Look back, move ahead. That's the slogan. We've used this line before for our Triumph 865 T-shirt, and we've already got a Bonneville design tee in the catalogue very similar to this one. What we've done here is to combine the two and create a more "generic" Triumph T-shirt that will suit guys or gals who ride T120/T140 Bonnies, T150/T160 Tridents, 5Ts, 3Ts 6Ts or what have you. But why did we do it? Because a couple of Sumpster's fairly recently emailed and indirectly asked for it, and another Sumpster said something similar about a year ago. [More...] In a world of increasingly lousy telephone service, it's nice to bump into someone (so to speak) who can (a) actually pick up the receiver in a timely manner, (b) speak nicely and politely, (c) listen carefully to the question, (d) offer clear advice and support, and (e) suggest a suitable product at a very agreeable price. We're talking about Tina at Welders Warehouse Ltd in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, the first recipient of the newly created Sump Award for Great Service. [More...] Talk about desperate marketing. Or is it really just very shrewd marketing? You can decide for yourself after you have a gander at Ural's latest scheme to rope in a few more buyers for its increasingly dated looking 749cc flat twin shafties (and, we might add, "increasingly dated" isn't necessarily a bad thing). As you've probably surmised, this outfit is clearly hoping to cash in on the latest Star Wars movie, and it plans to do that by appealing to your dark side. [More...] We've received an interesting email from a guy named Stefano Mangini who's been 28 years in the saddle and is looking for backers for his 21st century motorcycle top box project. It's called Wheelrider, and it's a purpose-built wheeled carrier that you can quickly and safely remove from your bike, pull out a handle, and drag to the airport. Once there, or even en route, you can charge your phone or tablet with a built in solar cell, and this box will apparently fit standard size aircraft luggage lockers. [More...] Classic Bike dealer Andy Tiernan is making us feel old. Just the other day we were running a news item on his 2013 calendar. Earlier this morning we ran a piece about his 2014 offering. A couple of hours ago we were up to 2015. And now we've arrived at two-oh-one-six. That's how it seems anyway; our lives flying by like ... well, like pages falling off a calendar. [More...] It's taken a long time, but Triumph founder Siegfried Bettmann has finally been awarded a blue plaque. Or perhaps we should say a "commemorative" plaque. Why? Because there are numerous "blue plaque" schemes in the UK, and for some people, it's only the English Heritage plaques that count. All the rest are considered ... well, pretenders. But no doubt The Coventry Society, which is behind this particular plaque, would disagree. [More...] Meet 54-year old Urs Urbacher. He's a Swiss drag racer and custom bike builder who's got something or other to do with Project 156 which, we think, involves a new V-twin engine or something from Victory Motorcycles. If we sound vague about this, it's because we've been struggling to untangle the message embedded in a wordy and therefore tedious Victory Motorcycles press release, and we've given up with it. That's pretty normal these days: emails getting dumped into our inbox telling us something about someone who did something or other to something else and ... well, it will be in the shops soon if and when we figure out a price. [More...] Miners, Mills, Mineral Waters and Motorbikes. That's the name of a new exhibition at The Mining Museum in Matlock Bath, Derbyshire. Sounds like an unlikely title for an exhibition. But it might have something to with the convenient alliteration. It could perhaps equally have been Miners, Mills, Mineral Waters and Macaroni. Or Miners, Mills, Mineral Waters and Malapropisms. But motorbikes are more interesting. And anyway, bikes are largely what Matlock Bath is currently famous for. [More...] Eighteen bikes from the MC Collection Motorcycle Museum in Stockholm, Sweden are to be auctioned by Bonhams at its Paris Grand Palais Sale on 4th February 2016. The museum was founded in 1999 by Christer R Christensson and backed by motorcycle historian Ove Johansson (how comes all these foreigners have funny names, huh?). Bonhams reckon that it's the first time the museum has offered any of its collection for sale, which doesn't strike us as a very interesting fact. But you might see it differently. [More...] We've got it into our heads that we've seen this gizmo