Arthur Browning to guest at Classic Dirt Bike Show
There are few bigger characters in the off-road scene than Arthur Browning and this year’s Classic Dirt Bike Show welcomes the gentleman himself as a guest of honour.
There are also few people who can claim to be such an all-rounder on two wheels as Arthur. In his career he rode professional speedway for nine years, was a British championship grass tracker, an excellent scrambles rider and not bad on a trials bike, either (he once got runner-up position in a world championship round). Oh, and then there’s the nine golds he’s won in enduro, his multiple Red Marley Hillclimb wins and the fact that he’s raced in the Manx Grand Prix. And, even more impressively, he was the Milk Tray Man, as he explains: “I’d had a call from Illustra Films in the summer of 1974 to see if I would go to Spain to film this [Milk Tray] ad. Trouble was, they wanted me to jump over some Spanish ravine.
But not only that, because I was riding for Norton they were keen for the Cadbury’s ad to be performed on a Norton Commando.
“I wasn’t convinced. But the thought of a couple of weeks of Spanish sun and some decent money persuaded me to join the 15-strong film crew on the flight to Malaga. Anyway, I spent the next few days getting this damned Commando up to the top of a mountain before it started to fall apart. After a few jumps the footrests were on the ground and the frame was not far above them!
“By that time it was clear that we needed a proper steed so they persuaded some guy to lend us his hardly used Maico as the Norton had pretty much self-destructed. With a far better bike I thought we could do something a bit more spectacular for the cameras. Then I found a five-metre jump which looked quite spicy. We built a ramp and covered it with earth before everything was finally ready. It was quite a big drop if I didn’t make it but I didn’t see a problem until, as I hit the ramp, the damn thing jumped out of gear!
“Pretty quickly I got off it as it hit the other side but I was a bit luckier than the bike which I last saw disappearing down the mountainside! I seem to recall its owner never thought it went as well after that…”
Not only has Arthur been there and done it all, he can, as you might imagine, also recount it in a thoroughly entertaining way and his tales and one-liners promise to be a real treat for showgoers.
As we’ve previously reported in OBM ,for one year only the Classic Dirt Bike Show, sponsored by Hagon Shocks, will be held at the Stafford County Showground on September 18-19, 2021. There will be a large trade area, display bikes, club stands and autojumble, and, of course, the very entertaining Mr Arthur Browning. Visit www.classicdirtbikeshow.co.uk to book.