80 :OLD BIKE AUSTRALASIA
OUT’N’ABOUT
The two weeksof the Isle of Man TT sees many
complimentary events for the motorcyclists that
come from all over the world. In the coastal village
of Peel a local motorcycle club (with an interesting
name, Moddey Dhoo) hosts a motorcycle show ‘by
bikers for bikers’ and amazingly the event is free.
This year saw the 11th running of the event. Peel
itself is picturesque with a long ‘c’ shaped waterfront
promenade. At one end is Peel Castle on a bridged
island and this is where the legend of Moddey Dhoo
began. In Manx Gaelic Moddey Dhoo translates to
‘Black Dog’ and this conjures the tune of a Led
Zeppelin song. Legend has it that an apparition in
the form of a savage dog-like creature with black
curly hair lived in a passageway in the castle where
it terrorised the inhabitants. One night a drunken
soldier met with a savage death and ‘Moddey Dhoo’
was then sealed in the passage forever. The club
logo includes the circular Isle of Man logo with an
angry head of Moddey Dhoo in the centre.
On the other end of the promenade was the Peel
skate park with a raised flat area, a grassed steep
rocky backdrop and a view of the ocean on the other.
It was a beautiful place to display the bikes. I arrived
to a very rainy morning but by the start time at
midday the weather fined up beautifully. I gravitated
to the older bikes as this is my area of interest and
met some interesting and friendly people. My first
highlight was an elderly gentleman dressed in period
tweed riding in on his 1930s twin port AJS R12. He
deservingly took out the award for the ‘Best Vintage
Bike’. A beautiful 1950 Triton stood glistening in the
sun. Its owner is a TT track marshall who te told me
he built the Triton in the winter so this was its first
outing. I loved those truncated megaphones for extra
ground clearance on cornering. The award for ‘Best
Race Bike/Replica’ was fitting for this gem.
I saw a little 175 BSA Bantam complete with leg
guards and the subtle use of miniature TT related
decals. There were John McGuinness decals on the
leg guards, TT 2010 and a Joey Dunlop decal on the
rear mudguard. Yes, the owner rode to the Isle prima-
rily for the racing. He has a couple of Bantams so
took one to the Isle for a spin and decided to show it.
My other bike of interest was a 1928, 349cc DOT. DOT
motorcycles were made in Manchester which is not
far away across the Irish sea in the UK. Literature of
the time suggests that DOT motorcycles were made
to a high standard and they pledged their machines
were ‘Deviod Of Trouble’. Peter is a Manx local and
told me he was only the second owner. It was origi-nally raced by Bill Bull on short circuits in southern
UK, then later on grass tracks. Peter also said that
while not many were made he believes there are a
couple in Australia. Peter’s DOT is powered by a Brad-
shaw engine known as the ‘Oil boiler’. I noted the
smooth aluminium housing all the way up to the cast
iron head. No cooling fins were required on the barrel
as it was oil cooled from within (hence its nick
name). A mechanical oil pump was responsible for all
engine lubrication and cooling which was advanced
for the time. The overhead valves, a twin filler saddle
tank, pie crust tin work, adjustable damper Brampton
girder forks and such, were only available on top end
machines of the time. The external (bacon slicer)
flywheel finished off this beautiful engine. Peter’s
DOT was factory built performance machine and
coupled to the hand change, 3 speed Sturmey Archer
gearbox is good for an amazing 82 MPH.
In all 17 awards were distributed. Most went to
visitors to the island with some from as far away as
Switzerland and Holland. Well done to the Moddey
Dhoo MCC who also acknowledged support from the
Dept. of Economic Development, Peel Town Commis-
sioners and the Local Police. A personal thanks goes
to Andy Scullard event co-organiser for supplying me
the winners list and general information.During his visit to the 2017 Isle of
Man TT, Gaven Dall’Ostopacked in
as many local sights and events as
possible. Here’s one...
The Moddey Dhoo MCC
Bike Show
Road legal
Harris Ducati
TT2 600
Replica.The 1928 349cc DOT with its
Bradshaw (Oil Boiler) engine.ABOVE LEFTPerfectly attired
to match his 1930 248cc
twin port AJS R12.
ABOVE 1954 Triton, winner
of Best Race Bike Replica.