THE sight and sound of a restored classic motorcycle on the roads of South Cumbria never fails to grab attention so today we are taking a look at a few of them from The Mail’s archive.

Many of the owners are members of the Furness British Motorcycle Club and their machines have been regular features on road runs and at events such as the Cumbria Steam Gathering

The club was established in 1985 has more than 130 members.

From 1994 it started hosting annual classic bike shows at venues such as Alfred Barrow School, Vickers Sports Club and the Victoria Park Hotel.

It has raised in excess of £24,000 for charities in the past 15 years, including the Child Development Centre at Furness General Hospital, the air ambulance service and St Mary’s Hospice at Ulverston.

You can find out more about its work on the website at www.fbmcc.co.uk

There should be plenty of motorcycles – and other types of vintage and classic vehicles – on show this summer at a town centre Festival of Transport being organised by the Barrow Bid.

It is planned for Saturday, July 20, from 10am with vehicles on show in places like Dalton Road, Portland Walk and Scott Street.

A parade of vehicles is due to take place at 3pm.

Entries are sought from vehicle owners and you can find out more on the website at https://barrowbid.co.uk/fot

Until the 1960s car ownership was rare in Furness but motorcycles and scooters were relatively affordable and sold in huge numbers to everyone from Barrow shipyard workers to teenagers wanting the freedom of having their own means of transport.

New models were put to the test by Furness dealers through publicity trials on tough fells route, like the Walna Scar Road from the Duddon Valley to Coniston.

For many years, Barrow supported its own speedway team and league meetings attracted big crowds when the sport shared the Holker Street stadium with Barrow AFC.

Back in the 1920s and 1930s there was speed trials on roads across the Furness fells and even on the shore at Walney.

Some of the vintage motorcycles from that era used to be on show on the top floor of the old Broughton Town Hall as part of the Jack Hadwin Collection.

Mr Hadwin, who died in 1999, had a garage at Torver near Coniston, and set up his personal museum in 1981 — which included a 1919 Aerial and a 1914 Fabrique Nationale from Belgium.

He was born at Broughton and had ridden motorcycles since he was 10.

An article in The Mail, on May 2 in 1985, noted: “Pride of place goes to the 1912 Bradbury, which has an original wicker-work side car.

“He found it in the Duddon Valley after a tip off from a friend.”