And low it came to pass that after great deliberation between the beast's master and his wife it was decided that after nearly two decades terrorizing the human inhabitants of the lands they call Scotland and England with her awesome speed and thundering voice it was decided that the great beast called Vincent would go into hibernation.

And so it was one cold, wet and blustery November morning in the year 1963 and with great care and dignity which befitted such a monster of this magnitude that she was prepared for her great slumber. Her body was washed, she was then split into her three main parts, she had lashings of precious oil rubbed onto her body to protect her from the harshness of the coming years, after which she was wrapped in hessian sacking. Once that was complete her body was taken to the highest place in the land, the loft, and placed in an area out of harms way to begin her long sleep.

The years rolled by and eventually she was forgotten, save but by a few, who sat around camp fires talking about the old days when men were men and fast men tamed Vincents. People came and went unaware that in the loft lay the beast, sleeping . . . sometime around 1969 a great storm ravished the land, homes were destroyed, people were made homeless and livestock lost, but still she slept wrapped in her cloth unaware. Now it was not known by anyone that the beast's master and his son, who secretly harbored a desire to once more hear the sound of the beast's growl after all these years had decided that the time had come to awaken her from her great slumber, so it was that in the year 1995 the great wooden door leading to the loft was opened, and the beast was removed from her place of rest and taken to the awakening room they called the garage. White linen cloth was spread on the floor and her body carefully laid out. There followed months of preparation, all the grime was washed away, and parts that had suffered during her great slumber were either replaced or repaired and slowly.... ever so slowly the beast started to take her form, once that task was completed it became apparent just how lovely her body looked. Those lines and graceful curves, her enormous engine designed for speed...the unit that had caused fear so many years ago, and so it was that on a lovely summer's morning, the 9th of August 1997--after 34 years of hibernation, the time had come for the beast they called Vincent to awaken.

Humans came from miles around to witness the great event, and gathered round the table in the household to drink. Once refreshed after their long tiresome journeys, they gathered round awestruck by the beast and muttered their approvals; the time had arrived and so it was that the starting ritual began. The two open carbs which fed the beast were filled with petrol until their bowls runneth over, her number one piston was put just after t.d.c.; her valve lifter was raised and her kickstart lever was swung in a swift downward stroke . . . the beast did not stir. After a time the humans retired to the corner of the garage and wondered what was wrong, had something been forgotten? Was there some part of the ritual missed ? While they were talking and muttering and suggesting several ideas as to why the beast had not awoken, I stole a glance at her sitting there in the center of the room...sleeping... or was she? I was sure I saw her body ripple as though to stretch, it was as though she was listening to the humans suggesting ways to bring her out of her slumber and she was laughing at them under her breath.....perhaps the myths and legends I had heard about these Vincents were true, I turned back to the meeting, it was decided to try again, so the same ritual was performed once more, on the third try the beast stirred she spat at them, on the fourth try there was an almighty roar that shook the building, a roar that shook the very fabric of the earth. The beast had come out of her great slumber, it was she who had decided when it was time. She was the master and had decided that she would only use the human to help her once more travel the land that she had once ruled. She sat there barking her approval, a steady bark and as her body warmed up in the midday sunshine the humans stared in awe as the beast growled past people who had never seen or heard of this awesome beast. They stopped and stared, and so it was, that after all this time--34 long years--Rapide F10AB/I/6196 had once again come to life.