Innholdsfortegnelse for Issue 58 i Old Bike Australasia

From their first motorcycle, the YA1 125cc, Yamaha always placed an immensely high priority on racing, so when they totally designed their own motorcycle, the 1959 YDS1 250cc twin cylinder two stroke, it was no surprise when three models were released, the 250s Sports road model, the Clubman Racer and the Scrambler. All were fully assembled at the Yamaha factory and all were the first Japanese motorcycles of their types to be marketed and exported. The 1959 Clubman Racer evolved into the TD1 and TD2 series air cooled production road racers and then the TZ water cooled production road racer series, ceasing manufacture in July 2009 achieving 50 years. History of the YDS1 Clubman Racer is surrounded by confusion starting in 1959 when Yamaha produced parts and workshop manuals that…

Once the world’s largest producer of motorcycles, DKW (Dampf-Kraft-Wagen), based in Zschopau in Eastern Germany, didn’t fare so well in the Second World War. Apart from being nearly obliterated by allied bombing, its brilliantly simple RT 125 was snaffled as war reparations to appear as the BSA Bantam, Harley-Davidson Hummer and several others, including vague Japanese knock offs. Prior to this, in 1932, DKW had become part of Auto Union as part of an economic reorganisation brought about by the Great Depression, an amalgamation of the Audi, Wanderer, Horch and DKW itself, which was by this stage making small cars as well as motorcycles. Throughout the 1930s, DKW developed supercharged two stroke racers that produced prodigious horsepower and made an unholy racket, and won the Isle of Man TT among…

The Post Classic Racing Club of NSW went out on a limb to present an amazing line up of international riders on mouth watering bikes for their eighth running of this annual tribute to the late Barry Sheene, and were rewarded with a bumper crowd who enjoyed excellent racing. After a wet start to official proceedings on Friday, even the weather was kind and the track was dry for the weekend’s tight schedule of events. As has been the case in the past few years, numerous accidents and incidents caused delays and a late finish on Sunday, but officials worked tirelessly to ensure the program ran basically to schedule, even though races needed to be reduced in laps. The most serious accident sent Queenslander Ian Lovell to hospital with a…

The picturesque Black Beach Reserve in Kiama was the start and finishing spot for the 20th running of the Red Scarf Rally. 96 entrants were greeted by not only perfect weather and a beautiful setting, but a terrific static display of bikes and cars from club members and sponsors. The coffee van was kept busy as were the ladies from the CWA providing both breakfast and lunch. Entrants were welcomed by President Peter Grimston and then Mayor Brian Petschler before being briefed on the choice of two routes. Both rides headed west to Jamberoo, with the long ride going up the pass to Robertson, and then south and down to Kangaroo Valley for a super morning tea put on by the local primary school’s P&C. The ride then backtracked up…

I can’t say I am a big fan of matte black motorcycles, or even a small fan for that matter, but I guess H-D know what their customers want, and looking past the glum décor, this is a handsome and nicely-proportioned bike. The big news with this model, and the sister (brother, bro?) Softail Slim S, is the Screamin’ Eagle Twin Cam 110 engine, which is quite an impressive lump with buckets (149Nm) of torque. This motor is normally only found in the CVO models, and it sure does go. The Fat Boy S comes standard with cruise control, fly-by-wire throttle, and key-less ignition. Just put the sensor fob in your pocket (don’t ride away and leave it on the bench) and the engine is either armed or disarmed as…

Of course, the basic twin cylinder design stretched back to the Model 7 Dominator unveiled at the 1948 Earls Court Show as part of the 1949 range. Designed by Bert Hopwood, that engine was to remain in production, with surprisingly few tweaks, until the end of the Commando series nearly three decades later. Hopwood’s experience in multi-cylinder engines already included major input on the Ariel Square Four and the ground-breaking Triumph Speed twin, and after his stint at Norton he went on to join BSA where he penned the 650cc A10 twin. However the 650SS, nor any of the big Norton twins, may never have become reality if Hopwood’s intended engineering path for Norton had come to fruition. What he envisaged was a modular range consisting of a 125cc single,…

