Gullwings and Spyders are better! Especially in company with a nice trio of Ducatis; '78 900ss (distinguishable by the Campagnolo cast wheels and black/gold paint scheme), '74 750GT (in Sport yellow paint and pipes, plus period-trick Marzocchi remote-reservoir shocks), and a nearly-vintage 888. A couple of nice Jags (XK 150 - the thick 'waist' gives it away, and a Series 1 E-type; I used to own a '62 flat-floor Roadster) and a prewar Rolls lurk in the background as well... oh, and the '67 365 California Spyder in burgundy.

A study in contrasts; a lovely little Capriolo 175cc ohv, ca '59, standing before a 300SL convertible, also resplendant in red (but I prefer silver Mercs...).

More Italian exotica; a ca. '57 Benelli Leoncino 125cc ohc, beatifully restored, complete with period-correct cast aluminum lion on the front mudguard - a pedestrian biter! Behind in blue is the first Lamborghini production car - a 350/400 GT, sitting next to the competition, a Ferrari 250 Boano. That's 25 cylinders...

Yet more Latin lovelies; up front is a Parilla 175cc ohv Gran Sport, which was ridden in the Motogiro USA last year (see my previous post). Not a true overhead cam design, the Parilla used a very high-camshaft design with short rockers opening the valves - they are very much sought after here in the US. Behind are a couple of Alfa Romeos; a 1930 6c 1750 GS Zagato, ridden regularly, and a blue 1951 Touring-bodied 6C 2500, which was truly a luxury car in its day.

That's John Goldman, and no those aren't his toys - we'll get to those shortly. But what toys indeed; no need to be demure, that's a Fly yellow Ferrari 275 GTB in the background. The motorcycle is another
Parilla 175cc, the 'street' edition. In the far background is Ed Gilbertson, chief judge of the Pebble Beach Concours, who announced that a Motorcycle class will be added this August to the Pebble lineup. It will include only one class this year, for British bikes pre-'57, made up of 8 machines total, which doesn't sound like much, but two of the bikes will be Rollie Free's infamous Vincent record-breaker, and George Brown's 'Gunga Din'. High-caliber entries indeed. And if you hadn't heard about Bikes at Pebble, well, you read it here first again!

John Goldman brought a few of his Mondials along for show and tell, and spoke at length on the history of Mondials and his bikes in particular - which you can read here, in previous posts from the Legend of the Motorcycle Concours.


Frank Scurria, who deserves a post of his own, spoke of his history racing a Ducati 350cc ohc in California way back in 1959, before the factory offered a 350cc machine. The US importer (the Berliner Co.) was besieged with requests for 350cc machines after Frank's success with his Duc; it took a few years for the factory to take the hint and produce one themselves (as was ever the case with Ducati - always producing models people didn't want, and under-producing what they did). Here he is pictured with Steve Allen of Bevel Heaven.

That's Bruce Bern on his (real) '74 Ducati 750 Sport - after the duck-egg green 750SS, the Sport is one of my favorite Italian motorcycles of all time. I toured extensively on one years ago, and the -very- uncomfortable riding position makes sense above 70mph and above, which the bike was happy to oblige for days on end. 'Long legs' indeed, although it helps to have long arms to ride the beast!

A nice Motobi 175cc ohv ex-Giro machine sits before an interesting 1955 'Hagemann' Jaguar special with a one-off aluminum body; very Italianate!

From the header to the footer, a Bugatti always deserves two photos; a ca.1925 Type 35 Bug in French racing blue (how they always look best), with two MV Agustas old and new, and a Model T ice cream truck! An odd combo, but a lovely shot of the late afternoon sun on an unreinforced masonry wall...

2009 CLUBMAN'S SHOW, PART 1

What was 'The Clubman's All-British Show', held in one exhibit hall and exclusive of other Makes and Countries, began to change two years ago, as enterprenurial event producers pondered attaching barnacle-like to this long-established event. So, initially a European Vintage show appeared next to the Clubman's, and this year saw a Classic Japanese hall as well...


The San Mateo County Fairgrounds has yet more exhibit halls, and a rumor is circulating that Antique American Motorcycles will be the next addition to the weekend's events, which would encompass nearly the whole world's production, barring AustralAsia/China, from which many motorcycles sprouted and continue to be produced in huge numbers - but not much Vintage machinery from China or Australia comes to our shores. It does exist though!


