News from Stuart Hall, VéloSoleX marque enthusiast with the NACC:
I have just received information from Jean Maurice Duhaut - the president of the Solex Club Spirales - the Solex Club of Calais. On the 19th December, 26 member of the SCS are coming to Britain with their Solexes and support vehicle on a "Solex raid". Their intention is to ride from Dover to Canterbury for lunch, and then back to Dover again (approx 18 miles each way).
Please see the original messages from Mr Duhaut below this message.
He has invited myself and other Solex enthusiasts to join them for the ride. Both myself and fellow Velosolex enthusiast Peter Jones definitely intend to join them for the ride.
They will arrive and return by P&O ferry. They arrive at 9:25 local time and the rendezvous point is the entrance to the P&O ferry port. They intend to return to Dover at 4:30pm to catch the 5:30 ferry home.
I have been asked to encourage any other Solexistes with a running and roadworthy Solex who might like to join them for the ride to please do so. So, if you would like to participate in this SCS event please rendezvous at the exit to the P&O ferry terminal at 9:15am at the latest on Saturday 19 December. Hope to see you there.
Please let me know if you intend to rendezvous, so we know who to expect. Wrap up warm - bring helmet & fuel etc!
Kind regards,
Stuart.
Nous partons de Calais le 19/12 par le bateau P&O 8h55 heure locale française pour arrivée 9h25 heure locale anglaise. Nous reprenons le bateau pour 17h30 heure locale anglaise, et 1 heure avant pour l'embarquement soit 16h30 locale en gare. Si vous avez d'autres copains qui veulent venir nous rejoindre et nous montrer le chemin c'est OK. Pour se retrouver, le mieux c'est la sortie de la gare maritime. Nous sommes 26 Solex + 2 voitures avec 7 personnes. Voilà je pense vous avoir tout dit!
À bientôt et merci,
Jean-Maurice DUHAUT
Solex Club Spirales de Calais
SORN - We're sure that most of you are aware that, when you buy a bike that is subject to SORN, you have to declare SORN as soon as it becomes yours. Unlike a tax disc, any unexpired SORN does not transfer to a new owner. In its latest Newsletter, the FBHVC points out that you cannot do this on-line. You can't make an on-line SORN declaration in the same month as a change of ownership. When you send the V5 or V5C off for the change of ownership (or the V62 if you didn't get a V5 with the bike), send in a V890 as well to declare SORN.
Fizzy - We also noticed in the FBHVC newsletter that the Yamaha FS1E Owners Club has recently joined the Federation - well done, Fizzy owners!
You might remember that, in May this year, we added a gallery of Nick Ward's drawings to this Website. These were all from Nick's Classic Buying Guide series. Since then, we've been nagging at Nick to let us have some of his other pictures. After a really thorough search through a decade's worth of pictures, Nick has turned up with another dozen. These include several etching and aquatints, about which Nick says:
"A quick word about the etchings. They are some of my more 'serious' work (despite the subject matter) and are part of a set depicting all sorts of old motorcycles 'in their natural environments'. Other subjects include such exotic items as a BSA[*], Ariel VB, Norton Big 4 and a Rudge Special in a nettle patch. Some of the etchings are still available and further details can be found on Bircham Gallery's website - www.birchamgallery.co.uk."
[*] "Bantam, that is, none of your rubbish..."
We've re-hung the gallery with the new pictures mixed in among the ones that were already there. Take a look - the first room is as good a place to start as any.
Jim Switzer Has sent us details of a couple of websites that may be of intereest to IceniCAM readers:
Information on the Nassetti Il Pellegrino (Brunetta) 'help motors' - to us in the GB, clip-on motors - can be found at www.nassetti.nl/brunettaeng.html.
Issue 2 of Model Engine Builder (a Stateside model engineering magazine) includes an article by one Ron Colonna on building a ¼" scale model of a Whizzer motorcycle. The magazine site is at www.modelenginebuilder.com/issuetwo.htm.
