The BBC Knews The Voice of the British Biker Cooperative
Issue 3~ August, 2017
(read Cover Bike article on page 2 for more details)
Bill Pluess’ 1971,2,3 Norton 750 Commando
Calendar Disclaimer
Please be aware that while reasonable efforts are made to ensure that the
information on the calendar is accurate, there may be some changes that
occur after it is published. We use the best information that we have at
that time. Please check the BBC website, or individual event websites for
updated information before making plans. Thanks, Mark
BBC Officers and Directors
British Biker Cooperative Dedicated to the Preservation of the British Motorcycle
Long Live the Limey
BBC Officers
BBC Directors
Page 1
Page 2
Cover Bike Details
This is my 1971, 72, 73 Norton. In 1984 I traded a 1969 hopped up BMW
for it. Reason being, 1, I wanted to get back into Nortons having previously
owned two others and 2, the police officer in town claimed it was his, stolen
out of his driveway four years prior. So when this guy pulled in my driveway
on the Norton, we switched bikes and went for a ride, it wasn't long before we
looked at each other and said let's trade. After the paper work was all taken
care of I filled him in on the little problem with the local constable claiming it
was his bike, and by golly the picture in his wallet sure looked like it. The new
owner wasn't too worried about it, he was in the service and was being trans-
ferred to Fla. I thought cool, get that bike out of Wi. I found out later that the
cop retired and moved to Florida. Funny how that sh** happens. Anyways in
the last 34yrs., I've had this bike apart numerous times, the last one being a
complete tear down in Pat Hanson's class, Balanced the crank and everything,
(thanks Pat). It runs good, when I remember to put gas in it. It recently was
involved in a flood, Water up to the plugs, I'm on oil change no. 6 and I think I
might have all the water out now, took the clutch apart twice and changed the
tranny lube three times, but still going to check the wheel bearings and
anything else I can think of this winter. Hopefully she'll keep running till
then, Ride fast - take chances Bill
Page 3
Welcome to Our New Members
Andy Bickle Janesville, WI Triumph
Peter Bauman Waterford, WI Triumph
Ken Churchill Lakeville, MN Triumph
Wayne (Smiley) Hoffman Cambridge, WI Norton, Triumph
Tom Hribik Belvidere, Il Triumph
Bob Kaul Fond du lac, WI Triumph
Membership Forum
Remember BBC’ers that Dues are due in January.
April 1st was the deadline for paying your dues, otherwise you
will no longer receive e-mail updates, the BBC KNEWS, or
access to the “Members Only” section on our website. Also be
aware that there will be four issues of the BBC KNEWS this year.
We hope that all of our members’ information is correct, but if you see a mistake please contact the membership V.P. and it will get corrected. Email addresses, phone numbers and physical addresses tend to change fairly frequently so help us keep everything up to date. Thanks!
! Important Notice !
Pat Hanson
Mitch Klempf
Bill Church
Pat Connoy
Bob Kaul
Les Will
Michael Champion
Scott Cleary
Dave Kollmann
Justin Pluess
September 9th
September 18th
September 20th
September 27th
September 28th
September 28th
October 1st
October 8th
October 23rd
October 28th
Jim Ryan
Kathy Aretz
Chris Lee
Pat Mason
Les Lippert
Cory Klug
Dan Matte
Gary Ilminen
Steve Shelvik
August 4th
August 5th
August 9th
August 9th
August 10th
August 13th
August 23rd
August 24th
August 29th
Happy Birthday to You!
