2015

JOHN BULL RALLY

Dave Willmer decided that with two of his bikes out of action he would put the third, his A7 and trailer, to the test by

undertaking a lone trip to the annual John Bull rally. It turned out to be a round trip of 709 miles and both bike and

trailer performed admirably with just an adjustment to the dynamo chain required. Not a bad advert for both the

BSA and rider!

Dave said he was greeted and treated in grand style and clearly really enjoyed himself. The "icing on the cake" was

the award for the best combination, his extra wheel behind rather than on the side and the prize turned out to be

three chocolate spanners and a fizzy beer. As you can see from the photographs he certainly looks to be a very

well organised individual.

MERRIST WOOD SUMMER SHOW MAY 17TH

After my efforts to generate some interest for this show failed miserably it was left with just those persons named Malcolm

to attend. As we are perhaps two of our members with the longest journey on Club nights we had a good ride up to

Worplesdon to the show site. Pete Busson. currently supping ale abroad, recommended this event and for a one day show

it had something for everyone from heavy vehicles to heavy horses, dogs by the dozen, birds of prey, a wide variety oclassic

cars although less so bikes.

I won't bore you with two much detail but there were two stunt shows featuring bikes, one where the chap poured petrol

on his wife and set light to her making her run across the arena. By way of revenge in their second show she put him in a

coffin and blew him up.

Believe it or not he is in there in a coffin somewhere!! But he escaped on fire milliseconds after the photo!

A pleasant ride home after a round Guildford tour and wall to wall sunshine all day.

AMBERLEY MAY 3RD

Would it rain again............you bet it would but once again after a soggy start the weather improved as the day went on.

In spite of thet wqet start there were a good number of bikes on display although well down on prwevious years. Our

members on this occasion were Malcolm (C), Chris, Alan, Paddy and me which represents a third of our usual attendees

and of course Arthur and Shirley turned up allbeit on four wheels. I hope the following pictures will be better than my

words.

Now what a handsome pair  Alan and Malcolm all smiles and Paddy's A65 alongside an elderley M21.

Rogers A10 which gets shinier and shinier!!

An original Flash?                                             The final "Gold Star"!

NEWHAVEN FORT APRIL 26TH

Pre booked entries this year were down this and the forecast wasn’t looking too good so perhaps it was inevitable

that there weren’t as many folk as SBMOC might liked to have seen. I joined local Club members at the SBMOC

clubhouse and set off in the rain albeit in good spirits. The magnificent seven swiftly became eight when the Club

President joined us at Lancing for a steady but faultless ride along the usual route to the fort. After the cherry tree blossom,

primroses and bluebell lined lanes on the previous Friday's run the A 27 wasn’t quite so attractive and I think I saw the

President, a long time Brighton supporter,bow his head slightly as we passed the Amex Stadium but I might have been

mistaken. Highlight of the ride was the Southwick tunnel where the sound of all those four stroke twins was music to the

ears and it drowned out the only twostroke, even Steve who was on board said he couldn’t hear it.

On arrival the modest entry was obvious but as always the site was prepared with the banners, PA system and class

markers. The signing on team were set and ready to make sure riders were swiftly processed, and the bacon roll and first

cup of coffee went down well after Diane had kindly helped me out of my wet riding gear, ( the one piece suit)which

then was stored undercover and therefore dry for the return run.

Most of the bikes were from Club members and regular supporters which included riders from both East and West

BSAOCs. Keith Fryer had a BMW that I hadn’t seen him riding before and I was able to share the day with BSAOC,

colleagues they being t'other Malcolm, Sheila to his friends, Mike (Scutts), Chris and Tony although the last two were

Norton mounted.

With not too many bikes to look at we were now able to fully appreciate the changes that have been made at the Fort,

the day was filled with WW1 and WW2 experiences interspersed with copious amounts of coffee. Did you know Sheila

was conceived under a steel table or was it in the Anderson Shelter? After such revelations it was all too soon time to

head for home. Needless to say all of my riding colleagues had already departed and it was a lonely ride home but in the

DRY and passing through Lancing the local cricket team were in action such was the improvement in the weather!

