Uphill – This lady kills in roadworthy leathers and boots; hair color with attitude; and a clean Triumph Scrambler. Parked on one of the less steep streets of San Francisco – gotta make sure it’s parked pointing uphill ideally with the rear tire against a curb. Nice composition.
Windy today! No it’s Thursday! So am I, let’s have a drink! A sunny antipodean outlook is set off with some competition winner who takes home a spangly new Triumph Bobber.
Remember it’s Hump-Day so…
Technical Lines – side elevation of a racing spec Triumph T120TT. Reminds me of a draughting table, set square, and 0.15, 0.25, 0.5 & 0.7 Rotring drawing instruments.
Beach Body – surf breaks along a sun-kissed sandy coastline whilst a one-piece swimsuited gal poses coyly astride a pre-unit Triumph sled.
Five Crows – companions on a ride. Appropriately a Triumph 6T Thunderbird. The linocut is quite perfectly composed, with the necessary dark and light creating the image beautifully. The crow is one of my favorite birds; intelligent, curious, blue black plumage as dark as a storm. From the capable artisan hands of Matylda Mcilvenny from Sweden. See her work at the Etsy shop GoneUndoneSthlm.
Mike the Bike – born this day in 1940 Mike Hailwood went on to become one of the most naturally talented road racer of all time. As well as a maestro at GP in all sized engines he could also beat the best of ’em at the Isle of Man TT. His 1978 comeback for the Senior TT is the stuff of legend. Mike looks most comfortable as pillion to James Bond Film actress and ’69 Miss World Eva Rueber-Staier on a Triumph motorcycle. photo taken at Thruxton, UK, on 1st August 1971
He was awarded the George Medal for bravery after pulling Clay Regazzoni from his burning F1 car at the S Africa Grand Prix in 1973.
Cafe Society- perfect looking Thruxton given a suitably photogenic black and white portrait treatment. Luv Cartier-Bresson would be impressed that even in this day and age of high-def imagery we always fall back on the nostalgia of monochrome photography.
Ship of the Desert – clean example of a Triumph Trophy TR6C that sold a few years back for just shy of $15k at a Bonhams auction. Bikes like this was de rigeur for desert racing in the sixties. The twin high pipes adorning this cactus green example and appropriate Camel advertising set up a sandy outlook for the deep pocketed owner.
(The camel connection was for Hump-Day)
Hilts – March 24th . Today would have been Steve McQueen’s 88th Birthday. The Great Escape is my favorite film.
Black Bike – low seat, aped bars, hard tail, straight pipes… we’re talkin’ ATTITUDE! Don’t mess with this sister; she’ll chew ya up and spit you out so much as glower at you. Ebony chopper matches her black tank top and bandanna.
Pretty – handcrafted bobber from an artisan workshop in Buckinghamshire. Purdy Motorcycles. Bespoke components adorning a spare frame. Pre-unit engine provides locomotion. Tweeds, leather tunic, goggles and gauntlet gloves would serve for garb.
Tarzan – 1975 July 17th, here we see Shadow Minister for Industry Michael Heseltine peering at what looks like the meager leftovers of a once vibrant motorcycle industry. A two-stroke 125 Norton Villiers Triumph sitting all slick looking with nowhere to go… The setting is the Royal Automobile Club RAC headquarters in Pall Mall. NVT chairman Dennis Poole isn’t amused as he looks on. Heseltine cut a controversial swathe through British politics from the seventies to the millennium under Heath, Thatcher and Major. He could swing a mace too! He’s 85 today.
Suspended Season – On the First Day of Spring let’s look at what the boffins at the Triumph factory conjured up to make the ride smooth and rider content. It’s all about damping: taking the uneven jolting from the rough surface and dispersing the imparted kinetic energy into heat energy, typically an oil filled shock absorber, before it can transfer into the saddle.
Saint Pádraig – The Emerald Isle’s 5th C apostle Paddy is celebrated worldwide by the Irish in green colored jubilation. March 17th celebrates his life and gives Gaelic peoples an excuse to eat and drink and revel. This Triumph bobber looks like it was fed on corned beef and cabbage with a petrol tank topped-up with Guinness.
Beware the Ides of March- located at 7922 State St Midvale Utah lies the overburdened establishment known as Caesar’s Motorcycle Empire. Local character Caesar Boswell was connected with Draper Widowmaker Hillclimb and was a source of parts and information on many makes of bike. It’s like an Aladdin’s Cave for two-wheeled aficionados.
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