Warwickshire vintage motorcycle event marks 75th anniversary
A three-wheeled motorcycle dating from the nineteenth century is among hundreds of vintage bikes taking to the roads and streets of Warwickshire this weekend.The 75th annual Banbury Run, organised by the Vintage Motor Cycle Club (VMCC) since 1949, will see about about 300 motorcycles setting off from the British Motor Museum on Sunday morning.All the bikes were manufactured before 31 December 1930."It's much more fun to ride a very old bike at 30mph than a modern bike at 70mph," said the VMCC's Bob Clark. "You don't have all the modern aids."
Each motorcycle will be take one of four routes, depending on its age.All bikes except the very oldest - those dating from before the First World War - will brave Sun Rising Hill, near Tysoe, which Mr Clark said was officially classed as "steep" because of its gradient.It is also where most spectators gather to watch the vehicles pass."We have a group of what we call 'pushers' on the steepest part of the hill, just in case anyone fluffs their gears and is about to come to a halt," he said.
The oldest vehicle in the event is a three-wheeler built in France in 1897, ridden by a woman in her late 70s and carrying a passenger in her 80s.Another, known as the Dreadnought, dates from 1902 and is the world's oldest-surviving motorcycle built for the long-distance road trials of the Edwardian period."This is a bike with one gear, no clutch, and primitive brakes," said Mr Clark. "And they were doing things like London to Edinburgh on that."The fascination is copying the early years of motoring, when they were doing these tests to prove to the buying public that the things that they were about to buy – cars and bikes – were reliable."
Speedometers were not required by law until 1936, added Mr Clark, meaning most motorcycles taking part would not have them."The core of the run is people competing against themselves to do the distance, without making a navigational error, on the route that is set out for you, at an average speed that's been decided for you."With a primitive and temperamental machine, with limited power, and limited brakes, it can really be quite a tall order."
The motorcycles will be available to view outside the British Motor Museum from 09:00 BST on Sunday before they start setting off an hour later.They will start returning from about 12:00 BST and will again be on display until 16:00 BST.
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