Indholdsfortegnelse for November 2022 i Back Street Heroes

Back Street Heroes|November 2022

EDITORIAL

I don’t know about you, but I’m getting a little p*ssed off with the powers-that-be, and their blatant not-giving-a-sh*t-about-us, the ones who elected them. The gap between us, the average person on the street, and them, the increasingly out-of-touch elite in Westminster, seems to be widening with a speed that a Santa Pod Top Fueler’d be proud of, and I can’t see it getting any less any time soon. Their unwillingness to stop the major fuel and energy companies continuing to massively, and unnecessarily, increase their prices, to make even more obscene levels of profit for their shareholders, causing businesses and, therefore, people, to go to the wall, is just the latest in a long run of ‘I’m sorry, what?!?’ policies, and it just seems the country’s gone bloody mad.…

3 min

Back Street Heroes|November 2022

SPARKLEPANTS SPORTY

I ’d been loosely looking for a Sportster for a while so when a good friend phoned to tell me he’d just picked one up, I couldn’t resist going over to take a look. The bike’d originally lived in New York, then been shipped to Sweden, and then found its globetrotting way to London where it’d stayed, parked up, for five years or so. It was in a fairly sorry state, showing signs of its age, and ripe for making into something far more beautiful. I’m a clichéd petrol-head routed firmly in the custom scene. For many years I owned a 1959 Ford Pop’ hot-rod, which I’d had for twenty years but’d been sold on to pastures new, and I needed something in my life again to truly make my…

5 min

Back Street Heroes|November 2022

EVENT EAST COAST HARLEY CLUB’S CUSTOM BIKE SHOW

Take my run from the BSH editorial hovel to this event at the George & Dragon in Thurton. Thurton’s a small village in south Norfolk that’s about eight an’ n’ arf miles south of Norwich on the main A146 road down to Lowestoft and so should be really, really easy to find. The fact that it wasn’t was down to (a) huge traffic queues on the Norwich ring-road necessitating turning off a junction or two early to find a way across, and (b) me not taking a map book in me camera bag… and, okay, (c) stupidity, I admit it. Anyway, by the time I did find the pub (or more accurately, the field next to the pub), it was long past the 11am start time the East Coast Harley…

2 min

Back Street Heroes|November 2022

O-I-F? O-O-F?

*Okay, so rural buses that don’t run very often anyway. I didn’t go to Gloucestershire with the intention of photographing this bike – no, I went intending to do Ivan’s other bike, his other BSA side-valve, which is shiny, and pretty, and oh-so-cool, but he’d also got this one and… well, it’d’ve been rude not to do it as well, wouldn’t it? We’ll show you the pretty one in an issue or two, but this time let’s look at ’is oily ’un. He’s had this BSA, a 1956 M21 600cc side-valve, for over 20 years – it was originally owned by a friend of his and was in standard original condition and, although he’s not sure how or why, he ended up swapping it for the V-Max he had at…

4 min

Back Street Heroes|November 2022

ROYAL ENFIELD 411 SCRAM

Based on RE’s existing Himalayan (as tested a coupe o’ three years ago), using the same frame, engine, suspension and fuel tank, it’s an urban version intended for use in towns and cities. With just 24bhp at 6,500rpm, and 23.6lb-ft of torque at 4,250rpm, it’s never going to set the world alight performance-wise, but with just 185 kilos (with fuel an’ oil), and a narrow profile, it’s great for slipping through traffic, and it’s quite capable of handling light (dry) trails, too, if the off-road bug bites you. In fact, that’s probably where I enjoyed riding it the most during the time I had it – pottering around Thetford’s forest trails, and the little back roads leading to them. Y’see, out ‘ere in the east we don’t have a lot…

4 min

Back Street Heroes|November 2022

THE MILLENNIUM RUN

I’m stuck in roadworks on the M6, southbound. I think Walsall’s just over to the left there. I’m in a silver Audi A6 estate car, with the pathetic two-litre diesel motor. There’s a box file of sales reports on the front passenger seat, and a child safety seat, and a large teddy bear in the back. I’m on my way to the first face-to-face sales conference since lockdown, but heaven only knows when I’ll get there. What was wrong with video conferences? I thought that we’d never need to be in a stuffy meeting room in a crappy hotel ever again. There’s a blue Skoda in front of me. I’ve been looking at its arse-end for twenty minutes. The owner wants me to know that he (she?) is a member…

