Category: Events and Shows

1. New bike arrives as Harley exhibition extends

   Posted on 12:00am Monday 3rd Oct 2011

   A fantastic new Harley-Davidson motorbike has been added to the Customizing, Culture & Harley-Davidson exhibition at MOSI (Museum of Science & Industry, Manchester) to mark the extension of the exhibition, which now runs until 30 October 2011.

   The 2006 FLSTCI Heritage Softail, has been made by Shaw Speed and Custom and includes a beautifully designed vintage gas tank and rear fender by Roland Sands Design.

   The Heritage Softail motorcycle was one of Sussex-based Shaw Speed and Custom’s launch bikes in 2007 and is a fantastic example of British skills in customisation. The design features striking red candy paint by Image Design Custom, including light smoking with skulls and finished with pinstripes and flames.

   Customising, Culture and Harley-Davidson spans early Harley-Davidsons to the very latest in customised motorcycles, many of which have never been displayed to the public before. The exhibition is created by the Claridon Group and MOSI. It is the first time ever that an exhibition has showcased the historic and radical customs of Harley-Davidson® motorcycles, and the culture surrounding them.

   Exhibition organiser Chris Scott of Claridon said: “I’m delighted to showcase this fantastic example of a Harley-Davidson motorcycle, to celebrate the extension of the Customising Culture & Harley-Davidson exhibition. We’ve had a fantastic response to the exhibition and visitors love the combination of these beautiful machines set against a backdrop of American culture and history, as well as the modern customisation scene in the UK and Europe. I’m pleased to announce the extension of the exhibition until the end of October, so don’t miss your chance to see it!”

   Over 30 motorcycles are featured in the exhibition, including models from the UK, Germany, Japan and the US. Each bike has its own story, from a rare 1909 model built in the first decade of Harley-Davidson’s production heritage, to the 1956 KH motorcycle like the one Elvis Presley rode, to the 1948 Ice Road Panhead, which defied motorcycle capabilities in conditions of minus 53 degrees, to complete an expedition to the Arctic.

   The exhibition includes a section on the tradition of radically customised Harley-Davidson® motorcycles, two of which have been created especially for the exhibition. There is also a rolling programme of guest motorcycles in the exhibition, courtesy of Sussex-based authorised dealership Shaw Harley-Davidson.

   The exhibition also looks at the bike builders, owners and enthusiasts who have embraced the customisation culture to create a unique machine that truly reflects their individual personality and sense of style, as well as the groups that enjoy the freedom that the Harley-Davidson lifestyle has to offer.

   All Harley-Davidson bikes are manufactured in Milwaukee, USA, but the almost endless array of available aftermarket parts and accessories worldwide provides radical customisation opportunities and enables owners to realise their own personal dream machine. A full list of all motorcycles in the exhibition is available.

   Customising, Culture and Harley-Davidson now runs until 30 October.

   Adults £8, Concessions £6.50, HOG Members £6.50, Children (5-16) £2; Under 5s Free; Family £20 (2 adults, 3 children). Tickets can be bought from the MOSI Information Desk in the Great Western Warehouse or at www.ticketmaster.co.uk or by calling 0844 847 2261 (24 hours)*

   *order processing fee applies to telephone or online sales

   For more information on MOSI look up www.mosi.org.uk

2. The 11th Silloth Music and Beer Festival starts today and continues until Sunday!

   Posted on 12:00am Thursday 8th Sep 2011

   Once again, Silloth is preparing to bring together two of your favourite things!

   There are 16 acts performing across the weekend, and there will be more than 75 real ales and ciders to sample across the weekend. Both the bands and the beers are a selection of local gems and some of the best that are an offer across the country.
    
   Headliners include Mercury, an award winning tribute to Queen. The band have received praise from Freddie Mercury's family as being the "next best thing" to Queen, it really doesn't get much better than that! Blondied will also perform, no prizes for guessing who they are a tribute too. Front woman Michelle Hendricks has received rave reviews across the country from fans for creating an onstage presence that made Debbie Harry of Blondie the poster girl of choice for a million 80s teenage boys. Then, bringing things up to date, there will be sets from the Four Fighters, the definitive Foo Fighters tribute act. They'll perform alongside Kazabian (the clues in the name!) who will recreate the sound of one of the noughties most successful indie-rock acts.
    