before someplace, but we can't remember where. Or when. A more basic device was used in the 1957 Robert Mitchum movie, The Enemy Below in which Mitchum is a US destroyer captain playing potentially lethal cat-and-mouse "games" with submarine commander Curt Jurgens. We might have seen it there. Or maybe it was simply in one of those occasional press releases that comes down the wire and gets accidentally deleted. It happens. Except that this new system by Bosch has more to do with the enemy at your side, notably vehicles that creep into your blind spots while your attention is distracted by, say, a particularly foxy female (or whatever) and lurks there waiting for you to carelessly/blithely change lanes or hang a sudden left. [More...] ▲ The "Girl with the diamond tears" gazes uncertainly over DB's shoulder. You can't see her other hand, but we think she's feeling for a pulse. Or maybe a wallet. You have to see this to believe it, and you might not believe it even then. But be warned; if you suffer from asthma, or any disease of the nervous system, or have a heart condition, or have eaten within the last 24 hours, or owe us money, DO NOT VIEW THIS footage. It was uploaded to YouTube in September (2015), but we've only just sobered up and spotted it, so we're treating it as news. It's the most cringe-worthy performance we've seen since ex-Labour leader Neil Kinnock's 1992 "We're alright!" rush of blood to the head moment. It's supposed to be a kind of surreal modernist spaghetti western tale about a cardboard Evel Knievel character, and it's embedded in a promotional vehicle for Belstaff (which, as a clothing brand, is currently about as cool as a warm day in Hades). [More...] It looks better than ever. That's our first impression, and Triumph Motorcycles has way too much at stake to screw this up. So we're convinced that the 2016 Speed Triple will perform better, ride slicker provide more rider feedback and will find itself in the hands and garages of a lot of fans. [More...] Is interest in the late Hollywood actor Steve McQueen ever going to wane? It doesn't seem so. As with the relentless and morbid fascination with Elvis, or the Titanic, or John Lennon, the legend just grows and grows, and there's no end of stuff being dredged from the Atlantic or rediscovered in a cardboard box at Sun Studios or found under a desk at Abbey Road.  Right now it's Steve McQueen's custom built 1952 Chevrolet camper van. Known as "Dust Tite", this vehicle was built by a guy named Harold Van Hoosen. We don't know anything about Van Hoosen, and we wonder if the name is real or a sly play on words ("van" and "Hoosen", like "house"?). Makes you think, huh? But a plaque on the truck reads: Northern Sheet Metal, Yreka, California (ex-gold mining town at the top end of the state).
[More...] 
You don't have to be a Chelsea fan to make a pilgrimage to Stamford Bridge football ground. That's because there are more interesting things going on there than watching a bunch of sweaty and overpaid blokes kick a piece of leather around. [More...] 
His most famous creation was the Batmobile as used in the 1960s Batman TV series featuring Adam West (as the caped crusader) and Burt Ward (as Robin, the Boy Wonder). But there was a lot more than that to top US auto customiser George Barris who has died aged 89 just shy of his 90th birthday. A Chicagoan, he was born George Salapatas, the son of a Greek immigrant. Following the early death of his parents in 1928, George and his brother Sam moved to Los Angeles. From a very early age, the boys were involved in car modification. Their first creation is said to have been a 1925 Buick. [More...] 
The National Motorcycle Museum (courtesy of Carl Fogarty) has just drawn the winning ticket in its April 2015 - October 2015 raffle for a Vincent "Shadowised" Rapide (see Sump May 2015). That bike was won by a guy named Phillip Tingle with ticket number 1574620. We've actually jumped the gun on this and can't tell you from where in the world Phillip Tingle hails (the official announcement isn't until next week, so pretend you haven't read this). [More...] 
These are new from Burton Bike Bits and are suitable for: Royal Enfield 350/500 Bullet
Indian Bullet 350/500 1950-2006
Royal Enfield 500 Twin
Royal Enfield 500 Meteor Minor
Royal Enfield 700 Super Meteor
Royal Enfield 700 Constellation The stock clutch drums are cast iron, whereas these drums are manufactured from a weight-saving aluminium alloy and are a direct replacement—but you'll need to upgrade to splined clutch plates which will give you a smoother clutch action. [More...] 
