VOC International Rally 2023

 

A few days ago my friend Wayne Kogan went to the VOC International Rally celebrating the 75th Anniversary of The Vincent H.R.D. Owners Club. The Rally was hosted by the Southern California Section, one of the oldest and strongest Sections in the VOC. There were Iconic Racing Vincents featured including the John Edgar's 'Bathing Suit' LSR rode by Rollie Free. The story of the Bathing Suit Bike started In 1948  when Philip Vincent was touring America and meeting his dealers. While at V.L. “Mickey” Martin’s shop in Burbank, Calif., he was introduced to John Edgar, a well known West Coast journalist and sportsman with a liking for fast motorcycles. Edgar appreciated that the Black Shadow had the potential to take the American speed record from Harley-Davidson and rider Smokin’ Joe Petrali. And the Vincent “Barn Job” built by Clem Johnson would become the first drag bike racer to go 140, 150 and 160 mph. For more than five years, the machine held the record for both elapsed time and top speed. Its quickest would be 9.70 seconds; its fastest was 151.51 mph. It was for Wayne the occasion to meet with the "one and only" Alp Sungurtekin and his amazing 1948 Vincent Twin Engine, production number ‘F10AB/1/666’ which became in 2021 the fastest 1000cc Vincent Record Holder of all time with a two way average of 193.621MPH.

Triumph T100 pre-unit 1956 Desert Sled

Once again, my friend Franck Castrol surprises me with his exceptional talent as a motorcycle builder. Although I know his ability to provide first-rate work, I am always amazed by the amazing result of his work. Below is a quick detail of the work done on this desert sled.

Oscillating pre-unit 1956 Triumph Tiger 100 frame.  Completely reassembled engine in standard side (vilo and pistons), assembly of racing camshaft e3134, intake and exhaust coupled to a Lucas racing magneto . Front and rear period dunlop spoked rim in 19 inches,  dual front cam brake and rear bolt-on hub. Triumph t120 TT exhaust mounted on stainless steel ring on preunit cylinder head (not the same diameter), dry sump clutch.  

Many true stories of the Old West

Many true stories of the Old West. My family lived it. 

By Stan Ellefson 

I hope these photos illustrate Stan's words and are, I imagine, the reflection of a forgotten reality

In the mid 60's they were a couple of cowboys living in my neighborhood in San Diego. They were living with their great grand children. One of them was like 96, or 97 and in 1965 could still remember seeing some Buffalo in Texas. He came from Germany when he was 5 and grew up on a small ranch in Texas. He was luckier than most because his father owned the small ranch. His last name was Longenecker. My Grandfather was born in 1898 and grew up on a family ranch in Oklahoma. He was born during a blinding prarie blizzard.. The doctor couldn't get to their ranch for some hours, but everything turned out just fine. The life of a Cowboy was a hard one. Drifting from one job, to another, or settling down and marrying the bosses daughter. My great grandfather Hall's  family had land, horses and cattle, so when he married into the Morris family it was considered a good match. My Grandfather broke the mold by joining the Army at the age of 16. He always said that Army life was easier than Ranch life. A Cowboy definitely had skills, but if he got in trouble somewhere he could easily move on and change his name.

The Morris ranch is still owned by some distant cousins, but I don't know if they still keep horses and cattle. 

My friend Stan is an operator/Pilot of BMW motorcycles. Holder of 500,000 mile BMW award, aviation structural mechanic at USCG, ALC (Aviation Logistics Center) (Depot level maint.) and aviation structural mechanic at Lear Seigler

The Proust Questionnaire # 38 : Florent Tremolosa

David, Florent and Stéphanie

Social media; a lot of us are spending a couple of minutes or hours everyday checking our favourite pages or blogs or Insta or whatever !!! but who are behind them ? Most part of the time we dont really know. To find out what's going on behind the screen, I started a series of portrait of the Men and Women who are making the "world" better, for this thirty-eighth Portrait, I asked my friend Florent Tremolosa to go thru the Proust-Pivot-Lipton Questionnaire to let us know more about himself. Florent is a Storyteller, a Creative Director, a Jewellery Designer, a watch Designer and is, together with Stéphanie and David, at the head of the most amazing jewellery in France; Origine Ateliers located in Biarritz   

Here are his answers.

What is your favorite word? : Respect

What is your least favorite word? : Sickness

What turns you on? : Tank Top

What turns you off? : Cigarette

What sound or noise do you love? : Vintage Harley Motors

What sound or noise do you hate? : TMax 

What is your favorite curse word? : Asshole

What profession other than your own would you like to attempt? : Naval Architect

What profession would you not like to do? : Accounting

If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?  Come and have a rest, you deserve it

Norda ! What do you run for ?