We've joined the FBHVC as a trade supporter. The FBHVC - the Federation of British Historic Vehicle
Clubs - exists to uphold the freedom to use old vehicles on the
road. It does this by representing the interests of vehicle
owners to politicians, government officials and legislators both
in the UK and in Europe. Our colleagues, the East Anglian
Cyclemotor Club, are members of the FBHVC and we've also noticed that Pete Stratford Cyclemotor and
Autocycle Spares is a Trade Supporter too. As keeping
these old machines on the road is one of out fundamental aims
here at IceniCAM, it seemed only right that we should join
too. For more information about what the FBHVC does, a countrywide calendar of historic
vehicle events and a directory of traders within the historc
vehicle movement, have a look at the FBHVC
Website
News from the EACC is that it has two new sections: one in Wiltshire and one in Hertfordshire. As we are nearing the end of the rally season, the new Hertfordshire section is looking towards organising some runs in 2010. In Wiltshire, they are starting off with evening meetings on the last Wednesday of each month and will then think about some road runs in 2010. While this is obviously good news for the EACC, it is also good news - and what a pleasant change it is to have good news from this quarter - for the NACC too. It is the aim of both these sections to foster co-operation and friendship between the members of both clubs in their areas. As an example, the EACC Wiltshire meetings are at the same time and place as the NACC's North Wiltshire section meetings - in other words, a joint meeting for the members of both clubs. We congratulate the members of both clubs for their initiative.
In stark contrast, NACC members have recently received a copy of the club's annual accounts, which show that the club's finances have plummeted by more than £6,000. A surplus of over £2,500 last year has become a loss of over £3,500 this year. On the face of it, bad news for the NACC … or is it? The NACC has been spiralling into decline for several years but most of the effects of that have not been tangible to the majority of NACC members. Now we have a real, practical illustration of what the committee's playing with petty politics is doing to the club. Maybe this will bring home to the membership the damage that is being done to their club. If, more importantly, the members do something about it and call a halt to all their committee's trouble-making, then this loss may end up being a good thing for the club. After all, it's only money.
We had great weather for the event, and a good time was had by all. There were 16 Solexes and 14 Citroëns. We started on the Upper West Side of Manhattan Island at Grant's Tomb (where General Grant is buried), then rode downtown to the Highline Park which is an abandoned elevated train line that has been transformed into a park. Next we stopped at Washington Square Park where there is an arch that resembles the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. Then uptown on Park Avenue, passing around Grand Central Terminal on the elevated roadway. And we finished the event at the French-American "Bastille Day on 60th Street" Fair at the southern end of Central Park.
I have posted 14 videos here:
http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=Rickbrendan&view=videos
and a set of photos here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/63216488@N00/sets/72157621409637249/
Also the route map, some photos and videos here:
http://cyclo60.pagesperso-orange.fr/solex-new-york-2009.html
More photos here:
http://picasaweb.google.com/tavaresja/BastilleDay2009#
Solexly,
Brian Colter
Contact: Howie Seligmann, +1.201.863.7600
The Greater New York Citroëen & Vélosolex Touring Club is pleased to announce that the tenth Annual Bastille Day Rally & Rendez-Vous Around New York City will take place on Sunday, July 12, 2009. With over 50 Citroën automobiles and Vélosolex motorized bicycles from France, the Rally is the largest active automotive event in New York City. The Consul General of France will officiate the 10:00 AM start.
The classic car and motorbike rally will commence on Riverside Drive in Manhattan and wind through the streets and avenues around New York City, and conclude at Fifth Avenue and 60th Street. In conjunction with the French Institute - Alliance Française Bastille Day Fair the vehicles will be on permanent display. As in previous years the public is invited to view the vehicles prior to départ and along the Rally route and at the Fifth Avenue and 60th Street conclusion.
WHO: The Bastille Day Rally & Rendez-Vous Around New York City
WHAT: An annual event showcasing classic Citroën automobiles and Vélosolex motorbikes
WHEN: Sunday, July 12, 2009 at 10:00 AM
WHERE: Line up at 122nd Street and Riverside Drive (south) New York City, NY
HOW: Interested participants can register by contacting Howie Seligmann or Ed Merryman at +1.201.863.7600
WEB: http://bastilledayr.googlepages.com/
(Primary sponsor: www.velosolexamerica.com)
On the weekend of 13 & 14 June, while many EACC members were enjoying their event at Horham, the club had a 'second front' at the Burford vehicle show. EACC member Mike Bagshall organised the stand, which was very busy on both days and attracted lots of interest. So much so, that the event organisers awarded it not only the 'Best Motor Cycle Stand' but also the 'Best Stand in Show', prizes.
Back in January, in our Review of the Year, we expressed our hope that changes in the NACC committee could herald an end to that club's troubles. Sadly, that hope has proved to be a forlorn one. The currrent committee looks set to keep trouble brewing for yet another year.
