Issue 136 : August - September 2004
BMW's Motorrad
Farmyard Party
European HOG Rally
World Ducati Week
Triumph Speedmaster
Boom Trikes
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BMW's Motorrad
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Boom Trikes
Boom Trikes UK was formed in December 2000 by Antony Cummings and Ian Roberts. The pair go back a long way - they lived back to back as kids and both rode Fizzys and the like. This progressed on to RD250s, Maico Scrambles, XS500 Yams, GT750 Kettles and Harleys. As years passed by, they knew each other by sight only and would let on occasionally. Antony left school and joined a large American Engineering Company called Eaton Transmissions in Manchester where he served a mechanical engineering apprenticeship and worked his way through the ranks into senior management, gaining a mechanical engineering degree and chartered engineer status. Ian also served a mechanical engineering apprenticeship at a small company in Salford, Manchester, which specialised in engine reconditioning and roller grinding. He gained an HNC in mechanical engineering and after 7 years decided it was time to go it alone; so he and his brother Keith, who was a ship builder by trade, started their own engine rebuilding company. This closed after 3 years because engines were getting too reliable, outlasting the vehicles - and who wanted to get that bogged down with 'work' when there was all that drinking and partying to be done! (Give them a break - they were only 25)! By this time, Ian had met Antony's sister and was going steady. Across the back alley, Antony had also become restless and had taken to travelling around Europe on a Harley 1100 Sportster with his mate Andrew. They both headed down under to Sydney with visions of hanging up their boots and working on a beach or in bars, and forgetting about engineering. But with the high cost of living, the partying and no jobs on the beach, things had to change, so Antony was back in engineering once again - good job, good pay, same old grind, in an office out of the sun from 9 'til 5. On the other side of the Pacific (that alley got bigger), Ian was now working in the development department at Eatons. This lasted about another 4 years and Ian teamed up with his brother Keith again, but this time it was in Keith's game - building and erecting bridges over the M1, making base plates for gas turbine compressors for oil/gas rigs, etc, as contractors. Antony, in the meantime, was also moving into larger engineering projects in Oz, designing wind generator gear boxes, and huge drive systems for mines etc, it was then that he was commissioned to repair Sydney's town clock that had been broken down some years before. Antony was then tearing around Oz on a VMAX. Back in the UK Ian became an engineer surveyor for Norwich Union, a job so laid back it gave him the opportunity to repair damaged cars in his spare time. He rented an industrial unit and taught himself to spray paint and panel beat. Whilst in the unit, a part built VDUB trike came his way, in bits. Ian had wanted one from way back in 1975 when he sent off to the States for catalogues from Stiers and Wilmac trikes in his FSIE days. He still had the original catalogues and went about building a new chassis based on the now fading photographs from the catalogues. Five years down the line, Antony returned from Oz because his sister Anne-Marie, now married to Ian, had arranged a surprise birthday party for Ian's 40th birthday. The pair got talking about trikes and the possibility of selling kits, but due to the red tape and bureaucracy within the UK, it seemed impossible to make it pay. The only option was to see what parts were available elsewhere in the world. It was a big thing in Europe, though, with a number of manufacturers who had already gained accreditation and European approval for trikes, so a tour of all the European trike manufacturers commenced, packed with fun, like sleeping in the back of the car in an underground car park in Stuttgart - all the heating from the shops above must have been pumped into it. It was so hot they could not sleep but could not wind the windows down because there were Rotweiller guard dogs let loose at night. On top of that, it was Friday night and if your car was in there, it was locked in until Monday morning! The owners of Boom Trikes initially showed no interest in having a UK importer, due to having been stung by other potential dealers from the UK in the past, but when they heard what the lads were doing, they knew they must be serious and when the lads first saw the trikes and the operation, they knew this was the only one to consider - all the rest were very poor in comparison. The lads returned home to consider the options and raise the necessary finances, keeping in touch with Boom Trikes and negotiating the deal. In December, they were back at Boom's factory, finalising the deal and signing the contract. They underwent product training and then started loading the demos onto the trailer - Whoops! only 2 would fit without removing the forks which they had planned but it was 4pm, snowing and raining and getting dark! The Germans were laughing and suggested they ride one of them home on trade plates, and produced a helmet, boots - and a wet suit! "No way!" was the answer from the lads, "they'll fit - we'll make sure of that!". "But you have no time" said the Germans. Antony looked at Ian and said "I've never ridden a trike before so it looks like it's your job!" By 7 o'clock they were on the road. It was a 14 hour drive to the ferry in sub-zero temperatures. They missed the ferry and again, spent 2 nights in the back of the car. The car, a Shogun, was over heating so Antony was in his vest with the heater on full blast, whilst Ian was on the trike in the freezer! Ian was very impressed with the performance and reliability of the trike on that run - it never missed a beat all the way home, and still remains strong to this day. They say that they don't have customers because all the trike purchasers have become good friends and they all meet up at rallies all over the country. You can be sure that at least one Boom Trike will be seen at every event or rally throughout the UK a presence assisted by the opening of a new dealer in Surrey called Bull Dog Specialist Vehicles. This one is run by Mark Evans and his partner Nigel West who was seen building a Boom Low Rider Trike on the Discovery Channel this year. The models available are Low Rider 3-5 & 7L, Chopper 3-5 & 7L, Family 3-5 & 7L, Street Fighter XII 1.4L - 2.0L Sport and 2.0L Automatic and now the fun 500 Automatic aimed at the motability and hire shop markets. Tel: 01204 657919
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Both Antony and Ian are committed to the ethics of MAG and have both contributed to making trike regulations easier for everyone.