
Birds of a Feather | interesting colonial imagery of some tribal leader with his feathered headdress astride the diminutive but useful 125cc BSA Bantam. Not quite in the vein of an Edward Curtis portrait but early National Geographic nonetheless.

Birds of a Feather | interesting colonial imagery of some tribal leader with his feathered headdress astride the diminutive but useful 125cc BSA Bantam. Not quite in the vein of an Edward Curtis portrait but early National Geographic nonetheless.

Antique on Four Wheels | A select offering from yesterday’s car show under the June sky. Beautiful and well cared for there was something for everyone be it German Italian or British. A red XKE was sublime; the early model orange Porsche 911 pure deutsche ingenieurwissenschaften; mint green VW Beetle German efficiency; MK 2 Jags in detail; and a sturdy canvas roofed SWB Landy. So much more was enjoyed.

Ten | racing Vincent in flight. The pilot of this speedy litre twin is holding on tight during the shallow ballistic trajectory.

Motoblot | The annual pilgrimage to Chicago’s main open air motorcycle gathering was had today. Weather cooperated after stormy forecasts. Plenty to look at amongst the offering. The KZ900 in sparkly brown and oranges was a notable example; as was a display of the Danish in-line 4 workpony’s Nimbus.

Ink’d grandpappy | One of the fellow adventure riders at the weekend was a fella from Montenegro; now a BMW GS owner from Chicago he had some cool ink on his forearm. Inspired from a family photograph of his grandfather who rode Dniepr’s in the Croatian army back in the fifties. Good composition and image.

Bobbina | Across the decades women have been as keen riders as men. It can certainly be seen here with an early incarnation of a bobber followed by the latest model in the Triumph line.

Countryside Pleasures | What better way to enjoy touring on a motorcycle than to end the day at a campsite in a wooded clearing by a babbling stream. Boil some water for tea and listen to the chirruping birds as they roost for the night. Then the stars come out in their bedazzle across the inky heavens.

Earth Day | What better way to go out there and explore what our planet has to offer and see how beautifully fragile our home rally is than on the back of a Tiger. For nearly a Century there have been sharp clawed Moto’s roaming the globe looking for earthly adventure.

Le Telefon | “Allo allo!” More Gallic adventure with this policeman utilizing a bike mounted ‘phone whilst out on patrol. TRW Triumph looks clean. Deux Chevaux parked behind.

Soixante Quinze | More Gendarmerie Nationale Motorcycle police from the fifties. The uniform is very formal from the shin high leather riding boots, jodhpurs, tunic jacket, white Sam Browne holster belt, shoulder aiguillettes, and white gauntlet gloves. Quite the appearance. White wall tyre’d Triumph Thunderbird complete the look.

Gendarmes Moto | a couple of French Motorcycle police are looking into some skullduggery on a nighttime Gallic street. The fact a pistol is drawn and pointing adds to the suspense. Black Triumph Thunderbird provides vehicular support in this apprehension. Zut Alors!

Paint by Numbers | all of those tank badges were painted by hand. Each one painstakingly given a pearly white background and black enamel lettering infill.
Factoid: Dan Robbins who invented Paint-by-Numbers in the fifties died last week aged 93.

Pre Unit | Black & White graphic depicting a late 50’s twin cylinder Triumph engine. Nice clean artwork.

‘Ump Day | It can be a tricky maneuver to maintain momentum one gains from the first half of the week to establish a decent and stable toehold into the latter half. Given a positive attitude, and topography like a hump-back bridge, one can achieve this translation with assured aplomb. Take this cove on his rigid framed Triumph; he certainly has a serious head on his shoulders, along with an appropriate cool appearance to maintain the professional air about his seemed flawless leap. He’s even smart enough to take on Ballaugh Bridge, the notorious Isle of Man TT circuit to sustain a level of grace and composure for this Wednesday transition.

Lightning | an unusual marketing move using the image of Mach 2 capable RAF jets to promote the futuristic appeal of the 350cc ‘Twenty One”. The streamlined semi-enclosing bodywork may create a sense of tomorrow especially that rear ‘bathtub’. Nevertheless I like the page layout and mid century graphic form.