I had to notice the advert in the local paper because of the line: “....racing Yamaha twin, probably early 1960s”. But when I got there what greeted me wasn’t a converted old YDS3 from 1964 as I was expecting but a genuine YDS1R with its large fuel tank, made-under-licence Japanese Amals and huge magneto; albeit all in a pile of pieces. Putting it back together was straightforward and I converted it to Amal Mk 1 Concentric carburettors and methanol fuel. At the time I was competing in classic racing with such machinery as a 250 Greeves two stroke, so the switch to an early Yamaha twin seemed a reasonable move. Or so I thought. You see, half way through the rebuild the respected classic Yamaha tuner Les Gates warned me…

For many years, riders across Australia had pointed to the overseas example whereby competitors on The Continent could race in rugbystyle jerseys, often in the colour of their country. In the annual Moto Cross des Nations contests, at least from 1951 onwards, Great Britain wore white jerseys, Belgium yellow, France blue and so on. Across in Britain, the favoured garb was ex-army or RAF linen jackets, although others chose rugby tops, gabardine or leather jackets, or even heavy woollen shirts of the type worn by farmers. Motocross, or scrambling on 300lb motorcycles was hard and sweaty work. Out in the Antipodes, the situation was quite different. Pre and post-war, the regulations stated that scrambles riders wear leather jackets and leather britches, regardless of the weather or season. In a climate…

I noticed your story in OBA53, on ‘Rene Pregasso’, Australia’s first (?) Ducati agent, which was recalled by Chris Avakian, after a chance meeting with 72 year old ‘Fred’ at a garage in 2012. The history of Ducati’s Cucciolo engine sales in Sydney has intrigued me since seeing the first advertisements for them being sold through Nock & Kirby’s in George Street, Sydney. This was because Lambretta scooters were also being sold at N&K around the same time and I had wondered if there may have been a connection with Sam Jamieson, the first importer of Lambretta and Vespa scooters into Australia in 1949. I have had the opportunity to further research Chris Avakian’s recollection of Fred’s story and can confirm the truth of that part of Ducati’s history and…

As is standard practice, the 2016 Vintage Japanese Rally was run for a second consecutive year in and around the ACT, under the capable stewardship of the ACT-based team that put together the 2015 rally. Around 260 entries were received, which was slightly down on the previous year but still of a very high standard. Entries came from NSW, ACT, Queensland, Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania. The Capital Country Holiday Park was the headquarters for the weekend, which kicked off on Friday evening with a “meet and greet” barbeque. Saturday dawned fine and unseasonably warm, and proceedings got under way with a ride of about 70km into and around Canberra before bikes arrived at the National Museum of Australia for the Concours and Show and Shine judging. The museum’s forecourt…

Worx 20v lithium-ion drill/driver This lightweight unit packs an incredible punch, with ultra modern 20v Lithium battery technology providing 50% more running time compared to a normal 1.3 Ah battery. The battery pack is interchangeable with other Worx 20V Powershare tools. The unit features a 2 speed gearbox, with 1st gear for high torque and 2nd gear for high speed. There are 15 separate torque adjustments for everything from the finesse needed to drive small screws to the maximum setting for pushing screws into hard material, plus an extra setting for heavy drilling. The motor has an automatic cut out should it become overloaded. The quick release, key-less chuck holds a wide variety of tools and drill bits up to 10mm, to attack all sorts of work, with a reverse…

MAX BRUMHEAD, who featured in your article “The game changer” on the YDS1 Yamaha, passed away in December 2015. I did get a copy of the magazine to Max before his passing and was quite chuffed. I’m proud to say that Max was still riding bikes up until about 8 or 10 years ago and in fact up until his passing, his very last bike, a Suzuki Scooter was still parked in his lounge room. I met Max in a chance meeting approximately 14 years ago and purchased the other three of his last bikes; two Sunbeam S8s and a 1951 AJS Model 18. One of the Sunbeams is still totally original and the other has been totally restored. The AJS is still in the restoration process. Interestingly I was…

