Innholdsfortegnelse for Issue 66 Spring 2023 i Classic Dirt Bike

IN BALANCE It is a fair assumption to say the internet and its associated cyberworld is here to stay. From tentative beginnings with the linking of a couple of computers in the Sixties to what we deal with on a daily basis, the growth has been exponential to the point where there is no part of modern life which isn’t affected to some extent by the internet. It is an equally fair assumption the majority of people reading the magazine are aware of this without my tuppence worth being chucked into the mix. Now the internet is fine when it works as it should – but when things go wrong the turmoil caused is at best frustrating and at worst ruinous in the business or personal world. It doesn’t matter…

It is the sad duty of magazine editors the world over to record those in our scene who have passed their final chequered flag. We said goodbye to AJS scrambles star Geoff Ward and top Sixties scrambler and number one in the classic world Terry Challinor in 2022. Geoff literally started from nothing, having been left facing being an orphan at 16 after the death of his mother. A school friend arranged for Geoff to stay with him and his parents. The arrangement was to start Geoff on the road to a successful business career too alongside his scrambling exploits. Forever associated with AJS, Ward got the connection when he joiner Harold Taylor’s business as a salesman, and was encouraged into motorcycle sport. AJS provided the machines, Jim Pocock kept…

Sunday, April 30 will see the Sammy Miller Museum play host to Royal Enfield motorcycles as enthusiasts for the marque make their way to Bashley Manor in Hampshire, site of Sammy’s fabulous museum. The collection is more than just off-road motorcycles as it includes all sorts of road and sporting machines with a fair few Royal Enfields. Sammy recently acquired the 500cc Bullet he rode as part of the Irish team in the 1956 ISDT so it will be sure to be out on display for the Royal Enfield gathering. The Sammy Miller Museum is at Bashley Cross Roads, New Milton, Hampshire, BH25 5SZ. The website is www.sammymiller.co.uk and the number to check forthcoming events is 01425 620777.…

After 25 years at the helm of the British Classic Motocross Championship, Dave Gittins made 2022 a transition year with Emma Partington heading up a committee consisting of organisers, riders and enthusiasts to take over and develop this prestigious championship. The 2022 season saw the introduction of increased sponsorship, riders registering to enter the championship, holeshot awards, and a ‘stand alone’ championship meeting which included classic team races as a pilot for future events. The championship continued with four classes – Pre60, Pre65, Pre68 and Pre74 – run over four rounds with a Champion of Champions meeting to round up the season. After finishing the 2021 season on the injured list Kristian Marshall returned to the Pre74 class with ‘unfinished business’ while 2021 champion Chris Chell, evergreen Keith Rice…

If you read the first instalment you’ll remember that I discovered that the rear wheel rim was corroded, in what is apparently known as ‘filiform corrosion’ that usually occurs in warm and humid conditions, a situation that was clearly proven by the state of the valve on the inner tube, as well as the rim. That corrosion means that the rear rim is truly goosed, so that needs replacing and, as a consequence, I’ve not yet fitted the new rear tyre that I’d bought. I did, however, manage to remove the front tyre with far less violence (and swearing) required than with the rear and the new rubber went on pretty easily too. Albeit not without pinching the inner tube during the first attempt… I clearly need more practice…

In the dirt bike world it’s nothing unusual for a manufacturer to produce two versions of one model, and there are sound economic reasons for doing so. You see, while we trials riders are focused on demanding what the top riders are on, the potential market for an out-and-out comp bike able to tackle the worst an event organiser can throw at us, is relatively small. However, take the same model, add a dual seat, lights, some other road equipment, perhaps raise the gearing a little and hey presto there is a civilised bike-about-town which can also do a bit of off-road at a local club practice afternoon at the weekend – and the potential market is much greater. So, in Yamaha’s case the TY250R, the out-and-out competition model came…

A last-minute email with the March, April and May twinshock and classic oriented scrambles arrived literally on deadline so… this is where you could be racing in 2023. March 26: Pre 65 MX Club at Marks Tey, Essex. March 26: Scottish Twinshock Club at Drumclog. April 1: Northern Ireland Classic AT Seaforde. April 2: Somerset SC at Seaton Junction, Axminster. April 2: North Lancs SC at Venue TBC. April 2: Northampton Classic at Woodford. April 9: Cumbria Twinshock at Schoolhouse, County Durham. April 9: Scottish Classic at Forfar. April 9: Pre65 Club at Maylandsea, Essex. April 9: Devon Classic at Widworthy 2. April 10: Red Marley Hill Climb at Walsgrove Farm, Great Witley. April 16: Teifiside Classic at Pen Parc. April 23: Westmorland MC at Crooklands Showground, Kendal. April 23:…

