This year (2016) I went to the ManxGP/Classic TT, one of my friends said he had an entry for the Senior Classic Race and asked could he use one of my Seeley G50s, of which I have several and have owned them for approx 40 years.

I was amazed to see how many Seeleys & G50s there were but it appears that they are not Seeleys or G50s but imitations as apparently the bore and stroke are different from the original, carburettors are different and many various modifications.

Obviously where original parts aren’t available i.e. sodium valves or original pistons and magnetos, other items would have to be found but how can these machines that have been built very recently be classed as classics?

I was even more amazed to find that the person riding my machine was also riding a Honda 350 and he was told it was ineligible because it had the wrong back wheel. Surely a classic bike must of been made before a certain date to qualify, it appears that I can order my new classic bike now and have it ready for next years race, bearing the matchless badge and fully compliant with the organisers interpretation of a classic bike.

So the conclusion is pistons wrong, crank wrong, stroke wrong, carb wrong, magneto wrong and various other items and of course the Matchless name being used all the time (unless, they've bought the rights to the Matchless name). All these items are fine but a back wheel wrong eliminates you.

I asked a scrutineer what constitutes a classic bike and he said “whatever the organisers wants in the meeting”, which confirms my last statement.

Someone needs to get to grips with this farcical situation.