John Milton went for a spirited amble around the Newark Showground earlier this year. Gary Chapman followed in his wake to take some pictures.
I have a great deal of time for people who organise events. It’s not an easy job and the bigger a show is, the harder the job gets. There are venues to be found, entries to be collated, insurances, fire inspections and risk assessments to be undertaken, staff to be found and briefed and doing all this in January when it’s generally cold or wet or usually both is really asking for trouble. After all, everyone is watching the pennies after Christmas and the idea of going out on the first weekend of the new year isn’t necessarily appealing. But, to paraphrase lines from the movie ‘Field of Dreams’, ‘if you organise it, they will come’. The Winter Classic crew did the former and loads of people did the latter!
As if the usual problems of organising a show and then doing it in midwinter weren’t enough, the organisers also had to contend with much of the country being flooded. Fortunately, by the time the show came around, all roads to the Newark Showground were open. While the showground itself was a bit muddy, that didn’t seem to deter the hardcore autojumblers (both sellers and buyers), while the more faint of heart and foot had quite enough to see in the halls and the indoor show started with a bang, the impressive BSA Gold Star Owners stand being the first thing visitors saw – and the club had really put on a dazzling display of Goldies.
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Outside was a fine spread of autojumble stalls this year, although the wise and those who had been before were wrapped up well in layers of thermals. The wind blows straight off the North Sea and across to Newark without much in the way in Lincolnshire to stop it. So it’s here I must say another thank you and that’s to all the good people who had got up at an ungodly hour to take their motorcycles along. Whether your bike was a private entry in the show or on one of the many club stands, I salute you.
There is a special atmosphere about the Winter Classic, possibly because of its position at an inclement time of the year. Yes, the Stafford shows are great, but they’re held in spring and autumn when the weather is often quite pleasant and certainly a damn sight warmer. No, the hardy go to the Newark show and thus there’s a sense of camaraderie among all those visitors who’ve turned out. The presence of the scooter element also makes for a difference; now, while I may not be a huge fan of motorcycles with tiny wheels, it’s interesting to see what floats other people’s boats and you can’t but help appreciate the work and passion that goes into building these scooters. That shows every bit as much dedication as in the classic world. In fact, as our editor likes to point out, the scooter world deserves credit for its part in saving many craftspeople. In the 1980s and early 90s when intricate engraving and even more elaborate paint jobs had fallen out of fashion in the custom motorcycle scene, it was the scooter lads and lasses who continued to ensure that artists and engravers (among them the late and much lauded Don Blocksidge) were able to stay in business. And I have to say that, while I’ve never owned nor expect to own a scooter, I can’t help but find myself strangely attracted by a Maicoletta…
This is a show which always sees a wide range of machinery – machines on display spanned the best part of a century – and there was the opportunity to hear some of them come to life in the fire up arena. A chap was handing around a bag of ear plugs and I was quite amused at those people who turned down the offer (there were some who clearly thought they were sweeties). Always easy to spot those people who’ve not seen a fire up demonstration before!
Special guest Norton tuner and race guru Brian Crighton had brought along one of his new CR700W track bikes which really is a hooligan tool. It produces 220hp but weighs in just a feather over 285lb, a greater power-to-weight ratio than any other superbike in the world. Only 25 are being built, all by Brian himself, and the price tag? Eye watering. Knowing that this is a machine with a six-figure price, I couldn’t have been the only person watching who didn’t have their heart in their mouth as Trevor Nation did a burnout on the CR700W with the rear end seemingly wanting to slide to earth several times! However, he’s a big chap and the bike is so light that I suspect he was throwing it about for the crowd’s entertainment although it may not have done Brian’s blood pressure much good!
There were a surprising number of bikes for sale and this really is the ideal show to blow away the winter blues and get you started on a new project. Not only could you find a project bike, you would probably find most of the parts you needed in the autojumble and on the trade stands, in addition to the necessary tools and even thermals to keep you warm while building it! And even if you didn’t buy anything – other than a cup of tea I went home with the same amount of money I set out with – it’s a perfect start to the motorcycling year.