and Rockerbox show at Road America, the Run to the Sun and the BBC night at the Iron Horse. All of those events were very well attended by the membership. It was good to see so many BBCers at the Iron Horse. One of the more recent events for me was the Rally, so I guess since that is fresh in my mind, I will say a few words about that. I know that thanks have been given to many people for their efforts to make the Rally a success under difficult circumstances, and while I echo those thanks to all who helped to put on this event, I would like to extend my own thanks to some folks who helped me personally with an embarrassing dilemma of my own making. At this point I’m realizing that this story is becoming too long to fit in this column, so I will write it up in a separate article elsewhere in these pages. In each issue, I attempt to fill these pages with articles and photos that are relevant to club activities and will have a broad appeal to the members. Thanks to all who have sent me an article or photos. I apologize if I have not includ-ed something that you submitted in this issue, and renew my plea for articles or photos to share with your fellow mem-bers. Ride Safe! Mark Fredricks
Well, the 2017 Rally is behind us and no doubt it was a memorable one, espe-cially for those lucky people who were there early in the week and experienced the worst of the storms. Jean and I ar-rived in a light but steady rain on Friday, just in time to work our shift at the entry gate. Not much to do at first due to regis-tration materials not ready because of the weather related delays, but pretty soon the rain became much harder and some riders began to pull in from some fairly far off places such as southern Illinois and Minnesota. I applaud the large num-ber of courageous riders (and passengers) who braved the elements and arrived just as wet underneath their rain gear as they were on the outside. Especially since I try to not even let my bike get wet (more on that later). Also behind us since the last issue are the vintage motorcycle races
Page 4
The Editor’s Points & Plugs
Page 5
Cory Klug Waukesha, WI Triumph
Bobby K Kulbacrki Grafton, WI Triumph
Chris Lennon St. Charles, MN BSA, Norton, Triumph
Les Lippert Oconomowoc, WI Norton
Paul Lulas New Berlin, WI Triumph
Bob McInnes Milwaukee, WI Norton
Fred Mitchell So. Milwaukee, WI Norton
John Paluchniak Waterford, WI Norton, Triumph
Jim Ryan Wabasha, MN Triumph
Ken Towers Grangeer, IN Triumph
Will Wiegler Lincolnshire, IL Triumph
Dennis Worthy Franklin, WI BSA
Welcome to Our New Members (continued)
Another successful and very eventful rally is in the books. I’d like to Thank
all of the BBC members who stepped up and helped out under some very
severe conditions. My biggest Thanks go to Wes, his family/employees and
the volunteer Blue River Fire Dept. The Fire Dept. was there almost
immediately to check on us and open up the roads (twice) before they went
on to take care of the rest of their homes/community. If you would like to
send a Thank You to the Blue River Fire & Rescue 201 Exchange Street,
Blue River, WI 53518 or their Facebook page link
https://www.facebook.com/brfire/
I’d like to send a big Shout Out to our 2017 BBC Rally Sponsors. They are
Schlossmann Motorcycles of Milwaukee, Team Triumph, Klempf’s British
Parts, Dale’s Cycles, Pop My Dent, Brit Iron Racing LLC, and Team
Winnebagoland. As always please support our sponsors and let them know
that you are from the BBC when you are in their shops or buying off the
internet. A BIG THANK YOU to all of our Sponsors!
This year we are electing new Officers for a 2 year term. We are in
desperate need of new people to step up and take an active role in the
management of the BBC. If you would like info on what each Officer does
feel free to contact me [email protected] or 262-514-2073
Thanks again for all your help at the rally, Peggy
Page 6
The President’s Address August, 2017
37TH ANNUAL BBC RALLY and SHOW
The Year of The Monsoon
Well, the 2017 BBC Rally has come and gone. I think it will be put down in
the archives as one of the more unforgettable rallies, even though we may
want to forget about this one. Kathy and I got there on Monday afternoon in
the rain and I don’t think it stopped raining until Saturday. Sunday was
warm and sunny so everyone could go home . . . dry.
But this rally was memorable even though it was the most wet rally that I can
remember since 1994; which is the first rally I attended. I think it was
memorable because it demonstrated how resilient everyone could be in less
than ideal circumstances. The “First Responders” in the aftermath of several
storms was the Blue River Volunteer Fire Department. They were on site to
Eagle Cave twice, clearing roads and paths so vehicles could get through. In
my mind, those guys were heroes to come out and did what they did so
quickly. We owe them a ton of gratitude. The second group of responders
was the BBC. Eagle Cave Campground looked like a war zone on Thursday
morning but by noon, it was all cleared. I watched while so many BCC’ers
helped Wes and his father get all the branches, tree limbs, and debris off the
tent site and roads. Just a testament of how our membership came together to
help everyone out. I am very proud to be part of this organization.
