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Royal Enfield launched its new cafe racer with a ride from the Ace Cafe down to Brighton

The European launch of Royal Enfield’s new Continental GT 535 was celebrate in appropriate style with a burn-up…

Organised by the Indian company, 50 European press people on the red bikes first fought and filtered their way from the Ace Cafe round London’s clogged South Circular and down to Brooklands in Surrey. This at least proved that the singles could hold their own in real life, clutch-slipping, hot-engine traffic, and that the cafe crouch from ace bars and raised metal footrests was surprisingly comfortable.

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Once there, RE boss Siddhartha Lal, sporting a demi-pompadour and a Lewis Leathers jacket (“it’s a bit too new”) from its GT accessory collection, talked to an audience including Enfield Trials star Johnny Brittain, and Roger Boss, creator of the original 1960s 250cc Continental GT. The new machine’s British heritage, said Lal, was not just in the look, but in the bike’ philosophy of a simpler, fun style of motorcycling.

Then the pack roared off on a zigzag route down to Brighton. The run ended streaming on to Madeira Drive, to swap stories and take tea and fish and chips on the pier. Back at the Ace that evening, a cheerful gathering of journos and company folk made sure that a rockin’ good time was had by all.

• Thunderbirds are go
The Lancashire-based mail order only company Thunderbird Spares has invested in tens of thousands of pounds worth of new stock to increase its product range.

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Specifically, it has a large range of special tools for Triumph and BSA, gasket sets and engine rebuild parts, top quality engine bearings and uprated electronics for classic bikes as well as an expanded range of the usual spare parts.

The company offers a fast international mail order service with good old fashioned customer service and technical advice from its webshop thunderbirdspares.com

• Missing Corgi
Some time between Sunday, September 8, and the following Monday (September 9) morning, a black and satin red Corgi was stolen from a farm on New Cut Lane, Halsall, on the Merseyside border.

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Anybody with any information can contact police on 101, quoting log reference number 0217 of September 9, or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111 or Crimestoppers-uk.org

No personal details are taken, information is not traced or recorded and you will not go to court.

• Getting ready for Vegas
Highlights already consigned for Bonhams’ January 9, 2014, Vegas sale include a ‘Von Dutch’ Thunderbird bobber and a 1926 Harley-Davidson and sidecar, as well as the Pierce Family Museum collection. Details 001 323 436 5470 or www.bonhams.com/vegas.

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