Bristol Italian Auto Moto Festival

[Goody76]

Bristol Italian Auto Moto Festival
Saturday 25th April 2009
Moto Guzzi to be the Featured Marque

Once again there will be wide ranging displays of Italian cars and bikes of all marques and ages to set the city streets alive with Italian chic and design flair. This time we have chosen Moto Guzzi to be the featured marque. Why not make a note in your diary to come on down and take part in the best free Italian vehicle festival in the country? The Bike Zone will again be organised by the Ducati Owners Club, Bristol Branch. Any enquiries specific to the bikes should be made to:-

Sean Good sean_good04@yahoo.co.uk
and Duncan Spokes ds007h4281@blueyonder.co.uk

Italian bikes ridden to the show will not need a formal entry but if brought in a van or on a trailer with tow car, the transporter vehicle must be booked in so that parking space can be planned (with full name, address, phone & mobile numbers and vehicle details make & reg. no.) to: biamf@ourhemanpal.co.uk or 0117 947 5814.

Those unfamiliar with the Festival might be interested in viewing:

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=a5DwvVBNzGo&mode=related&search=

http://www.velocetoday.com/archives/583

http://velocetoday.com/events/events_139.php

http://www.ducatisti.co.uk/gallery/showgallery.php/cat/556

If anyone requires further information please contact the above.

[sadbiker]

http://flickr.com/gp/16658943@N05/00r68o

Heres a few photos of the day.....

[Gilps]

http://flickr.com/gp/16658943@N05/00r68o

Heres a few photos of the day.....

Some great pics there Pel. Was nice to see you again. Drag Cor along next time.

[sadbiker]

Some great pics there Pel. Was nice to see you again. Drag Cor along next time.


Good to see you to.


I would but she had womenly duties to get on with. You know house cleaning etc.... :chuckle: Plus people viewing the house.. At least it meant I turned up on a duke... Even if it wasn't mine.

[Goody76]

Sorry it is a bit late, considering the show was the 25th April, but anyway here is a nice little show review

Yet another year has passed and with it another Bristol Italian Auto Moto Festival (BIAMF). What is now considered one of the best Italian motor festivals in the country, BIAMF (now in its seventh year) seems to be growing each year in support from the public and participants alike making BIAMF 09 a successo grande, as they say in Italian.

For those who have been busy, or simply have not been able to make the show, the BIAMF is a free event for Italian vehicle enthusiasts organised by local members of the Ducati Owners Club and the Italian Auto Moto Club. Focussed around Corn Street in Bristol's Italianate City Centre, the bikes and cars are parked 'Latin Style' lining the streets of the show. The Festival makes for a grand day out just looking at all the exciting vehicles, chatting with the owners and making new friends, and best of all it is free (perfect in light of the current economic climate). On top of that the venue has endless opportunities. Nearby there are all the shops and stalls making up St Nicholas Market, and then just a short walk away and you can enjoy the Historic Harbour, Brunel's 'SS Great Britain,' and the replica of John Cabot's sailing ship 'Matthew' in which he beat Columbus to North America. And of course there is Cabot Circus, Bristol's new £500m shopping development, providing visitors with over 120 new shops, including 15 major flagship stores.

In an effort to emphasise the growing popularity of the show, with more and more support from other marques, it was decided that we would try to show our appreciation by enabling each independent marques to take a prominent role with a dedicated ‘Featured Marque’ each year. This year Moto Guzzi was the featured motorcycle Marque, with Lancia being the featured Car Marque.

Like the last few years we had again been blessed in the run-up to the show this year with some amazing weather. This was reflected in the growing numbers asking to bring the vehicles to the show. Due to the very make up of the show cars do need to be pre-booked as parking place will need to be allocated and a permit issued, and due to the venue space is a precious commodity with more people than spaces being a regular concern. Of course from a bike point of view this does not seem to be so much of an issue, with ample possibilities to squeeze in a few late arrivals.