Picture by Steve Smith SBMOC

Malcolm's (Sheila) Flash back to pristine condition.    Cheers, Malcolm

ARDINGLY SPRING SHOW MARCH 2015

I'm sure I have seen these blokes before?? And I made Julie smile!!

As I write this it is Spring, the cricket season is fast approaching, Easter is just around the corner and the children are

on holiday. It follows that there is absolutely no chance of any decent weather for the Real Classic show at Ardingly

and that indeed was the case. Nevertheless five members remembered to change their clocks, braved the rain and rode

down to the show site to exhibit their machines. The five were a well spread of BSA marques being an A75 Rocket,

Spitfire, Rocket, A10 and A7 (with trailer) and once again Club members were successful with the Best Real Classic

and a further First rosette colour coordinated with the A7.

A wet(ish) ride home and a battle with the strong winds as mutterings were made regarding the chances of the next

three events which fall on consecutive weekends.

THE TALMAG TRIAL - JANUARY 25TH 2015

This event kickstarts the year in fine style with the opportunity to observe at a trial which is held in the spirit of trials as they

once were and on a course which has long been revered by the pre ’65 exponents. The event is always oversubscribed and

welcomes pre ’65 four stroke machines of European manufacture to compete as solos or sidecars in a variety of classes

and with competitors not just from the UK but France and Germany as well. The accompanying pictures show mu

Observer colleagues fortifying themselves with some quality and very healthy egg and bacon rolls prior to trekking to their

sections. Then we have the lull before the storm when all is quiet and no public around beforethe spectator numbers

increase until the largest crowds which is when the sidecar boys arrive.

Mick who was situated half way up Hungry Hill said that whilst he had to watch carefully to see what if any marks are

lost he couldn’t fail to see the variety of expressions on the riders faces. Such expressions ranged from the quietly confident

to the ‘I’m not going to make it’ and occasionally the sheer terror of ‘why am I doing this?’. Success or failure however

all seemed to end up with a smile of survival and ready for another lap.

Many of the machines competing reflect the successes of expert riders from the past as in the Ariel , Enfield and AMC

marques but the variety of other machines covered loads of BSAs from Gold Stars to C15s, Triumph, Panther, Vincent,

NSU, Douglas and MV Augusta. So often the build quality and engine performance showed that there are a lot of great

engineers in the pre ’65 scene and an awful lot spent the winter on producing some beautiful machines.

Overall in was an excellent day, the weather was good, the riding entertaining and the company wasn't so bad either. Rob

turned up on foot, he usually rides in this event, but today had camera in hand and a German Shepherd the size of a donkey!

I need to end this short report on a sad note as we learned that the well known, respected and highly talented rider

Len Hutty Jnr passed away at the end of October last.

The lull before the storm.                                   A good following for the sidecar boys.

 2014

ARDINGLY CLASSIC BIKE SHOW 12TH OCTOBER

With Amberley and Ardingly clashing there was clearly going to be a division of loyalties plus the weather of late has been bad enough to anyone off riding.

It was no surprise therefore that we had just five BSAs at Bucks Barn for the ride up to the show although it was made six when we picked up Trevor and

Alan on his Triumph completed our entourage. Rather than prattle on about matters I'll let the pictures tell the story.

!

l.

KINGSFOLD STEAM FAIR 27/28 SEPTEMBER (Our first attempt at a wekend event)

Now here’s the thing have you ever had one of those days, you know, when you been refused credit at the Bank, threatenedwith being locked up in jail and been booked in

for a hanging? The details follow later, but in the meantime Club membersdecided to attend the Kingsfold Steam Fair and if possible camp for the weekend. Well the weekend

was a great success due in no small part to the weather and members making a stirling effort to support the event.

