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Norton Opens First Flagship Showroom

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Norton Opens First Flagship Showroom At The Bike Shed London

Five additional United Kingdom locations will comprise the brand’s early distribution network.

with inputs by Dustin Wheelen from https://www.rideapart.com

Indian automotive giant TVS had acquired Norton Motorcycles in April 2020 after a tumultuous period in the OEM’s history. However, since then this legendary British brand has kept its head down, opening its Solihull factory, hiring a new CEO, and receiving a £100M British Pounds Sterling (~$125M USD) investment in two years’ time.

In October, 2022, Norton started rolling out its 2023 Commando 961. With a firm eager to get its products into riders’ hands, Norton opens its first retail location within London’s The Bike Shed.

“Seeing the Norton brand move from within the four walls of Norton HQ and out into the marketplace is positive on a number of levels,” claimed Norton Chief Commercial Officer Christian Gladwell. “More dealers mean more riders enjoying the results of the hard work and dedication that the entire team at Norton has contributed towards.”

Known as Norton Atelier, this space will showcase Norton’s V4SV superbike alongside the Commando 961. Customers can purchase and/or test ride both models at the Shoreditch Bike Shed chapter.

Norton apparel designed by Savile Row fashion designer Nick Tentis is also available at the new showroom. Tentis’ has also influenced this retail space itself.

“For the first one I wanted to create a space reflecting the history and values of the Norton brand while also creating the perfect environment to display the new clothing collection,” explained Tentis.

Norton will also establish showrooms at Krazy Horse London, Crawley’s P&H Motorcycles, Sheffield’s Via Moto, Bodmin’s Thor Motorcycles, and Cheshire’s Oakmere Motor Group. These locations will offer test rides, maintenance, and parts and accessories.

We can’t wait for this epic brand to expand their global footprint. Let’s hope it does not become a fancy apparel brand like Deus Ex Machina and sells more motorcycles than jackets & tees.

https://www.bikernet.com/pages/Deus_Ex_Machina__First_Year_Celebration.aspx

https://www.bikernet.com/pages/Craft_and_Punishment.aspx

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World War II Rider Beatrice Shilling, OBE

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by Jason Marker from https://www.rideapart.com

With a simple, thimble-shaped washer, this pioneering woman gearhead saved the lives of countless RAF pilots in WWII.

During the Battle of Britain, the Royal Air Force discovered a glaring problem with its Rolls-Royce Merlin-powered fighters—the Hawker Hurricane and the Supermarine Spitfire. See, that generation of Merlin was fitted with dual-choke, updraft carburetors built by the S.U. Carburettor Company Limited. These worked just like your regular updraft carb and were great in level flight. Problem was, you see, that fighter planes don’t spend a lot of time in level flight.

Any negative-G maneuvers, such as pitching the nose down sharply in a dive, would cause the carbs to flood and the engine to cut out. Not exactly what you want in your badass, high-po, Nazi-killing fighter. RAF pilots figured out pretty quickly that they could perform a quick half-roll before diving in an attempt to counteract the flooding, but this only worked so well. It also introduced a delay in the RAF boys’ maneuvers that provided ample opportunity for the fuel-injected Luftwaffe fighters—especially Willie Messerschmitt’s legendary BF109—to either blow up the RAF planes or run for it as the situation allowed.

The RAF needed a solution to this problem, and fast. Enter one Beatrice Shilling.

Humble Beginnings and Early Career
Beatrice Shilling was born on March 8, 1909, in Hampshire, and raised in Surrey. Her parents were butcher Henry Shilling and his wife Annie (née Dulake). She was, by all accounts, a peculiar young girl for her time. She was obsessed with Meccano, a model-building system similar to an Erector Set, and even won a prize in a national Meccano-building contest. She spent her pocket money on tools, knives, and pots of glue, and, the fact that most concerns us here at RideApart, bought her first motorcycle at age 14. From that instant, Shilling knew she wanted to be an engineer.

