Innholdsfortegnelse for March 2024 i Back Street Heroes

I couldn’t actually find the owner that day, partly because, firstly, I had no idea who owned it ’cos it, and its rider had arrived before I did so I had no idea what they looked like and, secondly, no one there seemed to know whose it was, but mainly ’cos, it turned out, he spent most of the day in the pub and hadn’t come back out when I headed off. I posted a pic’ or two on Facebook that evening though, and, thankfully, someone tagged ’im in the pics and so I was able to contact him and arrange to get these photos. Mark Gale, the owner and builder of the sterling machine you see here in front of you, has something of a biking pedigree; a life-long…

It’s fitting then, isn’t it, that the rising sun paint design on this GSX chop owned by Mike Henry, Vice-President of Chopper Club Scotland, has been done, rather than in the usual (and warm), red n’ white such schemes’re traditionally painted, in a much more climate-suitable blue and black? Actually, all joking aside, such a paint job absolutely suits the bike. Both’re of a classic design; understated, businesslike, unfussy; capable of standing the test of time. As you’d expect from someone who’s VP of the largest chopper/custom bike organisation of a country, he’s been into customs pretty much his whole life, and this ’ere Suzuki’s just one in a long, long line of bikes he’s owned and built. He has, you see, in his garage-cum-workshop, a fully serviceable frame jig…

HE continued: “But they still won’t let me park in the school grounds, so I’ve had to leave it in the council car park. You two can have a ride if you promise to stay off the road, just stay in the car park. Obviously, if you choose to ignore this friendly warning, you may, just about, live to regret it, okay? Just twist the wires together to get ignition. I’ll be out in an hour-and-a-half, make sure you look after it.” With that he lumbered off, into the exam hall. As Archie and I were at the bottom end of the bottom set anyway, it was a quick and easy decision to bunk off double French. Had anyone been looking they would’ve seen us going over the wall behind…

The closest thing to mountain events we have are, I s’pose, the Dragon Rally in Wales or, arguably, the 623MCC’s Pheasant Plucker in Derbyshire (which isn’t actually that high up really, but they have had snow there over the years when lower-lying areas haven’t). Cumbria MAG used to do the Glowing Lamb in the hills of the Lakes, and I remember sitting there one year on a hillside looking down into the valley (at least I think I do, but I was probably pissed so may be completely wrong… and I’m from East Anglia where we don’t have hills, and anything more than 50 feet above sea level gives me vertigo). CCW did a party back in the early ‘90s (’93, I think) that was on top of a hill…

Charlotte, the owner of this GS750, is his daughter-in-law, although she always called him ‘Dad’, and because of him she grew up around bikes and rallies. She’d ridden small-capacity machines for a while, until Bash, her other half, pushed her to do her full licence, promising that, if she did, he’d build her a bike her dad, Wally, would be proud of. She’d always loved his bikes, and this proved to be the impetus she needed to get on and get her test passed. As soon as she did, Bash started getting the bits together to build the bike you see here, based on a 1978 GS750 Suzuki he’d bought, originally, for himself, but which he signed over to her to have as her bike. He had at some point,…

(TO THE TUNE OF THE TWELVE DAYS OF CHRISTMAS) *and other people too, ‘course (Look, I’m writing this on me first day back after the Christmas break, okay? Yes, I know you’re reading it in February, and so it’s about as relevant as a tea-strainer, but I’m not long back after the annual festival of crass consumerism, and chocolate/Baileys for breakfast, so it is to me, alright?) The day after the London mob’s annual Diamond Day soirée at the Ace Caff, those of us not thoroughly Chopper Club’d out, and a fair few who didn’t make it into That London, traipsed (in a motorcyclicular fashion) over to the White Horse pub in the delightfully-named village of Husborne Crawley which, according to that online font of all knowledge and wisdom, takes…

Eee, hasn’t the world changed, eh? When I first started drinking (semi) legally, a beer (Younger’s Tartan bitter if you remember it) cost 79p in the local biker pub, and BSH was, I think, 95p. These days both a beer (well, round my way anyway) and a BSH cost a fiver each, but what would you say if we could do you a special deal, and do you a BSH at just £3.83 instead of £5? That’s a saving of (works out on fingers) 23% – nothing to be sniffed at! CHOOSE WHICH BSH SUBSCRIPTION SUITS YOU BEST 1: 12-MONTH SUBSCRIPTION BEST VALUE 12 print issues for £47 Direct Debit 12 print issues for £52 credit/debit card SAVE £15.40 2: SIX-MONTH SUBSCRIPTION 6 print issues for £25 Direct Debit 6…