Outside of the Heroics of Humanity during this rally, I noticed something
peculiar happening while it rained. We had more people under the tent on
Friday and Saturday nights than we had in years. I guess people didn’t want
to spend time in the rain on their camp site so they came up to the tent to
watch movies, listen to the band, and just socialize with one another. It was
really cool. And our Product Bitches pulled out all the stops and sold product
from their car under the tent on Friday night. And they sold a lot of product.
They are friggin’ brilliant.
The 2017 BBC Rally will go down in history, not as a disaster (although the
rain and storms tried their best to put us out of commission) but as a rally that
proved we’re going to have a great party no matter what happens. I want to
congratulate and tip my hat to all who participated and made it a great and
memorable time. Do I want a repeat of the weather? Hell No! But I would
like to see all the people up at the tent on Friday and Saturday nights drink-
ing, talking, and enjoying one another’s company in future rallies. Speaking
of future rallies, we haven’t yet determined our theme for the 2018 Rally. I
guess we need to put on our thinking caps to see what we can celebrate next.
Shouldn’t be too difficult. We always seem to come up with some very good
reason for a party.
Page 7
What’s up next? BBC Night at the Iron Horse was the Thursday after the
rally. I couldn’t be there because I had to work that evening. We have the
Northwoods Camp and Ride Weekend on August 18-20. Cruisin’ The Grove
British Invasion featuring the BBC in Elm Grove, WI promises to be interest-
ing. The BBC Color Ride is on Saturday, October 14th at Steve and Debbie
Shelvik’s place in Random Lake, the BBC Pot Luck Dinner in South
Milwaukee on November 11th and the final party of the year will be the
annual Holiday Party on December 1st and 2nd at the Best Western Waterfront
Hotel in Oshkosh.
Fun times ahead everyone. Hope to see you at one of these events.
Ride Safe but for God’s sake . . . ride.
Doug Aretz, President
British Biker Cooperative
September
1- 3 - FYI - AHRMA Vintage Racing - Utah Motorsports Campus, Tooele, UT
8 - 10 - FYI - AHRMA Vintage Racing -Talladega Gran Prix Raceway, Munford, AL
8 - 10 - FYI - Moto America - New Jersey Motorsports Park - Millville, New Jersey
9 - 11 - FYI - AHRMA Racing - Talladega Gran Prix Raceway - Munford, AL
10 - FYI - 34th Annual Battle of The Brits, Camp Dearborn
1700 General Motors Rd, Milford, MI 48380
15 -17 - RTR - Team Triumph 20th Annual Midwest Triumph Ride In. From Friday, Sept. 15th
at 3:00 pm to Sunday, Sept. 17th at 12:00 pm. For more information contact
Team Triumph website or Phone 608-741-9900 - 4747 E. US 14 in Janesville WI
16 - BBC - No Big Deal Picnic - CANCELLED due to scheduling conflicts
30 - RTR - Saturday Flat Track Racing - Elkhorn ½ mile, Noon Walworth County Fair
Grounds - 411 East Court St, Hwy 11, Elkhorn, WI - $10 admission - Swap meet
spot @ $20 includes 1 admission. Beer and food available. Possible “Run to the
Races” details to follow. (Bill Pluess)
Page 8
2017 Calendar of Events August
20 - FYI - 26th Annual Chicagoland Vintage and Antique Motorcycle Show, presented by
the Chicago Norton Owners Club. Hosted by Motor Cycle Center and located at
443 E. St. Charles Rd., Villa Park IL - For more information call the Chicago
Norton Owners Club at 630-661-0607 or contact cnoc.org
25 - 26 - FYI - Moto America - Pittsburgh International Race Complex - Pittsburgh, PA
26 - FYI - Lumberjack Days - Tigerton, WI - last weekend in August
