November 2015

AMCA EUROPEAN CHAPTER NEWSLETTER
November 2015
Hello AMCA Europe Members,
This month we have a report on the Irish Rally from Juris
Ramba our Latvian representative, then news on the big
Mannheim Meet that closes out the European season,
plus more craziness at the recent Bonhams auction in
the UK.
Irish Rally
“This August a team from Latvia with three British bikes
attended the best and most challenging old motorcycle
event in Europe, if not the whole planet – it is the Irish
National Rally. We had to cover 900 km in five days in
th
this 49 event. There were 181 participating motorcycles
in this event, based on the Castle Ross hotel in Killarney
where we had breakfasts, with lunches and dinners
every day served at the route destinations.
The three flat tank motorcycles from Latvia were a 1913
Rex/JAP De Luxe, a 1926 Norton Model 25, and a 1928
AJS Model K3. The trip to Ireland and back was nearly
6000 km in a specially adapted truck, and we thoroughly
enjoyed the rally and the road run, despite the rain,
rough roads, and various technical problems which were
fixed then and there – sometimes using soft steel wire
and imagination.
The riders of younger machinery cannot even imagine
what it was like to handle the rough roads and steep
gradients with a 102 year old motorcycle! The Rex/JAP
endured the ordeal and it still holds compression well,
despite the poor ethanol petrol I had to put in the tank.
The tank leaked on Day 5 in the very end, so I had to get
out the Wassell coating and slosh it.
I had a few near misses, but was lucky this time again. A
stray stupid dog appeared from the blue and nearly
brought me down, - I hit his ass with a footboard and he
limped away happy to be alive. I was as happy as the
dog that our encounter ended without dire
consequences to both of us…I could not have braked or
fully avoided the dog due to its sudden appearance on
my way.
Then on Day 2 the valve from the rear wheel was pulled
out, maybe because of much oil on the rim, lower
pressure, hard braking and going fast. The clincher tyre
came off on one side, but I managed to stop without
damage to the bike or myself. It was the expensive
Dunlop 26”x2 1/2” at £240 so there was no serious
damage to it. I was out of riding for half a day – it took
me three hours to get the wheel in and out as it has the
hub gear and all those levers and joints. This time I put
in a modern heavy duty Michelin Motocross tube which
is very thick and really heavy duty, should withstand
anything…
Then the rear mudguard on my Rex/JAP decided that it
has had enough and the two screws holding it in front
against the frame lost their nuts because of excessive
vibration (those should have been wired with nuts like on
the petrol tank to begin with!) yet the screws were kept
from falling out by the rotating tyre, one of the screw
heads machined a nice groove between the two blocks
of the rear tyre, but the depth of machining did not reach
the cords or the tube! The rear wheel was blocked solid
in the process and I was wondering what was happening
and where did that noise come from…I of course carried
a roll of soft steel wire and soon the problem was fixed
on the roadside with two wire loops on each side of the
mudguard, both turned and tightened so that the
mudguard was kept in place.
So many lessons were learnt again from the run and
these would add to my veteran riding experience.
Then with some torrential rain coming down on us the
Bosch ZEV1 magneto decided to quit and there were no
sparks anymore. I had already adjusted the spark plug
gaps which had grown from 0.5 mm to nearly 0.8 mm in
three days of hard riding. I stopped on the roadside and
called the sweeper van. The rain then stopped and the
sun came out! I took out from my pocket a table tissue
and wiped the HT leads and the magneto pickups: the
spark came back as if nothing had happened! The van
came ten minutes later, but I was ready for the road
again. The lesson from this was to ride in hard rain with
my feet held tight against the tank so that the rain could
not wash the magneto. The heat from the rear cylinder
would dry the little moisture quickly, but the important
thing would be not to let it get really wet.
Another near miss was when I could not brake the speed
sufficiently enough when going downhill after the Priest’s
Leap behind another veteran bike. I had applied both
brakes, the planetary gear with engine braking and was
also praying for best, but the Rex/JAP was still flying too
fast so I was taking corners like in a race! Luckily the guy
in front heard or felt me coming and allowed me free
space to pass…
My son Robert’s Norton Model 25 seized and melted the
piston on Day 2, I think because of several factors acting
at the same time: high compression ratio, low octane
petrol, ethanol, moisture, clogged jet, closed air and also
Robert’s lack of experience. The rear wheel on the
Norton locked solid and Robert was doing speedway like
opposite lock slides, but managed to stay upright till
pulling in the clutch came to his mind. So for the next
day Robert got the loan of an Ariel Red Hunter for the
remaining two days, and that was like riding on a sofa…
Our third man Viesturs was riding a 1928 AJS K3 side
valve and he managed to get second best result for the
timing in his class. I was given best in Class A, the
Restoration Cup from the organisers. We were
presented as a team with a crystal vase and each got a
bottle of Jameson or ‘Paddy Whiskey’ with his prize. The
locals would say this rally would separate the boys from
the men…
This is just a short report as I thought that you would be
interested what beating a 1913 Rex/JAP can withstand. I
must say that that motorcycle, although being 102 years
old, is in fact stronger than me! I had to use two tubes of
Viper Snake ointment on my hands, joints, knees and
muscles to keep me more or less fit for the job. I of
course was lucky not to be brought down on the slippery
roads as that would mean many months of healing as
my blood is not coagulating properly… While clinging to
the handlebars of my old faithful for my dear life’s sake I
could forget about the everyday stresses and problems
back at home. What better way to spend a holiday!
