Greetings, Fans of the Summer Solstice:

    Mother Nature conspired against two wheels as the BMOK May gathering unfolded at the Hurstbourne estate of Jim Hibberd, with an actual storm in the Prospect keeping some in cages, then unfolding into fair skies but a few miles west at Hibberd Hall. As a result, only three of the rather paltry 15 members in attendance could boast that their rides were on hand, Big John and Logan Robinson on their Triumphs(H) and Jim Sympson on his rice burning road rocket S****i.
    Probably the biggest news of the evening was an announcement by the aforementioned Jim Sympson that he plans to abandon the Bluegrass to wander about aimlessly with his turn signal flashing amongst the assembled affluent elderly in Jupiter, Florida. Jim apparently has family there, just down the road from the southernmost of my relatives rapidly aging in Fort Pierce. There's no word on how Jim plans to pass the time other than occasional trips to do the twisties at the interstate cloverleaves, but we certainly wish him well and bemoan the reduction in the already dwindling ranks of the Beemocks.
    Whilst our southernmost state is gaining one of our own, some Beemocks who previously inhabited said sandy flatlands have moved west as Gary and Marcee Brown have reported that they're now cruising the Lone Star state on their 2006 Thruxton, having moved to Dallas, Texas, to rub elbows with JR and check out the grassy knoll. Their new email address is jetmech@tx.rr.com should you require more info on this move.
    The one piece of critical business conducted by BMOK CEO and stimulus fund administrator, Ed Staloff, was a vote concerning when in July to schedule a long planned official ride to Madison, Indiana, to the visit the vintage motorcycle collection under the care of orthopedic surgeon, Dr Scott McCuskey. The overwhelming favorite proved to be Sunday, July the 12th. We will meet at the Starbuck's home for overpriced coffees in Prospect at 9:00AM, cruise an as yet unspecified rural route to Madison for lunch and McCuskey garage tour and then home in time for dinner.
    Doctor Denny has graciously penned the following summary of the book signing affair held at Carmichael's Books to promote Matthew Biberman's tale of the creation of the Vincati by himself and Big Sid, provided for your entertainment:
    "The gathering for Matthew Biberman's book, "Big Sid's Vincati" at Carmichaels last Thursday, the 21st. Places were reserved for motorcycles, and a special place next to the featured Vincati was held for my Black Shadow!  BMOKer's Big John, Jerry, Glen, Henry and myself were all present as Matthew had a slide show from Big Sid's archives, including Big Sid, and some cool pictures of Burns and Wright at Bonneville with their enclosed Black Lightning that went 198.3 in 1955. (?correct date).
    He read several passages from the book including how Big Sid got Big, Matthew as Big Sid's kid, the ride(last ride with his Dad), and building the Vincati, which included my name and bike. Questions were entertained, T-shirts, posters, plus Sid's previous book were available. 
    Then an after party with band was held at Dark Star, just down the street. Fun was had by all, and no small animals were harmed. Another, reading/signing will take place June 13th at the Summit (Barnes & Noble?) during the afternoon, weather permitting.  Then, a group ride BMOK and Ducati Club to Ed's dealership for food/drinks."
    A Courier Journal story about Matthew's book is available online for those that may require a touch more information before deciding whether or not to purchase it. A brief history of the Vincent and specifications for the various models can be found here.
    The numerous activities taking place in June kick off early in the month with the event formerly known as Marques on the Green, the 25th Annual British Bash vintage auto and motorbike show sponsored by the British Sports Car Club of Louisville. Typically featuring over 200 entries in 33 separate classes, the Bash will run from Friday, June 5 through Saturday, June 6, with awards bestowed at 4:00PM on Saturday. Those not pre-registered that may still wish to enter may download an entry form and fill it out to bring along and enter at the gate. They even put together a video advertisement this year!
    The BMOK's very own lead in to this annual event is the Tea and Scones Breakfast, hosted by Lady Marcia and that unseemly character with whom she inexplicably associates, Lord Parsch, this year taking place at their shiny new home located at 7119 River Road. (Which is right next door to their previous abode) Attendees are encouraged to arrive at or around 8:00AM on Saturday the 6th, when they will be treated to Marcia's home made scones and an ample supply of coffee before taking off for a brief ride in the surrounding countryside presumably guided by His Lordship himself, then returning for some additional socializing before participating in the group ride to Saint Joseph's Children's Home on Frankfort Avenue to attend the Bash and/or enter your Britbike should you be so inclined. There are currently 6 bikes pre-registered, including contributions from Denny Cornett and Al Seal, but plenty of room remains for additional entries.
    The following Wednesday, June 10, brings us to the monthly gathering of the unruly hordes, hosted this month by Gary Roggenkamp at his rural homestead located at 4604 Curve Hill Road. Finding your way there involves turning east onto Old Heady Road off of Taylorsville Road, then right onto Easum Road and finally left onto Curve Hill. The shenanigans commence at the usual 7:00PM. With any luck we can do better than 15 attendees on 3 bikes!
