Innholdsfortegnelse for Issue 100 i Old Bike Australasia

Scheduled for March 11-13 at The Cathedral of Moto Guzzi in Yea, Victoria, the inaugural Festival of Moto Guzzi has been postponed until 2023. Event organisers and hosts Teo and Grace Lamers said preevent tickets sales are currently being refunded. The Festival was due to showcase Guzzi’s 101 years of production, with iconic models from the Lamers collection on display. In addition, a number of historic Guzzis were being prepared for demonstration rides, along with current models including the V7 Special, V85TT Travel and V9 Bobber Centenario. A 1934 500 GTS, a 1947 250 Airone, a 1949 and a 1951 Super Alce had been prepared in the Lamers workshop for test rides on the weekend. Moto Guzzi Australia says the event was postponed “due to unforseen circumstances” and a new…

Sunday’s static display on the Village Green in the centre of Longford saw around double the crowd of last year. The displays again centred on cars and bikes of the Longford race eras in not only race examples but everyday vehicles of the time. The long bike tent was full all day with people wanting to view the many bikes on display. Brad Astill’s 1949 Triumph 700, originally raced by NSW rider Brian Clarkson, was greatly admired in the Sunday display sitting alongside three Royal Enfields from Mike Lemon. They included a 1934 LF 500 (4 Valve) and a 1949 350 Bullet. Brad and Nigel’s next stop was to be the National Historic Championships is South Australia. The work in restoring Caroline Jamieson’s 1955 Velocette MSS500 has just been completed…

Few enthusiasts could have realised back in the late 1960s that the then-new BMW upgrade of its flat twin would go on to form the basis of one of the most successful engine layouts of all time. But that is exactly what was to be achieved. Critics said it was just another version of their 40-year-old pushrod twin with a few mods, where the biggest was the lowering of the camshaft position to make room for the introduction of a top-mounted electric starter. At that time, the range was just 3 tourers: 500, 600 and 750 all with a modest power output. But for its low upgrade costs, the well-respected German company had hit on a winner. Their basic layout was very different from the ever-increasing ranges emerging from Japan…

The bikes were built by a couple of custom motorcycle builders, Cliff Vaughs and Ben Hardy, based on ideas of Fonda. They were rigid rear ends with Panhead Harley engines from some ex-police Hydra Glides purchased at auction. Two of each bike were built with one of the Captain America bikes being destroyed in the final scene whilst the other three were stolen, probably for parts. It is purported that the wrecked Captain America bike was rebuilt and offered at auction in 2014 although the providence of the bike is still unclear. Whilst the release of Easy Rider spawned a worldwide surge in choppers from numerous custom shops and backyard sheds, the chopper wasn’t embraced by main stream manufacturers. At least not with the extended forks, high handlebars, peanut fuel…

But firstly, why did the model even exist, albeit briefly? To give the motorcycle its official title, the A65LC, along with its 500cc variant the A50CC (also known as the Cyclone), were conceived as tools for the booming ‘sixties British Production Racing scene, where the premier annual event was the 500 Mile Race, usually held at the Thruxton airfield circuit, and when that track was unavailable, at Castle Combe (1965) and Brands Hatch (1966 and 1967). The Production TT at the Isle of Man was also seen as an increasingly prestigious event. BSA’s new (for 1962) range of unit-construction twins (the A50 and A65) that replaced the ageing A7 and A10 models was seen by the company as a vital move to modernise the range, which it was. The two…

Welcome to Old Bike Australasia Out’n’about – a forum of people, places, history and happenings. Starting with a well worn Royal Enfield 125 ‘Flying Flea,’ which sometimes managed to get him to the Post Master Generals workshops where he was an apprentice mechanic in Brisbane. The Enfield was rapidly uprated to a 125 C.Z. which was also less than wonderful, leading to a rough Triumph T100 which was the first machine John restored before it caught fire and was totally destroyed. Nearing the end of his apprenticeship enabled John to buy a new A7 B.S.A. but he was lured to New Guinea for four years and motorbikes had to wait as he then discovered the mining boom, working in West Australia, Nhulunby in the Territory and also Sri Lanka. Boats…

In OBA and real life Alloy or Ally is used predominately referring only to aluminium components such as cylinder heads, barrels & crankcases. Well that’s fair enough as far as it goes but it’s not the accurate whole story. There are many Alloys used throughout the campaign of a bikes design and construction. To elaborate but not criticize, so let me extricate a few randomly selected examples; In the early days of bike racing around 1940, Velocette and Norton were competing fiercely and both used “Alloy” heads – but (ref. Velocette Race Shop Memoirs by Peter Turnill) Velo were using aluminium heads and Norton bronze heads. They were both running “Alloy” materials because an alloy is any mixture of different pure metals in various proportions to create a new metal…