As has become the custom over the past few years, the bikes now get to mark the start of the show. A few years ago we made arrangements to meet before hand and ride into the show. This, like the show, has boomed in popularity. The official 'Ride In' to the Festival is now one of the main highlights. As per last year arrangements were made for the bikes to meet up at Gordano Services (junction 19 of the M5) from 08:00am onwards (and this was a great sight for those keen people who popped up to see the bikes there). Unfortunately, with just days to go to the show, we were hit with bad weather forecasts that were clearly not favouring the show this year. The forecasts were predicting heavy rain for the morning, with the possibility of improved weather for the afternoon. But the gods shined upon us, with the majority of the bad weather passing in the night (I could not believe my eyes when I opened the blinds in the morning to bright sunshine). The forecasts did have their effect and we did see a slight impact on the numbers that joined us for the ride-in and the show, but the turn out (considering) was outstanding!!! In total we saw 153 Italian motorcycles meet at Gordano Services.

Come 09:30am and we made our way on the ride out. As Moto-Guzzi were the featured Marque this year they got to lead the ride-in with the rest of us following for a lovely cross country ride into the show.

[Goody76]

Approaching 10:00am we pulled into the heart of Bristol (for those of you who would like a really good show I would encourage you to try and get outside Hippodrome in the centre of the city ready to watch and hear as the city rumbles to its foundations as these great Italian motorcycles growl into place at the show. It is a sight to be seen as well as heard and felt). This arrival at the festival venue works as a very noisy sign to mark the start of the festival.

The Festival really gets into its stride now as spectators, owners, and enthusiasts get a chance to mingle, chat and debate about their favourite belongings and the joy they receive from them as the venue becomes a concourse resembling the most charismatic, multi-million pound parking lot the West Country will experience all year. And we were blessed with some amazing vehicles this year;

The cars had some amazing attendees showing the finest that Italy has to offer. With each Marque featuring prime examples of their finest car such as the Bristol 412 Zagato, Maserati Boras, Ferrari 355 Spider, 1938 Fiat Topolino Siata Smith Special Alfa Romeo Giulietta 116 2.0 RS. The Lamborghini display was remarkable for it's content, ranging from startling white Gallardo Superleggera to the amazing Isleros.

The featured car Marque was Lancia and were enthusiastically supported by scores of Lancia enthusiasts who celebrated 30 years of the Integrale with many superb incarnations of the model on display. There were also many delightful Stratos, Appias, Montecarlos, and numerous other confections of the Marque such as the gorgeous Alan Parkes' Fulvia Zagato.

There was also an amazing entry to form the finest evolutionary link from the cars to the bikes in the form of a triking 3 wheeler with a Moto-Guzzi engine built by the owner himself, Nigel Bentley-Beard.

As always there was also and amazing line-up from the biking community with every imaginable Marque in presence; Moto-Guzzi, MV Agusta, Aprilia, Ducati, Benelli, Moto Morini, Laverda and Gileras. And we had some amazing examples to show.

From Aprilia we were blessed with some fine examples of there flagship RSVR, as well Tuonos, Falcos, Caponords, some Tauregs, and an amazing F1 Futura.

MV Augusta provided exotica in the form of the beautiful Brutales & F4’s as well as classics in the form of 125 sports, 750s Magni, 750ss.

Ducati provided an array of everything from the classic favourites of the monster, through to every possible example of each bike made by the prime Italian Marque. Including some of my favorites of a Desmocedici RR, a blue and silver NCR’esque Ducati Sport Classic 1000s, 1098 Tricolore, and a beautiful 851. And ‘Riders Bristol’ also brought along the newly launched Streetfighter. Unashamedly, the highest spec naked motorcycle on the market. Powered by the incredible Desmodromic 1098 engine. With it’s unprecedented electronics with Ducati’s variable street-going traction control, as well as great data analysis capabilities.

Moto-Morini were also in attendance presenting us with prime examples of their Marque with a Tresette, Corsaro, 3 ½, 250 Turismo, 350, and a Dart.