    Moving forward yet another 3 days brings us to the 4th Annual Ride-em, Don't Hide-em Café Run, organized yet again by attorney John Rice of Winchester, Kentucky. Billed as not a race, not a rally and definitely not a poker run, this event has no fees, events or prizes, but is offered as an opportunity to dust off your two wheels and ride. The fun begins at 10:00AM on Saturday, June 13, at Bailey's Cafe´, which is located at 39 South Main Street in Winchester, and finishes up at it's ultimate destination, The Kickstand, a purveyor of motorcycle parts and accessories located in Burgin, Ky. Additional information may be found by contacting John Rice via email or be calling (859)737-5316.
    The following Monday, June 15, is this year's designated day to demonstrate the strength of the motorcycling public by riding to work on two wheels, the 18th Annual International Ride to Work Day. Riders are encouraged to travel on two wheels that day to demonstrate the quantity and diversity of riders, the positive environmental effects of high mileage motorcycles and to help offset the negative image of bikers promoted by movies such as the truly awful Devil's Angels from 1967, which I watched last weekend. ( Starring John Cassevettes as the leader of a biker gang who go up against a small town sheriff )
    The iron butts amongst you will appreciate the event coming up the following weekend, a 1400 mile weekend ride encompassing the perimeter of the state, the annual Lap of Kentucky, sponsored by the Louisville BMW Riders. Both departing and terminating at the lot of Jeff Cooke's BMW Motorcycles of Louisville, this ride is limited to 100 riders and will kick off at 9:00AM on Thursday the 18th, with a return scheduled for 5:00PM on Sunday the 21st. An entry form with additional information is available here, or you may contact the good folks at BMWMCoL at 502-568-6311. The entry fee will set you back $50.00.
    Riding sweep on June is the beginning of a 3 month exhibition at the Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft, a non-profit founded in 1981 to promote and support the arts and crafts in our state, apparently similar to the Art of the Motorcycle entitled "Wind In Your Hair-Vintage Motorcycles", scheduled to run from June 27 through September 26 at their downtown Louisville gallery, located across from Luigi's at 715 West Main Street. Plans call for a display of 15-18 rare, landmark or unusual motorcycles produced between 1900 and 1970, as well as original art works representing the impact that motorcycles have represented in our culture. There is even some small possibility of an official BMOK ride to check it out, but only time will tell about that.

     For those that have not yet heard or not yet had the opportunity to check it out, I have updated the online BMOK roster for 2009, which can be accessed by directing your browser of choice to http://home.insightbb.com/~bmok2/Roster09/roster09.htm. Please take a moment and check your entry for accuracy and let me know of any errors via email to here. We wouldn't want the first update in 6 years or so to be incorrect, now would we?
    While personally unable to attend due a previous engagement to celebrate Lady Jane Cornett's birthday at Parsch Manor, the Mods vs Rockers event at the Monkey Wrench restaurant at the corner of Barret and Winter on May 23rd apparently nonetheless managed to attract a large turnout of other unsavory characters, including Dave Stuebe, Bob Fiske, Matthew Biberman and the Vincati, as well as a Courier Journal photographer responsible for the slide show of the event, which can be found here. ( While Bob was indeed there on his classic 4 cylinder UJM, there's no evidence to support the caption's claim that it was manufactured by "Hinda" )
   While opportunities to disregard all that you learned in math class and squander your children's inheritance on games of chance are not particularly scarce in the Bluegrass, the potential reward is not always as interesting as that offered by Il Duce Staloff's Commonwealth Motorcycles' ongoing raffle, a showroom new 2008 Ducati 1098 in bright yellow. Only 160 tickets are being offered at $100.00 each, so the odds are good if the cost relatively high. The drawing will be held in Commonwealth's showroom whenever all of the tickets are sold, which are reportedly already half gone as of Derby Day. You may purchase your chance at this Italian exotic from Commonwealth's online store or, presumably, at the dealership. ( It's bright yellow, Denny! )
    Speaking of opportunities, a potentially useful shop item has been offered to the Ohio Norton Owners chat list, then ruthlessly purloined for inclusion here, that being a Norton timing disc, which you print and adhere to a poster board backer. This could be handy when diagnosing why your Parsch Performance Restorations assembled Norton engine won't hit a lick or for experimentation with more subtle timing variations for the more adventuresome and can be downloaded here. ( Gee, I hope that the BMOK rush doesn't crash the servor! )
    Other items of potential interest plagiarized from our Ohio brethren include an interview with Colorado Norton Works owner Matt Rambow in Engine Builder Magazine and an article on the making of domed "Firestorm" plasma spark plugs from Panacea University.
    If those don't use up enough of your hard earned free time there's also an article on visordown.com recommended by fellow BMOK, Mike O'Bryan, about a 195bhp V4 Ferrari engineered motorcycle allegedy to be entered in this year's Isle of Man Senior TT and Superstock races, as well as some photographs on the BMW Owners website, as gleaned from the Louisville BMW Riders, about a Harley powered hearse operated by a Kevin Brennan Funeral Home in Topeka, Kansas.
    We'll close things out on a vintage theme with a series of photographs of 1960's era motorcycles on flickr that I don't remember who sent me, but was probably Doctor Denny. And that, as they say, is that.
    I really hope to see all of you at Lady Marcia's Tea and Scones this coming Saturday. She puts a lot of work into it and deseves a decent showing. Rumor has it that former BMOK prez, Mark Rense, will be in attendance in his Sunbeam Tiger, which is entered in the Bash. C'ya!