In our line up of BSAs we had everything, the Dandy and Bantam, Starfire, two B31s, an M20, two A10s, a Super Rocket and Rocket Three, moreover we were given the

opportunity to parade the bikes in the arena. A brief interview on each daygave us the chance to plug the BSAOC and a few words on the bikes we had brought along. Going

back to the question of camping the Chairman, Secretary and Treasurer were the only ones under canvas, although Steve had the largest tent by far but that was just for his

bikes. Whoops nearly forgot Pete who took his car and so had a large tent, camp bed off the ground, barbecue and a cool box from which he kindly distributed cool beer to

us all. Those who weren’t able to camp came down for the day and played their part in the fun and games.

The show had everything for the family from double decker buses, fire engines, tractors of all ages and size, steam engines,radio controlled boats and the largest kites I have

ever seen. Stalls ranged from the village shop with every provision you might need, tools, crafts, clothes, belts, birds, bulbs and burgers. There were a tremendous number

of stationary engines of all shapes and sizes but I haven’t yet managed to grasp the apparent pleasure the owners take from sitting behind their machines all day whilst they

pump water or power lights, however each to their own!

OK, back to my first sentence. Adjoining the Kingsfold Show fields and tucked away in the woods is the western town of Deadwood where enthusiasts dress in western garb

and act as far as they can as if it was over a hundred years and more ago.The ‘town’ boasts a school, chapel, Bank, Marshall’s office, saloon, several shops selling goods from

that period and finally its’ own Boot Hill. The man from the Bank was keen to relieve me of my card to put in his ‘hole in the wall’, never to be seenagain. The Marshall kept

control of the behaviour of all citizens and any person who failed to maintain the standards required was threatened with some time in the cells. I was booked into be hung but

I didn’t pursue the matter. It was all good fun and we returned after dark to make a concerted effort to drink the saloon dry whilst putting the world to rights.

Deadwood main street in daylight (great in the dark!).                    BSA tent city.....all three of us in a wilderness of motorhomes.

Not a bad line up with a good range of models.                             Not such a good line up with no likely models here.

The destination for our Saturday night when we drank the bar dry

of Fosters (Nobody had to ride home).                                                  And a few more of the bikes in the Show.

SBMOC CHARITY BULLDOG RUN 21ST SEPTEMBER

The sun shone on the sixty or so riders who turned up to take the short 30 mile or the long 60 mile jaunt around the

Sussex countryside, prefaced of course by the obligatory bacon roll and 'cuppa'. Tony said he would follow me

around on his nice new and shiny modern machine as he is famous for getting lost! After overshooting a turning I

had to turn around and in doing so managed to lose Tony in the process, nothing changes. The route used was a

preevious one from a couple of years or so ago so it all came flooding back as the lanes unfolded and returned in

good time for the judging and all that.

However in  the absence of the Club Secretary, last seen crying at Fulham's precarious position, and his award

winning Rocket Three it was left to Derek to get 'Best Bike' in the day. There couldn't have been a more pleased

individual and it was nice to pinch the SBMOC silverware!

Derek gets down to discussing appearance money with his Agent.

And a few more Beezas at the Bulldog.

Please note the 'Wasp' in the background.

ACE CAFE/BRIGHTON BURN UP 14TH SEPTEMBER

With competing events which included the Goodwood Revival loyalties were divided as some members chose to continue

lining Lord March's pockets others made for Brighton for free. An early arrival was the order of the day and we took

up Geoff King's invitation to join them in Madeira Drive giving us a very nice line up of BSAs and a prime spot for machine

and people watching. It is unfortunate that as the years go by the number of classic (or rocker's machinery) gets ever

smaller and the event becomes a day for the Harleys and Race Replica modern machines. That said there must have

been something for evryone from mini motos to the largest trikes and just about every machine in between. It was also

noticeable that there were many bikes with French, German, Dutch and Swiss registration plates.

From the Club Steve, Ginger and Piers were first on the scene followed by the two Malcolm and subsequently Alan

giving us a nice spread of bikes but without any singles on the day............no that's wrong our colleague with the blue

Bantam was there but I have forgotten his name.......it's an age thing! I hope the pictures give an idea of our contribution

to a massive array of bike and bikers. (Pictures courtesy of Piers).

