Story snapshot: Mecum Auctions will be wielding the hammer Everything must go including patents and trademarks There was a time when you were pretty much either a diehard Harley-Davidson rider, an Indian rider or an Excelsior-Henderson rider. These were the big three firms in American motorcycle manufacturing, and for a decade or two in the teens and twenties of the 1900s they slugged it our ruthlessly, each vying for dominance if not mere survival. Wherever there was a track or just a patch of dirt, the companies raced. Wherever it was cost-effective to do so, they promoted heavily. They shrewdly pressurised dealers into pushing their stock. They artfully wooed the general public. And they each flogged bikes by the thousand. They were serious players. All three firms had their quirks, strengths and weaknesses, and each introduced innovations that kept the competition sizzling hot. And then came the Great Depression, and suddenly things were different. Harley-Davidson survived. Indian too. Excelsior-Henderson didn't. 
▲ Excelsior Model 15-3 Three Speed for 1912. Yours for $275. George T Robie founded Excelsior in 1907. More accurately, the firm was called the Excelsior Motor & Manufacturing Company. It was a spin-off from Robie's Excelsior Supply Company of 1876 which sold parts for sewing machines. Following his premature death, Robie's son, Frederick, took over the business (actually, a number of businesses in the firm's portfolio). Subsequently there came the launch of a 500cc IOE (inlet-over-exhaust)single that retailed for a competitive $185 and proved to be both reliable and durable. That led to a 1,000cc V-twin engine of the firm's own design that threw down a highly provocative gauntlet to H-D and Indian. Excelsior, after all, had entered three bikes in the (then famous) 150 mile Chicago-Kokomo Reliability Run of 1908. The bikes achieved perfect scores, and they consolidated the success with significantly increased motorcycle sales. In 1910 Excelsior introduced an 820cc IOE V-twin priced at around £185. The following year (1911) a larger, improved 1,000cc V-twin arrived. This bike featured mechanical valves (as opposed to an IOE intake whereby the inlet is operated by engine suction). The price was a fairly hefty $310. But that was soon dropped to $250 in the face of intensified pricing competition from the US automobile manufacturers. By 1911, the company was in some trouble. There were large debts accruing, and other corporate divisions were losing their way. Enter Ignaz Schwinn, the man most closely associated with Excelsior-Henderson. Schwinn, a German émigré, had made his name in bicycle manufacture. He was looking to enter the motorcycle world. The Schwinn company had designed a creditable shaft-drive parallel twin engine, but Excelsior was an established marque with sound products albeit in need of investment capital. Ignaz Schwinn had that capital and, more importantly, he had ambition and vision. He paid $500,000 for the company (which included other assets), and he decided to shelve his parallel twin design in favour of Excelsior production machines. Very soon he owned what was claimed to be the largest motorcycle manufacturing plant in the world. That same year (1911) the famous X logo appeared on the fuel tanks of Excelsior bikes. 
▲ 1931 Excelsior Super X. This was the first 750cc (45-cubic inch) American motorcycle. It was also Excelsior's most popular model. Excelsior was doing well. It launched a large range of singles and twins, many of them racers. In 1917 Ignaz Schwinn bought the Henderson brand thereby creating Excelsior-Henderson. The Super X arrived in 1925. The company was collecting wins and setting records everywhere, and it soon introduced a 750cc (45-cubic inch) class that set the tone and pace for rival capacity machines from Indian and Harley-Davidson. It was a good time for the US motorcycle industry right up to the Wall Street Crash of 1929 when pretty much everything collapsed. Harley-Davidson reacted swiftly. It forged new alliances with partners in Japan and licensed many of its products. It was painful, but the firm survived. Meanwhile, the famous Du Pont family, which owned Indian, was unwilling or unable (or both) to admit defeat. They threw a bucket of money at loss-leading Indian and kept it afloat right up to 1953. But Ignaz Schwinn was content to tip his king and retire gracefully. He still had his bicycle empire, and he had many other commercial interests to keep him occupied. Motorcycles, he reasoned, would be in long term decline—and up to a point he was perfectly correct. There simply wasn't sufficient room in the US market for three big firms plus a huge automobile industry. The firm was wound up in 1931. 
▲ 1999 Excelsior Super X. Did the company take the retro theme a little too far? Buyers certainly weren't crazy about the odd front fork design, and they were generally not persuaded that the future was viable. Around 2,000 bikes were built. Excelsior revival In the early 1990s, Minnesota-based entrepreneur and motorcycle enthusiast Daniel Hanlon drafted an ambitious plan to re-launch the Excelsior brand. Backed by UK firm Weslake Engineering, a new 4-valve, 1,386cc, 93mm x 102mm, 50-degree, air-cooled V-twin was created. With its dual overhead cams, fuel-injected engine, 5-speeds and belt final drive, the 670lb (304kg) heavyweight cruiser came onto the market priced at around $19,000. Around 2,000 Super-X bikes were manufactured in the late 1990s, some of which arrived in the UK and elsewhere looking for buyers. But whilst many potential customers enjoyed the resurgence of the Excelsior-Henderson brand, the bike designers simply hadn't mixed the right formula and didn't have sufficient gravitas to woo the conservative cruiser market. If there had been more investment money, and therefore more time, maybe Hanlon could have secured a viable beach head on this hotly contested sector. But the long term plan simply didn't achieve its goals. However, it needs to be mentioned that Hanlon did exceptionally well to get as far as he did. Mecum Auctions is now offering the entire Excelsior-Henderson brand for sale. Included in the deal are 10 federally registered trademarks, various web domains, previous motorcycle frame and engine designs, plus 18 expired patents that can only be effectively exploited by the new owner of the marque. The sale will take place on Saturday 27th January 2018 at the 27th Annual  Mecum Las Vegas Motorcycle Auction at the South Point Hotel and Casino. No estimate has been listed, and we haven't got a clue how much this brand is worth in terms of hard cash. But it terms of history and prestige, you can pretty much name your own price. Someone probably will. www.mecum.com Story snapshot: The world famous waxed cotton jackets have come home UK Billionaire Jim Ratcliffe has bought the name and rights So okay, the Belstaff brand was always British—in spirit if not in law, commercial or otherwise. The company was founded in 1924 by Eli Belovitch and his son-in-law Harry Grosberg. Not exactly classic English names, but let's not go there. That was in Stoke on Trent, Staffordshire, incidentally. The name "Belstaff" is a combination of "Bel" as in "Belovitch" and "Staff" from "Staffordshire."  For decades, Belstaff—which was the first to use wax cotton for dedicated motorcycle clothing—was a workaday product worn by everyone from ordinary bikers to celebrity motorcyclists such as Steve McQueen and Bud Ekins. Belstaff also manufactured aviator jackets as worn by Amelia Earhart and Amy Johnson.
The Italian Malenotti family bought the Belstaff brand outright in 2004 having been licensees of the trademark since the 1990s. The family went on to purchase the Matchless brand in 2012 and still own it.
In 2011 the Swiss-based Labelux Group acquired Belstaff from the Malenottis and poured large sums of cash into developing the brand and, in doing so, raised its status from grimy greaser gear to fashionable Kensington accessory. Labelux was in turn owned by Jos A Benckiser (JAB), a holding company with more fingers in more pies than Sweeney Todd. The story of JAB is long, complicated, confusing and not particularly exciting unless you're heavily into industrial and commercial history. Suffice to say that JAB ultimately owned Belstaff (via Labelux), and also owned (or had major or minor stakes) in brands such as Reckitt Benckiser, Jimmy Choo, Bally, Mighty Leaf Tea, Coty Inc, Peet’s Coffee & Tea, Caribou Coffee Company, Jacobs Douwe Egberts—and any number of boutique and/or high street brands spread around the globe. 
