DOMIRACER UNDER THE HAMMER

The massive warehouse of long-time British and European motorcycle/spares/memorabilia dealer DomiRacer (also known as Accessory Mart until a few years ago) is coming up for auction.  Business founder Bob Schanz, a former editor of Cycle magazine, died in 2003, and his wife Reba continued to run the business for a further 10 years.  Its certainly difficult to fill the shoes of such an outsize personality, and if you ever did business with Bob, you know what I mean.  In the 1990s, Bob tracked me down as the owner of a particular Brough Superior 11-50, as he had the original sidecar for that machine, as noted in the Works Records; he convinced me I 'needed' to buy the chair, as it 'belonged' to my bike, even though I didn't want it - now that's salesmanship!  Due to advancing age of Reba Schanz, the family has decided to simply sell the business after 40 years in the trade.   Whether the business, its 26,000 spares, its warehouse, and its trained staff of 6 employees will remain as DomiRacer, or be absorbed into other businesses selling spares, remains to be seen.  For about $3M, the entire inventory plus the real estate it sits on (a 30,000 sq' warehouse) is for sale - retail value of the parts alone is $12M.
The auction begins May 26th.  For more information go to DomiRacer.com.

NUOVO NUOVO FALCONE CAFE

Straight from the AMD press office, their pic of Don Cronin's 'Rondine', winner of the 2013 AMD World Championship of Custom Motorcycles, based on a Moto Guzzi Nuovo Falcone

Just when you thought all Custom shows were tail-chasing exercises in better-bobberism, Don Cronin delivers a Moto Guzzi Nuovo Falcone updated for the 21st Century.  Don's custom shop in Ireland - Medaza - focusses on Italian powerplants for his creations; Ducati, Moto Morini, Moto Guzzi.  

Love that the 'bologna slicer' flywheel echoes the wheels

While plenty of customizers have messed around with the Moto Guzzi v-twin engine, few have worked around the far more venerable flat-single design with which Guzzi established its name back in 1921, and was the mainstay of their business until the introduction of their transverse 750cc v-twin in 1967, the  'V7' - a hilarious designation from the company which famously built a racing V-8!

The large-diameter discs (two up front) are clearly visible in this shot from the Medaza website. Also note the flat 'waffle box' silencer suspended from the motor

Cronin's 'Rondine' ('Swallow' in Italian) just won the top prize at the AMD World Championship of  

Custom Bike Building in Essen, Germany, which is as good as it gets in the world of modified bikes. A close inspection of the machine reveals H-D V-Rod wheels and swingarm (modified), rim disc brakes, and a very café-inspired look; a Nuovo Falcone hotted up for the present, using the old workhorse engine originally pressed into service as a police and military mule, and never a sports machine.  A few people have upgraded their Falcones to café style, but never quite like this!  Congratulations to Don Cronin and Michael O'Shea for their build, and their win.

Don Cronin aboard his Morini V-twin based custom, the Medaza.  Wonder if he's seen Paladin's sketches from the 1980s?

(Top photo c.AMD, next 3 pix c.Medaza, taken from their website)

'TOP 20' MAKES ROOM FOR TWO MORE...

My 'Top 20 Motorcycle Prices at Auction' webpage has been updated; the recent HandH sale at the Imperial War Museum in Duxford, England, on April 13th brought two heavy-hitter motorcycles to the auction block; a 1948 Vincent-HRD 'Black Lighting', and a very rare 4-cylinder Brough Superior from 1932.

This 1932 Brough Superior 'BS4' with watercooled Austin 7 motor and twin rear wheels sold for £266,500 ($377,950)

The infamous 'three wheel Brough' is one of 10 produced, and this particular example is well known in the Brough Superior world, having been in Frank Solano's possession for many years.  While the watercooled Austin-engined motorcycle was intended for sidecar work, it was perfectly possible to ride the machine solo, which was Solano's preference.  He delighted in demonstrating the odd handling of the non-differential twin rear wheels - which means one of the rear wheels was usually airborne; a disconcerting feeling, as I found when he offered a ride many years ago, but the handling was perfectly safe.  Click here for The Vintagent's 2009 road test of this model.

The 1948 Vincent Black Lighting needs no introduction - one of the most sought-after motorcycles, with the most recognizable name of all.  Discovered in Argentina, it has been rebuilt to 'as new' spec.

