Greetings, Phans of Punxsutawney Phil:

    'Twas the usual raucous BMOK election night as the unruly hordes gathered in Doctor Denny's carriage house to usher in the new year with the typical great weeping and gnashing of teeth as the candidates for elected office attempted to make themselves scarce. The meeting was moderately well attended with 18 or so members on hand, as well as one guest, a Dave Haldski who was down from Indianapolis to visit Dave Stuebe, and one notable absence, Big John, who chose to sit out his last meeting date in office. (And was quite fortunate to have not been elected to *all* of the open offices as a result)
    In the absence of *any* executive officers, it fell to a cooperative of Ed Staloff, Doctor Denny and myself to usher through any sort of business meeting, leading off with the aforementioned elections. Without getting into the details of the ensuing brouhaha, your officers for 2009 are Ed Staloff as president, Marcia Johnson as vice president, Yours Truly as Secretary/Treasurer, and Jim Hibberd as Ride Captain. I don't think that we ever elected a Sergeant at Arms, but no matter. 
    A proposition was brought to the floor by Doctor Denny suggesting that those that host meetings during the year be exempted from dues. I've often thought that this was a good idea and only fair to the few who consistently act as meeting hosts. Apparently, the electorate on hand agreed and the proposal passed overwhelmingly, so those that host meetings in 2009 will be exempt from dues in 2010. The year's delay is the only way that I can see that it will work smoothly and those that host a meeting every year will never have to pay dues. The worst ramification that I see to it is that we'll likely have to charge a bit more admittance for the annual December party.
    Eight people took the opportunity to pay their 2009 dues, including one new member, a young man who first joined us by attending the December party by the name of Logan Robinson. I apparently failed to record what bike Logan rides, but as I recall, it was one of John Bloor's products from Hinckley. By the close of the meeting our roster was up to 23 dues paying members, an improvement but still a pale shadow of it's former self. Those not yet paid for the year, but whom we may realistically anticipate doing so, include, but are not nessesarily limited to, Steve Brewer, Henry Buchenberger, Denny Cornett, Jill Davenport, George Davidson, Bob Fiske, Dean Gosser, Al Howker, Mike O'Bryan and Rick Sofinoski.
    Glenn Leach next claimed the floor, along with all of the expired 2008 calendars to be found, to announce that he had been contacted by a representative from the British Sports Car Club of Kentucky and asked to encourage the BMOK membership to participate in this year's British Bash, the large regional car show formerly known as Marques on the Green. Class number Z-5 is for British motorcycles, although costs and entry packages have not yet been made available on the BSCCK website for this year's 25th annual blowout, which will take place on June.
    There was also some discussion about a rumored new Kentucky law that allows you to title a project bike or car purchased out of state despite the fact that it cannot pass the safety inspection called a Project Title. The story is that the incoming Sheriff's inspection merely verifies the numbers, which entitles you to this special title, thus getting into your name while you work on it. When you complete the project you make another trip to the Sheriff for the safety inspection, then convert the title to a regular title and register the vehicle. I was unable to locate anything about this on the Kentucky government website, however, so that's all I know about it. I'll let you know if any additional information rears it's ugly head.
    Our returning Glorious Leader, Ed Staloff, announced that there will be a Triumph Demo Trailer visiting Commonwealth Motorcycles in May 2009, but the exact day has not yet been determined. Stay tuned for updates.
    Denny, with the gracious assistance of his better half, Jane, was once again the consummate host, welcoming us into his home, feeding us and letting us play with his toys. (Although he declined to loan me his Porsche.) Thanks, Denny!

    The action in February shifts to Crescent Hill as Bee-Mock Beemer Babe, Jill Davenport, welcomes the oil stained hordes into her home for the February Monthly Meeting, kicking off at the usual 7:00PM on Wednesday, February 11. Dame Davenport's Garage Mahol, with it's curiously unstained floors, can be found at 308 Penruth Avenue, which runs north off of Brownsboro Road three streets east of Zorn Avenue.
    Other than coercing someone to host the March gathering, I have no idea what may hit the floor of the business meeting, so I guess you'll just have to show up, kick the tires and see what turns up. Perhaps he who was a the pinnacle of power but has now fallen, Big John, will grace us with his presence once again. Better yet, maybe all this @$#*&^#@ ice will be gone by then!

   

    With this winter's global warming induced unusually icey conditions rendering any outside activities unlikely, you just may find that what you really need is another money pit to adorn your garage, or living room as the case may be. BMOK associate and Winchester attorney, John Rice has stepped forward to cure what ails you by offering for sale two of his vintage Britbikes, a 1968 Norton Atlas and a 1969 Triumph Daytona. The reason for the sale is essentially the lack of time and energy to devote to all of his 16 various vintage two wheelers and the disproportionate demands of these two.
    Both of these bikes are in some degree of disassembly, the Daytona for cosmetic updates and the sNorton for the installation of a Colorado Norton Works rebuilt engine, and the prices that may be accepted could vary depending on how far the reassembly has progressed at the time of sale. Should they completed, John is looking for something in the area of $3,600.00 for the Triumph and $4,800.00 for the Atlas, both seemingly quite reasonable prices.
    Interested parties may contact John via email to RIceKY@aol.com or via voice communication to 859-229-4546.

    In a recommendation from the Vincent owners list, forwarded by Doctor Denny, those seeking tires for their restored vintage Britbikes are directed to a firm in England called Vintage Tyre Supplies Limited, which claims to be the world's largest supplier of OEM vintage, veteran, classic and antique tires for classic cars and motorcycles. (No, I have no idea what a "veteran" tire is. Used, perhaps?)
    A quick perusal of their website does indeed suggest an extensive inventory and they claim that their Dunlop, Avon and Waymaster tires are produced in England for those that object to having a French or Chinese Dunlop on their Nortons. (Who, me?) The listed prices seem reasonable enough, although I made no effort to investigate shipping costs or taxes.

    The Isle of Man's purveyor of vintage motorcycle paraphenalia, Classic Motorcycles, now has available 2009 Isle of Man TT products, such as Tee shirts, jackets and polo shirts. Prices seem a bit steep to This Frugal Scribe despite the recent decline in the exchange rate, but if you simply must have an Isle of Man tee shirt, here it is. Orders can be placed online or by calling 0044-1624-814231.

    Well, I fear that I'm out of time, so this is it. Hopefully we'll all see Big John at Jill's place on the 11th. Until then, C'ya!