Innholdsfortegnelse for Issue 59 Summer 2021 i Classic Dirt Bike

The Westmorland Motor Club is pulling out the stops in efforts to make the CCM Jubilee Scramble on June 26-27 a truly great spectacle. Austin Clews is using all his contacts to try and entice the nation's favourite riders, and alongside the club members they are hoping to have former British four-stroke champion Perry Leask and former 125 British champion Greg Hanson, who was also part of the CCM works team. The club has even persuaded Arthur Browning to make a guest appearance, so that should be great to see him there after a few years. The names just keep coming and Covid permitting there will be Mike Barnes, Bob Wright, Jimmy Aird, Vic Allan, Andy Ainsworth, Billy Edwards, Wayne Le Marquand, Ken Nurden, Andy Nurden, Andy Scott, Tony Barrow,…

Sealey has just announced its biggest ever tool catalogue and it is available from May 1. The new edition includes over 11,900 products designed for use in the trade. Inside you will find improved and extended ranges with over 2800 new products, all complemented by the company’s vast range of spare parts. Covering everything from hand tools to larger workshop equipment, storage and consumables, if the trade needs it, chances are Sealey has it. You can order Sealey’s biggest ever Tool Catalogue from your local stockist or request one in the post via www.sealey.co.uk/ literature-request.…

…the Gold Star gained its model name thanks to Wal Handley’s exploits at Brooklands race circuit in 1937. BSA had had its performance fingers burnt in 1921 when fielding six motorcycles in the Senior TT. Despite promising practice times and performance come race day, all six machines failed to finish. The reason isn’t for this piece as it is essentially a racing thing but no matter, down came the decree ‘we do not do performance motorcycles.’ Fast forward to the late Thirties, competition did improve the breed and while management adhered to their decree a blind eye was turned occasionally. So, when the need for some publicity suggested racing at Brooklands with a warmed-up standard Empire Star with Wal Handley convinced to ride it, the outcome was a BSA winning…

In contrast to 1965, as the last SSDT of the Sixties loomed, the questions on everyone’s lips were would Miller manage a 6th win and would his main opposition be from other foreign machines? With the British industry all but finished there were so few home machines in the trial it was felt the tussle for top spot would be between riders of Spanish machines. In the run-up to the event the press of the day gave their opinions on who would or could win, who would be doing well and so on. In this shorter than usual trial, road work had been cut considerably, all eyes were on the weather…not unusual for the Scottish, but for 1969 the weather was a concern for a different reason… too dry! Yes,…

Albert Bergada initially founded his workshop in the mid-Eighties, but his story goes further back to the early Seventies when he began working on the Spanish competition motorcycles of the day. In 1977 Albert started work with a Triumph dealer in London and was there for a few years until returning to Spain and after working for other people began his own workshop. In 1992 the focus was changed to classics and this leads us to now when Albert has a reputation for excellent work. Mecànica i Motors Bergadà. Avgda. Catalunya, 7. 43426 Rocafort de Queralt. Telephone and Fax 977 898 332 e-mail: info@clasicasbergada.com…

In the same way British trials machines reflected a company’s roadster range and were a tool to sell road machines, so the Japanese industry was interested in volume sales too. Stand a typical 350/500 four-stroke single comp bike next to its stablemate roadster and the similarity is obvious, the comp model may have smaller fuel and oil tanks, blade type mudguards and so on, but the heritage is clear. Their works riders would be seen to be winning on what was being sold and woe betide any rider who dare demand something a little more special. By the time any of the Japanese factories took an interest in this trials thing the scene had changed. British factories were gone, their star riders available to help the Oriental designers and engineers…

Galloway MCC member Kenny Harper began his motorcycle sporting career in the trials game and had four years of trying to keep his feet up in all sorts of terrain before the scrambling bug bit. “I fancied a go at MX in 1979 and I did two seasons of twinshock MX before work and life took over and motorcycles had to take a back seat. In 2011 and 2012 I did a few Hare and Hounds type enduros and then in 2015 the idea of classic scrambles appealed,” says the 62-year-old gas engineer, before adding “I started doing the ECMO rounds in 2017 and somehow became the team captain for the Scottish ECMO team in 2018.” Initially Kenny was on Bultaco but when Stuart Miller’s CZ came up for sale…

