Fishtail 455 – September 2018

August started off with a run to the Sammy Miller Museum in the New Forest on the 5th,   eight members enjoyed the run in good weather.  There wasn’t an autojumble on this year so no bargains this time.  The next weekend it was Popham Megameet where we have a club stand.  The new booking arrangement is a bit laborious and the early arrival time put some people off.  The forecast heavy rain didn’t materialise and we had about twenty bikes on display.  Attendance seemed to be down overall which was probably due to the bad weather forecast.

The next run was on August 15th to Whitefarm Lodge Care Home in Whitton.  We had been asked to make a visit because several of the residents had been motorcyclist and the events organiser for the home thought they would enjoy seeing and talking about the types of bikes they had owned.  Six set off for the run to Twickenham on four Velocettes, a Norton and a BSA.  We took the Norton and BSA as we knew they were bikes two of the residents had owned in the past.  The visit was well received and brought a lot of smiles to faces, especially when the bikes were started up.

The run to the Brough Superior meeting on August 26th was cancelled due to the very bad weather forecast for the day.

September 9th was our annual Seymour Charity Run which is about 65 miles through the Oxfordshire countryside with a stop at Thame by the old Seymour premises.  Good weather and an enjoyable ride with twelve bikes on the run.  We had the pleasure of Jane and Roger Franklin’s company on the run.  They had made the effort to ride down to join the run which was much appreciated by our Centre.  I hope they enjoyed the run and had a safe journey home.

Kop Hill by Dennis Edginton

Kop Hill weekend weather was perfect, dry and sunny with a welcome light breeze and it brought the Spectators out in large numbers. As ever there was a delicious selection of rare and little seen cars and bikes such as the beautifully built Agli Vincent and the Seymour KTT Mk V111 as ridden by Andy Barrett

There were 12 Velocettes that ‘rode’ the Hill with 6 Velocettes displayed on our stand. It was especially great to see familiar faces from the Woburn, London, and S. Hants centres visit our stand during the 2 days. Tim Pottage brought his 1938 racing MOV, a really stunning little machine and he and Norman Bailie on his 1939 KSS Mk2 both rode the Hill on Saturday with Norman again riding the Hill again on Sunday. Other TV members to complete the Hill were Keith Cookson MSS, Mark Lomax Venom, Dave Peterson MSS and Roy Springate on his Rudge.We had considerable interest on both days from the Public with 3 possible new members for the VOC. The organisers of Kop Hill visited our stand and were most complimentary about the stand and how it was organised. On the Saturday Norman Bailie gave a live interview on local radio about the Thames Valley Velocette Centre.

It was a pleasure to see John Cobb’s record breaking 24litre Napier Railton, a truly wonderful sound for all car, motorcycle ‘motor heads’. And a big thanks to Robin for her very welcome lovely Lemon Drizzle Cake which went very quickly on the Sunday.  A very memorable event this year.

Farewell to Dave Hogg

Finally one piece of sad news, Dave Hogg a member of TV Centre, passed away during the night on Thursday 13th September.  The Centre has sent their condolences to Dave’s family and we hope to have more about Dave in the next issue of Fishtail.

Fishtail 454 – August 2018

The run to the Flower Pot at Cheriton was enjoyed by eight Centre members. The start had to be moved from Henley to Twyford due to the regatta and road works. About forty motorcycles were at the lunch stop which added another element of interest. Many thanks to Chris Webber for arranging and leading the run.

The next event was the Woodcote Steam Rally. The weather was very hot and unfortunately the number of visitors and exhibitors was down on previous years probably due the World Cup and Wimbledon finals. Unfortunately two events had to be cancelled; the British Bike Night was cancelled by the organisers and our participation in the Up the Downs run. The weather forecast was so bad for the day of the Up the Downs run we decided not to go as a group from the Centre. Hopefully the weather will be better next year as we particularly enjoy this run. Club nights at the Cherry Tree continue to be well supported with the good weather bringing out a variety of motorcycles.

