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Riding into History

the 8th annual

Concours d'Elegance

Presented by

Atlantic Beach Vintage Motorcycle Club

and

BMW Motorcycle Owners of Northeast Florida

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On May 19th, 2007, the Riding into History Concourse d' Elegance was held at the World Golf Resort just North of St Augustine, Florida. I attended and wish to share my day with you.

The morning was clear and crisp when I left the house that day. The temperature was in the '60s so my Levi jacket and gloves felt good; it promised to be a great ride. I made my way through the residential streets and urban roads to I-4 and settled into a nice steady cruise. The traffic was light and all was right with the world.

By the time I approached the bridge at Lake Monroe, over the St. Johns River, it was fully light. The Bonneville hardly changed tone as it easily climbed the grade; I barely noticed the various extremities which had begun to turn numb from the buzz.

As I topped the rise, the lake spread out before me to my right. The water, glassy in some places, lightly shimmering in others, the sun, a huge orange ball stood just above the water line. I noted a boat anchored off the far shore and still shrouded by fingers of fog which spread out over the water. I wondered if this was just early morning fishermen or perhaps a romantic rendezvous.

Down the far side and into the long shadows of the morning, I could see the marsh savanna that represented the flood plane of the river. Mostly low brush and palms.

Soon the hard and soft woods pressed back to the edge of the highway.

As I approached a clearing I noted a hawk high and to my right. I marveled at the speed of his dive as he swooped low, almost matching my own. Although I could not hear him over the wind and the drone of the engine, I could imagine his call, a sound that is so common in this part of our world.

It was at that point that my wonder turned to horror as I realized the reason his speed seemed to match my own was that he was on a collision course with me. I saw his black eye, the left wing tip, spread like fingers of a hand and bent backwards as he desperately tried to bank away and gain altitude.

I felt the impact to my throttle hand, a 65MPH right hook to the chest. No pain really as this was one of those extremities turned numb by the buzz. As the day would progress, the knuckles of that hand would turn various shades of yellow and blue in spite of the heavy glove.

I frantically scanned my mirrors trying to see if he had survived but could not find him. The mirrors are small and blurry from the buzz, I told myself. My gloom was tempered by the knowledge that, while I hated to see this magnificent little creature kilt, at least I had not taken the hit to my head or chest for I certainly did not wish to be kilt myself.

The gloom would stay with me for several more miles. As I approached Daytona I felt something bump my left boot. I looked but saw nothing and dismissed it as road debris. My attention was then diverted to the traffic as we vied for position on the ramp that merged traffic onto North bound I-95. The rest of the trip passed with out incident and I finally arrived at registration. It felt good to get off and stretch. The volunteers were pleasant and helpful and I was soon making my way to a spot on the concourse.

The bikes were parked along a wide, brick walkway that meanders around the lake which is the center piece of the show. Green lawn along with flowering plants and shrubs cover a space of varying depth between the fencing and water. The outside edge of the walk is lined with shops and eateries and all in all it is a very inviting place. The space along the fence is broken up into areas of like bikes. British vintage or classic here, Honda or Kawasaki of certain years there so that the viewer can see, side by side, bikes of like make and model.

I found a spot that was overhung by some willowy like trees and tucked the Bonneville up against the fence to begin the cleanup from the ride in. I would soon be flanked by a Hurricane on my right and a TR6 on my left. Very good company indeed. It was at that point that I realized what that bump on my left boot had been that I dismissed as road debris.

The left front tank mounting bolt and complete reflector assembly had disappeared!

In the immortal words of Roseanna Roseannadanna,

"It's always Something".

Question: How do you find an old Triumph?

Answer: Follow the oil slick and the debris field!

After cleanup I began to wander about, looking and taking pictures. I have tried to note a little information about the bikes where possible. I hope that I have not done any one an injustice.

This 1970 441 Victor Special was entered by Larry Ellis.

1979 Triumph Bonneville was restored in 2002 and entered by Kenneth Balser of Jacksonville. The bike has 15000 original miles, Ronnies M/C Service did repairs in '98 in Palm Beach. Kenneth is a ROTLE member.

1970 T6C entered by Burt Martin.

1970 T120R entered by Gary Whitmore. The bike was purchased about 1990 in Gainesville and took about 6 months to restore. Gary has two other bikes, a '67 Tiger Cub and a '70 Daytona.

1964 Norton Atlas entered by George Comeau.

1969 BSA Starfire entered by Robert Warner.

1971 TR6C entered by Dan Salvador.

1973 Norton Commando.

1967 BSA A-65 T entered by Laura Allen. Laura bought the bike about 2 1/2 years ago and does all her own work. She has replaced the electronic ignition with the original points system and 12V coils and rebuilt the top end. She says it is ridden every day and is a one kick starter.

1969 BSA A65 Lightening entered by Brian Bacon.

1972 BSA Rocket III entered by Brain Bacon.

1973 Triumph Hurricane X75 entered by Dave Swigler.

1966 Triumph TR65R entered by Larry Louton. Larry bought this bike in 2000 and has spent 6 years restoring it as time and finances would allow. When he got it there were many incorrect parts that had to be replaced including forks, seat, tank, fenders and more.

1972 Norton Combat entered by Chris Dutton.

1972 Norton 750 Commando entered by Andre' Van Ekeris

1971 Norton 750 Commando Scrambler entered by Tim Preston.

1961 Norton Manxman 650 entered by Clive Taylor.

1959 Triumph T100 entered by Clive Taylor.

1962 Triumph Trophy entered by Michael Barton. This was bought in '06 in the US and shipped back to London where Mr. Barton restored it himself. It was then shipped back to the US to show. It was originally sold to TriCorp east coast.