Galloway club is certainly embracing the removal of restrictions by hosting as many events as possible, and on a fabulous piece of ground near Lockerbie members are planning a weekend of off-road sport with a scramble, trial and grass track – with camping available on site. The format will take in a trial on the Saturday afternoon, a grass track on the Saturday evening, while Sunday will be for the scrambles enthusiasts. When is all this happening? It’s on June 19-20 and this is likely to become a regular event. Keep an eye on our pages and the club website www.gallowaymcc.com for more info.…

Latest news from the Rockshocks-sponsored Classic Trials Series is thanks to Covid restrictions being relaxed, entries for Rounds two and three, organised by Devonport and West of England clubs, went live on the ACU website on May 3 at 8pm. Online entry only via ACU website – entries will not be accepted any other way, so if you haven’t used the system before you have time to have a look beforehand. You'll need your ACU membership number and password to navigate to the events page using the Events Entry menu option. Observers are most welcome too if anybody would like to offer their services. The ACU website is www.ride-acu.uk…

Ever heard the phrase ‘everyone knows...’? Yes, I dare bet most people have, usually used when people who really should know better want to be seen as knowledgeable. So, suspension on trials bikes? Haha, everyone knows a trials bike has to be rigid on the rear! A little bike winning the Scottish? Haha, everyone knows you need a big bike as a tiddler won’t last the distance! This can’t have been mentioned to Roy Peplow though, as he tackled the 1959 SSDT on his factory Triumph Tiger Cub. As the week wore on, pundits were sure Peplow’s bike wouldn’t last the distance, or the last ride to Edinburgh on Saturday would finish it off. They were probably still saying such things as Roy stepped up to receive the J R…

For many years, trials riding was a peculiarly British sport, not exclusively though and there have always been foreign riders in the Six Days, just the sport was more dominant in the UK. Pundits were remarkably quiet on the subject of a foreign national winning the Scottish despite the number of them entering it as the Seventies rolled on. In part this was because the factories still viewed success in the Scottish as important and it didn’t matter if trials riding was a minor sport in their country, its followers knew of the Scottish and hoped their national champ would win. Once the Spanish industry got rolling in the sport it wasn’t just their UK team riders who went to the Highlands in May; then the Japanese did the same;…

❝ Of course there were frites and burger stalls and beer tents and thousands of incredibly noisy French fans completely blocking the hill.❞ Due to the number of events cancelled thanks to another Covid lockdown and the resulting mileage not travelled, this column is a nostalgic look back to a couple of trips enjoyed back in the mid-1990s. Back then I used to regularly read – all right, I used to look at the pictures and make a half-educated stab at the words – all the Continental off-road mags and there were some full colour beauties like Moto Journal, Moto Verte, Motociclismo, Solo Moto and others. One day, a full page picture jumped out at me. Taken with flash in complete darkness, it showed a steep wooded hillside and a…

With a background of leatherwork and off-road motorcycling, Mike spotted a need for a few bits and pieces of motorcycling wear. His stock range covers the bar pads introduced when handlebar crossbars were brought in to strengthen alloy bars, associated with them are lever covers to stop muck and filth getting into the pivot points and with tank bags for enduro use, bum bags for carrying the odd tool or two following pdq. Mike also added bike covers for those who transport their machines on racks on the back of vehicles. Each of Mike’s products can be personalised with a bike name too. Check his web on www.ernst-kuerschner-sattler.de/Motorrad which should take you to the motorcycle part of his business.…

Renowned as the quiet man of the motorcycle business, Stuart Miller nevertheless made his own mark on not only the two-wheeled industry but also on the track as a competitor in MX. His working career in the industry began as a salesman at the famous Comerfords dealership in Thames Ditton, Surrey. Stuart not only interacted with stars of the motorcycle world but the world of stars who like motorcycles too, where his unassuming, low-key approach was likely appreciated. Without a lot of fuss and bother Miller’s influential help allowed the sport, the scene and its riders to flourish. Active in the twinshock scene before moving on into the classic world with what started life as a 360 twinport CZ, Stuart was, above all, an enthusiast who would have undoubtedly been…

In our world so much is about tradition... and 'usually' the International Classic MotorCycle Show is held at Stafford in April. But like so many other events the Covid pandemic altered this, so instead of April (when the country was in lockdown) the date is now July 3-4. Latest government guidelines suggest most lockdown and social distancing restrictions will be clear – though personal hygiene is still a good idea. So 'Stafford Show', with bikes, clubs, people, autojumbles and the like will be held in dry, warm and sunny weather…but don’t quote me on this. There is a precedent for a July Stafford, as 20 years ago a different virus caused the show date to be moved to later than April when the country was in the grip of a…

