It's Autumn Once Again

    'Twas a stalwart Swedish chainsaw night for the BeeMOcKs as PVP Cycles CEO Andy Hardin and his cohort in crime Patti welcomed the faithful into their art deco shop on South Shelby (Sadly lacking it's former grand view of the city incinerator stacks) for the August 2008 monthly rendezvous. The Hardins are apparently in tight with Mother Nature, who blessed the occasion with a lovely evening, spawning a turnout of perhaps 30 attendees and 12 motorcycles, including 3 Triumphs(H), 2 BSAs, 2 Buells and one each for Norton, Triumph(M), Ducati, K******i and S****i. Also on hand to enhance the experience was BMOK Versailles chapter representative Dean Gosser's aging Toyota Supra, proudly flaunting it's distinctive hood peeling paint scheme. (Sadly, my camera malfunctioned and none of the photos taken that evening came out)
    Unfortunately missing from the roster of attendees was young (50) Doctor Denny, who opted to essentially suffer a brain fart and fall over whilst still within the borders of his home subdivision, Nutwood. (Which has nothing to do with early prosthetic devices) Damage was fortunately minimal to his Parsch Performance Restorations '75 Norton Interstate, pretty much limited to broken turn signals, and Denny suffered nothing broken, although he was observed to have some pain in moving and a somewhat glassy eyed appearance thereafter, prompting denials concerning "medications". (Uh huh)
     Denny reportedly received a congratulatory call from Bill Long concerning his induction to the BMOK Hall of Shame as the newly crowned Crash Cornett. There's no information available as to whether or not the good doctor plans on adding an Evel Knieval-esque outfit to his wardrobe to reflect this newly acquired stature.
    The business meeting was conducted with it's usual strict adherence to parliamentary procedure by the iron fisted BMOK President, Big John Schroeder, who led off with calls for reports from members who had attended either of the Norton Owners rally in the election battleground state of Pennsylvania or Ohio's AMA Vintage Motorcycle Daze. With the sole Norton rally attendee, Doctor Denny, at home licking his wounds, the reports centered on VMD, with suggestions of possible diminished participation and some reported disappointment with the efforts of Triumph Hinckley as the down side and positive observations concerning the vintage races on the upside. With the absence of Bill Long at VMD, there were no reports of embarrassing public inebriation to spice up the story telling.
     Commonwealth Motorcycles CEO and former BMOK ruler, Ed "Il Duce" Staloff delivered the latest news from Bloor's world, a limited run of 650 commemorative Bonneville T100's to honor the 50th anniversary of the introduction of the model by the boyz from Meriden. Each of these numbered specials will feature an orange and blue color scheme similar to the original issue and will include a certificate of authenticity signed by John Bloor himself. (Ooo-ahhh) The 650 quantity was chosen from the displacement of the original Bonneville, but these new versions will be motivated by the same 865cc vertical twin found in the other Triumph retro offerings. The first 50 have already been sold, so if you've an interest you'd do well to get to Commonwealth and see Ed to get your order placed.
    Also introduced to the floor by Mister Staloff was a reminder concerning the upcoming inaugural MotoGP to be held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in September. Running from Friday the 12th through race day on Sunday the 14th, this historic event will bring the stars of MotoGP to the brickyard for the enjoyment of fans of motorcycle racing, many of whom are no doubt counted amongst the BMOKs, although there are to my knowledge no current plans for any sort of group attendance. Additional information can be found at http://www.redbullindianapolisgp.com/ .
    The Hardins were as always the most gracious of hosts, serving up a fine meal of beef, chicken and pork BBQ, potato salad, vegetables and assorted munchies, with an assortment of libations to wet the whistle of the assembled masses. Salutations and commendations to Andy and Patti for their hospitality and generosity.

