British Iron Association Meet at Singletary May 27

The British Iron Association Meet at Singletary Rod & Gun club in Oxford Massachusetts was one of the best yet.  The turnout of  participants spectators was impressive as ever. Oldest bike was a 1914 BSA and the owner even hand the acetylene head lamp lit for the show. A good smattering of all makes and models were present. Many wonderful Nortons filled the field including one that ran a 134 mph at the Loring Timing Association East coast. There was also a 1954 MG TF1500.

This year the BIA moved the exibition area into the the larger vendors area.  Registration was in the same location but the new layout was a more natural gathering. Vendors surrounded the perimeter of the show bikes.  By the end of the day both food and drink were sold out, a first that I can remember.

The Velo community was very well represented this year. Adam Schoolsky from NH brought his 1969 Venom Clubman MkII along with his 1952 BSA B31. Richard Galvin brought out his 1963 Venom Clubman with the Alton conversion. Its starts exceptionally quick, first press of the button. Its a pretty impressive bit of kit and I think Adam was sold after seeing how well it performed.G eoff Hybertson brought out Floyd Garrettt's 1946 MAC along with the two Royal Enfield flying fleas. Great to see the MAC on the field again. Soon Geoff should have MAC back up and running. Mike Suss rode my 1963 MSS as I was on the 1969 Venom Clubman MkII.

Alton electric starter conversion on a Venom!

Velocettes in force! from left to right; Richard Galvin and his 1963 Venom Clubman, Mike Suss  and the 1963 MSS, John Dolber  with a 1969 Venom Clubman MkII, Geoff Hyberton with the 1947 MAC and Adam Schoolsky with a 1969 Venom Clubman MkII

   As the day went on sensory overload once again took hold of my mind. So many great machines to see; AJS, Ariel, cafes, classics, vintage, and racers. The pictures here don't do justice to machines entered. I missed many fine details, it was impossible to take it all in.  Looking forward to the next N.E. event; the BSAOCNE show at Auburn Mass on June 3. I have a feeling that we'll see even more Velos on the field!

May 17 Bike Night at Moto Market

After work on Thursday I thought it would be nice to give my old KRS a short run. She'd been down for the past two years with a bum timing chain tensioner. It seems as BMW K's are into the old classic status....can't seem to get my head around a 'K' being classic;  that the chain tensioner becomes an issue around 80K miles give or take 10k.  in any case, after replacing the offending part a good run is what was needed to instill faith in the old girls performance. So Duncan and I took a run up to Moto Market.  Here are a few pictures from the night.  Tim F. was there with his Mz Silver Star,  Bud C. was sporting his latest Suzuki SV650 (wheres the Aprillia?) Adam S. rode in on his stunning 1952 BSA B31 with rare Roadark panniers in matching paint. A good time was had by all per usual, and had a great thrash back to the shop to put the KRS away for the night.

1995 Mz Saxon Country 500 at Moto Market

Tim and his 1995 Mz Saxon Country 500

On my ride from work tonight I thought maybe to swing by Moto Market in Acton on Rt 119.  They sell coffee and apparel but on Thursday nights they have a bike night which I haven't been to in ages. So with a minor uncharted mini tour of the back road of Maynard I found my self into Acton.  There were quite a few Ducatis, a good selection actually. At first I didn't see anybody that recognized off the bat but with a few minutes after taking off my helmet a really good friend came rolling in on a cool Mz. Tim's surprised look when he saw me makes me think that I need to get out more often. Tim is a cool cat with an eye for some fun fun machines and no fear of using them. And running into him tonight was no different as he was sporting a  1995 Mz Country 500 with the rotax engine.  Not your average dual sport thumper but with a 6 gallon tank and wet weight of somewhere around 370 its a potent tool to get things done.  The only thing bad about this machine is that Tim is looking to find a new home for it. Ugh-   This is a cool little find....  maybe if I can find someone that wants my 1971 Yamaha LS2 and a small shuffle of bikes...   Anyways, Great to see you Tim love the bike.

1995 Mz Saxon Country 500

Unveiling of Hannigan R100RT BMW for Shannon

Back in March on the 10th, fired up the Boxer hot rod for a Saturday run into Northern Massachusetts for the unveiling of good friend's revamped motorcycle. He had just returned from a being stationed in Afganistan and all the while overseas another good friend was rebuilding his bike while awaiting his return. Having not seen Shannon for a year or maybe even two, I was not about to miss this event!
 Great run  through the old local New England routes; no traffic, quite roads, very few stop lights and consistant 50 mph speeds.  Temps were in the low 30's but typical for this time of the year a few flurries in the air.  A good 57 mile run up with a some extra miles added on after over shooting the destination by a few towns. Quick notes jotted down on a scrap paper are still my choice for route log. As long as the basics are there you pretty much can find where you need to be, even if its not where you were going.

