Imagine yourself as a young (or maybe not so young) biker in the ‘60’s. You’ve just taken possession of your Norton, or BSA and you’re out to see if you can get that elusive ‘ton’ for the first time.

But before you head off, there is time to meet up with other like-minded bikers, have a cup of tea and a chat. And to do that there is only one place to go – the ACE Café.

The ACE began life in 1938 as a roadside café, mainly for hauliers using the North Circular Road. It soon began to attract what would become its staple audience, the biker.

Despite being badly damaged during World War II, during an air raid on the adjacent railway yards, the ACE was rebuilt in 1949. But it is the post war years that saw it establish itself as a bikers’ paradise. These were the boom years, with the advent of increased traffic and the arrival of the ‘Ton-Up Boys’ as they were known in the press. The ACE became THE place to be if you were a biker. It was a focus point, which led to inevitable run-ins with the establishment.

In 1961, 18 of the ‘Ton-Up Boys’ were taken to court, accused of insulting behaviour following a police raid on the ACE. At the time, the Daily Express reported that the bikers had been, in the words of the police “Indulging in horse-play, shouting, jostling and jeering at passing motorists”. Eight of the accused were fined £5 each, with three more aquitted.

Forty years later, there is a real sense of deja-vu when you hear the comments of one of the accused “We were arrested for the simple reason we wear leather jackets. We were doing no harm and there was little noise”. He added “But we keep to ourselves and the ACE is our café. All the boys and girls do is go down there to look at the bikes. We are certainly not giving it up and we will be back there every night as usual”. Does this sound all too familiar, even now?

But the writing was on the wall. With the growth of the car market over the bike industry, a shift in attitudes and the development of the motorway network, the ACE no longer brought in the crowds it once had and closed its doors in 1969.

From that time the ACE was used for such diverse activities as a filling-station, bookmakers and a tyre depot. But the story of the return of the ACE to its former glories begins in 1993.

To mark the 25th anniversary of the closure of the ACE, Mark Wilsmore put together a reunion, which attracted a reported 12,000 people. Each year the numbers grew, until in 1997 an amazing 25,000 turned up for ACE day.

As well as arranging the annual reunion, Mark had been working long and hard to reopen the ACE for its real purpose – a meeting place for bikers. Following a total rebuild, the ACE reopened its doors for the first time in over 30 years in September 2001.

But is the ACE really a throwback to the old café much beloved back in the 1960’s? Is the new ACE every bit a Rocker’s Paradise as the old?

As you pull into the car park, there is no mistaking it – this IS the ACE. If you had only ever seen photos of the ACE from the ‘60’s, then you would recognise it in an instant, even without the ‘ACE Café London’ signs up at the front.

Moving inside, the care and attention to detail is once again evident. This is the ACE, without a doubt. The menu is a little different to the old days (although you can still get a fry-up if you fancy one), but there has to be a little ‘give’ towards modern attitudes and burgers have been added to the menu. The past is most definitely not forgotten, with a number of old newspaper clippings and a wealth of other memorabilia.

I took the opportunity to speak to Mark Wilsmore, the man behind the ACE, to ask what inspired him to reopen “From an early age I have been fascinated and passionate about all aspects of history. Being into bikes and rock ‘n’ roll from the age of 15, I mixed with like-minded people, so the desire, on my part was to express to the world, hey this is our history, culture and genre. The ACE sums all that up for me, from its inception in 1938 to its closure first time round in 1969, it’s steeped in history.”

“Many original ACE patrons have come back, and it has been a pleasure and privilege to share their memories and anecdotes from those days. It has also been great to see them meeting up with old mates, renewing friendships and making new ones. There are also those who never came to the old ACE, because they lived too far away, or for some other reason, but they seem to feel quite at home when they visit today.”

A large part of the ACE heritage is the chance to see classic machinery, as it should be, ridden on the road. Sundays are pretty much without a doubt a sacrosanct bike day – everything and anything turns up. Although there is a core of die-hard classic bike riders, it’s weather permitting.

The ACE Café’s long-standing relationship with the glory days of the British motorcycle industry continues into the new millenium, with a number of ‘one-make’ days arranged throughout the year – check on the ACE website for details.

“We hold regular monthly meets for Triumph (2nd Wednesday) and Royal Enfield (3rd Monday) and would welcome any other clubs so inclined” said Mark.

Add this to ride-outs, regular rock gigs and a whole range of other special events, along with simply going along and taking a look at the host of both old and new machines in the car park. You would be hard pressed to find a trip to the ACE anything but interesting.

One marked change from the ‘good/bad old days’ has to be the presence of scooters in the ACE car park. Once upon a time, no scooter rider (OK, lets call them ‘Mods’ for the moment) would have dared to venture into the ACE car park, let alone inside the café, but these days they are more than welcome. There is even a ‘Mods and Rockers Weekend’ held in May and a ‘Midsummer Mod Party’ in June – unimaginable in the ‘60’s!

If all this has given you an urge to visit (or possibly revisit) a piece of biking history, the ACE is based at, appropriately, Ace Corner, North Circular Road, Stonebridge, London MW10 7UD. Ace Corner is the junction of Beresford Avenue and the old North Circular Road; this runs parallel with the New North Circular Road, between the A40 and A604 (Harrow Road). Opening times are: Weekdays 6am to 11pm, Weekends 8am ‘till late.

For more information on the ACE, either call on 020-8961-1000 or check out their website at http://www.ace-café-london.com