Amman Valley Half-Miler

A few selected shots From last weekends epic flat track weekender in deepest Wales.

All photos by Sideburn Girl at REDMAX SPEEDSHOP

THE RED MAX GOES DOWN.......

Get well soon to RED MAX Steve Von Hillary who went down hard yesterday at the Amman Valley flat track race. Steve has suffered a broken collarbone that looks like it will have to be pinned. This puts him out of action for a couple of months, missing next weeks mile race in Chech Republic and the next round of the UK championship in Stoke on July 10th.

Steve was the only English guy to ride in the ALL AMERICAN TWINS race on the Saturday night in the horrible, wet conditions and put on a great show!!

All the Skooter Farmers rode well especially Wilky #99 who won the Short track 'D' final. this meant he  transferred through to the 'C' final, so, including the Thunderbike final.....he went out in 3 consecutive races without a break!!

Jason #75 has also come on leaps and bounds.....riding better than ever. Capt. Highside was on the podium again with a 3rd place in the Thunderbikes 'A' final.

FINLAND TRIP pt.5...ANTSU

This is Antsu, a really great guy who looked after us on our trip. He's been a friend of Fids for over 10 years. The last picture is Antsu in action and this shot is actually part of the DAVIDA MOTO PHOTO exhibition.

He's been a mainstay and innovator of the Finnish Chopper scene for 30 years, building and riding hardtails. As a result he now suffers with severe back problems, which has led to a change of lifestyle that includes a rigorous daily exersise workout on his rowing machine.

He lives in an amazing traditional wooden house, full of interesting stuff.

He owns a bunch of British/American bikes but currently his passion is J.A.P. engined projects.

He is picking up ,whenever possible, various J.A.P. engine parts and is also the proud owner of a early 50's J.A.P. grasstracker in totally original condition...I will do a post about it when I get more pictures!!

A top-notch host, a great cook with a great taste in music!

FINLAND TRIP pt.4 Petrol Circus Chopper show

The PETROL CIRCUS CHOPPER SHOW was held in a plush exhibition hall in Helsinki.here are a few bikes I liked the look of.....

Below is a bike called THE ROCKET REDUCER after an MC5 song, this was a very unusual bike which represents the Fins radical approach to bike building. Its a VICKER-WOLSEY crank/bottom end with VOLKSWAGON BEETLE cylinders engineered to fit

below is a bike belonging to Mala, the owner of Finlands best chopper mag KOPTERI. Its called DOUBLE-MOTOCROSSER!

Found these swastika hats for sale at the show in amongst the usual Ducati, Yamaha and Repsol merchandise.......Hmmm??!!

FINLAND TRIP pt.3 ....Mitja the Madman

This is Mitja....a very interesting guy! He's an ex-Teddy Boy and sports a wild old school tattoo of Bill Haley that he had done when he was 13.

Thats his bicycle chopper. Last year, he rode this bike 230 km each way to a show in Nortalje, Sweden!!

He informed me that it is completely legal to ride a bike, row a boat or ride a horse.....completely pissed. It is however illegal, under any circumstances to ride on the back of a Moose!!

Mitja is a musician who loves 60's garage and 50's rock n roll and has been involved with organising PA equipment for the Hells Angels parties.

He told me all the band members and roadie crew were issued with "Access all areas" passes that said "DON'T HIT ME TOO HARD.....I WORK FOR YOU"

FINLAND TRIP pt.2 after the party

This is the morning afterthe party. Everybody was hung over, no loud music and the chance to chat to people.

I was very aware of the SCANDINAVIAN BIKER WAR in the late 90's between HELLS ANGELS MC and BANDIDOS MC. in which there was 11 murders and almost 100 woundings. Talking to Mitja, he told me the ROAD WEIRDOS was a neutral clubhouse that both Hells Angels and Bandidos visited from time to time when they wanted some fun. Apparently their own clubs have become too regimented and business-like. He added that the reason for the fun factor was a "No Guns" policy at this clubhouse....however, the thought crossed my mind as to how you could enforce such a policy!!

Talking to Kiatsu and Iikku I learned they really dug Raleigh Chopper bicycles and British TV shows ON THE BUSES, SAPPHIRE AND STEEL and KENNY EVERETT SHOW.....

Folks in the above shots, from the top of the page are:

Hese, Kiatsu, me with Mitja in the background, Iikku and Kiatsu, unknown Chopperdero member, Hese and ladyfriend, me in amongst some bikes, Mitja's bicycle chopper, 70's style Japanese-motored skooter.