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President’s Point of View

If you missed the August meeting you missed the mother of all meetings! The meeting it's self went reAl fast, so less listing to me talking. A lot of people to introduce with the scooter club there, they were a lot of fun. Then we headed outside for the ride briefing, Pat did a great job as you would expect. With every one knowing the rules, we sent the riders off in groups of four, two motorcycles and two scooters and we let every one chouse their cohorts, and it worked out perfectly.

It was around an hour to get all the groups off, with their diabolical routes set up by Pat and Dave, in an air-conditioned truck, more on this latter! We also gave them an envelope with a map in it just in case, it was sealed with an official Martha Stuart gold pair seal, from her Bad Ass Biker fall collection. Only one group gave up and opened the envelope, I'm proud of all of you!

The route was longer then expected. The Air Force has an expression for the ground crews that wait for the air crews to come back from a mission, it's called "Sweating It Out", and believe me as the time ticked by and still no riders; I was sweating it out, both figuratively and literally! Finally, after three hours the first team came in looking very tired, one by one the other teams rolled up If I felt sorry for my self, I soon felt even sorrier for all the riders as the last team rolled in! Seems none of us rode the route on a motorcycle and the one person who did preview it was in an air-conditioned SUV. So no one new that the route would be long and hot and then we ran out of food! I am sorry, next year will be better, shorter rout more beverages, and some where to eat!

In spite of this, everyone had a good time, and lots of prizes were given away! I would like to give a big shout out to all our sponsors; they came through big time for such a small rally. Sportique Scooters who gave away a bunch of T-shirts and two Fulmer helmets, one which our treasurer John won, which was great since he was looking for a new helmet just an hour earlier. Pikes Peak Harley Davidson BMW gave us several BMW shirts and a baseball cap. Isles Motorcycle came through with five T-shirts, which were badly needed to have enough prizes. G&L Choppers who make some really cool hard tail based on Yamaha XS650s, [Triumphs that don't leak oil and have lights that work] gave us two nice T-shirts, Apex Motorsports came through with four gift certificates, and Rocky Mountain Cycle Plaza gave away a $25.00 gift card. So you missed out on some great prizes!

Forty years ago the Royal Enfield Company went out of business! Well not exactly, as many of you know. In 1851 George Townsend set up a company in Redditch England to make sewing needles. They dabbled in parts for Royal Small Arms Factory in Enfield, which would lead to their name and slogan. They also got into the bicycle craze of the late 19th century. Enfield started producing powered bicycles in the late 1800s, then motorcycles. Their V-twins and singles gained a reputation for being rugged if not fast. They were the first motorcycle company in the world to have re-circulating oil, instead of total loss, [a misnomer, since riders get nicely oiled boots], along with many other pioneering parts. After WWII, which they continued to supply motorcycles for Commonwealth countries, the mighty V-twins were abandoned, a shame, maybe we would have nostalgia V-twins to compete with Harley! In 1947 they unveiled a legend, the Bullet with telescopic forks and a rear swing arm, a first, initially for competition use only. Then in 1949, the 350cc Bullet was released to the public, it was a hit, many trials riders swear by them to this day! Later the engine was punched out to 500cc. They also released a 500cc parallel twin, later to be expanded to 692cc engine and called the Meteor, the largest displacement motorcycle made in England at the time.

