ATGATT – safety information poster from 1983 published by the Ministry of Transport to promote wearing the gear for to ensure protection from the elements as well as any mishap on the road. You can tell this is aimed at the British due to wet weather oriented garb. “Don’t be a bonehead!”
T-Shirt – a year-end clear out saw several old tee’s being relegated to cleaning rag status. All had seen better days, and it’ll make room for new Moto-themed tops…
Drapery – Welly shod model looks a little uncomfortable posed like some Romantic artists muse reclined along the ‘chaise’ of a Triumph T160 Triple. Perhaps it’s from Tony Armstrong-Jones’s portfolio… (see yesterday’s post!)
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.
Oranges are not the only fruit – singer Julia Haltigan sitting pretty in rust colored jacket, sienna corduroy pants
Beyond the Pale: head-on portrait of a black & tan clad cailín astride a speed-striped Triumph Thruxton. Serious pout under a shade visored helmet. It’s reminiscent of a pint of Guinness; which just so happens to be appropriate as we’re flying to Dublin for the weekend. Then onward to Geordieland to see the folks.
Luminous – here’s a fella enjoying the November roads today. Wrapped in his spacesuit-like Aerostich, white Arai lid and rumbling along Sheridan Road on a rocket red cycle. I was in my car driving from job site to job site…
Nippon Cafe – leathers, boots and a goggled lid look perfect on this stern owner of a Thruxton. The framing of this monochrome image is perfectly balanced with the overpass backdrop. A plum portrait.
Profile – right to left and the windblast in your hair. White landscape rushes along behind a black Thruxton.
Cardigan & Loafers – off the showroom floor and into the desert. Here’s a sweet couple looking set for a two-up jaunt. They seem to be college types. The Bonneville is a T120R Speedmaster. The center stand return spring is in need of attention…
Flowery Friday / British TV presenter Anthea Turner is draped florally over a maroon & silver Bonneville for some 90’s photo shoot.
Autumnal Sepia – as we cool off and experience the occasional drizzle we must bring out the colder weather gear. The leggings might be a tad underwhelming but a stout wax jacket, scarf and ‘meant’ boots are de rigeur. The Tiger ain’t that bad either.
Sabertooth at Fifty – Taken for an Esquire Magazine men’s fashion photo shoot here’s Liev Schreiber kicking over a vintage British bike. Photo by Cédric Buchet.
Half Mile – grand day out to the Walworth County Fairground located in Elkhorn Wisconsin to see the limestone track racing. Fast motorcycles of sixties iron to modern 2-stroke screamers were run to great effect. Here is Jake Zender, son of Morries Place owner Ed who raced this Triumph twin. Steel shoe scuffing around the gravelly track as knobbly tires throw up stone and dust into the crowd. Perfect weather too!
Vietnam – there is currently a phenomenal documentary on PBS by Ken Burns about the dreadful conflict in south west Asia during the sixties. Though mostly fought on foot through dense jungle, of from helicopters, here are some images and information about the use of some lightweight motorcycles utilized for single-track reconnaissance…
You Meet The Nicest People On the Trails of War Zone C
TAY NINH – Like Hell’s Angeles, the Rat Patrol, and the Wild Ones all rolled into one, the Reconnaissance Patrol of the 3d Battalion, 22d Infantry Regulars prowls War Zone C with 175-cc motorcycles leading the rest of the patrol.
The four motorcycles were introduced into the patrol by the Regulars’ battalion commander, Lieutenant Colonel Robert Carmichael, who wanted a fast and efficient way for his reconnaissance element to investigate the swarm of trails that twist through the marshes and jungles of what used to be a reliable sanctuary for enemy troops.
“Knowing where the enemy is not is almost as good as knowing where he is,” Carmichael says. “This mobile unit can cover a great deal of territory in a very short time, which enables us to gain information on the whereabouts of the enemy.
In addition to the motorcycles, the reconnaissance unit includes Rat Patrol Type vehicles equipped with machine guns.
Patrol Leader First Lieutenant Stephen Campbell, Falls Church, Va., takes his men out at dawn every morning, with the flack jacket, crash helmet-clad cyclists leading the way. The unit has already uncovered several mortar and rocket sites used by enemy forces.
Major Jospeh Hacia, the Regulars’ executive officer, is convinced of the value of using the motorcycles. “At first I was very leery of the whole idea, but now I am confident it was a good one,” Hacia says. “Recon has provided us with valuable information which normally we would not have.”
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