Story snapshot: Online ticket 20% discount Free limited edition posters The next Kickback motorcycle show happens on Saturday 1st - Sunday 2nd April 2017 and takes place at Stoneleigh Park, Warwickshire. The organisers are offering a free limited edition A3 poster for everyone who attends, and if you book online you'll have 20% knocked off the ticket price. Adults will pay £9.50 online compared to a gate price of £12. Tickets are valid for the whole weekend. There are discounts for children, etc. Opening hours are 12 noon to 6pm on Saturday, and 10am to 5pm on Sunday. Expect around 100 or more custom bikes, trade stalls, food and drink outlets, exhibitions, a stunt show, vintage biker movies, etc. And if you want to exhibit, there's still time. Email Lorne at: lorne@rwrw.co.uk www.thecustomshow.com 
Story snapshot: Wanted: tales of real world motorcycle sale prices A few lines on an email will do nicely We're collecting anecdotes, and we need your help. Specifically, we're trying to find out what's really happening to motorcycle prices in the internet age. To do this, we can't simply check the adverts in the usual rags or on eBay. These ads merely tell us what people are asking, and not always the sale price (and these days we're seeing plenty of very unlikely asking prices). Meanwhile, eBay items are frequently re-listed due to "time wasters" and failed sales. That's the internet for you, of course. The www has given us all access to a huge worldwide market, and because of that, there will always be someone somewhere willing to pay way over the everyday market price (whatever that is anymore) for a motorcycle, car, house or whatever. And there will always be "chancers" willing to wait the longest time to score big. Naturally we check the auctions constantly, and auctions are a reasonably good indicator of what's happening in the real world. But even auctions are subject to the whims of tactical, or ill-informed, or confused, or overly-competitive or simply desperate local or international bidding. And auction houses frequently see lots sail under the hammer at way below "sensible" estimates for no obvious reasons, except perhaps the perversity of chance. What we want to know is what's really being sold at what price. In other words, we'd like some insight into motorcycles that were asking "crazy money", but which you know actually sold for way less. Or maybe you've been trying for months to sell a bike at what you feel is a fair market price, but can't get so much as a peep from the phone or a line of semi-literate scribble on an email. 
We won't publish details of whatever you tell us, and we're not collecting email addresses. In fact, we'll probably trash the email as soon as we unload it. And we won't hand out prizes, but we will acknowledge everyone who writes to us. Put simply, we'd like to hear personal accounts of what you tried to sell and couldn't sell, or how much you had to drop the price, or whether you feel you could have asked more. Recent history tales only, please (such as the past few years). And we're interested in sales of all bikes, but more specifically classics. If we get enough interesting and insightful tales, we'll run a generalised piece on Sump giving everyone else the news, such as it is. What we don't want to do is add speculative fuel to an already distorted market. But beyond this, we'll simply use the information as a reference point for future news stories about  the motorcycle market. So if you feel so disposed, spare us a few lines on an email. We're ready to hear the awful truth if you're ready to tell it. feedback@sump-publishing.co.uk Story snapshot: Decent enough general restoration guide from author Ricky Burns Suitable for dirt bike beginners
It's an "Enthusiast's Restoration Manual". That's what it reads on the cover, and that sounds about right. We're talking about Classic Off-Road Motorcycles from Veloce Publishing, and what comes across most strongly is the fact that it's a book written by your average (or possibly above average) off-road fiend for people of a similar bent.
It's just been launched as the next instalment in the publisher's on-going "How to Restore" series, and we've got a few observations to make that might influence your decision to buy, or not buy. In terms of printing and photography, the quality is about on par with the rest of the series (that we've seen, anyway) which is fair to good. Actually, most of the close-up shots are well framed and tight, and they get right into the meat of the metal and show you what you need to see. But there are no pictures anywhere that you'd want to cut out and stick in a frame beside the TV. And that's a pity because every book deserves at least one truly great, achingly evocative image. Then again, that ain't what this book is about. It's a grass roots tome focussing on classic off-road motorcycles built between 1950 and 1980. But most of the coverage actually reflects the latter of those years when Bultaco and Montessa dominated. However, if you're looking for an in-depth guide to restoring a particular marque or model, look elsewhere (such as a workshop manual, which is in fact what the author advises).  Instead, this book takes a more generalised view of the off-road restoration orthodoxy and guides the newcomer into the broader issues surrounding buying, inspection, maintenance and rehabilitation of a suitable bike.
