As I write, we are heading towards the end of February and there are the first shoots of spring appearing, with the prospect of some imminent motorcycling seeming to become a closer reality. Of course, it’s possible to ride all winter, and plenty do, it’s just I prefer it so much more when the roads are not coated in ice or salt, the mornings and nights dark and the wind possessed of a viscous chill.
What’s happened in the old motorcycle world, though, is that winter has increasingly become ‘show season’, or at least that’s how it feels to me. The Bristol show has been on the calendar for plenty of years and as ever provided a ‘good day out’ (well, weekend) with lots of interesting things to do and see. I enjoyed chatting to lots of people, which is why I like to attend the event every year; it provides an annual catch up. Great stuff.
Of course, I also always come away with enthusiasms for all sorts of things renewed. Chatting to people on owners’ club displays, I find their enthusiasms infectious and before I know it, I’m adding another to my mental list of ‘things I’d like…’
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On the subject of owners’ clubs, we at Mortons welcomed 12 club magazine editors to our offices for a day, which, I hope, will provide mutually beneficial to them and us. It was really interesting to put names to faces, while it also – hopefully – helped everyone in one way or another.
We’ve included a supplement this month, on the Triumph Bonneville, for which thanks should be extended to all who helped with that, particularly Dave Manning for his copy, Gary Chapman for his photographs – plus Bonhams and our back page advertiser Yesterdays for bailing us out with a couple we struggled with – and James Hewing and the staff at the National Motorcycle Museum for their allowing us access to so many Bonnevilles, as well as their turntable which makes photography so much easier.
The 1961 Bonneville and the 1939 Tiger 100 are part of the museum’s fleet of available machines during its riding activities; have a look at nationalmotorcyclemuseum.co.uk or call 01675 443311 for details. I’m lucky enough to have ridden both those machines (the 1939 Tiger 100 is a personal favourite, though so are Bonnies) and I’m going to beg a go on the Matchless V-twin Colin Wall is painstakingly piecing back together, as featured on page 60…
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