Innholdsfortegnelse for Issue 67 i Old Bike Australasia

Arturo Magni A proud innings Only weeks after celebrating his 90th birthday in 2015, Artuo Magni passed away at his home north of Milan. To generations of fans, Magni was the genius behind the perennial success of the MV Agusta works team, and a guiding influence to generations of MV riders including Surtees, Hailwood, Hocking and Agostini. But his Grand Prix CV predated the MV team, stretching as far back as the days when the Gilera four cylinder racers, designed by Pietro Remor, ruled the roost. His association with Gilera is not surprising, given that he was born in the factory’s home town of Arcore, virtually next door to the famous Monza Autodromo. As a lad, however, Arturo’s chief interest was model aircraft, which he designed and constructed himself. Inevitably,…

On a wet and windy night in October 2000, I was heading to Allan ‘Kipper’ Killip’s home in Crosby Isle of Man. I had been invited by Allan to have a chat about his role of Chief Travelling Marshal, and his motorcycles. His first motorcycle was a 1954 BSA B32 but he soon moved on to a BSA Gold Star, which he used in the first-ever Southern 100 road race in 1955. After a number of years racing, Allan became a Travelling Marshal in 1962. At the time AJS motorcycles loaned 650cc CSRs to the Marshals for the TT races but would not supply them for the Manx Grand Prix in September. Allan explained that for the Manx GP you had to use your own motorcycle or borrow a friend’s,…

• 29 April, 2017 – Gunning, NSW The weather was clear and cold for the 72 participants lined up for the one-day rally in clear and cold weather. The ride route included part of the original TT course to Collector which in places looked like it had the original surface. The range of machinery was excellent with 250cc and greater than 30 years old and any machines pre- 1930. The smallest bike was a mere 50cc and the largest a vintage Indian of 750cc. Morning tea was in Collector after which the crowd headed back to Gunning with some open bends which meant the tiddlers could stay “wound up”. Lunch was followed by trophy presentations and again the club excelled by having some quirky hand made trophies made from discarded…

• 7-9 April, 2017 – Inverell, NSW Inverell Rally Special Awards For the first time a social ride was added on Thursday afternoon for early arrivals. 17 bikes enjoyed a short ride to the northern shores of Copeton Dam. The Friday ride to Delungra Hotel for lunch saw 65 bikes attend, the largest yet for a Friday. Saturday began with bikes lining up in their respective decades for judging at Pioneer Village. The ride got underway with a parade through the main street, then up to the village of Ashford, passing through Pindari Dam. This was the first time we have taken the main ride up there, but we could not miss this year as the dam is 100% full and the countryside very green after recent rain. After a…

Harley-Davidson 750 Street Rod There was a 750 version – the Street 750 – developed in parallel, but that has not been seen in these parts. However that is all changing with the introduction of the new 750 Street Rod – a motorcycle obviously aimed at making sure ex-learner pilots of Street 500s step up to big brother and not onto an opposition brand. And to make the temptation even harder to resist, the price tag is just $12,995 plus ORC. Like the 500, the 750 is manufactured at Harley’s plant in India, and the finish of the bike is top class. The 750 Street Rod is largely devoid of bells and whistles, with just a basic speedo for instrumentation. But it is undeniably a well- proportioned machine, with classic…

Ray Owen One of the most versatile and successful riders Australia has ever seen, RAY OWEN died in May in Nerang Queensland, just weeks after being officially recognised as a Legend of Australian Motorcycling at a special dinner during the 2017 Shannons Insurance Broadford Bonanza. In a career that began in 1946 and lasted 33 years, Ray collected State and National titles in road racing, grass track, dirt track and scrambles, and also dabbled in speedway and in car racing in small Coopers and other vehicles. The family home in Nerang is chock full of trophies and sashes, and the shed contains many of the bikes that Ray rode with such verve and commitment. He was the first man in Australia to race a Hagon JAP on Short Circuit –…

