December 2015 Classic Bike News Ian "Lemmy" Kilmister: 1945 - 2015 "Motorsport" CBE for John Surtees Rare Vincent 2-stroke Uniflow Engine Mick Grant replica 961 Norton racer Old Biker Mantra T-shirt from Sump Evel Knievel's XL1000 movie bike H&H Chateau Impney Sale results Broughs of Bodmin Moor to sell Flying Tiger Moto Man poofy soap Petrol drops to £1 per litre Porsche Sunbeam S8 special to sell Ural gets on the scrambler trail Anthony Valentine: 1939 - 2015 Huge UK government tax disc loss Optimate 5 Voltmatic charger on test Watsonian Squire T100 sidecar
November 2015 Classic Bike News Redesigned Sump Triumph T-shirt Great service at Welders Warehouse Ural's 2016 Dark Force combination Wheelrider project seeks backers Andy Tiernan's 2016 calendar is here A blue plaque for Triumph founder Victory Ignition Concept custom bike Matlock Bath Mining Museum appeal Swedish Italians head for France
Side view assist tech from Bosch David Beckham's Outlaw movie New Triumph Speed Triple for 2016 Steve McQueen's Chevy camper van Kickback Show London Dec 2015 George Barris: 1925 - 2015 NMM to raffle a 1959 T120 Bonnie Royal Enfield splined clutch drums
"Led Zeppelin" chop sold at auction Have you seen this Ford Mustang? Bonhams Hendon Sale Dec 2015 Movies we love: The Family Way Bonhams 2016 Las Vegas line-up Triumph's new Bonneville line-up
October 2015 Classic Bike News Mark Howe Murphy: 1932 - 2015 Comet Classics' Pride at the NEC Stand up for Owen Old Empire Motorcycles Gladiator Record money at Bonhams' Stafford Richard Davies: 1926 - 2015 Gear Gremlin bandana fleece thingy
Yamaha 125cc Resonator concept
Odd things are happening on Sump...
Weise "affordable" Lima gloves Triumph's 2016 Bonneville teaser Another Hayward T140 belt failure Second generation HUD for bikes Marzocchi closes. It's official Gordon Honeycombe: 1936 - 2015 Indian Scout IKON shocks Harley-Davidson XA to Wheatcroft The Complete book of BMW Motorcycles So who's answering the Sump phone?
September 2015 Classic Bike News Fat bastards. And skinny dudes Fonzie's Triumph to auction. Again Urban rider's workshop initiative The NMM opens its doors for free Great speedo cable fix from Venhill BAD-ASS BIKER T-shirts are in stock
Buying a crash helmet; a Sump guide
Romney Marsh Classic Bike Jumble
New Goldtop silk scarf Worst Netley Marsh autojumble ever? New Kawasaki W800 buyers guide
Bonhams Beaulieu 2015 results
Lord Edward Montagu: 1926 - 2015
Triumph's $2.9 million US recall fine
New Fab Four coffee table book
Dean Carroll Jones: 1931 - 2015
Harley-Davidson test ride competition
Still awaiting your Skully AR-1 lid?
Two rare Italians headed for Stafford
Sump BAD-ASS T-shirt coming soon
Who the hell can you trust anymore?
Austel Pullman 1300 combo to sell
Oldtimer Motoren Museum
£4m government grant for Norton
BSH sells out to Mortons Media
Sammy Miller Run August 2015
August 2015 Classic Bike News Jake Robbins Royal Enfield custom Music we love: Everyday Robots Ebay: Rare 1956 250cc Indian Brave For sale: Ex-display team TRW?