Shilling left secondary school at 17 and apprenticed under legendary electrical engineer, sister badass, and Women’s Engineering Society founder Margaret Partridge. Partridge, who knew quality when she saw it, encouraged Shilling to pursue further engineering education. Following her mentor’s suggestion, Shilling then enrolled at Victoria University of Manchester where she studied electrical engineering—one of only two women enrolled in the program. She graduated with her Bachelor’s in electrical engineering in 1932 and promptly pursued a Master’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering.

Unfortunately for her, Shilling graduated and entered the workforce in the midst of one of Britain’s worst recessions at that point. She kicked around from job to job, struggling to make ends meet, until she landed a spot as a research assistant at the University of Birmingham. There she worked with Professor GF Mucklow studying forced induction, especially supercharging.

In 1936, Shilling was recruited by the Royal Air Force’s research and development arm, the Royal Aircraft Establishment. Her first job at the RAE was as a technical writer working in the Air Ministry’s technical publications department. Her supervisors quickly realized her talents were wasted writing Spitfire owner’s manuals and pilot checklists, and she was transferred to another department where she did R&D on aircraft engines.

On November 1, 1939, she was promoted to Technical Officer in Charge of Carburetor Research and Development (a job I wouldn’t wish on anyone after years of tinkering with carbs myself) and, eventually, to Principal Technical Officer. It was in that role that Shilling developed the answer to the RAF’s stalling Merlin issue. Before we get to that, though, we have to talk about motorcycles.

Motorcycles and Motorsport
Now, all that airplane stuff is fascinating, but you all are here to read about motorcycles, right? Don’t worry, I got you covered. As I mentioned earlier, Shilling got her first motorcycle, an unnamed two-stroke job, at the tender age of 14. The first thing she did with it was teach herself how to tear down and rebuild the engine. From there she got into modifying her own bikes, and, like any good gearhead, trying to figure out how to make them go faster.

Throughout the 30s, Shilling raced motorcycles while pursuing her engineering degrees and working for the RAE. She and her all-woman—or nearly all-woman, the information is a little sketchy—team campaigned modified Nortons at various tracks throughout England. In 1934, she set a speed record at Brooklands by lapping the track on a Norton M30 with an average speed of 101.85 mph. She was one of the few riders who’d achieved this, and one of only two women—the other being the formidable racer and adventurer Florence Blenkiron.

For this feat, she was granted the British Motorcycle Racing Club’s prestigious Gold Star Award and bragging rights for the rest of her life. There’s also a story that comes up whenever discussing Shilling’s Brooklands lap that she refused to marry her future husband—fellow racer, rider, RAE employee, and RAF bomber pilot George Naylor—until he matched or beat her lap. Apparently, he eventually did, because the couple was married in 1938.

After The War, Shilling and her husband traded in their motorbikes for racing cars and spent some years tear-assing around the U.K. These cars were, of course, heavily modified by Shilling in her home workshop. Throughout the late-40s and early-50s, Shilling and Naylor raced a lightened 1934 Lagonda Rapier and an Austin-Healy Sebring Sprite. In the 60s, they upgraded to an Elva 200 Formula Junior car. They weren’t the best racers on the circuit, but to paraphrase Les Claypool, they never did win no checkered flags but they never did come in last.

Miss Shilling’s Orifice
So, back to Spitfires. The shortcomings of the Merlin’s carbs were well known, and much gnashing of teeth and rending of garments went on among RAF pilots, technicians, and engineers as they tried to fix the problem. As the RAE’s Chief Technical Officer for Carburetor R&D, Shilling was in the perfect position to do something about the flooding Merlin carbs.

She developed a small device—A brass thimble-like affair with a hole in it that eventually evolved into something like a small washer—that restricted fuel flow through the carburetor. This kept the carbs from flooding under negative g-force maneuvers and made sure the boys in the RAF had all the reliable power they needed constantly on tap. Sir Stanley Hooker, head of supercharger development at Rolls-Royce, called it “Miss Shilling’s Orifice” and the name stuck.