More specifically, this publication will suit budget off-road riders. It happily extols the virtues of wet-and-dry paper, wire brushing and Hammerite paint rattle cans, and you should expect a few bloodied workshop knuckles if you follow the author's path all the way to the end. In short, it's very much a hands-on look at everything you might need to do, or at least consider, if you want to get mobile on the dirt and flick some serious mud in someone's eye. If you're not much of a reader, you'll be relieved to know there's no heavy prose within, and certainly no poetry. This book is more a collection of helpful and reassuring captions liberally splashed around the 140 or so pages that are carrying 480-plus pictures. You'll probably read it once for the broader picture, and then once more for the detail, and then again when you actually get started in the workshop. Looked at another way, if this book doesn't actually answer all your technical questions, which it won't, it will quite probably be exactly what you need to inspire you to get started and overcome the inertia of indecision. There's a very pretty Dot on the back cover, and there are occasional snaps of other British off-road classics from BSA to Triumph to Royal Enfield. But as mentioned earlier, the core of the book is 1970s and 1980s Spanish bikes with a few appropriate Japs thrown in as and where needed/available. Older and more seasoned off-road trials and scramble riders will notice that there are more than a few eggs being sucked between these pages. But these guys are generally a good natured bunch and will no doubt take a generous stance and tell you that you have to start somewhere. But it is true that one or two author comments and observations stray dangerously close to "the bleedin' obvious". However, that same author is assuming that you have little or no knowledge of the scene, and is therefore wisely taking little or nothing for granted. The book is asking £35, and that's a fair amount of money for the hopeful beginner. But we haven't got any real issues with the price. Serial author Ricky Burns has evidently worked hard on this and carried his baby to term, so we think you should just pay up. And if you see the book discounted anywhere, it's a bargain.  The bottom line? The off-road scene is a fun place to be, and having studied this book from cover to cover, it's made even hardened tarmac trippers like us casually peruse the dirt bike ads, and we're the last people you're likely to see nose down in the dirt on a Sunday afternoon.
ISBN: 978-1-845849-50-4 www.veloce.co.uk Story snapshot: H&H press release claims a new world record sale price The underlying story is perhaps a very different tale... £24,295. That was the price paid for the (immediately) above 1968 Velocette Thruxton (Lot 22) at H&H Auction's Donington Sale on 22nd February 2017. But note the qualifier "unrestored". We were actually in two minds about running this piece as an addendum to our story immediately below. Why? Because we can't confirm or refute the Velocette Thruxton world record price claim; not that £24,295 is much to shout about, anyway. But in recent times we have had reason to question H&H's credibility regarding auction listings (see: H&H Auctions fake Indians sold, August 2016). However, we finally decided to move on from past transgressions and give H&H the benefit of the doubt. But if you know differently, drop us a line and we'll look into it. Of course, if we were MI6 or the CIA, we'd ask a more fundamental question. Instead of looking at what was said by H&H, we'd wonder why they said it. And in this instance it seems clear. The Velocette was simply the thin silver lining in a darker and more ponderous cloud in which the top lot at the Donington sale, a 1939 Brough Superior (Lot 47), failed to find a buyer. 
But you can't blame a firm for trying to put a little top spin on a very public commercial disappointment. And beyond that, the Donington sale looks very good for the company. Check the story below for details... Story snapshot: Successful sale for H&H Auctions Top lot fails to shift, but late Triumph twins are looking strong
It looks like H&H Auctions did pretty good at its recent Donington Sale on Wednesday 22nd to Thursday 24th February 2017. Initially we counted 77 bikes. But there were only 76 on the day, so it appears that one was withdrawn. On the other hand, we might have miscounted. It happens. 
Either way, of the 76 or 77 lots, 68 found buyers which represents a very creditable conversion rate. The top billed item, however, failed to sell. This was Lot 47, a 1939 Brough Superior SS80 (image immediately above). The estimate was a reasonably plausible £75,000 - £80,000, but for whatever reason, nobody came forward with a big enough cheque.  It's unwise to form any conclusions from any one auction regarding which bikes are on the way up, and which are on the way down. However, we draw your attention to Lot 55, a 1951 Sunbeam S7 Deluxe which was estimated at £6,000 - £7,000, but sold for £8,362 (main image this story).
