[John] So the VMCC stand now. Fine selection of bikes from pre-war Sunbeams through to 1980s Ducati
Mike Hailwood replicas. But it was this bike that first caught our eye and it's this stunning
post-war Velocette Cammy model, which belongs to Geoff. So Geoff, tell us a bit more about this bike.
[Geoff] Well this bike, which I've owned for over 50 years, is a Mark 8 KTT Velocette,
350cc. It was dispatched in '47 straight from the factory to the Isle of Man, for the Manx Grand
Prix of that year. And it came 24th and won a replica. Gerry Dunham was the rider. In '48 he
did the same thing again, he went to the Manx, and he came 16th and won another replica with this bike.
But also in '48 Dunham, which was Dunham and Haines in Luton, they loaned this bike out to Tommy Wood,
and he went to the TT in '48 but unfortunately retired. In '49 though, he rode this bike in the TT,
came 18th and won a replica.
He also in '48, he used this bike for the Dutch,
French and Czechoslovakian Grand Prix's of that year, and he won them all with this bike.
It also won a lot of other things, but they were the major things. In '51 he did another, it came,
he went to the TT and won another replica. But I've owned this, as I said, for 50 years,
and I've won a lot of things on it myself. I'm not bragging. [John] So it was a good bike
in its day, and in the right hands, still successful in vintage racing now. [Geoff] Well a pre-war design
that could win three consecutive TTs in the 50s, '49 to '51, that could win those in this class,
and also win two world championships, was quite a feat. [John] It's incredible. And it's a 350cc.
[Geoff] 350cc. The Mark 8 is, as you can see, it's full of exotic bits for the time.
With magnesium brake hubs and parts of the engine and everything else, this was a state-of-the-art
machine of the day. [John] And this is one of the first Velocettes then with a swinging arm
on the back were they? [Geoff] That's correct.The Mark 8 was one of the first bikes to have
swinging arm rear suspension as we know it today. Velocette patented it.
They used to have the original shockers were off the rear wheel,
the real tail wheel, of a Hurricane fighter plane. [John] Oh wow, okay. [Geoff] And that's what they used. These,
I have the correct ones at home wrapped up in a box, but these are replicas
with gas struts inside. They're a little bit more reliable now. [John] Fair enough, fair enough. [Geoff] I
have won the German Classic Grand Prix three times with this machine, in 2010, 2018 and 2019.
I was hoping to win in 2020 and '21 but they cancelled the event. So hopefully in August
this year I will go back to get the hat-trick. [John] So it's still performing well to this day though. It's
a fast machine, reliable. And what class are these, so it's a 350 but you're riding against
500s as well in that? [Geoff] Well the 350 class was always called the junior class,
but there is a lot of classes still for it in 350. But in its year, in its class, it can still
do very well, you know, up against 500s. I don't have much problem
with the 500s. [John] And in terms of, so it's a proper race bike, it's start on the
rollers or run and bump start. [Geoff] Either. I prefer rollers nowadays. [John] Fair enough. And
these were an over-the-counter bike then, so race teams back in the day or young aspiring
racers could go to Velocette and buy one of these over-the-counter. [Geoff] Exactly. It's an exact replica of the race bike
which the factory had. Velocette were very good. The 350 was probably the best class of bike.
They had more success with 350s than any other. As I say I really,
it excites me every time I ride it. [John] Well it not only looks good then, it's a great
thing to ride and enjoy. [Geoff] Absolutely. [John] Yeah well, thanks for showing us the bike and good luck
when you take it out racing again. [Geoff] Thank you very much. [John] So another beautiful bike on the Vintage
Motor Cycle Club stand is this 1930s Sunbeam. So Gary, what's the story with this one?
[Gary] This is an absolutely beautiful restoration. Looking round it everything is just spot on.
Steve who did the restoration, he's done an absolutely lovely job of it. It's a 1934 Model 8
Sunbeam, 350cc. The 'gentleman's motorcycle' they're called, and it is. It's a really classy bike.
[John] High quality machines back in the day weren't they? [Gary] They were a great bike in the day.
[John] Overhead valve, this one? [Gary] Yeah, it's quite a sporty bike for its time.
It's only the 350. The 500 Model 9 was very, you know, really sought after bike today.
They were so, the quality of the finish on these was such that ICI actually bought
the technology from Sunbeam. The stove enamelling was so, so, so good quality and
so well known. It's a bit of a side story. [John] Yeah, no. [Gary] This really lives up to the
legend, this really. It's very, very nicely restored. [John] It's presented really well and it's, like you say,
it's hand change, it's three speed this one? [Gary] Hand change on the side here, yeah.