While it may sound odd to our ears here in TYooL 2023, Hooker’s name for Shilling’s restrictor plate is a lot more complimentary than other names people, primarily fellow engineers and RAF brass, had for the device. Most of those—Miss Tilly’s Diaphragm, for example—either referenced birth control or found ways to be derisive. The RAF pilots loved the device, however, especially since now they could keep up with the German fighters without the constant risk of falling out of the sky. Miss Shilling’s Orifice, officially called the RAE Restrictor Plate, stayed in use until Bendix developed the pressure carburetor—an early style of throttle body fuel injection—in 1943.

Denouement
For the rest of her life, Beatrice Shilling continued messing around with engines. She retired from the RAE in 1969 and died in 1990 at the age of 81. I could probably write another two or three thousand words about her here, but I’m already pushing it with as long as this story is. There’s so much more to tell about her, and I only scratched the surface.

For example, I glossed over the constant sexism, obstruction, and disrespect she received from colleagues throughout her career. I didn’t get to talk about her work on the Blue Streak Missile, her becoming an Officer of the British Empire (OBE), or a dozen other interesting things about her life. Another time, perhaps.

If you’d like to know more about Beatrice Shilling and her many shining parts (and why wouldn’t you?) you should dig through my sources and follow your nose. If you’re feeling really adventurous, you can try to find a copy of her biography Negative Gravity: A Life of Beatrice Shilling written in 2003 by Mathew Freudenberg. It seems to be long out of print and the only copy I found was offered on Amazon for the eye-watering price of $1,227 Yankee dollars. If you can find a cheaper copy of it anywhere, let me know.

Mutt Launches Mushman Scrambler

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by Janaki Jitchotvisut from https://www.msn.com

Preorders are now open for both, with bikes starting to roll out in March, 2023.

On February 14, 2023, Birmingham, U.K.-based motorcycle company Mutt officially introduced its revived Mushman in two displacements: 125cc and 250cc. It’s Mutt’s newest scrambler on the block, and it comes with a number of features to set it apart from the pack.

Both displacements are powered by air-cooled, single-cylinder engines that are mated to five-speed gearboxes. The 125cc makes a claimed 10 newton-meters (about 7.37 pound-feet) of torque, while the 250cc makes a claimed 18 newton-meters (about 13.27 pound-feet) of torque. Other differences include a combined braking system (CBS) on the 125, while the 250 gets an anti-lock braking system (ABS).

The Mutt Mushman comes with 18-inch stainless-steel spoked wheels with black rims, knobby tires, black tracker handlebars, grips that feature black diamond-pattern rubber and aluminum, a black vinyl seat, and LED lighting. Other features exclusive to the Mushman in Mutt’s lineup include matt black engine bars, a leather tank strap, and a steel tank rack.

“The inspiration for the styling of the Mushman came from the idea of early scramblers,” Mutt co-founder Benny Thomas said in a statement.

“The simple practice of preparing a road bike for off-road use by taking the bulky bits off, fitting knobby tires and high-rise mudguards to create a stripped-down bike that does exactly what it says on the box. While the Mushman was never intended to be a scrambler, it has the look and the feel of something Mr McQueen would ride between shoots if he was around in 2023,” he continued.

“It’s the ultimate hack-around bike. Lightweight, good looking and perfect for taking on the city or hitting the country lanes. ‘Nothing Fancy’ is the motto for all our Mutts, and I wanted to keep the Mushman simple and classy, but add some fresh new bits and pieces such as the engine bars, tank strap & rack, all-new adjustable CNC levers, and LED indicators and headlamp,” Thomas concluded.

By the way, if you’re scratching your head about the model name, we got you covered. The name is a reference to racer and sometime actor Steve McQueen’s nom de courses, Harvey Mushman, who was well-known for his affiliation with scramblers back in the day.

