After the Flood... The BSA That Refused to Die.

The Johnstown Flood of 1977

Johnstown, PA has earned the nickname "The Flood City" the hard way. The Conemaugh River has spilled its banks on numerous occasions. Beginning with "The Great Flood" of 1889 (this past May 2014 marked the 125th anniversary) and later in 1894, 1907, 1924 and most recently in July of 1977 (37 years ago next month).

A TV report on the 1977 Flood.

You might be wondering,  "What the hell does this have to do with motorcycles or Ton Up NC?" Well, while on my travels, I came across a bike with an incredible story. Although the 1977 Johnstown Flood claimed many victims (85 people to be exact and $200 million in property damage), one BSA that was left for dead was determined to be a survivor. Many years after the flood, in the mid 1980's, a couple of kids were down on the Conemaugh River bank with their father digging around in the sand and dirt when they hit something solid: a motorcycle tyre, but try as they might, they could not budge the tyre from its resting place. The kids alerted their daddy who helped them dig some more, soon out of the dirt appeared a fork, handlebars, a tank and after hours of digging, they unearthed an entire motorbike: a BSA Lightening. The family wheeled the bike home and there it sat again for many years, until recently. A couple of years ago, the father figured that someone might have some use for this rusty old machine, so he contacted the local British Bike guy and turned it over to him to use as a parts bike. That's when the seemingly impossible happened, with just a few tweaks and a change of the carburetors, the bike fired up. Despite being buried for many years under 8 feet of water in the flood and then left to die under debris, dirt, and sand  in the midst of a flowing river, the inside of the engine and tank had never seen any water. Some things are just too tough to die. What you are seeing in the pictures that follow is the bike in it's original unrestored state: original paint, rust and all...

Here's an audio clip of me talking to the current owner about the bike, enjoy...

-Brian

Ton Up NC = Riding, Racing and Restoring of Vintage Motorcycles

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Ton Up NC Nortons...

Marcus' Commando (top) w/ Brian's Commando.

The unapproachable, the roadholder, no matter what you call them, Nortons have long been a part of Ton Up NC, in fact you might say that 10 years ago it was a 1974 Norton Commando that started the club. Case in point, in 2003 club co-founder, Patman, heard familiar sound of a Norton roar by the local Pizza shop in Raleigh and had to know who was riding it. He chased down what turned out to be Marcus on his 1974 Commando and the two immediately bonded over their affinity for British motorcycles and made a pact to form a local chapter of the International Ton Up Club. And so it was done.  Since that meeting, other Nortons have joined the Ton Up NC family, here's a list:

Marcus: 1974 Norton Commando 850 Roadster

Eric G: 1974 Norton Commando 850 Roadster

Eric P: 1971 Norton Commando 750 Roadster

Brian: 1974 Norton Commando 850 Roadster

Chad: 1966 Norton Atlas

Eric G on his 74 Commando

Eric P's Commando

Brian's Commando

Chad's Atlas

Ton Up NC

 10 Yrs of Riding, Racing and Restoration 2003-2013

-Brian

Freeze Your Balls Off!: The Scooter Rally

Brian leads the FYBO TUN*C country ride 2012

Another year, another January, another Freeze Your Balls Off (FYBO) rally goes by... The good peoples at the Incriminators Scooter Club have been putting this thing on for, can you believe it, 14 years now! The FYBO rally blueprint of long weekend, beer, bikes, bands, has been followed by (ahem...) many other clubs and always proves to be a winning combo no matter the weather. Ton Up N*C has traditionally been involved via the creating the Best Motorcycle trophy, organizing/leading the FYBO Country ride and the provision of drunken fools. Heres a TUN*C photo retrospective of the event (some photos were borrowed from Scoot.net)...

Straight 8's circa 2005 @ FYBO w/ Patman on upright bass.

Alex, Patman and Marcus FYBO 2006

TUN*C 2006: Patman, Chad, Marcus and Alex

TUN*C @ FYBO 2007 L-R Hillbilly Marcus, Alex, Chad, Jim, Toro

Straight 8's circa 2008 @ FYBO w/ Patman on upright bass.

FYBO 2009 @ Green Room w/ L-R Camper, Chad and TJ

TUN*C's Alex tickles the Rickman, FYBO 2010

Brian scans the bike show in 2011.