Having several bikes in the workshop means there’s always something to do to one of them and I doubt I’m the only one who then compounds things by adding another bike into the mix. The ongoing saga of the Triumph often has to take second fiddle to other things and time on it isn’t always long enough. But thanks to the absolutely filthy weather I did manage to divert a few hours to sort the oil tank position out and attempt to reroute the oil lines. The first bit was successful but the second bit wasn’t and they still stick out in the breeze. Since the oil tank has just been hung on to fill a space near enough to where it will go, the brackets have been just…

Given the travel restrictions often imposed on people from behind what was Europe’s Iron Curtain – a phrase coined by Sir Winston Churchill in 1946 – it is remarkable East German policeman Paul Friedrichs won any MX GPs let alone three world championships. If European travel conditions are deemed difficult post-Brexit they are a minor inconvenience compared to 60 years ago. Friedrichs would have had to navigate the Eastern Bloc political situation which could and did refuse him permission to travel without giving any reason and one wonders how many more championships and GPs the lad could have won had there been a more enlightened regime in power. Our main picture of Paul Friedrichs is taken at the 1972 British 500cc MX GP which, despite a good initial showing, was…

Organisers Andrew Johnstone and |John McCrink are pleased to announce that the 13th Moidart Peninsula Classic Motorcycle Road Run will take place on Thursday, April 27, 2023. They are delighted to announce guest of honour for the event is Yorkshireman trials and ISDT supremo Mick Wilkinson. In his day Mick rode James, Greeves, Ossa and Cheney Triumphs with great success. To his name are ISDT Gold Medals, British Experts Trial wins, several Scott Spoons for first class awards in the Scott Trial and he was seldom outside the top 10 in the SSDT. The ever-popular Moidart Peninsula Road Run is the precursor to the Pre65 Scottish Two-Day Trial and is open to pre1979 motorcycles and outfits. Keep an eye out for two stalwarts of the SSDT in the Fifties and…

It’s no great revelation to say in the old days a trials bike from whatever manufacturer you care to name was pretty closely related to the company’s roadster range. If the manufacturer made 350cc or 500cc single cylinder four-strokes then it is a fair bet the same company would make a trials version of the bike too. After all is said and done, the purpose of competition is to sell road bikes. You can sort of imagine the design meeting in the boardroom of the Thirties, can’t you? The sober-suited MD presiding over a gathering of departmental heads to discuss the next year’s models which would include a competition model. The design department would say what the ideal machine would be, the production department would put their ideas forward for…

1. Making Maicos magnificent Let’s face it, a dirt bike has a hard life and with the best will in the world, bits get damaged. As the years go on, plastics fade and deteriorate which makes them look awful and even compromises their integrity – makes them leak! For owners and racers of Maicos built between 1986 and 1992, this new tank from VMX Racing in the USA may well solve their tank problems. We’re told it’s made from a high-quality compounded plastic and the red finish is matched to Maico’s colour and for the red scheme there are mudguards and side panels too. VMX Racing advises us it has the tank only in Maico blue. Be aware the prices are US$ and for purchasers outside the USA there may…

Engine manufacturer Villiers was in the happy position of being able to sell every engine it made to the vast number of not only the smaller UK manufacturers but major ones too. There was little incentive in the Fifties for Villiers to do any major development other than to upgrade its engines a little. In fact the company was noted for declining any tuning advice with a curt “we do not recommend tuning as our engines are already at their peak…” which is all well and good up to a point. The point being when a maker such as Greeves is considering an attempt on the new European 250cc championship and giving away 50cc against its opposition, it didn’t seem like a good way to achieve wins. Greeves’ Ace in…

It is an inauspicious start to a relationship between rider and motorcycle when the machine in question falls apart almost at the outset and it is looking like the nay-sayers were right. “I’d heard all the stories about the Suzuki RM400 being not particularly good in their day but I didn’t remember it being as bad as it was being painted.” Paul goes on to tell me the problems were really with the transition model when Suzuki went from a superb 370, which was being overtaken in the performance and suspension stakes by 1977, to a 402cc by keeping the 370’s stroke and stretching the bore to 80mm plus using a lot of other components from the 370. It didn’t quite work as expected and the designated RM400C lasted only…