EAST SUSSEX BSAOC OPEN DAY 1ST SEPTEMBER

A decent day with the weather was a good start and after meeting up at the clubhouse we set off to Horsebridge in

high spirits and picked up others on the way to make it a round dozen and ten on BSAs. Please be reassured that our

non BSA riding colleagues are as always more than welcome. A slight mishap 'en route' when Paddy decided that

waterproofing his right boot with the oil escaping from his A65 might not be a good thing and stopped to effect running

repairs. As good Club members do we left him to his own devices and he joined us a little later at the venue.

Geoff King and his colleagues put on an excellent day with plenty of bikes, the bar open, hot food, cakes and the

opportunity to have a look at this year's raffle bike.  A good ride, good food, good bikes, good weather and good

company what more could a man want!!

The clan beginning to gather at the club house....................and arriving with Steve and his Rocket alongside Pete's

                                                                                        trusty sidevalve and Malcolm C's A10 hidden behind it.

                                                                                        Dave's A7 trailer just sneeks into the picture.

We look as though we are alone with Alan's Spitfire back

in action and Alan riding once again, proof in the                       But definitely not alone as these the pictures above

background that Paddy made it after running repairs.                and below show.

CAPEL CLASSIC CAR & BIKE SHOW SATURDAY AUGUST 16TH

OK so no photographs but once again the sun shone on this event which in turn meant it was very well supported and

attended. There were thirty pre booked bikes on show and more than double that number eventually trurned up on the

day. Add to that over three hundred pre booked cars, numerous stallsl, food outlets, brass band, ferret racing, flower/

cooking/ and vegetable growing competions, dog show etc. etc. something for everyone.

Dave turned up on his ever more shiny A10, Roger on his increasingly shiny A10 instantly recognisable by the brackets

fitted for his emergency LED lighting and Tony was on his Commando. Alan brought along his good lady wife and I nearly

forgot Malcom C who bought the bacon rolls to get the day started. Unfortunately with my A10 still misbehaving I had

to go in my van which I am reliably told is a 'bingo', but I did wear my club shirt.

This really is a great show and if you are interested next year's show is on August 15th and the website is

www.capelcarshow.com.

CHICHESTER COLLEGE BIKE SHOW - JUNE 22nd

Another sunny early start saw 5 good folk assemble at our HQ at Broadbridge Heath, Steve L on his gleaming Vincent,

still running-in, Steve C chose to ride out on his BMW, his C15 just a little too small for the 120 odd mile round trip,

Peter on his Hinkley Triumph, forsaking his A65 which is still under repair, Ginger on his shiny A10 and Piers on th

e undercoated Rocket 3 made there way to Whiteways Cafe on Bury Hill, where they were joined by Malcolm C on

his even shinier A10 Gold Flash, Ray on his lovely B25 Starfire and Derek on a T150.

The ride down to Chichester College was completed in no time at all, partly due to the early hour and uncluttered roads,

taking the bypass rather than the more direct route through the Town. Dave on his A10 Cafe Racer Special and Trevor

on his newly aquired and very original B31 arrived shortly afterwards, having made there own way to Chichester College,

gaining an extra hour or so in bed. Once there, it was time to grab a cuppa and have a nose around the small auto-jumble

and view the massive amount of machinery that had turned out to support the Sussex Air Ambulance, the College's

chosen charity.

Bikes from all ages and manufacturers were well represented and the steady stream of new arrivals never seemed to stop,

the College Car park filling up rapidly throughout the day, with a huge variety of Bikes, Sports, Road, Off-Road, Racing,

Trikes, Custom and of course Classic were in attendance in good numbers, so something for everyone, there was even a

new, all electric Bike wizzing around the Car Park.

By mid afternoon most of us had begun to drift off, making our own way home in the warm sunshine that had been out all

day, none of us choosing to stay for the awards presentation later in the afternoon. A great day and for a great cause The

Sussex Air Ambulance.