The 1948 Vincent-HRD Lighting was found in a highly modified form in Argentina, and was brought back to 'as new' condition from a derelict state, and the oil tank/frame is from a Black Shadow.  The Vincent Owner's Club gave its blessing to the machine though, stating in effect, 'a Lightning is all about the engine', and the engine on this machine is the genuine article. Click here for The Vintagent's road test of this model.

1933 O.E.C.-Rudge 'TT Replica'

[Mitchell Barnes of Australia is an expert on Blackburne and Excelsior 'Manxman' history, and sends along this story of an O.E.C. racing chassis he found, which he built to replicate a long-lost Isle of Man TT racer from that unusual marque - pd'o]

"It was a red-letter day for small motorcycle manufacturers when Rudge's Depression-era financial woes forced them to wholesale ‘loose’ engines and gearboxes. Ironically, this move helped boost the Rudge name, as a great number of formerly mundane machines suddenly scorched around England and the Continent, Rudge ‘Python’ powered – 250cc to 500cc, the bigger engines with Rudge’s famous 4 valve cylinder heads, capable of propelling any motorcycle to 100mph.

A Rudge 'Python' 500cc engine, as sold to numerous small manufacturers in England and Europe; superior in performance and reliability to the usual JAP engine...

O.E.C. (OsborneEngineering Co.) of Gosport (in Hampshire, England) were one such small company, always on the lookout for something new. Their best days followed WW1 when they built bikes exclusively for Blackburne in a large former aircraft factory. After Blackburne cancelled their exclusivity deal, O.E.C. embarked a series of seemingly brilliant associations, most of which came to nought. Their technical director, Fred Wood, was a man bursting with ideas, and had designed the impressive ‘Duplex’ frame before leaving an indelible impression on the motorcycling fraternity with his 1926 ‘Duplex’ steering system, using a unique set of parallel links for steering stability and suspension. A couple of years later Fred added a swinging-fork rear suspension system, controlled by spring boxes and a damping link. The Duplex steering system got a serious publicity boost at Olympia in 1930 when O.E.C. displayed their World Record breaker, built by Claude Temple and ridden by Joe Wright at 137.32mph at Arpajon, France, just outside the Montlhéry race circuit.  [Of course O.E.C. also claimed a later recordactually taken by Wright’s Zenith, which you can read about here]

Joe Wright on August 31st, 1930 in Arpajon, France (near Montlhéry), where he recorded a World Speed Record of 137.32mph using a supercharged 1,000cc JAP engine in an O.E.C chassis; note the 'Duplex' forks

Like so many others, the Depression badly wounded O.E.C, and production costs needed to be cut. During 1932, Wood designed a new welded-up Duplex frame; the only lugs remaining controlled the swinging fork damping system and, on the girder-forked machines, the steering head. These welded frames were light and considerably cheaper to manufacture than traditional lugged frames…but would a conservative public accept such advanced thinking? All O.E.C. needed was an engine with sufficient urge to prove the new frames' potential.  Enter the Rudge ‘Python’.

Arthur Simcock on his 1933 Senior TT O.E.C-Rudge; note Webb girder forks and Duplex rear suspension

After some years’ absence, O.E.C. entered 4 machines in the 1933 TT: two 250s and two 500s. All were Python-powered, and both Senior and Lightweight machines used one each of the Duplex steering and Webb girder forks. The frames were identical save for the power units and brake diameter.  O.E.C. appointed ex-Sunbeam works rider Arthur “Digger” Simcock their team leader. The first machines built were the Webb-forked pair on which Simcock practiced, and subsequently rode in the TT. The Duplex machines were assembled at the TT by the second rider Alf Brewin and an assistant - no Ferrari budget here – and with little in the way of preparation, its not surprising that all the O.E.C's retired. Brewin did race them on the Continent after the TT but without success. This was typical of O.E.C's modus operandii - great ideas but poor organization.

Seven years ago I acquired a brace of OECs; one a race frame with Webb forks, the other a road bike with Druid forks, housing a genuine Blackburne racing engine. Years of research finally revealed that in 1936, the Australian O.E.C. dealer had acquired a racing machine with a Blackburne engine to promote the brand. Naturally, I wanted to re-unite the racing frame with its original engine, but this left a ruddy great hole in the “restored” frame. I decided Simcock's ‘lost’ Lightweight TT bike would be the inspiration, but no photos of it exist; I do have photos of his almost-identical Senior mount, so that became the template. The 1933 O.E.C. catalogue offers a J.A.P-engined, Druid-forked bike for £37/15-, and for an extra £7, you could buy Rudge or Blackburne power. This was the only year OEC offered ‘Python’ engines in this frame, for OEC fell into receivership later that year and Matchless engines were used thereafter. A 250 Rudge radial engine was what I really wanted but I couldn't find one in Australia. They are as rare as an ethical media baron here. In the absence of a Rudge engine, I briefly toyed with a J.A.P engine but my brain fade only lasted a few weeks. Five years ago the Australian Dollar was low against Sterling but it started climbing and eventually I was able to acquire a 1932 engine from the UK without having to mortgage the kids.