Ariel being the featured marque this year, the variety of Selly Oak machinery was mind-boggling - and the array of Square Fours was a delight. I knew that the Red Hunter 500cc ohv model was a favorite of California dragsters and hot-rodders in the '40s and '50s, as there are still quite a few 'survivor' sprinters out there, including this beatiful iron-engined machine, raced in the late 40's through the 1960s. The dent in the tank is from 1952, and still says 'ouch'!


Squariels - they've been 'collector's machines' almost since the day they were produced, which is a kind of death for a motorcycle, as it means they are unlikely to be used, loved, modified, ridden. But evidence of love is found in the hand of the customizer - five amazing Period Specials were lined up, and none remotely resembled another. Most outrageous award goes to '2 by 4', which is a Rectangle 8! Two late alloy Mk2 engines linked by a belt primary, and sounding much like a v-8 with open exhaust.


Look at that tube-bending work - a bundle of snakes heading out to a seriously large drainpipe. This machine was built in 1986, using a Kawasaki front end and home-made frame.


This Healey 4 was an 'almost' production model - the Healey brothers shoehorning a late Ariel Mk2 engine into a very tidy and attractive frame, using Grimeca wheels and Ceriani forks.


Ariel never produced the Sq4 with a swingarm frame, only going as far as the Anstey Link rear suspension, which is prone to wear and wobble. I think the Healeys only made around 6 of their beautiful machines - more's the pity.


Here's a Featherbed Ariel, this time using and iron Mk1 engine, with the cylinder head reversed! The layout does make for a tidy exhaust line; no need for a talented tube-bender when a straight pipe will do.

This Bobber Sq4 was my favorite - an original Survivor, as modified in the 1940s no doubt, and exactly the sort of machine to be found in California in those early post-war days.


The bobbed rear mudguard keeps the bum off the rear wheel, holds the taillight, and little else. Note the finned timing cover - a nice period accessory.





Inside the show, the news was good for attendess, and merely so-so for vendors. Motorcycles and parts were selling briskly, although it seemed prices for the machines had dropped a bit. As an example, this amazing '61 Triumph Bonneville scrambler, in correct period livery and a good runner, took a couple of hours to sell - asking price; $3500. It went for less; amazing. I wanted it for my own Steve McQueen fantasy.

The good news; attendance was at its highest level ever, and by my reckoning the average age of attendees has dropped considerably. An amazing number of Twenty-somethings - hipsters, rockers, retro dudes - gave the hall a much-needed boost of energy. And what pray tell have they come for?


Well, judging from the cross-traffic between my website and the myriad Chopper Blogs which have sprung up like mushrooms, I'd say they were looking for Period Customs! Not only that, respect for 'stock' machines is growing as well. I had a conversation with one such fellow - he indeed has a '60s Triumph with rigid rear end and ape-hangers, but two completely stock BSAs keep it company in the garage. There Is Hope.

Among the vendors; Evan Wilcox (above), well-known here in the US for his aluminum forming skills, showed a few compounds and volutes in metal. The Ducati 'Jellymould' tank was my favorite. The wait for his services is long, but well worth it.


My personal favorite bike of the show? Kenny Egger's original BSA A7SS Daytona racer, on which he raced at that very venue! It has to be the best-looking parallel twin racer ever, and I love the crazy green color scheme. And, it won on the sand.


He brought along a couple of original posters from the race; below is a period pic of Kenny on another BSA racer. A close look at the machine is warranted; note the stacked revers-cone megaphones tucked under the right side of the machine - not siamesed. That 'toolbox' is actually the 1 gallon oil tank, and the modified alloy head has been reshaped to carry twin Amal GP carbs. Deeply sexy.

You meet the nicest people near a Triumph. Yoshi of the Garage Company was busily handing out posters for his upcoming Moto Corsa Classica races at Willow Springs.

Oldest Ariel at the show was this White and Poppe engined machine; the engine design was made under licenses and featured valves hung far away from the cylinder barrel. An early effort to keep the valves a bit cooler, as steels of the day weren't quite up to the job of keeping a poorly lubricated and very hot valve in one piece.

RETROMOBILE 2009

My friend Yves Hayat sent photos from this year's Paris Retromobile show, which is primarily a vintage automobile exhibit, but this year had a small but high-quality motorcycle display. I've always wanted to attend, but luckily Yves shared his camera work... The above photo shows Bernard Salvat, noted collector and author (of 'Sidecars - Cent Ans d'Histoire', etc), with a ca. 1925 Peugeot M 500, which is an OHC racing vertical twin, not well known outside France, but an epic motorcycle. It was developed from their amazing Double-Overhead-Cam vertical twin racer from 1914, which appeared briefly at Brooklands that year for testing, but never reappeared at that venue. This machine deserves a full post, so I'll defer further explanation for now; suffice it to say that the French were way out in front in the early years of motorcycling (and airplanes, and cars), being inventors or early adopters of most of the engine technology we take for granted today.