   As well as tributes there are many other fantastic performances. One of the UK’s most popular comedy acts, The Lancashire Hotpots, will be performing two sets across the weekend. The band have gained a huge following with their witty, affection and sometimes absurd view of the world from an uniquely Lancashire angle. With airplay on BBC Radio 1, close on a third of a million plays of their ‘He’s Turned Emo’ track on MySpace, national tour support to Comedian Paddy McGuinness, a number one record on iTunes and an endless string of festival appearances, by ‘eck these lads are proving popular!  Also appearing are one of the most authentic and popular purveyors of sizzling hot 50’s American style r’n’b. The Revolutionaires. Based in the North-East the band have toured extensively through Europe, and have four albums under their belts. Expect to be blown away!

   We're also delighted to be able to showcase so much local talent across the weekend, and to offer them a place on our festival stage, including our Battle Of The Band’s winners. Wigton/Silloth based band Sneaky Finch will be performing, alongside Carlisle based indie four-piece House Of Three Hands and West Cumbrian rockers Black Wolf Run.  They will be joined by Gosforth band The Roosters, West Cumbrian Blues Band Code Blue, indie-rock band Collision, The Two-ers, The Pulse and Whitehaven singer-songwriter Emma Dockeray.
    
   Tickets are still available and a four day Festival Ticket, with access to all five sessions, remains at the same price as last year of only £35! Individual afternoon and night tickets are also available. Full information on ticket prices, a list of beers, and more details on this years artists can be found at www.sillothbeerfestival.co.uk. Tickets now available in person from Winters Newsagents in Silloth, or on the door.
    
   With just hours to go until this years festival we can't wait to open to get the bar opened! There are 16 bands across four days and there's something for everyone. We hope to see you there. Cheers!

3. Ace Cafe News - Ace Cafe Reunion Update

   Posted on 12:00am Monday 5th Sep 2011

   Independently acclaimed as the world's coolest motorcycle event - Three Days, Three Rides, One Reunion!

   Friday 9th September from 6pm - The Continental Run Ride-In

   Saturday 10th September - Cafe Racer & Rockers Ride-Out

   Depart: 10.30am

   Destination: Battersea Park (Central London)

   Sunday 11th September - Brighton Burn-Up & Ride With The Rockers

   Depart: 10.30am

   Route: A406 - A40 - M25 - M23 - A23 to Madeira Drive, Brighton Seafront
   
   Taking place over three days of the second weekend in September and first held in 1994, the 18th annual Ace Cafe Reunion Weekend & Ride With The Rockers celebrates the unique history, culture and style of Ace Cafe London and what it represents. The event acts as a focus in the motorcycling calendar for all those who are not only interested in the Ace Cafe, Ton Up and Rocker heritage, but also for many others who enjoy a weekend full of rock n' roll and fun!

   Over the years, Ace Cafe London has forged lasting and strong links to the global motorcycling and rockin' community, which is reflected by the many visitors from overseas, one of the largest contingents being The Continental Run, which starts with a party at Cafe Hubraum in Solingen, Germany, before departing the next morning to cross Holland, Belgium and France, gathering numbers en route to the ferry, arriving at the cafe late afternoon, and culminating in an evening of rock 'n' roll!

   The Brighton Burn Up & Ride With The Rockers, has been an integral part of Ace Cafe Reunions since 1996, and is a free, grand day out at the seaside on Brighton's famous seafront road, Madeira Drive. With trade and club stands, stunt displays, live music and special guests, it's an experience not to be missed!

   On Saturday 10th September, a Cafe Racer & Rockers Ride-Out to London's historic Battersea Park will depart from the cafe at 10.30am, led again this year by the Limited Edition Ace 904S Thruxton Special, returning to the Ace for the 3rd annual Cafe Racer Review, with prizes for the "Best Ridden Cafe Racer", "Best Classic Cafe Racer", "Best Modern Cafe Racer", "Best Triumph Cafe Racer" and "Best Harley Cafe Racer".