Both the Mutt Mushman 125 and 250 are available to order directly from the company via its website if you’re in the U.K., as of February, 2023. The 125 will cost £3,750 (about $4,520), while the 250 will cost £4,600 (about $5,524). Two colors will be available, with the more common Titanium Grey starting to become available in March, 2023. A limited-edition Matt Green will become available shortly after that, according to the company. It’s not clear how limited-edition that color will be, so if you’re interested, your best bet is to act and/or ask quickly.

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BSA Scrambler At 2022 Motorcycle Live Show

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by Janaki Jitchotvisut from https://www.rideapart.com/

It features subtle styling changes from the Gold Star on which it’s based.

In November, 2021, the revived BSA Motorcycles proudly presented its first new motorcycle in decades, the 2022 BSA Gold Star. Fittingly, the reveal took place at the 2021 Motorcycle Live show, which is the U.K.’s biggest annual motorcycle event—and which, let’s not forget, is also held in the BSA birthplace of Birmingham. The new Goldie—powered by a liquid-cooled, dual overhead cam, 625cc single—was met with a mostly positive response.

Fast-forward to 2022, and the latest edition of Motorcycle Live rolled into the NEC Birmingham events hall for visitors to see all the latest motorcycles on display. Of course, BSA was there, and of course it brought the Gold Star along. The company also brought along something new—a shiny new scrambler.

At this point, we must caution you that it’s only a design concept at the moment—but this, friends, is our first look at a conceptual BSA Scrambler. According to BSA, this is the first design that was developed entirely in-house at BSA’s new West Midlands facility. While the team didn’t offer a whole lot in the way of details, since it is only a concept, it’s meant to “offer a snapshot of what the future could look like,” as well as “showcase the customization capability of BSA’s Gold Star platform.”

The BSA Scrambler concept is built around same 652cc single found in the production BSA Gold Star. If you need a refresher, that engine makes a claimed 45 horsepower at 6,000 rpm, in addition to 55 newton-meters (or 40.5 pound-feet) of torque at 4,000 rpm. It’s also mated to a five-speed gearbox.

The concept boasts a sportier look, with a particularly grippy-looking seat cover, high front mudguard, and what at least looks to be a beefier front fork setup. Without knowing more details about what, precisely, was changed, it’s difficult to offer a full assessment. The dual, slash-cut exhaust looks more modern than the extremely traditional styling found on the Gold Star—but still exits low down on the right side of the bike, instead of featuring the high-mounted routing that’s common on some other scrambler-styled bikes.

The BSA Scrambler concept rolls on a pair of Excel Takasago spoked wheels, wrapped in dual-sport Pirelli Scorpion rubber, as opposed to the Pirelli Phantom Sportscomp tires mounted on the Gold Star. There’s a bit of a bash plate mounted up front, just under the radiator—though it’s clearly not meant to be a serious off-roading machine.

What do you think of this concept? Would you like to see it come to life as a future production model? What would you change about it? Let us know in the comments!

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Discovering British V-Twin Classics

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Could there be a Connection?
by Bandit and crew, including the National Motorcycle Museum

“Recently, I spotted this BSA V-Twin and was inspired first by the fact that BSA manufactured a V-Twin but then by the styling that called out Brough Superior. Two motorcycles dominated the upscale V-Twin market in the UK during the early 1900s.

Vincent and Brough Superior, so I was astounded to discover this BSA from the National Motorcycle Museum.

I’ll let you kick around what I found and let me know your thoughts. Hell, someone surely knows something that may connect these bikes.”
— Bandit

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Isle Of Man TT Announces 2023 Schedule

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Two UK Bank holidays should help IOMTT attendees enjoy more racing.

by Dustin Wheelen from https://www.rideapart.com

The Isle of Man TT (IOMTT) returned to the Snaefell Mountain Course in 2022 after a two-year hiatus. As expected, drama unfolded over the two-week period, but officials are always searching for ways to make the Tourist Trophy even better. With the aim of enhancing the event’s long-term sustainability by increasing overall visitor numbers, the new 10-race schedule addresses issues identified by IOMTT organizers.