    The September meeting will open up new territory to the BMOKs, being hosted by a newcomer to our midst, Gary Roggenkamp, which interestingly enough makes two months in a row with meetings hosted by technical non-members, neither having actually paid dues for 2008, a detail which never kept us from enjoying anyone's hospitality.
    The second Wednesday of the month falls on September 10th and the starting time remains the typical 7:00PM, although Gary has made it clear that you may feel free to show up early should you be so inclined. The address is 4604 Curve Hill Road, which can be found on the far side of J-town off of Old Heady Road. Unlike leaving your lover, there doesn't appear to be 100 ways to get there, with the most obvious way being to follow Taylorsville Road through J-town, turn right on Old Heady, follow to the second road to the right and turn onto Easum Road. Curve Hill will be the second road to the left and Gary's abode is most likely the one with 4604 on it.
    At the top of the list of likely topics to hit the business floor is the Cincinnati British Motorcycle Club's 19th Annual Vintage Bike Rally, the event formerly known as Miamitown, which will be held on Saturday/Sunday, September 27-28. Now being held in Kentucky at the Boone County Fairgrounds in Burlington, this event has been expanded to include all vintage motorcycles and now welcomes pre-1976 (Non-British) European, Japanese and American motorcycles, as well as 9 classes of vintage Brits.
    There has traditionally been a real, honest to goodness official BMOK ride to this event, although I've not yet heard any discussion about doing so this year. Should such a ride be organized, the possibility exists that it could be attended by Sum1Gimpy, who made his debut motorcycle ride since December's hip surgery last weekend, riding his trusty Norton, Ed, to join the Imperial Parsch's and Blacksburg, Virginia's Paul Kokalis (Who rode up to Louisville specifically for the occasion) for breakfast at Smithfield, followed by a cruise down 421 to Frankfort and back home via the same route. 'Twas most enjoyable, (Although kick starting was perhaps less than thrilling), and Ed needed the exercise.
    We also need to spend a few minutes of business meeting time gratefully accepting the offers to host the October and November meetings, thus far unclaimed, that are bound to roll in. Someone needs to speak up, as time runs short.
    While we're on a roll and given the glacial pace of the BMOK planning process, we should probably also begin discussion of the December party. (You taking notes, John?)

Sept 5-7.......	NCNO Rolling Thunder Rally................	Stanardsville, Va.
Sept 10........	Monthly Meeting..............................	Gary Roggenkamp..4604 Curve Hill Rd.
Sept 12-14....	Red Bull Moto GP.............................	Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Sept 27-28....	19th CBMCC Rally and Show................	Boone Co. Fairgrounds, Burlington
Oct 4-5........	Louisville Concours d'Elegance..............	Churchill Downs Infield
Oct 8...........	Monthly Meeting..............................	?????????????????????????
Oct 11..........	Ride for Native Pride........................	General Butler State Park
Nov. 12.........	Monthly Meeting..............................	?????????????????????????

    The Norton name is back in the news once again, continuing the saga first reported in Classic Bike in 2006 and dutifully plagiarized in the December 2006 BMOK scandal rag, as the originator of the Norton radial race bike that captured the 1994 British Supercup Championship, Brian Crighton, joining forces with England's Spondon Engineering, had created an updated prototype of the original NV588 with an eye on recreating it's past successes.
    This newly born Norton made it's racing debut at the Mallory Park Motor Racing Circuit on July 27, 2008, qualifying for 4th position and making an impressive showing before suffering a rock damaged radiator, which soaked the rear tire and resulted in a loss of traction crash. But that's not the big news. Rather, it's the decision to produce a limited run of 200 road legal versions, dubbed the NRV588, that has the gossip's tongues a-wagging.
    A new factory at Donnington Park is allegedly under construction, with production scheduled to begin in late 2008 and delivery of these 170hp wankel powered bad boyz to commence during the summer of 2009. No mention is made of price, or US availability, on the Norton Racing website, but those with an interest in purchasing one may fill out the form to be notified when more information is available.
    'Twill be interesting to see if this latest attempt to revive the venerable Norton name will meet with any more success than the other recent, and ultimately unsuccessful, similar ventures. Only time will tell, but this one at least joins Kenny Dreer in having a concept worthy of bearing the name, unlike the clowns that were planning on producing a Harley clone V-twin cruiser with a Norton badge on the tank. (GASP!)

Well, I'm afraid that I'm out of time and this is it. C'ya at Gary Roggenkamp's, Lord willin' and the creek don't rise.