WHEN it comes to motorbikes, Peter Robinson’s passion roars as loudly as his Mk1 KTT Velocette.
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Peter Robinson’s vintage motorbike from 1929 is among the hundreds of entries already received for Soar, Ride and Shine at Bathurst Airport on April 7 and 8.
When the motorbike, car and air show was first held in 2016, it attracted more than 8000 people and raised $35,000 for Lifeline Central West when it was first held.
Mr Robinson said his journey to purchase the Velocette started more than a decade ago during a visit to the United Kingdom.
“Velocette were one of the first motorcycle manufactures to design the overhead camshaft engine around 1924/25,” he said.
“My cousin James had just bought himself a Mk1 (#KTT127), and i got the opportunity to take it for a blast.”
This ride had Mr Robinson hooked and he has wanted to own one for himself ever since.
His cousin eventually found him and unused and unloved Velocette “lurking in a barn in the Yorkshire Dales”.
“The bike’s engine number was KTT12, making it the 11th of the KTT model made, number one was just a motor,” Mr Robinson said.
“Engine numbers two to 12 went to dealers shop windows all around the world.”
Mr Robinson said when he made the trip to the UK to check out the bike it was a “rather sad looking works racer” at the time.
As for performance, it goes like a rocket ship.
- Peter Robinson
“My cousin James has a mate who is a Velocette expert, and was a great mate of a previous owner of the bike, who offered to restore her for me out if respect for his mate who had passed away from cancer years before,” he said.
“He also supplied me with a photo of my bike being raced at Brands Hatch [motor racing circuit in Kent, England] in the early 70s.”
The bike was restored to how it looked when it was racing in the 70s, rather than how it left the factory.
Mr Robinson said records he has found show that parts of #KTT5 engine survive, #KTT9 is alive and well in the Netherlands, “making mine the second oldest surviving bike and the oldest in the southern hemisphere”.
“As for performance, it goes like a rocket ship and makes the same amount of noise from the straight through exhaust,” he said.
Lifeline executive officer Alex Ferguson said motorbike, car and plane entries are flooding in for the event, but it was not too late to register.
All funds raised through Soar, Ride and Shine will help Lifeline Central West continue its work.
Visit www.soarrideshine.com.au to find out more.
- For help in a crisis call Lifeline on 13 11 14.