15th Annual Corsa Moto Classica

by Geoff Patrick

For the 15^th consecutive year, the 2010 Corsa Moto Classica at Willow Springs Raceway  combined some of the worlds rarest vintage racing motorcycles with the closest thing to a classic 1970’s racing weekend you are likely to find these days.  The AHRMA together with The Garage Company strike perfect balance between the rules-riddled requirements of the 21^st Century with the free-spirit of yesterday.  From the trackside camping with bonfires to helmet-free riding on the sprawling desertscape that is home to the “Fastest Road in the West”, spectators seem to be free to enjoy the weekend in just about any way they choose.

Take our very own JoJo H. for instance.  Where else can you wake up in the morning and answer a call over the loudspeaker for “sidecar drivers seeking monkeys – no experience required” and be suited up and turning laps before lunch?  That’s exactly what JoJo did!  In no time, she went from the sleeping bag to the sidecar chair hanging out just about everything she’s got to keep the BMW powered sidecar on the winding 2.5 mile road course.  Despite never have even been on sidecar, she did her job well, not allowing the rig to leave the track even once.  “I liked when we were behind another sidecar the best so I could watch the passenger in front of me and know when to move” she said.  Her thrill ride didn’t come without a few souvenir bruises, aches and pains, enough for her to turn down a second day on the Beemer, leaving the driver again without a partner…but more about that later.

JoJo wasn’t the only BIASD Associate to turn laps at Willow.  One of our newest Associates, Gardner M. brought out the 500cc Triumph that we are getting used to seeing on our rides, in race trim.  On Friday, the AHRMA folks held a rookie orientation day at the track for those who want a shot at competing and Gardner was there.  The focus is clearly on safety at rookie orientation where prospective riders are shown the art of safety wire, bike prep and getting around the track.  By the end of the day, Gardner and his fellow rookies were race ready for the weekend.  Competing against BSA’s and Honda’s in the Sportsman 500 class, he held his own on the track scoring two days of thrills only found on a professional road course. 

That may have been all the excitement Gardner could stand for one weekend if it hadn’t been for a BMW sidecar outfit left without a passenger after JoJo’s retirement.  We couldn’t leave that poor driver without a monkey on Sunday so once again, a BIASD Associate answered the call of the sidehack and saddled up on the BMW for Sunday’s events.  Gardner was the perfect replacement for JoJo.  After all, he at least had his own helmet and leathers!  The BMW put up a great fight on Sunday.  Despite being forced off the track only once, the pair finished an admirable 6^th place!

There was just so much to see at the Corsa MotoClassica, from Rob North Triples to Eddie Mulder  flat trackers to LeMans-style starts and vintage bikes from every corner of the globe, we are truly blessed to have this great event so close to home.  With the 16^th Annual Corsa less than a year away, it’s not too late to race-prep your tent or motorcycle for next years event!

Clubmans All-British Weekend San Jose

by Geoff Patrick

When I mailed off the booth registration for The 28th Annual Clubmans All-British Show & Swap a day before the deadline, I had no idea that I would be lucky to get a spot. That describes the nearly sold out vendor turnout for this years event. I saw only a couple of empty spots, no-shows I was told.

Maybe part of the reason for the limited vendor capacity was the number of motorcycles on display. Row after row of rare and coveted British motorcycles covered the indoor fairway including a whole bunch of Triples, the Honoree of this years show. I even saw two of my favourite BSA’s…a ’60 Gold Star Catalina Scrambler and her Twin sister, the Spitfire Scrambler. Both impeccable examples owned by one lucky person!

Despite getting a less-than-prime spot, The British Iron Association of San Diego was proudly represented by The Banner flanked by my ’62 Trophy and ’64 Mountain Cub. The lovely and talented Katy helped by sitting in to top off a pretty busy booth…flattrack great Eddie Mulder even stopped by with some great things to say.   A few of our own San Diego locals made it and stopped by the booth to leave newly bought parts or just to take a break.  Lars came along just in time to cut me loose to check out the bikes and swapmeet.  It paid off for me after I was able to find some TLS brake parts in the form of a complete front wheel for twenty bucks.  There was a great assortment of new and used parts vendors  along with tee-shirts, photos and organizations sprinkled in between.  

It really was a great show.  The BSA Owners Club of Northern California have succeeded in producing the best British show in the West.  It is well organized with friendly hosts at a very reasonable five dollar ticket.  If that’s not enough for you, this year featured a vintage American motorcycle show and swap, as well as a European and Japaneese show…PLUS indoor short track racing!  Each show is indepenently run in seperate buldings but it all seems to work out with pleanty of parking at the site of the once famous San Jose Mile.

After 23 years, this event shows no sign of slowing down.  It takes place at a great time of year and the drive (or ride), where everything is incredibly green, is easy and beautiful.  Pencil this event onto you calendar for next year and find your way to San Jose.  You won’t be disappointed!