The Peugeot is a groundbreaking machine, with an integral gearbox, and robust shaft-and-bevel cam drive system (the earlier DOHC engine used gear drive). Flat-tank OHC machines are rare as a rule, and an exciting mix of advanced engine design and a very lightweight chassis. The 500M uses an external flywheel (properly light in the center, with weight on the rim), an AMAC carb, Bosch magneto, and is bare-bones to the point of being skeletal. What a motorcycle.

More rarities; a brace of Koehler-Escoffier v-twins; a late-model 'Mandoline' OHV (ca. '25) and an early example (ca. '28) of their OHC v-twin, the 'Monneret' model (see pic above), named in honor of Georges Monneret, the French national champion who continuously developed this model even after the factory stopped production and eventually closed, and could still be seen racing his K-E into the 1950s. I made mention of this machine in an earlier post, and will go through the development history of this model in a later post.

You have to love the twin twin-port exhausts - so stylish - and again it's an OHC machine in a flat-tank chassis, although the cycle parts are more substantial than the Peugeot. A very fast machine, the weak point is a total-loss lubrication system, which means the cams are only fed a drop of oil every few seconds, not the flood they need to keep from premature wear. Many later owners have modified their oiling to pressure-fed dry sump to keep the cams wet, and Monneret did this as well in later years.

The 'Mandoline' 500cc OHV model (above) emerged in 1914, and was very advanced for the day, with an interesting cam arrangement. The detail photo of the engine, below, give the clue - the rockers are turned 90degrees to 'normal', as the pushrods can be seen peeking inside the 'v' of the cylinders. The cam is driven within the crankcase, above the flywheels; a good spot for lubrication actually, and for keeping the pushrods short and stiff, like a Vincent or Velocette - a 'high-cam' pushrod motor.

Koehler-Escoffier is a very obscure make to many, but these two machines, plus their 500cc OHC single-cylinder 'Grand Prix' model, should be better known, as they are really top-tier machines.

Another vertical twin produced well before Edward Turner made them famous was the Blériot
(above), with a unit-construction 500cc sidevalve motor, from around 1923. Blériot is a name well-known to airplane enthusiasts, as Louis Blériot was a real aviation pioneer, and became the first person to fly across the English channel in 1909. Later his aircraft company produced the famous
S.P.A.D. fighter aircraft in WW1. His motorcycles were beautifully engineered, if short-lived.

I love the French Racing Blue color scheme, and the disc wheels - so Art Deco. Note also the small muffler at the front of the crankcase, and the delicate fishtail emerging from behind the rider's footrest.

In the Pioneer category, this Werner (above) can be thanked for settling the issue of 'where does the engine go'; it was this machine which became the model for just about all subsequent motorcycle layouts to this day - previously motor-bicycle engines could be found over the front or rear wheel, on under the seat, high up near the steering head, etc, but the Werner handled so much better than all other early experiments that the light switched on, and this layout became the standard.


Another early machine on display was this ca.1906 Indian 'Camelback' ioe v-twin (above), with an atmospheric inlet valve. It nicely illustrates my point about the Werner - the 'where' argument hadn't been settled yet. In those early days Indians were blue as well as red.

Somebody brought along their RS54 BMW 'Rennsport' OHC racer - always a crowd-pleaser - and don't we wish BMW had produced such a machine for sale to the public. A totally different animal to the rather staid image projected by their roadsters of the period.

And of course, there were some outrageous cars on show and on sale at the hall. This Mercedes-Benz W165 GP racer wasn't for sale, but is the last of the factory racers from the 1930's, of the type driven by Caracciola to win the Tripoli GP in '39.

Here's the cockpit - hop in!

This Jaguar XK120C was for sale at Gregor Fisken's acre of blue carpet - Fisken always offers the most interesting racing cars - I would presume this is an aluminum-bodied early racing model, ca.'5o, complete with 'Brooklands' windscreens and leather bonnet strap.

And if you can't afford the real thing, there's always the desktop model Bugatti...

...as the 'Real Thing' was on offer at the Bonhams auction; the two-owner 'Barn Find' 1937 Bugatti Atlante Coupé Type 57S, which sold 3.4million euros! There's a great story about the Bug here.




Many thanks to Yves for the photos!