I went to a classic bike meeting which was held at the Wagon and Horses in Charing a few weeks back. For those of you in the Kent area this is an evening not to be missed. It is only held once a year but it was absolutely amazing - I have never seen so much British iron in one place since the days of Johnson's Cafe down on the A20 near Brands Hatch.
Apart from about five Gold Stars there were a few others which come to mind.
An HRD Vincent which was probably the best I have ever seen, and even more impressive was seeing the owner throw his leg over it and hit an electric start button!
There was a Sunbeam 500 trike - sacrilege you may say, but it was made from a box of bits and the Reliant back axle was mounted on a sub frame which bolted onto the rear plunger mounts. A handbrake and hydraulic rear brake was fitted. The bike was completely standard apart from the absence of a rear wheel, mudguard and shocks. Apparently, according to the owner, when he took it for an MOT the tester passed it as a tricycle because the extra two wheeled subframe was bolted on and no modifications had been made to the frame so it was treated as a sidecar outfit.
The third vehicle which caught my eye was a three wheeler based on a Citroen 2CV. The body tub was a home made monocoque construction made from carbon fibre. The owner made his own pistons, and get this ? actually made his own supercharger from scratch! The interior was trimmed in leather and walnut and the finish was amazing. The owner even towed a small caravan occasionally for the more distant shows.
An absolutely superb sunny evening complete with an on site catering wagon and one for your diaries ? but get there early as the British bike area fills up quickly and you will end up being parked in a field next door with all the and Harleys.
The good news is that this year they have decided to run another event on Wednesday 4th August. It is being organized by the Norton Owners Club and there will be a BBQ. Raffle proceeds will go to the Kent Air Ambulance.
You can Google the pub for further info.
Jim