“This research revealed that the existing TT schedule, the Island’s travel capacity, the Island’s accommodation infrastructure, costs factored against the current economic climate, and customers’ changing habits are no longer compatible and do not meet the needs of the event’s customers,” stated MHK Minister for Enterprise Lawrie Hooper.

To optimize the TT’s crowd-welcoming ability, organizers scheduled the opening-day qualifying on May 29, 2023, the U.K.’s Spring Bank Holiday. Authorities also deemed Friday, June 9, 2022, the “TT Bank Holiday”, bookending the racing event with two three-day weekends.

The 2023 Isle of Man TT schedule follows:

Qualifying Week

  • Monday, May 29, 2023 – Morning & Afternoon Qualifying
  • Tuesday, May 30, 2023 – Evening Qualifying
  • Wednesday, May 31, 2023 – Evening Qualifying
  • Thursday, June 1, 2023 – Evening Qualifying
  • Friday, June 2, 2023 – Afternoon Qualifying

Race Week

  • Saturday, June 3, 2023 – Supersport (Race 1) and Sidecar (Race 1)
  • Sunday, June 4, 2023 – Superbike TT
  • Tuesday, June 6, 2023 – Superstock (Race 1) and Supertwin (Race 1)
  • Wednesday, June 7, 2023 – Supersport (Race 2) and Sidecar (Race 2)
  • Friday, June 9, 2023 – Superstock (Race 2) and Supertwin (Race 2)
  • Saturday, June 10, 2023 – Senior TT

Of course, many IOMTT attendees predicate travel plans based on their work schedules. By recognizing two Bank Holidays over the course of the 2023 IOMTT, organizers hope to increase the economic benefits to local businesses. From hotels to restaurants to pubs, the extended schedule should help Isle of Man commerce to better accommodate visiting sportbike fans.

‘The Island’s current TT capacity is limited to around 28,000 visitors at any one time, with the current visitor curve highlighting infrastructure pressures in the middle weekend,” added Hooper. “In its simplest form, the new schedule aims to sustain current visitor numbers while promoting growth. We expect this new schedule to encourage new visitor patterns and capitalize on capacity, driving an additional 50,000 bed nights over time, representing an additional spend on the Island of £6 million (~$7M USD).”

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Five Motorcycle Sales Trends Shaking the Vintage Market

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Prices for classic motorcycles are changing

by James Hewitt from Hagerty.com

There’s a Hagerty Motorcycle Price Guide that uses thousands of transactions to track values on 9751 motorcycles. Here are five trends that stood out to us in the most recent update, released in June.

The smart take in the motorcycle community of late, much like for cars, is that a full-on, concours-level restoration rarely pays — at least financially speaking.

Click Here to Read the full Feature Article. See Photos of the Motorcycle Brands & Models.

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Rarest Ducatis to star at London Concours in 2022

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Two-Wheeled Heroes in the heart of the City: Rarest Ducatis to star at London Concours in 2022

  • Rarest and most significant Ducati motorcycles to be assembled at London’s Honourable Artillery Company this June.
  • Exceptional examples from the past 50 years will be united at the capital’s leading concours d’elegance event, charting the rich history of this most storied motorcycle brand.
  • 4x World Superbike Champion and Ducati Ambassador, Carl Fogarty, will also appear at this summer’s event, in association with Bikesure
  • Sixth annual London Concours to run from the 28th to 30th of June in the heart of the City.
  • Tickets on sale now at londonconcours.co.uk/tickets, from £35

London, UK (27th May 2022): The London Concours, presented by Montres Breguet, has announced that this June’s event will feature a selection of two wheeled stars from the most iconic and evocative motorcycle brand of all, with its ‘Ode to Ducati’ Ducati. Spanning close to 50 years of the Italian marque’s illustrious history, the remarkable collection of bikes will wow alongside the Concours’ breath-taking array of four wheeled machinery – from spectacular supercars to the finest classics – on the immaculate lawns of the Honourable Artillery Company in the heart of the City.

