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Ton-Up
Pirates
Have you seen the other side of a ton? Do
you regularly see the other side of a ton? Do you think that
triple digits are an essential part of a ride? Do you have the
ton-up spirit? Are you a Ton-Up Pirate?
Ah, the glory days of the café racer.
Nights spent at the Ace Café, and membership in the
59 Club. England was ground zero for a new culture that featured
hot fast bikes and leathers. An entire generation of riders
has been influenced by the style and spirit of the original
rockers from the 1950's and 60's.
Their look and attitude was an amalgamation
of styles heavily influenced by the changing times. Disaffected
youths in Britain joined one of two camps the mods or the
rockers. The mods grew out of the style conscious teddy boys.
They rode scooters (Vespas & Lambrettas) and wore khaki
overcoats. The mods partied hard as the sixties warmed up
with drinking and drugging as hallmarks of their culture.
On the other side of the equation were the rockers.
Mixing American cultural iconography with their own unique
rebel characteristics they developed an enduring style. Central
to the rockers image was a thundering modified motorcycle.
The rockers took Gene Vincent, Elvis, James Dean and Eddie
Cochran's "glamour," and mixed in their own flash
and swagger.
Leather jackets, boots, and jeans were essential
rocker attire. The rockers met at what we call truck stops
with the most famous being the Ace Café. Rockers disdained
drugs and booze, because it takes a clear head to ride at
a ton. Modifying these bikes to ride and race from one coffee
bar to the next was a simple affair. Take a Triumph, BSA,
Norton, Matchless, AJS, or Royal Enfield and add clip on handlebars.
Ditch any extraneous bits and pieces, modify the exhaust,
brakes and fenders and you have a basic Café Racer.
Café Racer bikes became the rule.
Take some youthful rebellion and the desire
to be individuals add some horsepower and leather and you
end up with the rockers. Rockers liked to ride hard and fast.
The expression "Ton-Up" comes from the rocker lexicon,
and means 100+ MPH. Riding at these speeds was a right of
passage, a badge of honor, and something that placed a rider
among the cadre of those with skill and guts.
Various groups developed with names like the
Ton-Up Boys and the Ton-Up Pirates. Their members wore their
lust for speed on their leather jackets. These riders pushed
their machines regularly well above the 50mph speed limit,
in fact they went better than double the limit.
In the spirit of these riders we have embraced
the concept Ton-Up Pirates. We have logo shirts and pins that
subtly let you display your enthusiasm for speed. As true
Ton-Up Pirates, each of us here does their best to "break
a ton" everyday (only when perfectly safe.) Entering
the shop with a thumbs-up usually signifies recent 100+mph
satisfaction.
While we do not encourage ever breaking the
speed limit, there are times when it is unavoidable for example:
on roads with little traffic or enforcement. If by some chance
you happen to receive a traffic citation for some outrageous
speed please send us a copy. No we can't help you with the
ticket, but we may be able to take some of the sting out of
it. If your citation is the high MPH number for the month
you will receive honorary membership in our Ton-Up Pirates
chapter, a T-shirt or pin to let you show off your accomplishment,
and all the rights and privileges bestowed upon our members!
To date the most significant citation we have
received is as follows:
A whopping 105 miles per hour in a 15 mph zone.
That's right 90 mph over the speed limit! We
surely won't give up this Ton-up Pirates name, but everyone
at the shop was in awe. Congrats to him, and we hope he gets
his license back soon.
Ton-Up Pirates gear lets you put your anti-social self on
your chest, but the wrist is where your Ton-Up heart shows
itself. All riders are welcome, bring your spirit. Ride Very
Hard and Ride Safely.
*Please note. At Great Bay Motorcycles we are
committed to safety. We all wear, and recommend that you do
too, an approved helmet, jacket with crash protection padding,
quality riding gloves, and ankle coverage boots. This should
be the minimum amount of gear that you ride with. Cool, helmet
less and dead, just aren't as cool as donning a helmet on
every ride.
We also do not condone, nor can we, the violation
of any traffic laws.