28 - BBC - “Cruisin' the Grove” British Invasion featuring the BBC. Austin-Healey club
and MG club and BBC booth and bikes. 13275 Watertown Plank Rd., Elm
Grove, WI - 5:00 pm -? - A short 5 minute ride will leave from Mark’s house,
arrive around 4:00, leave @ 4:55. Mark - [email protected] -
Indian/Colette/Peggy [email protected]
31 - 9/2 - RTR - Davenport Antique motorcycle swap meet and races - Mississippi Valley
Fairgrounds - 2815 W. Locust St., Davenport, IA www.chiefblackhawk.org/
October
1 - RTR - SCMG Slimey Crud Café Racer Run - Pine Bluff to Leland
5 - 8 - RTR - Barber Vintage Festival - 6030 Barber Motorsports Parkway
Birmingham, AL - AHRMA Racing
7 - RTR - Team Winnebagoland Fall Color Ride to Door County
www.teamwinnebagoland.com
14 - BBC - Color Ride and General Membership Meeting - Officer nominations Steve and
Debbie Shelvik, W8017 Mink Creek Drive, Random Lake, WI 414-861-8041
15 - FYI - Walneck’s Swap Meet, McHenry County Fairgrounds -11900 Country Club Rd,
Woodstock, IL 8:00 am – 2:00 pm. Admission $9.00 / Vendors, $40.00
November
11 - BBC - Pot Luck Dinner and General Membership Meeting - American Legion Post,
920 Monroe Ave., South Milwaukee, WI - Officer Nominations - Jim Ziemann -
414-481-6960 - [email protected]
December
1 - BBC - Officer Elections - Best Western Waterfront Hotel, Oshkosh, WI ?5:00??
2 - BBC - Christmas Party and Banquet - Best Western Waterfront Hotel, Oshkosh, WI
(Mary Lange)
Page 9
BBC Holiday Party December 1-2nd 2017
Best Western Premier Waterfront Hotel & Convention Center
1 N Main Street, Oshkosh, WI 54901
http://oshkoshwaterfronthotel.com/
BBC Awards Banquet – Saturday December 2nd
Ground Round Happy Hour 3PM - 6PM $1 OFF all drinks
6:00pm Cash Bar
7:00pm Dinner
8:00pm Awards & General Membership Meeting
2nd Ground Round Happy Hour!
9PM – MIDNIGHT $1.99 Original Margaritas & Long Island Teas
DJ and Ugly Sweater Contest
The Banquet is $15 per person. Each member may bring one guest.
Banquet reservations must be made in advance:
Indian & Colette Lendowski 414-651-4550
Deadline for Banquet – November 29th
A special rate & block of rooms has been secured for us Friday & Saturday
$76.00 per night (plus tax) single or double occupancy
Make your own room reservation - call hotel directly
855-230-1900
Deadline for room block November 10th
After November 10th –discounted BBC rate is subject to availability
Peace Santa Bring a Date!
Page 10
Colette and I would like to thank everyone who came down the BBC night at
the Iron Horse Hotel. It was a beautiful evening to look at bikes, enjoy a brew,
and talk to our friends. We sold $121.00 worth of product and signed up one
new member. Special thanks to, Mark and Jean Fredricks, Steve Baker, Jessie
and Julie Castillo, Bill Church, Bill Pluess and his pal, who’s name escapes me
right now.
Sat. Aug 12th was a car, bike and tractor show in Union Grove where we also
set up a booth. It was a gorgeous day to show some bikes and Bill Pluess, Steve
Baker, Tom Rasman, and I did just that. Thanks guys for coming down and
showing some support for the BBC. We sold $80.00 in product and signed up
two new members. That’s all for now. Indian & Colette.
BBC Night at the Iron Horse Hotel
Page 11
Calling All Officers
I started this letter a few times. I first tried to be rational. Nah! Then
I tried to be delicate. Nah! Then I tried to be threatening, Nah! A third
time. What I’m trying to get at is, the BBC Membership seriously
needs to consider doing something about this situation . . . we need
officers for the 2018-2019 Officer term.