14 min

Back Street Heroes|November 2022

LETTERS

DEAR BSH, Back Street Heroes has been my bike magazine of choice for nearly 30 years, and there’ll always be articles that appeal more to one person than another. That’s fine – it would be a bland and dull magazine if it left everyone ‘pleased’, but no one genuinely excited. The exception to this are the recent articles by Neil Liversidge, representing MAG. At least half of his column in issue 461 had nothing to do with bikes and, sadly, was dedicated to what read like a parody of the worst of current populist politics (when, ironically, he was criticising modern politicians). Obviously BSH has a strong desire and incentive to support MAG, and I respect that, but most of the views he is expressing are nothing to do with…

6 min

Back Street Heroes|November 2022

FRIED ELECTRICS (HOT-WIRED FOR A PARTY OR TWO)

SO off I toddled to a well-known computer shop, and shelled out fifteen hundred quid on what I thought was a state-of-the-art complete system, with printer, probably most likely to rival even NASA’s capability. The salesman said it was fast, the latest 200cc machine (or was it Mhz?). It came with a massive 2GB memory. Wow! You could view at least four colour pictures on the screen in one go… come on, you had to be blown away by that! I got home, and hastily signed up to AOL – yeah, baby, I was surfing. During a browsing session I randomly came across the CB750 Mutilation Society. What the f**k was that? Basically, it was some fruit-loop European bike club who’d mutilated/chopped some CB750s, decided they were having a party…

3 min

Back Street Heroes|November 2022

TIGERS OF LAND & SKY

By now most of you’ll know about Triumph Motorcycles (although you might not know that the most traditional of English companies was originally set BY up by a German… no, I’m really not kidding, look it up), you might not be quite so au fait with the Lancaster. Did you know, for example, that the Lanc, as it was colloquially called, derived from the Manchester (so does that make it the Manc?), built by the same company, which flew for the first time in 1939, went into service in 1940, and was retired just two years later after a string of problems caused, in the main, by its Rolls-Royce Vulture engines which, in service, proved to be underpowered and extremely unreliable. Its replacement, the Lancaster, was reworked, and redesigned, and…

6 min

Back Street Heroes|November 2022

EVENT THE HOOK UP CHOPPER SHOW

Well, up to 2019 that is. 2020 didn’t happen (the rally that is, not the actual year) for Covid reasons, nor did the 2021 rally, but tickets were held over ‘til the rally could be held. When the Hook Up Chopper Show confirmed the 2022 gathering was a go, social media went into meltdown, with people trying to get tickets but, unfortunately, this is a 500 limit event and the tickets were all sold in 2019, so any that did come up for sale were literally snapped up in minutes. The show itself is a welcome return to the basic rallies of old – likeminded people with a passion for choppers (especially Shovels, Panheads, Knuckleheads, Flatheads, and a few makes other than H-D) gather for the weekend in the beautiful…

4 min

Back Street Heroes|November 2022

MAMORU’D BE PROUD!

The trike belongs, you see, to Richard ‘Muzz’ Burrell, long-term member of National Chopper Club Suffolk, and National Treasurer of the NCC, too, who passed away tragically young a few months ago. He was a genuinely great bloke, and he’s much missed by the Club and everyone who knew him. He was a proper custom motorcycle obsessive with an impressive collection of highly desirable bikes and, when he was taken ill last year, he spoke to me about getting a good friend of mine, Ian Fyson of Hyper Trikes in Lakenheath in Suffolk, to trike his immaculate Moriwaki-painted Z1300. The idea was for Ian to have it ready for the first NCC event of the year, the Easter Run, and so, after a meeting, a plan was hatched. The 1,286cc…

5 min

Back Street Heroes|November 2022

EVENT NCC SUFFOLK SHOW

This year, though, there were exactly that many people – absolutely sh*tloads! Far more, I’m guessing, turned up than NCC (National Chopper Club) Suffolk were expecting ‘cos it wasn’t long into the day that I started to notice slight looks of concern on the faces of the Club members on the gate as bikes continued, and continued, and continued, to flow in along the narrow path down the side of the pub, and what’d looked initially like a sizeable enough field shrank and shrank and shrank. Seriously, there were a lot of people there – a veritable sh*tload! In fact, how the pub (not the biggest place in the world), and the one on-site burger van, managed to deal with such an influx of folk is one of the great…

2 min

Back Street Heroes|November 2022

SUZUKI GSX-S 1000

PART THREE The other day, though, I did get to get out on it. The weather was forecast to be okay, so I headed for the seaside but, rather than the seaside of Kiss Me Quick hats, amusement arcades, and hot-n’-cold running chavs, I pointed the upside-downies towards the genteel Suffolk coast. A fast blast down the A14, and up the A12, saw us turning off for the lovely old town of Woodbridge (which, with twisted Suffolk logic, is classed as a port despite the fact that it’s eight miles from the sea), and then, once I’d donned me tin-foil hat and sprayed meself with UFO-repellent, into Rendlesham Forest. The rain caught us on the way from Orford Ness (a quite, quite beautiful place) and Snape Maltings (s’posed to be…