News has reached us that, at its meeting in April 2009, the NACC's committee decided to expel one of its two remaining founder members: Andrew Pattle. Andrew's membership had been suspended by the committee towards the end of 2007 and remained in suspense for nearly a year and a half while the committee dithered over making the final decision.
This leaves Andrew Roddham as the last founder member remaining in the club. The NACC's actions against Andrew Roddham have been even more bizarre. It appears that, at some time in 2008, the committee decided to suspend Andrew R's membership too ... but didn't tell anyone, not even Andrew himself! The first inkling Andrew had was when he did not receive his annual membership renewal. He sent the renewal fee in anyway and the NACC's Membership Secretary, Bob Jeffcoat, replied to say he could not renew because his membership had been suspended; the committee would decide whether to expel him at the April meeting. Andrew was neither given an explanation of why he had been suspended, nor given the chance to go to the meeting to defend himself. Presumably, the committee decided against expelling him because, following the committee meeting, Andrew was sent a new membership card. Again, without a word of explanation.
The action taken against both its founder members is undoubtedly related to the troubles that have dogged the NACC for over three years now. After Mark Daniels was expelled in August 2007, it was proved that the committee's charges against him were completely false; both the Andrews had been trying to get this dishonest expulsion reversed. However, we now hear that there is further dissatisfaction among NACC members - this time unrelated to all the previous trouble that their committee has caused. Unless the ordinary members can, somehow, regain control of their club, the NACC's future looks rather bleak. For the club to continue in decline at a time when enthusiasm for our machines is at an all-time high, is a strong indication that there is something seriously wrong in the way the club is being run.
Chainmail has imported a batch of new stock 26"×2"×1¾", 36 hole chrome plated rims to suit early autocycles and trade bikes, and is now listing these at £22 each. This rim size has been completely unavailable for a number of years now, since the last of the Van Schothorst stock dried up. The rims are completely plain of any marking, so the actual manufacturer is not indicated, but they are certainly of Chinese origin. The section profile appears more comparable to the original Dunlop, where the Van Schothorst form used to be a little more ridged in the centre. The welded joint, polishing, and chrome plating generally appears better than the quality typically observed on Italian Radaelli rims.
In terms of comparative gauge thickness, the original Dunlop rims were 18 gauge (0.048"). These Chinese rims are made from 1mm material, equivalent of 19 gauge (0.040"). The Van Schothorst rims used to be produced in 21 gauge (0.032"), which was only a light cycle gauge section, and not best suited to the powered application of autocycles. Wheel builders generally didn't like assembling the Van Schothorst rims, complaining they were too weak, and a number of riders reported a tendency to buckle in service. The thicker section of these Chinese rims suggests they should perform much better.
The pierced spoke hole size is 0.180" (the Van Schothorst rims were just the same in this aspect), which may require cleaning out slightly to build, since Suffolk Wheels report that the standard 12 gauge spoke nipple is 0.200" diameter. The pierced (cycle) valve hole size is 1/4" (0.250"), which will require opening up to 5/16" (0.312") for anyone wishing to fit Schrader valve inner tubes.
Robin Cowling at Suffolk Wheels (e-mail ) has access to these rims for any customers wanting wheels built, and Chainmail is also offering to distribute further stock in trade packs, so they may become available from other outlets.
Suffolk Wheels has just received a batch of Radaelli 2"×19" (23") 36 hole, Endrick pattern, new chrome rims, and they're now available at £28 each. Contact Robin Cowling, 16 Everton Crescent, Ipswich, IP1 6DB; tel 01473-745380; e-mail
With square section dimpled sides, these rims are particularly suitable for calliper braked machines like VéloSoleX, Raleigh RM6 Runabout, basic Mobylette models, etc. This style of rim has been unavailable for some time, and they are not listed anywhere else in the UK. We can comfirm this Endrick pattern stock is quite limited; once they've gone, it's not at all clear when a re-stock may be possible.
Suffolk Wheels also holds a stock of Radaelli 2"×19" (23") 36 hole, Westwood pattern new chrome rims at £26 each, which are also not listed anywhere else.
Following on from the announcement of leather tool bags in April 2008, selections for the cyclist and cyclemotorist have now been expanded with introduction of a new range of Triangle Bags.
Like the saddlebags, these are made from 1/8" thick genuine
leather, in black or brown, and available in three
specifications:
Style - Large Cyclemotor 8½"×7"×2", £35
each.
Style - Large Cycle (narrow)
8½"×7"×1½", £30 each.
Style - Small Cycle (narrow)
7"×5½"×1½", £25 each.