The wonderful selection of motorcycles from the Bolognese manufacturer will include an example of the rare 750 GT ‘Sandacst’ from late 1971. The bike, Ducati’s first v-twin cylinder machine, was born when Fabio Taglione, or “Dr. T” – Ducati’s longstanding chief designer and technical director – was tasked with building a 750 class bike to compete with the likes of Moto Guzzi, Laverda and of course the Japanese giants. The move into the 750 class was viewed as crucial to the success of the marque; a gateway to significant sales volumes in the USA. Taglione’s proposed low-cost solution was to blend two of Ducati’s well proven small capacity ‘singles’ onto a common crank case, creating a 90-degree V, or “L Twin” as he termed it. The 750 GT, widely praised by journalists in period for its smooth power and sharp handling, represents the genesis of Ducati’s illustrious lineage of V-Twin machines. In order to get production going as quickly as possible, the very early bikes had engines with sandcast cases and many other detail features not seen on the series production machines, which featured die-cast motors. Just 400 out of a total production of some 4,000 GT’s were built this way before the revised “square cased” engine was introduced in 1975. Relatively few of these early bikes have survived, with a small handful at most to be found in the UK. One not to miss.

This summer’s show will feature another ‘70s 750 – the Super Sport, or “Imola Replica” dating from 1974. This, the very first Ducati SS was conceived as a road going version of the race bike that made a stunning debut with the late, great Paul Smart on board, winning the famed 1972 Imola 200 on its first outing. With Smart’s teammate Bruno Spaggiari taking a close second place, Ducati found themselves catapulted from an unknown producer of lightweight single cylinder motorcycles to a major name on the world map of exotic sports machinery. Unsurprisingly, Ducati management, not least ‘Dr T’ were keen to build on this seismic victory with a road-going replica of the winning bike. A limited run of Imola replicas were sanctioned, the first prototypes emerging in late 1973. Following on from the prototypes, just 401 examples of the ‘Replica’ were ‘batch built’ in the spring of 1974 – all under the direct supervision of Taglione in Ducati’s race shop. At a heady £1650, the SS came in at 50% more than Kawasaki’s mighty Z1.

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The 750 SS on display this June was one of perhaps 25 bikes at most delivered new to the UK – shipped to its first owner by air freight – and has been cherished ever since by a total of just four owners in 48 years. Often referred to as the “green frame” these 401 bikes were the only round case Ducatis to leave the factory with the iconic “Desmodromic” cylinder heads.

The Honourable Artillery Company will play host to another ‘racing replica’: a 1980 Ducati 900 MHR. The bike is closely affiliated to one of, if not the, greatest racers of all – “Mike the bike” Hailwood. At the age of 38, 11 years after retiring, Hailwood made a comeback appearance at the Isle of Man TT in the Formula 1 class. Riding a modified and specially prepared 900 SS Ducati, he won the 1978 race. This burnished his already god-like reputation among fans, and prompted Ducati to introduce what would become their best-selling bike of the late 70s and early 80s: the 900 “Replica” or MHR. The MHR that will be on display at the HAC this June recently made a pilgrimage to the Isle of Man for the Classic TT, following in Hailwood’s tyre tracks 40 years on from his stunning victory. Much of the credit for the race preparation for the 1978 race goes to Steve Wynne of Sports Motorcycles in Manchester. It’s a source of great satisfaction to the owner of all the bikes on show that it was none other than Steve Wynne who rebuilt the engine and cosmetically refreshed the 1974 750 SS “green frame” also on display.

