Page 1 Paradise & Gell has been located on Michael Street in Peel since 1974. Here you will find a wide range of furnishings to enhance any living space. Whether you are looking for something contemporary or a more traditional piece, then look no further than Paradise & Gell. Page 2 Contents Page 2 Secretary's Notes Page 3 Chairman's Chat Page 4 Yellow Belly Notes - “A Bid Too Far" Page 8 Helicopter Fund - T Shirt Page 9 The VMCC Diamond Jubilee Rally Page 12 VMCC TT Rally Awards 2015 Page 14 A Tale of Two Jawas (Part 2) Page 19 New Members Page 22 Book Review - "The Six Day Affair" Page 24 Forthcoming Events Page 25 Rider Profile No. 27 - Reuben Thomas Page 26 Trial Results Page 28 A Moment in Time Page 30 Flogger's Corner Page 31 Happy Memories of TT '62 Page 39 Important - Receiving 'Vintage Mann' Editor: Harley Richards [email protected] Cover Picture:- Magnificent Morgan with Matchless motive power. Photo by Amulree Page 1 Secretary’s Notes Hi All By the time you read this the VMCC TT Rally will be over and now we have to go flat out working on the “Classic TT Festival VMCC Rally”! Sadly, I can tell you that this will be the last year we organise the very popular Closed Road Parade (CRP). This is because of the severe regulations being placed upon the entrants by the ACU Race Committee which, in turn, leads to a huge increase in the workload this end. Some of these regulations were put aside for this year only, which is why we were able to continue for 2015, albeit most of our foreign entries have had to pull out. However the ACU are insisting they are implementing the regs in full for 2016 which will mean that, amongst other things, all over 55s must have a signed optician’s certificate, and all over 70s must apply to the ACU for a Parader’s permit. You will be surprised to know that the club makes no money out of the £160 charge for the lap, all monies are paid to the Government and the Manx Motor Cycle Club. We also believe that next year the charge levied could be £200 - in our view far too expensive for our members. On a plus point the CRP has achieved 44 new members for the VMCC this year alone, as you cannot ride unless you are a member. Guess what? no thanks at all from VMCC HQ!!! So what with one thing and another, the Events Committee have unanimously decided to pull out from next year. The club continues to prosper but we need volunteers for the Classic Rally, route planners, marshals etc. and for Jurby, well, an army of volunteers is required. Please telephone me on 474074 as I shall be compiling a register of folks willing to help out. The evening road runs seem to be very popular, or is it the catering at the end of the run? Whatever the reason, thanks for turning out and for those that don’t turn out, you have no idea what you are missing including FREE ice creams, buns, fish and chips but, most importantly comradeship with like-minded people!!! I am delighted to tell you I shall be back on my bike soon and my hip operation has been a fantastic success – all pain has gone…. truly a wonderful job by the doctors and nurses at Nobles Hospital !!!! Tony East Page 2 Chairman’s chat I was very saddened to hear of the passing of Geof Staples just a couple of days ago, I have known Geof for a great many years and in all that time he always greeted me with a smile and a cheery hello. I will miss him, to Christine and his family my sincere condolences, RIP Geof. The evening road runs have proved popular with you all even if the second evening resulted in a soaking for some, have you dried out yet Gary? The TT rally in its current form has come to an end with great efforts from Brian and Jim. Thank you gentlemen a worthy finale, but I have had some interest in doing something for next year, so watch this space. A group of riders and supporters attended the VMCC`s Banbury run this year including Chris Melvin, Brian Ward, Brian`s nephew Phil, Jim Crooke, Les Wilson and I (apologies to anyone who I have missed). Unfortunately, Jim missed out on a timed run award this year due to delay caused by a four legged chicane (horse) in his path. The event was extremely well organised with plenty of helpful and pleasant marshals and a large enthusiastic crowd of spectators to help things along. Well done to the VMCC HQ group and Harry Wiles for the event, a success in the