The girder front fork, in its various permutations, was still the accepted standard, and had thus far resisted innovations such as leading link, and even, back in the days of the Ner-a-Car, hub-centre steering. The coming thing was the fully telescopic fork, popularised by several manufacturers, notably BMW, and copied by many, including Norton. But ‘teles’ came with numerous built-in restrictions and shortcomings. For a start, the thin diameter front tubes were subject to stresses of all the wrong kinds, particularly under braking, when the weight transfer placed major strain on the sliding surfaces and their ability to continue to slide happily. However by the early ‘eighties, the move was afoot to supplant the thinking that ‘teles’ were the only solution. In the racing world, the French Elf, with its…

A Black Shadow – just ten years old! The latest attraction at Classic Motorcycle Mecca in Invercargill, NZ, is this Vincent Black Shadow, constructed in 2007 using original parts, plus exact replica frame, forks and components like carburetors, as well as magneto, and alternator, which are concealed inside original casings. The components came from the Vincent Owners Spares Company in UK, while the VOC Machine Registrar issued the frame and engine numbers. The Vincent, engine number F10AB/5/1010 is actually registered as a 2007 model Vincent Black Shadow. Ear drums? RAY LARKIN from Bendigo: “I came across this photo taken at a check point for the 1954 Redex Trial. It shows the BSA team of George Morrison (left), Bill Mayes and Ray Trevenna. It would appear that George was very hard…

• 17-18 June, 2017 – Moss Vale, NSW The popular annual rally, named in honour of the late Eric Debenham, caters for older bikes and lightweights and is limited to 60 entries. Based at the Moss Vale Village Caravan Park, the 2017 rally enjoyed fine but chilly weather in the Southern Highlands, with runs on both Saturday and Sunday, and a presentation dinner on Saturday evening.…

• 29-30 April, 2017 – Tenterfield, NSW This year the DOCQ (Ducati Owners Club of Qld) celebrates its 40th year since inception and the Bevel and Bull Rally celebrates 31 years of Ducati bevel production (1955 to 1986). This year was the 10th running of the B & B Rally and Brad Goostrey’s 6th time as organiser. 83 people were booked for dinner and 37 bevels arrived safely and were put on display. Display bevels dated from 1971 and included 3 singles (250, 350 and 450cc) amongst their big brother 750, 860, 900 and 1000cc twins. The weather on the Saturday morning was perfect with a slight chill. For those coming from the north, the meeting place was Beaudesert. The ride took us to Boonah, then toward Rathdowney to a…

• 9-12 March, 2017 – Hahndorf Resort, SA This year the ‘Southern Triples Rally’ for BSA Rocket Three and Triumph Trident riders moved to South Australia to compliment the well-established and very popular northern NSW triples rallies organised by Col McAndrew in Ballina and now Evans Head. Gerry Rowley, Steve Kelly (of Tri-Spark fame), Steve Cramp, Geoff Kemp and Joanne Kelly got together to organise this Rally in the picturesque tourist town of Hahndorf in the Adelaide hills to promote the use and enjoyment of these machines. Many of the thirty or so entrants travelled from as far as New South Wales, Canberra, Queensland and Perth. To kick things off we had a BBQ dinner in the camp kitchen, organised by Joanne Kelly. Friday dawned again sunny and pleasant for…

There was never any doubt that Steve and his brother Craig (seven years younger) would get involved in motorcycles. Their father, Graeme, was a committed racer, and a bit of a wheeler-dealer as well. “My father was a huge influence,” says Steve, who was born in Tasmania but moved to Albury with his family where he completed his schooling. “As babies, we grew up watching him racing on Manx Nortons and things. Dad was in used cars – and he was good at it! Even when Craig and I were racing, he was still racing too on a Yamaha TZ350C; often he raced against us. He was a desperate old bastard, and he could actually ride pretty hard.” As soon as he was old enough, or perhaps slightly earlier than…