There are many openings with no volunteers at this point. We have
openings for the President, VP of Membership, VP of Property, the
Editor, and VP of Product. That’s half the positions. I look around at
the current officers and I’ve been working with them for 15 to 20 years.
We have one new face and that would be the current editor. Most of us
are in our sixties and several of us are retired. We would like to retire
our responsibilities with the BBC. We want to “party what is left of our
brains out” without responsibilities of running our Co-Op.
The BBC celebrated its 40th birthday this year. If we don’t get offic-
ers, the Board of Directors will have to determine what to do with the
Co-Op’s status. Not sure what that means at this point but I do know
that without officers, we can’t have the organization that we have now.
And it has taken this level of participation as officers and directors to
keep the BBC going at this level. Without it . . . who knows.
Guilting people into these positions is not the way to go. We need
volunteers who want to see the BBC keep running. It’s worth it. We
have fun together and we accomplish a lot and its rewarding.
So pony up, everyone. Let’s keep our Co-Op going. You’ll be glad
to be a part of this group.
Ride Safe, but for God’s sake . . . ride.
Doug Aretz, President
British Biker Cooperative
Page 12
Considering the fact that the Rally this year included torrential downpour,
a tornado and a steam bath on Saturday the attendance was quite good.
There were 134 paid admissions this year, down from last year. The Rally
for next year is set for July 20, 21, and 22, 2018. We have the date set to
give everyone whose plans were confused because of the change of date for
this year a chance to make plans ahead of time. With the exception of a tree
falling on Kat Bach’s car, there were no major incidents. We passed the hat
to help Kat cover the cost of repairing her car. A big round of applause to
the Blue River Volunteer Fire Department and EMTs who helped clean up
the campground after the tornado, also applause for all the BBC members
who pitched in too.
Nothing is set yet for a theme for next years rally, though “Year of the
Daytona” and “Year of the Trident”, are 2 suggestions that have been
offered. Anyone is welcome to comment on these suggestions on Facebook
and if you have any others to offer, please do so. We are in need of
candidates to fill officer positions.
Elections will be held at the Holiday Party in December and nominations
will be accepted through the date of the Pot Luck Dinner.
Thursday, July 27 is BBC Night at The Iron Horse Hotel. Come on out and
show the flag. Also give Colette and Indian a hand. Product sales at the
Rally were very brisk. It was decided to cancel the campsite awards.
August 18,19, and 20 is the Northwoods ride, put on by Pauline Forrest
and Rudy Wheeler. For more information you can contact Pauline at
715-851-2719 or Rudy at 920-471-4097. To reserve campsites log into the
Marathon County Park website.
It has been suggested that in next years Rally booklet that we print a list of
services in the surrounding area that can be of use to rally attendees. For
instance if a attendee needs a new battery for his bike where he can go to
find one. This was thought to be a good idea and bears further looking into.
Submitted by Jim Ziemann SR.
Secretary’s Post Rally Notes
Page 13
Wanted: Stock seat to fit a 2006 Triumph America or Speedmaster. Indian 414 - 651 - 4549
BBC Classified Ads
1) 2013 Steve McQueen its number 1021 of 1100 made I have all the original papers from the
factory that authenticates the bike,( rumor is that 350 of these were brought into the USA howev-
er Triumph will not confirm that number) . The bike is completely stock except for the bar end
mirrors and the pedestrian slicer on the front fender ( same license number as the bike in the
Great Escape movie). I have the original mirrors and the pedestrian slicer is a bolt on , there are
no holes in the fender and it can be easily removed. Mileage 18 miles .
