There are many reasons why people choose a good car. But for whatever reason, it is often the main concern of this user is how to choose the best car among many existing automotive companies.
Dr. George Cohen at the Brooklands Centenary in 2007
One of my favorite characters in the old bike scene has left the saddle, and the world is poorer for his absence. Dr. George Cohen, otherwise known as 'Norton George' for his devotion to single-cylinder Nortons (plus a certain Rem Fowler's Peugeot-engined TT racer), fought well against an aggressive cancer diagnosed late last year, but knew the jig was up, that swarf had fouled his mains and blocked the oil lines. What he leaves behind for those lucky enough to have called him friend, is a ton of wry memories, and his distinctive voice echoing through our heads, with some crack about our terrible workshops, ill-prepared machinery, or silly ideas. He was mad as a hatter for sure, but a hell of a lot of fun to be around.
A favorite image of George Cohen blasting along on his 1927 Norton Model 18 TT racer on the Isle of Man
George was also a devotee of using his vintage machinery to the hilt, blasting his favorite 1927 Model 18 Norton racer on the Isle of Man, and the roads around his 'Somerset Shed'. Arriving by train for a visit to George's sprawling country estate was an exercise in bravery, as he'd likely pick you up in his 1926 Norton Model 44 racer with alloy 'zeppelin' sidecar. Strapping your luggage on the back, and no helmet required, meant you experienced the full terror of an ancient, poorly braked but surprisingly quick big single in flight along the ultra-narrow, deeply dug-in Roman roads of the area. The mighty Bonk of the Norton's empty Brooklands 'can' reverberated along the 8' deep earthen walls, as we tore around blind corners of these unique Somerset roads like Mr Toad and Co., headed for home the fastest way possible. Unforgettable!
George and myself in 2008, with my Velocette KTT and Sunbeam TT90 - sorry no Nortons that day!
George visited the USA a few times, and we were fellow judges at the Legends of the Motorcycle Concours in 2008, at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Half Moon Bay. I'd brought two bikes for us to swap on the Sunday morning Legends Ride - neither a Norton, although I had a 1925 Model 18 racer at the time (it was hors de combat from my own relentless flogging). So George got to experience a vintage Sunbeam for the first time, as the photos show, which he quite liked ('My Norton is faster', of course he said), but preferred a spin on 'The Mule', my 1933 Velocette KTT mk4, which shared his favorite Norton's camshaft up top. Well actually it was the other way 'round, as Norton copied the Velocette design! Which he grudgingly admitted with a half-smile as he hand-rolled another cig.
George on his only Sunbeam outing, in 2008
A few days prior, we'd picked up a pair of racing Nortons from California collector Paul Adams, which were entered into the Concours, and it would be hard to imagine two more dissimilar characters, who both loved Nortons with passion. Paul Adams is an ex-Navy pilot of many years' experience, with the unflappable reserve of a military man, and George, well, flapped. Those two were chalk and cheese, and barely kept from breaking into open argument! Still, George later admitted Paul had a very nice collection, and that his workshop was really clean.
George with one of his many 'specials' built for customers like Dunhill.
Something else he left behind; his incredible self-published love poem to Norton, created from his personal archive of early factory press materials, photos, and documents - 'Flat Tank Norton'. If you're a fan of early Nortons, it's essential reading, and an entertaining mix - some of the early photos of James Landsdowne Norton himself can be found nowhere else. 'Flat Tank Norton' is the kind of book only a devoted enthusiast can produce, as a publisher would have squeezed out the quirks to increase 'general interest', but they would have taken out the George factor, which is what give the book its tremendous charm. It needs a reprint, as copies run on Amazon for nearly $1000! Another memorable moment with George came not on a bike, but in one of his select few cars, at the 2013 Vintage Revival Montlhéry meeting. He'd brought his c.1908 Brasier Voiture de Course after breaking down somewhere in France, while driving the all-chain drive monster all the way from his Somerset home. He'd sorted the brakeless beast, and was enjoying flying laps around the banking, and offered me a ride, which I accepted with something like fear. George drove like he rode, and the Brasier had no seat belts, roll bars, suspension to speak of, or front brakes, but it did have an enormous 12 Liter Hispano-Suiza V-8 OHC aeroplane engine with 220hp on tap! I put myself in the hands of Fate, and George. I climbed aboard, clinging to the scuttle, and filmed the ordeal with one hand, laughing 100% of the time, as he slid the rear end on the short corners, and got as high up the banking as he could, while the behemoth shuddered, roared, bucked, and squealed. Unforgettable, just like the man.