Cheers
Piers

 OK Three Club members A10s, can you spot the non standard one? (not too difficult!). The Club Secretary pointing

out another 'undercoated' BSA frame and a very tidy sloper with no apparent oil leaks. Ray's Starfire just hiding Derek's

machine which is an unknown make!

A DRIVE THROUGH TIME - BOGNOR REGIS

In comparison to Chichester the Bognor event was modest but what it lacked in quantity was made up by the quality both

of our bikes and the public’s interest. As always the sun shone on the event and for those who like to watch four wheeled

vehicles in action F1 was on the big screen. Although we were just a few, colleagues from SBMOC joined us to make a

decent showing, drank my tea and ate all of my biscuits! With a less competitive calendar next year perhaps our numbers

will swell.

BSAOC NATIONAL OPEN DAY

Thankfully a dry day and a reasonable start time, coupled with the use of the countries uncluttered Motorway arterial system,

off set the four enforced fuel stops for the 3 hour ride up to the BSA Owners Club National Open Day & Rally in Market

Harborough at the local Rugby Club. The BSAOC event is run over the whole weekend and many folk had been camping

over since Friday night, the weekend includes several 'ride-outs' to places of interest and a couple of live Bands on each night

for the evenings entertainment.

Upon arrival, as expected, there were more BSA's than you could shake a stick at ! I'm fairly sure every decade of BSA's

60 year plus history of Motorcycle manufacture was represented and where else could you see Rocket Goldstars parked

next to 1920's model 'L' or Lightning Clubmans next to Side Valves from the 1930's, a staggering number of older machine

were there, of which the majority were ridden in. Time then to catch up with old friends and make new ones as we discussed

the pros & cons of BSA ownership.

The Rugby Club was open all day, so the usual refreshment of Beer and BBQ food was available for everyone, as lunch time

passed the stream of BSA's continued to arrive, filling up the car park of the Rugby Club. The venue's size is such that it never

became it too over crowded, leaving plenty of room to have a good, close up look at the wealth and variety of BSA machine

present. Similar to painting the Forth Bridge, once you had finished viewing a line of Bikes it was time to go back and see

what had just arrived.
The theme for this years BSA Owners Club Open Day & Rally was "BSA's all over the World" or Export Models and there

were a few unusual variants of the BSA's we all know from around the globe. By mid-afternoon the Bike Judging had been

done, the Raffle called and prizes collected, so it was time to head back for the 136 mile ride home, a great day and a good

advert for our Club.
Full credit and a massive 'Thank you' to those that organised and arranged the whole weekend, although I only made it for

one day, I had a great time !

Now be really honest.................was this progress?

Plenty of BSAs to see, including this really nice pair.

AMBERLEY MAY 4TH

Sunshine, hooray! and an easy trip to the venue for me and as we had. you might remember. decided not to take the

gazebo it was a simple start to the day. The museum has a new Director and so as you might appreciate the

organisation left a little to be desired with clubs not being able to take up their usual spaces. The result was that

members who attended found themselves spread around and mixed up with other clubs.

Roger had his ever improving Rocket, it gets shinier every time I see it and Malcolm (C) had his even shinier Golden

Flash which puts mine to shame every time he parks up next to me. Mark rode in on his B31 still complaining about

gears, oil leaks, clutch performance etc. but we didn't see him arrive so he was parked on his own. Steve, Cheryl and

Ginger also came along, Steve on the Vincent/HRD which he has to park on the hard standing at the top of the site and

Ginger was BSA mounted. Musn't forget Peter who trailered in his newly registered M21 (or is it M20) and whose

next task is to get it running.

There were plenty of  bikes and folk to talk to and the day went all too quickly, if only we could programme the weather

more effectively. At least the Oxford Bone Dry jacket didn't leak!

Two Club A10s and Roger's ever improving Rocket.

NEWHAVEN FORT 27TH APRIL

I'll keep the report short as the day was unfortunately beset by pretty awful weather and was as a result poorly

attended. Quite honestly if you took the West and East Sussex attendees and also the Bantam Club boys away

there weren't very many left. The outside events couldn't take place and even Heidi with her trumpet didn't perform.