But as is the way of these avaricious, power-hungry outfits, there's been major restructuring, and as part of the deal, Belstaff has been sold. The guy who bought it, we're pleased to say, is Jim Ratcliffe, the multi-millionaire "eccentric" who recently announced plans to create a new off-roader to replace the now defunct Land Rover Defender which went out of production (shame) in January 2016 (see image immediately above). Jim Ratcliffe—who is a biker (of sorts) and has completed the odd marathon motorcycling jaunt—controls the Ineos Group, a privately owned petro-chemical giant rated at around number 10 in the international league. Ineos also claims to be Britain's largest privately owned company, and Ratcliffe is reckoned to be one of the wealthiest blokes in the country (actually, his £9.8 billion fortune makes him second only to the Hinduja Family at £15.4 billion, or possibly David & Simon Reuben at £15.3 billion depending on whether you accept Forbes' numbers or whether you're listening to a different dickie bird. And if case you were wondering, John Bloor, founder and owner of Hinckley Triumph, is reckoned by Forbes to be around number 50 on the Rich Brits list with a miserable £1billion. 
▲ Jim Ratcliffe, CEO of the Ineos Group. He's filthy rich, indubitably British, loves Land Rovers, rides a motorcycle and has just brought the Belstaff brand back to Blighty. Take whatever comfort you can get from that. Moving on, what will please plenty of British Sumpsters is the fact that James Arthur "Jim" Ratcliffe is very much in favour of backing Britain in every way possible. So what with the likes of him, James Dyson, Richard Branson, John Bloor and plenty of other UK movers and shakers, the post-Brexit future just might not be as bleak as some pundits are predicting. What will now happen to Belstaff remains to be seen. Hard to imagine Ratcliffe downgrading the status and cachet of the brand by flogging 'em  cheap at autojumbles. But we like to think that some kind of economy line might be developed sometime for oiks like us. Might happen. But probably won't... More on the Belstaff Brand, Sump Dec 2012 www.ineos.com Story snapshot: 9th December 2017 is the date 40 bikes have so far been listed Here's a brief reminder that H&H Auctions will soon be holding another sale at the National Motorcycle Museum (NMM). It will take place on 9th December 2017, and that's only about 5 - 6 weeks away. At present, the consignment list isn't all that large, but the firm is still looking for bikes and will be pleased to hear from you at the earliest opportunity, etc. The above 1960 Velocette Venom is already on the list. The bike is said to be unrestored and running, and the original petrol tank, saddle and carburettor is included (it's currently utilising an Amal Mk1 concentric instead of an Amal 376, which is common for Velocette riders).  We ought to point out that we've romanticised the image with a vignette and a VELOCETTE PARKING ONLY sign (used to cover up an ugly window in the bricks) but we left the oil leaks on the ground which may or may not be from the bike.
Velocettes are bikes for purists and engineers, not necessarily in that order. So if, like us, you're a ham-fisted, hammer-wielding feet-and-inches Triumph and BSA man or woman, you might want to look elsewhere for your next motorcycle thrill. On the other hand, if you know how to read a dial test indicator down to a few thousandths of an inch and are prepared to get well acquainted with the foibles of these thoroughbred motorcycles, a sorted Venom on a strip of black asphalt is a treat for the Gods. And the estimate for that Venom? Well H&H is anticipating £6,000 - £7,000 plus a 15-percent buyers premium which includes VAT at 20 percent. That sounds reasonable enough to us. But Velocette prices have long been something of a roller coaster. Keep that in mind if you're thinking about investment rather than riding. Tip: Riding bikes is an investment in the quality of your life, if that doesn't sound too corny [It does - Ed]. 
At the time of writing, we counted 40 motorcycles in the sale. Nothing too dramatic going on there, but a fair collection is gathering. We'll have a closer look at the lots over the next few days and weeks, or visit H&H and see for yourself what's going down. www.handh.co.uk Story snapshot: Bonhams is hoping to sell this "Dogcart" on 3rd November 2017 £200,000 - £250,000 is the estimate The 2017 London to Brighton Run happens on 5th November This 1894 3-1/2hp Santler is said by Bonhams to be the oldest running British car. It's currently powered by a Benz engine, but was originally steam driven, and it's drawn tens of thousands (if not millions) of curious eyes around the world. According to the world famous auctioneers, this piece of 19th century locomotion will sell for around £200,000 - £250,000. Charles Santler (1864-1940) and Walter Santler (1867-1942) were the driving force (no pun intended) behind this 3½hp Santler Dogcart, registration number AB 171. The brothers operated from Malvern, Worcestershire—the same town as legendary British car manufacturer, Morgan, but preceded Morgan by around two decades. The firm, which began in general engineering quickly moved into bicycle manufacture and later into automobiles. The company closed in or around 1922. 
The chassis of this Dogcart is fabricated from angle iron. The bodywork is varnished wood. Suspension is full-elliptic front and rear. Transmission is via belt. The wheel/tiller steering is on the right hand side (British style). The brakes are a single foot-operated band type on the offside front wheel. Hand operated "spoon" brakes control (for want of a better word) the rear. Both wheels are wire spoked; 28-inch at the front, and 40-inch at the rear. The tyres are solid rubber.  Over the past century, this wonderful motor car has been fitted with a variety of powerplants, and for a long spell was minus an engine and needed to be hand pushed at events. The list of owners is as colourful and interesting as the history of the vehicle, each of whom having improved, modified, enhanced or otherwise altered various aspects of the Santler (mostly, if not entirely, with the approval of the Veteran Car Club).
In more recent times, the Santler formed part of a private collection. Two years ago it was bought at auction by the current owner, and it's now looking once more at an auctioneer's hammer. So how realistic is the quarter of a million pound estimate? Well, in 2001 Christie's sold the Dogcart at auction for £146,750, but we can't find a price for when this vehicle was sold two years ago (possibly a private sale). Nevertheless, we'd expect to see a significant increase in the 2001 hammer fall. Consequently, Bonhams is probably right on the money, if not being a little conservative. Meanwhile, the underlying story behind this news item is that the Santler Dogcart will, if desired, lead this year's London to Brighton Run which takes place on 5th November 2017; or Guy Fawkes Night, if you prefer. Bonhams will be selling this Dogcart complete with an agreed entry place in the run (at the front of the queue) courtesy of the organisers. Another 26 early vehicles are going under the same hammer, and that sale will take place on 3rd November at the firm's New Bond Street, London offices. If you haven't witnessed the London to Brighton Run, we highly recommend it. It's got style, substance, a little excitement, shed loads of enthusiasm fallout, a lot of cool and classy veteran automobiles from around the world, some great characters on the move—plus more than a touch of old world Britishness, whatever that means to you. If you're quick, you can perhaps still book a ride on an open-topped Routemaster bus which will ferry you all the way from Queen Elizabeth Gate, Park Lane (adjacent to Hyde Park) to Madeira Drive, Brighton. The cost is £95, and that covers the return journey. Or just take your motorcycle and find a suitable place to stop along the way and watch the cavalcade.  It's not a race, remember. It's a run. The idea is simply to arrive. And need we remind anyone from the biking world to give the entrants a lot of space and plenty of time?
