Inspector Clouseau – Britt Ekland sits pillion whilst Peter Sellers takes the captains saddle on this classy Moto Guzzi V700. It may have been whilst they were filming the joint British/Italian film “After the Fox”. The best bit in that film is a restaurant scene where Maria Grazia Buccella plays the beautiful Miss Okra.
Lords & Ladies – I was kindly informed that yesterday’s post were society photographer Patrick Anson, also known as Lord Lichfield, and Swedish actress, and ex-wife of Peter Sellers, Britt Ekland. Being in the thick of the swinging sixties he was always surrounded by beautiful women. A better view of that Honda.
Sweeping Lines – The Bonnie will be getting the low bars put back on for the coming riding season; the upright ones are a bit ‘tall’ for my comfort. So to maintain the cafe appearance I’ve been delving into the interweb’s selection of road racers prepared using the T120 as a basis. One item is the use of swept-back downpipes: they’re a nice touch for speedier proceedings.
Assembly Required- an object is the sum of its parts. This Knolled Project is laid out on a blue tarpaulin ready for a component check. Looks to be fairly complete with some items requiring finishing or cleaned up. One of my favorite kinds of jigsaw!
Happy New Year – as another year passes and the beckoning days of the year ahead loom large let’s consider the excitement of heaving a Triumph chopper into a wheelie and gunning it along the road…
Rocket Goldstar – one of the British motorcycle industry’s sweetest machines is the last iteration of their pre-unit twins. Basically a tuned A10 650 engine with a complete accompaniment of Goldstar goodies: such as the alloy rimmed wheels; rear-sets, and clip-ons from Eddie Dow; a swooping siamese exhaust; close ratio RRT2 gearbox to eke our a hearty 50bhp. All-in-all a Motorcycle capable in both looks and speedy roadworthyness. Wish I still had mine…
Icon – “Rebellion is the only thing that keeps you alive!” Chanel’s model du jour Edie Campbell adopts a sixties look in this fashion shoot ‘channeling the house’s broody androgyny.” Photo by Alasdair McLellan for the August 2011 issue of British Vogue. Gorgeous fifties Triumph supplied by Ace Classics.
Five of Three – though only in production from 1968 until 1975 the deathbed gasp of Meriden based Triumph was a stout hearted machine that came a little lacking and a little late with the appearance of Honda’s CB750. But in those short 7 years while the company was self destructing the model adapted as it could to meet the demands of the riding public. The first part of its life as the T150 saw a 750cc three cylinder, dry-clutch, with drum brake giving way to disc, and imaginative detailing such as the now classic ray-gun silencers. It’s final iteration under the T160 designation saw an electric start fitted, gear shifting moved to the left, and the confine tilted forward to improve weight distribution. The tank colors aren’t bright primary or indeed complementary ones, but are quite sophisticated hues that are very much associated with the late sixties and early seventies.
Green Goddess- one of my favorite colors is apple green (well, Kawasaki Green to some…) so I particularly like that hue perfectly used on this late 60’s Trident. The black accent swoops on the tank balance perfectly with the eyebrow tank badges.
Trinity in One – still like the look of these three cylinder Meriden ‘super bikes’, especially with the big tank such as on this fine example. Designed by Triumph engineers Bert Hopwood & Doug Hele it went on in BSA Rocket Three guise to sweep the field at Daytona. Gold ‘n’ Black.
All Hail Soviet Physical Culturists! – propaganda poster from the early CCCP days has a huge Red Flag emblazoned with Stalin’s profile unfurled and being proudly held aloft by some Communist country-proud woman. The machine gun weaponized PMZ 750 V-Twin transports the prone Driver and flag bearer. This year marks 100 years since the October Revolution. Poster by Aleksandr Druzhkov. The motif is clear and powerful, the message strong, and the population are driven.
Soviet era posters exhibition at Smart Museum, University of Chicago
Computer Aided Design – AutoCAD – here are a couple of views one of the timing side, the other the primary. Line weight is perfect to achieve a good level of apparent solidity.
Kit – simple plastic model of a BSA C15. Grey molding still fresh on the sprue ready for removal and assembly. This looks like a typical 1:32 scale kit. I’d keep it as-is and frame it.
Hardtail – lowbrow chopped British twin framed under a harsh sun. Raked front, low seating, stacked lighting. Straight highways good; twisties bad…
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