Norfolk Motorcycle Museum

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Norfolk Motorcycle Museum 2015

On another visit to the Broads for a little family R&R on the Buell. This is where I catch up on some reading along with eating and drinking at one of the local pubs I keep an eye out for interesting places to visit while I am there and of course a little blast around some very nice country lanes. Last year it was the Caistor Motor Museum and this year I found the Norfolk Motorcycle Museum that is at North Walsham. 

There search on my phone said South Walsham but with the correct post code. After a stop at the post office and a friendly local we tracked it down. It is next to the North Walsham Railway station and a breeze for those using public transport. It is in an old railway workshop and packed with bikes British and European. It is run by another motorcycle enthusiast who is doing his best to preserve our biking heritage.The man is George Harmer and with his son Steven are bent on expanding the collection of bikes repairing if possible or restoring a precious relic. One of the rebuilds is of a BSA Sunbeam with fan cooled twin cylinder engine.

He has a 1928 Raliegh that needs a greta deal of work doing to it. We have a 1927 model in the museum and I have sent a number of pictures of that bike that may be of use during the restoration. There are still barn finds around and he has kept this 1934 BSA as it is for a cameo set. 

We had some discussions around suspension systems and one different way was the front set up used on this OEC. It has a type of hub-centre steering with a spring slider within the front tube and a short swing arm on the rear. There are many machines that are similar to the ones at the LMM but they do have a good selection of foreign machines with Gilera, Motobecane, Suzuki and Yamaha. I was particularly interested in the NSU Max being offered one in the 70's. I declined as I had no idea of how and where to get spares. The case with almost everything then.

There is even a Puch split single two stroke. A number of British and foreign scooters. There is even a motorised skateboard that was featured in one of the Bond Movies. 

There are more interesting bikes in this museum with a Rudge Racer that was ridden by Sam Allerdice. Other riders at the time was Murray Walkers' dad Graham. 

Walking around the museum there are some more novel bikes like the diesel Enfield, the Triumph powered Dot and even a dual control scooter. There was a good selection of small Velocettes with all of the LE variants lined up as well as the British Scooter Brigade.

In the adjacent building is another store of bikes and filled with bits to rebuild almost anything. This building is not able to be used as a museum as it has a problem with the gas processing plan just across the road. Apparently it is in the line of blast should the gas plant explode, however the museum and railway station behind it are safe and so is the housing estate along side it!!!!!!! There are enough bikes there to fill every inch of space they have. It is a most interesting place to visit and the next time I am in that area I'll have to pay them another visit.

Where there is Sand

www.london-motorcycle-museum.org

Sand and Motorcycles 2015

There was rain first thing and I wondered if it would be dry all day, but it soon cleared and was not seen again. Anywhere! It must have been just for me. Out on the Buell again to find out what this event was about. I had heard about it and read an article in one of the bike magazines.

Leighton Buzzard Railway was originally built in 1919 by Leighton Buzzard Light Railway Ltd to transport the sand the town is famous for. It now runs a visitors service. After the second world war motorcycles were used by maintenance fitters to get to sites to repair and maintain the equipment used in the industry. The Sand and Motorcycles Day is in tribute to these riders and their machines. They must have been pretty good riders as to get to the trucks and track they did it across country on unpaved paths. I remember one of the bikes being a 1938 Zenith.

I arrived around 10:30 and the display area in the field was about a quarter full. I wandered around the stands to see what was there, local bike shop, Thames Valley Advanced motorcycle club, the Air Ambulance, Thames Valley and this time, selling their lottery tickets and the local micro brewery that I would have liked to try but too early in the day. I handed out fliers as I went. I think all the bikers turn up at the same events as the guy I had parked next to last Sunday was there again too! By the time I had done a circuit of the field it had filled up. There must have been close to a thousand bikes there. Some leaving and more arriving all the time. It was a grand spectacle. There were a number of interesting bikes there, among them was a Woden, a JAP engined special in a featherbed frame.

 It was nicely done and the engine had electron crankcases. I had to ask about it as the crankcases looked like cast iron but had not a sign of rust. It all is was a bit special. A 1912 Scott that was in good order. We all get used to looking at sleek modern stuff but this one was a little less refined as was the manufacturing process at the time. There were no die-cast moulds to make things smooth and parts were hand crafted and made to fit.

 On the thoughts of a later bike hidden in the field was this Ariel Arrow special in what looks like a Bantam frame. All of 500cc, two arrow engines married together with a great deal of thought, engineering and ingenuity. 

Around the field were these magnificent BSAs. It is worth looking up the Leighton Buzzard Light Railway web site for more about the events that go on there. It is down for a revisit to ride on the railway.

Over the Hill

www.london-motorcycle-museum.org

Kop Hill Climb 2015

Just a week after visiting the museums in Spain it was great to see some action at Kop Hill. It was a weekend event that had a grand assortment of cars and bikes of all ages blasting up the hill or at least trying to. The London Motorcycle Museum was there for the first time. We didn't get a chance to send something up the hill as our registration was too late, but perhaps next year we will.

Kop Hill is in Princes Risborough in Buckinghamshire. It is a charity event that has been going for years. It provides an opportunity to show off your bikes and cars and give them go up the hill. It looks quite steep at the top and for most vehicles takes about a minute and a half to get there. I did walk some of the way up, but having bike gear on I didn't get too far. The hill is closed towards the top so few get to see them arrive. At the bottom of the hill there is the paddock that has the bikes and cars in for everyone to look over.

The start close by and the sounds of tannoy and engines revving gives the feeling of real competition. I was there Sunday afternoon with Gita on the Buell. I had a few fliers with me and passed one on to a guy who was parked next to me. I took a few short videos on my camera and put the best bits together and now that is on You tube:  

www.youtube.com/watch?v=xggDMAaMwhc

It was good fun to see the bikes and talk to their owners. Other museums present were Brooklands, Shuttleworth and a good representation from the Vintage Motorcycle Club made the show very enjoyable. Even Bonhams were there with some immaculate machines.

I visited the Thames Valley Air Ambulance stand and got them to send me one of their lottery forms. They need all the money they can as they only operate from donations. They have no government funding like the RNLI but more important for bikers as we are more likely to be in need of an air ambulance than rescuing at sea (Guy Martin being an exception). The lottery means that the Air Ambulance gets well deserved funds and you may get a little money back if you win. You won't get millions but you will get something for your money.

Back at the Museum on Monday morning and there are spaces where the Kop Hill display bikes should have been. Another international day of visitors and more discussions on rear suspension systems that were innovations at the time. More to come on that subject.