91 English & Welsh courts to close? "Tougher and darker" HDs for 2016 Yvonne "Bat Girl" Craig: 1937 – 2015 Confederate P51 Combat Fighter
Subscribe to Sump - it's free Cheffins Harrogate Sale August 2015
Lambeth Council bans nitrous oxide
TRF's £10,000 green lane appeal
Harley Street 750 set for Sept launch
Trouble: Triumph bobber on Ebay
Great new T-shirt designs from Sump
George Edward Cole: 1925 - 2015
Sammy Miller at Donington Classic
185,272 Harley Baggers recalled
Fifth Classic Car Boot Sale, London
Mecum Harrisburg results Aug 2015
Mecum Monterey Sale August 2015
Ace Cafe Beijing has opened
Free disc locks courtesy of the Met Police
July 2015 Classic Bike News Where BSAs Dare Rare 1912 Pierce at Netley
7 pence per minute to talk Triumph
Cheffins Cambridge Sale: 25th July
Matchless sunglasses: "Only £299" Cool BSA Bantam diesel special
Brighton Speed Trials 2015 reminder
New Royal Enfield despatch bikes
M.A.D X-ray Art Exhibition Matchless
1964 Speed Twin bobber on eBay
Chris Squire: 1948 - 2015
Movies we love: Smokescreen (1964)
Road race & exhibition for the gents
June 2015 Classic Bike News Christopher Lee: 1922 - 2015 Triumph Motorcycles: 1937 - Today News about Roy Bacon France bans earphones on the road Road deaths up: first rise for 14 years Daniel Patrick Macnee: 1922 - 2015 Tri-Cor is now Andy Gregory Matchless-Vickers to stay in Britain Samsung truck video safety tech First middle lane "road hogger" fined Brando's Electra Glide to auction Pulford® wax cotton jacket, in "sand" James "Hansi" Last: 1929 - 2015 Suzuki's UK café culture campaign Disappointing Historics June Sale DVLA "paperless counterpart" fiasco Classic face masks, Boken style Vibrating steering wheel idea for dozy drivers
May 2015 Classic Bike News Council streetlight switch-off warning Twinkle: 1948 - 2015 Historics' Brooklands sale draws near Classic bikes for sale reminder
Hope Classic Rally: all for charity
Riley "BB" King: 1925 - 2015
Grace Lee Whitney: 1930 - 2015
Stondon Museum April sale results
RE buys Harris Performance Products
Geoff Duke: 1923 - 2015
Classic Motorcycle Restoration and Maintenance
NMM's winter raffle winner details
Stafford Sale: "£2,262,109: 86% sold"
April 2015 Classic Bike News
Norman Hyde polished T100 headers Cheffins Cambridge Sale results Harley's "Job of a lifetime" winner details John Stuart Bloor is now a billionaire BSMC Show, Tobacco Dock, London "Rusty Blue" Route 66 motorcycle kit Erik Buell Racing closes its doors One of the Love Bugs is up for sale
Ronnie Carroll: 1934 - 2015
Sixty museum bikes to be auctioned
Goldtop classic fleece-lined gauntlets
Harley-Davidson Kansas lay-offs
Mecum's Walker Sign Collection results
March 2015 Classic Bike News Ted Simon's website is "hacked by Isis"
Frank Perris: 1931 - 2015
ULEZ Zone charges for motorcycles
We're all down with a nasty disease
Eric "Shaw" Taylor: 1924 - 2015
E J Cole Collection at Mecum's Rare 500cc Linto for Duxford Sale
Classic Car Boot Sale final reminder
DfT road safety website is to be axed
Autocom GPS bike tracker is "coming soon"
Jem Marsh: 1930 - 2015
New Triumph Thruxton book from Panther Publishing New drug-driving regulations are here HMS Sump is torpedoed!
New £350,000 Jensen GT for 2016 RE Continental GT, soon in black
February 2015 Classic Bike News Lincoln bans legal highs in public places Leonard Simon Nimoy: 1931 - 2015 Cheffins Cambridge Sale: Apr 2015 Race Retro Feb 2015 auction results
£4.7 million grant for Brooklands Full size "Airfix" motorcycle kits
Two Francis-Barnett bikes "launched"
Gerry Lloyd Wells: 1929 - 2014 Harley-Davidson's "dream job" offer
Road accidents & preventable events
The velocity of money? What's that?
