Free T shirt postage! Ducati, MV and MotoGuzzi options

Running low (entirely out of in fact) on some sizes of these lovely soft t shirts. Of course they feature Italian motorcycles, including the MV Agusta 750 Sport and Moto Guzzi V7 Sport illustrated by Jamie Kinroy. Or there's the best selling red or maroon version celebrating Mike Hailwood's 1978 Formula 1 win for Ducati at the Isle of Man TT. The tees are a high quality side seamed Bella+Canvas item in 100% combed and ring-spun cotton, more like a pricey high street fashion item than the usual online stuff. More at http://benzinatshirts.bigcartel.com/

Wiltshire way

Walking the dog, up on the Wessex Ridgeway, I can see everywhere I’ve lived since 1969. Is this a good thing, to have seen so much of one place, risking the loss of a better life somewhere else? Perhaps, and I certainly thought so as a teenager stranded in a rural wasteland, peering into a brighter world through the prism of the motorcycle press.
But then I started to travel and work around the world and came to realise my discontent was connected to a lack of transport rather than where I lived. And now I think this probably is one of the best places in the world to live, especially if you like a bit of social history. Yet Wiltshire remains a forgotten county: even our kids have learnt to stop saying they live in Wiltshire, but just say near Stonehenge. Funny that everyone knows Stonehenge, but few know Wiltshire. And yet from up here on the Ridgeway you can trace human civilisation from its beginnings to the highest of today’s high tech.
Wiltshire is the now least populous county in England, ironic given that it was the most densely populated place in the UK when Stonehenge was built. And although you can’t see Stonehenge from the Ridgeway, one the oldest manmade routes in the world, it’s only ten miles away. Ten miles in the opposite direction is the even more impressive Avebury, Stonehenge’s World Heritage Site sibling. Avebury is where the science of archaeology started, back in the Eighteenth century, some 5,000 years after it was built.
Below the Downs in the middle distance is Devizes, with one of the finest Norman church and street plans in the country. There’s also the remains of the castle that marked the divide – hence Devizes – between crown and church control.
The church’s centre of power in these parts was down in Salisbury where the cathedral was built in a single style and at great speed – 38 years, where most took over a century to build. It is home to one of the Magna Cartas, the document that started to limit the crown and state’s power over its people.  
Power over people of a different sort can be found back in Devizes. The Colston family have the finest tomb in the town’s churchyard, paid for by the slave trade. It might appal us now, but slavery was what powered civilisation before the industrial revolution: slaves built and fought in Rome’s colosseum, raised the pyramids, and possibly Stonehenge. The Colston’s were considered great philanthropists in their day building and funding Roundway Hospital (named after their estate on the northern side of Devizes) as the county lunatic asylum. The buildings are fabulous, today converted into housing.

The other market towns are further away from the Ridgeway, following rivers. They are punctuated at roughly ten mile intervals, that being a reasonable day’s travel if droving livestock, or travelling to and from an outlying village. Early on people lived up on top of the Downs, building hill forts and terraces to grow food: there’s one such terrace, known as strip lynchets, a few hundred yards from where I climb up to the Ridgeway. Little but grass grows up here, just a few inches of soil covering solid chalk, which is why there are occasional white horses carved onto the slopes. The one I can see above Devizes was created for the millennium, and most are only a few hundred years old. The valleys below were heavily wooded and home to bears and wolves, so trips down to collect water and firewood were fraught with danger.

Some of the steep slopes made these lands easily defended, but this could be a double edged sword. The steep, rounded rise near Devizes is Oliver’s Mount, scene of a bloody battle in the English Civil War, still the bloodiest war in human history: a greater proportion of the population were killed than in any other conflict. The mounted Royalists drove Cromwell's Roundheads down  the slope in the biggest cavalry victory of the first civil war.

Over by West Lavington there’s a short church tower, and above it the plague pit. The plagues killed a third of the population, and mass graves near the church – and so consecrated ground – were the only way to cope. This is the reason churches are often on the edges of villages, as people moved away from the burial sites.

Gradually human activity cleared the woodland that covered Wiltshire’s plains and valleys to the extent that felling oak was an offence by the end of the Eighteenth century, the timber reserved for warships. The chalk uplands became home to the sheep that can still be seen occasionally, and were a great driver of England’s wealth. The barter of wool for Port from Portugal is the oldest surviving commercial agreement in the world, but the wealth it created was soon mopped up by the rich for themselves. The 1773 Enclosures Act allowed anyone with a title to claim common land as their own, leading to desperate rural poverty. My own home is built on such land, and from the Ridgeway I can see the Lansdown monument, an obelisk built by the Bowood Estate near Chippenham (just visible down by the River Avon) to mark the end of their land. Bowood has one of Wiltshire’s Capability Brown landscapes, although it is far less impressive than the one at Stourhead, down in the south west of the county.