That's not a huge hike over average Sunbeam S7 prices over the past year, but these 500cc classic cruisers have been steadily rising in appeal and value, and this one certainly didn't undersell. That said, we're a little surprised that they don't fetch considerably more. But fad and fashion will have its way, and the S7s have a (largely undeserved) reputation for unreliability. And they're not exactly the fastest classic on the block, not that that necessarily means a great deal. 
Beyond that, we see further evidence that 1970s Meriden twins have finally established themselves as worthy classics. We're talking about oil-in-frame T120s and T140s which, for a long time, were treated with some disdain by the Triumph cognoscenti. Why? Who knows. But we can well remember plenty of snide comments, largely from the old guard, suggesting that these 650s and 750s weren't "real Triumphs", whatever the hell that means. Ten years ago, you could pick up a reasonably clean oil-in-frame 650cc T120 for maybe £1,800 - £2,500. Typical prices now appear to be anything from £3,500 - £4,500 with better examples asking £6,000 - £7,000. And we think that we recently saw a freshly restored one asking £8,000, but we can't remember where that was. At a dealer's shop probably. Regardless, H&H sold Lot 51, a 1972 650cc TR6C for £5,650 (see the two images immediately above). The estimate was £4,500 - £5,000, but clearly the market had other ideas. These TR6's, note, were manufactured with slightly higher seat rails and conical hub brakes, neither of which drew much applause. But time is at last being kind to these motorcycles, and the current asking prices reflect this. Note too the right-side gear change lever. The 650cc T120s, we think, have a particularly nice feel. Naturally, they're not as torquey as the 750cc T140s. But once you get them on cam (and assuming you've got "a good 'un"), they buzz along with a little more verve than the seven-fifties. And the single carb is all you need on an all-round Meriden Triumph twin. 
As if to underscore the growing appeal of oil-in-frame Meriden 650s and 750s, H&H also found a buyer for this 1979 Triumph TR7 Tiger (Lot 25, image immediately above and below). The estimate was £4,000 - £5,000, and the hammer came down at £4,181. 
Described as an un-restored machine, the high US-spec handlebars aren't standard on these "slab-sided" European petrol tanks. And that blue saddle with red piping looks to be from a T140J Jubilee Bonneville. But beyond that,  not withstanding a missing chromed front brake caliper cover, this Tiger looks about right. For more on the February 2017 H&H Donington Sale, follow the link you've just passed. www.handh.co.uk Story snapshot: Dual purpose bike jacket retails for £250, give or take a penny We haven't tried it for size First a confession: we don't know anything about wax cotton jackets, not technically speaking anyway. So for the purposes of this product news story, pretty much everything you read for the next sixty seconds or so comes straight from the manufacturer. Knox calls this jacket the Leonard Wax Jacket Mk2. Cool name. Not. It's an updated version of (we presume) the Mk1, and it's described as hard-wearing, abrasion resistant, breathable and waterproof. So far, so good. The seams are fully taped. YKK Aquaguard® zips have been fitted. There's a removable throat guard and a ribbed collar. And the firm has apparently included some kind of clever zipper mechanism that allows the jacket to be expanded so you can wear a Knox armoured shirt beneath. The overall idea, we gather, is that this is an item of upper body clothing that you can wear on the bike to keep the bugs, breeze and sundry elements off your delicate skin, and can also wear with a shirt and tie when next chatting up your bank manager or when going to dinner with your girlfriend's highly-strung and deeply conservative folks. You get the idea. Knox is asking £249.99 which includes VAT. The colour is russet brown, which we think is pretty awful. But then, this week we're going through a turquoise phase, so make up your own mind. The sizes are S–3XL. 
And that's it. Check if out if you're a russet brown man or woman. It takes all sorts to make a world, huh?
Call: 01900 825825
www.planet-knox.com
Okay, here are some details of a new event to add to your busy 2017 calendar. The balloon doesn't go up until May 2017. But it will be May soon enough, so you might as prepare for it.
