A Triumphant beginning

History is all around us here in the UK, houses, castles, factories, mines and even Roman leftovers from their prompt departure back to defend their crumbling Empire. We forget and ignore our heritage in our normal run of the mill working lives, how many times have you looked out the car or bus window and thought “....my that’s an old house I really must try and go and see how it was built and figure out what kind of people lived there?” Nobody. Well that’s not really true there are the History buffs out there who are always on the lookout for a new gem to bore everyone with when they get to work or home, anoraks and I am definitely proud to be one of them.
However I’m not boring because I live history, I am King Henry VIII in the disguise of a 60 year old in 2010. I have purchased a motorcycle specifically aimed at the transport for me to engage in history hunting. Not just any old bike, but a limited edition retro Triumph Bonneville 900 which is designated the Bonneville 60 after the 1969 model it is designed around. Grey and blue, piped leather seating and wire wheels set this bike off from the modern variety of speed machine. Not being a fast bike but a very powerfully torque tuned cruiser, just the ticket for a sad old man to wander the lanes with his camera and netbook to produce a weekly commentary for the King website, www.Henrytudor.co.uk


Issue 1. Goodbye Vespa, hello Bonnie.



I have owned my Vespa for 9 years now, loved it to bits and kept it in the most immaculate condition in a dry garage. I’ve taken it all over Europe and the UK in the back of my RV to provide transport for trips out from caravan sites. Sad to see it go but looking forward to the new Triumph 60. The new bike has not been made yet, Triumph are numbering each sale in brass on the headstock out of a total 120 machines, very limited really and so I expect it to keep its value if I keep it in great condition. This has happened to the Vespa, keeping its purchase value for 9 years is something you never see, lots of interest in the sale on Ebay and offers already making it a sale in another 8 days time.
Here is my plan for this new column:
A new idea in travel documentation and research. I have always been a good researcher and look for depth in all I view, stories of old lives are much easier to find by being there and recreating scenes in ones mind. This sort of knowledge is indispensible when delivering a talk or answering a history question from a personal angle with accurate feelings. I intend to use the bike, take video and still pictures and have the bike in the foreground to give the whole column a themed style.
Triumph Entry is a pun on King Henry VIII entering his Palaces but actually will mean a report from the saddle of the Triumph Bonneville 60.
Not due to be delivered until April, this new column will begin next with the collection of the bike, to be named for the purpose of story lines, “Maggie” after Henry’s grandmother Margaret Beaufort who carried the Tudors into power with her charm and charisma but most of all with her strong low down negotiations, talk (torque).
Here’s the pictures of the outgoing and the incoming bikes.
Vespa PX 200
Truimph Bonneville 60 Limited edition.
Keep watching this space.

My planned 10 research areas for this year. Not in any order.
1. Margaret Beaufort, her plans and her successes.
2. Katherine Parr, Kendal Castle
3. Waterwheels in Tudor times.
4. Shepherd sticks, Tudor timekeeping and monastery technologists.
5. Hunting birds.
6. Paper making.
7. Mordants, Yorkshire.
8. Ink production, Norfolk.
9. Building methods, Cumbria.
10. Propaganda from Arthur Pendragon to Arthur Tudor, via Merlin’s Bridge.

Issue 2. Goodbye Vespa.

It’s gone!
The Vespa has left the building.

Thanks to Ebay and the enthusiastic Vespa world out there the blue PX 200 which has been my mistress for the past nine years has moved on. I delivered the Vespa to its new owner, Chris, in Bradford yesterday. This man loves Vespa’s so I know this bike will live for many years yet if not decades, he lives scooters and is a member of the Vespa club, so I will keep an eye on their website for the old girl.
Now please don’t laugh. Stop thinking “get a life”, keeping a bit of your youth alive and kicking is a good thing, it is somewhere to return to when the modern world gets a bit hectic. I would get on the Vespa is a stressed mood, tired and frustrated with life in general. I would get off the bike an hour later, with a broad grin, no stress in my head and ready to give the old machine a clean and polish, my way of thanking the bike for the privilege of the journey.

I never had a journey on the Vespa, it was always an adventure.
It wasn’t you Vespa, it was me! I fell for the charms of a Triumph rebirth.