More modern than some with a twist grip. By the time you got into the 30s you've gone
away from lever throttles, and you're starting to get twist grips, pretty much universally.
You've still got the girder forks with the friction dampers on. [John] They're beautiful, yeah.
[Gary] Electrical lighting. So, you know, mid 30s it's starting to get more recognisable, more modern look to it.
[John] What always interests me about these Sunbeams are these grips that they used on the
kickstart, these white grips. They're just unique to them, I think. I never saw it on anything else.
[Gary] Not necessarily. No, you did get some strange and wonderful things about at different times,
on different bikes. Like the Guzzi over there, it's got matching colour matched red grips on it.
Why they went for white, I don't know. Ariel used to have white seats, which
seems totally impractical really. But for whatever reason, they did. I mean how white they'd stay for
very long, I don't know. [John] Kickstart that two or three times and it'll be... [Gary] If it's a
gentleman riding it and he's got his nice shiny shoes on, then perhaps he keeps his shoes clean.
[John] It's a really nice example of a, you know, 1930s machine, and yeah, pleasure to see it today, [Gary] It's
a lovely bike isn't it. [John] So another really nice bike on the VMCC stand is this 1981 Ducati which
Kate, you're going to tell us a bit more about this. What model and what's so special about this
one? [Kate] Yeah it's a 1981 Ducati Mike Hailwood replica. A very original bike sold by Coburn & Hughes in the
UK, not an import. The earlier Hailwood reps had a tank cover. It looked like the petrol tank.
The petrol tank was actually underneath, whereas this is the fuel tank. And it would also have come
with, you could get them with a full fairing or it would have come with a
frame mounted short fairing. We actually have both those fairings, but because my husband is
considerably less bendy than he used to be, he fitted the handlebar risers, and this is a
nose cone fairing off a Moto Guzzi Mark 1 Le Mans. And the reason he fitted
the risers like this is because we actually didn't want to alter the bike. So he didn't,
for the sake of argument, want to drill into the top yoke and mount clamps. So it's all done
like this, so the bike can go back to being totally original at any time. [John] It makes it more comfortable, more usable.
[Kate] Yeah, I've got a 900SS, and because I'm small I cope with the sitting position. It's okay, I'm not
too scrunched up. But guys taller than me, and he just found it, well to start with you've got
quite a limiting lock with the clip-on set up. This is a bike that's easily manoeuvrable. [John] So
how does this, have you ridden this and the 900SS then? [Kate] Yeah. [John] So how do the two compare? [Kate] Essentially it's
the same bike, just a different set of clothes. I mean when we were young, I mean I'm 64 now,
when we were young, when this came out everybody wanted this. But now, oddly enough, the
750SS and the 900SSs are far more sought after and actually more valuable. [John] Yeah,
very desirable bits of kit aren't they. And they're both the bevel drive Ducatis then.
[Kate] Yes, bevel drive. [John] And what's with the sight glass?
I've never quite, I don't know a lot about Ducatis but that always catches my eye on these.
[Kate] That's what's referred to as a bevel gazer. [John] Bevel gazer, okay. [Kate] Gazer, as in gaze. [John] To look, yeah.
[Kate] It's like a little joke really. But one of the things that is unusual is that when you
start one of these big twins up, it can be as long as a minute before the oil will hit the inside of the rim. Hence that
shows you've got to be careful warming something up, because it takes that long for the oil to
arrive at the top. [John] Fair enough, and you just make sure that it's getting where it needs to.
And gaze and admire.
[Kate] Yeah, it's one of them things really. But they are referred to as bevel gazers.
[John] Excellent, excellent. And if you had to pick between the two then,
what would you go for? The 900? [Kate] Always my 900SS. Yeah, it's in black and gold. Again Coburn & Hughes
were the importers in this country, in Manchester, and it's such an elegant motorcycle.
[John] Yeah, iconic looking bike as well isn't it. [Kate] Well it is. I mean my 900SS cost me £10,000 eleven years ago.
At that point that was more money than I'd ever paid for anything with an engine.
I watched one go through the auction here in October, exactly the same as mine, £25,000.
Whereas these oddly enough don't tend to fetch as much money. [John] No, just sort of gone off the
boil a little bit. [Kate] This is topical for this show because... [John] You've got the Mike Hailwood,
book that's just come out as well, and yeah, it's relevant. Well it's a great looking bike and
thanks for talking to us about it. [Kate] Thank you. [John] Cheers.