International Classic MotorCycle Show
After what seems to have been an eternity staring at the walls of the OBM Shed, Blue Miller finally had the chance to see some motorcycles that were someone else’s and some people who weren’t relatives. So, in the words of Pink Floyd, set the controls for the heart of the sun. Or Stafford…
Stafford – of course, the Sunday best title is the International Classic MotorCycle Show, but, let’s face it, it’s just ‘Stafford’ to all of us – has long been a highlight of many people’s calendars but that is a calendar which has, for the best part of 16 months, been glaringly blank. You may well, like me, have tried to scribble dates on your planner, like ‘cat’s birthday,’ ‘bin day (recycling)’ and ‘lawn mowing day,’ to make it look like life was slightly normal but it wasn’t the same as blocking out a weekend in April with that single word, ‘Stafford.’
And, of course, if you had, you would have been disappointed again when this year’s show had to be rescheduled for July. Even that July date seemed a little shaky for a while when lockdown restrictions continued longer than had previously been predicted.
It was touch and go whether Stafford would, like last year, be cancelled, but the organisers decided to go ahead, albeit with some changes they were unable to avoid. Phillip McCallen and Dougie Lampkin had been due to be the guests of honour, but with social distancing and the ‘rule of six’ still in force, it would have been impossible to organise the normal stage interviews safely and within the government guidance.
Likewise, and for the same reasons, the Ken Fox Wall of Death was also absent. Spare a thought for this attraction – during the pandemic it has been impossible for the Wall of Death to operate and it’s a tough job at the best times, given the hard work and time it takes to set up the Motordrome. Next time you’re at an event when the Wall of Death is operating, climb the steps and see a show. It doesn’t matter how many times you see it, the sight of motorcycles thundering around that wooden circuit is still a thrill.
This being an event which had nothing to do with horse racing or football, numbers had been limited which meant that it was easy to see things (by ‘things’ I mean mostly motorcycles, of course) which was a bonus. As someone who doesn’t like crowds at the best of times, social distancing has come as rather a boon for me and it’s something I’m seriously considering continuing, possibly forever!
While I might be happy keeping people at arm’s length, there were some motorcycles with which I was more than happy to get up close and personal. Although there were fewer bikes on display than would normally be the case, there was still more than plenty to delight the eye, whatever your taste in classic machinery might be.
I was particularly taken with Phil Meggett’s 1913 Lincoln Elk Model C, having never seen one in the wild before. This is one of only two machines known to have an ingenious patented transmission with a chain-driven countershaft and it was found in New Zealand three years ago – it’s always surprising what unusual and oddball vintage machines made their way out to the Antipodes and still survive. It was awarded Best Veteran although the traditional prizegiving ceremony on stage was another victim of the show’s revised plans.
Another New Zealand rescue was the fabulous 1932 works Rudge 500cc racer, once campaigned by Graham Walker, which was found in a sawmill in that country and then restored and raced by Norm and Lynda Maddocks, but it was Mike Farrall’s beautifully patina’d and oily rag 1930 ex-HG Tyrell-Smith Rudge that I would really have liked to take home. Despite hanging around the Rudge Association stand and looking hopeful, no one suggested that I did so. Likewise, despite trying the same tactic at the Greeves Riders Association stand – on which they’d used every inch of floor space – no one took pity on me and said: “Oh go on, take your pick!” (The sad eyes and long-suffering stare only seem to work for my Labrador puppy.)
Then, having had a truly awful breakfast in the hall’s cafe, I adjourned to the neighbouring hall to have a look at the serried ranks of motorcycles entered into the Bonhams Summer Sale. There were just over 330 machines passing – figuratively at least, the actual ‘passing’ bit was done on a flat screen TV – over the auction block. I counted them all, honest. Okay, I looked in the auction catalogue…
As with most auctions of this nature there were the stars, the glamorous lots which attract the most attention and adoration, and among that small band was Ted Frend’s 1946 AJS E90 Porcupine which made, including the buyer’s premium, an impressive £293,250. While there were also enough
Brough Superiors and Vincents to make most people swoon, it was the quirkier lots that caught my eye, such as the 1934 Matchless Silver Hawk. Apparently, the owner had bought it in this condition in 1984 and it had remained thus ever since. You could rather understand why he hadn’t had the courage to plunge into a rebuild, but it fetched £20,700 which seemed quite a lot of money for what even the auction catalogue tactfully termed as a ‘challenging project.’
I had been banned by my other half from bidding on anything, which was probably wise, because I was sorely tempted by the twinengined Motoconfort. However, much as I liked it, £9200 was about a hundred times more than I like to pay for a whim. Some 98% of the auction lots sold, an impressive result, with some bikes making ‘really?!’ money and others going for ‘I’d have paid that’ amounts.
One machine that exceeded expectations was a 1973 MV Agusta 750S which had apparently been originally sold to John Foulston, the late owner of the Brands Hatch, Oulton Park, Snetterton and Cadwell Park circuits. That it came from the Gus Kuhn dealership would mean it was one of only five 750Ss officially imported that year and with less than 12,000 genuine miles on the clock it’s not surprising that it sold for £81,650. Even with a dent in the tank.
It may not have been the Stafford show of past years. There may have been fewer motorcycles on display and you might have had to queue to get into the main hall which had a monitored capacity of 1000 (although, to be honest, I was in and out of the hall over the course of the day and didn’t have to queue once).
The weather might have been a little damp on Saturday. There might have been well-loved attractions like celebrity guests missing. But the fact remains that, despite rules, regulations and compromises, the show did go on and, after the last year, that was something for which to be thankful.