Most of my run was on Rt56 of which I've spent many years travelling. This hooks into Rt 68, a new journey for the mind. There are many great things to see; a Llama farm, old jalopy garages looking as if time just stopped around them even a flea maket with old rail cars...  gotta come back to that someday! However, someday was about a half hour later as the flea market with the cool rail cars was next to the road I needed. But this gave me a good survey of the land and roads nearby.

It also gave a reason for another zen run up that way and check out this small bar called the Thirsty Turtle. Really with a name like the Thirsty Turtle one wonders...  If anyone is looking for a journey its on 15 Central St, Baldwinville, MA off Rt68.  its got one review online that says they do lunch and breakfast! If my scrap paper travel logbook wasn't doing its thing I might have never seen this place. No GPS for this traveller, I'd rather be the one to make my wayward decisions of  detour.

So back on track, and while looking for the house I spot Vanagon in someone's yard. Vanagons always get my attention.  Now there is a great zen way to travel. You don't get anywhere fast in one but in a way, you get there in style. Nothing like pulling up to your vacation spot for a few days; pop the top, turn the seats around and setup the table...  the bed is upstairs. Yep, vanagons are styling.

By the time my daydreaming has past so has all the house numbers and the street too.  Time to double back and redo it all.  as I get back near the vanagon again I see Chip in the same driveway as he flags me down.  Evendently they heard me and watched me go on by. Made it just in time for the unveiling of the revamped R100RT.

Chip and others have done a stunning job to the Beemer!The R100RT is dressed up with Shannon's Hannigan fairing and Luftmeister Side panier fuel tanks plus fresh paint Shannon wants to ride, and so do I-  let's go! There's a call out to remind us that there food and a party going on as we pull down the drive and on to the street. We take a rip back out to rt68 to clean, sand free roads.
After we rode a few miles Shannon pulls into a parking lot. He motions for me to give his bike a try With some aprehension I jump on the R100RT. This machine is just way too pristene, scary! The ride back was wow-  sweet smooth and quiet machine! Chip and the guys really had outdone themselves. A short but great ride, awesome to be there with Shannon.


When we got back it was time for more tire kicking and conversation... and FOOD! Its also great to see Chip too and he introduces me to a few more people exceptional greetings, Met Alex, Ken, Craig, Robert, Duncan and others. Too bad I have a terrible mind when it comes to remembering people, its just over whelming the details of so many cool people. It seems Craig is working on a BSA Victor project and is into Norton Commandos 750-850. Ken's wife made some awesome Bean Baritos to boot!

Sadly its time to head back home before it gets too dark and cold. While refueling for the return trip home I thought about the day, this was one of those rides that is as perfect as it gets.

Bud's T500 Suzuki

A good friend bought this Suzuki back in 2004. In was a race bike in its previous life somewhere along the line. His intentions are to convert it back for street use. However complications arose and the project ran dreadfully slow. Around the past fall we got to talking about the old Suzuki and a few weeks later it showed up in my home shop. A bit of thinking but not much was done through the winter but now its on the move.

The current front disk will be converted to a revamped old 4LS Suzuki hub for the aesthetic of it. Then all of the usual road going electrics will need to be added but still retaining the visual appeal of the race fairing and tank. A few other minor things will need to be addressed but hopefully by the end of April she'll be out and about.

Motorcycle Armor algorithm for a 3D Printer Job

It would be wonderful to find a job here in Massachusetts with a company that was designing Armored motorcycle gear that was printed from a 3d printer. They would most likely have to use a scanner of the client's body dimensions, from that point extrapolate the interior of the suit and the exterior of the suit along with hyper extension motion limits imposed upon the flexible plates through a algorithm; using the chemical constructs via nano technology of the 3d Printers substrate to form the lattice order within a Fullerene chemistry algorithm. With all these concepts intertwined, the suit would be light,protective from shock load and abrasion, compression and aerodynamic.

Anybody know of a company like this that needs a experienced motorcyclist with a Natural Science degree and some back round into the arts,sciences, and current3d printer/scanning technologies ? I have a pretty good idea what needs to be done and how...