Innholdsfortegnelse for Issue 57 Winter 2020 i Classic Dirt Bike

I have a character flaw, well several really, and the actual number depends on who you talk to at any particular time – in this case though it is to do with motorcycles. I’m sure there will be enthusiasts reading this who also have their character flaws pointed out regularly, either by those who share their lives or those who share an interest in all things motorcycle. In the former group, sentences such as “you’re going to do what?!?” or “It’s just scrap…” are occasionally heard as our latest idea for exploring the world of dirt bikes becomes known, or a rare and valuable and needed part has been unearthed from an autojumble, acquaintance’s garage or some such source. The latter group, those friends who also suffer their own idiosyncrasies,…

The Haussermann company, based in Stuttgart, Germany, has been manufacturing clutch springs for best part of a century. Their precision spring forming has made life easy for lots of automotive companies since 1927. The diaphragm is a simple idea and unlike the coil spring can’t really compress or weaken. Norton used this type of clutch on their Commando roadsters and the editor’s own B40 has a belt drive kit with a diaphragm clutch which works exceedingly well. The concept can be seen from Laurie Watts’ artwork from 1962 and it shows the whole clutch apart. Just in case the ‘all metal’ term is confusing… I admit it, I had to find out… what it means is the clutch is made up of different metals rather than all one type. The…

1: Our panel said… …well, nothing actually because the panels in this case are side panels for CZ MXers. Cast your mind back to our cover bike last issue, John Fleming’s CZ, it bristled with special bits and pieces including superb aluminium side panels made by Norrie Pattie’s fabricator at 3L Road and Race. They’re designed to fit the frame used in John’s bike and complement the airbox we featured last issue. What are they?: Sidepanels for a CZ MXer just like John Fleming’s. Where d’you get them? They’re from 3L Road and Race on 07980 290898 2: Gear selector One issue CZs have is the length of travel on the gear lever when trying to swap cogs. It can be a bit inconvenient to say the least in the…

…engineers created motorcycles and an industry grew, then it grew complacent as those driving it from the forges of workshops became old and retired. A new generation took over, run by those who operated in boardrooms, did studies, formulated action plans, regrouped as things changed, didn’t adapt the product and latched onto fancy marketing ideals while those at the dirty end improved where they could. Then it all ended and the workshops were still… along came a man with a van and the BSA comp shop moved to Lancashire. Is that fitting this new home was in the birth county of the lad who took BSA to the top of the MX world – twice? Alan Clews wanted to race BSAs like Jeff Smith and John Banks had, but they…

Generally speaking, and in a ‘normal’ world, this part of the news pages would be full of juicy bits and pieces about the Hagon Shocks-supported Classic Dirt Bike Show at Telford. In this space would be information about our guests and bits about the bikes already lined up to come. We’d have comments from stall holders, press releases from clubs as they told us the details about the forthcoming year. Then of course there would be the prize presentations of various trials and MX series which would have been running through the year… But it’s not… for the simple reason that although at time of writing our colleagues here are planning that the show is on, we are all realistic and know the rug could be pulled with just a…

Normally at this point, the writer would postulate several theories, put forward arguments for and against certain aspects, while drawing the reader to their conclusions – after which everyone would think the writer was fabulously knowledgeable and experienced. As I said, that’s generally what would happen, so, let’s cut straight to it instead and say there’s no such thing as the ideal ISDT motorcycle… there, how’s that? The focus of the ISDT has changed considerably since its launch in 1913 when a six-day trial was proposed which would build on the success of the already popular ACU Six Day Trial. The difference being an international element, plus the stipulation machines must be production or production orientated. This last bit allowed for some slight modifications in specification. In truth, the very…

Regulations brought in to control the coronavirus pandemic are certainly restrictive, but it doesn’t mean all sport is shut down, it just means sport has to happen in a slightly different way at the moment. Take NE Vinduro club for instance, aware that a normal time-card enduro might not meet the social distancing rules at this time – best will in the world, checking a time card in a tank bag can’t be done while two metres apart – they considered a Hare and Hounds. All riders are already wearing face masks and as long as each competitor’s number can be seen from two metres away they can be checked off as completing each lap. The governing body of sport agreed and around a 100 riders made their way to…