With best wishes,
Juris”
Mannheim Show
This is the Veterama show at the Mannheim fairgrounds
which rounds off the European season for us. This year
was the 40th Anniversary, and the organisers had sent
round a 40 minute DVD in commemoration. Pete
Reeves, Geoff Skilton and I drove down the 450 miles
south east on Thursday 08 November to be there for setup day on Friday. While the thousand vendor spaces
were being filled I managed to find a few trinkets, and
saw numerous AMCA members vending and visiting.
The weather was mild and dry for a change, but
numbers were well down from the 50,000 seen ten years
ago. No photos this time, but another good meet that
passed uneventfully. We were particularly impressed
with Chris Pedryc and his son from Poland, who showed
a beautiful array of well-crafted leather saddles. Our
American readers should be able to buy these with
confidence. Check out www.oldtimerservice.riders.pl or
Email indian56@wp.pl.
More Stuff
Here’s a picture of Country Representative Sandra and
husband Mac in St.Gallen, Switzerland, on 27
September taking part in the Distinguished
Gentlemans Ride to raise money for prostate cancer
research. This year they were among 36,691 riders in
410 cities from 79 countries who have raised $2.18
million so far.
Our friends at FIVA have declared 2016 to be World
Motoring Heritage Year, to reflect their new mission
statement ‘To protect, preserve and promote world
motoring heritage’. As part of this effort they will meet
with manufacturers to discuss authenticity, at Chantilly
France and Amelia Island USA.
Bent Granberg from Norway asked me to mention the
2016 Trondheim Rally. This is a 1200 km loop between
Oslo and Trondheim being held 4-7 June. The video I
saw of the last run showed great scenery and quiet
roads, and I’m sure early booking is recommended.
More details at www.trondhjemridtet.com/67076070.
We have a change in Belgian Country Representative,
with Jean-Paul Piron handing over to Chris Bastiaansen
after 14 years. Jean-Paul has ridden to most of our
Benelux events on his 1950 Harley WL, and I thank him
for his support, as well as Chris for continuing to carry
the torch.
The Bonhams Auction held in conjunction with the
Stafford bike show 17/18 October had some eyewatering prices, which I’ve roughly converted into dollars
for our US readers. First came the Lonati collection of
American bikes, assembled in Italy in relatively recent
times. There were some pretty bikes with a lot of repro
parts, plus the usual early ‘racers’ with gearboxes and
no provenance. Harley pocket valve J models and early
Indian twins were making $25-30k, with a nice 1916
Henderson four at $55k and a 1942 XA fetching $40k.
Two 1928 JDH twin cams fetched $33k and $41k, which
is restrained by US standards, while the same could be
said for a 1946 knucklehead at $38k. The highlight for
me was a restored 1930 Harley V with visible judging
faults at $52k and a 1935 VD apparently with wrong
numbers at $35k. Maybe I’ll yet have that comfortable
retirement I think I deserve.
The next day was more for the European and Japanese
bikes, demonstrating again that there is always one
more Manx Norton or one more Vincent to find out there.
A 1938 Vincent Series A twin fetched $193k, with a 1971
Munch Mammoth needing $130k to take it away. For us
mortals, 1968 and 1970 Kawasaki Mach III bikes made
$13k and $15k as they continue to rise in popularity. The
power of celebrity was shown by a Steve McQueen 1934
Indian Sport Scout fetching $90k – my goodness he
must have had a big bike collection. The guys with deep
pockets were there for the Brough Superiors. The 1937
Olympia Show SS100 made $317k, with two KTOR
engined SS100 basket cases in bits then making $360k
and $394k, yowsers! A Zenith JTOR engine made $38k,
and I wonder where that will end up. A 1940 Ariel
Square Four went for $43k, with a 1948 model fetching
$29k and a 1951 project $10k. Perhaps these bikes are
finally getting the recognition they deserve, leaving just
the Danish Nimbus 750 cc bikes as the last low cost
entry to four cylinder motoring.