ACA auction Saturday 7th March 2015
Sump's new road safety stickers
Kickback Stoneleigh to be televised
January 2015 Classic Bike News 1948 Land Rover manufacture exhibit
UK Triumph Scrambler sales jump
Mecum Kissimmee Sale results
Ikon Basix shock absorbers
Sump BSA M20 metal sign—£14.99
Another great Marlboro Man has snuffed it Mixed Bonham results at Las Vegas
Stolen Norton appeal for information
The Reunion by Jack Elgos
VMCC December 2014 raffle winner
Brian Horace Clemens: 1931 - 2015
Metal classic bike signs from Sump
Rod Taylor: 1930 - 2015
Derek Minter: 1932 - 2015
Tiernan's looking for a Flea crate
Jerry Lee Lewis Duo Glide to sell
"Killer drivers" sentencing review
Harley-Davidson recalls 19,000 bikes
Cutaway engine bonanza at Bonhams
Sump news archive 
We've got plenty more classic bike news for you to enjoy. Check out the links below. December 2014 Classic Bike News November 2014 Classic Bike News October 2014 Classic Bike News September 2014 Classic Bike News August 2014 Classic Bike News July 2014 Classic Bike News June 2014 Classic Bike News May 2014 Classic Bike News April 2014 Classic Bike News March 2014 Classic Bike News February 2014 Classic Bike News January 2014 Classic Bike News December 2013 Classic Bike News November 2013 Classic bike News October 2013 Classic Bike News September 2013 Classic Bike News August 2013 Classic Bike News July 2013 Classic Bike News June 2013 Classic Bike News May 2013 Classic Bike News April 2013 Classic Bike News March 2013 Classic Bike News February 2013 Classic Bike News January 2013 Classic Bike News December 2012 Classic Bike News November 2012 Classic Bike News October 2012 Classic Bike News September 2012 Classic Bike News August 2012 Classic Bike News July 2012 Classic Bike News June 2012 Classic Bike News May 2012 Classic Bike News April 2012 Classic Bike News March 2012 Classic Bike News February 2012 Classic Bike News January 2012 Classic Bike News December 2011 Classic Bike News November 2011 Classic Bike News October 2011 Classic Bike News September 2011 Classic Bike News August 2011 Classic Bike News July 2011 Classic Bike News June 2011 Classic Bike News May 2011 Classic Bike News April 2011 Classic Bike News March 2011 Classic Bike News February 2011 Classic Bike News January 2011 Classic Bike News December 2010 Classic Bike News November 2010 Classic Bike News October 2010 Classic Bike News September 2010 Classic Bike News August 2010 Classic Bike News | If you can smoke as many fags as Lemmy, and drink as much booze, and take as many drugs, and sleep with as many women through the AIDS "crisis" and still make it all the way to 70, you're a pretty good advert for the virtues of rock'n'roll excess. This legendary electric hellraiser also had a penchant for owning and riding motorcycles, not least the Triumph T140 Bonneville above, and therefore toyed with a very different kind of danger. [More...] He was awarded an MBE in 1959, and in 2008 was appointed to the OBE (Order of the British Empire). And now, in the Queen's 2016 New Years Honours list, John Surtees has been made CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire). Did he deserve it? Well, we don't care too much about rank, privilege and honours. But if anyone in the world of racing was due another gong, John Surtees is possibly, or even probably, that man. He's a living legend. [More...] Vincent Motorcycles and two-stroke engines are not usually spoken of in the same sentence. But this is a special case. It's a two-stroke motor designed and built by Vincent Engineers (Stevenage) Ltd for use in WW2 lifeboats. Auction house Bonhams will have the rare privilege of searching for a buyer for this very unusual mechanical rubber band, and that will happen on Thursday 7th January 2016 at Bally's Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, USA. [More...] If you're a Mick Grant fan, and a Norton fan, and if you've got £18,000 plus change in the piggy, this might interest you. Announced earlier this month, it's Norton's limited edition 961 Commando Cafe Racer dressed up as a #7 JPS Norton replica. The bike, we understand, pays homage to Grant's successes as a Norton factory rider (along with the likes of Peter Williams and Phil Read). He signed up in the 1970s, and he's maintained his association with the brand. He's currently working with Norton on its TT racing programme. [More...] Okay, this is what happened. We'd just put in an order for a new batch of Sump T-shirts, and our illustrious supplier told us that we'd come up short. Numberwise. It's too complicated to explain, but it's a lot more cost-effective to have our tees printed (right here in the UK) in certain groups and batches. [More...] An XL1000 Harley-Davidson Sportster used in the 1977 movie Viva Knievel is to be auctioned by Bonhams on Thursday, 7th January 2016 at Las Vegas, USA. [More...] Auction House H&H fielded 28 motorcycle lots at its Chateau Impney Sale at Droitwich Spa, Worcestershire on 9th December 2016. Of the 28 lots, 12 were not sold, and 1 was withdrawn. The highest selling lot was (Lots 6) a restored/uprated 