To go from a new manufacturer to serious GP contender in four years is a remarkable achievement and when MotorCycle visited CCM for a feature in January of 1976, this was the dream of CCM founder Alan Clews. This was to be a determined campaign to take on the rest of the world in the premier MX GP class… the 500s. The main reason any motorcycle manufacturer becomes involved in such ventures is to gain publicity which will translate into sales, yet at the time of the feature in 1976, CCM could sell more motorcycles than they could make. So why tackle such an adventure? Why bother to spend the time and money such a venture requires? There’s no simple answer to such a question. Clews told MotorCycle the nature…

The Isle of Man is no stranger to international motorcycle sport but generally it is on the epic Mountain circuit, created by road closures twice a year – once for the TT and once for the Manx. However, the tiny island also hosted the most demanding of all international motorcycle sporting events, The International Six Days Trial. Our picture of Dave Randall on a 250 Jawa is from the last of these ISDTs on the Isle of Man in 1975, and from all reports this was a particularly tough event for the wrong reasons and suffered a high attrition rate. At its longest point, the Isle of Man stretches for 30 miles, while at its widest it can manage 10 miles and boasts 221 square miles of land, yet somehow…

If, for sake of argument, you made something which sold almost as fast as ‘it’ could be made, would you have any need or desire to alter, change or develop your product? Maybe not, why meddle with something which works, yes some variations may be needed to ensure the product was as compatible with as many markets as possible but major change…? Such was the situation Villiers found themselves in as suppliers of engines to a considerable number of motorcycle makers in the UK. What they produced they sold, and if one maker didn’t want what was produced, or perhaps wanted something a little different, well, they could jolly well buy the basic unit and alter it themselves. In actual fact as the Sixties dawned a number of makers were…

There are times when a halt ought to be called on a project to avoid any agony being prolonged, in this case it is the electrics on my Triumph. Early on in this project I decided to see if it could be done on as small a budget as possible, my reasoning being there are more of us out there who don’t have an unlimited budget than those who do, especially given the current situation. There have been Triumph bits piling up in my workshop or various workshops to be honest, for 40 years, and I felt confident of putting them all together in a working motorcycle, which wouldn’t be original but would work. Rather than chucking money at it and acquiring an electronic ignition I wondered if the distributor…

Normally there would be a throng of spectators enjoying the action on this interesting course designed by Westmorland MCC on the little used part of Westmorland Showground. Sadly, due to Covid-19, things are far from normal and attendance was restricted to riders and a supporter from their bubble. Thankfully the weather played fair – not always guaranteed in Cumbria in August – and with a multitude of classes from Pre-60 to Twinshock there was plenty of excitement during the day.…

It seems inconceivable today to base an entire industry on the engines supplied by one maker, but just such a situation was the way Britain’s lightweight competition market existed from the early post Second World War period until Norton Villiers decided they would keep all their engines for themselves. In a very short time, as stocks of engines were used up, lots of manufacturers were faced with either closing, making their own engines or sourcing elsewhere. Greeves for instance, had already instigated their own engine for MX but development isn’t an easy or cheap thing to do, so also cast about looking for alternative supply. Villiers hadn’t been the only engine maker involved in the supply of units to the UK’s industry, it had ‘just’ been the major one so…

So, there we were as the Sixties, with all its flower power and weird fashions ended, the Seventies dawned and we knew the world was two-stroke… okay our world at least. Big thundering four-strokes from Birmingham, or Sweden or even Belgium, were gone. ‘Good riddance’ we thought, as Greeves, CZ and Husqvarna showed the way with powerful reliable two-strokes, which knocked the idea they were toys, for the smaller classes and would never threaten the big bikes, into a cocked hat as world championships came their way thick and fast. Then the Japanese came along, liking this motocross thing and with money to spend, they advanced things at a pace never experienced before and the old guard was gone, lost in a haze of two-stroke oil. Then along came this…