Welcome to new forum website member, Plasmaman

[Vincent H.R.D. Owners Club]

@Plasmaman - welcome to the online forum website of the Vincent H.R.D. Owners Club Forum Website.

We love to know a bit more about our new members, so please take a couple of minutes to introduce yourself to the other members.

www.vincentownersclub.co.uk is more than just a forum, we're a worldwide community of Vincent Motorcycle enthusiasts, and we're keen to help anyone with an interest.

Do you have a bike?
Are you looking for a bike?
What's your interest in the marque?

 

[Plasmaman]

Thanks for asking about me. When I was 16 years old, back in the mid-fifties, I was a junior member of a small motorcycle club. This was around the time Vincent production was ending, but we didn't know that. Most of us had never seen one, much less watched one in competition.

Herb Reiber was an Indian/Vincent/Matchless dealer in Washington D.C. One Sunday, our club was fortunate enough to watch Herb compete in a hill climb in nearby Maryland. At that time, you didn't see extended swing arms and spiked tires at these events. There were mostly just street bikes involved - some totally unsuited for a hill climb.

Herb personally owned a Black Shadow, which he entered in the event. He made three runs. The first run he looped the bike. The second run, after tweaking the handlebar controls back into shape, he set the hill record. The third run he overshot the top of the hill and ran the bike into the woods. We all talked about it incessantly for at least a year.

When I was in my late twenties, I managed to trade a Chevrolet Impala for a Black Shadow that a previous owner had tried to turn into a chopper (see picture). Unfortunately, like many other priceless items I have let slip through my fingers over the years, I traded it off again. Of course, I lust for another Vincent, and while I can now afford it, they are as rare as hen's teeth here in the States. I don't know if I can justify spending what they cost over here. Right now I'm just fantasizing about them.