Also near Chippenham is Lacock, a village perfectly preserved in time by the National Trust, and the star of many period dramas. I would stay with family here when parents went on holiday, getting soaked in the ford or building model aircraft in the front garden while trying to avoid inquisitive tourists. The village’s Abbey was confiscated from the church during Henry VIII’s reformation and the Fox Talbots who lived here invented photography. It was also used for the early Harry Potter films.

Up to the north is Swindon where Brunel based his Great Western Railway, now a museum and shopping village.  In front of me is Calne, where Harris the butchers were the main employer. You still see free-range pigs around Stonehenge and, with the new railway, Harris developed the Wiltshire ham cure that used less salt but still allowed hams to be taken to London without refrigeration. Pigs and ham were so central to diet here that some houses still have a brining bath in the cellar, added as the house was built but too big to be removed.
The gentle slope to the west of Devizes is home to the longest series of canal locks in the world. “Putting your back into” was how a lock was opened, and only the Victorians would think to bring a canal up to a town 400 feet above sea level. It’s a mightily impressive sight, and when you get to the top you can visit Wadworth’s brewery for a sharpener.

The Ridgeway marks the northern boundary of Salisbury Plain, Europe’s largest area of open grassland and the main practice zone for the UK military. As reminders of our high tech world Apache attack helicopters are commonplace, fast jets a regular sight and tanks occasionally block the roads. Makes a change from a hunt or a tractor. Over beyond Chippenham is Malmesbury, home to Dyson one of the biggest engineering research and development facilities in the country. They also make the odd vacuum cleaner.

So it might look empty, but Wiltshire is home to much of our history. And, if you must stray, the fabulous city of Bath is just over the border and London’s an hour on the train. We even get far less rain than the average for England. And there are some bloody fantastic roads and trails when you want to mess around on motorbikes. The countryside varies from soaring Downs, hidden lanes, forests and empty valleys. I can’t think of anywhere else I’d rather live.

 

Holiday reading - some great motorcycle (and philosophy) books

Two weeks in India, catching winter sun and a bit of culture. But also two weeks with no meaningful Internet access and in a country where an Enfield 350 is a flash bike (and £1600 brand new rather than the £5k you pay in the UK) means books were my only escape to two wheels.

Every five years or so I reread Zen and the Art of MotorcycleMaintenance, trying to remind me of what’s important in life. But before that, on the recommendation of many reviewers, I read Derren Brown’s Happy. Now, I’m aware of Derren’s TV and magic show fame but have never been tempted to sample any of it. Given that background, a book on philosophy (and mainly ancient Roman and Greek philosophy) seemed just an attempt to cash in on his fame. But when the Sunday Times made it one of their books of the year, and admitted it would have been seen as a much more important work if it wasn’t written by one so famous. So it went in the suitcase.

And my, was I glad I brought it. Some of it is predictable – the knocking of faith healers, dealing with fame, and references to the author’s TV work could be skipped over with no real loss. But the work on philosophy had me taking notes and realising that the Romans really did build and Plato and Aristotle. Modern philosophers are discussed, including everyone named checked in Monty Python’s Bruce’s'Philosophers Song.

But what really comes across is that Derren’s a fan of the Roman Stoics (where we get our word stoic from, although that’s to misunderstand their philosophy). An important and timely book that should replace every self-help book ever written. But if you can’t be bothered to read it here’s one important point: we can only really control two things in our life; what we think and what we do. Understand that and accepting it might not make you happy, but it allows you to let go of everything that might make you unhappy. As the brilliant Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius put it, “The gods (aka fortune, luck, chance or whatever you want to call it) are not to blame. They do nothing wrong, on purpose, or by accident. Nor men either. No one is to blame.” Stoic words indeed.

Anyway, armed with Derren’s wisdom I fair rattled through Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, and finally understood every last bit.  Amazingly it remains the best selling book of all time on philosophy, and the money it made allowed author Robert Persig to pretty much disappear; understandable given his son Chris (who accompanied him on the motorcycle tour Pirsig bases the book around) was murdered a few years after Zen and the Art… was published. Still one of my favourite books of all time, never mind just motorcycle books.

My favourite ten motorcycle books would include Melissa Holbrook Pierson’s The Perfect Vehicle, which the Times compared to Zen and the Art... , saying while “at times (Zen and the Art) is hard going, this fluent book (The Perfect Vehicle) ultimately reveals more about the strengths and limitations of ordinary human beings in pursuit of happiness.”

Melissa allowed some of her the work to be used in Benzina 14 and has promised something original for issue 15, so I admit an interest. But, when I realised my copy of ThePerfect Vehicle was almost 20 years old, I decided it was worth a re-read. The writing is poetic, soothing but speaks directly to anyone with a passing interest in motorcycles and travel. If, like Melissa you like travelling on Motor Guzzis, it will make your heart sing. And support included help from another Benzina contributor, Ivar de Gier, one of the world’s leading Guzzi historians.