Fishtail 453 – June 2018

It’s been a busy time at Thames Valley Centre since the last Fishtail report.  Events started off with four Centre members having an enjoyable, but cool, day at Brooklands with Dennis Edginton, our Chairman, featured astride his MSS on the first picture in Fishtail 452. The poor weather continued which resulted in our run to Stoke Bruerne being cancelled on 2nd May.  A complete change in the weather saw seven Centre members participating in the Fleet Lions Run on May 7th when shade and ice creams was the order of the day. This is a big charity run with well over a hundred bikes of all makes entered.

The Southern Classic Bike Show was on May 19th where our refreshed stand was awarded third prize and we had the pleasure of Jane and Roger Franklin’s company.  There was a lot of interest in the sporting bikes on display and many thanks to all who helped make the stand a success.

May 23rd was our annual Cheddar Gorge run with nine members and one guest riding to Cheddar where we met up with riders from Devon and Cornwall, Dorset, Bristol and I believe Wye Valley?  My magneto was starting to play up so I was a bit late away from the coffee stop and missed the gathering at the foot of the Gorge. I understand about forty Velocettes were there and many then went back to Priddy where we had an enjoyable lunch at the Queen Victorian Inn.  This run seems to be getting more popular every year.

Our first run to Crofton Beam Engines followed on May 27th where eight members enjoyed the usual excellent coffee and cakes and a tour of the engines in steam.  Always fascinating – at least I think so!

June 13th saw 9 of us visiting Bletchley Park.  A very interesting day out; we could have spent a lot more time looking at the exhibits but the entrance tickets last for a year so we may well return.

Our biggest event of the year is our Show Off Your Bike Day which was held on June 16th at the Cherry Tree.  About forty five bikes of all makes were on display and the rain held off so we could all enjoy the barbeque laid on by the Cherry Tree. Steve Clark, one of our newer members, was so taken by the Bletchley Park visit that he appeared as Private Pike – stupid boy!  Added some fun to the day. The following awards and trophies were presented:

Best Rigid – Velocette Tim Simkins – G3 Colonnial
Best Spring Frame Velocette – Tony Mortimer – Venom Thruxton
Best Pre-1945 Non-Velocette – B Sarney – Rudge Special
Best Post-1945 Non-Velocette – Ivor Reyland – BSA Gold Star
Best Post 1972 Classic/Modern – Chris Winsby – Norton Commando
Arthur Lavington Trophy-  Geoff Bowen – Venom Thruxton
Ben Mallinson Cup – Dennis Frost – MKI KTT
Brian Harris Trophy – Steve Boakes – V2 MAC
Cherry Tree Shield – Dennis Frost – MKI KTT

Our regular club nights continue to be well supported with about twenty bikes at the last evening.

Finally, I have updated our email list in line with the requirements of GDPR.  If you would like to be included in our list please contact me.

Fishtail 452 – April 2018

The Thames Valley Centre AGM was held on Tuesday 9th January at the Cherry Tree in Stoke Row.  Twenty four members of the Centre were present which represents approximately 25% of the membership.  Dennis Edginton, our Chairman, welcomed everyone to the meeting and gave a review of the year and thanked everyone for their support for the Centre and participation in events.  The routine business of the AGM was completed with the 2017 committee being re-elected for another year; Dennis Edginton, Chairman; Keith Cookson, Treasurer; Jon Dunsdon, Secretary.

The draft events list circulated before the meeting was reviewed and confirmed with a few minor changes to dates to avoid clashes with other know events in the area. The latest version of the events list has been circulated to the TV Centre members on email, uploaded to our Centre website and submitted to Fishtail for publication. We look forward to seeing members from other Centres joining us on our runs and hope we can beat last year’s number of 37 Velocettes at Cheddar Gorge this year.

I am in the process of reviewing and updating the email distribution list for Thames Valley, if anyone who is not on the current list wishes to be included please get in touch with me using the email address above.

Looking forward to the warmer weather and longer days and using the bike on our interesting programme of runs and events.