A Ducati from the late 1980s will also be amongst the bikes on display, an 851 Kit Racer from 1988 – a fuel injected, water-cooled four-valve machine that moved the game on significantly for Ducati sports bikes. The 851 featured an evolved version of Ducati’s two valve, air-cooled ‘Pantah’ engine, revised by its original designer, Massimo Bordi, with a little help from a famed British engineering firm Cosworth. The resulting power plant laid the foundations for 30 years or more of Ducati Superbikes. The road going variant, the “Strada” was initially criticised for its unusual steering characteristics – on account of its 16” wheels – and lack of firepower when compared with Honda’s RC30. The ‘Kit’ rectified things, with power boosted to 120bhp, larger 17-inch magnesium wheels, a braced swinging arm and a close ratio gearbox, amongst other race shop only features. Only 207 examples were built, and the Kit Racer is viewed by some as the most thrilling and visceral of all Ducati’s sports bikes.

This June’s event will also host more modern machinery, including the Ducati D-16 RR of 2008. The 1000cc, four-cylinder D-16 RR – modelled on Ducati’s GP6 Moto GP racer – was a real weapon, offered only to select customers, promising nigh-on Moto GP performance for the road. In the view of the late, highly respected journalist Kevin Ash, Ducati delivered on this promise. Packing a 200bhp V4 (with four valves per cylinder and four cylinders, hence ‘Desmo- 16’) and revving to 14,000 rpm, the D-16 Race Replica offered a lucky few a glimpse of what it was like to pilot a Gibernau or Capirossi factory race Ducati of the period.

The collection of superb Ducatis will also include the 1199 Superlegerra of 2014 – the bike that heralded the end of the road for Ducati’s long line of twin cylinder superbikes. Whilst the v-twin is still found today in Ducati’s middleweight and sports touring models, Ducati waved goodbye to the v-twin Superbike with these exclusive limited-edition models. The Borgo Panegale factory pulled out all the stops, producing two batches of super exclusive “Superlight” ‘twins’ – the 1199 of 2014, and the 1299 of the following year. Just 500 numbered examples of each were delivered worldwide. The 1199 SL that will star at this June’s event retailed at £60,000, produced an eye watering 205bhp, and weighed just 155kg dry – a weight more typical for a 500 or 600cc middleweight sports bike. Packed with the latest in technology and rare materials such as magnesium, carbon fibre and even tungsten – the latter used for components within the engine – the SL was a furious performer. Autocar underscored just how furious by substituting an 1199 SL for a Ferrari La Ferrari when carrying out a supercar test with the McLaren P1 and Porsche 918. The Superleggera matched the 903bhp McLaren P1 and Porsche’s 918 right up to 180mph, even pulling ahead after a standing start, before the cars’ slippery aerodynamics and longer gearing gave them an edge. A rare opportunity to witness this remarkable machine in the metal.

These dramatic Ducatis, and more, will be on show at the Honourable Artillery Company this June, at the capital’s ultimate automotive extravaganza. Carl Fogarty, the 4x World Superbike Champion and Ducati Brand Ambassador, will also make an appearance, on behalf of Bikesure, the ‘Ode to Ducati’ class co-sponsor. Fogarty will be chatting with Dave Vitty and Jason Plato, from the Fuelling Around podcast on Wednesday 29th June.

Further class announcements will follow in the coming weeks, as we build towards the 6th edition of our unmissable event.

Andrew Evans, London Concours Director, said:

“It gives us great pleasure to reveal this latest exciting class, which will bring the most spectacular bikes from the most evocative motorcycle manufacturer of all to the heart of London. Ducati is a magnetic brand that holds great allure for anyone with a drop of petrol in their veins. The superb selection, along with the fantastic array of supercars and iconic classics, is set to make this June’s show the most special yet.

“Guests to the Honourable Artillery Company will be treated to a truly special array of cars, along with a decadent range of food and drink options, and a carefully curated line-up of luxury brands and boutiques. London Concours 2022 is set to be another occasion of total automotive indulgence.”

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4 Major Motorcycle Trends Sir Hagerty Witnessed at the Mecum Auction

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by James Hewitt from Hagerty.com

Values have skyrocketed of late in the motorcycle world but there were still deals to be had.