With George in his epic 1908 Brasier de Course, with its 12 liter OHC Hispano-suiza aero engine, with 220hp! Insane for a car with no brakes, and all-chain drive...
George with the re-created Rem Fowler Norton, winner of the very first Isle of Man TT in 1907. He rebuilt the machine entirely after the disastrous National Motorcycle Museum fire.
Thumbs up George! I hate to say it, but goodbye friend.
If you care to send a note to his wife Sarah and his family, I'll gladly forward George's address - shoot me an email.
1962 - a well-off Malian couple shows off their Honda CA72 Dream. (c.Malick Sidibé)
Malian photographer Malick Sidibé died today at 80 years old...ish - he could never remember whether he was born in 1935 or '36. Born into a shepherding family in Soloba, he showed an early talent for art, but it wasn't until he was 10 years old that he began an education - when the family could release him from watching goats, presumably because a younger sibling could to take his place! His home was colonial French Sudan, and by 16 he'd earned a spot at the École des Artisans Soudanaise in Bamako, the capital. By the late 1950s, he apprenticed with society portrait photographer Gérard Guillat (in his Photo Service Boutique), bicycling between night clubs and hot spots in the evenings with a Kodak Brownie camera. Such was his gift, by 1962 he'd set up his own photographic studio, gaining the nickname 'the eye of Bamako' for his compelling portraits of Malian hipster nightlife. The dandies, the discos, the families with their treasured motorcycles, brimmed with life after Mali gained independence from France in 1960, and Sidibé captured the vibe.
A young couple dancing at a nightclub in Bamako, Mali, c.1962. (c.Malick Sidibé)
His work was 'discovered' by the Anglo/European gallery and museum cabal in the late 1990s, and a flood of solo exhibitions and retrospectives quickly followed; first at the Museum of Contemporary Art (Chicago - 1996), then the Centre d'Art Contemporain (Geneva- 2000), Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna (Rome - 2001), etc. In the 20 years since that first Chicago exhibit, at least 9 books were published on his decades of photography, and his work can be found on postcards and Pinterest sites. The exposure doesn't detract from the magic of his work, which sympathetically captures the vibrant energy and aesthetic genius of the Malian people. It was the mopeds, motorcycles, and scooters that caught my eye of course - "there's always a motorcycle" should be my website footer - but it's the two wheels in context that matters, with snappy young gents, courting lovers, or families posing with this important, treasured possession, the real and symbolic statement of Mobility, as Africa took over the reins to its own future.
A recent photo of Malick Sidibé. (c.Jennifer Morgan Davis)
In 2010, Sidibé told London's Guardian that a good photographer required “talent to observe, and to know what you want,” but equally to be approachable and friendly. “I believe with my heart and soul in the power of the image, but you also have to be sociable. I’m lucky. It’s in my nature. It’s a world, someone’s face. When I capture it, I see the future of the world.” Vale, Malick.
The quality isn't great, but the bike is - because I have this exact machine! An MZ TS250, ca.1974 (c.Malick Sidibé)
As the '60s moved into the '70s, you bet those flares got wider, and I see platform shoes peeking out...(c.Malick Sidibé)
A 1962 shot from a disco - 'Regardez-Mois?' (look at me!). (c.Malick Sidibé)
An early 1970s Vespa with a familiar backdrop of locally-produced cloth. While these shots are in black/white, no doubt the fabric included the vibrant oranges, blues, and greens typical of Mali. (c.Malick Sidibé)
One of my favorites; traditional garb and the all-important 1980s boom box...(c.Malick Sidibé)
