66 |AUTUMN 2019
TheinauguralRickmanEnthusiasts’Day tookplaceatSammyMiller’sMuseum inJune.
A fitting
celebration
WordsChelseaBorchertPicsJamesPage
T
hefirst Rickman Enthusiasts’ Daymeet-upwas
held at the SammyMiller Museum onJune
23 to celebrate the achievements of Don and
Derek Rickman and their enduring Metisse
motorcycles invarious forms.
The brothers built thefirst Rickman scrambler in
1959, so the daywas alsoacelebration of the 60th
anniversaryofthefirst Rickman Metisse.
Of course the guests of honourwere Donand Derek
Rickman, whoseresponse totheendlessrequests to
sign motorbikeswaseverenergetic and enthusiastic.
The former Rickman factoryemployees were well
represented and itwasestim ated as one of the most
populareventsever held at themuseum. Ithinkwe
can also claim that itwasthe largest-e vergathering
of Rickman Metisse motorbikes, 80 in total.
We canonlyimagine howitmust have felt for Don
and Derek to see that their success and inspiration
is still going strong, but also that it is the hands of a
whole newgeneration of enthusiasts.
With the shared historyinthe racingworld,
rivalry, and friendship between the brothers and
SammyMiller,Sammy’smuseumwasthe perfect
venuefor theevent and, ofcourse,itisj ust astone ’s
throw awayfrom the site of the Rickman factoryin
NewMilton.
The bikeswere line dupinthe courtyardfor the
judging and among the highlypolished treasured
machineswere examplesofformer competition bikes
and some that arestill active.
We were privilegedtohavetwo veryknowledgeable
authorities on motorbikes and particularlythe
Rickman Metisse in MikeJackson (former Greeves
works rider) and David Gittins (author of The Metisse
Story) to judgethe collection of bikes.Trophieswere
awarded for sevencategories, presentedby Donand
Derek and the winning bikeswere line dupondispl ay
by theirproudowners.
The re wasalarge number of original Rickmans on
showatthe event, aswell asacouple from the late
PatFrench. Thereweremoder nera bikes constructed
withWasp replica frames and, among the original
bikes,wasframe no.B102 –one of thefirst
Bultaco-engined Metisses, known as thePetite
Metisse andraced by Don.
Steve McQueen’senthusiasm for the Metisse did
much to promote the type.This association continues
to inspireand anumber of bikeswere presentedin
the battleship grey of the McQueen’sbikes.
Some of the bikes attendingwere stil lactively
competing in the pre-65 scrambles and therewas
alsoalarge number of stunning Rickmanroad racers.
Above:Thedistinctive
fibreglassbodywork
identifyRickman
machinestheworld
over.