DRAGONTT OXYMORON The DragonTT Oxymoron is a new ultra-fast, sportsbike-style quad with a revolutionary suspension system that allows it to lean through bends in the same way a solo mo’bike does and, slightly unfortunate name aside, is a radical new design that could be the way forward for those who still want the feel of a bike, a real bike, but aren’t able to hold one up anymore. The engine makes 125bhp at 10,500rpm, giving the Oxymoron a top speed of 140mph, and 0-60 acceleration time of just over four seconds, and the whole plot weighs just 361 kilos thanks to the use of alloys and carbon fibre giving the quad an excellent power-to-weight ratio. They’re still in the prototype stage at the moment (and, hopefully, they’ll give it a…

“After selling my GSX400 hardtail chop, the first bike I rode after passing my test in 1993, I was on the hunt for another ride. After viewing a few with, how shall I put this, questionable history in my native Leicester, one finally came up through Phil Piper, the legendary Phil Piper, who knew of someone who’d just built a bike that was up for sale. I went round there and, a few cups of tea later in his kitchen, I’d already fallen in love with the silver GSX-R 750 hardtail that was sitting outside waiting to be viewed – I knew then this was the one. The frame’d been built for it by the now defunct Streetfighters UK, but it had no prior ‘history’, and was a fresh build…

Now when I say No Nonsense Harleys I mean Harleys either built or partially made by Charlie Beaton at No Nonsense Choppers, the guy who, along with Logie and the wonderfully-named Wee Sis, built and rode the arse out of some of the most radical choppers on the planet a few years ago, but I also mean they’re no nonsense Harleys in the usual sense of the words, too – they’re tough, hard-working bikes, with no frills, built to cover the miles, and looking as though they’d happily get an XL Bully in a headlock and give it a wedgie (assuming XL Bullies wear underpants that is). No, both the bikes you see here are No Nonsense and no nonsense. We’ll look at the red ’un first, shall we? This…

Luckily my facial hair is apparently CE-marked as safety equipment and, apart from a slight graze, there wasn’t any damage. I did get a certain amount of lecturing about safety equipment though, none of which involved using a hacksaw instead of a cutting disc on the grinder which is odd, because the important thing to remember about grinders is that they can bite you rather hard, even if you’re wearing full PPE whereas you have to be fairly stupid to hacksaw your own finger right off. So, my top angle grinder safety tip is to use a hacksaw instead, much safer. Back to the GT550 frame then. In the last instalment, I made a jig to keep all the engine mounts in place, and started cutting the rusted frame rail…

HJC V31 OPEN-FACE HELMET The V31 is a retro-style open-face helmet with a lightweight advanced fibreglass composite shell; a three-position sun shield with anti-scratch coating; a leather and suede interior; a goggle-strap holder; a removable peak; removable/washable ear padding; Bluetooth-ready ear pockets; and a three-year warranty. Available in a range of graphics, and plain matt black, and in all the usual sizes, they cost £199.99 (£179.99 for the matt black) from anywhere that stocks the HJC range or www.oxfordproducts.com REPLICA KEIHIN CV40 CARBURETTOR These replica Keihin CV40 (Constant Vacuum) carburettors for Harleys by American Prime Manufacturing are so close to the original you can use OEM parts to tune or rebuild them. They’re a direct replacement for many models, but can be used on other models and tuned engines with…

This month I set out MAG’s position on climate change, along with our alternative policy to reduce atmospheric pollution without crippling our country, without curtailing our freedom, and without reducing us to a miserable state of poverty. This, then, is MAG’s manifesto for the next General Election, which we’re offering up for any reasonable and sensible candidate to adopt who wants our support. MAG accepts that Earth’s climate is changing, and has been since the planet formed. With the population growth of modern times, it’d be surprising if mankind hadn’t contributed to that change. Governments must properly think through policies to deal with the issues we face, and must base those policies on sound information, allowing fair consideration to all legitimate interests. That can only happen if the debate is…