Innholdsfortegnelse for Issue 88 i Old Bike Australasia

Originally scheduled for 25th May in Shannons Sydney showroom at Artarmon, Shannons Autumn 2020 Auction became a Timed On-Line auction in view of the current restrictions on social distancing. The concept was a roaring success, with 98 of the 101 lots sold, many well above expected prices. Motorcycles especially saw strong bidding, with the 1969 Velocette Sportsman featured in OBA 87 reaching an astounding $39,500 – almost double its pre-auction estimate of $18-22,000. All seven of the motorcycles listed sold, with a 1960 Harley-Davidson FL Duo Glide fetching $38,500, a 1961 Triumph Bonneville $19,500, 1974 Norton Commando 850 at $17,000 and a very tasty 1935 BSA Model W35-7 500 single at $17,000. Attention now turns to the next Shannons auction, again a combined Sydney/Melbourne Timed On-Line, to be held from…

The Australian Historic Road racing Championships at Mount Gambier’s McNamara Park have been moved forward one week, to November 12-15, 2020. This has been necessary due to the rescheduling of the South Australian round of the Australian Superbike Championships to Mac Park’s original date. Mt Gambier Motorcycle Club President, Alex Trnovsky said: “The date may have changed, but the committee’s excitement and commitment to ensuring the events success is as resolute as ever. We know the dedication these club members have to putting on a spectacular event is second to none and we certainly encourage historic riders to get their entries in and fans to get along. The club will continue to do everything it can to showcase McNamara Park Raceway and create a truly memorable celebration of historic motorcycle…

Kawasaki Motors Corp, based in California, has just announced it will offer reproduction cylinder heads, manufactured in Japan, for Z1, Z900 and Z1000 model from the ‘seventies. A statement said the decision to re-manufacture the heads was due to the world-wide passion for the models, which are nearing their half-century since introduction in 1972. The statement said, “Kawasaki will reproduce the cylinder heads using current methods based on original part designs and specifications. The cylinder heads will be manufactured by Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd and available in silver or black. The heads include camshaft brackets, rockers, valves and peripheral parts, but not camshafts or rocker cover. The heads are not designed to fit the later so-called ‘square head’ models. Kawasaki Australia are not intending to import the parts, but advise…

The Townsville, Queensland motorcycling fraternity lost a valuable member recently with the sad passing of GERRY BASSETT, aged 72. Born in South Africa, Gerry emigrated to Australia, where his love of motorcycles and the sport led him to become an MA official across most disciplines, being a Steward, Scrutineer, Clerk of Course, and Referee. He supported many young and upcoming junior and senior riders, by providing bikes, guidance and support financially, driving many thousands of miles from Townsville to Morgan Park, Phillip Island and the like. Gerry was also an accomplished pilot - not many people who knew Gerry were aware of this. His sardonic sense of humour will be missed trackside along with all his knowledge. Gerry is survived by his wife Donna, daughter Marche, and brother and sister.…

The project began in November 1985 and after two years designing and developing a brand new engine in their own chassis, the GRT F3A/500 was good to go in December 1987, coined the ‘Oriental Eater’. But it was a long story to get there with more twists and unexpected design turns than your favourite back road. Fairbrother takes up the story, “We decided what we wanted and we just went ahead and hand-made it; we wanted to make a modern day Manx Norton. Originally my mate Peter wanted to make a crankshaft and he said, ‘Why don't we make the whole motorbike?’ And that's what happened, as a single cylinder engine is easier, cheaper and simpler to build.” They had much to learn! Originally from Zimbabwe, the legendary Colin Lyster…

Ron was a brash teenager, and as my late mate Michael Robinson observed, “had a voice like a wind-up alarm clock, and a laugh that could trigger a stampede”. Even at this tender age, Ron, who came straight from school to his position as junior salesman at Welbank, was possessed of a probing mind that automatically soaked up anything and everything that may be useful later on. Welbank was owned by the husband and wife team of Cameron and Judy MacMillan, and the name came from Cameron’s profession as a wool classer, where he was later in charge of the trade’s financial side which was called the Welfare Bank. Just thought you’d like to know that. Cameron, quietly spoken, deeply thoughtful and slightly avuncular, was as different a person to…