The spending frenzy at Scottsdale’s January auto auctions may have garnered the headlines, but just a short road trip away in Las Vegas, Mecum’s motorcycle auction put on a similarly spectacular show for the two-wheeled crowd.

We reported last year that millennials prefer classic & vintage Harleys over Indians.

Knuckleheads are benefitting from broader, multi-generational appeal, and demand is increasing because younger buyers continue to move into the market while older ones aren’t leaving.

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Triumph Collector Stumbles Across Ultimate Collectible, the 1901 Prototype

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from https://www.autoevolution.com/ by Daniel Patrascu

At the turn of the last century, a time when horse-drawn carriages turned into automobiles and bicycles into motorcycles, most of the companies active back then wanted a piece of the new action, and turned their businesses around to include the production of the new mechanical wonders.

So did a British enterprise that went by the name Triumph Engineering, which used to make bicycles. Which, if you come to think of it, are just like motorcycles, only without engines, hence easy to re-make.

And that’s exactly what Triumph did with one of its bikes, fitting it with a Minerva engine and opening the doors to a history that has spanned so far for 120 years. That production motorized two-wheeler came to be in 1902, but as you can imagine, a prototype had to be made before that. A prototype that, like many others of its kind, was considered lost for a long time, despite rumors surrounding its existence floating around.

Extremely conveniently-timed, the first 1901 Triumph motorcycle prototype just resurfaced, having been uncovered by a collector named Dick Shepherd, and put back into the spotlight by the company itself.

According to the available details, attesting to the motorcycle’s authenticity are the engine number, “consistent with references in Minerva’s engine records of a 1901 first Triumph engagement,” and a “letter from Triumph, dated in 1937, that outlined the bike’s unique origins and provided key details.”

As far as we understand, the bike was uncovered some time ago, as the collector had time to restore it.

“As a lifelong passionate fan of the history and achievements of this incredible British brand, to have discovered this amazing survivor and restored it to the glorious condition it would have been in when it first went on display in 1901, has given me an immense amount of satisfaction,” Shepherd said in a statement.

The prototype will be, of course, included in the celebration events the British company has planned for next year, and it will be shown, together with the millionth Triumph manufactured in Hinckley, in a special display being set up at the factory.

PRESS RELEASE

4 DECEMBER 2021 – An amazing historic find, discovered and restored by leading vintage Triumph collector Dick Shepherd, the 1901 Prototype rewrites the history books, adding a whole new chapter prior to Triumph’s official sales starting in 1902.

Long rumoured to exist and referenced within advertising and reviews that appeared in 1901, this first Triumph prototype was developed from a standard Triumph bicycle, with an engine provided by Belgian manufacturer Minerva, in order to generate interest and gauge the public’s demand for a Triumph motorcycle.

Dick Shepherd said “Having been approached by a friend of a collector, who had sadly recently passed away, to evaluate an old Triumph I was incredibly excited to discover that the bike they had featured unique details that were not present on the first production Triumphs. Along with the bike, the collector had also received a letter from Triumph, dated in 1937, that outlined the bike’s unique origins and provided key details.”

“With an engine number that is consistent with references in Minerva’s engine records of a 1901 first Triumph engagement the historic significance of this motorcycle became incredibly clear.”

“As a lifelong passionate fan of the history and achievements of this incredible British brand, to have discovered this amazing survivor and restored it to the glorious condition it would have been in when it first went on display in 1901, has given me an immense amount of satisfaction.”

First unveiled at the UK’s Motorcycle Live show the 1901 prototype will feature in dedicated event at Triumph’s Factory Visitor Experience on the 14th December, where the machine will be ridden in public for the very first time in over 100 years.

This incredible, historic motorcycle will then be on display, alongside the millionth Hinckley Triumph, in a new, specially created 120-year anniversary display, hosted within Triumph’s Factory Visitor Experience.

The Triumph Factory Visitor Experience is free to visit and is located at Triumph’s HQ in Hinckley, England and is open daily Wednesday through Sunday, from 10am – 4.30pm.