Next up was Mark Gardiner’s On Motorcycles – the best ofbackmarker. A lot of it’s online, but I’m a print junkie – Mark posted me a copy because it’s not on Amazon.co.uk., although it is at the time of posting available on ebay.co.uk by clicking here. A collection of essays on every aspect of motorcycling, including ‘Who Would Jesus Kill?’, the inspiring ‘Searching for Spadino’, and ‘The Naked Frenchman’ it’s a perfect dip-in-and-out-of book (as are his Trivia books but they’re best sellers so hardly need promoting).

Not only is Mark a great writer (a career in the ad business almost makes that expected) his preparedness to get on a motorcycle or aeroplane to find the people who experienced his stories first hand is pretty much unique these days. I’ve been reading about bikes since 1975 (the July ’75 issue of Bike magazine), writing about them for 9 years and writing about old buildings for a decade or so before that. I love to read and dig up obscure information. This means that people not as fastidious in their research as Mark drive me mad: motorcycle magazines especially seem to repeat lazy half-truths, Wikipedia style, in the hope that history can be altered if a certain set of “facts” are rewritten often enough. Not so with Mark – not only did every Backmarker story resonate, Mark names his sources, is clear when he’s unsure of his ground, and – get this – invites readers to correct any apparent errors. A brilliant book that everyone with an interest in motorcycle history will love. Pricey maybe but, with well over 400 pages of solid, well crafted literature between the covers, worth every penny. I just hope his wonderful Riding Man (his personal account of entering the TT) gets made into a film and makes Mark rich. Though not rich enough to stop him writing.

Ducati TT symposium at the 2017 Classic TT to celebrate the 35th Anniversary of Tony Rutter’s first win on the Isle of Man aboard a Ducati TT2 and his son, Michael, racing a TT1 replica.

Ducati TT symposium at the 2017 Classic TT to celebrate the 35^th Anniversary of Tony Rutter’s first win on the Isle of Man aboard a Ducati TT2 and his son, Michael, racing a TT1 replica.

There can really only be one place for a Ducati TT2 and TT1 symposium: the Island that gave these race winning motorcycles their name.  It will be 35 years since TT2s first raced – and won – at the Isle of Man TT so, between the 25^th and 28^th August 2017, fans of the TT2 and TT1 can join people who raced them both in era and today, and people who have spent years studying them. Guest of honour will be Pat Slinn who was Tony Rutter’s mechanic for each of his world championships, as well as being a member of the Mike Hailwood and Sports Motorcycle team.

Based in a marquee between the paddock and TT course start line on Glencrutchery Road there will be opportunities to learn more of the TT2 and TT1’s racing history, and see some of these beautiful motorcycles both on and off the TT course. There will also be the chance of a guided coach tour of the TT course and to parade on the closed course. And, of course, to support the Ducatis racing in the Classic TT. Alex Sinclair will be competing on his Louigi Moto/Fox Racing TT1 (bottom photo by Sports Pics). Even more mouth-wateringly, Redfox Grinta will have Michael Rutter aboard their TT1. If you’ve ever wanted to visit the Isle of Man or the Classic TT, 2017 will be the year to do it.
Alongside the symposium and the racing, the 2017 Classic TT will also celebrate the 50^th anniversary of Bob McIntyre recording the first 100mph lap of the 37¾ mile TT Course on his way to victory in the 1957 Senior TT Race. Michael Dunlop, fresh from the first sub 17-minute lap at this year’s TT, which he improved to a barely believable 133.962mph later in the week, will pay tribute to McIntyre’s achievement with a celebratory lap, complete with replica kit, on an identical dustbin faired Gilera, meticulously recreated by Kay Engineering.

August 2017 might seem a long time away, but the Isle of Man’s accommodation and transport needs to be booked well in advance, especially if you would like to bring a bike or be sure of staying with other members of the symposium. The aim is to make a block booking in a hotel within walking distance of the symposium’s marquee and to allow people to meet and eat together over the weekend. If you’d like to join in please register your interest as soon as possible, giving details of how and when you will be travelling (advice happily given)  and if you would like to bring a bike.

And you might also want to pencil in the bank holiday weekend of 24-27 August 2018 when, on the 40^th Anniversary of Mike Hailwood’s Formula 1 victory for Ducati, there will be an opportunity for 40 owners of Ducati Mike Hailwood Replicas to join in the celebrations.