 

Inspired by toughest Canada's conditions. Norda Run. As lifelong endurance athletes with decades of combined shoe industry experience, my great friends Nick and Willa felt that none of the global brands had nailed the perfect combination of fit, cushion, grip, weight, breathability and material innovation. So they got to work.

They  knew  they  couldn’t  build the  shoe  they  wanted  using conventional mass-production techniques.  So  they  looked to  the  past  in  order  to create  the  future.

The Proust Questionnaire # 37 : Mrs Atticus Phansa from Atticus Anonymous

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Our WebWorld; a lot of us are spending a couple of minutes or hours everyday checking our favourite websites or blogs but who are behind them ? Most part of the time we dont really know. To find out what's going on behind the screen, I started a serie of portrait of the Men and Women who are making the blogosphere better, for this thirty-seventh Portrait, I asked my friend Atticus Phansa to go thru the Proust-Pivot-Lipton Questionnaire to let us know more about herself. Atticus Phansa aka Atticus Anonymous from Philadelphia is a Moto enthusiast and artist with blog and graphic work at www.atticusanonymous.com. Here are her answers.

What is your favorite word? 何ですか? (nandesuka?) Look it up, it’s fun to say.


What is your least favorite word?  Bukkake. If you don’t know what that is, don’t look it up around family or in public. I warned you.

What turns you on? Telling secrets under the covers with my legs tangled with that one person’s legs.

What turns you off? People who uses others for their own benefit.

What sound or noise do you love? Content sighs. Crackling firewood. And ocean or river water.

What sound or noise do you hate? Someone chewing on ice. Makes me cringe thinking about it.

What is your favorite curse word? Motherfucker. It’s a good one. You can use it to describe things, for example, “it hurt like a motherfucker.” Or a person, “That motherfucker.” Or an exclamation, “motherfucker!”

What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?  I feel like I everything dabble in everything. Really the question is, What am I doing right now to makes my life and other people’s lives better? And how can I do that if I’m not.

What profession would you not like to do? Cleaning Skyscrapers. No thanks.

If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates? 

You get to go back, fix your mistakes and learn new things—kind of like Bill Murray in Groundhog Day. Except a lifetime. 

See also : Paul D'Orleans from the Vintagent  
See also : Chris Hunter from the Bike Exif
See also : Nick Maggio from A Time To Get  
See also : Jeff Decker from the Hippodrome Studio
See also : Christophe Loiron From Mister Freedom  
See also : Jacqui Van Ham
See also : Steve Ducharme from Motorcycle Picture of the Day 
See also : Greg Williams from modernmotorcyclemechanics
See also : Matt Machine from machineshed.blogspot  
See also : Bob Tilton from Werk Crew
See also : Stephen Mitchell    
See also : Scott Hopkin from Pipeburn
See also : Trent Reker from Bikermetric    
See also : Pete Young from OcchioLungo 
See also : Frank Castrol from Big Bore Magazine  
See also : Thomas Beeskow from The Burrito Bros 
See also : Nicholas Biebuyck from Bonhams  
See also : Cindy Dulong from Fahion Serial Killer
See also : The Super Model Dji Dieng  
See also : Scott Toepfer from Its better in the Wind
See also : Tim McKenna    
See also : Alp & Jalika from Alp Concept Design 
See also : Mario Epanya from Mario Epanya Photography    
See also : Renee Gunter
See also : Anne Gaffié from L'Optimum Magazine    
See also : John Mellor's interview 
See also : Joe Hill  
See also : Chuka Umunna 
See also : Kentaro Miyazaki  
See also : Jeannette Mekdara 
See also : Nolan Woodbury from Vintage Motorcycles online
See also : Cesar Thruxtonic Rufino from  Caféracer 351
See also : Laurent Dandy from the Dandy Riders Club
See also : Brian Awitan

Ruote Fiere's Suzuka Endurance

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Ruote Fiere makes unique motorcycles on customer commission, basing on different engines. Born from a Davide Caforio’s idea, takes forward a non-stop research of improvement and evolution of the imaginary. A particular attention on details and inspiration from the history of motorcycling and design is the focus of the development of Ruote Fiere, to create “exemplaries”, proud and timeless. info@ruotefiere.com

Yamaha 250 Factory Bike

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All pictures © Justyn Norek from Leonardo Bernecoli collection