Fishtail 451 – March 2018

The recent bad weather has caused us to re-schedule our planned talks for March. We were fortunate that Stuart McGuigan from Criterion was able to come to our Club Night on Tuesday 13th March and give us a talk on the Velocette gearbox. About 30 members attended the night which shows how much interest there was in the subject. Stuart and John went through some of the features of the gearbox and although in the general the gearbox is very good they pointed out where you can get problems. Criterion are known for developing improvements for Velocettes and Stuart and John showed us a development prototype of a new first gear pinion which gives a lower first gear in the Series 12 gearbox without altering the other three ratios. This about to go on test and it will be interesting to hear how that goes. It should make bikes with Series 12 gearboxes more manageable in traffic. I personally found the restoration of a gearbox mainshaft which was worn in the sleeve gear area of great interest, it could be the solution to a problem on another bike which uses a gearbox very similar to the Velocette gearbox. Many thanks to Stuart and John for coming to our meeting and sharing their thoughts with us. We appreciate the time and effort they put into making the evening so successful.

With the weather improving and the days getting longer we are looking forward to getting out on our bikes more. Our first planned ride is to the Rural Life Museum at Tilford with the South Hants Centre and we then have regular rides planned for the rest of the year. Details can be found in the Events Section of our website or the Fishtail Events Diary.

Fishtail 450 – January 2018

The Thames Valley Centre AGM was held on Tuesday 9th January at the Cherry Tree in Stoke Row.  Twenty four members of the Centre were present which represents approximately 25% of the membership.  Dennis Edginton, our Chairman, welcomed everyone to the meeting and gave a review of the year and thanked everyone for their support for the Centre and participation in events.  The routine business of the AGM was completed with the 2017 committee being re-elected for another year; Dennis Edginton, Chairman; Keith Cookson, Treasurer; Jon Dunsdon, Secretary.

The draft events list circulated before the meeting was reviewed and confirmed with a few minor changes to dates to avoid clashes with other know events in the area. The latest version of the events list has been circulated to the TV Centre members on email, uploaded to our Centre website and submitted to Fishtail for publication. We look forward to seeing members from other Centres joining us on our runs and hope we can beat last year’s number of 37 Velocettes at Cheddar Gorge this year.

I am in the process of reviewing and updating the email distribution list for Thames Valley, if anyone who is not on the current list wishes to be included please get in touch with me using the email address above.

Looking forward to the warmer weather and longer days and using the bike on our interesting programme of runs and events.

Fishtail 449 – December 2017

At our club night on Tuesday 14 th November we had a presentation by Allen Millyard on the Flying Millyard motorcycle. Many of us have seen this 5 litre motorcycle at shows and other events around the country. Allen showed how he made the parts for the engine utilising two aeroplane engine cylinders he had acquired. Having made the engine and modified a car gearbox he then went on to make the frame. After talking about the Flying Millyard he showed us some of his other projects including his RC374 six cylinder engine. What an amazing piece of work. He is a very talented engineer.

Our last run of the year, the Reading Toy Run, on 10 th December was unfortunately cancelled due to bad weather. The forecast wind and rain turned to heavy snow. Alternative arrangements were made for the Christmas gifts to be delivered to Dr. Barnado’s in Reading.

I hope the roads are clear for our Christmas Dinner at the Cherry Tree on 12 th December. Our next club night on Tuesday 9 th January 2018 will also be our AGM. I look forward to seeing many of our Centre members there when we will elect a new committee and agree our runs and events for the coming year. I hope everybody had a great Christmas and best wishes for the New Year.

Fishtail 448 – October 2017

There have been three events since the last report, the first being Kop Hill Climb over the weekend of Sept. 16/17 th. A rather showery two days at Kop Hill this year failed to put off both Riders and members of the Public. Fifteen Velocettes ‘rode’ the Hill over the 2 days which included 8 VOC members on their machines ranging from a 1927 KSS to a 1963 Viper. On both days we had between four and six Velocettes on the display stand which attracted a substantial number of questions and interest from the Public and other Entrants. A very busy two days with a great deal to see.

A special thanks to Bill Grimes (London) for his support on Sunday and it was also really good and much appreciated to see Roy Springate on both days following his accident. Both helping on the Display stand along with other Thames Valley Members.

The next event was our run to the Crofton Beam Engines Steam Gala on September 24 th . Nine members enjoyed the coffee and cakes on arrival (just as good as ever) at Crofton after a pleasant ride across country from Padworth. There was plenty to see at the Steam Gala with both beam engines in steam, several traction engines, vintage cars and tractors and a market on the canal boats moored at the lock. We have enjoyed going to the steam gala for several years and it has become a fixture in our events calendar.