Doyle, Alex (TUN*C), and Riever at FYBO 2012

In 2013 TUN*C's Eric takes home the Best Motorcycle win with his Superhawk.

Thanks for the good times FYBO. See you next year on MLK weekend!

Ton Up NC = Riding, Restoration and Racing of Vintage Motorcycles

-Brian

White Lightnin' XC MMXI

Ton Up N*C Chad's round barrel BSA 441

Vintage Cross Country (VXC) is a staple in the Ton Up N*C racing program and the annual White Lightening VXC race in South Carolina is one of the first scheduled events of the year on the American Historic Racing Motorcycle Association's (AHRMA) calendar. The race has taken place for that past couple of years on Marvin Grant's old farm in Chester, SC.

Cross Country Riding is how motorcycling began, because roads were very few and far between when motorcycles were born. As the motorcycles and roads improved, the riders still challenged themselves with off road competitions on acient Roman roads in Europe and "cow and wagon" trails in the USA. Eventually, the competitions organized into ISDT type reliability runs in Europe and Enduros and "Hare and Hounds" in the USA. Further organization and land closure issues brought the closed course  Hare scrambles to prominence (AHRMA).

Beno Rodi's collection of XC bikes. Beno participates in excess of 100 races a year.

The Ton Up Fla. transport van and machines: Triumph TR5T and the AJS Model 20

Chad and I headed five or so hours south for the two day event early on the morning of Saturday, March 19, 2011. I was along in the role of "Pit Monkey," while Chad was intent on racing his two BSA 441's in the Classic 500 division. The weather was warm and clear when we arrived at the farm.

The 441's. Chad had recently overhauled the square barrel he is seated on.

Chad at the starting line.

Here's Chad's race report on Day 1 of the 2 day event:

It took me a few kicks this time to start the bike which was rare since I installed the PVL (German-built electronic ignition system). After firing it up I headed out on the very challenging and long (5.5miles) course. After 2 laps I noticed Scott (Ton Up Fla.) off to the side after start/finish and decided to join him and to inspect my bike which started pinging again and losing power. According to the pre-registration list I thought I was all alone in my class so it made sense at the time to save the bike and save myself for day 2. Then I noticed a TR5T ride past me. It was another rider in my class and he was already a lap ahead with only 15 minutes remaining.

I completely screwed myself in race 1 and learned a valuable lesson in racing. Whether you're racing against another rider or yourself, race hard and never give up.

Scott rounds the corner on his AJS.

Post-race pow-wow day 1: Beno, Scott and Chad.

Here's Chad's race report on Day 1 of the 2 day event:

After my boondoggle the day before I prepped the dry framed round barrel for racing on day 2 and despite not seeing the TR5T on the line I decided to race like he was there anyway. I knocked out 4 hard laps with good and consistent times which improved with each lap. The bike ran solid the entire race and I crossed the finish in 1st.

I realized after the second race how much I really like the round barrel. The engine feels de-tuned and very forgiving. My only complaint is the shortness of the swing-arm and the terrible front Triumph suspension.

Max (Ton Up Fla.) buzzes the check point/finish tent on his Triumph...

Chad takes the checkered flag.

Don't call it a comeback, Chad took 1st place on Day 2.

Ton Up NC = Riding, Restoration and Racing of Vintage Motorcycles

-Brian/Chad

Shops of the Past: The House of Zed

Sadly, we at Ton Up N*C have had to say farewell to several members as they have relocated to other parts of this fine country. Not only do we miss the people, we also miss their shops. Former NC resident and NC Ton Up member, Zed had a badass shop in Saxapahaw, NC right next to the river of the same name. Zed had ample bike storage, several lifts/workspaces for his various projects, a functioning paint shop and a proper lounge equipped with PBR. What more could you ask for? Here are some photo's.  Be warned, you may want to grab something to catch the drool...

Zed and Chad

Alex mounts the Atlas

Chad's Trident.

Atlas envy.

Brian finds a place called happiness on Zed's Square Four

Trumpet and Vespa.

Ariel Sq. 4

Toro hits the lounge.

Ton Up NC = Riding, Restoration and Racing of Vintage Motorcycles

-Brian