Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

; VINTAGE Adrian Moss' British Bike Bonanza e Wal Fox negotiates a slimy , deep rut on his 1960 Dot Trialer. The classic trials event covered similar terrain that riders encountered in the days the bikes were new. Roger Neale dominated the Pre-I960 class in the scrambles event on a BSA Gold Star (shown) and the Pre-Unit 251+ class aboard a Triumph Metisse. O ikes inYe O Country ldb ide By Matt Hilgenberg BIRDUP, ENGLAND, JUNE 3ll-JUL YI he off-road vin tage motorcycle scene has just begun to get on its feet in the Un ited States, but it has been " keen " in th e United Kingdom for quite some time. A recent trip to England, specifically T 20 to Adrian Moss' British Bike Bon anza, revealed qu ite a few di££erences between the way our two coun tries do th ings . Basicall y, they have an older coun try, and they ride older bikes . American vintage competition has Ariel trials machines are fairly rare in the Un ited States , bu t in England the y are much more popular. Vintage ma chines)n England tend to be much older. a 1974 cu t-off dat e for mach in ery, with specia l classes for Premier bikes, whi ch are, generally speaking , pr e-1965. So to most people on th is side of the pond, a vintage bike is a 1973-74 Honda Elsi nore , or somethi ng along tho se lin es. T he English do little in the way of an yth in g later than 1965, although pre-'70 motocross has begun to gain in popularity. "Classic" would be a better genera l term , and certain periods are broken down to Vintage, Veteran, Pre-War, Early Post-War, etc. Pre-1914 bikes have a big following, but not for active compet ition. The British Bike Bonanza is an an nua l two-da y event , drawing competitors from the U.S., Sweden, Czechos lovakia, Germa ny, Ireland, Wales, Fran ce, Scotland, Belgium, and of course, En gl and. A trial runs o n Saturday , followed by a scram bles on Sunday. At th is year's even t, there weren't very man y classes, but there were a lot of mot orcycles. T he trial had six classes: Up to 250cc, Uni t construc tio n over 251cc Pre· '70, No n-u ni t constru ction over 25Icc Pre'65, Rigid (rear suspe nsion ) Pre-'65, Two-Stro ke, and Sidecars Pre-'70. By far the most abunda nt type of machine was the a££orda ble uni t-constru ction BSA sin gle, wh ich in cl u des th ree models - the CI5 (250cc), B40 (35Occ) and B44 (44Icc). There was also a good representation o f Triumph T ig er Cub s, Ariel s, Matchlesses, Greeves and plen ty of special machines; even a 1952 BMW R25 250cc single was ent ered I While many of th e bikes weren't as sh iny nor as prett y as the trials mounts found here, the British riders do cover mu ch of the same terrain that they did when the bikes were new. The sections went through mud, water , tree roots and rocks, and while they were challenging, the y were no t impossible, although classic motorcycle trials sectio ns in th e U.S. are generall y mu ch less di££icu lt. Over 130 riders ent ered the trial, and it was a real joy to see the var iety of b ik es (a n d rider s) takin g o n historicall y-correct sections laid ou t beneath the trees on Brirnpsfi eld Far m. Abo u t 250 rid ers competed in four scra m b les cl asses , a n d th ere wer e special l ntematio nal Invitational races and a Past Masters dem on stration on Sunday. Scra mbles division s included: 0-350cc British Bikes, Pre-Unit Con struction over 251cc, Unit Construction over 25lcc, and Pre-I 960. Entries were limited, and two heat races per class advanced a total of 30 riders to each of the main events. A wide, all- grass tr a ck wou nd aro und trees in a large valley, making for an excellent , fast tra ck in a beautiful setting. It. was the first tim e th even t had visited Brimpsfield Farm in _a few years, and the move back was welcom ed by the local s, who clai m it's the best circui t available for old bike ' raci ng. The Pre-'60 class had many BSAframed specials, and 500cc Gold Stars . appeared to be the machine of cho ice. The Pre-'65 Un it and Pre-Unit Construction classes featured an ama zing number o f Metisses , both original Rickmans and current-production frame s bu ilt by MRD Metisse and Adrian Moss himsel£. Everything from BSA and Triumph motors to a Hedlund powered these bikes. Perhaps the most unique motorcycle at the track was Ove Lundell 's 500cc four-stroke Monark, similar to the one ridden by Sten Lundin in 1959. Reportedly, only eigh t were ever made, and Luridell was on e of the original factory workers. He ran' well enough in his heat race to qualify for the final. Four-strokes, both singles and twins, dominated the proceedings at th

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