Rainy Daze 12 - 17th - 19th July

Rainy City Harley-Davidson Club present Rainy Daze 12, a great weekend with some of the friendliest people around. With free camping, live music, bands, cheap food and beer, ride-out, bike show and silly games.

venue: Bowdon Rugby Club, Clay Lane, Timperley, Greater Manchester, Cheshire, WA15 7AF
price: OTG: £25. Under 16's free when accompanied by an adult. Free goody  bag for first 100 tickets sold - "The best Goody bag on the rally scene says American V magazine"

www.rainycityhdc.com

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NEW FOR 2015 - Shelsley Walsh Bike Festival on Sunday 13 September 2015

The 'End of the Season' Motorcycle Festival at Shelsley Walsh Hill Climb, Worc, WR6 6RP, in support of The Nationwide Association of Blood Bikes and Severn Freewheelers

Following on from the success of their season opener, Prescott Bike Festival; the organisers are delighted to announce their first ‘season closer’ Festival at Shelsley Walsh Hill Climb, Worcestershire on Sunday 13th September 2015.

Shelsley Walsh Bike Festival will feature large displays of historic, modern and race bikes, plus a Paddock Specials area, motorcycle manufacturers, motorcycle clubs, passenger ride experiences, an Auto Jumble, live music, biker celebrities, trade stands and regional dealers including Blade Motorcycles Stratford Outlet Centre.

Unlike a static bike show, Shelsley Walsh Bike Festival gives you the unique opportunity to get up close and see lots of historic, classic and modern race bikes and watch, smell, hear and see them run the historic hill climb course. Entries for Paddock Specials are both by invitation and by application - so if you own a special, rare or historic bike, we want to hear from you! Please contact us via the website, and provide further details.

Festival Organiser, Gordon Downie said, “We are delighted to introduce another motorcycle festival to our calendar; Shelsley Walsh is the oldest motor sport venue in continuous use in the world. First used in 1905, and is even older than Indianapolis, Le Mans or Monza. Our event provides the unique opportunity for people to take part in the event and ride the historic hill climb course on their own bike. Special “Run the Hill” tickets are limited, and are already selling fast, so booking early is essential”.

The Festival prides itself on its diversity, and is not just for modern bikes either, the classic marquees are well represented with the likes of Bantam, AJS, BSA, Rudge, Royal Enfield, Douglas, Manxman, Ariel, Matchless and Norton to custom choppers. Whilst there are just too many to mention, here are a few to whet your appetite:-

Watch motorcycle builder Allen Millyard take to the hill on his home-built ‘Flying Millyard’ - do not by fooled by its appearance, despite resembling a classic 1920s sedate two-wheeled Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, this beast is powered by a gigantic 5.0-litre V-twin engine designed for an aeroplane!

See the MADMAX Race Team ‘Streetfighter’ Bike blast up on the World’s first jet turbine street legal motorbike. It currently holds the land speed record of an astonishing 224.9mph from a standing start and is powered by a modified upside down Rolls Royce 250-C20B Shaft turbine from a helicopter.

Check out the experimental 1963 Norton Manx 348cc Reverse Head developed by Ray Petty and Derek Minter.

Plus the iconic 1962 BSA Rocket Gold Star 650cc (a genuine original) 1 of only 1370 built, a prototype 1927 Velocette KSS 350cc - affectionately known by enthusiasts across the world as ‘Spring-Heeled Jack’, the only one ever built at Hall Green, Birmingham 1945 and a Moto Guzzi Airone Corsa to name but a few!

· Be the star of the show! - A unique opportunity to ‘Run the Hill’ yourself. Run the Hill entries are limited. Please book early to avoid disappointment.

· Haven’t got a bike, but want to run the hill? Why not borrow some leathers and take the ride of your life with a thrilling passenger ride experience in a Watsonian Squire Sidecar, a modern or a classic Morgan Three Wheeler, a Grinnall Scorpion or a Grinnall Trike.

· Visit the Mike West Racing Paddock to see and hear an impressive array of famous and iconic race bikes

· Make the most of the end of season bargains in the Trader Zone.

Shelsley Walsh Bike Festival is a ‘Must Do’ day out for all motorcycling enthusiasts. What’s more, all event proceeds of the event go to The Nationwide Association of Blood Bikes and Severn Freewheelers.

Event Address: Shelsley Walsh Hill Climb, Shelsley Walsh, Worcestershire, WR6 6RP

Advance tickets: Special introductory price of just £10 (£15 on the day). Children under 16years old, go free. Run the Hill entries £35.

Free parking, free motorcycle side stand puck and free helmet park for bikers

Gates Opens at: 08:30am, Track starts at: 09:30am, Festival closes at: 4:30pm.

www.shelsleybikefestival.co.uk

Bautista starts working straight away on his race setup, improving from one session to the next. Laverty sizes up his Aprilia RS-GP

Sachsenring (Germany), 10 July 2015 - MotoGP kicks off the second half of the season on the twisting German Sachsenring circuit. Alvaro Bauitista and Michael Laverty took on the first day of free practice with different intentions. If the German weekend is another stop along the Aprilia V4 development path for Alvaro, for Laverty it was, first and foremost, the time to gain confidence with the bike - which he already knows well, since he has been working as a test team rider - in race configuration.

