Red Rocket…… The Triumph Sprint is a bike built on the 955cc sports triple motor but with a wee slant on comfort. Pack yer bags and take to the open road, whether blasting the ‘superslab’ or high-speed curvy lanes. Pop off the bags and take to the twisties; let the country airs flow through your cardinal feathers.
$3,200 on Craigslist today!
I unearthed these pair of photos of one of the main pubs along Wooler High Street: a 17th century coaching inn. Though probably more than half a century apart they both highlight the appeals of group rides and drives. Both taken for a VCMM newsletter.
It would be splendid to have a new gathering of vintage ‘cycles lined up outside this country pub…
Only 25cc’s more than my Bonnie, this Daytona reply-racer looks quick standing still. Here resplendent in team SC Caracchi ridden by Garry McCoy.
… his race bike defies gravity… just wind the engine up and watch ‘er go!
A rainy day allows a few maintenance items to be addressed. Points sweetened, oil level checked and a sprint around a couple of blocks to warm the moto’s blood and blow out a few cobwebs. The throttle gives a firm grunt, brakes snap-to and movement both straight and cornering is supple. Hopefully another bright autumn day on roads yet lies ahead this year…
A couple of colourful brochure covers from nigh on fifty years ago. One promotes both the the worlds best AND the fastest. The No. 9 racer speeds out of the booklet like the Bonneville’s must have shot out of the showroom floors on any Monday after the Sunday racing. Clean graphics very evocative of the mid sixties. We’re watching the TV series called George Gently which is produced with a super sense of time (1964). And, to boot, based in Northumberland with Geordie accents aplenty.
I saw this cagoule wearing moped rider screaming along Greenbay Road, and the image reminded me of the Charles Schultz great Charlie Brown. Perhaps as a grown man he’s given up his zig-zag bumblebee baseball shirt and taking to the blue anorak. Anyways if you have Chuck B. then you’ve got to have Snoopy and Woodstock… Here on their own pumpkin colored scooter.
Magic!
The iconic, and highly desirable, v twin powerhouses are a sight to behold. The motorcycles motorcycle… So when two appear parked next to each other like a pair of prize pugilists, then it’s a sight to behold. The front one has the carefully updated front end utilizing a pair of disc brakes: appropriate for that bicep of a litre ‘gin.
“If you see Sid, tell ‘im!”
There are forgotten corners of Northumbria where the odd craggy outcropping of sandstone reveals messages from the past. A Long forgotten civilization carved unusual circular patterns upon these rocks. All we see are the ‘Cup & Ring’ lithographs which we can but barely imagine their meaning: calendars, maps, ley-line directions? Well this one here can only mean one thing! Ride On and Ride Fast!
This moto-geezer is quite the picture: he’s armoured in well worn leathers and that Venom Thruxton is a crackin’ beast of a bike. Clip ons, rear, sets and bum-stop on the seat all fronted by a big rounded plexi-glass fairing means business. I hope I’m haring along at speed when white haired…
Fact: the Venom was the first production motorcycle to average over 100 mph over a 24 hour period. A record still unsurpassed to this date for a 500cc bike. Cracking stuff!
Colour: Reds, golds, yellows, browns, greens… yes it’s Fall here in Northern Illinois. A chilly ride out after a summer of warms spins. Nothing a few extra layers can’t handle.
After the sketch artwork a couple of days ago, here’s something with a little more refinement and proportion (though I still love the looseness of the Triumph ledger doodle!). Peter Hutton is the artist here and both the sepi and wash colour rendering add so much life to this technical illustration. The unfinished edges and handwritten manx history round out this visual treat.
“Bond, James Bond”. The new spy novel starring our favourite spy was released earlier this year. Ian Fleming Publications commissioned Jeffrey Deaver to pen the latest secret agent adventure. The launch saw the author arrive at St. Pancras Station in a Bentley escorted by a leather clad Bond Girl atop a 1966 BSA Spitfire Mk IV, stunt woman, actress and model Chesca Miles was the rider; taking on a modern day persona of Fiona Volpe; Beeza riding babe of the Connery classic Thunderball. Further colour was added when a copy of the novel was delivered by a Commando abseiling from the Victorian iron latticework of the station arches.
Here’s a period advert of the BSA: an air of Jimmy B about it as was the way of selling moto’s of the time!
More online searching for Triumph esoterica brought this up… a doodle watercoloured sketch of a Bonneville on page 17 of some ledger book. Nice quirky but detailed ink lines albeit a contorted angle of view.
Indeed Ledger Art is a form of visual narrative used by the Plains Indians from the mid nineteenth century on (itself an adaptation of Hide Painting though using available papers from large record keeping ledger books) Here’s a modern take on that with the use of horse power and Indian motorcycle horsepower…
No shade in sight out on the ‘flats’ mate; so bring yer own parasol. Get yer leathers battened down too; that salt can rub an awful welt if you come down. This Bonneville speed freak has a nicely sorted-for-speed Triton: with alloy tins, tank and wheel rims. A tachometer and low-low-low clip-ons. Wide open carb mouths and noisy unmuffled pipes. I bet this one makes a heart thumping sound when wound up in anger!
A year after my ’72 Bonnie 650 Triumph updated the model to meet the demands of riders as well as the faster roads. Capacity was increased to 750cc; another gear added for high speed cruising (hence the V in model #); shifting pattern was flipped to the left side, like the asian and american moto market; disc brakes added up front and in’t rear; and cast spoked wheels all combine to achieve an overall functional flair that still makes these machines very roadworthy… put new rubber on the rims (Avon Roadrider), stainless steel brake lines & caliper pistons, Progressive fork springs and Hagon rear shocks and off you go! On offer in Chicago on Craigslist today for $3,500…
T140V 1976
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