It's called the Despatch Rally, and its aim is to "bring together the motorcycling community to celebrate and honour the despatch riders from whom motorcycle culture descended." Clear enough? Expect themed destinations and challenges including motorcycle control and navigation skills and shooting. Shooting? Sounds interesting, especially if there's live ammunition on the range. But we've no further details. Just bring your own artillery or something. Also expect live music, a BBQ and drinks. The fun and game will encompass a large swathe of Dorset with the Sammy Miller Motorcycle Museum at the epicentre. Event times are 8.30am - 5.30pm. Tickets are £25 per vehicle (solo rider or with pillion).
www.despatchrally.co.uk
Story snapshot: Updated support offered for the softer regions Maybe we're just wimps. But after 11 hours more-or-less-non-stop in the saddle, we start to feel a little uncomfortable. It was different when we were young. Back then we could spend nine gruelling days perched on our bikes, living on teeth-bugs and rainwater, and often stopping only to rebuild the engines at the roadside or water a passing bush. Does that sound like you too? Well, probably not if we're honest. Fact is, everything gets uncomfortable after a while, not least motorcycle perches. That's what this updated Airhawk seat cushion is all about. Strap it on your saddle, park your derriere, weigh the anchor and ride. But wait! Is it really any better than the saddle the manufacturer provided? Truth is, we don't know. We haven't yet availed ourselves of this kind of supportive technology. But we understand the non-rocket science concept behind it. [More...] Story snapshot: Writer of 70s pop hit You're a Lady has died aged 69 Peter Skellern's You're a Lady was an oddball song when we first heard it on Top of the Pops way back in October 1972. The vocals were "breathy". The delivery was ... well, "square". The lyrics felt like they belonged in the 1940s or 1950s. And the accompanying brass ensemble (the Grimethorpe Colliery Band) made us wonder if they'd simply been guided into the wrong studio. But Peter Skellern, who has died aged 69, held his nerve at the piano and made no apologies for his stylishly romantic middle-of-the-road ballad that subsequently travelled the world compliments of dozens of singers (including Brigitte Bardot) who were happy to carry this particular tune. If you recall that October, Alice Cooper was hammering out "Elected". Elvis was singing about his Burning Love. 10cc was campaigning Donna. And Lieutenant Pigeon was at number one with Mouldy Old Dough. Skellern's record label (Decca) was very pleased with You're a Lady. The song spent a creditable two weeks in the top ten and moved as high as number three. Not bad for an average bloke from Lancashire, and brought up in Bury, who was working as a hotel porter in Shaftesbury, Dorset when his song hit the airwaves. 
▲ In the 1980s, Peter Skellern collaborated with noted lyricist, composer & humourist Richard Stilgoe. Three albums were recorded and the duo appeared together many times in cabaret. Soon after this success, Peter Skellern sang the theme tune to the 1973 British TV series Billy Liar, and more limited success came his way with the songs Hold on to Love; Love is the Sweetest Thing; and Put out the Flame.  When the movie Blade Runner was in production, Skellern's skills as an economical lyricist (with an ongoing flair for the romantic) were put to work on the song One More Kiss, Dear.
Skellern wrote the theme tunes for many other TV productions, and in 1984, together with Julian Lloyd Webber and Mary Hopkin, he formed a short-lived group called Oasis. Although he had largely disappeared from mainstream public view, he was always busy behind the scenes providing words, music, voice-overs and a lot of old-fashioned charm. As an antidote to the likes of Alice Cooper (and we love Alice Cooper), Peter Skellern will do nicely. He also managed to record over twenty albums whilst developing his interest in the Christian church, and he wrote a number of choral pieces. In October 2016, Skellern fulfilled a lifelong ambition and was ordained as a priest and a deacon.
By then, his health was seriously in trouble and he knew that the end was in sight. He leaves behind a wife and two children and a large volume of intelligent, stylish and sophisticated music.
