On Thunderbirds, Mods and Rockers

Many of you will be familiar with one of my favourite watering holes, The Twisted Hop. It serves outstanding beer, good food and has a garden bar where I can park The Beloved and admire her over a cold pint, and across the alley is The Vespa Room. It dawned on me the other day that having a pub selling traditional English beer across from one with a Vespa theme just lent itself to motorcycling madness, or more specifically a Mods and Rockers run.
So in August we’ll be running the first Mods and Rockers run entitled “Winter Rumble 2009”. I’ve invited every scooter club I can find to join in, and we’ll be leaving from Street and Sport at 2.30 on Saturday 22 August and riding to New Brighton for a (non-violent) rumble to decide whether Mods or Rockers are superior. The tests will include a tug of war, a quiz, turnout numbers etc, and the winning faction will lead their vanquished foes on a ride back to Christchurch to Poplar lane, home of The Twisted Hop and The Vespa Room. Once there the good landlords of the aforementioned hostelries have promised to throw open their doors, wind up their beer taps and fire up their BBQs, all the while enjoying music and entertainment. And I have arranged secure and enclosed overnight storage for bikes and scooters, so we can enjoy the hospitality without worrying about drinking and riding.
Now comes the catch. The party is open to everyone, but the run is only open to classic (modern Bonnies, Thruxtons and Thunderbirds) and genuine period bikes (Nortons, Triumphs etc) and vintage and classic styled scooters. There will be prizes, including best dressed, best bike and best scooter. To find out more check out our website.
Thunderbirds. The arrival date of late August is fast approaching, and the buzz about the new T Birds is building. Triumph have released four You Tube videos of the bikes being built:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hH6UbZ_j1fo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=juZSUL2SllI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=StvQZzioVkE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pSEaT6sl2ao
They’re well worth a look, especially when you watch this video clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-ABelgFdjA as a comparison.
New stock and demonstrators
We have a brand new Speedmaster in black, and there are a couple of people interested in it already so if you’re interested in one of these stunning bikes I suggest you call in and have a look quickly. We also have a brand new Bonneville A1 in black as a demonstrator which is available for test rides right now, and finally we have just taken delivery of a late 90s Thunderbird triple with 13,000 ks and in absolutely immaculate condition. It still has the sticker on the tank telling you how to run it in! Price is to be confirmed so give me a call or call in if you are interested in one of these bikes.