3 min

Back Street Heroes|November 2022

OPENFACE news

ORANGE & BLACK TOURS Orange & Black offer motorcycle tours, and motorcycle hire, in many destinations around the world – whatever your experience, whatever you want, and whatever your budget, they’ll probably have something for you from riding Route 66 on a Harley, climbing the highest pass in the Himalayas on an Enfield, off-roading in Thailand, and adventure tours to the sublime roads in New Zealand. All of their holidays’re covered legally and financially by TTA membership and ATOL licence; their bikes’re locally registered and insured; and their guides’re all experienced and live locally so really do know the area, the roads, the people, and the sights, and’ll help you get the most out of your holiday. They arrange flights and travel insurance, and can make other travel arrangements for…

4 min

Back Street Heroes|November 2022

EVENTS

OCTOBER 1st Oct: Straightliners at Smeatharpe Airfield, Devon. More info from 07921 712266 or www.straightliners.events 1st Oct: Hawg House Open Day at Hawg House, Unit J1H, Westwood Ind Estate, Channel Rd, Margate, Kent (CT9 4JS). Free entry. More info from www.hawghouse.co.uk 2nd Oct: End of Summer Scooter n’ Mod Special at the Ace Cafe, London. More info from www.london.acecafe.com 2nd Oct: Sunbeam MCC’s Pioneer Run from Epsom Racecourse, Tattenham Corner Rd, Epsom, Surrey (KT18 5LQ). More info from www.sunbeammcc.co.uk 6-9th Oct: Barrel Bikers MCC’s 40th GPO Rally at a site near Milton Keynes, Bucks. Tickets £25 prebook. More info from www.barrelbikers.co.uk 7-9th Oct: Kaos at the Castle at the Norbreck Castle Hotel, Queen’s Promenade, Norbreck, Blackpool, Lancs (FY2 9AA). More info from www.3pilox.com 7-9th Oct: Wheels & Waves Italy at Lido…

7 min

Back Street Heroes|November 2022

ROAD TRIP 2022 (PART 1)

This year we decided on a triking holiday around some of the beautiful coast and mountains of Wales. As I may’ve mentioned before, after too many years of rallies and festivals, I (and my arthritis) have grown to really detest camping so, in planning this road-trip, I turned to the ‘Net to sort out our accommodation en route. The trick for getting the best deals on hotels is to choose the area you’re going to be in on that particular day, then search for the best deals using the ‘Filter’ menu to include things like breakfast included, and free parking, etc., and then plan your route to include those best deals. I’ve become a bit of a dab hand, and can invariably get us deals in nice four-(or even five-)…

4 min

Back Street Heroes|November 2022

EVENT ROCK & BLUES

A last-minute change saw punk/rock band The Addiction step up to kick off the 2022 party as a replacement for Venomous Rose, but these things happen. They hit the ground running, so to speak, then Scopyons added more power to the proceedings before Hi-On Maiden who, giving their first performance at Rock & Blues, more than did justice to Maiden’s music so I hope we’ll see them again. Friday and Saturday from lunchtime through ‘til nine, the multiple guises of compere Mr Badaxe amused and entertained us with peas, and sometimes peaches (you have to see it to understand) between band sets on the outdoor stage. The sets are shorter than on the main stage, but the music’s more varied and there’s plenty to enjoy while you’re chilling on the grass…

4 min

Back Street Heroes|November 2022

GSX 1100 EXTRA TIDY

This particular version of the square cam-box ET came about when as, Kevin, the owner, says: “I’d always wanted a bobber/chopper but, back in the ’80s in my younger days, had to make do with standard Japanese bikes. I’d always planned one, but then day-to-day living, and family, happened and your priorities change, as they do, so bikes disappeared from my life for thirty-plus years. Then I guess what they call a midlife crisis kicked in, and the yearning for the bike I’d always wanted started rearing its head again. “I’d seen the HUC Wormburner frame a couple of times with Bandit engines in, and really liked the look. After several visits to see Ali at Cold Steel Customs, he suggested I try the older GSX engine instead (everyone’s got…