The O.E.C. rear-fork suspension system, introduced in 1928

The biggest problem was the gearbox. I could not find a Rudge 250 box anywhere and so

reluctantly used the original Albion one. Interestingly, Dunelt's 1933 Lightweight TT bike combines a Python engine with an Albion gearbox, so a protocol existed. It took only three tries to successfully marry the engine and gearbox with the frame, thanks to laser cutting. The gear change mechanism required several cups of tea to sort, because unless you are Toulouse Lautrec or a contortionist, the original is far too high for aging hippies. Although O.E.C./Rudge 'TT Replica' engines did not have bronze heads, the exposed radial-valve arrangement is Rudge's signature and deserves pride of place. Heat resistant gold paint applied to the head and new laser-cut stainless rocker side plates should help drag people's eyes from the awful Ariel-green rear wheel.

As it turned out, the hardest part was the easiest. The exhaust pipes really are impressive. We are lucky to have a master in the otherwise lost art of exhaust pipe bending. Exhaust pipes should have an ever changing radius which, to achieve without flat spots, is a precious art form. John d'Arrietta uses the traditional method of packing the pipes with sand and skilfully applies heat in exactly the right places with exactly the right temperature before bending. The pipes hug the frame and primary cover where they should and are mirror images of each other. To my knowledge (and I have spent countless hours googling O.E.C, Python, Rudge, etc), it is the only OEC-Python 250 in existence and while not an exact clone of Simcock's historic machine, save for the hidden magneto pulley arrangement, all parts are correct for the period. It's on its way to northern France and the new owner intends to use it. It will soon be seen at historic events in England and the Continent.

Special thanks to Greg Rowse (splines and precision machining) and John Harris (welding), and Mervyn Stratford for advice on timing."

QUAIL RIDE: 2013

Shay Zak aboard a tasty Velocette Thruxton

It sells out quickly, so the 120 motorcyclists (plus guests) who shelled out for the Quail Ride must consider it worth $290 for a light breakfast, a CHP-guided tour of Central Coast back roads, a few hot laps of Laguna Seca racetrack, a catered lunch, a fantastic banquet dinner (with speakers like Cook Nielson, yours truly, and a preview of the upcoming feature film 'Why We Ride' - more on that later), and two passes to the Quail Motorcycle Gathering the next day, which also includes an excellent free lunch and booze.  With room rates at the newly-reopened Quail Lodge averaging $160/nite, its no wonder at all that the entire hotel was booked, too, as the Quail is ridiculously nice for the money.  But its not all about the dough, is it?

You don't see many riding shots IN the 'Corkscrew'... so thanks to my intrepid passenger Susan!

Last year's Quail Ride dodged the rain, but we trod on cat's feet across the narrow, wet, and tree-shaded lanes of Carmel Valley and beyond.  This year was full sun all day, with the temp peaking at 85 degrees heading down Laureles Grade Road, after creating our own heat around Laguna Seca.  In a nutshell, it was perfect, with a little bizarre thrown in for entertainment - I'll let you spot the strange, and let the photos do the talking.

A show winner at last year's Qual; the Magni-chassis BSA triple sounded fantastic while hammering around the track

Actually, this is a Chopper.  But not that kind; the rear section can be attached to the rider's 'cage' with the engine vertical, and yes, that's a rotor in back of the rider.  He's promised next year he'll 'Ride to the Quail, and fly home'.  Brave.

Sweet Commando under the oak trees

This year's iteration of the Crocetti Special Triumph

Deb ditched the Dream for this new RE

Hot Dunstall Norton with distinctive alloy 810cc cylinder barrels (years before the factory made an 850cc) and early disc brakes; all Dunstall equipment - rare!

Some were happy to pay $11/gal for 110octane race gas!

Ride organizer Gordon McCall blew past me at 90mph on his local-roads playground

Nice to see the show bikes, especially the Customs, come out to play.  This is a well-done Panhead

Other kinds of horsepower

'Fass Mikey' Vils with Irma and his Cannonball Harley JD inside Talbott Winery

Journalist John Stein and his nifty ex-Catalina GP Yamaha

Ken Arman on his Commando, just about to drop into the Corkscrew, a blind-left-right-downhill combination: fun!

