Classic Motorcycle Mechanics Bike Show 10th Oct 2021

[Millietant]

Had a brilliant day out on Sunday at the Classic Motorcycle Mechanics Bike Show in Stafford. Beautiful sunny day, good friends and hundreds of great bikes - just a pity that there wasn't a single FJ 1100/1200 that i could find on show.

But....some awesome 2 strokes as well as some neat 4 strokes and lots of "specials" to annoy the purists.

So...Specials First - Here's a few of my favourites from the day - 1) a 1600cc, 6 cylinder, Suzuki Katana; 2) A Rob North framed Triumph Trident race bike; 3) A 3 cylinder Yamaha "RD 600"; 4) A modernised 3 cylinder Yamaha "RD 550 LC"; 5) a "unique" take on a RDLC "street tracker"; 6) A Kawasaki KR1S (tandem twin 2 stroke) street bike based racer; 7) A Suzuki GT 750 (Water Buffalo / Kettle) cafe racer - with a "barn find" un-restored Dunstall Suzuki GT 750 in the background; and 9) two very different early 1970's Yamaha RD 250/350's, both amazing in their own way.

[Millietant]

A few more photo's of my other favourites from the show - 4 strokes first - hopefully they take no explanation, with the exception of the 2 Hesketh's at the end, included for curiosity value 

[Millietant]

Some other "stock" 2 strokes, starting off with the 2 that I wanted to buy - The Kawasaki 400 triple, but not for upwards of $20k USD and the Kawasaki 250 triple, that wasn't for sale.

And ending with the 2 kings of the "Sixteener Specials" from the mid 1970's - 50cc mopeds that could touch 60mph, but still had push bike pedals that you could use to ride at a snails pace with the engine off, just to make them legal to ride for 16 year olds in the UK. Gentreman, I give you the Garelli Tiger Cross and the Fantic Caballero (the ultimate "moped").

[Millietant]

And to finish off, some classic Yamaha race bikes, a very desirable indeed Yamaha TZR 250 race rep street bike and a Suzuki GT 750 tribute to Barry Sheene

[fj1289]

Very nice show!  Would love to have something of that scale here!

Looks like more than a couple Allen Millyard fans/followers out there!  Very cool!

[Old Rider]

What a fantastic show That is what i call real steel motorcycles  Thanks for posting the pics  
I once had a RC163 but it had a electrical wire and hand control ,got it as a present from my mom when on vacation in Spain.Maybe that was when my motorcycle interest started

[andyoutandabout]

What a truly awesome trip down memory lane. Bike mad Britain in the 80s; halcyon days.
My unofficial 'Bring back two strokes' campaign would be in good company, but not for those prices. They were a couple of hundred quid all in back in the day. I'm hoping Brexit will revitalize manufacturers to bring back RD350LCs for the masses of headbangers ready to maraud around the B roads of England. (at least one positive should come out of the EU break)
Mind you, if folks are going to build six cylinder Kats, then resources should be diverted to that worthy endeavor.
Luckily for us, no Fjs on show. Don't be sad, its our secret, otherwise we'd be in the same position as the 'classic' bikers; breaking the bank on every nut and bolt when things went wrong.
Applauding the Fjs success in anonymity.

[Millietant]

I'm totally with you on the 2 stroke front Andy......we NEED them back.

I reckon Yamaha could shift a boatload of the original RD 350 LC's if they sold them today, at the right price, and with modern engine technology, wheels, brakes and suspension units.

[Millietant]

What a fantastic show That is what i call real steel motorcycles  Thanks for posting the pics  
I once had a RC163 but it had a electrical wire and hand control ,got it as a present from my mom when on vacation in Spain.Maybe that was when my motorcycle interest started

I just wish I could have had the time to take photo of every nice bike there, but there wasn't enough time and I was walking around the show on crutches, so I was a bit slow.

My photo's are just the tip of the iceberg and although this is a relatively "small" show on the National Calendar, it's far and away my favourite show of all - and still big enough that 8 hours isn't enough to see everything (I missed some of engine start-ups and interviews, didn't "do" the Wall of Death and only had 1 cuppa). The number of autojumble stalls also makes it just a great place to find unusual parts (I picked up 2 side panels and an air scoop for the FJ for pennies) and I blew a few/lot of £'s on some extra tools that I really "need" 

[Millietant]

Very nice show!  Would love to have something of that scale here!

Looks like more than a couple Allen Millyard fans/followers out there!  Very cool!

Yeah, adding extra cylinders to make the bikes the factory SHOULD have built is becoming quite a popular thing these days - and I'm pretty sure it's all down to Mr Millyard. 

[gumby302ho]

 Lots of great bikes there, as with many I do enjoy the 2 smokes, I have a Bombardier MX6 250 dirt machine from my youth that was very hairy on the power band and the hotter if got it seemed to turn into a screaming gorilla that was hard to keep the front end planted. Sad news but suck bang suck bang 2 strokes will never be brought back in production because they are just too nasty for the environment. I believe they have tried to perfect them but they can never get a clean burn like with modern 4 strokes. When I took my riders test there was a guy there using his fathers Water Buffalo to get his M licence and that was the last 2 stroke bike I have seen on the road where I ride. I dont like to think about emissions but we all know in our hearts where all this is going.

[Millietant]

Here's a couple of photos of some of the old 2 strokes from the family - the first pic is the last 2 stroke that was in our garage - it's a 50cc "moped" we got our youngest for his 16th birthday. They're all legally restricted to 31 mph top speed here, but after 1 day on it, I took it in and had the full de-restriction done on it which meant it would sit comfortably at 55-60mph and hit 65 with the slightest downhill  

You can see why even when it was restricted, he knew it was the one for him !

The others are my YZ 400 and my Husky 250, both of which I abused incessantly, and both of which I adored. The Husky was handed down to my younger brother. He started off on a Fantichino, then a NVT Ranger, then a Suzuki TS 100 and finally my old Husky. Once he'd passed his test he got a NSR 250 and came riding with me on my NC 30 and my dad on my old CB 650  

Great times, great memories !

[Millietant]

These were my first road legal 2 strokes, a FS1E (the photo isn't my bike, but the same year/model/colour) and my KH 250 with me on it and baby bro on the back, resplendent in long hair and flares 

The final photo has me and my bro in it 20 years later at Spa Francorchamps, when we "broke into" the track through an open gate in the mid week and did a load of laps, took some photo's and then got thrown out by the security guys - he's on his GSXR 750.

[Pat Conlon]

Thanks Dean, that was lovely. Makes me glad to see those classics so well cared for.  What a great event!

Pat