www.bonhams.com www.veterancarrun.com 
Triumph is set to debut a new and "Transformed" Tiger on 7/11/2017
10,000 extra Crash Cards have been printed. Over 2 million worldwide
Yamaha is set to build an "MT-09" Niken leaning 3-wheeler for 2018
Harley-Davidson third quarter profits have fallen. But market share grows
1,051,606 EU 2-wheelers sold in the first 9 months of 2017. 1.6% down
London T-Charge has officially arrived. £10 per day extra for some vehicles
H-D's Battle of the Kings custom Sportster comp is back for a 4th year
New Honda Gold Wing for 2018. It's lighter, leaner and "totally redesigned"
Honda Neo Sports Café concept bike. Launched at the 45th Tokyo Show Story snapshot: The sale marks the end of an era The auction estimate is £5,000 - £8,000 per bike On Saturday 30th September, as reported elsewhere on Sump, the Royal Corp of Signals Motorcycle Display Team, aka "The White Helmets", staged their final performance. Now we hear that six of the T140-based Triumph Bonneville motorcycles used by these legendary motorised showmen are to go under the hammer courtesy of Charterhouse Auctions. It was, of course, inevitable. And even if forming mobile pyramids and jumping through burning hoops was a little passé for most tastes, we wouldn't have minded if the Signallers continued for a few more seasons, if not indefinitely. But time has turned the page, and it's all over bar the auction. The date for the sale is Thursday 16th November 2017. The location is Charterhouse, The Long Street Salerooms, Sherborne, Dorset DT9 3BS. The estimate is £5,000 - £8,000 per bike. Here are a few more details for you to think about: The bikes, have been specially modified with a reinforced front mudguards, no rear suspension, larger rear sprockets and sticky throttles. The Royal Corp of Signals was founded in 1920, but can trace its origins back to 1870. The function of the Signallers was, and is, to handle military communication, which included despatch riding. In a conflict, these guys were usually the first into the breach. The display team was originally called "The Red Devils" (later adopted by the British Army Parachute Regiment Display Team). Later the Signals display team was called "Mad Signals" (allegedly due to poor brakes on their motorcycles). The "White Helmets" name arrived in 1963. Of the 26 bikes in the team, the other 20 have been given away to museums or individuals, or returned to L F Harris Ltd which supplied all the machines and kept them replete with spares. 
If you buy one of these motorcycles, you'll no doubt be getting a well maintained piece of history, and there might be some investment potential there too. But why is the team being disbanded? Apparently, it's because the British military is now firmly wedded to 21st century digital technology and wants to upgrade its image and present a suitable front, meaning that a squad of blokes leaping barrels, riding backward on ladders and careening through the aforementioned burning hoops doesn't fit the modern PR brief. Consequently, we wonder if it's just a matter of time before we see the "White Keyboards" display team engaged in all manner of unlikely daredevil theatrics on a computer screen or mobile phone near us. Meanwhile, we think the British military had better stock up on a few messenger pigeons and old fashioned despatch bikes. When they finally drop the big ones, and/or when the satellites take a tumble, someone's gonna have to break the grim news to the rest of the human race, and low-tech is often the only way to go.
Call: 01935 812277 or email info@charterhouse-auction.com if you've got a message or two of your own to despatch. www.royalsignalsmuseum.co.uk UPDATE: The "project" bikes (incomplete bikes) sold for, £2,700, £4,000
and £4,200. The complete T140s sold for £7800, £9200, £9,800, £10,000 and a very impressive £12,000—the last four machines easily exceeding their top estimate of £8,000. Story snapshot: Meet the Norton boys (and girls) at the Ardingly Show, West Sussex Sunday 29th October 2017 is the day. Get ready.... If you remember when the 745cc Norton Commando was launched, you'd better sit down and check if it's time for another of your pills. Why? Because the first bikes rolled off the production line at Plumstead, South London five decades ago, and after that many years in the saddle or on the sofa, a man (or woman) is probably feeling the weight of the years. Elk Promotions, meanwhile, isn't merely thinking about this august anniversary. Julie Diplock, who runs the company and organises numerous classic bike shows throughout the year, will be marking the moment with a 50 YEARS OF THE COMMANDO day at Ardingly, West Sussex on Sunday 29th October 2017. Guest of honour is the near-legendary Peter Williams, racer and development engineer who probably knows as much about the Commando as anyone alive, if not more. That's him immediately above pictured with a 1972 Type John Player Norton. 
▲ 1973 Norton Commando S-Type (picture by Keith Fryer). These bikes, unlike most of us, have aged well and look better every year. You can't see it well in the picture, but there's some serious metal flake in that paint. Other Norton luminaries include brothers Bill & Bob Cakebread (Norton Design Office), several factory road testers and other Norton employees, all of whom will be on hand and happy to put faces to the names that many of us have heard about and talked about, but have never met. On the day there will also be two Fire-Up sessions giving everyone a chance to hear the legendary Peter Williams’ JPN Monocoque, the Thruxton Commando and other evocative examples of one of the greatest motorcycles every produced in these sceptred isles. Here's the timetable:
10:30 Outside Queens Jubilee Show Hall (QJH): Bikes Fire-up: 1973 JPN Monocoque Commando, 1974 Space Frame Commando, genuine Thruxton Commando et al.
11:30 Stockmans Building: Q&A session with Peter Williams, Mike Braid and former Norton employees & friends (Les Apps, Bill Brooker, Bill Cakebread, Bob Cakebread, Nick Hyde, Alan Jones, Richard Peckett & Ron Lewis).
12:30 Light buffet lunch Stockmans Building for the above, plus guests.
13:30 Outside QJH Show Hall: Bikes Fire-up.
14:30 QJH Show Hall: Prize giving.
Our advice? Go press some flesh with these people before they (or you) pop off the perch. Gatherings such as these are getting thinner every year, and when you're relaxing in the hereafter, it will give you something to talk about with yer mates. Beyond that, Ardingly is a great show in its own right. It takes place at the South of England Showground, Ardingly, West Sussex, RH17 6TL. The focus is on pre-1980 motorcycles, with most of the action under cover. Expect clubs stands, trade stall, bikes on display, refreshments, a helmet park (courtesy of the Royal British Legion), and a free-to-private-vendors  BikeMart, and somewhere free to park your wheels (be they two or four). Check Sump events page for more details, then make your way in an orderly fashion if you please, to Ardingly this coming Sunday. And tell 'em Sump sent you. www.elk-promotions.co.uk Story snapshot: 69 years of local Holden manufacture has come to an end But it's not the end for the firm...  It was back in 2013 that we first reported on this sorry tale. Like many people, we were hoping for some kind of reprieve for this great company that was founded in 1856, and has been engineering cars since 1948. But clearly that wasn't to be. Today, 21st October 2017, the final vehicle (a red Commodore) rolled off the Holden production line in Elizabeth, South Australia.
It's not game over for Holden, mind. The firm will continue to import cars and will occupy itself in other automotive areas. But vehicle production is no more, and beyond the immediate impact of factory job losses, it's a sad day for Australia—albeit one that was long expected. The Elizabeth plant opened in 1963. At the height of production (2003 - 2005) 780 vehicles per day were built. In 2005, over 60,000 vehicles were exported, mainly to the Middle East and North America. However, in the last few years that number has been dwindling. And in the past 12 months, just 175 cars were produced daily. 
The workforce has, naturally, also been downsizing. In 2013, when the announcement was made regarding the imminent end of production, there were around 1,750 staff on the payroll. During the intervening four years, around 800 staff retired, or left, or took redundancy packages. Beyond that, thousands of jobs in external service businesses that served Holden are now also gone, or in jeopardy. However, around 700 Holden jobs, we hear, are to remain, many of them in the design and development department which will continue to enjoy a very significant input into the creation of new models that will be built overseas and imported onto the Australian mainland. Meanwhile, not everyone down under is teary-eyed about the factory closure. The Australian government has spent billions in subsidies and "hand outs" to the firm; money that's been hitting the "average" Aussie tax payer hard. A relatively small, but vociferous group of citizens is glad that the Holden local manufacturing era has come to an end and is looking for (but not necessarily expecting) a corresponding drop in federal taxes. Up until 2016, the Ford Motor Company was building cars in Australia. Toyota closed its factory a few weeks ago. Over the decades, many other companies operated vehicle manufacturing plants in Australia including British Leyland, Nissan, Renault, the Rootes Group (Hillman, Singer, Sunbeam, Humber) and Volkswagen. See: Sump Classic Bike News, December 2013 for more on this story News has only just reached us that John Nelson, ex-Meriden Triumph Service Manager and a goldmine of information on both the machines and the firm's commercial machinations died on 23rd September 2017 aged 92. We knew John a little and visited him once or twice at his home in Nottinghamshire where, in a heated garage, he kept his beloved 500cc Triumph that he'd owned for decades. He spent much of his retirement years as a guest speaker for motorcycle clubs and suchlike, and he was for many years the patron of the Triumph Owners' Motor Cycle Club (TOMCC). He also wrote Bonnie: The development history of the Triumph Bonneville, which is pretty much a must-have publication for hardcore Triumph fans.  At his home, he kept many old factory records, company brochures and sundry literature, and he was always "on hand" at the end of his telephone happy to talk to us about the bikes and the business of bikes.
