Well this post has been a long time coming.....
Apologies to my followers for this....
But last month DQ joined up with Gert Boll from Germany, my Velocette research friend, in the UK for a 10 day tour of some archives resulting in some more interesting photos and information, particularly Velocette...
Unsure how to present this, I thought I'd select from the 1500 odd photos we collected, a range of interesting stuff...obviously I'll present more in time.
For those of you who follow Facebook group sites, I contribute to "Velocette Motorcycles", "Velocette" and my own site on motorcycle instrumentation..."motorcycles speedos, tachos and other instruments" as well as the "smiths chronometric" site....
Worth a look, perhaps even to follow....
Down to business...
In the VMCC library is a source of interesting photos, including a small collect from Rex McCandless, responsible for the Norton Featherbed frame.....

Rex testing an auto gyro with a VW engine..he made 6 in all with the early version fitted with 650cc Triumph engines.

 In 1939 Rex made a "Triton"...utilising a Norton inter frame with one of the newly introduced in 1938, 5T/speedtwin Triumph 500cc engines.

 Rex astride an NSU at Neckarsulm with Joe Craig and Ken Kavanagh.

 When I posted  this the other day...see the red text below... I read the back of the photo, above that I'd also photographed...however it is incorrect...the photo is when Norton tested the kneeler with Ray Amm riding...probably around 1953...The Vintagent comment some time back on his post... Amm and Eric Oliver took the Kneeler to Montlhery, where it broke the 1-hour speed record at 133.66mph.Thanks to John Nienhuis for alerting me to this error...
Testing the new Norton Featherbed frame at the circuit Autodrome de Linas-Montlhéry near Paris in 1949...Joe Craig holds the indicator board out....124mph...

 A visit to Geoff Dodkin, renowned former Velocette agent.... Gert poses by Geoff's front gate....

Geoff now in comfortable retirement....

Perhaps as we remember Geoff more.... the last photo is off the internet at his East sheen shop and I am unable to acknowledge the source...

Its not all "work"....

Time off with Dai Gibberson to visit a  flight of canal locks near Devizes...the Caen Hill Locks,on the Kennett & Avon canal, around 29 in all in the area...

 Then a day with Ivan Rhodes...

 Engine parts for the 595cc replica of the Stuart Waycott prewar ISDT outfit Ivan and Bob Higgs are constructing...

Works bottom bevel gears...3% nickel steel.

Ivan is selling the ex Bob Foster TT winning DOHC 350 from 1949....
Speak to Ivan if you are genuinely interested....

Then we spent several days with James Robinson the editor of "The Classic MotorCycle" at Morton Motorcycle Media identifying photos for them..
The archive has many contact prints prewar in a form of albums with a penned code number...identity long lost, but often on the edge of the negative a comment....
Lets look at the 1938 ISDT which was in Wales....

 The 1938 British Trophy Team....

The 1938 British Vase B team...

 1938 ISDT,Wales, Crymmych HRMS check....

 During the 1938 ISDT in Wales...

 Some Velocette items....

 1920-22 Ladies Model two stroke...

 1928 Junior TT...#39 Harold Willis, #22 Alec Bennett #18 Freddie Hicks...Alec Bennett won, Willis second and Hicks 5th..

 1928 Junior TT...#39 Harold Willis, #22 Alec Bennett...

Brooklands....Lamacraft's supercharged 350 KTT Velocette

The Roarer being assembled before the 1939 IOM TT...looks like an OHC special of some sort under the bench.....

After assembly, ready to transport to the IOM....Percy Goodman in white coat...the lady is his sister Ethyl Denly (nee Goodman) and her husband, George Denly with glasses behind.

 In the mid 1950's the Roarer was got out to be readied for showing on the Velocette stand at various motorcycle shows as a form of advertising....note the corrosion on the casting of the rear bevel housing from standing since WW2. 
All internals were removed to make the bike lighter to move around.

 Tommy Mutton the prewar works race mechanic astride the Roarer after the mid 1950's assembly. 
The front wheel is from a mk.8 KTT racer as the original Roarer wheel was on loan to Geoff Duke for his KTT special at the time...

 Factory staff with a sectioned Velocette destined for an Earles Court or other Motorcycle Show Velocette stand....

 Bernal Osborne, the midlands editor of "The MotorCycle" tests a Velocette Valiant around 1957....