   This year, together with celebrating the 40th anniversary of the release in 1971 of the seminal Steve McQueen film "On Any Sunday" with prizes to include a pair of tickets to attend the Rye House Flat Track Championship Round for the "Best Ridden Flat Tracker",  and recalling his famous quote of that same year, "When you're racing, it's life", the Ace is also celebrating a very special landmark, the 10th anniversary of the legendary cafe having fully reopened!

   Sponsors for the competitions at the cafe include; Lewis Leathers, Red Torpedo, Lucky 13, 19-60, Prison Blues, Delta Music, Jack Lilley Triumph, Warrs HD, Coventry Transport Museum, NEC Classic Bike Show, Million Dollar Quartet Musical, Taschen and Rye House Speedway with awards and prizes being presented by Ace Cafe Hostess Sophia St. Villier.

   Amongst special guests,we are delighted to host Manx man and renowned author Mick Duckworth signing copies of his recently published book "Ace Times - Speed thrills and tea spills, a cafe and a culture", together with the legendary "Prince of Speed", 8 times world champion road racer Phil Read MBE. 2011 marks 50 years since his first TT race.

   The feisty London Rockin' Rollers will be with us again, raising funds for London's Air Ambulance, the cafe's chosen charity for Saturday 10th September.

   On Sunday 11th September in Brighton, as well as an array of club, trade stands and live bands, the annual short seafront service and blessing is being kindly undertaken by both Father Scott and Father Denis of the 59 Club.

   There will also be a "Best Scooter" competition sponsored by Baracuta and Dr Martens.

   Stunt Shows, featuring the ever popular Marc "Sparky" Chennel, Hanksy (Bolddog/SBF),  Joe Vertical (USA) and Tim Evans (SBF) will take place at Black Rock, the eastern end of Madeira Drive, with three displays scheduled for 11.30am, 1.30pm and 3.30pm, together with a wheelie machine for those who want to try out riding on the back wheel and, for the first time, this years Reunion will host a static Show Up n' Shine "Best Streetfighter" competition in association with Streetfighters magazine and Winning Formulas.

   As part of Battle of Britain Week,  the cafe's chosen charity RAFA will be in attendance, and assisting them in raising funds, and debuting at this years Reunion, are the Brighton Rockers Roller Derby Team, a band of fearless female skaters! and, for your convenience, the charity Riders For Health will be in attendance with a "helmet park", where you can leave your gear and enjoy the day.

   Ace Cafe Reunion Weekend Entertainment:

   The Hicksville Bombers+ Burlesque Show (Friday 9th), Doggone Honkabilly Band + The Bullets + Furious + The Space Cadets + Burlesque Show (Saturday 10th) at the cafe, plus Rockin' The Joint & Mark Keeley's Good Rockin' Tonight performing at Brighton (Sunday 11th). DJ's spinning the weekend's wax are Bill & Jimmy Guntrip, Graham Urquhart and Mouse, and yes, it's all free!

   For updates:

4. Gay Biker Rally

   Posted on 12:00am Wednesday 24th Aug 2011

   The Gay Biker Rally is delighted to announce sponsorship from BLD who are also offering a great track day prize on the day.

   The first dealer to confirm support is BMW Chandlers who are offering a selection of pre-booked test rides on the day.

   East Sussex Advanced Motorcyclists and Bike Safe will be offering skills assessments.
   Entrance fee £5 includes a afternoon of indoor entertainment with a 2 hour chilled DJ set. All day food available at the Azur Pavilion.

   More supporters to be confirmed next week.

   www.videou.co.uk

5. What are Bike Rallies all about then?

   Posted on 8:26am Monday 22nd Aug 2011

   Stormin' The Castle

   Someone recently pointed out that we don’t say on our website, what happens at our event. I suppose we just expected everyone to know as most of our customers have been to lots of rallies; this doesn’t help anyone who stumbles across the site and wants to find out what it’s all about.

   Stormin’ is a fund raising event for the Motorbike Action Group (MAG) which is an organisation that fights against anti-motorcycle legislation and for riders rights; find out more about MAG On their website.

