'Suicide Club' Royal Enfield is back at the Ace Cafe

Royal Enfield Constellation right back where it was in 1961.
(Mick Duckworth Photo)

London's Ace Cafe and a particular Royal Enfield motorcycle did for British cafe racers of the 1960s what Marlon Brando and "The Wild One" did for American bikers in the 1950s.

Together they made them notorious, iconic and envied.

Royal Enfield Constellation WUL 798 was pictured roaring out of the cover of the Daily Mirror Shock Issue, carrying the young rocker riding it — scarf flying — into history. The story inside the newspaper painted the Ace as the place riders gathered to go racing on London's North Circular Road.

The Ace is back in business, thanks to managing director Mark Wilsmore. Today it's better appreciated for its food, history and the opportunity to see vintage motorcycles gathering.

Incredibly, Royal Enfield WUL 798 is still at the Ace.

Mark Wilsmore was kind enough to explain how:

"The 1959 Connie with London registration WUL 798 was recognized and preserved by the late rocker, 'Southend Roger' Glover, a dear friend of mine. Following his death, I acquired the machine from the family.

"The bike has full documentation and appears largely original, apart from plastic handlebar levers. It will eventually be sympathetically restored.

"The bike appeared on the front cover of the national newspaper, the Daily Mirror in February 1961 with the title "Suicide Club," followed up inside by a five-page story by investigative journalist John Pilger and which focused on the Ace Cafe and unofficial racing on London's North Circular Road.

"The same 'Suicide Club' picture also appeared in the book 'Rockers!' by the late Johnny Stuart. Many years ago, Roger Glover showed me this book and told me that he had the bike. I was astounded and said that if he ever wanted to sell it, I would like to buy it."

A remarkable reunion.

Mark Wilsmore with the Suicide Club Royal Enfield.
(Francois Thomas Photo)

A Royal Enfield helped create the cafe racer image

A Royal Enfield featured in newspaper's "Shock Issue."

The Royal Enfield motorcycle roaring out of the front page of Britain's Daily Mirror on Feb. 9, 1961 helped plant in the public mind the image of leather clad demons risking their lives — and yours — on the open road.

"Suicide Club! — it devours 130,000 members every year!" the headline shouted.

"The paper focused on the Ace Cafe in particular and featured some of the regular visitors," author Alastair Walker wrote in his book "The Cafe Racer Phenomenon."

In 1964, the British movie "The Leather Boys" followed the Daily Mirror line. Again shot largely at the Ace Cafe on London's North Circular Road, the movie depicted  motorcycle racing that started right out of the parking lot.

News coverage of Mods and Rockers chasing one another around British seaside resorts in 1964 connected the dots for a worldwide audience. I saw the Mods and Rockers go at it on the television in my house at the time, and I lived in Los Angeles!

The Suicide Club Royal Enfield still frequents the Ace Cafe.

Royal Enfield Constellation WUL 798, proudly on display at the Ace Cafe.

I photographed the motorcycle at the Ace myself while in London in September to see the new Royal Enfield Continental GT.

Cafe racers old and new, they make a nice pair.

The Suicide Club Constellation with the new Royal Enfield Continental GT.

Francois Thomas posted a photo of the bike with the Ace's Mark Wilsmore on Flickr. Wilsmore identified it to him as the very same motorcycle shown in the newspaper, and it still bears the pedestrian slicer WUL 798, as in the paper. The 700cc twin-cylinder Constellation is rusty now, but easy to imagine in its days of glory.

Suicide Club Royal Enfield; does metal remember?

Royal Enfield night at the famed Ace Cafe in London

Ace Cafe London, a landmark for motorcyclists on London's North Circular Road.

"Brit Bike Night with Triumph and Royal Enfield Owners Clubs" is the second Wednesday of the month at the famous Ace Cafe, London.

My wife, Bonnie, made plans for us to be there Wednesday, May 11, the first day of our week-long holiday in London.

Ours was a pilgrimage of two Americans to a center of the cafe racing of the 1960s. The Ace was the place that set the still popular style for British motorcycles and motorcycling.

It was a "roadside pull-in," opened in 1938 to serve the motoring public. The Ace took a bomb hit during the Blitz but was rebuilt, becoming a favorite stop for the leather-clad Rockers who made cafe racing a legend. Its history is on view at the Ace, and on its website.

