With photos from Eric Kitchen and Mike Wylie, John McCrink reports from this year’s Moidart Peninsula Classic Motorcycle Road Run in the picturesque Scottish Highlands – and looks forward to next year’s landmark 10th event
For the ninth year in a row, an enthusiastic group of classic motorcyclists turned up at the Viaduct Car Park in Kinlochleven to take part in the Moidart Peninsula Road Run on Thursday, May 3.
Everyone was looking forward to the 120-mile round trip, which takes in some of the most awe-inspiring scenery on the planet, and although there was some intermittent rain, it certainly wasn’t cold – and as someone pointed out, what would the clear, golden liquid for which the area is famous be without it!
Sadly this year’s intended guest of honour, Mike Dismore, was unable to attend after seriously damaging his shoulder after being struck by a car the previous week. A regular competitor in the Scottish Six Days’ Trial in the 1950s and 60s Mike, now in his eighties, is a regular visitor to the Pre-’65 Trial, and we look forward to welcoming him as our guest next year.
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SSDT veteran Jock McComisky, a long-time stalwart of the Pre-’65 Scottish both as a rider and organiser, and a ‘weel kent’ face in these parts, stood in for Mike by doing the honours.
For classic motorcycle fans, Kinlochleven is the place to be on the May bank holiday. The normally quiet highland village comes alive over the weekend, with Thursday’s Moidart Run being an opener to the world-famous Pre-’65 Scottish Two-Day Trial on the Friday and Saturday.
With signing-on and the prize draw completed, everyone was keen to get going, and to see and hear such an assorted mix of old bikes was quite a thrill, especially when accompanied by the ‘skirl o’ the pipes’ from Ken Gummerson, who travels all the way from Baltimore, USA, to take part.
There were riders from all over the UK, and this year from the Irish Republic and France as well, and their mounts ranged from flat-tankers, big twins and singles from home and abroad, Japanese ‘fours’, delightfully smoky two-strokes and lots of old trials and enduro bikes that seem to grow in number each year.
Read more and view more images in the June 2018 issue of OBM – on sale now!