   Firstly it’s not a motorsport event like a car-rally, or a music festival, but is a party for bikers. Some rallies are a lot smaller, are based around a pub, with camping in a nearby field. There may not have any entertainment, but are a place where like-minded people meet up and have a chat, chill out and maybe have a drink or two! The bigger rallies such as Stormin’ and the Farmyard Party are held in a big field or a number of fields. At Stormin’ we have three campsites and a main arena where we have the stages, the bike show on Saturday afternoon, the traders village the catering vans, the fairground the wheelie machine and the dyno-machine.

   How to ‘Do’ a Bike Rally

   Firstly you need a motorbike, we do reluctantly allow a few cars but we are cutting the numbers down each year. The event is aimed at and run by motorcyclists, it isn’t a music festival. Once you have bought your motorbike and learned to ride it you can buy a ticket for the rally. You can pay on the gate but it’s considerably cheaper to pay in advance, see the ‘tickets’ page on this website. You will also need a tent, a sleeping bag and sleeping mat or airbed. .

   People arrive for the event gates to open at 10.00 on Friday morning, set up their tents and from midday start making their way to the main arena. When you arrive at the main gate you hand in your voucher if you have pre-booked or pay the entry fee if you haven’t. Only those arriving on a bike or trike can pay on the gate. The marshal will put your wristband on your wrist for you. Once you have your wristband you can make your way to one of the campsites either by turning immediately left after you go through the gate or by going straight ahead for about 50 metres and turning right, please take care when riding on the grass, especially if it is or has been raining. When you have found a suitable camping place pitch your tent and then you’ll be ready to start.

   What you do next sort of depends on what time you arrive; if you arrive early and it’s sunny then you might just want to hang out around your tent, chat with your neighbors about their bikes, maybe have a drink from the campsite bar. If you arrive in the evening you may want to head straight for the main arena. The first band in the main stage, that’s the big white marquee starts at 7:00, they could be playing rock, punk, ska or any one of the many diverse musical genres we have on over the weekend, most of all the atmosphere is lively to say the least. In the Iris stage which is the smaller of the two marquees the first band is on stage at 7:30, the bands and the atmosphere in here are a little more laid back.

   There is no entertainment provided on the Friday afternoon; this is a time for chilling out, meeting up with old friends, having a look around the trade stalls, buying Stormin T-shirts and badges before they are sold out and maybe having a drink in one of the three bars.

   At some point over the weekend most rally-goers visit Witton Castle itself. The castle contains bars, a restaurant, and general dealer. There are also ‘proper loos’ and showers.

   On Saturday morning some people like to go for a ride out around the County, if you do decide to go out please be sure that you’re within the legal driving limit for alcohol. There are lots of interesting places to visit within an hour or so ride and you should have been given a guide leaflet with your ‘welcome pack’

    

   On Saturday afternoon the main event is a custom bike show, which always, attracts a large number of high quality entrants. There are classes for custom bikes, classic bikes and ‘bikes of notable interest’ which are machines which do not fit into the categories and are just on display. If you want to enter your road-legal bike take it to the main arena between 9.30 am and 4.00 pm, see Tim or one of his crew and they will tell you what you need to do. Winners assemble with their bikes at 5.15 and the trophies are presented at 5.45, probably in the Iris Stage – depending on ground conditions.

   You don’t need to bring any food as there are catering stalls on site to suit all tastes – from burgers and chips, to oriental cuisine. There are also catering vans on the campsites so you don’t need to go to the arena just for something to eat.

    

   There is plenty to do at Stormin’ – browsing amongst the large selection of trade stands just chilling out. For the more adventurous – there are fairground rides, usually including, the reverse bungee or something equally intimidating. There is also a dyno and a wheelie machine, both are free of charge to our customers.

   Sunday morning is time to have breakfast, pack up and go home but please don’t leave too early if you’ve been up late drinking the night before. Please take all your belongings with you and especially please don’t abandon your tent as it’s just more work for us to take it down and dispose of it. On your way out if you’ve had a good weekend please give the marshals a wave or a word of thanks as they’ve all worked hard over the weekend for no pay. Have a safe journey home and come back next year.

   Best wishes

   Jim Coxon, Event Coordinator

   www.storminthecastle.co.uk