www.musicaltheatrereview.com
Story snapshot: Business is "booming" for Andy Tiernan New stock urgently needed Suffolk-based classic bike dealer Andy Tiernan is looking for more Panther and pre-war BSA motorcycles to add to his stock. Andy, who's been established since 1972, has long been a big fan of Panthers and usually keeps a handful in stock. He's also noted for a decent line of old Beezers of all types. But what with the biking season waking up, the drop in Sterling and the usual alignment of unspecific market forces in the economy, it seems that he can't get enough bikes to satisfy demand. Which is where you come in. So if you've got a BSA or Panther and are thinking of a sale or a trade, now is probably a pretty good moment. But wait! We have to declare an interest here because we know Andy and count him among our friends. However, that doesn't change the fact that he's a straight-shooter and likes to make a fair deal every time. "Business," said Andy when we spoke to him today, "is doing very well at the moment. Some of my stock is going overseas, but there's growing interest here in the UK." That's good to hear, and it runs counter to other trends that we've been looking at that suggest classic bike prices are cooling. Trouble is, it always looks different when you stand someplace else, and if Andy says that business is good, it's good for him. Give him a call. Make a deal. www.andybuysbikes.com Story snapshot: Is your motorcycle delivery company insured? Some advice before handing over your machines... Here's a little tale for any of you Sumpsters out there planning to have one or more motorcycles shifted by a delivery service. Recently, we contacted one such firm. It followed a casual recommendation from a friend in the motorcycle trade. We needed to transport two bikes two hundred or so miles, door to door. Simple enough. The delivery guy we spoke to (by mobile phone) quoted a price of £100 for the first bike, and just £50 for the second. Very competitive rates. So we checked again with three friendly bike dealers, two of whom said they'd used this guy before without problem and were still using him. One dealer, however, said that he was currently using a different firm. No reason given. So we fixed a tentative date for a collection of the bikes and explained that a goods-in-transit insurance certificate would need to be produced. At that point, we were told by our would-be delivery guy that he didn't carry such a certificate. [More...] Story snapshot: "Matchless" SS80 Brough Superior is looking at the top money One or two keenly priced lots in this sale Wednesday 22nd & Thursday 23rd February 2017 is the date for H&H Auction's next sale. It will take place at Donington Park, Derbyshire and will feature a small-to-medium sized range of classic cars and classic motorcycles. So far, there are 77 lots. We've been perusing the catalogue, and we can't see anything to get too excited about. But one or two items are perhaps worthy of a line or two. The bike with the highest estimate is the (immediately) above 1939 Brough Superior SS80 (Lot 47). Apparently, this 982cc sidevalve (nominally 1,000cc) is well known to the Brough Superior Club and has always been on the road in and around the Oxfordshire area. That's a Matchless engine, incidentally (in contrast to the earlier and more common JAP-powered SS80), and if you're interested, the estimate is £75,000 - £80,000. We're watching this Brough closely. Why? Because classic bike prices are lately starting to struggle a little. At least, there seems to be some significant "adjustment" as marques and models come and go out of fashion, and various blue-chip examples appear to be coming off the boil. 
H&H has also posted some interesting estimates on other motorcycles such as Lot 14 which is the (immediately) above 1961 500cc Triumph 5TA. This "bathtub" example needs some re-commissioning. But even so, the £1,500 - £2,000 estimate looks like a small chunk of change for a great looking and eminently usable 500cc Trumpet that will take you anywhere you want to go, and still at a reasonable/viable velocity. We're even considering a bid on this bike if the piggy bank will stand it. 
Meanwhile, the (immediately) above 1998 BMW R1200C is estimated at just £3,500 - £4,000, and that sounds like a bargain for what is very likely to be a future classic that will command some big money. Between 1997 and 2004 BMW manufactured around 40,000 of these flat twins (including the smaller 850cc R850C version). The designer was noted BMW man David Robb who had earlier worked for Chrysler and then Audi. The R1200C was, and is, a divisive bike that usually polarises opinion. The model was intended as a radical re-interpretation of the modern motorcycle cruiser and might have loosely had an eye on Harley-Davidson's market. But it's doubtful that BMW, or at least David Robb, seriously thought this was going to get Milwaukee worried. It's a bold Germanic statement that looks more at home on the European mainland as opposed to the American continent. But, as with Saab cars, the fans are scattered thinly, but widely. Today, people often see this custom as a commercial failure, and we've no idea how the numbers stack up on the profits and losses sheets. But still, 40,000 sales sounds pretty good for a radical design such as this, and we like this model just fine (well, subject to lopping a few inches of the handlebars). BMW is reported to have cited the increasing unsuitability of the 1,170cc engine for the market that this bike entered and, after seven years, pulled the plug. Or plugs. Today, there is some speculation about the company taking another trip past this particular custom corner. But we haven't heard anything definite. 