The main US and European bike events are listed
below. I’ll be at Oley again next year, and paying a
return visit to Wauseon as the Harley VL is the featured
bike. Most important is our own European Meet at
Raalte at the end of May. The on-site hotel is filling up
quickly, so go to our Website at www.amca-europe.eu
and follow the links for more information and to make a
booking.
2016 AMCA Events
February 26-27 Omaha Chapter, Fremont, NE
March 4-5 Sunshine Chapter, New Smyrna Beach, FL
April 22-23 Perkiomen Chapter, Oley, PA
May 20-22 Southern National, Denton, NC
May 27-29 AMCA Lucas Oil Vintage Motorcycle
Classic, Birmingham, AL
Netherlands
Aug 13-15 Old Timers Rally, Den Haag. Fiftieth
anniversary of this meet for pre-1966 American
motorcycles. www.hdctheoldtimers.nl
Sep 02-04. Alemite Run, Beuningen. www.alemitemotoren.nl.
Norway
June 04-07. Oslo/Trondheim Rally.
www.trondhjemridtet.com/67076070
May 27-29 European Chapter, Raalte, Netherlands
June 10-12 Viking Chapter, St. Paul, MN
June 17-18 Fort Sutter Chapter, Dixon, CA
July 1-2 (Tentative) Rhinebeck National, Rhinebeck, NY
July 15-17 Wauseon National, Wauseon, OH
Switzerland
Feb 18-21 Swiss Moto/Custom, Zurich www.swissmoto.ch
May 28-29 Swiss Classic World, Luzern
www.swissclassicworld.ch
August 5-7 Yankee Chapter, Hebron, CT
September 30–Oct 01 Chesapeake Chapter, Jefferson,
PA
2016 AMCA National Road Runs
United Kingdom
Mar 20. Pioneer Run, Epsom Downs to Brighton. 370
pre-1915 motorcycles
April 23-24. Stafford show and auction
June 1-3 Phoenix Road Runner Chapter, Kanab, UT
September 6-8 Roosevelt Chapter, Detroit Lakes, MN
September 25-28 Blue Ridge Chapter, Ashville, NC
October 3-5 Sunflower Chapter, Junction City, KS
June 19. Banbury Run, 600+ pre-1931 motorcycles
Sep 02-04 Beaulieu/Netley Marsh, two biggest UK swap
meets, near Southampton
Oct 15-16. Stafford show and auction
Other 2016 Events
Germany
Jan 29-31 Motorrad Bodensee, Friedrichshafen
Mar 17-20 Retro Classics, Stuttgart
Apr 01-03 Veterama, Hockenheim. Big spring swap
meet.
Oct 07-09, Veterama, Mannheim. Biggest European
swap meet. www.veterama.de.
Italy
Jan 22-24 Motorbike Expo, Verona
www.motorbikeexpo.it
Mar 11-13 Harley and Snow Hillclimb, Ridnaun
www.harley.bz.it/de/harley-snow
European Chapter Directors 2015/16
Steve Slocombe*, President, amcaeurope@aol.com
57 Wear Bay Road, Folkestone CT19 6PU, England.
+44.1303.256266.
Vice President, Adri van Groningen, adrivang@tiscali.nl
Martin van Kuijk, Treasurer, amcaeurope@gmail.com
Peter Reeves, Assistant Chief Judge,
peter.reeves@virgin.net
Jan van der Werff*, Director, jan.vander.werff@hetnet.nl
Chris Bastiaansen*, Director,
chrisbastiaansen@hotmail.com
Paul Jung, Director, pjung@wwag.com
Country Representatives
In addition to those Directors marked with asterisks (*)
above, we also have the following country
representatives:
Denmark. Michael Pedersen,
michael_pedersen76@hotmail.com.
Finland. Fiskis Ekman, fiskis@kolumbus.fi
France. Stuart Graham, harleyman3@wanadoo.fr
Germany. Claudia Krause, amca.europe@aol.de
Latvia. Juris Ramba, ramoto1992@gmail.com
Spain. Enrique Castells, e_castells@yahoo.es
Sweden. Stefan Olovsson, stefan.indian@telia.com
Switzerland. Sandra Froehlich, sandra@mcsands.ch
Bobbers. Paul Jung, pjung@wwag.com
Please volunteer if you would like to be representative
for a country not mentioned. You just need to know what
bike-related events take place in your country, and
answer occasional Email questions.
Don’t forget to renew your subscriptions at
www.antiquemotorcycle.org
And keep me up to date if you change Email address.
The next newsletter will probably be in February. Please
continue to let me have your contributions.
Wishing you happy holidays, safe and happy riding, and
best regards,
Steve Slocombe,
President AMCA European Chapter