They kept on tuning the engine until the Constellation, which unfortunately put a lot of strain on the organelle designee, thus giving us Royal Oilfields. In 1962 a new parallel twin came out as the Interceptor with a much beefier engine. This continued until 1968 at which time Alpha Bearing bought out the old family run business and moved it to a WWII underground facility at Bradford on Avon. A damp place to say the least, the only saving grace was when the big Interceptors were started up and ridden out side, an incredible sound that I would love to hear! The last hurrah came in the form of the Interceptor MK2 with a wet sump engine; even the mighty Honda 750 Four didn't have that. In 1970 it was all over! Or was it? American Floyd Clymer bought up all the remaining stock of MK2 engines and stuffed them into Italian frames to sell them as Indians. This isn't the first use of the Indian name on Royal Enfield, nor the last with Indians. After the Indian motorcycle company in Springfield, Massachusetts went belly up, Brockhouse Engineering bought the name and in 1955 proceeded to re-badged Royal Enfield and Velocettes as Indians. This lasted until 1960 when AMC of England bought the Indian name. They were a direct competitor to Enfield, so ended the first chapter in the Indian saga. Clymer unfortunately died in 1970 after producing a handful of bikes, including ones powered by Velocette singles. The Rickman brothers stepped in and bought the remaining engines to produce a motorcycle with their super light weight frames. Unfortunately only 137 bikes were made when they to gave up on Enfield in 1972. Thus Royal Enfield was dead! But not quite, in 1955 the Indian Army, [I told you there were more Indians in this story] that’s from the big Sub Continent not the Native Americans, were looking for a small motorcycle. They talked to the large British companies who were not interested. Finally they went to Enfield, who was about to come out with a new frame, so they sold the tooling for the 1955 Bullet. A factory was set up in Madras India, and quietly they continued to make Bullets to this day. Rediscovered by the West in the 70s, they started trickling in first to their ancestor’s home, then to the rest of the world. Thus Royal Enfield lives on the oldest name in motorcycles, and Bullet the oldest model! As for their motto "Built Like A Gun." There’s an old joke that goes like this, a young soldier wakes up in a cold sweat from a nightmare. His bunkmate sees that he has had a really bad dream and ask him what it was about? The soldier says he was dreaming that he was in WWI and his trench was about to be over run by the Hun. That’s when he looked down in horror at the motto on his rifle, "Built Like A Motorcycle!"

Wrench,Ride,Repeat! El Loco Diablo

BONNEVILLE SPEED WEEK 2010

You had to be there to understand. The Bonneville Land Speed Week this year registered 381 cars, 178 bikes and 74 Class Changes; of which 486 Vehicles produced 183 Daily Records consisting of 109 Cars, 74 Bikes and a total of 158 Event Records accumulated over 2,852 runs.

The BMAC fielded 4 teams of competitors this year for Speed Week and it was awesome! Jack Bergman on his 250 cc Triumph in the MPS-PG (Modified Partial Streamline - Pushrod Gas), George Nachtsheim on his 650 cc Triumph in the A-PG (Altered - Pushrod Gas), Kris Geller on his 883 Harley in the SC-PG (Sidecar - Pushrod Gas), and Whiskyman on his A-10 650 cc BSA Golden Flash in the P-PV (Production Frame - Production Vintage) stock pre-1954 class.

It was a 13 hour marathon drive to go the 715 miles to Wendover, UT for our teams. Lodging is very expensive and hard to come by so George, Kris and Dana camped out while Jack and Jerry’s team’s lived in relative opulence at the Knights Inn (said with humor – this place makes the “Bates Motel” of Psycho look like the Hilton by comparison). Tech inspection was Friday, Aug. 13 and everybody but Carpe Diem Passed with flying colors on the first go. It seems that the head motorcycle inspector took exception to the seat and pancake air filter on Jerry’s A-10 claiming they were not “period correct” (since the rules in this class require the bike to be externally identical to those produced off the assembly line). So with a few well placed calls to the “Brit bike emergency network”, Al Slarks provided a genuine A-10 seat sent Fed-Ex overnight and Randy Baxter at Baxter’s Cycles located a good used air box to be express shipped but since this all went down on a Friday, the parts would not make Wendover until at least Monday.

In the meantime “the show must go on” so everybody took their first qualifying run after the rider’s orientation meeting on Saturday. Kris was really jacked-up to break the “ton” on his sidecar rig and George was out for a gentle “handling run” to find out what his creation would do. Jack (as usual) “went for it” but mechanical issues put him back in the pit’s to do some modifications. Carpe Diem was allowed to run in the Modified Vintage Gas (M-VG) class while waiting for the parts needed to get tech inspection clearance for the P-PV class. Now bear in mind that the A-10 had less than 25 miles on it since new pistons, rings and a +0.040 bore was finished – just about the night before we had to drive to Bonneville. The smart thing to do was to just take it easy and don’t push the engine at this delicate stage of “bedding in” the rings and all.