5 min

Back Street Heroes|November 2022

BSH CUSTOM CHAMPS 2022

ROUND 6 THE WINNERS OF THE LAST ROUND, AUGUST, WERE: BEST CHOPPER – KEITH NEILL’S SHOVELHEAD BEST CUSTOM – SIMON BUTLER’S SPORTSTER BEST PAINT – DAVE BRISTOW’S FAT BOY BEST ENGINEERING – SANDY’S STEAM BIKE BEST NEW SKOOL (BOBBER/CAFÉ RACER/STREET SCRAMBLER, ETC) – PAUL REED’S HONDA SCRAMBLER BEST BUTCHERED CLASSIC – JASON HILLS’ AIR-COOLED RD YAMAHA That means we’re into judging of the classes overall, and for that we hand over to our panel of esteemed judges, all of whom really know their onions. Thankfully, they all also know their custom bikes, too (which is a bit of a relief), and they are: Vic and Lin Jefford from Destiny Cycles; Larry Houghton from Lamb Engineering; Houdi, the president of the National Chopper Club; Odgie (who should need no introduction); Josh…

2 min

Back Street Heroes|November 2022

BACK, IN BLACK

Things changed, I changed, life changed, and I fell into a peaceful motorcycle-free coma. It was one, I assumed, would last forever, but others were perhaps less convinced and, to my surprise, they were eventually proved right. I was awoken from my long slumber by a barn-find Z650 – a true barn find in that it was actually found languishing in a barn, as opposed to simply being an undesirable piece of crap sprinkled in hipster dust and sporting an overly optimistic price tag. It quickly found its way to mine, and I was tasked with the job of recommissioning it. This later turned into a request for a complete strip and rebuild as these things so often do. My instructions were to repair, rebuild, and replace until it was…

5 min

Back Street Heroes|November 2022

MR BRIDGES' MOTORCYCLE DIARIES VOL. V, PART X

TO make that happen, the wheel needed fitting, and that required a spindle. The general consensus of opinion here is that EN16T is what you ought to use – some of this is opinion from people who did some metallurgy at some point in their lives; some of it is opinion from people who’ve tried something different and found that it either bent or, worse, snapped too easily; and some of it is opinion from people who have overheard other people talking about it in the pub. Other solutions I’ve heard suggested over the years are titanium (snaps, banned from most, if not all, motorsport applications); stainless steel (which grade stainless steel though? It also galls easily and, anecdotally, would seem to snap from time to time, too); and EN8…

6 min

Back Street Heroes|November 2022

OPENFACE products

P16 POWERPLANT RISERS New from Yaniv Evan’s P16 Powerplant in Southern California, these risers feature Powerplant proprietary I-Beam design for maximum strength and stability, and complement vintage and modern aesthetics. They’re ready to take the separately available gauge mount, and come complete with stainless steel hardware. They’re available in eight- and ten-inch lengths, and in a variety of colours, from your local Zodiac dealer or www.zodiac.nl ROADSKIN TARANIS JEANS Single-layer motorcycle jeans (i.e. ones that don’t have internal linings and so look like ‘normal’ jeans) have become hugely popular over the last few years, and these new Taranis jeans from UK clothing gurus Roadskin are an excellent addition to their range. Made from 48% cotton with 26.8% DuPont Kevlar, 19.4% Polyethylene, 3.2% Cordura, and 2.6% Lycra, they’re certified under EN17092…

3 min

Back Street Heroes|November 2022

Motorcycle Action Group

I disembarked the following morning at around 8am and, by 9pm that evening, was pitching my tent at Camping du Lac in Dijon, 400-odd miles into France. I’d followed a carefully planned route avoiding the French motorways in favour of the ‘N’ and ‘D’ roads and, apart from a couple of hours spent exploring the museum at the First World War Fort De La Pompelle near Reims, I made just three stops for gas and, after each, was back on my way in around ten minutes. The next morning, I took the high route through the Haut Jura to Geneva, and had the best shellfish meal of my life at a tiny roadside restaurant. Switzerland was too expensive to hang around for long though, so I continued out the other side…

5 min

Back Street Heroes|November 2022

BACK ISSUES

£ 4.951 EACH (inc p&p) For EU and ROW, please see www.classicmagazines.co.uk ONLINE SHOP: www.classicmagazines.co.uk GO AS FAR BACK AS SEPTEMBER 2014 - ORDER YOUR COPIES TODAY VIA CLASSIC MAGAZINES March 2022 ■ Monster-wheel Victory ■ V8 three-wheeler ■ Supercharged Nimbus April 2022 ■ GSX-R Custom ■ Blessing the Bikes ■ Bullfrog Bash May 2022 ■ Retro'Shovel ■ ZED 1000 Kwak ■ 350/650 Hybrid Triumph June 2022 ■ Cut-down Valkyrie bruiser ■ Iron Crows - east of Ipswich ■ A Bantam bobber July 2022 ■ Glorious XS 650s ■ Engraved Harley - classic art ■ Pure power at Santa Pod August 2022 ■ A bobber with history ■ Haifa Beetle ■ Warhammer Harley September 2022 ■ Fastest Bobbers in the land ■ How to make girders ■ BSA Rat October…

1 min