midst of the present controversy. As you will see from Tony's notes things are moving apace for this year`s outstanding events, we will even be having two AJS Porcupines at Jurby this year - surely this has not been seen in recent times - along with the entire rotary Norton team in attendance, an event not to be missed! That`s it from me, enjoy your riding. Richard Page 3 On a cold, windy morning in March, the faithful gathered for a prelim- inary meeting in a coffee shop in Louth town centre (before the 2 o’clock Club met in earnest at Owen’s workshop) and the talk was of the upcoming auction at the Imperial War Museum at Duxford. Lot number 36 was causing a stir and Rob in particular, who already owns seven examples of the marque, was very animated. A 1933 Mk IV KTT Pic 1 Velocette is a desirable machine at the best of times but this (Pic 1) was a works machine supplied to Gilbert L. Emery of Llandudno. He had compet- ed with some success in the TTs between 1928 and 1933, riding Cottons and Sunbeams in addition to Velocettes. An invoice dated 31st May 1933 indicated that he had paid half of the retail price. The discount was “paid off” Page 4 with Emery finishing in sixth place in the Junior TT. The catalogue estimate was £13,000 to £15,000. Owen’s eye had been caught by another bike. It was a French 1933 Monet Goyon Type H Supersport. The engine was a 500 c.c. overhead valve single made by the Swiss manufacturer, Motosacoche. Estimate: £2,000 to £3,000. (Pic 2) Pic 2 The auction was held on Wednesday 15th April and our small convoy of cars and vans set off with high hopes. Because the weather was (unseasonably) warm and sunny, one pilgrim, claiming the moral high ground, went on his motor cycle (although a shabby old FJ Yamaha is hardly a thoroughbred!). The auction was mainly for cars and luckily the bikes were to be first. A small gathering developed around the Velocette. Everyone was muttering behind catalogues, pretending to be cognoscenti, whilst at the same time attempting a look of indifference similar to that perfected by my late cat Max. Next to the Mark IV was a 1948 Mark VIII KTT which had been Page 5 modified during its racing life. It was condemned roundly by those in the know as being ‘non-standard’ but apparently it could be ‘rescued’. (Pic 3) Pic 3 The bidding began briskly on Lot 36, then seemed to pause around the £20,000 figure. It was already beyond the higher estimate but at that price several people fumbled for their bidder’s cards and seemed ready to have a go. The bidding began again in earnest and soon involved only two people, both who clearly wanted the bike and both who were willing to pay a high price for it. The hammer finally fell at £43,000 making the total price, with premiums paid, £48,160. (Pic 4) The Monet Goyon came later. By then the atmosphere had calmed down somewhat and the bidding pushed the total price to just over £4,000. Owen had wisely put a limit on his spending long before the event and so, unlike the Velocette buyers, did not get into a bidding war and was not bothered to see the bike go to a higher bidder. We came away convinced that the Velocette had gone to the right person, would not be over restored and would probably appear in the future at events such as Dijon or Jurby. Page 6 Pic 4 Were the prices over the top? Well, the next day I had an email from a friend who is a respected dealer, and not influenced by brand loyalty. His view was that while the Mark IV had made twice its estimate, the Mark VIII had “only” exceeded its estimate by 50% (£24,640) so, once again, values at auction had been set simply by how badly people wanted the same bike on the same day. The moral of the story seems to be that if you want to grab, for example, a Brough or a Vincent at a bargain price, best make sure no-one else wants it as much as you do!!! Pat Sproston, Louth, Lincolnshire P.S. Owen bought himself a 748 Ducati to compensate! Page 7 Helicopter Fund T Shirt The idea of a T shirt for Jurby has been tossed around by the Section Committee on and off since the festival began but, having taken professional advice, we decided against it. However, WEMOTO (who are already heavily involved with the festival) were very keen and felt it was an opportunity to do something worthwhile for a Manx charity and asked what might be appropriate.