[Goody76]

Of course as we said earlier the featured motorcycle Marque this year was Moto-Guzzi, and they took this position with pride with two Dealerships (Moto-Guzzi Southampton and Moto Sport in Wareham) providing the best of both old and new. Brand new were the 1200 Sport 4V and a 1200 4V Stelvio.

The Stelvio is along distance semi-off road bike but equally at home darting around country lanes. The riding position gives great visibility on such roads. Like other similar bikes in that market, such as the BMW GS series, the Stelvio can be stacked with extras such as luggage, extra protection gear, etc for the hardy long distance touring rider who likes to cover hundreds of miles a day.

The 1200 Sport 4V has a decidedly sports type set-up but it is also an excellent tourer with every detail well designed for the rider and pillion passenger to travel in the utmost comfort. The seat is well padded and offers great support (something that is often missed in modern motorcycles). For those riders the 1220 Sport 4V so easily becomes a real Grand Tourer complete with heated hand grips, panniers, top box and satellite navigation system.

The other highlights being the Griso and the V7 Classic. But people were more fascinated by the classic bikes brought to the show, especially a the 500cc Dondolino one of only 54 made by Moto Guzzi between 1946 and 1951. The model on display, and what was run quite noisily (undoubtedly the loudest bike of the show), was from 1946. It has been paraded at the 2005 TT and at the post-TT Steam Packet races after the centenary TT in 2007.

Another great centrepiece was a 500cc 1960 Falcone Sport. These epitomised motorcycling in Italy in the 1950s and early 1960s and in addition to being sought after by enthusiasts it also was the bike of choice of the various Italian police forces throughout that period. The Falcone Sport is highly prized by Moto Guzzi enthusiasts, especially so in Italy, where there is a club that goes touring each year on up to 25 of such bikes - all in red.

Notable amongst the lesser-represented marques was Michael Viret's enchanting Aermacci two-stroke racer, an amazing piece of motorcycle history.

Of course let us not forget the great support always afforded to us, and the show, by the Bristol MODs club. Again they had their ever-popular presence of their classic retro scooters of all shapes, sizes and colours. My personal favourite being Jim Burnham's Lambretta which, resplendent in it's union jack livery and myriad spotlights. A bike that truly caught the attention of all whom passed by.

We continued to be blest with the weather for the show. Yes we were blighted with a few flurries of rain during the extent of the show, but on a whole the weather was beautiful and the sun won out. And this gorgeous sunshine shining onto the glossy paint and chrome finishes created an amazing visual barrage for the eyes only disrupted by the morning and afternoon “Start your engines” sessions. These sessions allowed for all around to enjoy the melodic sounds of the Italian exotica present as the 'Old City' shook to the sounds of pent-up horsepower, unleashed for the joyous appreciation of the owners and spectators alike.

[Goody76]

As another new direction for the show, and as an additional nice touch to emphasise the growing popularity of the Festival, we also got in contact with a reputable Bristol based video production company. Through these talks, it was agreed that we would now be producing a 'Bristol Italian Auto Moto Festival' (BIAMF) DVD. The idea is for the DVD to contain the shows’ highlights, interviews with the enthusiasts, news, tips and techniques from the experts, competitions, suppliers links and details of up and coming car and bike events both local and national. The hope; to capture the fun, excitement and the spectacular showcase of hardware that this great free event attracts.

This new joint venture also went very well. Could I please kindly and sincerely thank all the people who kindly took the time to give a little spiel to the crew about their bikes, experiences, or services. They were gratefully received, and I was told we a had a vast collection of great footage to make this into an outstanding DVD (can I now ask you to please take your time and hard earned money to go online and order your copy... now www.djvs.co.uk/biamf).

So all in all a great festival was had by all, with the great opportunity to meet friends old and new where we could all collectively enjoy that which had brought us all together; the passion, flare, and amazing attention to detail that makes these great Italian vehicles (whether that be on two, three, four wheels or more).

[sadbiker]

Theres a trailer for the DVD on the link above.. I spotted you Mr Goody.