A sliding crash this morning complicated things for Bautista who, fresh from surgery on his right forearm right after the Assen race, was bothered a bit by the injury. In the afternoon the Spanish Aprilia Racing Team Gresini rider in any case was able to get back onto the track, lapping on the same tyres with the clear intention of getting the bike set up for the race on Sunday, but also managing to shave almost 6 tenths of a second off his time from the morning session. Laverty showed consistent progress in FP1 but changing bikes slowed him up in the second session. In the end Bautista closed out the day with the 18th best combined time at 1’23,286. Laverty had the 24th time with 1’24,446.


ROMANO ALBESIANO (Aprilia Racing Manager)
“Another day of testing and hard work fine tuning. Alvaro was looking good going into turns and riding through them, but we still need to improve traction, so we need to work on improving grip in that condition. Laverty came out of the morning practice session satisfied, ending with the 23rd best time. However, in the afternoon he had to change the bike he had used in FP1, which is the one he felt better on, and with the other one he had a chattering problem that kept him from improving further.”

FAUSTO GRESINI (Team Manager)
“We are doing a lot of tests on the bike, as usual, but Alvaro, despite the crash which slowed him down this morning, is already in line with our expectations. Tomorrow we would still like to take a step forward because I think that we can really do well on this track. Laverty had a good day of practice and he started off working well with the team.”

ALVARO BAUTISTA
“This morning I took a spill on turn 11. The problem is that the spot where I had surgery on my arm last week opened up a bit.. But in the afternoon I was still able to ride. We used the same tyre for the entire session in order to find a good setting. Our most important goal is to improve grip at the rear. I need to feel the tyre more on the tarmac.”

MICHAEL LAVERTY
“In FP1 I felt very comfortable in the saddle every time I went out onto the track and in fact I did my best time in the last run. In the afternoon unfortunately I was only able to get one clean run in at the end of the session so I wasn't able to improve. In general I've got a good feeling with the bike. There's room for improvement in terms of grip. Today I tried the rear suspension link like the one Alvaro uses briefly and it seems to make things a bit better, so tomorrow I'll try it on both bikes.”

The merging of three of Australia’s largest tour and rental operators means that ‘Down Under’ two-wheeled explorers have a single source for pre-ride advice, rental bikes, tours and support no matter where they roam across Oz.

BikeRoundOz has been serving the region for 14 years. By joining forces with the Australian division of worldwide tour operator Compass Expeditions and Bikescape, who are Sydney’s largest rental and tour company, the new organization has a central booking office with collection and drop off depots in Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Brisbane, Cairns and Adelaide.

“The key things that ensure fellow riders enjoy their time in Australia are high quality advice from real people that have ridden the routes many times, expertly prepared bikes, attention to detail and fast support no matter where you are in the country” says Selena Thurbon, the new MD of BikeRoundOz. “The country is vast and without good knowledgeable advice you can miss all the good stuff. Our daily focus is to ensure clients make the most of their time here whether it’s a day trip from the city or a cross continent, gravel road epic!”, continues Selena.

The merging of these experienced rental, self-guided and guided tour operators provides riders a seamless one stop shop no matter which part of Australia you are exploring and type of trip you’d like. Choose from a simple rental, on or off road, over 60 self-guided tours and both sealed and enduro guided trips.

The extremely popular “Outback Ready” bikes will be available out of all depots and as the name suggests are equipped with everything you’ll need to venture into Australia’s iconic outback.

The national fleet is focused around BMWs and Harleys but Japanese bikes are on the list and even scooters for zipping around Sydney.

For more information visit www.bikeroundoz.com

Cheltenham has many wonderful festivals ranging from education and food to jazz and ukuleles, and now a brand new sensational festival is being hosted inside the stunning Town Hall and all around the Imperial Gardens: the Cheltenham Festival of Bikes will feature over one hundred exquisite classic motorcycles, beautifully engineered custom bikes and rare race specials.

The Cheltenham Festival of Bikes is to be staged on Sunday 23rd August 2015 inside the Town Hall and the Imperial Park. The exhibition and festival is open from 11am until 6pm and is organised by Cheltenham based ShowCo Limited, an independent event management company, who also stage KICKBACK the national custom bike show.

The organisers are pleased to confirm that The Festival of Bikes has secured support from Triumph Motorcycles plus local motorcycle dealerships and suppliers such as Cheltenham Harley Davidson and Performance Triumph from the Blade Group as well as Oily Rag Clothing, MHP and Tewksbury MOT Centre.

The Festival will feature a spectacular showcase and collection of the UK’s finest motorcycles, ranging from beautiful and exquisite classics and brilliantly engineered customs to rare race specials, café racers and brat style motorcycles!

There will also be a number of skills workshops including How to Upholster a Seat, How to Airbrush, How to Pinstripe and How to Restore. Inside the Town Hall will also be a good selection of exhibitors and traders selling everything from accessories and parts to clothing and helmets. There will be a good number of traders outside by Imperial Park also. In the main bar there will be live music all day with local buskers entertaining you.

Some of the finest custom bike builders will be displaying their bikes at the festival including award winning names such as Rolling Art Motorcycles, Steve Hackett, Rob Wood, Paul Milbourn and local award winners including Dave Morgan, James Rogers, Dave Sutton, John Deighton, Simon Boden and Dave Solomon.

Advance tickets are on sale now and can be purchased from www.FestivalOfBikes.com

www.cheltenhamfestivalofbikes.blogspot.com
www.FestivalofBikes.com

Organised by ShowCo Ltd, Cheltenham, England.