Information Wanted 1925 Royal Enfield Model 352 Royal Enfield were not known for their road racing after the late thirties, but prior to that, one of the most successful racing models was the “Model 352” manufactured 1925-26 with a JAP SOR/T twin-port racing engine, close-ratio Sturmey Archer gearbox and a separate oil tank. These were made available to the public and were the same as the works TT machines that were ridden by the likes of Cecil Barrow and Stanley Woods. Only two of these machines are known to exist today, one in England and the other in Tasmania owned by Mick Lemon. It is believed that two Australian bikes were imported by a dealer in Newcastle and were used for speedway racing. Mick purchased the bike from the Newcastle…

Defying the current trend, a major event in South Australia is ready to be run over an eight-day period in October. The 2020 Festival of Motorcycling is being staged by a consortium of South Australian Historic Motorcycle Clubs, and will include five organised rides through the scenic Adelaide surrounds, a track day at the Mallala circuit organised by the Ducati Owners Club, exhibitions including the ever-popular Classics at Hart, and a visit to the VVMCCSA Balhannah Motorcycles Only Swap Meet. A feature of the event at Hart’s Mill will be a display of South Australian-made motorcycles as part of the main exhibition highlighting 120 years of motorcycles from all over the world. Full information can be seen at www.classicowners.org…

The highly anticipated National Thunder Motorcycle Rally, scheduled to be held for four days across the first weekend in October, has been postponed for 12 months. Coordinator Sophie Wood from Tamworth Regional Council said in a statement, “The decision to cancel the (2020) rally was made as current legislation prohibits an event like National Thunder, with transient, non-seated crowds, from taking place. The rally’s success relies on large groups of people mingling, moving through trade areas, listening to live music and meeting up with mates at bars and food service areas. “The health and safety of the public has been our key consideration in making this decision. With the current spike in cases in Victoria it is clear that community transmissions of the virus continue to be a reality in…

Widow of the late Mike Hailwood, PAULINE HAILWOOD, passed away aged 76 on 14th June from cancer. A former successful model, Pauline met Mike in 1960 at Snetterton raceway in England, where she boldly asked to borrow some spark plugs from him for her then-boyfriend’s bike. “He said I was very cheeky but he didn’t refuse me!,” she told an interviewer in 2014. “But nothing else happened until 1962 when I saw him at the Isle of Man TT.” After being together for more than a decade, Pauline and Mike finally tied the knot on June 11 1975. They had two children, Michelle and David, and moved to New Zealand following Mike’s serious Formula One crash in the 1974 German Grand Prix in a McLaren. After Mike’s successful Isle of…

Raised in the goldfields of the wild west at a time when Kalgoorlie mineshafts were only outnumbered by the red lights of Hay Street and the pubs along Hannan Street, Bill Watson’s apprenticeship as a Fitter and Turner was a natural for the mechanically-minded youngster. And though he’d soon purchase a 1930 Velocette 350 KSS on the drip feed, Bill’s scrambling debut was on a mate’s BSA B31. Less than a year later Bill had traded the Velo on a brand spanker, a 1947 Triumph Speed Twin and shortly after that he’d destroyed the gearbox in a local scramble. At the post race BBQ Bill was disconsolate, mentally comparing his apprentice’s pay slip against the probable cost of a new gear set. And no doubt wondering whether a new pair…

BMW at this point was staring at the very real possibility of abandoning motorcycle production. The division was unprofitable, and although the models were of unquestionably high quality, they were staid in comparison to many of their rivals and demand was on the decline. Decades earlier, specially prepared BMW flat twins had been successful in major competitions such as the International Six Days Trials, but more recently had claimed a series of European Enduro titles from 1970 in the hands of Herbert Schek on a heavily modified R75/5. The BMW factory officially got into the act in 1979 with a full team effort that netted the German Cross Country Championship, using the R80 as the basis. Typically, the factory bikes were built at considerable expense, and although some of the…

