The Distinguished Gentlemans Ride London

I picked up on the Distinguished Gentlemans Ride via facebook - and right away it grabbed my attention.  For some time I have been getting tired of the Harley and HOG scene, and have been looking for some alternate riding events that are more for me, the emphasis being on alternate bikes and in many respects alternate dress styles to go with them.  Another event which I must do next year is "Wheels and Waves" in Biarritz, check out the video.....

Anyway to return to the Distinguished Gentlemans Ride - the aim was that worldwide on the 30th September, groups of likeminded people would dress up in suits and ride their cafe racers, old style, brat bikes and trackers around the city - just for the hell of it - no Hi-Viz, no rules, just fun.

The London event was organised by the Bike Shed and Untitled Motorcycles and in the end we had over 60 bikes meeting up in Kentish Town for a marvellous 1 hour ride through the centre of London to Wandsworth.  I have to say it was a fantastic experience and I would love to do it again, and other similar events.  Anyway here are some shots that I took of the LOndon Ride - I rode my Caesar Racer (I think we only had 5 Harleys in all - what a relief!).

Caesar & Richard at the seaside!

Here is a great little promo film of the Caesar Racer and Richard II at the seaside at the weekend - shot and put together by Paul Leeson music by the amazing Song of Return and British Sea Power

Caesar Racer VI

A great start to the New Year in that my Caesar Racer has made it into BSH the top British Custom Bike Magazine with a six page spread.  This bike is a personal favourite of mine in that it was the first Big Twin Harley I owned  - bought new in 1999 as a commuting bike up to London, and it served faithfully for this clocking up 15,000 miles on 80 mile round trips.  If you go through the blog you will se its various incarnations and this final one was completed in September 2010 - and shortly after featured in Bike EXIF.  Since completion its been out on the road an lot and was used by my good friend Preben on a recent road trip to Devon where it clocked up 1000 miles.  Et tu Brute!

Caesar Racer No.6

I always like to run in my new bikes for 500 or so miles and as such the last posts have all been about No.7 which is going to be my summer ride of choice  - and its real test will be the 1400 or so miles to Croatia.

However Bike No.6 is well run in as I have owned this bike in various incarnations since new in 1999 and its done 25,000 reliable miles.  So here are a few excellent pictures taken by Mike Prior the other week for BSH magazine - I am never quite sure of my view on draping babes over the bikes - but this one does look rather good.

A Fine Day and some Press

Well the 24th of Feb has turned out to be a fine day, with temperatures nearing 20 degrees C I had to go out for a ride in the spring sunshine.  Whilst I was doing this I had the wonderful Nutty of Clean Bike Clinic giving 2 of my bikes a very nice detail clean in readiness for the International Custom Show tomorrow at Alexandra Palace.

Press wise in the post this morning came HOG magazine, which I must say is getting more interesting and diverse and far less of a sales mag for the Company - I was delighted to see a sneaky pic of Caesar Racer had crept into the advert for their new Iphone App.

In the March Issue of BSH there was a great feature on The Carole Nash Live Show at the NEC and they were kind enough to include a picture of Hamlet and Othello there too.

Next post will be about Ally Pally

London International Custom Show 2011

Next month is the London International Custom Show which is held at Alexandra Palace in North London on the 26th and 27th of February 2011.  I don't like entering Bike shows  - mainly as I never win and its a bit of a pain getting them all clean and up there - but its February and I have some time to kill until the riding season.

I am going to enter two bikes, the first is the Macbeth Bobber, which is going in the BSH Signature series where the editors of Back Street Heroes pick their favourite cover bike - here is the bike when it was on the cover:

The second bike I am going to enter is my Caesar Racer No VI in the modified Harley Class, for bikes which are essentially original Harleys but modified - often pretty radically.  This is a tough class as the main Harley Dealers enter a bike and they have some serious resources - but its good fun anyway.

Anyone who wants to come along drop me a line

Et Tu Brute?

Well we are getting close to finishing the bike now - and I am pretty pleased with the way its turning out.  I would stress that I have built this not as a show bike but as a day to day bike for running around on - its still in essence my 11 year old FXD, but with a massive makeover.  I am planning on taking this out for its maiden ride on Sat 25th September - can't wait!

Caesar Racer (Bike No. 6) - Final Build

Those regular readers of my blog will realise that I have been a bit of a slacker in respect of new bikes - well Bike No.6 The Caesar Racer based upon my old 1999 Dyna is on the ramp and making progress.  More pictures and progress over the next few weeks as I want it finished for my birthday later in September.

Caesar Racer (Bike No. 6) - Paint Back

One of the most exciting things about building bikes is when you get your paint back from the painter - I have tried to get far less prescriptive on my designs and leave it up to the painter to interpret it for me.  The last 3 bikes (including this one) have all been done by Image Design in Camberley Surrey, and I have been delighted - and this time was no exception.
My brief - keep it simple - colour palette, white orange and black, "Et, tu Brute?" on the tank and VI on the tail, and make it racy.

Have a look and tell me what you think.

Check the other Caesar Racer posts for more

Caesar Racer (Bike No. 6) - Powder and Polish Back

Following on from the polishing post, I am pleased to report that my frame and various other brackets and bits are now back from Colour Coatings in Edenbridge where they have been powdercoated Orange RAL 2010 - so all thats left is the new paint from Image Design which will be towards the end of June - Exciting.

FXD Caesar Racer (Bike No. 6) - Fabrication Finished

Just brought the Caesar Racer back to base ready for break down and send off to paint - then away for final assembly and hopefully on the road in June.  Colours will be Orange (frame and details), Black & White & Orange - Tank fenders and fairings - plus lots of mirror bright stainless and chrome.  It will have "Et tu, Brute?" on the tank and "6" on the rear cowl. Super Cool.  What really pleases me with this bike is that I have had it since new in August 1999 - and this is its third reincarnation!

Caesar Racer (Bike No. 6) - Progress

Et Tu, Brute? - Yes its all coming along nicely - we got it outside today for a proper look at the proportions and details and I am feeling really pleased with the design.  I have a slot booked for the paint in a few weeks and that will take a month, so I am realistically hoping that this bike can be finished sometime in early June - ready to ride in the glorious English Summertime!  I still have a few details to finalise, controls, grips, indicators, mudguards etc - but the style is definitely 7Ages.