He confessed once that as a young man in the early 1950s and new to Meriden, he found himself "awed and terrified" by the formidable figure of (then) Triumph Supremo Edward Turner—who Nelson described as a great and complex man who he "very much admired". John Nelson's last position at Triumph was Managing Director of the Workers Cooperative. It was a fairly short-lived role, and one that was not really suitable to his talents. Nevertheless, he accepted the position and in doing helped maintain morale and continuity and provided much-need stability during those heady years. We last spoke to John a few years ago when he fielded some questions regarding Triumph production numbers through the 1960s and 1970s. He said that he was slowing down a little now and was not really available for any more speaking engagements, and understandably he sounded a little tired, but not dispirited. Genial, generous, softly spoken and ever the motorcycle enthusiast, he was also a great admirer of John Bloor's Hinckley Triumph and regretted only that Meriden Triumph had failed to bring the company into the 21st century. "The firm had the right ideas and some great engineers," he told us during an interview. "It was only the management that was in question." And how did he enjoy his time at Meriden? "It was wonderful," he said. "Just wonderful." It was at Triumph that he met his wife, June. John Nelson is survived by June, three children, three grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. A funeral will be held at Gedling Crematorium, Nottingham, at 2.30pm on 30th October 2017. www.tomcc.org Story snapshot: Wirral-based helmet manufacturer faces a new future Product to be launched at the November 2017 EICMA Show Davida has produced a "teaser video" suggesting that the Wirral, Merseyside-based firm is about to launch its first full-face crash helmet. By definition, teasers don't give much away, and this strip of digital celluloid is showing little more than Alan Birtwistle (British Dirt Track Athlete & DTRA Champion) doing the usual unlikely teenage stuff aboard a Honda CFR450 on the mean streets of Birkenhead or Salford or similar. But it looks clear that the helmet on his noggin isn't like anything seen before from the world-famous firm founded in the 1970s by Dave Fiddaman. Being Britain's only and long-established manufacturer of traditional lids (Jets and "pudding basins"), a full-faced crash helmet marks a giant step into the future (or at least into the present) for the company, and we imagine there was years of head scratching, coffee overdosing, serviette scribbling and disturbed sleep before this one got the green light. But we're speculating, of course. We've got no inside track into the machinations of the firm. However, in an age where personal safety is practically a fetish, it seems likely that Davida has nowhere else to go if it wants to continue to grow amid hungry competition, or possibly even stay solvent—and we can imagine one or two other up-to-date biking products slow cooking on the Davida back burner [You're speculating again, dummy - Ed]. 
Regardless, something new and interesting appears to be coming, and Davida will be launching the lid at this year's EICMA Show (Esposizione Internazionale Ciclo Motociclo e Accessori) aka The Milan Show that runs from 7th - 12th November.
But is a full-faced helmet going to dilute the identity and cachet of the firm? We don't think so. Full-faced lids have been around for so long that they're a tradition too. If anything, it's the competition that should be worried. www.davida-helmets.com Story snapshot: Bonhams flogged the bike in 2007 for seventy grand plus change The firm's just sold it again for considerably more...
Auction house Bonhams is sounding pleased and upbeat regarding the results of the firm's sale at Stafford on Sunday 15th October 2017. The top selling lot (Lot 223) was the (immediately) above 1,068cc Henderson Model C Four which achieved £113,500 including premium. The bike was carrying an estimate of £70,000 - £90,000.
Manufactured in 1914, the Henderson's first owner was Frederick Burnett of 11 Grindlay Street, Edinburgh, Scotland. When World War One kicked off, Burnett was posted to Norfolk and took the motorcycle with him. 
In 1960, the bike was still in Burnett's hands, so to speak, albeit stored in an Edinburgh cellar. A Scottish collector named Michael Mutch presently acquired the Henderson and displayed it at the Myreton Motor Museum in East Lothian, Scotland. The following year the motorcycle was entered in a Vintage Run organised by The Perth & District Motor Club where the bike and rider took a Finisher's Award. 
A "sympathetic restoration" followed, and the Henderson was once more displayed at the museum where it stayed for many years. But that's not quite the end of the tale. It seems that US collector Peter Harper bought the bike some time after (no details), and the motorcycle was sold again in San Francisco at the May 2007 Bonhams Sale. The price was $93,600 (£70,382) including premium. Therefore, in the intervening decade the value has increased by £43,118, or roughly £4,300 per annum. Not a bad return for holding onto (and presumably enjoying) a prize example of vintage Americana.  The next owner brought the Henderson back to the UK and later entered it in the 2013 Pioneer Run. That was the last year the bike carried "road tax". We don't have information on who bought the Henderson at Stafford on 15th October 2017. But it would be nice to think that it's going to remain here, ideally in Scotland.
Features of the Henderson includes a Powell & Hanmer acetylene lighting system, a Gloriaphone hand-operated klaxon, a Cowey Engineering Co Ltd 0-80mph speedometer, and a Brooks leather saddle. A large quantity of documents were also provided including a Pioneer Run Certificate, a V5C registration document, various old MOT certificates, and assorted technical literature. The bike has been restored and, following long periods of inactivity, it's been recommissioned. But that restoration, note, was many years ago (in the 1960s as far as we can tell), so it's since acquired a reasonably convincing and appropriate period patina that most people would accept and be happy with (purists look away and be silent, please). Another satisfying result for Bonhams was the 48 piece Ivan 'Millennium Man' Mauger speedway collection which included a 1969 Jawa Model 890 Speedway Racing Motorcycle which sold for £18,400; a 1977 Jawa DOHC four-valve speedway racing motorcycle which hit £17,250; and a 1971 Jawa long-track racing motorcycle which pulled in £9,775. That collection, by the way, is said to have achieved a 100% sell-through rate. The total raised was £140,000, an unspecified amount of which will go to the Speedway Riders Benevolent Fund. Here are some other significant results: 
Lot 228. 1932 Brough Superior 981cc SS80 De Luxe, £107,900. Est: £55,000 - 65,000
Lot 224. 1911 Pierce 688cc Four, £107,900. Est: £80,000-120,000
Lot 225. 1912 Pierce 644cc Model 12 Single, £89,980. Est: £45,000 - 55,000
Lot 204. 1972 MV Agusta 750S, £84,380. Est: £50,000 - 60,000.
Lot 322.1950 Vincent 998cc Series-C Black Shadow, £79,900. Est: £70,000 - 100,000
Lot 244. 1949 Vincent 998cc Series-C Black Shadow, £70,940. Est: £50,000 - 60,000
Lot 236. Ex-Bill Beevers 1955/56 Norton 500cc Manx, £64,220. Est: £30,000 - 35,000 (not to be confused with the 348cc Bill Beevers Norton below)
Lot 222. c.1978 MV Agusta 837cc Monza, £66,460. Est: £35,000 - 45,000
Lot 278. Finally, the ex-works, Jorge Lorenzo, 2007 world championship-winning, 2007 Aprilia 250cc RSW grand-prix racing motorcycle sold for £101,180.
Also price check these more modest lots... 
▲ Lot 131. 1966 650cc Triumph TR6 Trophy. £4,025 including premium. This bike was listed with just two owners from new. Restored. Rebuilt. Hyde 7-plate clutch. Stainless 'guards and spokes. Boyer ignition. 
