Great photo of a veteran Triumph circa 1912. The gent riding has got a bit of a Tyrolean vibe going on with his outfit. The fact that in most of these veteran photos the chaps are wearing hats leads me to believe that they must have ridden everywhere in the sub 15mph zone...

Well loaded up Douglas and Triumph enjoying life out on the road. Great how a suitcase is strapped to the back of the Douglas. 

Nice shot of a gent on a mid-twenties Triumph Ricardo four valve model.

Yep, it's a crappy photo but there's something fun and evocative about it. The bike is a Triumph 3SW, best guess is that the photo was taken early post-war and that the bike is an army surplus machine. The tractor looks like a Ferguson TE20 and they came out 1946.

This bike just stood out for me so much at the Westonzoyland Sprint that I've decided to dedicate a whole page to it. Maybe it's something to do with me trying to self-teach machine tool work at the moment and I am in awe of the skill and time gone in to this bike or it could be just that it is an incredible thunderous beast.

It is a 1973 Hagon-framed Triumph. Originally a full Triumph engine it blew up in 2004 and was rebuilt with a lot of Weslake parts. What makes it so special though is the number of home machined parts it carries and the care and attention that has been lavished upon it. Not just that but it is an extremely effective tool at doing the job it was made to do. It's one of those bikes that the more you look at it the more exquisite detail you see. 

And here it is in action warming the tyres up.

And it's off. The noise was truly earth shattering. You

feel it inside you as it takes off the line.

You won't normally find posts of copied magazine articles on this blog but this one is from such a low circulation source and a great story that it warrants circulating.

I'm always fascinated by early long distance motorcycle adventures and John Lloyd's travels are remarkable for the era that he did them. In 1948 the War would have been a close memory and the Europe that John travelled through on his way to Australia still visibly scarred. The machine he rode was a 350cc ex-WD Triumph, pretty much as decent a machine for the job as there would have been at the time. Slow, but plenty of folks overland even today with 350cc Royal Enfield Bullets which would be pressed to gain the edge on the Triumph in a race. John seems to have done his travels on the quiet for his own satisfaction and this article is perhaps the only record of them. I wonder if he is still around today?

Click on the images for larger, better definition scans.

I'm slightly hesitant to identify this machine as a Triumph but that is what it looks like to me, from around 1908. Perhaps someone can comment or get in touch to confirm or deny the identification. If it is indeed a Triumph it is a mildly customised one, it looks like the pedal cranks have been removed and the petrol tank has had a different paint job.

The Grom Motorcycle Museum is a private collection housed in an old industrial building in the centre of the town of Vransko in central Slovenia. It claims to be the largest motorcycle museum in Slovenia, a claim undoubtedly well founded as it is a large collection by any standards.

The Grom collection has a strong emphasis on unrestored machinery and the unusual. The geographic location meant that back in the day the motorcycles of Slovenia were truly international. Italian brands are strongly represented but there is a decent spread of French, German, American and British machinery too along with a patriotic smattering of Tomos products. 

Many of the exhibits are working and used on the road and a good number are held in a preserved state. There is a wonderful 1906 Puch in a glass case that is completely unmolested and original down to period tyres which have worn down to the string casing. The collection is expanding and projects are trundling out of the workshop on a regular basis. On the go whilst I visited was a French Majestic hub centre steered machine from the late twenties.

Though Vransko is a sleepy town it's got a lot of charm, is set in stunning countryside and  definitely warrants a night or two stay. The Museum itself has a bed and breakfast attached, no-one was in when we arrived so we ended up next door in a friendly small pizzeria restaurant and bar which had comfortable and reasonably priced rooms.  

The Museum is well worth going out of your way to visit, Ljubljana airport isn't far away and a long weekend in Slovenia isn't out of the question for Europeans. Below a selection of the Museum's exhibits, more to come over the next few days...