Large sizes accommodate folding plugspanner and space for more substantial tools for the cyclemotorist, while narrow width options thoughtfully allow clearance for three-speed gear cable route on cycles.
Several styles of suitable plug spanner are also offered to complement the bags, including specialist Cyclemaster pattern. See the Saddle-Bags site for further details.
Triangle Bags are quite an old-fashioned carrier that largely faded from popularity after the war. Though there are a number of similarly arranged modern equivalents, these haven't been available in traditional style and materials for some considerable time.
Despite giving the magazine away for free on the Web, we seem to have accumulated a bit of money in the IceniCAM funds - well over £50 in fact. These fabulous riches were burning a hole in our pocket so we had a look around for something to spend them on.
Nick Ward's drawing of a Clark Scamp in More Devilry proved popular with our readers, so we went back to Nick to say "Can we have some more, please?" Nick agreed and, as a result, we now have a Nick Ward Gallery. We put a dozen pictures there to start with ... and now we've added another 3½. What's the half? If you look at the fourth gallery page, you'll see the three new pictures and a gap for one more. Nick has asked us to wait until mid-July before we show that one to you.
2009 is the Mobylette's diamond jubilee and to celebrate, the Motobécane Club de France (MCF) is staging an event at Saint Quentin on 30th and 31st May. The weekend is packed with events and, being French, substantial meals. It's open to all but you must book in advance to take part. The cost varies depending on which of the weekend's events you want to take part in and whether you are an MCF member or not. So, rather than try and reproduce it all here, we recommend that you go to the MCF's web site at www.motobecane-club-de-france.org. Bookings have to be in by the end of April.
Several autocycles, cyclemotors and mopeds will sold by auction later this month. They are part of the collection of the late Brian Ayre and form part of a 3-day sale on 30th April to 2nd May. Day 1 of the sale will be held at The Corn Exchange Chambers, Queen Street, Market Rasen. Days 2 and 3 will be at Ingledene, Gallamore Lane, Middle Rasen, Lincs, LN8 3UB. The bikes will be sold on day 2. The lots include: a Cymota, a Cyclemaster, a 2F New Hudson autocycle, a JDL New Hudson autocycle, an Ariel 3, an NSU Quickly (with buff log book), a Norman Nippy, a Demm Dove, a Raleigh Wisp, a Her-Cu-Motor, a Raleigh Automatic, a Puch moped, a Tomos moped and two Motobécane mopeds.
More information and a downloadable catalogue are available from the auctioneers: Perkins & George Mawer.
The first weekend of March was an action-packed one here at IceniCAM HQ with both the Vehikel autojumble in Utrecht and the East Anglian Cyclemotor Club West Anglian Spring Run on the calendar. The original plan was to go to Vehikel on Saturday, then straight from Utrecht to Bedford. Stena Line scuppered that plan by not running an overnight boat on Saturday night. Fortunately, the jumble is a three-day event, so we moved our trip forward to Friday and still attended both events. We've put up four pages of photographs of our 'staff outing' to Vehikel. Not only did we go to the jumble, but we managed to fit in a visit to a moped scrapyard too. As a result of our trip, we've added some new contacts for Solex spares and Puch spares to our directory. We also found out about some more books and acquired some more documents for the Information Service. Saturday was not much of a rest day - for a start there were all those photos to be sorted and uploaded. We're gaining a bit of a reputation for getting pictures posted on the evening following an event - Vehikel is the first time we've had out photos on the Web a day before the event finished.
Sunday was the first time the EACC had had a run in March and their efforts were rewarded when 28 riders turned up. For some club members, this was the first chance to take their winter restoration projects to an event, for others it was the opportunity to see what new items the regular autojumblers had got into stock in the last few months, for everyone it was a chance to sample the bacon rolls that are a special feature of the 'West Anglian' events. It was a fine, sunny day (except when it rained!) and we've posted up a page of photographs of this event.
The French motor cycle world abounds with slang words; "gobbomania" was one we hadn't heard before. Until, that is, the 19th February edition (no 554) of La Vie de la Moto landed on the doormat. In it, Bernard Soler-Thèbes reveals all: it refers to the early 1960s craze for le réservoir bossu (literally "hunchback fuel tank") on sports mopeds. Our montage of Malaguti, Mi-Val and VAP examples shows you what we're on about.