▲ Lot 251. 1988 Peraves Ecomobile. Tandem seating. Kevlar bodywork. BMW K100 engine. "Geared for 150mph, and smoothest at 100 - 120mph." The hammer came down at £11,500. Premium is included. This is the motorcycling future that never was. Yet. 
▲ Lot 216. 1963 348cc BSA B40. Running condition with Netherland registration papers, this little Beeza fetched £2,990 including premium. Not original, but looks like a decent little rider's bike. 
▲ Lot 118. 1956 Triumph 197cc Tiger Cub. £4,025 including premium. Nice little Trumpet shows that Cub prices are holding reasonably well.
Beyond the very respectable Henderson sale, Bonhams is claiming a 95% conversion rate both with regards to lots shifted and value. The overall turnover was £2,752,416. That compares to £1.6million at Stafford October 2016. And to widen the context, Bonhams turned over £2,132,257 at Stafford in April 2017, and £3,454,501 at Stafford April 2016.
Overall, it looks like Bonhams has plenty to crow about. Over the next few days we'll be analysing the sale further. Check back to see what updates we have, if any.
www.bonhams.com UPDATE: Here are a few more results from this sale. We originally posted these lots on a now defunct Sump page, but we wanted to retain the information for reference purposes. 
Vincent Series
'C' Comet Preview lot. Same owner for 24 years,1950
Registration no. HRK939 Frame no. RC/1/5461 Engine no. F5AB/2A/3561
Estimate: £18,000 - £20,000
€20,000 - €23,000
$24,000 - $27,000 UPDATE: The Comet sold for £19,550
Scott 596cc
TT Replica Preview lot. 1929 Estimate: £6,000 - £9,000
€6,800 - €10,000
$8,200 - $12,000 Update: The Scott sold for £5,865
Douglas Dirt-Track Racing Motorcycle Preview lot. 1928. Frame number. TF1128D Engine number. EL1055
Estimate: £8,000 - £12,000
€9,100 - €14,000 Update: The Douglas sold for £9,775
Norton 350cc Model 40 International to Full Manx Specification. 1937. Preview lot. Estimate: £12,000 - £14,000
€14,000 - €16,000
$16,000 - $19,000 UPDATE: The Model 40 sold for £16,100
 Hesketh V1000
Preview lot. 1982
Estimate: £8,000 - £12,000
€9,100 - €14,000 UPDATE: The Hesketh was withdrawn
 Sunbeam S7 Deluxe
Preview lot. 1953
Estimate: £4,500 - £6,500
€5,100 - €7,400 UPDATE: The Sunbeam sold for £7,245 ▲ Bernard (Ben) Noble, third owner of this illustrious hard-boiled 348cc Manx Norton which has seen more action than John Wayne. It's up for sale, and it could be a great bargain. Story snapshot: Dee Atkinson & Harrison are the auctioneers Saturday 4th November 2017 is the date Here's a bike with chequered history, much of it within sight of a chequered flag. It used to belong to Sheffield-born racer Bill Beevers who notched-up 43 TT races between 1933 and 1960 and was awarded 27 replicas (bronze or silver "Finisher's Medals"). Beevers was 55-years old when he fought his last race riding this bike. In his time, he competed in the Lightweight, Junior and Senior TT. In 1936 he rode in the Ulster Grand Prix, and he left his calling card in Belgium, Holland, Brazil and on many other circuits. If there was a major race between the early 1930s and the end of the 1950s, there was a pretty good chance Bill Beevers was in it, and innit to winnit. Eventually the FIM took away Bill Beevers' licence (shame), and he was unable (but perfectly willing) to race. So he opened a motorcycle shop in Firth Park Road in the Page Hall district of Sheffield. There he sold BMW motorcycles and Isetta bubble cars. Later, he became the first motorcycle dealer in the area to take on a Honda franchise. 
▲ Bill Beevers with what looks to us like a Norton International (unless you know better?). In his day, this man was a very serious contender and is fondly remembered by his fans and customers. He later sold bikes and retired to the IOM. Sadly, he's no longer on the circuit. That same year, the British MOT (Ministry of Transport) test was introduced, also known as the "Ten Year Test" due to the fact that most vehicles over ten years old were (then) required to be checked for road-worthiness. Bill Beevers was once again in the vanguard and opened an MOT testing station. He was well known in the locality, not simply for his motorcycle shop and racing successes, but also for the E-Type Jaguar he owned. Sometime after he established the shop, he gave or sold the business to his nephew and retired to the Isle of Man with his wife Lily, or Lilly. Later the business was sold to a non-family member. That business is still trading as an MOT station (and if you know anything else about Bill Beevers, or if you spot an error here, we'd be pleased to know about it and put it right). The next owner of the Norton was Noel Stephenson from the village of Preston, east of Hull. He campaigned the bike in five Manx Grand Prix races between 1961 and 1965. Stephenson retired once (1961), and had his best shot at 12th place (1964). Then came Bernard (Ben) Noble who hailed from Driffield, East Riding of Yorkshire, who bought the bike in 1965 or 1966. Noble had raced a BSA Gold Star in the 1964 Manx Grand Prix but didn't finish. It's said that it was that Goldie that funded the purchase of the Norton. It's also said that Noble was "the first member of the Driffield and District Motor Cycle Club to compete at the TT, and he was given £5 by the club to help with his expenses." 
▲ Bernard (Ben) Noble at the office. We know almost nothing about his racing history, so please clue us in if you're more enlightened. But if there was track, and if he had wheels, he was usually somewhere in the pack. Riding the Manx, Noble competed in dozens of other races at Darley Moor, Cadwell, Oulton Park, Scarborough, Croft, Mallory, Brands Hatch—and, of course, the Island. Naturally, the bike evolved over the years with gearbox changes and even a complete engine switch. Consequently, it's not clear exactly how much of this bike would be recognised by Beevers or Stephenson. So it's a moveable and changeable feast, and buyers will need to factor that into whatever value they place upon these wheels. The bike is being sold exactly as it last raced in 1996 with an 8-inch twin leading shoe front brake, a 7-inch rear brake, both wheels laced to 19-inch rims (with Avon tyres), an 1-3/8th Amal GP carburettor, a metal 5 gallon tank, a spare fibreglass 3-gallon tank and "the distinctive red fairing that Ben always used". 
▲ Ben Noble's lid getting a haircut. Or maybe it's some kind of pre-race check. Or maybe numbers and stickers are being applied. Either way, that lid could be yours for around £15,000 - £20,000, and you'll get a 350cc 1960 Manx Norton chucked in. Also, interested/prospective purchasers will notice the webbing wrapped around the rear frame used to absorb the odd oil leak and so prevent it from coming into contact with the rear tyre. And while we remember, Noble's pudding basin crash helmet will go with the bike. The auction estimate is £15,000 - £20,000 which doesn't sound much for a bike with this much history behind it. But then there's the question of the engine swap. Meanwhile, see the bike immediately below for another auction lot in the same sale that caught our attention. The auction address details for both bikes are down there somewhere. UPDATE: The 350cc Manx Norton sold for £28,000 (on the hammer). It was bought by the The British Motorcycle Charitable Trust and is now on long term loan to the Manx National Heritage and can be seen at the Manx Museum on the Isle of Man.
www.dee-atkinson-harrison.co.uk www.manxnationalheritage.im www.bmct.org Story snapshot: Beeza pre-war single carries a low estimate Would suit a rider from (Kingston upon) Hull
It was manufactured for just a couple of years between 1937 and 1939, and it was hardly the most glamorous model in the BSA range. Nevertheless, the 249cc OHV B21 De Luxe was good, solid, reliable transportation for the working man (or woman) of the day and could haul a rider around at maybe 45 - 50mph—which was a respectable enough velocity in those pre-war, cobblestone, gritty and grimy years.
Originally, the bike was a 3-speed hand change model, and if you know your Beezas, you'll see Val Page's fingerprints all over this piece of everyman engineering. 