It was poignant that Laurie Fox O.A.M. should pass away at his beloved McNamara Park, for the venue had been his abiding passion for most of his ninety years. Just after sending away the sidecar field for one of his carefully planned handicap events, Laurie suffered a massive stroke and died soon after in Mount Gambier Hospital, surrounded by his family. Laurie’s motorcycling career began in 1943 when he bought a BSA, and he was soon racing wherever possible. Later came a 250 Triumph solo, the ex-Fergus Anderson 250cc Moto Guzzi, and a 596cc Manx Norton outfit, which he raced throughout Victoria and South Australia. From 1947, he operated a successful motorcycle and car business in Mount Gambier. At the 1952 Australian Tourist Trophy, held at Little River near Geelong,…

The HRD/Vincent story has been very well documented, especially the post-war machines. However, less is known of the pre-war racers, especially the TT models which used the new engines designed by Phil Irving for 1935. These days, the TT models are rarer than a let-off for a speed camera infringement, but one such machine, with carefully documented history, resides in New Zealand, now owned by Bill Irwin in Nelson. In their TT debut in 1935, the new 500s finished 7th, 9th and 12th in the Senior TT against formidable opposition from the likes of Norton, Moto Guzzi, Velocette and NSU. It was a remarkable performance by such a small company, and the post-race sales rush provided much-needed capital for the new range of singles that included the limited production TT…

Albert Beal was an early bicycle rider – many of the first motorists were. He was a keen and competitive track rider during the 1890s along with his brothers, Jim and Joseph. It was probably during this time that he met James Howard, also a keen Rockhampton pedal cyclist. Born in Yorkshire, England, and emigrating with his family as a ten-year-old child to Rockhampton in 1877, Albert worked in a drapery from 1891 to 1897 before joining James Howard’s business as a salesman. In 1899 he started business on his own account as A.E. Beal selling bicycles, sporting goods and phonographs from a store in Denham Street, Rockhampton. Newspaper advertising of February, 1899 states he was selling ‘Swift’ branded bicycles, but by November he was reportedly assembling and selling ‘Centralia’…

This issue GARY REID has delved deep into his archives to unearth some great sidecar action that he shot prior to leaving Australia for a few years overseas. These are mostly from the 1970-73 period – an era of major change in three-wheel racing, with the last gasps of the once unbeatable Vincents and the new breed of Japanese multis.…

“My beloved Giacomo, who was Edgar Jessop’s fifth cousin, was, like Edgar, a passionate rider of the motorcycle. We were very poor and lived near the Agusta factory in Gallarate in a converted pig sty, which was very smelly and infested with blood worms. Giacomo found work at the factory, sweeping floors and painting the tyres of the Count’s Alfa Romeo, and was able to purchase a 125cc MV which he paid off over twelve years. “Tragically, Giacomo contracted Macular degeneration and lost his sight—but he would not stop riding his motorcycle. He trained his dog George (named after Lieutenant General George S. Patton who liberated our region from the German occupation) to sit with him on his motorcycle and bark commands. One bark meant ‘left’, two barks meant ‘right’,…

The Australian Motor Heritage Foundation recently took possession of its new headquarters at Sydney Motor Sport Park, Eastern Creek. AMHF is a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to preserving Australia’s extensive motor industry and sporting heritage for the enrichment of future generations. The brainchild of Hugh King and Brian Caldersmith, AMHF will be a resource that will be accessible to the public, curated by volunteers from this central location, with its aims to collect, preserve, and exhibit literature of all types. It will liaise with other institutions throughout the world for the sharing and exchange of material and knowledge on all facets of motor transport, including motorcycles. AMHF will also conduct seminars, programs and produce publications to educate the broader community and create a resource for universities, TAFE colleges, schools, clubs academics…

Western Australian motorcycling icon GLEN BRITZA passed away on the 27th June after a short illness surrounded by family and friends. He was a person who reached out to all to assist them as required. Glen joined the Bunbury motorcycle club in 1956 and first raced that year on a 250cc Triumph Tiger 70. His first open meeting was in 1961 at Suttons Paddock in Mandurah where he rode a 200cc DOT. Glen’s first road race was in 1959 at the Glen Iris circuit in Bunbury riding a 125c BSA Bantam. In 1965 he started riding a C.Z. which is in the National Museum. He then rode Huskies for the majority of the rest of his motocross career. He also rode Enduros for many years at the very highest standard.…