Beyond that, Lot 15 is the (immediately) above 500cc 1952 Vincent Comet Series C. Extensively restored in 2005, and little used since, H&H is estimating £15,000 - £18,000, which once again isn't exactly overly optimistic. Then again, we have seen a few Comets lately struggling to find buyers even at this price. Only, those were all Stateside. Here in the UK, the situation as of February 2017 might be very different. Stay tuned. www.handh.co.uk UPDATE: The Brough Superior (Lot 47) didn't sell. The Triumph 5TA sold for £4,181. The BMW R1200C (Lot 30) sold for £3,390. And the Vincent Comet (Lot 15) sold for £22,400. Story snapshot: Test ride a Hog and enter a prize draw Win and bike and collect two grand cash Go into any UK Harley-Davidson dealer between now and 30th April 2017 and test ride a bike. This small and enjoyable manoeuvre will, apparently, make you eligible for a prize draw which could jet you and a passenger off to the USA, meet Bill Davidson (great-grandson of HD co-founder William A Davidson), hop on a 2017 Touring Hog, take the Great Lakes Tour, visit the HD Museum, then visit the HD production line in York, Pennsylvania, receive a £2,000 cheque to help you enjoy a weekend in New York City, and jet back home where a brand new Harley-Davidson Touring motorcycle of your choice (which you saw being manufactured on the aforementioned production line) will join you. 
The firm calls it the trip of a lifetime, and we ain't arguing. And that's the whole deal right there. Just ride the Hog and enter the competition. It's not clear from the press release what happens if you take the test ride and actually buy a bike. Presumably you get your money back or something. Either way, it's a pretty compelling come-on from a company that's actually doing okay on this side of the pond, but is struggling in its domestic market. We'd take a test ride ourselves, only we never win anything in competitions. But someone's gotta win it. So talk to your local Harley-Davidson dealer and check that we've got the facts right, then book that test ride. We've no idea how many people in the UK take a new H-D for a speculative spin each month, but we figure that the odds are pretty good. Story snapshot: "New DNA" spray to catch bike and scooter thieves UV dyes and SmartWater-type tech rolled out
Apparently, there's an ongoing epidemic of motorcycle and scooter thefts in the Merseyside area which has led directly to the development of a "new" kind of high-tech spray designed to catch, or at least mark, offenders. Actually, the spray appears to be using two existing technologies; specifically ultra-violet dye marking tech and a new kind of SmartWater. The combined product is called SelectaDNA Defence Spray.  The idea is simple enough. You're a Scouse copper. You spot a pair of mobile hooligans causing mayhem and otherwise having fun in the local streets and/or council housing estate. You chase said hooligans for a couple of hours in cars and on foot. You send for the dogs and a chopper and you get thoroughly irritated because you can't quite grab 'em. They're too slippery.
Then your partner hands you the SelectaDNA Defence Spray and you know your problems are over. Almost. At the most opportune moment, you rush forward and spray the high-tech solution all over the ne'er-do-wells and thoroughly mark them, their knocked-off trainers and their hoodies. And then, when you later run them to ground (usually hiding under their beds or something) you flash a UV light in their faces and they're indelibly marked with a unique code that links them to the spray bottle or device you were wielding at the scene. And that's enough for the courts, which promptly gives the hooligans X-number of hours of community work, and they're more or less instantly back on the street. It sounds as if the DNA component doesn't actually have much to do with deoxyribonucleic acid. We're figuring that that's just ad-speak for whatever coded thingies are in the spray. What we're really hoping for is a true DNA spray that enters the bloodstreams of the hooligans and corrects whatever crooked genes are present at the nuclear level. Alternately, we could try and do something meaningful about UK unemployment and associated social conditions in deprived area of the country. But that's not seriously on the agenda at the moment, so it's back to the spray. Got to be coming to a force near you sooner or later. Story snapshot: 14 motorcycles on offer. 6 sold 1935 Aston Martin draws the big money The top selling motorcycle lot at Bonhams' recent Les Grandes Marques du Monde au Grand Palais Sale (9th February 2017) was the (immediately) above 2009 990cc Ducati Desmosedici RR which sold for €70,150 (£59,830) including buyers premium. The estimate was €50,000 - €60,000 which the bike (Lot 207) comfortably cleared. Of the 14 motorcycle lots on offer, eight didn't find buyers which represents less than a 50% conversion. However, this wasn't really a motorcycle sale at all. Rather, this was a gathering of Ferraris, Porsches, Bentleys and similar exotica. The bikes were more of a side treat. 
