#LetsTalk

FRED WALMSLEY HAS BEEN BUILDING AND DEVELOPING MANX NORTON RACERS SINCE HE WAS 19. BUT ALL ALONG HE WAS PLANNING TO MAKE THIS. Most people’s first go at building a custom bike involves a shed, an angle grinder and too much enthusiasm. But Fred Walmsley is no novice; he’s spent a life in racing. His exquisite singles grace the Isle of Man, Phillip Island and Goodwood, and their quality has attracted the best riders in the world: Wayne Gardner, Barry Sheene, Michael Dunlop, and so on.  So although this is Fred’s first custom, it’s as good as it gets. “For years I’ve wanted to make what you might call a bobber,” he says. “I decided to call it a Fredder, ’cos I’m not Bob, and it’s my bike.” If you can see a hint of speedway in the bike, that’s because Fred’s dad was a speedway rider at Belle Vue in Manchester. “Peter Craven was world champ and my dad used to be fixing his bike with our bloody lino rolled up behind the back of the settee.  That inspired me a bit, but I liked a comfortable, powerful bike and it’d always been in my head to build one. I’ve got this bucket list. I’d done all sorts of things and I thought, ‘I’ve got to build a Fredder.’” The resulting 500cc masterpiece broke cover at Goodwood's Festival of Speed last year, where three-time world champion Freddie Spencer became its first fan. “Freddie sat on it and said, ‘I’d like to flat track this!’ I said, ‘You tell me where you want to flat track it and I’ll bring it.'”  A few weeks later, at the Classic TT, the Fredder pulled more admirers in the paddock than any race bike. “People said it doesn’t look like a special,” Fred says. “It’s a real creation. And it’s all about the engine.” It’s a modern Manx, with a short 86mm stroke, one-off cylinder head, and newly-produced barrels, cases and crank. “I built it for Goodwood in 2016,” Fred says. “It cost me over £25,000. The magneto’s worth two grand! At Goodwood Ken’s man [Ken McIntosh: another formidable Manx builder] complained about it. Charlie March [who owns the event] said I could still use it, but to save any controversy I put a long-stroke engine in the bike. It’s what jigged me on a bit. I had this engine and thought, ‘What am I going to do with it? I know! I’ll put it in the Fredder.’”  Fred has spent decades developing Norton’s famous race engine way beyond what it could do in the 1950s. It’s the usual story of marginal gains everywhere, but the main factors are camshaft design, and new thinking on combustion chamber and port shape. Norton quoted 49bhp at the crank, where a Walmsley Manx probably does 60bhp (55bhp at the wheel).  It’s a great achievement, but Fred’s just as interested in the motor’s emotional appeal. “When I see one stood on my bench, ready to go in a bike, it’s a sculpture.” Fred’s appreciation for big singles dates back to his teenage years in the 1960s, with ton-up thrashes from his home in Lancashire down the empty M6 to Mallory Park. “Back then everybody built Tritons and stuff like that. I built a big Matchless single. They’d get away, then there’d be smoke coming out and I'd peg ’em back in. They lose 15% of their power when they get hot.” As an apprentice Fred helped his friends race, and built his first Manx Norton engine aged 19. “In the late 70s and 80s I raced a Manx myself. I seriously got going when the replicas started in the mid 1980s.”  Original Manxes used welded tube frames, but for this bike Fred chose older tech: straight tubes brazed into lugs. “The frame came from a 1952 19R. To accommodate the motor I cut the front and back out, and bent new tubes to fit. I put the motor and frame on blocks, made cardboard templates, then made mounting plates. Forks are modified Norton, I think from a war-effort 16H.” The one-off tank that gives so much attitude is designed to leave the engine exposed: “I took a picture, printed it out, then got a felt tip and drew an outline to show off the cambox.”

This episode we talk with an old friend of Jays going way back when. Becky and Jay met at Rainton Arena where Becky worked under the supervison of Jay. Today we talk to Becky about her recent role in the North East Theatre Space production of Macbeth. Becky is thrilled to be returning to theatre space NE for a summer of Shakespeare after the successful winter tour of ‘Hansel and Gretel’.  Since then, Becky has appeared in short film ‘Floppy Toast with Drippy Butter’, ‘Cherryade Supernova’ at The Customs House and was the featured voice over artist for ‘Young Minds’ charity campaign. Since graduating ALRA North drama school in 2020, Becky has found a real passion for stage combat. She has completed her BADC advanced exams and she can’t wait to put her skills in to practice in ‘Macbeth’.

