Innholdsfortegnelse for Issue 53 Winter 2019 i Classic Dirt Bike

Like it or not, lists are a part of life. They can take many forms, as indeed do their contents. Some lists will be aimed at domestic life and remind us to pick up bread, milk, quails' eggs, aspic jelly or whatever your dietary needs or likes dictate. Other lists may be aimed at organising your daily routine – this magazine for instance has its own list, though it’s termed a ‘flat plan’, showing what goes in each issue and on which page. There are three projects on the go in this magazine, and I’m personally involved in two of them. One has never been a complete motorcycle, the other was but has loads missing and alongside these I’ve got my own selection of motorcycles which, being old, need attention.…

Dougie Mercer’s Toughsheet Building Supplies is continuing as headline sponsor of the 2020 National Twinshock MX Championships. The series will consist of seven rounds, and registration is now open, with all the forms needed on the National Twinshock website. There are classes for all Twinshocks, Evos, Super Evos and Vets on Modern bikes. The Festival of Legends could return to Hawkstone in August, but this will be confirmed once the British MX Championship releases its events. For info email geoff.shuttleworth121@outlook.com or call 07816 283252.…

A 1929 James V twin dirt track bike, one of only 12 built and most likely the only survivor, made £37,000 at a sale of the collection of the late Noel Clark conducted on August 17 by H J Pugh & Co of Ledbury, Herefordshire. The sale of the collection drew large numbers of enthusiasts who bid on all items. A framed selection of 28 speedway programmes made £340, a replica Martin rolling chassis £1850. Engines proved popular with ohv JAP versions making up to £4000 and a JAP twin OHC display engine considerably more at £6000. Some 34 speedway and grass track bikes came up for sale with the shale shifters outselling the grass trackers. An ESO S45 made £4800, a rare Rotrax with JAP twin OHC engine selling…

The trials world has been mourning Rob Edwards, who died in October. The smiling Teesider is forever associated with Montesa but rode for AJS and Cotton too. There is to be a tribute to Rob, on Saturday only, at the Classic Dirt Bike Show with Alan Lampkin and Dave Thorpe who travelled with Rob in the glory era of the Seventies when works riders from three different factories would cram in one Transit van and head for world trials rounds. This tribute is to be on stage in the main hall with the time to be yet confirmed.…

Shiny bikes are all well and good but often the soul is torn from such machines as each dent, ding, scrape or mark gained through a lifetime of use is removed during the restoration process. Not that we’re against shiny bikes here at CDB, far from it, it’s just we like to see a bike which has lived a life, has tales to tell and while it may look unloved and uncared for, this AMC single is in surprisingly good internal order. On a visit to see 1958 British Scrambles Champion Dave Curtis, CDB was invited to see a few of his off-road machines and there, in amongst the well cared for machines, was this interloper from the US desert racing scene. Typically, desert racing requires a slightly longer wheelbase…

Looking at this superb CR250 it is hard to believe that the initial idea was for something quite different from the race ready 250 which USA star Ivan Tedesco was using to good effect at Farleigh Castle for Vets MXdN in September. The bike’s owner Stevie Denton told me: “I originally fancied building a CR with an XR500 engine in, so got a frame from the USA and quickly discovered an XR engine won’t go in to the frame without an awful lot of work. The frame isn’t big enough at the lower end, so short of cutting off and remaking the whole engine cradle part of the frame, I had to have a rethink.” What he came up with was to produce a 250 which would be as good…

With the SWM almost at the rolling chassis stage it was time to turn my attention to the motor which had been waiting its turn under the bench. Somewhat worryingly I had previously noticed that the cylinder head was only held on loosely, ominous portent of something amiss perhaps? Huge relief therefore, when I took it off to reveal both piston and head looking clean and shiny with no damage. I pulled the barrel off, the piston skirts had no untoward scuffing and the bore looked similarly good. My major concern then was that the extended storage might have meant that the bottom end had picked up rust spots, but everything looked perfect, almost as if it were run yesterday. The big and little end proved to have no vertical…

Refamiliarising yourself with a bike you’ve not touched for a couple of years is an interesting experience and it is in such circumstances the notes and photographs taken earlier on in the project prove to be invaluable. Even so, there are anomalies which crop up and a few moments’ thought rather than leaping in and causing mayhem is the sensible option. At times like this stick the kettle on – once the IT was up on the work bench, on mine went. Some preliminary work was done a bit earlier, well a few weeks earlier actually, when a new cable and throttle were sourced and I wanted this to go in. The original throttle is an interesting cogged affair which was soon deemed unusable but Venhill do a replacement cable,…

I’m sure you’re familiar with the scene, you’re checking a bike over and thinking ‘well, that’s lived a life…’ then you look a bit closer and it becomes clear it may have been well used but it hasn’t been hacked around. Then an even closer inspection shows it’s complete and undamaged, with all unobtainable parts still in place – at this stage it cries out for a ‘catalogue correct’ restoration. Such was the scene with classic car restorer and MX racer Mark Gessey, when he was asked to have a look at this 1987 350 KTM MX for Maxxis 2 series racer Mel Pocock. “Originally I was supposed to be restoring the bike for Mel,” says Mark, “not that he’s got any particular connection with it other than his dad…

