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There’s a new classic motorcycle show for the new year… featuring at least a couple of the same old faces!
The RealClassic Roadshow has been lured all the way from RCHQ in Cornwall to the Newark County Showground in Nottingham by the attraction of an all-new event, the mightily-titled Classic Bike Guide Winter Classic Restoration Show. Those of you with very long memories will recall that Editor Westworth launched CBG nearly a quarter-century ago, and then edited it for an eon, and now even contributes to that tome when the wind is blowing in the right direction. So it seems only fair that we should clutter up an inconvenient corner in one of the five indoor heated halls at this CBG Show, and make ourselves available to all those RC readers out east who hardly ever get a chance to see us in person any more.
If all goes to plan then we’ll even have a couple of proper RealClassic on the stand for you to gaze at in awe and wonder. Martin Peacock may appear with his AJS Model 16, which regular readers will remember he rebuilt last winter. And Mike Jobson (aka Mad Mike of the Message Board) has offered to grace us with the presence of his 83,000 mile and still-going-strong Norton Model 50. Hey – there’s something of a 350 single theme going on here!
A new Show is always something of an experiment, but we’re encouraged by the long list of clubs, traders and private entrants who have already signed up to come along on Saturday and Sunday January 7th and 8th 2012. Rowena’s favourites, the Douglas Club, will be among the organisations competing for substantial cash prizes for the top three club stands – the prize money for clubs totals £1500, so it’s well worth marque clubs and local groups putting on a decent display.
This means visitors will be treated to an array of competition machines from the National Sprint Association and the British Historic Racing branch of the VMCC, while the Poachers usually provide an excellent array of pre-65 off-road bikes. Fans of Italian classics will be able to browse the Morini Riders’ Club stand and the Italian Motorcycle OC displays, while the Triumph Owners’ MCC and New Imperial OC will provide a traditional British backdrop.
Among the private entries, we’ll be looking out for a 1926 Scott and a 1936 Calthorpe Ivory Major; a 1969 Greeves Tri-Griffon and a 1958 Ducati Sport 175. There’s also likely to be a 1975 MV Agusta Magni on display and a 1976 Triumph Legend – one of the last incarnations of the 750 triple – and all these machines plus the bikes on the club stands will be considered for a variety of concours awards.
The Best in Show prize comes with a £100 cash prize, and we’re delighted to see an interesting range of other awards on offer which reward all aspects of our hobby. There’s a prize for ‘most technical interest’ and one for ‘best unrestored’ as well as ‘best paint job’ and a ‘public choice’ award. Will one of the bikes displayed on the RC stand win an award? Do we need to bribe the judges with HobNobs?
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95% of the Show will be safely tucked away indoors although you’ll find a few jumble stalls and traders outside where they have plenty of space to display their wares. Inside, several trade professionals will host live demonstrations of varying aspects of bike restoration, and the guests of honour, racers Steve Plater and Alan Carter will be interviewed over the weekend, with Alan Carter will be signing copies of his book.
You can definitely expect the trade stands to be tilted in the restoration direction, with the emphasis on tools and equipment for practical applications like ultra-sonic cleaning, welding, abrasives, paintwork, carb cleaning, electrical upgrades and the like. This would also be the place to go shopping for a new battery, chains and sprockets, repro spares, stainless fittings and a variety of more general motorcycling accessories and clothing. There’s also bound to be a sweet shop (but don’t tell TP; she doesn’t know you can buy chocolate at bike shows). |
Resto-Projects on Now… |
You’ll find the RC Roadshow in the Stanley Sheldon Hall, cluttering up plots 115 and 116. It has become really obvious at events like Stafford that plenty of RC readers would to have a natter with Frank for a while, so we’ll set aside an area where you can rest your weary pins for a wee while and ask that all-important question about AMC thread sizes. Or what the 961 is really like to ride. Or you can tell him how to start a Velocette. Or how to change gear on an Enfield. Or…
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The Classic Bike Guide Winter Classic Restoration Show
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