2) 2009 50th Anniversary model number 184 of 650 made worldwide I have all factory papers
that authenticates the bike ( again same rumor that only 350 were brought into the USA (not
confirmed by Triumph). The bike is basically stock ,it has bar end mirrors, pedestrian slicer
( Her Majesty's Ship 184)performance pea shooters and a small non Triumph rack on it. All
changes are bolt on and I have all OEM items. Mileage 750 miles
Asking $12000. Each or best offer (shipping must be arranged by buyer will be happy to assist )
Chuck Hooper, Renton, Washington - 206-883-4144 cell
Page 14
2017 BBC Rally and Bike Show at Eagle Cave
Page 15
Shelter from the Storms
Page 16
First of all, I would like to say that I would much rather be printing your article here
than writing one of my own, although as I stated in my “Points and Plugs” column, I do
want to thank a few people. So here’s my story:
After removing the tarp from the Trident in the back of my pickup truck I discovered
that just like many of the soggy riders that took shelter under the registration tent, the bike was just as wet under the cover as outside the cover, (I only care because after 46
years of wear and tear, there is little to no plating left on most of the nuts and bolts on
my bike and they rust very quickly after getting wet). Oh well, not the end of the world.
A worse discovery awaited me. A phone call home confirmed that the keys to the bike
were hanging on their hook at home! I was not a happy camper (actually, I’m not a
camper at all but that’s beside the point)!!
My first thought was to hot wire the ignition and with that in mind, I sought out Wes
to see if he could find some wire for me. Wes cheerfully obliged and found some wire in
his shop. Once I removed the battery cover and exposed the switch, it occurred to me
that I had no idea what I was doing and further action could yield less than desirable
results. I needed help. Since Pat Hanson was not available, I went looking for Steve Baker, hoping that he would know which wires to connect. I explained my dilemma to
Doug Aretz, and based upon his previous experience in a similar situation, he suggested
disassembling the ignition switch and removing the tumblers; effectively turning a lock
into just a switch. Indeed, this seemed a better path to follow and I went and removed the
ignition lock from the bike. The location of each of the four wires had already been
marked on the switch from a previous dismantling and refurbishing many years ago.
With said switch in hand, I walked back up to the main tent and plopped myself
down on one of the picnic tables to commence my locksmithing. Of course these locks
are not really intended to be taken apart, with the metal housing being crimped in several
places to retain the phenolic back plate and internal parts. As luck would have it, Les
Will and his son Adam were sitting at the next table and possessed not only the exper-tise, but also the necessary tools to accomplish the task. As I said, I have had that switch
apart before, but not to the extent of removing the tumblers, springs and the spring
loaded steel ball that indexes the switch into it’s four discrete positions. We all worked
together, carefully removing the five tumblers along with their tiny springs and taping
each tumbler to a paper plate and noting their proper location.
Needless to say, a picnic table sitting in grass is not the preferred work station for
such a delicate task; at one point, the 1/8” diameter steel ball was on the loose and rapid-
ly making it’s way toward the edge of the table when a quick hand recaptured the slip-
pery sphere. We reassembled the switch, re-crimped the edge of the metal housing and I
reconnected the wires. Several attempts to start the bike produced not as much as a sput-
ter, so off I went in search of Wes again and hopefully a volt meter. Once again Wes came thru with a volt meter and a spot on his workbench for me to disassemble the
switch for a second time, and this time, a much more careful re-assembly. Back to the
bike, reconnect the wires again and............Vroom Vroooom!! It’ just that easy!
The Moral of the Story:
Don’t forget your keys! But if you do, hopefully you will encounter some people smarter
than yourself who are willing and able to lend a helping hand. My sincere thanks to
Doug, Wes, Les and Adam for their friendly and enthusiastic assistance. Without their
help, Jean and I would have loaded, hauled, unloaded, and reloaded the old Trident for
nothing. Long live the BBC! Mark
More Ramblings from the Editor
Page 17
British Motorcycle(s)
Marque Year Model
Occupation:
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For more information, contact the BBC VP of Membership @ 262-521-0760
or visit our website @ http://www.britishbiker.net/
Send annual membership fee of $30.00/$35.00 (check or money order) to:
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Name: Nickname:
Address:
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Telephone: E-mail:
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