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1 A monthly publication of The Vintage Motorcycle Club Johannesburg, South Africa. Volume 27. No 4 April 2013. CHAIRMAN’S MESSAGE Suddenly it’s all over. All the hard work and preparation. All the organising, worrying and planning and for some all the late nights and dirty fingernails. All over for yet another year. The JD 2013, the centenary year is now history and yet what a run it was. Will there ever be another like it? – Probably not. A true vote of thanks must go to Pierre and everyone else involved in the organising and running of an event of this magnitude. That it took place with minimal issues, no serious injuries and a successful outcome is testament to the skills, dedication and hard work of the organising team and a huge thank you must go to each and every one of you. To those of you who did not finish – don’t be disheartened – remember you did participate and those memories will not fade. To those who did finish – and in particular those who were placed in the various categories – hearty congratulations. To Kevin Robertson the outright winner – and now a six times winner – a much deserved accolade. Kevin is not only the winner, but a true motorcyclist, gentleman and enthusiast who has put so much into this strange but wonderful pursuit of ours. Gavin Walton is on the mend and Ian Hesketh is in Olivedale clinic undergoing radiation treatment. We wish them well. Yours in safe riding Andy Stead 2 March club night. By Ian Holmes A lovely warm summer’s evening saw us gathering at the Morningside Club as usual and a very interesting evening lay ahead. First time visitor Tony Baxter was welcomed and he would be joining the club. The evening opened with a moment of silence remembering Bob Baker and we also learned of the passing of Walter Siviter late last year and SA Moto racing giant, Dave Charlton on Sunday night. The Chairman also advised that Ian Hesketh who was an entrant for this year’s JD run had taken seriously ill. Good wishes were extended to him and to Gavin Walton who had been the victim of a freak accident while sheltering from rain on his way home from the Pre DJ Rally. Gavin had been home for the weekend but was returning to the Universitas Hospital in Pretoria for further advanced surgery to his femur. Kevin Walton thanked everyone for all the support given to Gavin. The Chairman then appealed for help with material for the next issue of Kickstart and advised that this would be distributed electronically in the future starting with a trial run this month. Motorcyclist of the month was awarded to Kevin Walton for winning the non DJ section of the pre DJ Rally and it was also noted that Gavin had come second among the DJ Bikes. Pierre Cronje then gave an update on the DJ and reminded all that the start was from Mall@Carnival, opposite the Carnival City Casino Complex on the Northern side of the Highway (N17). All whose machines had been scrutineered at the VVC on Sunday 24th February would need to bring those forms to the start where they would be issued with numbers and then signed off by the scrutineers before they would receive their route schedules Sunday Runs would again be introduced on the Second Sunday of the month and the first one would be the Century Run on 14 April. Kevin Robertson then informed the meeting of a new world record that had been set at Lake Gairdner. This was for the fastest speed achieved on a single cylinder motorcycle which of course had been done on a Velocette! The raffle tickets were then drawn and winners were Phillip Gordon Ian Otteridge Liz Addison Peter de Klerk Klaus Muller John Allison Gawie Nienaber Pierre Cronje and John Hassall. This was followed by the screening courtesy of Steve Helm of a great video of a Cannonball Run in the USA by machines that were manufactured in 1916 or earlier. This amazing event covered over three and a half thousand miles from coast to coast in America and was the equivalent of doing nine DJ’s one after the other. The repairs en route and the endurance of the riders were amazing. The headcount was fifty. 3 4 Odds and Ends Gavin Walton is definitely on the mend. He is home but still with fixates in although hoping that these may be removed shortly. Gavin says his goal is to be at the next meeting in April. Ian Hesketh who came over from the UK to do the DJ is still in the Olivedale clinic undergoing radiation therapy and is not too well and does not have full use of his hands. He is in ward 9 room 12 if anyone who knows him would like to visit. He will be there for a few weeks at least. The Crossword: There have been no replies to the last crossword – come on guys – give it a go! Riding in pain: Kevin Solomon (122) riding a sunbeam on the JD on day three hit one of the speed bumps a bit too fast and his plug lead came off. No problem, he stopped the bike, found a small nut and re tightened the plug lead to the spark plug. All sorted he started the bike and all looked good. Unfortunately, as he was about to get on the bike he accidently bumped the gear lever (hand change on tank) and the bike promptly took of without him!!!!! After a few meters the bike fell over, still not too serious! He then bent over and tried to pick his bike up and his back clicked and went out of joint. Luckily someone helped him pick up his bike and he managed to restart the bike. He rode the rest of the rally in tremendous pain but took some pain killers and got a Voltarin injection from the medics and was able to make the prize giving. 2014 Calendars: Now that the JD is over it's time to start on the 2014 Calendar. Up till now the majority of the sponsors for the last four years have been from local companies and we would welcome out of town sponsors as well as new local sponsors. The price to sponsor for one month of the year is R2 200, 50 and for this the sponsor receives 10 calendars. Should anyone require additional calendar these are available at R600.00 for 50 calendars. We start the layouts for the 2014 calendar in May, so let Les Sim have your offers soonest. The Gold Star Buyer's Companion: A new BSA Gold Star book -- that should be of interest to many members is available. You will be able to find a full description of the book's contents and the author’s biography at the following website, from which the book also can be ordered: https://www.createspace.com/4194981. In the book Charles Falco acknowledge the late John Gardner, technical officer of the UK Gold Star Owner's Club in the 1990s, for helpful suggestions and corrections to the first edition, and this current volume contains considerable additional material, some of which is very hard to find. Club Trailer: The club three bike trailer has been checked over, is in good working order and available for use by any member. A R50 usage fee is levied to cover maintenance etc. Speak to the Chairman if you wish to use. 5 AMAZING SIXTH WIN FOR ROBERTSON IN CLASSIC MOTORCYCLE RALLY By Roger Houghton: Kevin Robertson, a modest Velocette enthusiast from Pretoria, showed his outstanding ability on motorcycle regularity rallies when he won the three-day 2013 JD Rally from Johannesburg to Durban which finished at the coastal city on March 9 after overnight stops in Newcastle and Nottingham Road. This was his sixth win in this international annual event which this year celebrated the centenary of the original road race between the two cities, which was first run in 1913. Twenty races were held before the authorities put an end to the event in 1936 by banning racing on public roads as being too dangerous. It was then commemorated as a regularity trial from 1970 with all competing motorcycles having to be 1936 or earlier models. This year there were several machines that were more than 100 years old, with the two oldest, Humber's with pedal assistance, both completing the route. The significance of competing in a centenary event was underlined by an entry of more than 200 riders, 17 of them from outside the borders of SA. In the end 187 started from the Mall@Carnival with 135 qualifying as finishers after the 750km regularity rally where the riders had to average set speeds over a winding route using secondary roads, many of them part of the original race route. Robertson, who rode a 1936 Velocette MSS 500 which he restored to pristine condition himself, finished with a total error (early or late arrival at the 27 marshal points) of only 163 penalty points.. This put him 31 penalties ahead of Ralph Pitchford, who rode a 1926 Triumph P-type 500 and is best known as a very successful co-driver in the Dakar Rally. Ralph rode with his two brothers, David (1936 BSA B2 250) and Harold (1926 AJS A5 350), who finished 24th and 30th respectively. In third place was Andrew Lewis (1936 Norton Model 18 500), only 2 penalties behind, with Richard Lewis (not a relative, on a 1929 Sunbeam Model 5 500) a further 3 penalties in arrears in fourth position.

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