Sad eh! Well wouldn't you too? Come in Number 1 your time is just beginning.

Now it’s time to move on and I will decide today just what accessories the new bike will have.
Ideas so far:

Not a rear rack nor a rear box and this will lengthen the bike too much to get it into the RV, so side panniers. Not solid, plastic lockable panniers as they look too modern on a retro bike. So leather with two buckles and Triumph emblazoned on their sides.

Now if you remember my little thought some months ago when the idea of a new bike was swilling around my head, the notion of getting it passed “her in the Palace” came up. I now have to convince the Queen to ride the new bike and not be scared off by the shape or size of the machine. So, a backrest (Triumph called them "sissy bars") fitted especially for her as she claims they make her feel there is something behind her for protection. Mind you there are two to choose from Triumph, a low and a high one. The high one will look ridiculous when riding solo so I will make sure it’s the low one as the compromise.

I have weighed the bike by trying to get the dealers demonstration Bonneville into the RV. It is 100 Lbs heavier than the Vespa which was difficult enough at 400 Lbs to push up the ramp into the on-board garage. Now a 500 Lb machine will break my back and roll backwards over my body leaving a great looking tyre tread up my face. So I need a solution to this problem for the future success of this enterprise. To this end I have already ordered a new folding ramp which is longer and wider than the one I already have. The existing ramp will be fixed to the garage floor as a guide to take the bike to the end without someone holding the handle bars. Clever eh! Then here comes the lateral thinking, I will buy and fix a 12 volt winch on the RV garage ceiling to pull the bike in whilst I hold it upright at the back. Up the ramp and up to the end wall. Starting and stopping the winch will be solved by buying one with a remote control.



Drums roll, trumpets blast, the dream is created, the past is past.

Now must get to work converting the RV ready for April.

Issue 3. Winch me up before you go go.

It’s one of those Good news and Bad news moments.
Good news:
I have ordered both the cissy-bar with backrest and the side panniers for the new Triumph. I ordered and received the very next day the 2,000 lbs capacity winch and found the cleverest device ever for such an enterprise, a jumpstarter.
The jumpstarter is a self contained 17ah battery, with charger which can be charged from both the mains or the cigar lighter in the RV, connect the red and black crocodile clips to the winch’s remote control and wallah the winch works. This is a huge bonus because the unit is actuall cheaper than buying the 17ah battery on its own! It can also be used for powering the computers via its 12volt output socket and to start the RV if the vehicle battery is flat. All this for £35 bargain. The winch was £54 with delivery so the cost is within my original thinking of about £200 for the whole job. Bought some wire and connection box now to fit the design.
One always has a change of direction when the design becomes a reality, I hade planned originally to mount the winch at ceiling level, but this will raise the front suspension when pulling the bike in, now mounting the winch at the floor will lower the front spring when pulling the bike in, this will aid the clearance of the brake handles upon entry from the doorway top.



Now for the bad news: The delivery of all these 120 limited edition Bonnevilles is June not April. JUNE, how will I cope without a bike, nothing to polish, purr over!
It took me a total of two hours to sort out the winch and fit it all together into the garage of the RV. Here is a picture of the final installation, boy am I pleased with the outcome and the low cost overall, £110 in total, bargain. It makes a great engineering noise when operating and will pull the 500 lb bike easily into place. Now the next design is the holding of the bike in situ whilst driving the RV. Have some ideas but am favouring the use of hinged tubes holding the handle bars horizontally and the old ramp to be screwed in place to the garage floor to guide the bike the distance unaided.
Great project, as I love gadgets.

Adding to the list of research targets this year, I am going back to Kleves in Germany this August and have decided to extend the trip to include a trip through the mountains to Colditz Castle and a tour around the WW2 prisoner's quarter, also visiting the town of the Pied Piper of Hamling. Should some great stories for the website.

Not wanting to undertake any of the research trips without the new bike, I really cannot wait until June before new sections are written, so I have decided to undertake the Kendal Castle topic by car. First in the agenda being just where was Katherine Parr born, was it Kendal Castle or Blackfriars in London. We will see.