Immaculate Suzuki 'Kettle' GT750 watercooled two-stroke triple 

Our host Rob Talbott at his winery in the Santa Lucia Highlands, with his high-mileage touring BMW GS.  He'd just returned from an 11,000 mile round-America tour

Preparing to re-enter the gorgeous Salinas River Valley

Sometimes 'The Man'...isn't!

My humble ride, two-up; the 'Project Desert Rat' Triumph TR5T, proudly covered in Mojave Desert dirt 

Turn 2 at Laguna Seca

In the 1970s, Craig Vetter built the 'Mystery Ship'; he should have waited.  This is his high-gas-mileage special, now clad in aluminum

Two Zero electric sports bikes joined the ride; silent and swift...

...at least, they passed me going up the big hill to the Corkscrew!

Chasing the silver fish

PROUVE, ENNUI, AND THE PROBLEM OF CASH

[Note:  I now write a monthly column for the revamped Classic Bike Guide, which is a Morton's Media publication.  New Editor Gary Pinchin was my 'connection' at MCN for years, and has moved into the world of Classics, where he belongs.  Check out the new magazine; here's my inaugural column from from Feb.2013]

Not Yves' house, but an example of a Jean Prouvé table being used at home...

I have a friend in Paris – Yves - with a lovely Jean Prouvé dining table he found cheap at the flea market (les Puces!) years ago, when Prouvé was iconic to connoisseurs, but not especially valuable. That changed; Prouvé is dead, his work is brilliant, and greed-panic is symptomatic of our 21st Century consciousness, so Yves’ dining table is worth well north of a Million, in whatever currency you care to calculate.  Yet he still uses that table, every day.

Not Susan's 18th Century folk art/modernist chest, but an example of the coveted genre

Susan has an unusual old chest (slap your wayward mind!), painted with a strange mashup of 18^th Century American folk art collided with 60s Pop Art patterns. The piece is insanely cool, and when it was appraised for insurance recently, it too rung the carnival bell above 7 figures.  Susan is no fool, and knew the thing was rare, but she likes it where it sits, holding the guest linens, and has sensibly decided to carry on using a family heirloom, which she’ll pass on to her children.  Her attitude is completely at odds with the ‘Roadshow/Pickers’ mindset, the modern game shows where 'Box #3' is your own damn garage. Susan is a responsible steward of the antique in question, just as were the past 15 generations of its owners.

The 1935 Koehler-Escoffier 'Monneret' pictured at the Vintage Revival Montlhéry event in Apr.2013; a unique machine with incredible history, owned by the Musée Mallartre in Lyon, France, the machine is kept in running condition and taken regularly to events.  Stewardship at its best.

‘Stewardship’ is a word tossed around Christian think-tanks and techno-hippie chat rooms, but rarely mentioned over the oil-stained concrete on which our old motorbikes typically rest.  But the term is cropping up at bike shows, in specialist media (Classic Bike Guide, Oily Rag, The Vintagent), and even at auctions, as motorcycle collecting - for many decades the purview of eccentric obsessives – slouches inexorably toward the Mainstream.  A very uncomfortable shift for some, especially the Volunteers, who created a network of old bike enthusiasts, and obsessively searched the countryside for motorbikes, hoarding parts and machines beyond the point of rationality, at a time when bikes were worth sod-all.

c.1929 Brough Superior SS100 at an English rally in the late 1970s, when such a machine could be purchased for £1500. People complained of the high and rising prices for old bikes even then!

They may have had larcenous hearts, greedily selling an SS100 for £15 back in 1949, but we laugh at their naivéte, just as our kids will laugh at us in 20 years when that same Brough tops £1M. Let us praise the Volunteers, whether their pants are secured by rope or alligator belts – I’ve met them all, and they share a common heart of gold, at least for motorcycles; they may well dislike You, as competition! While an imperfect lot, they’ve done their best to keep motorcycles out of the scrap-merchant’s destroying clutches, when they were basically worthless.

Looking at 1960s private adverts can be a painful experience!

Rising values, a dearth of really good unrestored machines, and a growing consciousness of the beauty of an ‘Oily Rag’ original finish, have all fertilized the understanding of Stewardship in the bike world.  For whatever reason, the Magpies – hoarders of shiny things – still dominate the Automotive collecting world, which has everything to do with the Car’s social function as self-perceived penis enlarger. Strange, given that a passing Ferrari is more likely to elicit sins of covetousness and avarice, but not envy of the owner, in whom we see said member, actual size.

