Classic Christmas Shopping

Make It A RealClassic Christmas

You don’t even have to leave this site to find some spiffy gift ideas in the range of RC regalia. Scroll down the merchandise menu to find super-sturdy mugs, magazine binders, RC tea-towels, polo shirts, tee-shirts and such, or nip off to the magazine menu to give someone a gift subscription or a special offer set of magazines relevant to their very own classic bike. Prices range from under a fiver to £50, so there should be something to suit even a credit-crisis-calamity-chaos-crunched budget.

If you’re running short of time then we can send your order direct to the lucky recipient. Just drop an email to tp @ realclassic.net when you place your order and tell us who it’s for, and we’ll include a card to say it’s from you!

Vintage Gifts

The VMCC shop (www.vmcc.net/vmccshop/default.asp) is so absolutely stuffed full of old bike memorabilia, books, clothing, accessories and artwork that you’ll be utterly spoiled for choice. But if you’ve been out and about during 2008 then there’s one item in particular which might interest you – the club’s 2008 Events DVD.

This professionally produced 75-minute film followed the action around the UK throughout the club’s calendar of events in 2008. It features three of the VMCC’s principle events with in-depth coverage of the 60th Anniversary Banbury Run, then the massive Festival of 1000 Bikes at Mallory Park, and it rounds off with a re-cap of the very popular Vintage Training Day. The DVD captures the flavour of each outing and will fill your living room with the sights and sounds of classic and vintage motorcycles in action (but you’ll have to imagine the smells for yourself!).

Including the Vintage Training Day is a great idea too, because it portrays the flavour and fun of experimenting with veteran and vintage machines. We keep being asked by classic enthusiasts – people who are accustomed to 1960s Brits, for example, but who haven’t tried much prewar machinery — what it’s like to ride really old motorcycles. So if you want to see how an average rider copes with his first encounter with hand-change and lever throttles, this footage should encourage your own enthusiasm.

All through the DVD there are interviews with VMCC members, past-masters, race champions and the man in the street. It presents a fascinating snapshot of life in the classic motorcycle scene and is a worthy stocking filler for any vintage motorcyclist.

Available from www.vmcc.net/vmccshop/mcartfree/product.asp?intProdID=1848 at £15.99 including UK delivery.

Practical Classics

Now here’s some stuff for the Man in the Shed! Useful things for the regular rider, all available from BMW specialist Motorworks via their eBay shop (although none of the things we’ve chosen are for BMWs; they are suitable for all sorts…)

First off, an indispensable item to stop your fingers freezing. Yes, your life couldn’t possibly be complete without a set of handlebar muffs. They may not be cool, but they should keep you warm! Yours for a little bit over 20 quid. Just make sure they’re correctly fitted or else they have a habit of operating the clutch and brake levers at inappropriate moments…

Next, an item for anyone who hates turning bikes around in a limited amount of space. The MAT motorcycle turntable lets you rotate any bike with a centrestand by 360-degrees within its own length. It can spin bikes of up to 600lb (and we can’t think of many old bikes which weigh more than that), has a non-slip top and base, is totally rustproof and weatherproof, easily portable and even easier to maintain. It costs around £50 with UK delivery, but that’s probably a darn sight cheaper than dropping your bike…

Our final selection from the Motorworks shop is an item you’ll want to give to your mate who is always late. You know, the bloke who turns up 15 minutes after you said you were setting off… every week! For around £15 you can give him this well-made digital clock which offers time, date and second displays. It’s big enough to read easily but small enough to fit unobtrusively, and is water resistant (but not water-proof, so should be removed during downpours!). The clock is very easily fitted and can be removed as required to prevent theft. And then your chum will have no possible excuse for running late every weekend…

The Art Of The Motorcycle

Turner Twin fetishist, off road nut and regular contributor to Back Street Heroes, Louise Limb has decided to expose her art, illustration and photography directly to an appreciative public via her web site www.louiselimb.com. You’ll also find Louise at the occasional show or exhibition.

Louise’s work is eclectic, preferring to draw on connections between genres rather than simply classic or custom niches, and she definitely doesn’t copy from others’ work. An ideal seasonal treat for the discerning enthusiast would be a personally signed print from the girl herself and there a few really rather excellently high quality A4 size prints available from stock ready to ship via Royal Mail next day delivery. These cost £30 including post and packing to make your beloved happy, if what’s required is a Norton cafe racer with a girlie atop, complete with a personal message from Louise.

In addition, there are Louise’s own two exclusive designs of Christmas card and most of what you see on her website can be printed at A4 or A3 size in high resolution.

If you’re very, very discerning, Louise works to commission although it’s too late to order for Christmas this year as she’s fully booked up to the moment Santa will be heard tickling the carb on his reluctant sleigh . You’d be okay for 2009 though, so get your dreams in gear now…

And Finally….

If you still haven’t found Christmas gift inspiration for your friends (or yourself!), why not try Panther Publishing for classic biking books, Red Lizard’s Classic-Motor cycles.co.uk for a huge range of t-shirts, posters and prints, or Grand Prix Legends for a huge range of bike related gifts. Buying via any of these links also helps to support RealClassic.co.uk:

Here are the rest of the links mentioned on this page: