Boys Trip to Torquay (Third Year)

Last weekend was our annual boys trip to Torquay - this year, it was me on Macbeth, Preben went on the Othello Tracker, Paul on his Blackline, Andy on his XR1200 and a new recruit Steve, who went on some huge BMW tourer with a reverse gear (he will be getting a Harley soon - its inevitable) - I could see him checking out the Harleys in Dockgate 20 Dealership.

We had a slight route change this year as Andy (who was our Ride Captain) had heard about a great pub in Glastonbury, so after checking in at the Travelodge and having a Subway we set off on a pub crawl to end up at the mythical King Arthur.  Needless to say the pub was crap, and full of 14 year olds drinking alcopops - but we had had plenty beforehand and stayed in the excellent Mitre Inn (this is the best pub in Glastonbury).

The next day was a misty start, and my first port of call was Riders of Bridgewater for a quick oil change after I had topped up the day before with car oil - service there was great and well recommended.  The mist soon burned off and we made our way to the North Coast of Devon to visit the very picturesque Lynmouth - I would definitely go back here for an overnight stay!  On departing Lynmouth after Andy followed his rubbish Satnav for one more wrong turn, I headed off with Preben in the other direction and followed the course of the River Exe through Exmoor  - this is a great road.  Then seeing a sign for the M5 we blasted it to Torquay for some early beers.  Torquay is a top place - its a holiday resort and has a great vibe to the town., and so another heavy night followed with obligatory shorts in the Hotel Bar when we got back.

As usual its a slow ride back on the Sunday, but it was a warm sunny day and after a Mcdonalds at Chichester we were soon back on form for some final beers back in Tunbridge Wells.   600 miles in 3 days on a hardtail is not so bad!

Sadly this really marks the end of the riding season for proper trips - next one will be St Tropez in May 2013.....

......and finally here is Paul's video of the trip!

Smoking Hamlet

Here is another great little video by Paul Leeson of our recent shoot down in Dungeness - proves we go fast sometimes!

13 Months....

Last Sunday we made a video down at Dungeness - really just a cross between an art film, a bit of fun, and a chance to show the bikes.  I had a soundtrack in mind by a recent favourite band Sweet Billy Pilgrim - and by the wonders of Twitter they let me use it.
Over the last few years I have taken a lot of "road videos" just sticking a camera on the bike and letting the scenery do the talking  with the aid of a soundtrack.  But as with my photography making better films is becoming much more interesting - although its a lot more effort.
The soundtrack of this song "Here it begins" is effectively a score by Sweet Billy Pilgrim of a monologue by Mandy Patinkin from the film "Music of Chance".
Anyway here is the film  - filmed, directed starring and edited by Paul Leeson..... - watch it in full HD!

Making a Video

A couple of my friends are keen on making videos and offered to make a free one of my bikes.  So this Sunday we set off to Dungeness on Hamlet and Othello for a spot of film making on the coast - great fun was had by all, and the film will be posted in a few weeks.  In the meantime here are a few stills I took.

Digger Bikes

I was reading Cyril Huze Blog the other day, and was really interested to read a post about Arlen Ness re-inventing the Digger Bike, which is basically a low slung drag style bike running matching 23" wheels, which is very much what I have been doing with the last 4 of my bikes (4,5,6 and now Romeo80) - although all with a different style.  Here is the Ness bike and its very cool.

Looking at this has got me thinking as the one bike I have built over the last few years that I have not been totally happy with is the Othello Bike 5, for 2 reasons, the first its anti-socially noisy and the second is that it has mini-apes which are very comfortable but dont reflect me or my riding style.  So I have been thinking:

• Mount the headlamp lower
• Put on some drag bars
• Add a new 2-1 exhaust with muffler

Have a look at the pictures and let me know what you think?

Back Street Heroes October 2011

Nice to make the centrefold and an 8 page spread in BSH with Othello.

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

Ace Cafe - Brighton Burn Up 2010

Well after a miserable few days weather it was great for the sun to shine for the Brighton Burn Up - I went down with my mates Paul and Andy - and despite losing Andy for a bit and my exhaust coming loose, no major mishaps.  I have no idea the size of the crowd but the whole of Marine Drive from the pier down to the marina was full up with bikes and most of the top of the cliff too  - it was heaving, and I guess thats why it is one of the premier bike events of the year.  I went down on my Othello bike and was delighted with the responses - the bike is a real crowd puller.  Other highlights would be a nice free beer in the Shaw's VIP Airstream and I also found a leather strap to tie up my exhaust for a great ride home!
For some more great shots please check out my friend David Bartholomews Blog http://www.davidbartholomew.co.uk/brighton/brighton_bike_run.html

Cyril Huze Blog - Othello

Alway great to get a feature in the World's Number #1 Custom Motorcycle Blog.
Thanks Cyril - please view and leave a comment!!

http://www.cyrilhuzeblog.com/2010/07/26/harley-davidson-othello-tracker/

BSA Garage in Mereworth

On the way back from the Rye Show I went back up the motorway to put Othello Bike No.5 through its paces and its going very well cruising most comfortably at 80mph with plenty spare for overtaking.  As I didn't take any pictures of it at the show, I thought I would stop at this old BSA garage in Mereworth for some shots - here is one that I adjusted to give a period feel.

HOG Gallery - Ride of the week (2)

Looks like I made it again - those guys at HOG are very kind!

Othello Tracker (Bike No. 5)

I have been waiting for the sun to shine, so that I can ride the bike over to Roddy Paine's studio and get some professional shots done.  (A full spec of the bike is available on the Main Site).  The bike rides well indeed like Bike No.4 Hamlet, the 23" wheels give a precise feel when cornering and the HD lump has bags of grunt and a fantastic noise through the fish tail exhausts.  Its been registered brand new as a 10 plate and I will be selling it this year - contact me for details.

Othello Tracker - Ready to Ride

Its a shame is just above freezing, wet and the roads are still covered in salt - otherwise I would be out tearing about on this one to see how it goes.  Its essentially the same as the Hamlet Tracker, but as they are hand built there are a few subtle differences - paint (Obviously), pipes, slightly longer frame, bars, mounting positions of rear light and plate, lower gearing, air filter......etc...etc....
Look and enjoy.