1966 500cc Velocette Thruxton (image immediately above) which made £18,480. [More...] Eight Broughs stored in barns for over half a century will go under the hammer at the Bonhams Sale of Important Collectors’ Motorcycles at Stafford on 24th April 2016. The bikes were unearthed earlier this year, and until that time they were largely viewed as mythical machines. Relatively few members of the classic bike community, including members of the Brough Superior Club, believed the machines were still around. But the late (and possibly appropriately named) owner Frank Vague had the rare motorcycles squirreled away on a farm on Bodmin Moor, Cornwall. [More...] Are you one of those cool, trendy, bearded, six-pack, fashion-conscious, macrobiotic designer types? Do you live in or around Shoreditch (East London), or aspire to live there? Do you use the phrase "man-cave" at least once a month? Do you look like you just stepped out of a Triumph Motorcycles' or Harley-Davidson brochure? [More...] Actually, the price has fallen below £1 per litre, and that's the lowest level since 2009. Currently, the ASDA supermarket chain (owned by the US giant Walmart) has ratcheted the price down to 99.7 pence per litre. According to an ASDA spokesperson, this is simply a "weekend promotional deal". Which might be true. But analysts reckon that the deal could well last a very long weekend, which might mean way into the new year. [More...] We're not sure which is the greater sacrilege; putting a Porsche engine in a Sunbeam S8, or wrapping a Sunbeam S8 around a 1955 Porsche "A" Series motor. Then again, does it really matter if you turn it all into something unique, memorable and fun to ride? Certainly, Gordon Griffiths who owned the S8 (registration number XML 841) way back in 1969 evidently decided a little transplant surgery was perfectly acceptable when he felt he needed more puff and go. [More...] Considering the fact that this bike, like many Ural outfits, is equipped with a driven sidecar wheel, it's perfectly natural that Ural should be way out in the dirt fooling around and getting mucky. In fact, it's a wonder that it took the firm so long to produce a dedicated Scrambler-badged model to add to its rapidly increasing range. This is the newly released limited edition combo being built for 2015/2016. Actually, pretty much all Urals are now being manufactured for limited edition/niche sales (check out the firm's Dark Force edition on Sump November 2015). [More...] We first remember him as Toby Meres, the psychopathic killer in the ITV Cold War spy series Callan which ran from 1967 to 1969. But later, he became the nation's favourite love-to-hate Nazi in the Colditz TV series (BBC/Universal Studios, 1972 - 1974). Later still he was cast as Raffles, everyone's favourite gentleman jewel thief (Yorkshire TV, 1977). We're talking about actor Anthony Valentine (pictured above right alongside Edward Woodward starring as David Callan) who has died aged 76. Mostly, Valentine was cast as a villain of one sort or another, but many of the characters he played might be more generously described as "loveably misguided". 
Anthony Valentine was a Lancashire lad. He was born in Blackburn and began his acting career aged just ten. By that time, he had moved to London with his parents and took a part in the film No Way Back (1949). Four years later he appeared in The Girl on the Pier (1953) playing Charlie Chubb, son on Inspector Chubb and a boy with detective ideas of his own. [More...] £80million. That, we hear, is the loss to the British treasury as a result of road fund licence (tax disc) revenue evasion between 2014 and 2015. Following the scrapping of the ill-fated circular paper discs (October 2014), there should have been a £10million saving. That was the government prediction and the justification for the change. [More...] HERE'S A QUICK VIEWPOINT/VERDICT
FROM SUMP Probably very useful and worth buying. But we've got some concerns and doubts that need addressing. HERE'S THE LONGER STORY... We've been handed an Optimate 5 Voltmatic battery charger gizmo, so now we're supposed to say something deep and meaningful about it. And we certainly would if we could. But the fact is, when it comes to a battery charger, it's very hard to deliver anything profound, or witty, or insightful. These things are like smoke alarms, ain't they? You stick 'em someplace sensible and then you go about your daily grind secure in the knowledge that the little piece of high tech gadgetry will do its duty and will make your life easier and safer, etc. [More...] It's gotta be tricky coming up with new sidecar product ideas and marketing ploys. A sidecar is a sidecar is a sidecar? Right? Well not according to Watsonian Squire which manufactures these chairs with the same kind of enthusiasm that, say, creates a Savile Row suit. Like the suits, these sidecars are not exactly off the peg, they're all essentially the same, and yet they're all slightly different. That's bespoke retail for you. Or simply call it niche manufacturing. [More...] 
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