Nothing can stop a good centenary as the Hamilton Motorcycle Club’s 100 year celebrations press on this NZ Labour weekend following postponement last Easter due to the Covid-19 outbreak. The date is Saturday October 24, when the HMCC rolls out the anniversary dinner at the Te Kowhai airfield. Seats at The Hangar are limited to 200 people and are filling up fast so book your tickets online today. A Tiger Moth will fly in as a nod to the first-ever landing of an aircraft in Hamilton during the club’s first race meeting, in 1920. The Classics Museum in Hamilton will feature 50 special machines from former and current HMCC club members. The Centenary Motorcycle show kicks off on October 24 and runs until November 8. A road trial is also…

The heart of the export-only model, which was also marketed in other places as the Nomad, was the 596cc Norton twin that first appeared in 1956 as the Model 99, big brother to the 500cc 88. With the original 500 twin engine punched out by 99cc by altering the bore and stroke from 66mm x 72.6mm to 68mm x 82mm. The 99 used the famous Featherbed frame, while the new-for-that-year Model 77 made do with the brazed and bolted up frame. This was, according to factory blurb, specifically designed for sidecar use, although the engine was in the same state of tune as the 99. The Model 77 frame was actually the long-running chassis used in the Model 7 from 1953, complete with sidecar lugs. The Americans liked what they…

The first that we colonials saw of the all-new (well, not really all new) Honda CL450 Street Scrambler was in 1968; a neat 5-speed DOHC twin totally removed (visually at least) from the cobby CB540 ‘Black Bomber’ that had been around since 1965 That original motorcycle polarised opinion like few before it. The specification was mouth watering; a twin cylinder, all-alloy double overhead camshaft (a first for a mass-produced motorcycle) with torsion bar operation of the rockers that replaced conventional valve springs – as used on the French Panhard small sedan cars from 1948-1959. Horizontally-split crankcases offered relief from the traditional oil leakage of vertically-split cases. 12 volt electrics with push-button starting was a big selling point. In performance terms, the CB450 could live with most of the big British…

ALICE LENEY has been riding old bikes since the mid '70s, and has seven registered, road legal bikes ranging from 1938 to 1965 which get regular airing. He works in the Pacific Islands as a Garbologist, helping out with their waste troubles, and lives in Coromandel, NZ. Late summer, a misty damp morning in Slovenia. A country road leading into the nearby town; early morning traffic as people head in to work. I am sitting in a bus stop lay-by next to my buddy – 'Melvin' – with whom I have travelled around western Europe the last three months. Melvin has his back wheel out, which is nowhere to be seen: a man has just driven off with it. Some gesticulation and broken English was involved, whereby I puffed and…

Those extras are listed in the table and are largely to do with preserving the hardware should the motorcycle suffer a horizontal moment, but in performance terms, there’s little to wish for in the bog standard specification. That engine, even in slightly detuned LAMS form, is an absolute eye-opener, a miracle of mapping, with throttle response that’s as near to perfect as you can get. I was so enthused with my initial ride I handed the bike to my mate Bob Rosenthal, who knows a thing or two about motorcycle performance, for his impressions, just in case I was dreaming. I wasn’t. The spec has changed little in the life of the machine, which so far spans six years, and that’s because it was so good from the get-go. In…

Since we purchased the first Markforged in 2017 it has done 18,300 hours of printing with very little maintenance. I have been fortunate enough to be able to use it to make a few parts for my old bikes and for friends in need. The largest parts I’ve made were damper shrouds for the rear Marzocchis on my Ducati single. So far they have stood up well, even with the spring crush on the top flange where the originals fail over time. Without access to injection moulding dies, these items would have had to be machined from solid rod, most of which would end up as swarf. Printing them meant there was no waste so better for the planet. I also made the cable retainer for a friend’s Verlicchi throttle…