Founders Day: Classic and vintage thrives

After spending all day at the Malle Mile on the Friday, it was time for something as little less frantic on Sunday – the Taverners VMCC Founders Day at Stanford Hall near Lutterworth. Or so I thought. But when I arrived there, the event was buzzing.

The last time I’d been to Founders Day was 2022 and, maybe it was me, but it seemed like the classic and vintage scene was still in a post-covid lull. There were spaces between jumble stands, a lack of buzz in the show area, and not the same busy turnout of people as in the past.

This year it seems like Founders Day has bounced back to its busy old self and all is well after all in the classic/vintage world. The jumble area was packed with stands and people, the ring of clubs was super busy, and the bike park was full of interesting metal. Not only that, the weather was perfect. What more can you ask for?

It all made a mockery of the talk you hear bemoaning the future of classic motorcycling. Okay, there weren’t as many ‘youngsters’ at there were at the Malle Mile just up the road, but there was still a good sprinkling, giving hope that there are going to be plenty of enthusiasts carrying the classics’ torch for years to come.

One encouragement is seeing prices for complete bikes and spares coming down to more affordable levels for ‘everyman.’  Tough maybe if you are a seller, but a damn fine encouragement for anyone now thinking of buying a classic. And why not? No tax, no Mot and cheap insurance. Plus, a bike you can learn to fettle yourself. What’s not to like?

Another surprise for me was that, while there are some who subscribe to the theory that the ‘big classic movement’ is now 1980s/1990s Japanese bikes. Well, Founders Day bore no evidence of this with British and early Japanese bikes making up the bulk of the jumble content, not to mention all of the club content. 

Same in the bike park. Yes, there was a good portion of modern bikes but a good 40% were classic Brits and 1970s Japanese or Italian.  

I’ve always enjoyed Founders Day as probably one of the best classic events of the year. You can see such a wide range of machinery from board trackers right through to the early Japanese classics and it’s one of the best jumbles.  This year didn’t disappoint. In fact, this year it over-delivered in spades.

Long may it continue……