Well, when you are on a motorcycle looking down a long open race course where they expect everybody to go as fast as they can it can cloud the good judgment of even the best of us. So my first “gentle” run somehow got “amped-up” by adrenalin and before the first mile the Smiths Chronometric was flopping around the Speedo housing in a 10-mph swing (plus or minus) around 65 mph. Everything was feeling good so I rolled on a little more throttle (less than ¾ capacity I would guess) and we were now flying at 75 mph. As I was approaching the 2-mile marker panel I could feel a sudden loss of power and fearing the engine seizing I grabbed the clutch and coasted past the timing light for a measured speed of about 73 mph. However, when I stopped the bike and went to restart it was all “locked up” and I thought I had seized the engine (never ever use the Latin word “Carpe” = Seize” in a team name). We assumed the worst and put the bike back in the trailer convinced we were done for Speed Week 2010. However, on Monday, out of idle curiosity I rolled the A-10 out of the trailer and “bumped it around in gear” and to my great amazement, the gear box unlocked and the bike started on the first kick. Carpe Diem was back in the game! Our parts came in too late on Monday to run tech inspection but Tuesday morning we were there ready to go and we got a sign-off from the inspector to run in the intended P-PV class. Out to the 3-mile short course and we qualified at 45.184 mph (not taking any chances this time). After impound and an overnight there, we were back on the course the next morning before dawn and this time I bumped it up to a return run of 59.220 mph (note, they recorded a 2-1/4 mile speed of 68.408 mph so the bike was still accelerating even though I was not even close to WFO).

The end result was that Carpe Diem had established the first P-PV 650 cc land speed record of 52.202mph at Speed Week.

And, Kris was happy going over 115 mph on his Harley Combo (just what he wanted for a first time out), George got to find out about some handling issues calling for design modifications for 2011, and Jack had done all he could until he could get his Triumph home for more fettling over the winter months. So, all in all, Bonneville was a great experience for the BMAC and it looks like Carpe Diem team member Crazy Cal might just be the next victim of Salt Fever for 2011 if we just find him a bike to ride. As a friend told me, “The salt at Bonneville is as white as cocaine and twice as addictive”. He just could be right about that!

Carpe Diem – Ride fast, life is short

Whiskyman

Carpe Diem - 1954 BSA 650 CC A-10 Golden Flash

CHECK OUT OUR PREFERRED VENDOR/LINKS PAGE

Thanks to the good work of fellow BMAC member Jim LeFebvre and a little help (actually a lot) from our friends at the Norton Club of Colorado, we now have a links page where you can go to find interesting connections to all kinds of sources of information and services relating to our favorite hobby of motorcycles.

This is a "work in progress" and we will be adding and updating the links as we go along but for now it's a great place to get started. If you have found a particularly useful website or interest YouTube video, please send the link direct to Jim LeFebvre at jimlef@comcast.net so he can integrate your contribution for us. Remember, this is YOUR website and the more you contribute, the better it is for all of our members and friends worldwide.

Ride Fast, life is short! 


Whiskyman

BMAC IS NOW ON FACEBOOK!
Even if you are not an avid Facebook user it's time you came into the 21st Century and signed up so you can join the British Motorcycle Association under the "Groups" section (icon of a few people together at the left or bottom of your facebook page).

So what's this all about you ask? Well, Facebook is another way to electronically network with others with a special interest - in this case British motorcycles. It's like sending a broadcast e-mail to a collection of addresses on your computer but since every member of this group also has other members in their network, and so on, and so on, our reach is much more extensive.

As of May we already have over 70 on board including BMAC members and sponsors and we are adding a lot of interesting folks from both the USA and overseas (Panther Owners Club for example).

The cool thing is that we can use this as a "chat room" to discuss technical issues or seek assistance and it can function as a bulletin board to post notices if you are seeking a rare old part made of "unobtainium" or have one to sell or give away. This is just another way to keep us in touch with others afflicted with a passion for Brit bikes and restoring, fixing and riding them.

So what does it cost? Nothing!

How hard is it? If you can open this website you have all the technical skills to participate.

Ok, "nuff said", just join facebook and go to the "Groups" link and look for the British Motorcycle Association of Colorado and get up to speed.

BOOK REPORTS – WHAT’S GOOD TO READ?

Here are some books of interest to the members of the BMAC – check them out!.

How to Paint Your Motorcycle

By JoAnn Bortles

(ISBN 978-0-7603-2078-5).

How to Paint Your Motorcycle is, in my opinion, a really excellent guide to the beginner on how to approach this kind of work with an eye to providing many practical helpful tips, as well as warnings on the many pitfalls to be encountered that can make or break a paint project. And the author JoAnn Bortles (of Crazy Horse Painting) is an amazing lady who really knows her stuff around motorcycles. What I want to know is where were women like this to meet when I was young and single and building bikes?