 And finally for this post...Bruce Main-Smith ( BMS) a favourite ex "MotorCycling" journalist of mine, tests a 1961 Velocette Venom Clubman Veeline near his home at Leatherhead in Surrey....

On ya Bruce...!!!

Velocette and a re-eneactment, come revival of the 17 years of the Castrol 6 Hour production race at the Motorcycling Victoria's Broadford complex, some 70 km north of Melbourne

The Castrol 6 Hour race was an event in Australia that ran for 17 years from 1970 to 1987. It was a production machine race with very strict compliance rules which, to avoid hassles for the pre-race scrutineering, some entrants had a new out of the crate motorcycle sealed by the then ACU of NSW and raced it.....
The first event in 1970 saw a Triumph Bonneville 650 take the line honours with Len Atlee and Bryen Hindle the victors.
For the next event in 1971 I entered my 1967 Velocette Venom Thruxton  with co-rider ex international Dennis Fry and good friends, John Herrick as reserve rider and Jim Day, our pit crew.
I detailed the event in a previous 6 Hour race post....
So lets forward to this years Easter weekend....
Motorcycling Victoria has a 420 acre tract of land some 70km north of Melbourne, Victoria and Motorcycling Australia with sponsor Penrite Oils made "a celebration of The Castrol Six Hour, 1970-1987" the theme for the weekend open practices on all the circuits on the complex....

The complex has multiple circuits as mentioned, but the theme was centered around the road race circuit...

I took a partial panoramic view of part of the circuit....

There was a good representation of the many hundreds of bikes that entered the event over the 17 years as well as some of the riders of that time.... Joe Eastmure, won, well took the chequered flag first in a solo effort in 1972 on a 315cc Suzuki, only to be disqualified for having removed the horn from the bike....tough regulations! 
Len Atlee won the first event in 1970, Dave Hiscock from NZ, Graeme Crosby...Croz to many, from NZ. Bill Horseman from Adelaide South Australia and so on......
Yes DQ was there and while we couldn't get my original VMT458 Velocette which is still in Perth, Western Australia,John Jennings stepped up onto the plate and having engine number VMT457 Velocette Thruxton ( both his and my bike came out in the same crate to Burling and Simmonds the Sydney motorcycle dealer in Feb.1967) with the bike in a similar patina paint wise to mine of the time, a set of racing numbers to the colour and spec. for the 1971 supplementary regulations for the race, and his bike became my old race bike.....!

John Jennings VMT457

DQ aboard VMT458 during the 1971 event...

While there were no races on all the circuits, per se, open practice was on in various classes of motorcycles and in the road race area, from the 6 hour class; pre 1963; pre 1975;pre 1990; road bikes, novice;road bikes,intermediate.
Lots to see and so come with me on a photographic stroll through the areas around the pits and up to the fence on a section of the circuit for a look.....

Fancy a cup of coffee first? An enterprising local with a Yamaha and replica Dusting sidecar equipped as a coffee bar did a roaring trade all weekend...mind you he worked his butt off....

A racing 1954 Adler MB250, with owner, Otto Muller, head cut off by DQ, looking on....

 

Jeffery Richardson's mk.8 KTT slides off the starting rollers.... 

John Jennings slips out for some practice......

An old friend, Phil Vergison was also there with his camera and sent some pix along for me to utilise....

 

Joe Eastmure, to the right with his ( unsure about this...) 315cc Suzuki, 

 1972 6 hour bike....

 Joe out on the Suzuki with #9 Jim Scaysbrook on the former Hailwood/Scaysbrook Ducati entry from the 1977 event.

The Carbury.... a home made V twin royal Enfield....

JJ brought along his little racing MAC Velocette...

Nic-named "Li'l speedy".....

So how did DQ and crew get to Broadford....?

Well my C4 Citroen trailered down my 1960 Venom and Jim Day's 1965 Venom Clubman....with Peter Underwood riding his 1960 Venom the 750 km from Sydney and back...a sort of "running in"...we had Ben Wolven trailering his Norton Interstate with us...

Pictured is Jim Day, front with Peter Underwood having a well deserved 

"cuppa".

So we'll finish off with some pics of Mitch over from Western Australia for the event having a run on #34 while Tony Keene and John Jennings prepare to load VMT457 for the trip home...

Thanks John....VMT457 was a worthy replica for my old warhorse VMT458....long gone.

 But I've still got the crashed silencer from the 1971 race...

Ouch....!