This example was registered in Hull (or Kingston upon Hull if you prefer), in the East Riding of Yorkshire. And it appears that the bike has pretty much remained in that locality through to the present day. The registration number is FRH 316, and we don't know if that's original or transferable or non-transferable (but we have our suspicions). In 1940, a certain Sidney Wilson was the registered keeper (or custodian if you prefer). James Wilson took over in 1950; possibly the son of Sidney. The last tax disc on the Beeza dates from 1958. Nothing much is known about the bike for a few decades until a certain Andre Lauet sold the B21 to a certain John Dawson. That was in 1982, and the price was £250. Dawson, we understand, added the bike to his collection, and it's been languishing since then and no doubt hoping to see a little more action on the street before the apocalypse, etc. In unrestored condition, this BSA is said to "appear very complete and original" but prospective buyers will have to do a little snooping and exploring of their own in the usual way. The original RF60 logbook is available, and there's also a V5C on tap. But take note that the frame and engine number are listed the "wrong way around". You can figure out what that means without further explanation. 
▲ In 1937, Valentine Page, one of Britain's greatest motorcycle designers (if not the greatest) was commissioned to revamp BSA's "ageing" range of singles and twins. What followed was a new lightweight B Range and heavyweight M range. 
▲ With a bore of 63.5mm and a stroke of 78.7mm, these sprightly 249cc sports singles gained foot gear change from 1938. Brakes were notional rather that practical, but fuel consumption was a very reasonable 70 - 80mpg in the right hands. Investability? Not great. Riding fun? Lots. If you're a romantic at heart (and most classic bike riders/owners are), and if you live in or around the Hull area, this modest motorcycle will probably have a particular charm and appeal. It looks to us like a perfect oily rag specimen, and we suspect it wouldn't take more than a few afternoons to get it rolling—and the notion of it put-put-putting again around the quaint old cobbled streets of what was once England's greatest fishing ports makes us reach for the Kleenex. One more thing: the bike carries a SUMP: NO RESTORATION order, so don't say you haven't been bloody-well warned. 
It's going to be auctioned by Dee Atkinson & Harrison on Saturday 4th November 2017 at Sledmere House, Sledmere, East Yorkshire which is a Grade 1 listed stately pile roughly 27 miles from the mean streets of Hull. The postcode is YO25 3XG. Interestingly, the estimate is just £600 - £800, so if you can bag it for anywhere near this price, you'll probably have another very nice little toy to play with. We might even put in a bid ourselves. And if we do, and if you outbid us, you're dead.
www.dee-atkinson-harrison.co.uk
UPDATE: There was some question of whether or not this bike was still for sale. Having routinely checked the company website, we noticed that it was no longer listed. But we've since contacted Dee Atkinson & Harrison and have been assured that the BSA B21 is indeed available. It will soon be listed in an online catalogue, we hear. Look for lot number 1020. Story snapshot: 9th December 2017 is the date The National Motorcycle Museum is the venue H&H Auctions has announced the latest entries for the firm's forthcoming sale on 9th December 2017 at the National Motorcycle Museum. The (immediately) above Indian Scout 741 will be on offer with an estimate of £15,000 - £17,000. Indian prices have for some time been all over the place. Actually, most classic bike prices have been all over the place as the quirks of the information age continue to manifest themselves in the most unlikely ways. Nevertheless, in this instance we think H&H's expectations are fairly reasonable (as much as any expectations are reasonable these days). The Scout is an older restoration. It's got matching numbers, is ride-able, and has an Indian Club Dating certificate. 
These 42-degree, 750cc V-twin flatheads produced around 22hp (claimed)and were good for around 85 - 90mph under the right conditions. The US Army took around 30,000 bikes, many of which returned to civvy street post-war and were rebuilt, repainted and redeployed. Today, there are plenty around. Reliability wasn't the 741 Scout's strongest selling point. But the bikes were reasonably nimble, easy to work on, strong general performers, and in their day were riding a high wave of popularity thanks largely to the racing successes of Indian rider Ironman Ed Ktretz (1911 - 1996) who won the first Daytona 200 in 1937 piloting an Indian Sport Scout. Ktretz later worked as an army motorcycle instructor, and when the shooting stopped he founded his own Indian dealership. In 1940, Indian introduced full-skirted fenders which instantly divided the Indian camp—and split public opinion in general. The 1930s had been an age of streamlining, and Indian finally caught the bug and made the full-skirted concept its own. The Scout 741 above, however, features more abbreviated fenders and looks to have been modified in numerous ways, not least with regard to the exhaust system and extra chrome plating. The price new would have been around $390. As an investable motorcycle, we don't see a lot of headroom with this lot. Not at this price, anyway. But Indians are always in demand, and long term the prospects look reasonably good. However, they are fun to ride, have pretty good parts back up, enjoy a good club scene both in the UK and overseas. Other new entries at this sale include the following bikes: 1989 Benelli Sei
Estimate: £16,000 - £18,000
1981 Yamaha XS1100 Combination
Estimate: NO RESERVE
1969 Triumph T120 Bonneville
Estimate: £8,000 - £9,000
c.1977 Honda CB400 F
Estimate: £5,000 - £6,000 www.handh.co.uk 
Story snapshot: Russian main man is now a fashion icon Matchless London gets political with its "Heroes Collection"
Yes, we know; faking-up images of world leaders wearing crash helmets and other items of biking apparel is the other thing you're supposed to grow out of when you're in your teens. But when we heard that Matchless London is soon to be retailing a Putin bomber jacket, we felt compelled to reach for the mouse and open Photoshop.
But why shouldn't the Russian antidote to Donald Trump get himself inside a bomber jacket? When you think about it, there's no reason at all. He's got a million bombers, so he ought to have a jacket to go with them. It's just one of those things that we've never thought about, s'all. So what's the full story to this modern fable?  Well if you can remember as far back as 2010 or 2011, you might recall that the President of the Russian Federation (who was 65-years old on 7th October 2017), joined a Ruskie motorcycle club called the Night Wolves. It was some kind of PR thing that, like pretty much all Putin PR things, looked kinda dumb (but was no dumber than most of the dumb stuff that the other world leaders get up to).
Anyway, riding a three-wheeled Harley-Davidson (not a Ural or a Cossack, take note), Putin sallied forth dressed in a suitably menacing outfit (which looked suspiciously like a Spetsnaz assault suit or something), but was clearly minus a leather jacket. Matchless London, it seems, later caught a whiff of that story, checked with its accountants, and duly created something appropriate for the Russian leader to wear on those long dark, freezing nights with the Wolves. So now we have the Putin bomber jacket (but it's not clear if Vlad the Lad has actually been given one for his wardrobe). 
▲ Vladimir Putin riding with the Night Wolves. To Matchless London he's a modern hero, and millions of Russians agree. Harley-Davidson, however, probably has mixed feelings over this particular Hog ride. Check this www.newsweek.com link for more on this story. Manuele Malenotti, the managing director of Matchless London apparently said (but we're not sure if we can believe it), "Matchless London is famous for its luxury jackets inspired by real and fictitious super heroes—from Marlon Brando to Arnold Schwarzenegger and from Batman to James Bond. "We consider Russian President Vladimir Putin a modern superhero as well, giving personal respect to his strong character, brutal image, sense of humour and calmness as a world leader. As a 65 year old, Putin rides horses, plays ice hockey and practices judo, among other things. This is not the usual routine even for much younger leaders. And yes, he runs Russia, the global super powerhouse." Well there goes a true Putin acolyte (who's conveniently forgotten some of the other things that Mr P gets up to when he's not kicking-ass on his Harley-Davidson). The price for this piece of sycophantic cowhide is £1,286 ($1,699). Matchless London told us that it's made from some new kind of "innovative" leather (we'd tell you more, but who needs a cuppa with polonium-210 instead of sugar cubes, huh?). The jacket is supposedly good for "up to" 40-degrees below, but we reckon that even Iron Man Putin will feel his testicles shrivel long before the thermometer drops that low. If you want one of these jackets, forget Christmas or sooner. It won't be available until January 2018. Matchless London is owned by the Malenotti family who bought the brand and rights in 2012 and had since upset pretty much every Matchless classic bike rider on the planet. Luckily, the founding Collier Brothers died long before they could witness what happened to one of the world's great motorcycle marques. Lucky Hitler ain't still alive, huh? More on the Matchless London brand
Travis Pastrani back-flips a bike on the Thames (but does anyone care?)