RollerDrive has announced an addition to its range of cyclemotor drive rollers with the completion of its first batch of new machined steel Trojan Mini-Motor rollers. These have been produced with 20 teeth (the original cast iron Trojan rollers were 18T), so may deliver slightly improved tyre traction with smoother running. Being machined steel, they are also expected to be more durable than the original cast roller. Price is listed at £60 each.
Demand for this new roller has been so high that, within a day of it being announced, orders had been placed for the entire first batch! RollerDrive has already started to produce a second batch of rollers.
The lead article in the 8th January edition (no 548) of La Vie de la Moto is all about the Paloma Super Strada - well worth getting hold of a copy if you're a fan of Sports Mopeds. www.lva-moto.fr
As we start another year and complete the second year's worth of Iceni CAM Magazines, it's a good time to look back at what's happened over the last twelve months and to ponder about what the next twelve may hold. The big feature of the last year must be the weather - not much of a summer, was it? Despite the rain, the East Anglian Cyclemotor Club reports that, thanks to the enthusiasm of its members, all its events went ahead as planned. It poured down on their Essex Run and, consequently, attendance was not very high; however, enough members were determined to brave the rain and the run went ahead as planned. All their other events managed to avoid the worst of the weather and were very well attended, even those on grey days.
The EACC itself must be the other news story of the year. Twelve months ago it was newly formed with no events arranged; since then it has quadrupled in size and has held a full programme of runs. Most of these have been in Suffolk, where the club started but, as the year progressed, events further afield started to appear in the calendar. As far as membership numbers go, the EACC is probably now second only to the NACC, but easily outperforms the NACC in terms of attendance at events and the services it provides to its members.
So, what of the NACC? The NACC has been struggling for the last three years, beset with internal bickering. The last twelve months have shown no signs of improvement. In fact, the biggest visible change has been a drop in the standard of its magazine, Buzzing, as the club ended the contract of its best-ever editor and replaced him with its worst-ever editor. Why? It's difficult to guess but it's a quite well-paid position so some internal rivalry over money would seem to be the likely cause. The NACC's biggest saving asset is its local sections. Several of these are continuing to run very successfully despite the failings of the club's central organisation. There's a faint glimmer of hope on the horizon for the NACC as we're told that one of the main troublemakers on its committee has just resigned. It remains to be seen whether the others have the gumption to sort out the mess he's left behind. Sadly, based on their previous performance, it seems unlikely.
That's enough doom & gloom, let's get back to the more successful clubs. It has been business as usual in VMCC's Cyclemotor Section, with its calendar of events continuing the pattern of the last few years. Let's stay with the VMCC as we stop looking back and look forward to what's in store in the coming year. Although the Cyclemotor Section is a 'non-territorial' section of the VMCC and was on the scene before even the original EACC was formed, for a number of reasons it remained centred around the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire area for many years. Over the past few years it has started to expand its area of activity and this expansion looks as if it will be gathering momentum in 2009. We hear that the Cyclemotor Section is making moves to start up some new events in areas that have been deserted by the NACC. The EACC too is continuing its expansion and already has a couple of new events scheduled for this year.
Outside the 'moped world', economic recession is the big shadow looming over 2009 - what effect will this have on us? Cyclemotors and mopeds are at the cheap end of the Classic Vehicle hobby and it's likely that, for everyone who decides he can't afford to 'play with mopeds' any more, another will discover that mopeds can give as much enjoyment as a bigger machine, but at a smaller cost. As we know from the response we've had since we launched IceniCAM, there is a growing abount of interest in cyclemotors, autocycles and mopeds. There's no reason why that growth should not continue. The one change that economic recession might bring is that events will become more localised as people become more reluctant to travel long distances to go to runs. With their plans to start more events around the country, it looks as if 2009 will be a good year for both the EACC and the VMCC Cyclemotor Section. The same effect should make it a good year for the more autonomous sections of the NACC too, although the future still looks bleak for that club as a whole.
There is another club on the scene that we have not mentioned yet: the Sports Moped Owners Club. The only reason we haven't mentioned them before is because we don't know much about what they are doing. If there are any SMOC members who read IceniCAM and who'd like to get in touch, we'd be pleased to report on your club's activities.
Will 2009 be the year of the cyclemotor? Nowadays, mopeds are the mainstay of club events but there has been a big revival of interest in autocycles in the last few years. Last year, we reported on some initiatives to remanufacture cyclemotor spares, drive rollers and engine mounting bushes for example. Could this presage a similar revival in the popularity of these machines?
Even older news stories are available in our 2008 News Archive
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