Led Zeppelin chop? That's what a lot of folk are calling it, anyway. But more accurately, this was the 650cc Triumph T120 chopper that once belonged to Led Zeppelin drummer, John Bonham (31st May 1948 – 25th September 1980). John Bonham died after a prolonged drinking binge. But like a lot of young men during the 1960s and 1970s, he caught the chopper bike bug and bought this one from Burbank Customs in California. In fact, we understand that the other three members of Zeppelin also commissioned Triumph customs from the same source (but we haven't been able to confirm this information). [More...] 
Now rack your brains, good citizens, because this car could have been purloined at any time since 1995. The Hertfordshire Fuzz is said to be seeking information on its whereabouts which by now could be anywhere in the galaxy. It's said to be worth around £1,000. Sounds amusing perhaps, but there are a couple of sad aspects to this tale of modern thievery. The first is that the Ford Motor Company had the temerity to tarnish the hallowed Mustang name with this ugly and emasculated second generation "pony" car. [More...] 
Auction house Bonhams will be flogging a few motorcycles at its 10th December 2015 sale to be held at the Royal Air Force Museum at Hendon, North London. There's nothing to get excited about here. In fact, at present there are just five motorcycle lots. Specifically we're looking at a: 1934 Scott 498cc Flying Squirrel, est: £4,000 - £5,000 (image above) 1926 AJS 350cc Model G6 'Big Port, est: £7,000 - £10,000 (image below)
1953 Triumph 498cc Speed Twin, est: £7,000 - £8,000
1981 Triumph 744cc T140 Bonneville Royal Wedding, est: £4,000 - 6,000
c.1940 Ariel 348cc W/NG, est: £2,500 - £3,500 
There are eleven classic car lots; ten of which are four wheelers, and one of which is a Morgan three-wheeler. Some more lots will possibly be consigned as November passes into December. But that's the position as of today (3rd November 2015). These images are courtesy of Bonhams. 
If you're in the vicinity, the RAF Museum is an afternoon well spent. It ain't Duxford, but it's a more intimate place, and you're not so overwhelmed by the number and scale of the exhibits. [More...] ▲ Hayley Mills and Hywel Bennett. Excellent performances from two of Britain's top actors of the 1960s. McCartney's soundtrack is, in its way, as good as anything the Beatles ever wrote. Well, almost. If you're into classic British movies and classic British motorcycles, you can have both in the 1966 Boulting Brothers' production of The Family Way, the movie version of Bill Naughton's play, All in good time. That's what we'll be watching tonight. Starring Hayley Mills, Hywel Bennett, John Mills, Marjorie Rhodes and Murray Head, this top notch ensemble of British acting talent is ably supported by the likes of Avril Angers, Barry Foster, and Diana Coupland. Set in the early 1960s, and largely filmed in the northern cities of Bolton and Rochdale, The Family Way is a tale of newly married Jenny Piper (Hayley Mills) and Arthur Fitton (Hywel Bennett) who are (ahem) unable to consummate their marriage. [More...] The date will be 7th January 2016. That's when Bonhams will be holding its 8th Annual Las Vegas Sale at Bally's Hotel & Casino in the brightest city on earth (as viewed from space, and not necessarily anything to do with local intellectual prowess—no disrespect intended to the good citizens of Las Vegas). We've been sent some teaser images intended to make us all reach for our wallets. But around here, we're just poor boys and girls. However, we know that some of you Sumpsters have a bob or two stashed in boxes under your beds, so check out these very desirable mo'sickles and see what tickles your carburettor. [More...] These are the bikes that most die-hard Bonneville fans have long awaited; a brand new, built-from-the-ground-up generation of liquid-cooled, DOHC parallel twins with some serious grunt, up-to-the-minute riding enhancement systems, and the classic style that Triumph made its own decades ago. [More...] 
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