2nd Annual Legends Ride Huge Success

By Will S. II

The Second Annual BIASD Legends ride took place Saturday, March 20th with huge success.  Even though there’s not much actual riding that takes place, this is quickly becoming a favorite ride with the group because of the amazing people we visit.  The idea is to visit  local legends of our hobby and get the E ticket tour of their shops…access that the average Joe just wouldn’t have.

With 12 vintage Brit bikes rolling, our first stop was Bruce Barker’s machine shop.  Bruce was a Triumph factory trained mechanic and wrenched on the racing triples at Daytona.  An amazing machinist that can make or fix anything, his small shop is packed with machinery.  It is all very clean, neat and organized, not a stray metal chip in sight.  Bruce and his wife Mary were very gracious hosts and laid out enough coffee, sodas and snacks for a small army!

 From there we rumbled over to the lunch stop, Fuddruckers.  With our cholesterol counts sufficiently taken up a few notches, we headed to Sonny Angel motorcycles.  Sonny has been in the same location since 1953 and has done it all, from road racing and running Vincent’s on the Salt Flats to wrenching and selling new Nortons.  His shop is absolutely filled to the rafters with old bikes and parts.  Everywhere you looked there was some motorcycle artifact to grab your attention.

Our last stop was Rob North Fabrications.  It’s impossible to read any history of Triumph Motorcycles without the name Rob North popping up.  As everyone knows, he designed and built the frames for the racing triples.  Rob’s shop is the polar opposite of Bruce’s shop but I bet Rob knows exactly where everything is.  As a special treat, Rob rolled out the 1971 Daytona winning BSA triple ridden by Dick Mann.  After a few minutes of fettling he started it for us and an amazing howl bellowed out of the open megaphone!  It’s not every day that you are deafened by such a great piece of racing history. 

 Everyone had a great time and it was nice to see 3 or 4 new faces.  Hopefully we will see them and everyone else on our next club ride, which is the John Mulrean Memorial Lakes ride May 1^st.

The inaugural BIASD North County Chili Ride

By Dave L.

The inaugural BIASD North County Chili Ride was successfully held on
Sunday, with 7 riders participating: Will I on his BSA 650, Will II on
his Triumph, Lars on a primo 71 Trident, Frank S on his Commando,
Scott R (new member) on his like-new 74 red Commando, Phil L
on a speedy 51 Triumph 650 and I on my trusty 75 Commando.

6 of us rallied at the Park-N-Ride on the NW corner of I-15 and Deer
Springs, reviewed the ride map and plans, admired Scott’s shiny Commando
and Lars’ bargain-priced Trident, and departed about 10:35AM under
partly sunny skies and 60 degree temps. About 100 yards later, Phil
L joined the procession, having waited for us at the NE corner of
the same interchange. We set forth North on Champagne Boulevard then
took Circle R Drive to curvy West Lilac road, stopping on the very high
West Lilac Bridge overlooking I-15. From this vantage point riders broke
out the cameras and captured some video and photos while I checked with
everyone on pace for the ride.

BIASD North County Chili Ride

We proceeded at a quick pace along West Lilac to the intersection with
Camino Del Rey, then north on Olive Hill road. Generally we were in
horse property country and thoroughly enjoying the scenery and twisty
roads. Once we got to Sleeping Indian Road we proceeded South at a
leisurely pace safely behind a Ford Excursion. The Sunday drive speed
allowed everyone to drink in the views from this road into Camp
Pendleton and even the Pacific Ocean.

We returned to Bonsall along the River/Mission road, then picked up
Camino Del Rey back to Old Highway 395. We tested the speed limit a bit
here and there as conditions permitted. All the bikes were running
soundly. Phil’s Triumph, with its fine patina of flaking metal rust was
particularly impressive with its hot motor. Beware the wolf in beggar’s
clothing!

Our next leg was on Gopher Canyon and North Twin Oaks Valley road, then
a return to our start point. When we reached the Park-N-Ride, we
congratulated ourselves on a ride well done. I called the home front to
get the cornbread started, and we dashed the 4 miles down Jesmond Dene
to the entrance of my subdivision. The last 100 yards of this 50-mile
ride I had to coast along as the clutch cable on my steed parted at this
pretty opportune moment. The ride was finished and so was my bike.

We got to my house and soon dove into the chili and cornbread and
libations which was a welcome end to a somewhat chilly morning. As
usual we indulged in some bench-racing and lie-swapping until it was
time for Frank and Phil to head back and pick up bikes at Lakeside. So
the event came to an end with the promise that we will repeat this type
of ride on the club’s northern fringes and hope that we can entice more
riders with better scheduling and probably warmer weather.

BIASD at Lakeside Off-Road Days

By Geoff Patrick

The Association was well represented a the 2010 Lakeside Off-Road Days on Feb 20-21.  With the focus of the event on off-road related activites, BIASD Associates mustered five bikes, all Triumphs to represent the British iron community.  The stable of three high-pipe Tiger Cubs and two high-pipe T100′s.