Southern
Classic Bike Show 2018
As
usual preparations start much earlier in the year, making the booking
for the stand and asking anyone who would like to display their LE
along with their details to register them for the event. Easy enough
for me as all those who display their bikes last year were turning up
with the same ones this year. EasyI only have to fill in another
form. Hopefully for next year Chris will have his LE running and will
not need to borrow my trailer again. It seems it is the only time it
gets used. I had been away in America doing the touristy West Coast
and National parks and a few motorcycle museums along the way as well
as contracting cellulitis and the use of my right hand until the
second dose of antibiotics got to work. For a change, this year the
weather was good, but not the day coinciding with the Royal Wedding
and Cup Final! These guys should have better planning! As I was
single handed, literally, George helped set up the stand on the
Friday afternoon and we were ready for an early start on Saturday
morning. What a lovely day! It was sunny, warm for all of us who rode
our bikes to the show. Me on my much modified LE, George on his KSS
as his LE is still work in progress, Philip on his Valiant that runs
very well and Chris with his Police LE. All set up and ready for
09:30 when the punters come in.
It was a busy day with so much
interest in the stand and recruitment of new people to the club. I
did a stint on the LMM stand and that generated a great deal of
interest with the museum taking home a couple of prizes for best
original with the Dunstall Triton and best in its class the P1 first triple. As the temperature outside went
up more people flowed into the hall it was a busy old day.
I usually
get out late morning to have a look around but this time it was not
until after lunch and lots of things had already gone. Most of the
stalls appear to be selling the same stuff as last year, only with
more rust on and Tiger cubs are coming out of the woodwork for sale.
Prices for old bikes are stupidly high as well as are parts but there
are some really nice things on show like this Motobi and the MV
racer.
Lastly I have some saddlebags that I used to get stuff home
and now my LE looks like it is ready to go places. In my quest for
information I keep looking for examples of early Villiers engines so
far I have got back to 1921 fitted to a Francis Barnett “built like
a bridge” model.
Here is a 1924 example.
Villiers Road works was
where John Marston had his cycle gearbox manufacturing but on selling
the company to his son in 1902 the interest in engines developed and
in 1912 the first engine was produced, a 350cc 4 stroke. It was later
that year a simple 269cc two stroke 70mm x 70mm was made and this was
fitted to a number of motorcycles. In 1913 the Sun-Villiers was
launched and by 1914 these remarkably simple engines had been fitted
to Alldays, The Royal Ruby, Bown, Coventry Eagle, Sparkbrook, Ixion,
Invicta, Juno and Roulette.
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