One of the things that appeals most to me is her copious use of photos to illustrate the minute details that must be considered to doing a really good job of painting a bike. There is more than adequate written description throughout, including many handy tips and tricks along with warnings on the kinds of bonehead errors most beginners are prone to make so you can take your project along from stage-to-stage by reading the appropriate chapter as you go. But most important for people like me who are “visual learners”, this book excels by providing clear and detailed photos of exactly what to do and how to do it so your chances of messing up are virtually eliminated!

The chapters are well organized in sequence - starting with the basics of setting up your paint shop/area, equipment selection, and then walking you through the complete process from proper frame and sheet metal molding (Bondo to us old timers), priming the parts, selection and application of paint products, and detailed painting techniques including an extensive description of custom colors and exotic paint schemes worthy of a build-off quality job.

If you are serious about learning to paint your own motorcycle parts you need to read this book first. After many hours learning by the cut-and-try method in my shop turning out marginal results, I realize how much time I could have saved if I had read this before I started my experiments. More important, every mistake I ever made (and a few more I have not had a chance to make yet) were addressed with tips telling me exactly how to avoid the messes I created learning on my own. In 169 pages (a couple evenings of leisure reading) you can really prepare yourself for the next project you decide to tackle by yourself.

My only criticism of the book is that the author is clearly a fan of “House of Kolor” products and focuses exclusively on their use to get successful results. Not all such a bad thing since there are probably an infinite variety of competing products, and to try and cover all the options would only serve to further confuse the beginner. If you are like me, I go with something that is recommended to work by the experts and when I get smarter, I learn what options I can substitute that are more readily available or offer a better value. Crawl before you walk, and walk before you can run.

For me, the most important thing I came away with from reading this book is that the really “Great” painters are not only experienced technicians but also true artists with a talented eye for color, shape and form. It also clearly got me to understand that when you don’t have these gift of all these elements, you are well advised to take your really important work to a professional if you want great results. And if you go that route, this book will provide you with an understanding of what level of effort must be executed to produce a first class job which should help mute your whining when presented with the bill. Good work don’t come cheap!

And, when you park your ride in front of your favorite biker watering hole and receive the envious stares from the other riders coveting your new paint job, it will further confirm the common wisdom that “you get what you pay for”. But also important is that if you do decide to take your work out to be done by a Pro, this book will allow you to now communicate with them on a more advanced level by understanding the kinds of options you have on materials and their application to get the results you want when the day is done. At a mere $29.95 this will be some of the best money you ever spent before taking on another motorcycle painting project.

Triumph Motorcycle Restoration

By Timothy Remus and Garry Chitwood and published by Wolfgang Publications

(ISBN-13:978-929133-42-0).

This is an interesting and useful book for both the first-time as well as the experienced motorcycle restorer taking a basket case Triumph project from start to finish. The authors decided to showcase two projects – a 1963 and a 1969 Bonneville. Their premise for selecting these models was that in their opinion, “many enthusiasts feel that the best of the Triumph twins were those produced between 1963-1970” so these two were selected to illustrate the book. There is sufficient overlap of information that other later models being restored and the many generic restoration techniques presented provides universal value no matter what marque you are considering.

Also, they hit upon a need missing in most service manuals that have lot’s of specifications but poor quality grainy photos which usually don’t show the “tricks” needed to easily get things apart and back together again. As they state in the Introduction, “Service manuals are great and the good ones convey a wealth of information. You might even want one to accompany this how-to book. What a typical service manual is missing though, is enough photos and illustrations to truly illuminate the subject, especially for non-professional mechanics”. And, with over 450 color photos, this 144 page book is able to show the little details omitted in most shop manuals that are critical to doing the job right the first time.

I have had an opportunity to either partially or fully restore two Triumph Bonneville’s under the supervision of a professional motorcycle mechanic, and some of the really critical but seldom addressed fine points of a restoration I learned from him hands-on are shown in this publication. So is it worth the suggested retail price of $29.95? In my opinion I would say “YES” for both the first time restorer planning a project as well as the old-timer who might still learn a few tricks from this gem but you would be well advised to still have a copy of the original factory service manual on hand to provide all the torque specs and other details needed but not directly addressed in this book

The Essential Buyers Guide to BSA 500 & 650 Twins
(ISBN 978-1-84584-136-2)

