Classic Mechanics Show 2008
Added on Tuesday, October 21st, 2008 by Carole Nash Editor
The 15th annual Classic Mechanics Show, sponsored by Carole Nash Insurance
The 15th annual Classic Mechanics Show, sponsored by Carole Nash Insurance and held at the Stafford County Showground, is one of the best events in the UK for fans of classic machinery, from the 60s to the 90s.
Alastair Walker went along to see the very best restored motorbikes compete for awards, browse for kit bargains and see if the credit crunch has affected the market for classic machines.
The halcyon days of biking are always the ones from your youth, back when the pure fun and freedom of the open road was brand new, exciting and yes, a little bit dangerous. As you get older and wiser, you begin to hanker after those fondly-remembered machines from your teens and early twenties. Not only can it make the years roll back, but owning a classic that barely depreciates seems a sensible thing in these days of vanishing Icelandic bank accounts.
So it was no surprise that Stafford was as busy as ever, as thousands of blokes rummaged around, looking for anything from a rusting Honda CB125 exhaust, to an immaculately restored Vincent Rapide.
If you were in the mood for spending serious money then the Bonhams auction was the place to be. One of Barry Sheene’s old lids fetched £3220, whilst the Reg Dearden, super-charged Vincent made £221,500. Crikey. More mundane classic machines like a mint Honda 400/4, with just 1500 miles on the clock, went for £4830, whilst a cute little Morini 350 twin from the 70s made £2645.
The feeling at the show generally, seemed to be that people were buying quality motorcycles, with a trackable history and the British stuff is still fetching more money, by a long way, than even the rarer Japanese bikes.
Richard Marler, who runs Cheshire-based Classic Motorcycles, told Insidebikes; “Saturday was very busy, with three bikes sold. We’ve had huge interest in the mint Hesketh 1000, with people saying it looks better than the new ones. British bikes still fetch more money generally, restored or not. We find that many buyers prefer to meet at the show, then arrange to visit the shop later to see a particular bike close-up, hear it running etc. The demand for well-kept, genuine classics is still strong, there’s no recession in that respect.”
PASSION FOR THE PAST
The Mechanics Show has a great mix of bikes, spare parts, kit and accessories on sale. Anyone needing basic riding kit could snap up three pairs of gloves for a tenner, even if they did appear to feature the 1980s Fieldsheer lurid colour schemes. There were Rawland leather jackets reduced from £150 to £70, flip-up type helmets from as little as £50. I wouldn’t want to have an accident in a £50 helmet, but if your biking needs to be done on the cheap, anything new is probably better than something used and bought from a mate…or worse still, e-bay.
At Stafford, I always spot some bikes I want to own, like a Guzzi Le Mans Mk 1, or Tim Hatch’s beautiful Yamaha XS650 café racer, which was a cool tribute to the original Tritons of the 60s, but with a Japanese twist. I love to see someone create a new take on an old theme, it’s what keeps biking alive.
In the hotly-contested concours competition, Mark Anderson took the Best In Show award with his restored American Eagle 350. What’s one of them, you ask? Well, the Eagle was basically a re-badged Kawasaki Avenger for the US market and incredibly rare in the UK, as it was never officially imported.
Steve Cooper took Best Japanese award with his Yamaha 80 stroker, whilst a Silver Saxon, limited edition, Rickman 1100 Kawasaki won Best Street Special. This bike was made as a promo machine for rock legends Saxon, then mothballed in 1981. Recently restored, the Rickman SS, one of just ten examples built, has been dyno-tested, making 200bhp. Rock on.
My fave Mechanics show bike? Had to be the Ducati 900SS outside in the historic race paddock. For me, the Duke 900 V-twin, in black and gold colours, with Contis and Avon Roadrunner tyres was a dream machine in the late 70s, something I promised myself if I ever won the `Pools.’ Now I guess I’ll have to wait for that lottery win. Or sell my wife.
By the way, the historic race bikes were fired up briefly, which was a good idea, adding extra interest to what is otherwise a static display. Bikes like the Honda CR750, or Ducati 900 SS sound amazing and EU noise regulations mean we will never hear that soulful moto-music from anything new. There was also a classic twin-shock trial section out in the woodland area, which is another bonus - it’s great to see old bikes being used.
Y’know, whatever happens to new bike sales in 2009, and I can only see a downward trend by around 12-15% as it gets harder to borrow money and unemployment rises, there’s no doubt that the classic sector will remain healthy. Older riders want a trip down memory lane, we value the social side that marque clubs offer and there is the reassurance that an investment in a Norton Commando, Rob North Trident or Kawasaki Z1 is now - quite literally - safer than the bank of England.
See you on the road.