Classic Bike Live, East of England Showground reminder. 28-29th/10/17 
Rumble e-bike. Orders now welcomed. 44mph. 50-miles. 3-4 hrs. $3,495
Ujet electric scooter Brussels launch. 28mph. 90 miles. 2 hr charge
Skully crash helmets new ownership. Fresh start? Or tainted brand?
Lonnie Isam Jr, Motorcycle Cannonball Run founder has died: 1969-2017 Story snapshot: September reveals further bad tidings for new UK bike sales Adventure Sport and 651cc to 1,000cc registrations are, however, up It ain't as complicated as our headline might make it sound. So stick around for another minute or two, if you will. The basic story is that new motorcycle sales in the UK are, overall, continuing to decline. But not all manufacturers are on the downward slope, and not all bike categories or engines sizes are off the front burner. For September 2017, total new bike sales are down 23.6 percent when compared to September 2016 where 16,002 bikes were sold. The overall number of new bikes sold last month in the UK was 12,226. That's a drop of 3,776 units. Around 85,000 new motorcycles were sold in the UK between January and the end of September. And September ought to be a good month. Why? Because in more recent years, this is when the home market gets a second registration plate change (March being the first plate change). You might expect to see a mild fluctuation, year to year. But a fall of nearly 4,000 bikes goes way beyond a seasonable blip. So okay, there are other factors affecting the sales figures, such as the recent switch from Euro 3 to Euro 4 emissions standards which led to various issues of supply, demand, overstocking and "pre-registration". Nevertheless, even when you factor in these modifying influences, new UK motorcycle registrations are down again. Honda Motorcycles, however, bucked the trend. The firm was top of the heap with a 9.3 percent growth. Yamaha, meanwhile, flogged fewer bikes in September and saw a 19.5 percent fall. The firm took second place on the new bike sales podium. BMW fell 13.6 percent and took bronze. And Triumph? Well our Anglo-Saxon homeboy came fourth and was down by 21.9 percent. The other September consolation prizes go to Kawasaki, Lexmoto, KTM, Harley-Davidson and Suzuki (pretty much in that order). 
▲ You need to watch stats and block graphs and suchlike. Yamaha's XT1200Z Super Tenere didn't really outsell BMW's R1200GS in September 2017. But looked at more "holistically", this is the UK new bike sales podium for last month. Adventure sport and big bikes are up. Everything else must try harder. Triumph came fourth. But remember, these are just September 2017 numbers. Triumph, for instance, is actually having a great year overall thanks in part to its chronically successful Bonneville range (which includes the new Bobber). It's simply that for this month, for whatever reason, Hinckley saw a sales reduction when compared to the same month last year. It happens. In terms of which bike styles and engine sizes are in vogue, and which are out, only the adventure sports bike market (as championed by the currently all-conquering 998cc Honda Africa Twin) raised its game with 665 bikes sold. Everything else was down. As for engine capacities, the 651cc - 1,000cc sector grew by a modest 1.3 percent.
What does it all mean? Who knows? It just seems to get worse and worse, and we suspect that Brexit (always a convenient whipping boy) has little or nothing to do with it. But the western world is continuing to polarise, and market stability looks a far off dream—and there's been some weird Biblical planetary alignment going on, and no doubt the pundits and economists and religious leaders have other explanations. We're drawing no conclusions.
Yet. But for what it's worth, the UK car market is also down. For September 2017, the drop is 9.3 percent when compared to September 2016. And over the past twelve months, the drop is 3.9 percent. Unsurprisingly perhaps, electric and hybrid car sales are up. Diesel is way down. Petrol is still king. Amen to that. Story snapshot: British Home Secretary's under 18 acid test New legislation to stop people doing bad things
UK Home Secretary Amber Rudd (image immediately above) has devised a cunning way to halt the modern national phenomenon of scooter jacking. Speaking at the recent Conservative Party Annual Conference in Manchester, 54-year old Rudd (MP for Hastings & Rye) has proposed "drastically limiting" the sale of acid to under 18-year olds. Or, looked at another way, 19-year old scooter jackers will still be at liberty to purchase as much acid as they desire, and then hand it over to younger siblings and friends to deploy at will and at leisure.
Of course, the police will correspondingly enjoy new powers to explore the reasons why anyone is carrying acid in public and, if necessary, arrest them for possession of a dangerous substance—never mind that the coppers already have such powers and it hasn't done much prevent the hundreds of acid attacks that have taken place so far in 2017—and we include the revenge attacks usually perpetrated by disgruntled lovers and husbands, the majority of whom are of Asian ethnicity. Once again, the government knee-jerk reaction has focussed upon the method of the crime rather than the underlying problem—which is simply that scooters and motorcycles are easy to locate, easy to steal, easy to hide, and easy to dispose of (in whole if not in parts). Rudd has been quoted as saying, "Acid attacks are absolutely revolting. We have all seen the pictures of victims who never fully recover—endless surgeries, lives ruined. So I am also announcing a new offence, to prevent the sale of acids to under-18s." This, take note, is the same woman who has just announced a clampdown on people repeatedly viewing forbidden jihadist internet site material by threatening them with a proposed 15-year prison term. "I want to make sure those who view despicable terrorist content online, including jihadi websites, far-right propaganda and bomb-making instructions, face the full force of the law.” That, at least, is the quote she's credited with. But we haven't heard it directly. 
▲ As reported in The Indian Express and other newspapers, 200 London delivery riders held an anti-acid attack demo on 18th July 2017. Their messages has clearly reached the right ears, but does the space between those ears really know what to do? We don't think so. All the government now has to do is figure out which substances will be covered by the new laws. Hydrochloric acid is, of course, a given. Ditto for sulphuric acid, nitric acid and phosphoric acid. But then there's acetic acid (in vinegar and ketchup); citric/ascorbic acid (in general cooking); lactic acid (used for making beer and vegan cheese); tartaric acid (used as a leavening agent in baking); and carbonic acid (for soda water, etc). Don't forget tannic acid used in wood stain, and dozens of other noxious alkaline products such as ammonia and caustic soda which have all kinds of "legitimate" domestic uses and which, logically, ought to be covered by the same dubious legislation. And if Rudd can sort that out with a meaningful executive directive that will make sense in front of a judge, then she's a better man than us. Beyond that, there's no point in framing new legislation if the frame can't contain the bigger picture. And that picture is simple: people steal scooters because they can. Fix that problem, and the scooter jacking issue will go away—but the usual scumbags will doubtlessly pop up somewhere else until wider social problems and issues are adequately addressed (poverty, unemployment, overcrowding, religious fundamentalism, multiculturalism, and too much crap on TV, etc).