The final mid-week run of the year was on Wednesday October 11 th . This was a run along some of my favourite roads across the Berkshire Downs starting at Streatley and visiting Wantage, Lambourne and Uffington White Horse before stopping for lunch at the Grocer Chef in Ardington. Just after the stop at the Airborne Forces Memorial at the end of Harwell runway Richard Hayler suffered a rear wheel puncture. It was an interesting hour getting it fixed and Richard made it home without further problems.

The next major events for our Centre are the Christmas Dinner on Tuesday 12 th December and the AGM in the New Year.

Fishtail 447 – September 2017

It’s been a fairly busy period for the Thames Valley centre with four runs as well as the regular club nights which continue to be well attended. The first run was to the Popham Mega Meet on August 13 th where we had our usual stand by the marque. We were joined by members from Dorking and South Hants centres with 22 Velocettes on show. For this run we had a second starting point in Hungerford to encourage members from the west of the area to join the run and we were pleased to welcome Bill Janson on his very smart Viper. Wednesday 23 rd August saw 9 members visit the Army Air Museum at Middle Wallop. Very interesting display of aircraft used by the army and plenty of history too. Lunch was taken in the café before the return journey. Bill Janson led us on a very pleasant back roads route to avoid road closures on the planned route.

Our annual Seymour Charity run was held on 3 rd September with 7 hardly souls starting from Benson, stopping at Thame and then continuing on for 65 miles riding return back to the Waterfront Café at Benson for lunch. Rain was forecast for most of the run and this probably deterred some from participating. The old fire station part of the Hawthorn Works has been incorporated into the new housing development.

Our mid-week run on September 13 th was to Brookwood Military Cemetery near Woking. David Peterson led seven of us to the Cemetery where we visited the grave of his uncle, a Hurricane pilot serving with the Royal Canadian Airforce, who died in September 1940. A very moving experience and reminder of the many brave people who died serving their country. The run continued to Newlands Corner where we stopped for lunch.

We are approaching the end of the runs for this year and club nights will continue at the Cherry Tree where we hope to have some guest speakers for added interest, details to follow.

Fishtail 446 – August 2017

TV Centre had a stand at the Woodcote Steam Rally on the weekend of 8/9 the with ten bikes on display on Saturday. The stand attracted a lot of interest and Mick Kowalczuk’s Thruxton won the White Horse Cup for best bike at the rally. Well done Mick.

Our Show Off Your Bike Day on 15 th July started with a wet morning and this deterred some people from attending. We had thirty two bikes turn up and register for the show which was good considering the weather. The usual mixture of Velocettes and other interesting bikes were on display including Steve Boakes V twin MAC which attracted a lot interest. The winners of the awards were:

  • Best Rigid Velocette Norman Bailie 1939 KSS
  • Best Spring Frame Velocette Mick Kowalczuk 1965 Thruxton
  • Best Pre 1945 Non-Velocette Jon Dunsdon 1937 Royal Enfield S2 250
  • Best Post 1945 Non-Velocette Adrian Deasy 1954 Triumph 6T
  • Best Post 1972 Classic Chris Winsby 1975 Norton Commando
  • Arthur Lavington Trophy (Best Velo) Dave Sawford 1960 Venom Clubman
  • Ben Mallinson Cup (Best Cammy Velo) Norman Bailie 1939 KSS
  • Ben Harris Trophy (Technical Excellence) Steve Boakes Vee Twin MAC
  • Cherry Tree Shield (Most desirable bike) Steve Boakes Vee Twin MAC

Despite the wet morning we had a good day and many thanks to everybody involved in organising the event and the marshals, judges and staff of the Cherry Tree who provided refreshments throughout the day.

Sunday 30 th July saw nine TV Centre members joined up with the South Hants Centre for the Up the Downs Run. This is a great run across the Downs with a stop at the Calley Arms at Hodson where we had a good Sunday lunch. The “drop off” system worked very well and we all arrived at the Calley Arms together. Many thanks to South Hants for organising a great day out.

Sunday 6 th August saw six of us set out for the Sammy Miller Museum autojumble. Norman’s route avoiding Romsey and Lyndhurst worked very well. The weather was just about perfect for a long run and several of us found some useful bits at the autojumble. Another good day.

Check out the website for our next runs – we still have quite a few more before winter arrives.