'KEEP ON RIDING' - LONGCHAMP

Audrey Marnay draped around a very nice Norton...Founded in 1948, Longchamp of France is best known for its nifty (and very much copied) 'Le Pliage' bags, made of vinyl with leather handles, which roll up into a tight cylinder to pack inside a suitcase, and unroll to hold all that extra stuff you bought on your vacation, as a carry-on bag.  Like Dunhill of England, Longchamp started out making accessories for smokers (pipe covers, tobacco pouches), but by the 1950s they'd expanded into other leather goods, scarves, etc.  After the massive success of 'Le Pliage' (introduced in 1993), the company expanded into the high-end leather goods and clothing business, with collaborations with the likes of Kate Moss and Tracy Emin bringing attention...

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'MOBY DICK' AT STAFFORD

'Moby Dick' coming up for sale at Bonhams Stafford, Oct 16th.What's in a name?  A lot, if it happens to be attached to the fastest road-going motorcycle from the late 1920s and well into the 30s.  Charles Hobbs, owner of a garage in Guildford, was not satisfied with the 'fastest in the world' performance of his standard 1929 Brough Superior SS100 with JAP JTOR 980cc engine; every SS100 was guaranteed to have recorded 100mph at Brooklands, but testers conceded they were happy to use the assistance of gravity (coming off the high banking) to hit the 'ton'...   Hobbs embarked on a performance upgrade, while keeping the bike completely road legal.  Two years of development, working with George Brough and JAP themselves...

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BMW MUSEUM SALE, ROUND 2

 Bonhams and BMW have teamed up again to host a one-make sale at the incredible new BMW museum in Munich.  Launched last year to host the sale from (mostly) a single collection, such a sale of a single marque, within the factory grounds, is unique in the vintage auction world, and makes a grand excuse to visit the 'home turf'.After the success of last year's sale, Bonhams is continuing the relationship with BMW to regularly host sales at the Museum, and the selection this year includes some interesting cars and bikes, with a few clear 'stars'.  On the bike side, that includes the ex-Georg Auerbacher BMW Rennsport 500cc ohc sidecar outfit, which won the non-championship 750cc sidecar TT in 1971.  Click here for the full history...

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'PIPEBURN' INTERVIEW

Andrew from 'Pipeburn' was kind enough to interview me a few months ago: follow this link for a piece of my mind...Riding a Vincent Black Lightning at the Grossglockner Hillclimb last year...

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GOODWOOD ANNEX

Simply too many good photos of Goodwood Revival to let them languish in the computer...At the Bonhams tent; the fastest road-going motorcycle on the planet, circa 1927...the Brough Superior SS100 'Moby Dick', famously capable of 106mph in second gear!Details of Moby's Bentley and Draper rear suspension, and later 'Doll's Head' Sturmey-Archer gearbox.  This famous big Brough is coming up for sale at Bonhams Stafford on Oct.16th; more on this shortly...Four cylinder motor art; Gordini engineHalf the exhausts from a Ferrari v-8 racerA Maserati 'Birdcage' sports racer, one of many at GoodwoodTalbot-Lago racer in French racing blueA humble BSA Bantam makes an excellent pit bikeAlfa Romeo sports racer, road registered...note one carb per cylinderBookended...

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