Brit Jam Attracts Crowd

By Bud Wilkinson of RIDE-CT.com

Bike lovers from all corners of the state – and beyond – celebrated motorcycling’s past (and present) at the 24th annual Brit Jam, which was staged Sunday at the Haddam Neck Fairgrounds in East Hampton.

While the name suggests “British only,” Brit Jam is a fully non-demoninational meet. There are rows of bikes on the show ground devoted to Japanese, German, Italian and American brands. Harley-Davidson’s presence was considerable, including representation from the AMF years.

Of course, the British brands dominated, and it was possible to see clean examples of such long departed marquees as AJS, Ariel, BSA, Matchless and Sunbeam. There were bobbers and choppers, dirt bikes and cafe racers. Some were trailered in but many were ridden to the event.

Show ground at Brit Jam.

Part of the fun of attending Brit Jam is checking out the old parts offered up by vendors as well as walking the parking lot to see what folks rode in on. Many of the 2,000 or so attendees showed up on their finest old rides, and there was a large contingent of BMWs.

1948 Ariel VG 500

A more detailed report on Brit Jam including interviews with some of the trophy winners as well as more pictures will appear Saturday in the RIDE-CT column in The Republican-American newspaper.