More info: greg@teambenzina.co.uk, Facebook Group Ducati and the TT

About the TT2 and TT1

In 1980 Ducati officially returned to racing, entering the Italian Junior Championship, also known as the TT2 class, with an uprated Pantah 500SL. The Federazione Motociclistica Italiana (FMI) introduced the Formula TT 1, 2 and 3 classes in 1980, adopting a very similar set of rules to the Isle of Man’s Formula 1, 2 and 3 World Championships. Initially Ducati’s racing Pantah used the kit that was available to anyone who could afford it, comprising engine and suspension upgrades along with alternative bodywork. But Ducati’s Fabio Taglioni appreciated the Pantah was a compromised road bike, designed for mass production as well as meeting the environmental demands of authorities worldwide. So he set about an almost complete redesign of the Pantah with only the engine (complete with electric starter as required by the FMI rules) to create a new racing Pantah that looked nothing like the original 500SL. This was the 1981 597cc TT2, named after the Italian series it was designed to compete in, and the new Ducati was immediately dominant, even against Bimota’s Kawasaki-powered, four cylinder, KB2 Laser. A TT2 sleeved to the Pantah’s original 499cc came 7^th in the Mugello round of the 1981 500cc Italian Championship, only beaten by Suzuki RG500s and Yamaha TZ500s. The Ducati even beat the Honda NR500, the oval pistoned 32 valve V4, entered in the race to aid its development.

With Tony Rutter aboard the TT2 powered to four Formula 2 World Championships, and Tony was only beaten on the near identical 748cc TT1 on the Isle of Man by a brace of factory Honda RVF750s ridden by Joey Dunlop and Roger Marshall: bikes with over 120bhp compared to the TT1’s claimed 80. As late as 1986 Marco Lucchinelli won the opening round of the Formula 1 World Championship at Misano on a TT1. On the podium Taglioni was beaming at reporters.

"Write it well,” he told them; “to win two valves and two cylinders are enough!” Although it was now obvious to most observers that Ducati would need more than that to continue winning on the world stage, nobody contradicted the great man. Because, for five glorious years, a tiny factory in Bologna had built a bike that seemed as simple as sawdust but was cleverer than quantum physics when it came to racing. This is why the Ducati TT2 and TT1 are so revered by Ducati fans. They were Taglioni’s last stand and could beat motorcycles with a specification that suggested the little Ducati was on a hiding to nothing. Only 50 TT2s were built, plus perhaps as many as 13 TT1s and a handful of factory racers, yet the design was so good that replicas are still competitive in many classes of racing.

Lost and found. Benzina #13 all gone but #11 back on sale

The last issue 13 of Benzina has just sold. But in my searches I came across a few copies of issue 11 that I thought was also sold out. Have both the Guzzi MGS-01 cover or the alternative Ducati single but otherwise identical. Click here to see more details or buy a copy

I spent hours checking with other sellers if they had any issue 13s spare, but it seems they've all gone. Only 600 copies were printed because I was getting fed up with the admin needed to run a subscription publication - basically enough were printed to fulfil subscription obligations plus a few more. For issue 14 on, Benzina's only been available on an issue by issue basis for the sake of my sanity. To those who've bought a copy, and especially those who said nice things about my efforts a huge thank you.

Funky Superbikes - Richard Skelton's follow up to the best selling Funky Mopeds

Richard Skelton’s first book, Funky Mopeds - the 1970s Sports Moped Phenomenon, was a best-seller. Funky Superbikes is four volume follow-up series which tracks the momentous changes in motorcycling, and in society in general, that took place during the 1970s; biking’s biggest, brightest and best-ever decade.

Featuring great writing, exclusive interviews, newly-commissioned artwork and evocative period images, Funky Superbikes will build to become a comprehensive history of big-bore motorcycling in the 1970s. It covers the arrival of extraordinary sporting machines from Italy and a new generation of bulletproof BMW twins, as well as the inexorable rise of the Japanese motorcycle industry and the wasteful, lingering death of its British counterpart.

In the 1970s there were more motorcyclists than ever before, ever more fabulous motorcycles crammed the showrooms, and motorcycling became an exciting new leisure activity. It was the time of Barry Sheene and Kenny Roberts, of Bike and Cycle magazines, and of brilliant journalists in their pomp such as Cook Neilson, Mark Williams, Dave Minton and LJK Setright. It can now be seen as a pivotal decade, and a unique high point in motorcycling history.

Part One is on sale now, with Part Two out in time for Christmas 2016. Parts Three and Four to follow in 2017.
Buy at teambenzina.bigcartel.com, or post a UK cheque, payable to Greg Pullen, to Lower Heath Ground, Kings Road, Easterton, Devizes, SN10 4PX. Price per volume: £12 + £2.80 postage.

New - by popular demand: red Spirit of 1978 tee shirt. And news on the real Hailwood bike

Lovely new tee shirts - in red by popular demand. And it seems the real 1978 Mike Hailwood NCR900F1 as provided and run by Sports Motorcycles will be leaving its New York home for the UK next July.
More on the tees by clicking here . And more on the Sports/Hailwood bike's time in the UK when it's safe to say...