In the preceding decade, the ubiquitous BSA Bantams had finally been vanquished, first by the new Honda four-stroke twins and then by the Spanish Bultacos, although these were frequently mounted in Bantam frames until the TSS series appeared. Then came the Yamaha twins – AS1 street bikes fitted with race kits or simply home tuned, plus a sprinkling of the factory-built TA125 models. And then there were the purely home-spun specials such as Clem Daniel’s series of CSD singles and twins, handled with aplomb by some of the country’s top riders, notably Len Atlee and Kenny Blake, and the indecently fast Bridgestone ‘Honey Special’ ridden by Bryan Hindle. Graeme Laing, general manager and company director for the Melbourne Motorcycle Company (the Victorian distributor for Suzuki motorcycles), was always looking for…

It is well documented and universally perceived that Soichiro Honda was an exponent of the four-stroke engine, but his early motorcycles were in fact two strokes. From one of my Honda publications it is claimed that the idea for the company’s shift to four stroke engines actually came from Soichiro Honda’s business partner Takeo Fujisawa and their engineer, Kiyoshi Kawashima. Traditionally, the Honda Motor Company had only manufactured smaller capacity motorcycles for the commuter market, which were in high demand in post-war Japan. The 1955 – 1956 SA250 + SB350 Dream models (and the subsequent 1957 ME250 + MF350 Dream) were the first 250 cc and 350 cc models that Honda Motor Company manufactured, and were the first step by Honda to enter the sports motorcycle market. These new models…

Born Free has expanded since 2014 into its twoday weekend venue at the Oak Canyon Ranch in Orange County. Fortunately the sprawling acreage provided enough wide open space for the record breaking sea of bikes/riders that made the pleasing putt through Silverado Canyon to an extremely wellorchestrated event. Within an hour, you were elbow to elbow with swells of people, some 25,000 or more circulating among the bikes on display, the band stands, the high flying skate board ramp, the food and vendor booths. Of the thousands of bikes that rolled in, the vast majority were born and bred in Milwaukee, but there was also a smattering of Brit, Japanese and Euro bikes… all makes and models welcome. Born Free itself got born nearly a decade ago thanks to L.A.…

• 27-28 May, 2017 – Winton Motor Raceway, Victoria View more photos from Historic Winton and some exciting sidecar action from Race 3... www.facebook.com/oldbikemag The oldest continuously-run Historic meeting in Australia, the Historic Winton 2 +4, took place for the 41st time in late May with a healthy field of cars and solo and sidecar motorcycles. Although cool, the weather remained mostly fine until minutes after the final motorcycle race on Sunday when the heavens opened. The Group C hand shifters enjoyed a large entry and spirited racing, while the Period 3 500 races were thrilling affairs with Keith Campbell, Bob Rosenthal and Garth Francis at the pointy end. This trio started at the back of the grid for the 6 lap Ken Lucas Trophy Handicap, and gave a fabulous display…

• 26-28 May, 2017 – Coffs Harbour, NSW Brilliant sunshine prevailed as the Friday ride began up the Waterfall Way to Bellingen, then across the Lavender Bridge towards The Promised Land. But they didn’t quite get there, for at Gleniffer they were sent along the north bank of the Bellinger River, which included 3.5 km of unsealed road. There was an optional route but all were brave and tackled it. It proved to be smoother than much of the tarred section! Once on Waterfall Way again it was back to Bellingen for afternoon tea at Butter Factory cafe. Saturday’s ride also set off in great weather. With a new section of motorway opened, we now had the luxury of the Old Pacific Highway being near devoid of traffic between Bonville…

• 29-30 April, 2017 – Lake Hume Resort, Albury NSW In all, around 36 people accompanied 21 Rudges, mostly from Victoria and NSW with Ken Hall and daughter Francis from Tasmania being the ‘furthest travelled’ entrants. Ken and Francis brought a couple of ‘spare’ bikes with them including an A series HRD and V-twin JAP powered 1918 B&B (Australian made Bennet & Barkel). While there were no single- cylinder veteran Rudges this year, Malcolm Cox brought his 1,000cc 1919 Multi-Twin. And to top off the treat, Peter and Gail Scott had their 1923 4 speed V-twin. It’s not often you see two Rudge Vtwins together in the same place. Following the riders’ briefing on Saturday morning a fine cavalcade of Rudges headed west on the Riverina Highway, across the bridge…