This is a small but interesting book written by UK author and BSA marque expert Peter Henshaw and published by Veloce Books. It covers all aspects of finding, selecting, and buying BSA models A7, A10, A50 & A65 built in years 1946 to 1973. The author clearly has a good understanding of BSA’s and provides some essential tips to a buyer on what to look for and what to avoid in deciding what year and model BSA twin that would be the best match to their interests and budget. Having been through two rebuilds of my own 1954 BSA A10, I can attest to his insights and detailed knowledge of the virtues and vices of these various year and model choices. This book is not a restoration guide but really an organized checklist of critical items one should consider in not only deciding on a particular model of BSA but also how to analyze a bike for sale to make sure you are getting what you pay for. He addresses all aspects of an acquisition including personal (face-to-face) negotiations as well as internet (Ebay) purchases so you don’t get scammed when buying a bike. His book is written with a “British” spin which makes it a bit more fun to read than a domestic orientation (buying in the USA) but all his advice clearly translates to purchases made in the USA or anywhere else in the world. At a retail price of $19.95 this book would be a good investment for a 1^st time novice BSA buyer however more experienced classic bike restorers will have already acquired most of the knowledge presented in this publication.

FLAT OUT
by Rocky Robinson
(ISBN-13; 978-0-7603-3163-7)

"Flat Out is a fascinating read to anybody interested in what goes on behind the scenes at Bonneville Speed Week and the quest to set a land speed record on the great salt sea there. You don’t have to be a racer to appreciate the accomplishments of these daredevils but if you are a speed freak then you will take pleasure in this true story.

This is a "can't put it down" exciting account of a battle for the ultimate land speed record on 2-wheels, written in a down to earth style to which the reader can relate!" A center section of photos adds to the value of the book and aids the reader in understanding what an awesome accomplishment it is to go over 350 mph on two wheels.

THE VINCENT IN THE BARN: GREAT STORIES OF MOTORCYCLE ARCHAEOLOGY by Tom Cotter, Forward by David Edwards

(ISBN 978-0-7603-3535-2)

It’s every motorcyclist’s dream. A friend or acquaintance says, “You know, there’s an old bike that’s been sitting in the garage for years”. The hunt is on. And rather than the usual worthless Hondazukimaha pile of hopeless oxidation, at the back of that barn you find a genuine classic, the motorcycle collectors dream.

The Vincent in the Barn tells forty such stories – tales of motorcycle hunting dreams come true. From Ducati’s in basements to Vincent’s abandoned in sheds, Harleys in barns to Brit Bikes moldering behind urban garages, these are the stories that fuel every motorcyclist’s fantasies. The only difference? They are true!

If you have every heard about a “Barn Fresh find” or had the good fortune of the actual experience of rescuing a classic bike from some dark dingy storage space after years of collecting dust and debris, you are going to love this book. With stories illustrated with photos from known collectors such as Jay Leno, to the legends of the motorcycle world such as the Brough Superior that belonged to T.E. Lawrence (The Lawrence of Arabia Bike), to eccentric collectors like desert rat Ron Adler who has reportedly over 10,000 motorcycles stored on his property in Rye Arizona, it’s a fascinating read!

These books are available through Motorbooks /MBI Publishing at www.quaysidepublishinggroup.com or at www.motorbooks.com on line.

Your editor: Jerry Pokorny

                       BMAC MEMBER PINS AVAILABLE
BMAC Member pins commemorating 5 and 10 years of membership are available free by contacting Brian House at 303-425-6385 and establishing your eligibility. New member pins for those with less than 5 years continuous paid membership are available at $5 ea, and a limited quantity of "Original" (charter member but we will sell to any member now) pins are available at $10 ea from the club by contacting John Scheibeler at 719-390-4727.

                       REMINDER - BMAC MEMBERSHIP DUES NOT PAID
                                   BY JANUARY 1 ARE NOW PAST DUE
We have converted to collecting membership dues on an annual basis, due January 1^st of every New Year. You can still send your $35 to John Shiebeler c/o PO Box 5775, Colorado Springs, CO 80931 and we will make your membership current.    If any questions, please contact John for assistance.

                                                       DON'T DRINK AND DRIVE!
A gentle reminder to all our members and friends. We made it to 2010 and we want to keep on riding for many more years so we encourage you to chose to refrain from drinking until you are done riding for the day and "the kick stand is down". We have enough challenges dodging teen drivers texting, soccer moms late for a game and little ol' blue hairs coming back from an afternoon tea with a big old Caddy full of their girlfriends wrapped up in conversation.   And remember the #1 rule of riding a motorcycle on the road - YOU ARE INVISIBLE!

Ride Safe. Your Ed.
Whiskyman

AT THE ACE CAFE IN LONDON - CHEERS!

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