Have you ever moved house or workshop? I bet you have and it’s always an uncertain time – you know the move is going to be better, you wouldn’t have moved otherwise, but there is that adjustment period to contend with first. So it is with the International Dirt Bike Show in its new home at Stafford County Showground. The major uncertainty for 2019 was one that no event organiser can counteract… the weather! In the weeks leading up to the new show dates of September 28-29, the weather forecast was horrendous as the effects on the motorcycle sports world spread. In the end though, for the International Dirt Bike Show – this year backed by Central Wheel Components – the conditions didn’t cause too many problems, except when the…

Our picture of reigning 250cc world champion Neil Hudson is from the 1982 500cc British GP when the lad had moved up to the bigger class after concentrating on the 250 title mainly because, for some reason, we don’t have a colour picture of him in action in 1981 on a 250. That Hudson won the 1981 250 title was a remarkable achievement, given his season was dogged by trouble, bad luck and injuries, as he battled his way through the contest. Even at the last meeting of the series there was controversy and attempts to prevent the Englishman from wearing the crown. As Hudson was celebrating there was a protest being filed accusing him of receiving outside help during a multiple pile-up in the early laps. The FIM jury…

Remember the Elsinore GP featured in the classic movie On Any Sunday? Lots of dirt bikes racing through the town, to the delight of the population, before heading out into the hills. Some racers took it seriously most didn’t and legends such as Malcolm Smith managed to combine both attributes, then there was Harvey Mushman… who? Hollywood actor Steve McQueen is who. He rode under a pseudonym so the movie studios wouldn’t spot what he did on a weekend. Seems the Elsinore GP still happens and is a four day  festival in, on and around town in California. It’s about to happen as we write, will be happening when we go to press – November 8 – and will have happened when this magazine comes out. The event plays heavily…

With three packed halls of traders, autojumble and displays there is plenty to see at February's Hagon-backed Classic Dirt Bike Show 2020. A real highlight is the regular outdoor autojumble for those brave stall holders who eschew the comforts of indoors, and there are always some really good machines and projects outside. Not that the displays indoors are any less tasty and there are loads of things happening on the stage besides the interviews with special guests, with presentations of trophies for the Kia series and the Classic British Scrambles Championship to name but two. There are displays of all sorts, including a special line-up of bikes representing the makes trials legend Bernie Schreiber has been associated with through his career. Alan Wright has arranged a Montesa display with some…

In one respect it is a shame Bill Lomas’ win in the 1951 Travers Trophy Trial continues to be trotted out by the likes of us journalists, as it suggests James did nothing else after it. This, of course, is far from the truth as the Greet-based maker has a long and proud competition career and though Lomas’ win is noteworthy, James had success before and after it. What that win did was provide James with the basis for the best rigid lightweight trials bike of the time, even if it was mostly ‘Lomas’ rather than ‘James’ who did the building. James did produce a replica, or as close a replica as they could, of the Lomas machine, minus of course the personal tuning Bill had done to the Villiers…

BSA’s unit MXers were developed when the comp department at the factory realised the Gold Star was on its limit as a serious racer. Yes, Jeff Smith was still winning on his but that says more about him than the bike. The world was changing, lighter bikes were being developed and the non-unit construction models would always be heavier, no matter what was done to them. Starting with their B40 motor, Brian Martin put together a bike for Red Marley Hill Climb, just to see. Martin was no slouch on a motorcycle and did well enough for the factory to sanction some works bikes with a view to eventually doing well in GPs. History records that with Smith in the saddle and Martin in charge of the comp shop BSA…

1. Getting a handle on things AJS Motorcycles – Stormer specialists – have reintroduced their ‘SPEEDLINE’ branded classic scrambles handlebar. These are ‘bars which follow the classic shape used by scramblers in the classic period. Hand-made in the UK from premium quality steel and bronze welded to ensure maximum strength and resist cracking, the technical stuff is as follows: they are 7/8in diameter (22mm), 32½in wide (825mm), 5in high (127mm) and highly polished before chrome plating but there is a knurling on them where the clamps fit in the yokes at 3½in centres (89mm) which helps them grip and stay in position. Typically they are as used on AJS’s own works bikes. AJS Motorcycles tell us they welcome trade and overseas inquiries too. What are they? They are classic steel…

Scrambling in the golden era was dominated by big bikes with big riders on them. Closely following the look of their roadster stablemates the dual purpose of these 500cc motorcycles was to attract attention and give the advertising and marketing departments something to shout about. Their riders were of very different attitudes – some brash, outgoing, while others were quieter, preferring their results to do the shouting. Such a lad was Matchless works rider Dave Curtis. Even now he’s still happier letting his results do the talking, or talking about the 600cc single his son Stephen was racing when CDB took the chance to snap the mighty machine at Northampton Classic Club’s scramble early last year – before Stephen got the thing dirty. Initially, I thought the Matchless was a…

