Innholdsfortegnelse for Issue 43 Summer 2017 i Classic Dirt Bike

When Liston Bell won the Scottish Classic Racing Motorcycle Club’s Pre-65 Over 350cc Scrambles Championship back in 2011, everyone agreed that the lad could really ride a bike. However, two particular onlookers who had watched his progress with interest were none other than the late John Bethell and Malcolm Bell. These two guys knew an awful lot about the classic scrambles scene across the UK and both agreed that Liston really should venture south of Hadrian's Wall and try his luck against the cream of not only English scramblers but the Welsh boys as well. He had already made a big impression at meetings in Cumbria and achieved some excellent results at that most demanding of circuits and the spiritual home of British scrambling, namely Hawkstone Park in Shropshire. But…

James Albert Sandiford One of the UK’s top off-road stars in the Sixties and Seventies, Jim Sandiford was associated with BSA and Greeves as part of their works teams then when the Spanish Armada conquered the British trials scene he turned his attention to Montesa. Thanks to Jim the marque enjoyed incredible success in the UK and his liaison with the factory was legendary. His Lancashire dealership was the base for the factory riders when they were in the UK and his own supported riders through Jim Sandiford Motorcycles. The ISDT seemed to suit Sandiford’s temperament and he quietly amassed a load of gold medals in this tough competition. Our picture of him in action on WCG102H was taken by Nick Nicholls during the 1971 Manx ISDT. The Nick Nicholls…

For 1972 the American Trans-Am series had been utterly dominated by Ake Johnsson on his Maico 400, the new radial fin model. It was a good time to be at Maico, although that result may have flattered to deceive as DeCoster’s factory Suzuki that had won the world championships in 1971 and 1972 wasn’t being used in the American races. However, in the last six GPs of 1972, Ake had two wins and four second places. Another major contributing factor to benefit Maico was the new weight limit of 209lb for the 1973 GP season, taking away much of the Suzuki’s weight advantage from the previous few seasons. John Banks was even back on a four-stroke... the Cheney BSA, as the BSA based machines could now meet the minimum weight.…

This little feature is probably one for trials and enduro riders rather than MXers, as there’s little chance to fix an MX bike at the side of the track. The modern way for carrying kit is to use a backpack of some sort but there are those of us who aren’t so keen on such things and prefer to use a small toolbox secreted on the bike. I know that a bigger backpack will have more room for more kit but if your bike is that unreliable then perhaps an hour or two more in the workshop would be a good idea. The whole point of carrying a few tools is to correct the odd incident that happens during an event and it isn’t a quantifiable thing that you must…

Olle, born 1937, has lived all his life in Strängnäs. The town is, by Swedish standards, medium-sized and of modest importance. During Olle’s time as a youngster in the Fifties, Sweden boomed economically. Wealth, although minuscule by today’s measurement, was reflected in a growing motorbike scene and a bigger variety of Hollywood films at the local cinema. All this made a huge impact on Olle, who soon bought his first motorbike, an NV with a 128cc engine. In those days motocross was a big thing in Sweden. Stars were celebrated as national heroes but as the decade went along further economic growth slowly started to undermine the motorbike scene. People could suddenly afford small cars and less sponsor money went into motorcycle racing. Olle started racing back in 1954 but…

…the tough get going’ is an old saying but at the 1972 British MX GP at Farleigh Castle in Wiltshire, Roger DeCoster proved the statement to be true when he emerged victor after a protest, brake problems and even a spill. The 27-year-old Belgian glamour boy of MX proved he had just what it takes to retain a world crown. Victor in the first leg of the GP, DeCoster ripped the brake pedal from his 370 Suzuki as he dived into a rut in the second leg. At GP level such brake problems are more than an inconvenience but DeCoster battled back to third place. Even better for the Belgian reigning champ this, allied with his win in the first leg, put him a second ahead of Maico’s Ake Jonsson…

Oh so close… When Gordon Jackson took a steadying prod as he ascended Greymare’s Ridge in the 1961 SSDT, little did he realise the ‘one dab’ win would be a record which stood unequalled, let alone beaten, for 56 years. Fast forward to 2017 when current superstar Dougie Lampkin set off from Fort William in this year’s SSDT. Dougie, a previous winner – as indeed was his dad Martin and uncles Arthur and Alan – was one of the favourites to win. However, Lampkin is not one to be fazed by pressure and as day one ended he had gone clean, the story was repeated on days two, three, four and five… surely the 56-year-old record was to be beaten this year as Dougie Lampkin looked to be on track…

Montesa managed to survive the turmoil which was the trials scene of the late Seventies and into the Eighties when Spain’s manufacturing base was faced with a shrinking market and restrictive employment conditions which prevented staff reduction. The Barcelona-based company coped with these unsettling times by encouraging a tie-up with Honda,a match which worked well for both companies. Honda got access to Europe with a manufacturing base and Montesa could develop their trials bike range to reflect the changing nature of the sport. The company received a welcome PR gift when Toni Gorgot won the SSDT on his second attempt at the trial and the company’s deal with Honda around the same time ensured the new breed of Montesa trials bikes would see light of day. This activity put Montesa…