An entry in the latter class for the 1960 ‘500’ would have been the Royal Enfield Crusader, a mild mannered overhead valve 250cc single, ridden by R. Prowting and M. Munday. Up against some quick two-strokes and a selection of other quarter-litre machinery, the pair not only finished the gruelling event on the rough ex-WW2 airfield circuit near Andover in the south of England, but won their class. Hmmm, thought Royal Enfield, there could be a market here. There certainly was a market – the booming café racer society, with their silk scarves and leather jackets, were not all hell bent on thundering great British twins. Many, driven by needs of economy, just wanted something sporty, economical to run, and fun to ride. At the time, 250cc motorcycles were learner-legal…

Well known motorcycle racing identity John Rumford was as at one stage the President of the Cessnock Motorcycle Club. He attributes the success of this club to some very worthy workers like Reg Corbett, Leo Harrison, and Sandy and Fay George. Rumford was recuperating in hospital after suffering injuries in a racing accident when he read an article about a 24 hour endurance road race in Europe. He began thinking about a dirt track endurance race and sat on the idea for some time before putting forward the idea to the club. Subsequently, the Cessnock Motorcycle Club applied to the Auto Cycle Union (ACU) and was granted permission to conduct a 7 hour race at the Hillview Circuit at nearby Muswellbrook. Headlines from the Muswellbrook Chronicle on Friday 31 August…

In various markets around the world, the Suzuki T125 was known as the Wolf, the Flying Leopard, and the Stinger, but to a generation of late ‘sixties consumers, Stinger it was. It was out there, man! Garish colours, racy styling, expansion chamber exhausts, the Stinger had the lot. The wedgeshaped fuel tank and long dual seat with its kicked up rear really got the pulse racing, at least for the younger set. When questioned as to just who they perceived the market to be, a spokesman for US Suzuki said, “The Stinger is aimed at high school and college students and young businessmen as an around-town motorcycle for transportation and fun…with enough performance to stay with the traffic”. A rare piece of marketing understatement. For just $399 (including Australian sales…

The 8th running of the Penrite Broadford Bonanza featured not one, but three themes: a priceless exhibition of Moto Guzzi factory racers supported by more than 300 examples of the famous Mandello factory’s products, a celebration of Aussie Superbikes, and a combined Dirt Track/Flat Track show of sideways action. Top of the billing was one of the most famous racing motorcycles ever built – the 1956 500cc V8 Moto Guzzi, fresh from a 20 year hibernation in the factory museum. Unfortunately the V8 developed sleeping sickness and refused to fire up on sufficient cylinders to take to the track, while its illustrious counterpart, the multi World Championship winning 350 single, cracked its crankcases on the Friday and became a static exhibit thereafter. TT ace Cam Donald delighted the big crowd…

It was Good Friday 25th March 2016 at the Tarana Pub, (a small village 200km west of Sydney) where while standing at the bar a fellow patron asked; ‘are you with the bikies?’ Now you have to picture me wearing a jacket and boots with a fluoro vest – not really what a ‘Bikie’ would ever be seen wearing – and certainly I was in no way trying to impersonate one. ‘No sir, I am a Motorcyclist riding in the 2016 Vintage Motorcycle Club’s Bathurst Rally.’ The fluoro vest of course was to make me a little more outstanding while riding my vintage and classic motorcycles during the event, a bit slower than modern motorcycles and I am keen not to be run over on the very picturesque but narrow…

Got to love our Queensland weather – sometimes! Things started out overcast and exceptionally humid, evolving to a few sprinkles of rain (on and off) and then a deluge in the afternoon. If she were there, Dorothea Mackellar could have changed her poem to, “we love a humid country, this land of Samford plains, with ragged nearby Mt Glorious, of heat and flooding rains.” We experienced it all on Australia day 2016. I was last to leave and like a few others, who left late, got a full drenching on the way home. It was still a great event and again the Pine Rivers HMCCQ provided support to the annual Samford Museum fund raiser and celebration. Around 30 motorcycles fronted up and again Brian Harmsworth liaised with the Museum, set…