Sunday 30 September 2012

Happy Birthday fast lady Lois

A little dickie bird tells me that it's a significant birthday for Lois, so in celebration we've put some pictures of her up. Happy 21st Birthday (again) Lois - from ITALIAN MOTOR magazine.

There can't be many gals around who can jump from mastering a pre- (WW1) war Triumph to racing around on another much more contemporary Triumph, a Street Triple, and can then go from racing MV singles, to thrashing fours, to touring across Europe and beyond on old Italian twins, enjoying old vintage Brits, and most other bikes in between. Being a native of Australia, Lois is one of those people with a strong can-do attitude, and it shows in the way she rides any bike. She also takes a mean photograph, works bloody hard and has to cope with being wife to Dorian too, so she has to have inner strength in spades...


Have a great trip, both of you - and Happy Birthday again Lois!!










Monday 24 September 2012

Portrait of an Instagram Artist


I don't have an iPhone so don't know much about Instagram - my SLR does everything I need, generally, and my cheap Lumix does the rest. This is funny though....

Thursday 20 September 2012

Perfect day


Still one of the most enjoyable days of my life. Riding four very different pre-war Italian motorcycles as fast as possible round a race track, under amazing blue Tuscan skies, and being egged on by their respective crazy owners to give it more gas.

One of those perfect days - they don't come along often.




Monday 17 September 2012

Cranky



Had this up on our Facebook page recently. Can anyone out there (if there is anyone out there) guess which Italian motorcycle this is from?


Monday 10 September 2012

I'm so bored with...

Today I'm just so bored with motorcycles, bored with blogs and social media, bored with magazines, bored with it all.

Feel like doing something completely different. I'l never be bored of the Clash though. They'll always get the blood running through my veins.


Wednesday 5 September 2012

Mind torture


It's particularly cruel when you're chained to the computer keyboard like I am this week, and a friend sends you a shot of where he is at that very moment, out on his beautiful bike (round case Ducati 750 Sport), on one of the most beautiful days of the year - and there haven't been many.

Thanks Dorian!

Monday 3 September 2012

The definitive Moto Guzzi Calfornia 1400?







One of Motociclismo magazine's readers spotted what the magazine reckons will be the definitive production version of the promised Moto Guzzi California 1400.

The reader, looking very much like Telly Sevalas even had a cheeky sit on it while the tester was absent. We're not sure what to make of it - like some bits of it - and the torque produced by a 1400cc Guzzi V twin is going to be fun to use, whatever the rest of it looks like. Will no doubt sell in the States, following on the success of the 750 range.

Italian Car and Bike Day: the usual no-show..but great people

Well, did the show yesterday, and despite the fact the weather was ok, there was no one there, again. Lots of cars, but only about 10 people turned up on bikes. No idea why. As they say in Italian, "Boh??"

I actually had a good time despite the failure of the event as I met some great people. I had my Guzzi Stornello Scrambler and Gilera 150 with me, and people were fascinated by the unrestored Guzzi in particular. Chris and Jane Jessop from Leeds who were out putting the miles on their Guzzis, having been down for the weekend from Leeds, and are back down next weekend to Swindon. They're also Buell fans too which means they have taste, and actually run a joint Buell and Italian Day up at East Kirkby, Lincolnshire in July, so hope to hook up with them there next year.

Great to see Paul to on his newly purchased, genuine mileage 14,000 on the clock Mk 1 Le Mans, and we enjoyed a pint of the local Kentish bright beer, which was very tasty. Carlo arrived on his wonderful and original Benelli 250 2C two stroke - found in Italy of course - and we chatted for ages about racing Alfas, bikes and life in general. Jeremy turned up with the most eclectic collection of motorcycle photos I've ever seen on a phone. I had my Gilera 150 on display, and just an hour before someone had asked me how many in this country - I hadn't seen another one was my reply. Then Jeremy turned up, and showed me his exact same bike which he is going to restore, and I hope to be able to help him out with some information. Best story of the day came from an old gentleman who told us about his hill climbing days on bikes and cars, and the time he was stuck on a hill, proceeded to reverse back at speed, running his friend over in the process, and leaving him with a tyre mark on his face and a burn on his leg from where the exhaust tail pipe had lodged itself...