The sun smiled on the gathered faithful at London's infamous
Ace Café this Sunday, for their annual Flat Track day, with special guests from
Sideburn magazine. I had the good fortune to arrive on a '67 Triumph TR6, in company with two Moto Giro-veteran Ducatis. While riding an hour through the streets of London to reach the old North Circular road might sound daunting, riding a motorcycle in February was reason enough to brave the blue sky and black cabs.
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Crossing the Albert Bridge from Battersea to central London... |
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A few of the notorious Mean Fuckers M.C. |
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London traffic... |
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The Sideburn Royal Enfield tracker; sounded healthy |
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A bit more robust in the dirt style; a Triumph Trident |
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Triumphs everywhere, but only one TR250 - a much maligned bike, but I liked mine. |
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Inside the Ace Café; a shrine |
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A pair of '57 Ducatis; 125cc and 175cc - not standard, but lovely |
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Quite a few customs of all varieties |
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The real deal; an HD XR750 Miler; Harley should have made a road machine from these, they're fast, smooth, powerful, with excellent handling, and very light. The power delivery is like a turbine, they simply keep spinning faster - completely unlike any other Harley I've ridden. |
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Old utility machines become the rarest of all - when was the last time you saw a BSA C10 250cc sidevalver? |
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This reliable little machine was the start of many a biking career in England... |
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The 'Ace Corner' meeting room/annex |
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The right stuff; Triumph T110 with all-iron engine, and BSA A10 |
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Andrew Nahum, curator at London's Science Museum, is a keen vintagent... |
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...the 45rpm disc of music by The Stags, to accompany their 2011 foray into roller derby, 'Rollerburn'... |
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...and the album cover, with reference to the film 'Rollerball' |
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BSA A65 |
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Funny, the cops use go-faster tape on their helmets too... |
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Prison stripes and freakazoid customs |
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Knobbies on the street; squirrely! |
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Fueling the machine... |
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...and the man, at the Ace Café |
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The inimitable Chief engine and logo |
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Crez reflects |
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Flat-track frame and bodywork kit for your Triumph... |
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A tracker'd Norton Commando |
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'Til death do us part'. Indeed... |
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St.Nick bathes in the glory |

Posted in:
Ace Cafe,
artists,
BSA,
Cafe Racers,
Ducati,
Events 2012,
Harley Davidson,
Indian,
Lewis Leathers,
Motorcycle Show,
Nick Ashley,
Royal Enfield,
Sideburn,
Triumph,
Vintage Rides