Ross Rally
2015 Ross Rally
The Vintage Motorcycle Club of Tasmania hosted its 30th anniversary of the famous Ross Motorcycle rally on Sunday 22nd of November. My wife and I took the journey late Saturday afternoon to set up camp on the showground to meet other club members and exhibitors with vans, utes and trailers loaded with bikes ready to be displayed in the morning. We spent many hours looking at and talking bikes before resting, to be up early to watch the continuous stream of absolutely stunning motorcycles arriving on the Sunday morning. The amount of previously unseen bikes to Ross this year was amazing, including unrestored barn finds, freshly restored, unfinished or just new to the event. Some of the barn find and original unrestored bikes included Velocette ‘Noddy’ LE, V-twin Matchless, V-twin BSA, Malvern Star Auto cycle, a stunning 1930 D Model Harley Davidson complete with the original tools in the toolbox and a totally original one-owner 1950 Triumph Thunderbird with sidecar box. Most of the paint was gone, but it was still in perfect running order as most spectators would watch in awe as various riders took it for a test on the grounds. There was also a 1929 Triumph and sidecar which took many spectators for a ride in the ‘chair’ throughout the day.
A breathtaking display of exotics included a red Vincent with valanced guards which I haven’t seen the likes of before, Vincent Black Shadows, Indians including the 4 cylinder Ace, H.R.D. and BSA V-twins, Brough Superior, F.N. etc didn’t seem to overshadow the huge display of the ‘30s era bikes or the brilliant veterans. These included the famous 1910 F.N. with Wicker sidecar which has travelled half way around the world and featured in the new book, “No Room For Watermelons”, and I believe it is embarking on another huge journey soon. As what seems to be the ‘norm’ recently, there were a humongous amount of assorted make Japanese motorcycles restored to perfection. Some of these were of quality second to none and much praise must go to the restorers. Also in vast numbers were ‘50s through to mid ‘70s
Triumph and BSA marques, most of which also had outstanding restoration work. The amount of early competition bikes is on the rise, along with restored dirt bikes which included a concourse Honda SL100. There was also a Honda Mini-Trail which had more money spent on it than I could imagine, but it was a real ‘standout’ in the crowd. Also of interest was one outstanding exhibit which created a lot of amazement, head scratching and disbelief all day from the crowd; one clever man’s miniature replica of an early Indian Ace 4 cylinder which he hand built entirely from scratch from basic household junk (see Out & About this issue). It was a non-runner, but when it was compared to an original full size Indian Four, the attention to detail was amazing, absolutely fantastic and we hope he brings more next year.
After looking at the photos in this story, you may feel sorry for the judges, (Ken Jupp, Ken Dunne, who came all the way from Cobar NSW for the event, and yours truly) as the amount of outstanding restorations makes this a very hard job to take on and being the 30th Anniversary there were more categories and new from this year, some judges’ encouragement awards. There was a vast amount of bikes all worthy of prizes, so bring them back next year and it may be your turn to be a winner. Much praise must go out to all VMCCT members, (especially Howard Burrows) who have worked hard to keep this event running for the past 30 years, all who helped on the day, the judges of course, all the sponsors, stall holders, exhibitors and spectators, as without them this spectacular event would not be what it is today. We hope to see you in 2016 for our 31st anniversary Ross Rally on 27th November.