A dirty old motorcycle is rarely the answer to a midlife crisis...

Motorbikes can make us feel superhuman (a necessary illusion perhaps, given their danger), and we feel pride while riding, yet we’re also aware the general population greets us with open indifference, or at worst, complete invisibility. With motorcycles Out as a symbol of social status, what’s left is a cadre of enthusiasts willing – to put it bluntly – to risk life and limb for the sheer pleasure of two-wheeling. That’s a different sort of passion than the standard Collector’s obsessions; those motivations are present too, but it’s a richer mix with bikers, who were generally seen as cranks until the 'Art of the Motorcycle' exhibit at the Guggenheim Museum. That’s probably why we’re far ahead of our four-wheeled brethren in the Stewardship stakes.

A tale of two Pierces; unrestored at left (sold for over $110k), restored at right (did not meet $42k reserve)

The trend at auction houses is clear; we are increasingly demanding machines bearing their original manufacturer’s paint job. A case in point; two identical ca.1910 Pierce single-cylinder motorcycles went for auction in Las Vegas last January, one dans son jus, the other restored, which failed to meet its $42,000 reserve. The heavily patinated Pierce, by contrast, fetched over $110,000. What Susan and Yves and the new 1910 Pierce owner understand is that the real treasure is not from the restorer’s hands, but from the maker’s workshop, unmolested. In this, they are in accord with art and furniture collectors, who are a century or two ahead of us in this game.

'Super Kim', probably the only unrestored / running 1920s supercharged record-breaker, built from Zenith chassis, Brough Pendine engine, Amilcar supercharger, and well-engineered adaptations from Argentina, ca.1930.  A famous machine which took many South American speed records, and certainly worth 7 figures these days.  Carefully preserved/maintained with actual rideability the goal; hence this test ride shot at Montlhéry in 2011.  An excellent example of Stewardship.

The reluctance of some motorcyclists to actually Use their treasures, as our examples above continue to do, is, one hopes, merely a symptom of a sudden rise in prices. We haven’t gained proper ennui at all this money talk, which is horrifically boring. After all, we’re in this game to Ride; if we wanted to throw money around, we’d have become bankers or rappers. But you can’t ride a pile of cash down the road, and a MacEvoy Anzani 8-valve shares the greatest thing with a Honda CB72 – they’re both really fun.

A VISIT TO VERRALLS

I don't often get the chance to stop in Verralls in Handcross, just south of London, but it's a venerable place with a great selection of older motorcycles, and a great pleasure to visit.  Ian Hatton, who took over the business when Brian Verrall died a few years ago, has been a pal since 1987, when he was a lowly mechanic on Brian's machines (and about 19 years old, while I was a lofty 25).  Ian liked my painted-up Velocette jacket, and I purchased an MZ 250 from his father, which I then rode to the Soviet border and back in a great loop around Western and Eastern Europe, a trip of many thousands of miles - all on back roads, with zero mechanical trouble.  That's another story, but we've since remained friends, and I've long been a fan of the business.  Ian has continued Brian's policy of looking after machines they've sold - if there's a problem, they'll deal with it, usually for free (unless you run the bike without oil).

Stop in sometime, and have a chat with Gordon Button while he serves tea.

1939 Coventry Eagle 148cc with pressed-steel frame

Greeves trial machine with aluminum I-Beam front downtube, leading link forks, and Villiers engine

BMW R60/2 and Steib S500 sidecar

BSA sidecar attached to a big BSA v-twin

BSA Bantam motor peeks between Post Office legshields

Gorgeous 1926 Rex-Acme with Blackburne external flywheel 350cc motor

The Rex-Acme was a fantastic little hot rod in the day, with a tireless engine and exceptional handling

Brough Superior SS80 JAP sidevalve powerplant - finned magnificence

This crusty Barbour waxed cotton Trailmaster jacket literally stands up on its own

Sunbeam Model 6 with 500cc sidevalve engine; a lovely machine to ride

Sightglass for the oil feed supply to the big end of the engine.  Note the Sunbeam's lovely enclosed 'Little Oil Bath' primary chaincase, which holds its grease well

An 'oily rag' original finish 1914 Douglas in rare grey paint

Ex-Post Office BSA Bantam in the window

Tools of the trade

Jon Dudley of 'The Automobile' chats with Ian Hatton