The top selling lot overall was the (immediately) above 1935 Aston Martin Ulster which, we hear, saw four bidders slugging it out until the hammer came down on €2,012,500 (£1,714,730). Regarding the motorcycles, it's hard to draw any performance conclusions, except perhaps to say that of the lots that failed to sell, the market appears to have been against the higher priced bikes. The non-sellers include: 1974 Ducati Formula SS €60,000 - €70,000
1972 Ducati 750 Sport €30,000 - €40,000
1985 Bimota 745 €40,000 - €50,000
1950 Series C Vincent Comet €23,000 - €26,000 That aside, Bonhams is said to be pleased with the overall results. But puzzlingly, the firm hasn't released details of the overall turnover at the sale. We checked around for the information we wanted, but at the time of writing this news item, that information wasn't forthcoming. However, we can tell you that in 2013 Bonhams turned over £13million at this venue. In 2014, that rose to £17 million. For 2015, the only figure we can find is €21.5million. However, the Euro-Sterling exchange rate has since shifted, so we can't easily make the conversion. In the meantime, we're looking into this and will talk to Bonhams. Check here for more on Bonhams' recent sales www.bonhams.com
Update: Bonhams has since sent us information regarding the overall turnover (bikes, cars & automobilia) at the Grandes Marques du Monde Sale in Paris. February 2015: £16,396, 866 (€21,915,085) February 2016: £8,318,465 (€10,860,324) February 2017: £12, 966,546 (€15,238,625) Story snapshot: Hard & soft luggage kits for the Triumph Bonneville T120 Choose from the Dolomiti or Metro-T range
Owners of 2016 Triumph T120s looking for quality touring equipment can talk to Givi dealers and ask about the firm's new luggage racks and fixing systems for hard cases and side bags. The Italian manufacturer, founded by ex-GP racer Giuseppe Visenzi and which currently employs around 500 staff, is also offering a new Race Café screen mounting kit and engine guards. 
T120 Bonnie owners can select luggage components from the established aluminium Dolomiti or thermoformed Metro-T ranges (featuring a new Multilock system). We haven't seen any prices yet, so talk to your local motorcycle spares and accessories shop and point them at Givi. www.givi.it Story snapshot: Parking app for automotive bounty hunters Smaller firms to benefit from new self-policing initiative Did you hear the one about the private car parking enforcement firm that's paying a £10 bounty for snapshots of illegally parked vehicles? Well the punchline is that it's no joke. The firm is UK Car Park Management (UK CPM). This outfit looks after parking acreage for firms such as Tesco and other nationally established companies. The idea is that you, as a smaller business person with land to defend, first sign a deal with UK CPM. Then you download a new parking app on your smartphone. Then you get out there on the ground and do your own policing. When you catch a miscreant misappropriating your turf, you take a snapshot of the offending vehicle complete with vehicle registration number, and fire it off to UK CPM. A quick check on the DVLA database will (probably) reveal the name and address of the offender. The offender gets a £100 parking ticket in the mail (with a reduced rate of £60 if paid within two weeks), and you get a tenner. 