This episode we talk with an old friend of Jays going way back when. Becky and Jay met at Rainton Arena where Becky worked under the supervison of Jay. Today we talk to Becky about her recent role in the North East Theatre Space production of Macbeth. Becky is thrilled to be returning to theatre space NE for a summer of Shakespeare after the successful winter tour of ‘Hansel and Gretel’.  Since then, Becky has appeared in short film ‘Floppy Toast with Drippy Butter’, ‘Cherryade Supernova’ at The Customs House and was the featured voice over artist for ‘Young Minds’ charity campaign. Since graduating ALRA North drama school in 2020, Becky has found a real passion for stage combat. She has completed her BADC advanced exams and she can’t wait to put her skills in to practice in ‘Macbeth’.

In today's video, part of Lloyds series called "Faces of Mental Health," Lloyd had the honor of talking with Jay from England about his mental health journey. Jay talked about his struggles with bullying, depression, self harm and suicide attempts. Through hard work and support from friends and family, Jay has been successful in managing his mental health, and now works by helping others as a nurse and through his Youtube channel, JayCLife. Lloyd is a psychotherapist based in New York City. His goal is to share with all of you information about mental health, including specific issues, interventions, techniques and other resources and topics. His hope is that by increasing awareness on mental health, you (and I) can live healthier and more meaningful lives. After all, mental health is wealth!  Email: [email protected] Website: www.blueharborpsychotherapy.com Instagram: @blueharborpsych

This episode we talk with Amy Leigh Meyers from Leigh Management. Amy Leigh is a content creator, social media manager and photographer. You could say she is multitalented but she'd like too think she is creative and hard working. Amy love all things fashion and beauty, she is the biggest perfectionist and love to share her knowledge and self love. Come along on her journey of world domination, building Leigh Management, becoming the Yoda of Instagram. At Leigh Management, she puts your business first. They digitally optimise your brands success using top research, the best digital marketing strategies, added creativity and social campaigns planned to stand out and be unique. They aren't afraid to step out of the box to relate to your customers, get people talking and use our creative minds to deliver industry-leading campaigns to our clients. They work closely with you to fully understand your ideal customer, target audience and brands story, using this to build campaigns that reach, through strategic planning and perfect execution. Leigh Management offers a range of client-tailored services including Influencer Marketing, Digital Campaigns, Social Media Management and top quality content creation.

This episode we talk with Raisalift also known as Christina. Christina is a client of a previous guest of ours Ellen Willard (BootyByEl) We talk today with Christina about the importance of self love and how her new found love for fitness has benefitted her confidence thanks to her boyfriend and coaching from Ellen,

This episode we talk to Lauren Gibbons. Lauren is a student from Durham currently at  university in Manchester studying for her masters in Editing. Lauren has also started doing digital art on the side through the Covid pandemic. She started Media  Studies when she was younger and realised she loved editing following this passion forward she began studying it in university. She opens up about her mental health and struggles through the past few years and how Covid has impacted not only her university life but also her personal struggles with her mental health.  Meet Our Guest: www.instagram.com/_lauren_g_ www.instagram.com/lauren_g_draws

This episode we’ll keep this short & sweet. Today we talk with Adam Johnson who is a local photographer in the North East England. Photography is his passion. In addition to photography, He  currently learning the ropes of videography. It’s never a bad thing to continually develop your knowledge and expertise. Plus, it’ll come in handy if clients require video shooting or editing in future! Contact him any time via phone/email/sms/social to make a booking. Photography helps you capture anything you feel is important to remember. One photograph is powerful enough to not only remind you of an event or detail, but can bring you right back to the feelings, sounds, and even smells of the moment.  www.ajphotography.uk

This episode we talk to Shane and Stacy aka Mister Sparks and Miss Stacy! They are a young, athletic, horny couple that takes frequent road trip adventures all over the world! As avid outdoor enthusiasts, they prefer finding remote locations to get naked and play with each other. Whether its on the top of a mountain peak or in the swamps in the Florida Everglades, SGW takes you on the wildest sexy adventures that will rock your world!