Interview – VMCC’s Mike Wills

Though always an active section participant, MikeWills resisted suggestions that he stand for the VMCC presidency until now.

It is a daunting task to head up a club such as the Vintage Motor Cycle Club (VMCC) and there is no tick-box checklist to find the ideal candidate for the post. If there was, then it probably couldn’t be trusted, as what makes the club better is that all presidents have been different in their outlook. It doesn’t matter if the president is a relative newcomer to the old bike scene or an old stager likeMikeWills (sorry Mike!), enthusiasm and involvement in the club is paramount.

Catching up with Mike – by phone because of the pandemic currently changing the way society interacts – the retired urological consultant surgeon chatted a little about his background in motorcycling. “I was never encouraged or discouraged into motorcycling rather it was something we did, part of growing up I suppose.”

This immersion in the vintage world moved on frompassenger duty to more active roles when a Christmas present of a 1914 Bradbury restoration project brought

Mike to the nuts and bolts of owning old motorcycles. Though not old enough to ride the Bradbury on the road, he still has it… and a few more Bradburys too.

“I’ve somehow been the Bradbury marque specialist for the VMCC for 40 years or so,” he adds wryly. Despite this affection for the Oldham-based firm, it wasamaker closer to his West Midlands home area which provided transport for his motorcycle test.

“I had to have a 250 to take my test on and a 1929 Francis-Barnett was just the job.” Yes, there are a couple of Francis-Barnetts in the Wills stable – a 1926 ‘built like a bridge’ model with a 350cc JAP engine and a 1935 Blackburne-engined Stag.

Talking about his taking on the presidency he said: “I’ve always believed in being involved andwas an active section member at whatever section I’ve lived near as I moved around the country... but always played the ‘too busy at work’ cardwhen any suggestions of higher office were made.” It doesn’t take much imagination to realise the workload of a consultant urological surgeonwas quite high. The ‘too busy’ claim became harder to justify when he took early retirement at age 60 though. Mike finally stopped resisting suggestions he take on the presidency once he reached 65 and says he thought ‘why not, while I’mstill young enough to get around to visit sections’.

Though Mike’s professional life and his duties asamarque specialist required a considerable amount of his time, there was still room for non-VMCC activities. Okay, these still involved wheels and engines, as Mr Wills dipped a toe into the world of longdistance trials. “It’s with the MCC, which is the oldest club in the country, and I enjoyed riding a BSAB40 in their type of trial. A couple of years ago I decided to enter the car class in these events and squeezed in the garage is a VWBeetle. It’s asmuch fun as the bikes but with better weather protection,” he laughs as our chat winds up.

Look out for Mike once we’re all able to enjoy our motorcycling again post-pandemic.

Left: Competing in the Taverners road trial of 2019, with his 1961 B40.

Right: At the Pioneer Run a few years ago, on the 1904 Bradbury. The dead easy one first, what’s your full name Mike and how old are you?

Full out I amMichael IanWills, though I’ve always been called ‘Mike’ and I’m65. Where do you call home?

Home is Rugby in the West Midlands. Is this where you’re from?

It’s almost where I’m from, I’mactually Coventry born and bred, though through work I’ve lived in a variety of places. But when retirement came, I wanted to be back home, so to speak. Do you hail fromamotorcycling family or are you a black sheep?

There’s quite a bit of family connection to motorcycling. My father was on the first Banbury Run in 1948 for instance. With a parent involved in motorcycling were you encouraged into the interest?

I was neither encouraged nor discouraged, if that sounds okay. I often accompanied my father on vintage runs; when young I would be in a sidecar, then once I was older I’d be riding. Is there anyonewho can be blamed for encouraging your interest inmotorcycles?

No, there’s not really any one person who can be singled out, but rather it was part of growing up and there were lots of people around. What was your first motorcycle andwhen did you pass your test?

Oh, first motorcycle was a 1914 Bradbury, which I still have – it was given to me as a Christmas present to restore. However, I took my motorcycle test on a 1929 Francis-Barnett. I wonder, with suchamotorcycle background have you been involved in the industry for a living?

Ah, no, not at all. Motorcycles – and classic cars for that matter – are an all-encompassing hobby. When I left school I enrolled as a medical student at Bristol University. As with my contemporaries, I did service as a junior doctor, before specialising as a urological surgeon and I was a consultant when I took early retirement at 60. Are you a practical enthusiast who, on an unplanned roadside maintenance session, is capable of fashioning major components from stuff lying at the road side to get you home?

Ha! Well, in common with most enthusiasts, I’mamixture, and while capable of pulling a bike apart and reassembling it, I can also fabricate a few bits and pieces in my own workshop. But for anything too involved, I have to find others more qualified. Do you have an all-singing-and-dancing workshop packed with all sorts of equipment?

I do have a reasonable workshop with a small lathe, hydraulic workbench and other typical enthusiast equipment. Space is always an issue… but that is the same with all of us I feel! How long have you been involved in the VMCC?

I’ve beenamember since 1965 when I was given a familymembership. But as I mentioned earlier, I accompaniedmy father on runs before I was able to ride. Do you have a ‘home’ section?

Thankfully I live almost exactly halfway between two sections, they being Warwickshire Section and Leicester Taverners, so regard these two as my ‘home’ sections. As president, you must have views on the future for the VMCC andhow it will develop in the coming years?

On the whole, the future is encouraging for the VMCC. Yes, we/it has to adapt to a changing world but that is the same for all organisations. However, despite our best efforts, the VMCC is still regarded as a primarily pre-Second WorldWar club even though we have a rolling 25-year cut-off date. Being involved heavily in the world of old motorcycles can often absorb one’s life totally, but do you have non-motorcycling interests?

Well, not so much non-motorcycling as possibly non-vintage motorcycling. I started competing in the MCC long distance trials, first on a B40 but as old age has caught up, I enjoy the comfort of a VW Beetle. What’s your favourite motorcycle of all time – doesn’t matter if you’ve owned one or not?

A Zenith Gradua always seemed tome to be an ideal veteran V-twin. I’ve always admired them, yet have never ridden one… yet. Contact the VMCC The Vintage Motor Cycle Club Limited Allen House, Wetmore Road Burton Upon Trent, Staffordshire DE14 1TR Phone: 01283 540557 Fax: 01283 510547 Email: general@vmcc.net Web: www.vmcc.net