Trevor and Dave together with there respective spouses and Trevor made a major contribution to the autojumble

takings with his purchases. Chris took along his best Norton only to run out of fuel and had to call his wife to come

to the rescue, no award this year and his day got even worse when he found his frame was broken. A major cock

with times meant that Roger got very wet and didn't make it to the venue. I spent the day squelching around in my

Oxford Bone Dry jacket which has to be the most porous piece of equipment ever. At least the ride home was dry!

ARDINGLY 30TH MARCH

 Off we go for another fun packed year, I hope.

Certainly the weather was on our side as we met up for the ride down to Ardingly for the first event for most of us

in 2014 and the comparison between last years' cold and snow and this years' warm sunshine was reflected in the

massive public attendance. I haven't seen so many bikes, outfits and even trikes for a long time, it was re- assuring

to know just how many like minded folk there are.

Buck's Barn was our initial destination and as always we wait to see just how many folk will turn up, whose machine

has yet to fire into action and how many have forgotten the clocks changed over night. In fact, apart from some slight

timekeeping issues, everyone arrived, Pete B in car with trailer and two bikes in tow, he had even forgone his chocolate

biscuits in bed!! Dave W turned up with his newly completed bike trailer, that is a trailer on the back of his bike, Mark

had rescued his B31 from the murky depths of the recent floods and the usual suspects made up the numbers.

An incident free trip to the show, although new boy Tom needed a push start, and we arrived to find a Vincent parked

in our show space which we quickly surrounded with real machines. Piers put his Rocket 3 up in the corner in the

hope that it wouldn't be noticed and he wouldn't get yet another rosette. He needn't have worried as there weren't any

rosettes this year. It was a good show and with Dave's bike and trailer we had the star of the show and the major

talking point. A nice ride home and then here's to the next one.

Can you spot the 'foreigners'.

2013 - Rebuilt after my abysmal performance in losing all of our records to date by pressing something I

shouldn't have and with undying thanks to our Webmaster, Granville, for his patience in dealing with my

misdememour.

Ardingly and that man wins again! All those shiney a bikes pretty impressive lineup and every one ridden in.

Newhaven Fort a good turnout but no prizewinners this time, beats me why the sun always shines

for this event.

Not the best quality photo but we did make it to Oscar's with a wide variety of bikes and nationalities.

Pete Busson's latest work of art. Two strokes you either love 'em or hate 'em. When you see him ask how

far he has ridden it.

Amberley with triple, twins and singles and our 'new' gazebo.

Pick pockets ..yes sir no trouble!

and below our full line up at Brooklands for the 'Ton Up Day'.

Well at least she's on wheels even if her pants are on the outside!

John Giles 82 years young and told off for spending

most of his run up the test hill on the back wheel!!

Bognor at its' best with Tony's award winning A65 in the sunshine. (Do you think it will ever see rain?)

But Al's Dandy the real star of the show.

Help me out here................could this be Ginger's crash helmet??

So who do you think got 'Best in Show' at the Bluebell weekend?

Treasurer Tony tries 'a bit on the side' at the Capel Village show.

Had to get my own bike in somewhere this amongst the hordes at Popham. Only classic bikes are

allowed in the centre car park (for free) whilst the modern stuff has to pay and is parked outside.

Mark's B31 East Sussex Open Day next to some old Goldie thing.

OK my cap's better than yours and if you eat any more cake (in joke) you will explode!

Dave at Goodwood with a smile for the camera, the correct scarf and white socks outside the boots.

BSA boys at the Bulldog Run and it wasn't raining for the firat time in three years. Clever how the

BSA in the background is in the middle of the photo, it is owned by a G.P. so it shows the range of

occupations of classic fans. And below a 'bevy' of BSAs.

Ardingly & Peter's got there and it looks good. I put this picture in because the shiny new speedo

cable is hidden.

Not in the hall but Larry's beauty outside.

Its not a BSA but Chris is a member and this is his award winning Norton complete with

compulsory oil slick.