A fitting celebration

The inaugural Rickman Enthusiasts’ Day took place at Sammy Miller’s Museum in June.

Words Chelsea Borchert Pics James Page

The first Rickman Enthusiasts’ Day meet-up was held at the Sammy Miller Museum on June 23 to celebrate the achievements of Don and Derek Rickman and their enduring Metisse motorcycles in various forms.

The brothers built the first Rickman scrambler in 1959, so the day was also a celebration of the 60th anniversary of the first Rickman Metisse.

Of course the guests of honour were Don and Derek Rickman, whose response to the endless requests to sign motorbikes was ever energetic and enthusiastic.

The former Rickman factory employees were well represented and it was estimated as one of the most popular events ever held at the museum.

I think we can also claim that it was the largest-ever gathering of Rickman Metisse motorbikes, 80 in total.

We can only imagine how it must have felt for Don and Derek to see that their success and inspiration is still going strong, but also that it is the hands of a whole new generation of enthusiasts.

With the shared history in the racing world, rivalry, and friendship between the brothers and Sammy Miller, Sammy’s museum was the perfect venue for the event and, of course, it is just a stone’s throw away from the site of the Rickman factory in New Milton.

The bikes were lined up in the courtyard for the judging and among the highly polished treasured machines were examples of former competition bikes and some that are still active.

We were privileged to have two very knowledgeable authorities on motorbikes and particularly the Rickman Metisse in Mike Jackson (former Greeves works rider) and David Gittins (author of The Metisse Story) to judge the collection of bikes.

Trophies were awarded for seven categories, presented by Don and Derek and the winning bikes were lined up on display by their proud owners.

Read more and view more images in the Autumn 2019 issue of CDB – on sale now!