Second floor "museum" tells the story of the Ace and its times.

Rock'n'roll wasn't played on the radio at the time, so the only way to hear it was on the jukebox. Rockers would set a record playing and then dash off to race to an appointed spot and back before the record finished.

But that was then. The building became a tire shop in the 1980s. A cafe racing "reunion" there in 1994 fostered the hope of bringing back the Ace, and it reopened in September, 2001, thanks to the dedication of reunion founder Mark Wilsmore. I might be wrong, but I thought I caught a glimpse of him hard at work with the staff the night we visited. There's a picture and interview with him on the Bike EXIF site.

The Ace is not just a museum with a gift shop selling patches and t-shirts. It is a working restaurant, decorated throughout with the black-and-white checkerboard of racing flags.

Motorcycles share the stage with ketchup bottles at the Ace.

The crowd is not just old-timers like me. Most arrived on modern road rockets and Harley-esque Japanese cruisers.

"The Ace Cafe," Bonnie commented, "home of Star Wars motorcycles and Yamaha and Suzuki look-a-likes." Ouch.

The first vintage motorcycle to arrive was a Triumph. "Which one is it?" Bonnie asked, scanning the parking area.

"The one people are actually looking at," I replied. As I spoke, a woman took a picture of it.

It's a Royal Enfield Bullet with unit engine, from 1963!

Then a Royal Enfield rolled up, and I felt rewarded because it was a model I'd never seen except in photos: the 1963 Royal Enfield Bullet with its unit construction engine. That's right: long before there were  made-in-India UCE Royal Enfields, Britain built one, using the 350cc Crusader-style engine and four-speed transmission.

I bounded from the table hoping to talk to the owner. Turns out, he was just there for a meal and gave me only brisk approval to "Carry on!" with photos as he headed inside, helmet in hand.

1963 Bullet casquette, much different looking.

I happily shot pictures, hardly believing this compact little motorcycle with its clean engine-transmission combination was a Royal Enfield Bullet much older than my 1999 back home.

Shortly after, the second (and last!) Royal Enfield to appear showed up. This one was made-in-India and looked decidedly military, with real ammunition boxes for panniers. This owner was far more willing to talk.

Made-in-India Bullet looked more familiar to me, except for right-side shift.

He was especially enthusiastic about the ammo cans, which I agree were "beautifully made" and very sturdy. Although they weren't parked together, the two Royal Enfields were a study in differences: an old bike with a delicate modern look and a newer bike that looked like it had just rolled off a battlefield of World War II.

On the way out I mentioned to one of the staff that I'd come to the Ace for Royal Enfield night.

"You should have come Friday!" he said. "EVERYBODY was here!"

Should there be any doubt about Earth.

So, if you visit London, plan to see the Ace on a Friday night. It's easily reached on the Underground Bakerloo line to Stonebridge Park. Follow the cafe-racer cut-outs posted on fences 200 yards to the Ace.

Check out my complete album of pictures on Facebook and please "Like" it.

Royal Enfield rocks to different drummer

(Ace Cafe photo)

The romance of Royal Enfield motorcycles and British style motorcycles in general is tied up with their role in youth culture in Britain (and, eventually, in the U.S.) in the 1960s. The young Rockers who hung out at the Ace Cafe in London had the looks, the music and the motorcycles we loved.

The exhibition "Teenage Rebels at the Ace Cafe: 1955-65" opens Jan. 16, 2010 at Worcester City Museums in England and continues to April 17. According to the museum, "it features a selection of historic Ace Cafe artifacts, 1950-'60s household objects, music and movie memorabilia and a host of iconic classic black and white images."

Sounds terrific. I'd love to see it, although I would view it with really very little personal sense of recognition. I love the Rockers' style, but it's not my style.

At the time I would have been intimidated by the Ace crowd, and over awed by the powerful motorcycles. No one I knew had one, or dressed like Brando, although everyone listened to rock'n'roll music.

In a way, it's nice that my 1999 Royal Enfield Bullet is the made-in-India motorcycle design that left Britain in 1955, before the Swinging Sixties. It takes me back to a time I associate with a slower pace, more modest clothes and less intimidating motorcycles.

It doesn't wail rock'n'roll. It hums a quieter tune.