It is a fact that once the new season’s machines are available, last year’s mount becomes history, and its journey to the barn begins. Perhaps a successful competitor will sell his machine to a club member wanting to move up from the old nail he was on, then as this rider improves and wants a newer model again, the once proud machine is moved on to its third, fourth or 27th owner, or it ends up being used as a runabout on a farm. Maybe there is an attempt to tidy the machine up at some point, usually with a brush and a pot of paint but this is not generally done well – in my youth I actually saw a Bantam which had been painted with emulsion and the…

As well as running a superb series of trials for classic, twinshock and aircooled monos, the Kia organisers have been raising money for the Teenage Cancer Trust in memory of Dominic Feaks who sadly lost his battle with the disease. In our last issue we had a tantalising glimpse of the charity calendar photoshoot involving the wives and partners of riders that participate in the championship. Well, the calendar is now produced and is for sale – cost £10 – at the remaining Kia Championship Rounds. The calendar can also be purchased by emailing to cemfleckney@gmail.com though postage of £2.50 will need to be added. Finally, there will be a stock of the calendars to buy at both the Kia and Rockshocks stands at The Classic Dirt Bike Show in…

As revealed in issue 52, there are two fabulous guests from the world of off-road motorcycling at the Hagonbacked CDB Show 2020. From the feet-up world there is 1979 world trials champion Bernie Schreiber. The Californian burst on the scene in the Seventies and was at the forefront of a new style of riding and ushered in the new guard of young guns. When we interviewed Bernie for CDB in issue 47 he told us: “I never set out to change the sport but was focused on finding new ways to ride in the rules of the time…” That he did just that is irrefutable and his reward was a world championship for Bultaco. Though forever associated with Bultaco and SWM, his skills were displayed on many other makes too.…

Organisers have praised the efforts of all the riders in this year's AMCA/CDB British Classic Motorcross Championship, calling it a real 'mud plug'. Co-ordinator Dave Gittins said: “The series was long, involved a good few miles on the road up and down the country and the final round… a real mud plug.” He especialy thanked all the clubs involved – Bath, Acorns (Stafford), Northampton, Westmorland, Moseley (Birmingham) and Llanthony (Gwent). This coming year will be the 25th anniversary of the championship. The first round was held at Ameys Copse, Bennetts Hill, Burghfield, courtesy of Mortimer Classic and the club has agreed to host a round again. Dave said: “The format has changed over the years and I welcome suggestions for next year’s series. Please contact me at davidgittins650@gmail.com or bring…

No, not a comment on the Brexit chaos dominating the UK at the moment but a reference to the ECMO classic MX series held in various European countries. Chris Lewis, of Elsinore 74, called up and said he, along with his sponsored rider Kris Winder, is mounting an attack on the ECMO championship in 2020. Says Chris: “Kris has won the 250 class of the classic scrambles championship three years in a row so our thoughts turned to the European championship.” Details have yet to be cut and dried but hopefully we’ll have more information for our Telford issue.…

In the picturesque New Forest area of Hampshire, Belfast man Sammy Miller has made his home and as well as his business activities it is also the home of his collection of classic motorcycles. Naturally the trials world features highly but not exclusively in the halls as there are road racing, scrambling and ISDT machinery too, plus some really tasty vintage and veteran road bikes as well. There is an excellent website www.sammymiller.co.ukwith opening times detailed – there are both summer and winter opening times. The museum address is: Sammy Miller Museum Bashley Cross Roads, New Milton Hampshire, BH25 5SZ Telephone 01425 620777…

There was an offshoot from the normal Penton focus in 1977, and that was a venture into building short track 250 machines for flat track. Said Jack: “Larry Maiers was our president. He was buddies with Kenny and was a big flat track guy, being from where the Michigan Mafia guys like Bart Markel were from. We took our 250 motor and put some bikes together.” Kenny Roberts: “That was Larry Maiers’ project. I built about 25 of them. It was a damn good motor, I really liked it and I don’t know why Mike Kidd didn’t win on it, as I would have won every race on it. I guess they sold them all, for sure. I only had a deal to build the chassis. I tested it to…

To hear AMC enthusiasts talk, or to come in halfway through a conversation, you could be forgiven for thinking household appliances were being discussed. Tellies are a reference to front forks and the term is applicable not only to AMC machines but any motorcycle with telescopic forks. It may seem odd to modern readers but in the Fifties telescopic forks were still a new idea and not fully understood. Norton, with their Roadholder forks were seen as the market leader in front suspension, but AMC were challenging that assumption with their Teledraulics and there are those who feel the Teledraulics are better forks. Certainly thanks to AMC’s wartime metallurgical experience the stanchions benefited from heat treating and were lighter and stronger because of it. Talk of candlesticks and jampots refer…