Leaping into engine tuning isn’t a good idea, it’s okay the bloke down the pub saying ‘what you want is…’ He may be correct, but when we spoke to Norrie Pattie – engine builder on quite a number of rapid MXers featured in these pages recently – he placed more faith in Lewis Shand’s dyno at 2 Wheel Developments near his base in Fife. Norrie stressed the importance of knowing what an engine is actually doing before carrying out work on it, and a dyno reading will provide this. Lewis Shand has been involved in this sort of work form most of his life, not just his working life, and the 30-year-old told us he started 2 Wheel Developments about three years ago. “We’re happy to do all sorts of…

Since relaunching what was once one of the largest and all-encompassing motorclubs in Scotland, the dedicated team has made bigger and better plans for the club to grow in both the scene and its local area. Now the Covid pandemic is abating and a return to something like normality is closer to happening, Galloway MCC is planning a series of 10 Open to Scotland trials of one-, two- and three-day lengths. Some will be part of other events, some will be afternoon or evening trials, while others will be part of the Scottish Championship. Sections will include twinshock friendly sections too. Visit Galloway MCC’s website www.gallowaymcc.com or the club's Facebook page The Galloway Motorcycle Club Ltd.…

Round two of the shortened six round Toughsheet National Twinshock MX Championships takes place on Sunday, May 30, at the popular Bevercotes circuit hosted by the Nottingham Twinshock Club. Entries are still available in all Twinshock, Evo, Super Evo and Vets Modern classes. The remaining rounds are as follows: • June 13 The Grange, Tern Hill, Shropshire. • July 31/August 1 Pontrilas, Hereford. • Aug 29/30 Hawkstone Park. • Sept 18/19 Culham, Oxon.…

There are a bewildering amount of letters and numbers ascribed to BSA’s Gold Star models and they all mean a different specification of engine and gearbox. A small box-out in a feature can only give the briefest guide to what they all mean so forgive the generalisation and we point you to A Golland’s book Goldie, and Bruce Main-Smith’s book The Gold Star for more detailed information. Frame numbers first: early Goldies had a frame number which reflected the letters in the engine number though once the swinging arm chassis was introduced code numbers became mostly CB32 XXXX. Engine numbers go ZB, BB, CB, DB and DBD and heralded improvements in engine design or specification whereas RR, SC, STD and TRI suggested gearboxes for racing, scrambles, road and trials use.…

…James Brown at www.retrotrials.com for considerable help in this feature. James has actually interviewed the lads behind Mecatecno in the day. This particular era coincides with my wilderness years in trials when I rode infrequently and lost touch a little with the scene. Speaking with James he ran me through a brief history of Mecatecno time… In 1978 Jordi Rabasa left the Derbi motorcycle factory when he felt the company was heading in the wrong direction. A niche was spotted to make kids’ bikes so he set up a factory in his parents’ garden. He tempted a few people away from Derbi – Juan Ruiz and Angel Mira in particular – the mini machine niche was successful, a proper factory rented in Barcelona then began building a prototype trials bike…

1 Better boots Sometimes a boot needs to be a bit rugged, it’s got to have attitude and be out there proving itself. Just such a boot is Gaerne’s new adventure boot. Not unnaturally, with a name such as ‘Dakar’, it is aimed at the adventure sector of motorcycling. Given the extreme nature of this sector the attributes of a boot which has not only a breathable membrane which repels water but also an ankle pivot system and extra protection for the rider’s shins has got to be good. Additionally the Dakar offers a sole with grips for any terrain. The important stuff What are they?: Gaerne Dakar Goretex, in black. What’s the cost?: The RRP for these boots is £325 Where d’you get them?: From your local Gaerne stockist,…

Paying close attention What an excellent read CDB issue 58 Spring 2021 was for me. Well, every issue is, just ‘58’ had so much to look at and absorb. The patina and character of those two trials irons BSA and Greeves just took me back many years to my ‘drooling’ stage... that’s not baby years but teenage years lusting over anything with two wheels and Trials Universal tyres fitted. Bikes then were so much easier to track down and buy for not very much money either. Unlike now where the prices of bikes in adverts seem to be in the stockbroker league! Now I don’t know about you, but to me the aluminium mudguards just add so much extra character to any competition machine, whether they are highly polished or…