▲ iTicket is one of many rivals to i-ticket. And it can only be a matter of time before we see i-Fraud, i-Ripoff, i-Scam, and similar. But beyond the immediate parking issue, there's the matter of the DVLA selling driver details to private parking firms. Do we really trust any of these guys? However, it's not clear if you get the tenner regardless of whether or not UK CPM wheedles the money from the offender. But most vehicle owners are indeed on the national database, so the chances are that the system works reasonably effectively. UK CPM calls the app "i-ticket". But we think they missed an opportunity by not calling it "i-snitch" or "i-gotcha". That's got a better ring to it. But is it fair on the poor driver or rider who really had nowhere else to park and needed to block or borrow a piece of your driveway, access road, slipway or whatever? Hankies out, everyone. Naturally, there will be a few schools of thought on this. But generally, we figure that most people will feel that if you can't do the time, don't do the crime. We also figure that human nature, being what it is, will sooner or later land a fist in your gob for your perseverance. And that remedial dental work could work out a lot more costly than ten quid. Beyond that, we can also see a few opportunities here for some serious abuse of the system. Fortunately, it's not our problem. We're currently living way off the grid. But if you're faced with repeated territorial invasions, CPM just might have the solution. And if you don't fancy these guys, there are a few other players out there hoping to milk this cash cow. www.ukparkingcontrol.com Story snapshot: Traditional market set to open in New Road Tip: parking enforcement in the area can be fierce This is one of those fringe stories that barely made it onto Sump's classic bike news page. Why? Because the interest here is tenuous. Nevertheless, this snippet will no doubt appeal to some of you Sumpsters, so here goes... There's a new vintage market waiting to open on 11th March 2017 in New Road, Brighton. If you're familiar with "The Lanes", the Brighton area famous for the numerous antique, alternative and simply weird shops, you'll have some idea what to expect. Think Covent Garden or Camden Town. Think scented candles, T-shirts, vinyl records, and plenty of dodgy repro tat from the Far East. New Road is a little further south and east and just a minute or so walking distance away from The Lanes. We're advised that the new market is "bringing you a brand new vintage throughout the year ... with the traditional market vibe of Brighton .... with beautiful vintage & antique stalls and much more." We've cut and pasted the above marketing hype, but it might be worth checking out if you're in the area or fancy a trip to Brighton. Expect bric-a-brac stalls, artworks, old furniture, repro stuff. You get the idea. We get down there as often as possible. Plenty of other bikers make the same trip, and every now and again something interesting turns up that might look good in the garage or hanging on your living room wall. Brighton's cool. Story snapshot: Draganfly adds 4,500 Triumph spares lines to its shelves Leicestershire-based Supreme has closed after 50 years Half a century. That's how long Supreme Motorcycles has been in bike business. Run by Heather Hallam, Dave Hallam & Dave Colley the Leicestershire-based firm built a name and reputation selling Triumph and BSA spares. But that's all over now that Draganfly Motorcycles of Bungay, Suffolk has bought the name, lock, stock and barrel. Or barrels.  Draganfly has made its name and reputation selling Ariel, BSA, Burman and Amal spares. The company is now clearing shelf space for Supreme's stock of post-war pre-unit and unit Triumph twin parts.
The Supreme website has gone. The phones have been switched. Erstwhile Supreme customers are therefore cordially invited to talk to the men at Draganfly. Just don't call on a Saturday, however, because on the traditionally busiest day of the motorcycling week, Draganfly is closed. So why did Supreme close? We don't know for sure. These things are usually the result of various reasons. But we are advised that retirement has something to do with it. Early February, which is about now, is the start date for the new diversion. Telephone Draganfly on: +44 (0) 1986 894798 Website: www.draganfly.co.uk Story snapshot: New lightweight goggles for low-profile Davida lids £32.20 plus VAT  Davida has sent us details of a new, lightweight pair of goggles aimed specifically at owners of the low profile Davida Speedster V3 and Ninety 2 lids, but will also suit other Jet style helmets. The goggles are manufactured from 0.8mm-thick LEXAN® polycarbonate. They've got an anti-fog & scratch resistant coating, and they offer 380 UV protection.
The general idea is that you get a very snug, windproof fit with vents to keep the goggles mist-free, plus plenty of peripheral vision to help keep you alive. And to ensure the goggles stay put, there's a trio of silicon grippy thingies around the strap that, we hear, is kind to the helmet's paintwork. The goggles are supplied with a protective bag, and replacement lenses are available. Choose from: Clear, Yellow, Smoke, Smoke Silver Mirror and Smoke Red Revo Mirror. The price for the goggles is £32.20 excluding VAT. The price for the replacement lenses ranges from around seven quid to around twelve quid, also ex VAT. www.davida-helmets.com Story snapshot: Cool bobber T-shirt is back in stock Black only, £19.99 plus postage & packing Late last year we printed a limited run of T-shirts with this design and totally underestimated the demand. So we ordered another batch. But in between, we received a number of emails asking if the tee was available on a black shirt (as opposed to the original grey). It seemed a reasonable enough request, and we decided it looked a whole lot better on black anyway. So here we are. We're expecting them to sell fast. So if you want one, be quick. The price is £19.99 plus P&P. Sizes are S, M, L, XL, and 2XL. We can, for a while, order larger or smaller sizes. They'll take a few days extra. And if we run out or something, we'll let you know pronto. EAT SLEEP RIDE REPEAT 
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