One of the things about a rebuild is it’s easy to forget stuff, obviously the faster a project is completed the better it is and the less chance for the ‘now, where does that bit go…?’ scenario to arise. In a perfect world everything would be available and we’d all have time to devote to our project and when we went to various service providers we would be first in line. Does anyone live in such a world? I know I don’t and while the suppliers and helpers involved in this project have been brilliant, they’re not at our beck and call and if there’s a hiccup at our end it delays things at the other. One such hiccup was in the carburettor, which has a few clips and springs…

Since the idea of a special trial for all those who remembered the good old days when British bikes ruled the roost the Pre ’65 Scottish has gone from a simple attraction to the six-day main event to a serious separate trial with its own following. The section list echoes those names from years ago with Mamore, Pipeline, Callert and Blackwater evoking the tales of yesteryear. The bikes too – some more original than others – reflect the burgeoning pre ’65 scene as the bark of unit four strokes mingles with the crisp crackle of two strokes and the thunder of the big pre-unit singles, as riders make their way round the course. The sections are a little tougher as tyres and suspension technology has moved on considerably in the…

In my previous column I recounted my first visit to a scramble back in the mid-Sixties. Scroll forward a couple of years and following a move up the country to East Anglia, I would regularly be watching the likes of Dave Bickers, John Banks, Jim Aim, Dave Nicoll and Freddie Mayes perform. At such events my father would patiently explain the differences between two-stroke and four-stroke machines, how a Triumph twin sounded and performed differently to four-stroke singles and that the lovely little red bike that Dave Bickers raced was not a twin, even though it clearly sported two distinct exhaust pipes! We also got to see our fair share of national and international meetings, usually at Wakes Colne, just six miles away from our home on the Essex-Suffolk border.…

The Classic Dirt Bike sponsored AMCA British Classic Motocross Championship got off to a cracking start at Yatton Keynall near Bath on April 23. The Pre-65 and Pre-74 classes were run as one race which produced close racing throughout, particularly in race one. Kris Winder on his 250cc Elsinore Honda won both Pre-74 races after battling with 2016 Pre-65 champion Liston Bell riding a Triumph Metisse who took both Pre-65 races. Tim Dallaway, the 2016 Pre-74 champion changed classes to the Pre-65 on his ex-Roger Neale Triumph Metisse but his challenge was hampered by a misfire however he did claim Pre-65 second places. Glenn Davey on his CZ claimed third overall as runner-up last year Lewis Bell lost his chain twice in race one to restrict his scoring. In Pre-74s,…

You may not have realised it, but what is sadly lacking in your shed, garage or workshop is a sidecar trials outfit like the Yamaha Mono in our pictures. With such a beast in the shed a whole new world awaits you – imagine if you could go back to the start of your trials riding yet still know what you know now. With a sidecar outfit then that can happen – a novice with experience so to speak. Problem is, what you’ve learnt after years of solo riding is about as much use as a chocolate fireguard when a third wheel is added. First off the outfit doesn’t go where it should unless the team – and it is a team – works together. For some reason, the team…

Much more sport happens in our world than we could possibly hope to fit in one magazine. We’re expecting big things of the revamped website to be useful as a place where the sport can be placed… hopefully we’ll be under way soon. Right, you’ve been seduced by the enduro bikes of the Seventies and Eighties, or you have hauled your old bike out of the shed and set about reliving your past. But once the strutting your stuff on the Tarmac has paled, where do you go? Maybe you’re not quite ready for the vintage enduro scene just yet and you want a bit of practice… enter the Old Knobblies Trail Challenge, which will take you on loads of tracks used in major off-road events. Even better it will…

The dirt bike world headed to Telford’s International Centre in February for what has been likened to ‘Christmas for off-roaders’ as trials, MXers and Enduro enthusiasts gathered to check out bikes, buy bits, swap tales and gather information for their own rebuilds. Problem is what can you say about a show… quite a lot actually but the more words put down mean the less room for pictures, so suffice to say there were guests of honour, of course, and the best in displays of all disciplines as well, plus loads of bikes for sale, any number of bits and pieces to help you improve your bike too. Now take a glance at the pics from the event… then tell us what we missed… roll on 2018. CDB – Classic Dinner…

Our display at the International Dirt Bike Show in the National Agricultural Centre at Stoneleigh Park in 2016 played tribute to three brothers who have become legends in the world of off-road motorcycling. All three have won the prestigious Scottish Six Days Trial, all three have won the Scott and all three have more national trials wins than you could shake a bent handlebar at. Do I really need to say the name ‘Lampkin’ or had you guessed that already? The focus of our display were three BSA C15Ts, two of which had won the SSDT and the third launched the career of Harold Martin Lampkin when he turned 16 at Christmas in 1966. Arthur and Alan’s bikes have both been the subject of CDB features recently and before taking…