The moral here? That's simple. When the country is headed to hell in a handcart, there's nothing like a swift knee-jerk reaction to put the world to rights. Are we right? Way ta go, Amber. See also: Classic Bike News August 2017 See also: Acid attacks. What should you do? See also: London scooter acid attack solution ▲ These stats reflect the ongoing sales decline of Bauer Media magazines over a 10 year period. Classic Bike and Ride Magazine are doing best. Practical Sportsbikes was launched in 2012, so the stats show its slide over a 5 year period. See below for the 2016 numbers. Story snapshot: Bauer Media's six biggest bike titles are down again Morton Media steadfastly refuses to have its sales ABC checked UK motorcycle magazine sales are continuing to fall under the weight of the internet steamroller. A decade ago, Motorcycle News (aka MCN) was flogging around 120,000 copies per week. Here at Sump, we can well remember a time when MCN was pushing around 200,000 copies every seven days. More recently, the world famous title has been giving copies away with issues of Classic Bike in an effort to bolster the appeal of both titles and keep advertisers happy. Since 2016, MCN has seen an 11.5% drop (down to 64,278 weekly sales). Bike Magazine, over the same period, has fallen 1.9% (33,740 per month). Performance Bikes is down 9.6% (13,758 per month). Ride is down 2.8% (31,022 per month). Classic Bike is down 9.7% (33,546 per month). Practical Sportsbikes is down 9.3% (18,017 per month). It has to be said that all the titles except Classic Bike and Practical Sportsbikes are claiming matching reader numbers with their digital editions, but we're not sure if there's a reliable way of checking the figures. 
▲ Still no independent stats regarding Darth Mortons' bike magazine and newspaper sales. But our best guess is that the company is also looking at significantly falling print numbers and diminishing returns. Meanwhile, Morton Media is facing similar sales woes and is struggling to keep its number buoyant. But the Horncastle-based empire, which publishes numerous motorcycle titles including Old Bike Mart, The Classic Motorcycle, Classic Bike Guide and (more recently) Back Street Heroes has also been busy giving away copies of its titles (including Old Bike Mart)—all of which it heavily uses to promote the various bike shows and autojumbles owned and managed by the firm. In other words, Mortons desperately needs the maximum number of eyes on its pages to keep the tills ringing, so giving away copies such as Old Bike Mart and Motor Cycle Monthly is a necessary evil. We'd give you exact sales numbers of the titles that are not being given away, except that the Empire still refuses to have its sales checked by the Audit Bureau of Circulation (ABC)—and you can read what you want into that. Certainly, of the Mortons advertisers that we spoke to, many reported significantly reduced responses and sales of products or services. But without further (and unrealistic/uneconomic) analysis, it's impossible to uncover the causes. The falling response claim, take note, was similar with Bauer titles. On the plus side, from an advertiser's point of view, advertising costs in the bike mags and biking newspapers have also fallen over the past decade or so. Magazine production costs, meanwhile, have more or less correspondingly dropped—and pretty much all the print magazines are running with what we'd call skeleton crews. But how long the situation can continue is anyone's guess. We're not suggesting for a moment that print magazines in the biking sector, or any sector, are in terminal decline. But a rationalisation of some kind is undoubtedly coming. Vive le Sump, we say. See: Sump Motorcycle News February 2016 Story snapshot: Emphasis on structural and non-structural issues "Keep dangerous vehicles off the road, "— ABI
Think you know your A, B, C and D? Well think again because it's now A, B, S and N. We're talking about insurance write-off categories which, in order to reflect modern car repair techniques, solutions and problems, are changing.
Currently here's how the old categories apply: Cat A: Write off. Burned, smashed, dropped off a cliff. No usable parts Cat B: Seriously damaged. Some parts may be salvaged Cat C: Major damage, but can be repaired (albeit uneconomically) Cat D: Safe to drive, minor issues, but not economic to repair. Here's how the new categories will apply: A: Scrap
B: Break
S: Structurally damaged repairable
N: Non-structurally damaged repairable Put simply, the A and B categories are pretty much the same as before. The real difference lies in the new S and N categories which are intended to differentiate between structural and non structural issues. For instance, the "old" Cat C could involve a car that's had damage on all four corners (lights, bumpers, panel scratches, bent wheel rim), is not driveable at present, but is otherwise sound enough and worth sorting out. Alternately, you might have been looking at a motorcycle with lots of similar scuffs and panel damage and maybe bent stanchions. Meanwhile, the old Cat D category might have involved a car with superficial damage that would cost more than the value of the vehicle. Ditto for a motorcycle. Often, this category reflects labour costs as opposed to parts costs.  The new S and N categories will now draw a clearer line between "trailer away" and "drive/ride away". In both instances, S and N vehicles will be allowed back on the road subject to the usual inspection.
The Association of British Insurers (ABI) tells us that the aim is to keep "dangerously repaired vehicles" off the road. And apparently, due to the complexity of modern car and motorcycle engineering, "motorised death traps" are becoming an increasing problem. Safety cells are being compromised. Electronic control systems are being bodged. Many modern alloys require specialised welding. And qualified motor engineers are, we're told, in short supply. In short, the days of the back street bodgers are supposedly numbered. Or is this new orthodoxy nothing but a shrewd and timely move by the motor manufacturers intended to at least partly limit the supply of repairable vehicles thereby encouraging more new car and motorcycle sales? Or is that too cynical? You decide.
As with all systems, the A, B, S and N categories are bound to be imperfect with considerable overlap (and maybe even underlap). But broadly speaking, and perhaps unsurprisingly, the motor industry (and we include the motorcycle industry) has welcomed the changes. Meanwhile, it remains to be seen how the insurance companies will handle cover on Cat S and Cat N returnees. Watch this space. "700" anti-bike theft protesters in Bristol. Saturday 30/9/17
White Helmets Display Team held their final show. Saturday 30/9/17
Italian Tacita unveils T-Cruise electric cruiser. 3 models. £8,000 - £21,000
Triumph's £4 million Hinckley visitor centre opens. 5-days a week. Free
Birmingham cops mark with "tickets" unlocked bikes. Wise? Not wise?
KTM knocks £700 from RC125 (now £3,599) and RC390 (£4,399)
Royal Enfield opens £97 million 3rd factory in India. 300,000 bike capacity
Ex-Racer Colin Seeley's Spitfire ride: £2,550. 20mins. Biggin Hill. 19/9/17
Watsonian-Squire reports increased demand for sidecars. Business up
Holeshot Racing's theft near Leeds. Two Hayabusas and van torched
Isle of Man Steam Packet: "4,237 bikes to 2017 Festival/Manx. Up 5.6%"
15,000 Moto Guzzistas flocked to Mandello del Lario factory. Sept 2017
4th Motorcycle Live event at the National Motorcycle Museum. 4/11/17 Story snapshot: 13% drop between 2015 and 2016 Fatalities rise for other road groups and users According to Department for Transport stats, motorcyclist deaths have fallen from 365 in 2015, to 319 in 2016. That's a drop of 13 percent. What makes the stats more significant is that bikers were the only road-going group to show a drop over this period. So what's behind the improved news? Who knows? The increase in vehicle numbers with ABS and traction control might well play a part. Better tyre technology has also perhaps helped. Increased rider awareness is a possibility. And the type of bikes being ridden (cruisers, bobbers, adventure bike, as opposed to sports bikes) might have had a role to play. Or is it simply that over the same period, there were 2% more bikers on the road? This reflects a school of thought which suggests that if you want to make the highways and byways safer for motorcycles, better have more of them scooting about thereby increasing their collective visibility. However, even if that was true in principle, the relatively small increase in numbers would probably make little difference in practice. But you never know. Meanwhile, 319 deaths is still way too many and continues to represent disproportionate losses. But it's the best number since 2006 when the current statistic capturing methodology was established. Here are some more hard numbers between 2015 and 2016: Total UK road fatalities: 1,792 Car passenger fatalities: 816 (up 8%) Pedestrian fatalities: 448 (up 10%) Motorcyclist fatalities: 319 (down 13%) Cyclist fatalities: 102 (up 2%) Other fatalities: 107 (up 4%) Total UK road injured: 24,101 Slightly injured: 155,491 Total UK miles travelled: 324 billion A lot of groups and organisations are claiming credit for the lack of kills. But the truth is likely to be a combination of factors. And consider this if you will; generally speaking, over the past ten years (these latest stats notwithstanding), deaths on UK roads have fallen by 44%—down from 3,172 in 2006 to 1,792 last year.
You may take your hands off the 'bars and put them together for a minute or so in the usual manner, but only if you're stationary, please. Ride defensively. 
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