It’s funny how certain bikes make an indelible mark in the consciousness of some generations of riders and there are many illustrated in this great magazine. One such series is the BMW “Stroke 5” models comprising a family of 500, 600 and 750 cc machines that commenced production in September 1969. The last bike left the production line in July 1973 for a total output of almost 68,960 units. I vividly remember a 1972 Two Wheels advertisement for the three models where BMW asserted the “The largest of which (referring to the 750), can cruise effortlessly at 100 m.p.h.” – definitely something of a show stopper at the time. Whilst comparatively expensive,/5 models soon earned a reputation as “horizon busters” thanks to simplicity, build quality and reliability. BMW recruited many life-time…

The Great Race was first held in 1993. It was between pre-1958 Indian and Harley-Davidson motorcycles from Brighton to Portsea with about 20 participants. The race is a team event with riders scoring points and the team with the most points declared the winner. This first year it was the Indian motorcycle riders who went home with the bragging rights. Since then the event has grown in size with over 100 entrants partaking in the 2022 Great Race which was held in the Bathurst region of NSW. It comprised a meet and greet on Thursday evening where the actual course was provided to the entrants with the race starting on Friday morning. Perhaps race isn’t quite the right term as the event is held on public roads with a requirement…

A bumper crowd flocked to the venue to see the first speedway meeting in Sydney since Parramatta City Raceway closed two years ago. Even this meeting did not go off without incident, after several stoppages caused the 35 lap main race to be halted after 17 laps because of the time curfew applying to the venue. Now the burning question is, when will motorcycles take to the smaller circuit inside the clay car track?…

Dave Hiscock and elder brother Neville grew up in Stokes Valley, a suburb near Wellington where the pair rode an old BSA Bantam in grass paddocks. Born on 25 May 1953, Dave moved onto bigger bikes as a schoolboy and cut his teeth on a BSA 650, then 500cc and 750cc Nortons. The famous Rimutaka Hill road became their local racetrack. Dave and Neville first raced in 1972 at the Gracefield street circuit in Lower Hutt, on Commando 750s. Neville crossed the line fifth, and 19-year-old Dave eighth. “We were against some pretty good riders in that first meeting, guys like Alan Collison and Ginger Molloy,” Dave Hiscock reflects. Fresh from finishing second in the 1970 world 500cc championship to Giacomo Agostini, Molloy was no slug either! After a stint…

From the big flat twin and flat fours that served the company so well up to WW2, Zündapp faced the post-war years with a new emphasis on light weight two stroke models with greater mass appeal. The Bella scooter, introduced in 1953, was highly successful and sold in great numbers, much to the relief of the company accountants. Pre-war, Zündapp produced the DB200, a 200cc two stroke single with a vertical cylinder with twin exhaust ports. The model followed conventional practice with a tubular rigid frame and pressed steel girder forks. The original DB200 appeared in the late ‘thirties in civilian form but was quickly pressed into military service, reappearing in 1947 to cater for a market that urgently needed affordable everyday transport. Such was the demand for the small…

The large concrete areas surrounding the adjacent factories and the Diner are ideal for parking up the treasures of car and motorcycle enthusiasts. The event on the 18th February, combining both cars and bikes, was a fundraiser to support Cathy McGillivray who tragically lost her husband Andrew (aka Kiwi) just before Christmas 2021. Kiwi and Cathy were noted enthusiasts and supporters of many previous events and, in appreciation, the motoring community rallied to support Cathy in a time of need. The announcement of this event activated an avalanche of donations from associated businesses to create a complimentary monster raffle. This was to be the first event where trophies were to be awarded for cars and bikes and all for a $5 parking fee. All money raised on the day was…

The inaugural “British Motorcycle Day”, held at Balhannah Oval, exceeded all expectations, with over 200 British motorcycle entrants and about 1,000 spectators throughout the course of the day. Every British motorcycle which turned up was included in the display on the oval. There were also over 100 non-British motorcycles parked outside the oval. The balmy weather was perfect for motorcycle riding and outdoor events. British Motorcycle Day was the brainchild of the Festival of Motorcycling SA (FOMSA) committee. The South Australian “Festival of Motorcycling” is an annual program, initiated by a group of seven motorcycle clubs whose aim is to promote motorcycling to the community in a positive way. It stages several events each year, the first generally occurring in September. The impetus to hold an additional event this…

For the running of the first HMCCQ event of 2022, the traditional breakfast run, the move away from the traditional venue to Billies Bay on the shore of Lake Wivenhoe was a blessing. The spacious sealed parking area offers all-weather access, lakeside vista and easy sanction by SEQ water. The easy access also allowed the club to reserve a dedicated mobile food and coffee vendor. The COVID escalation, floods in the Maryborough/Gympie region and a full week of local rain put the event in doubt, however Sunday saw only an odd shower. Those that took the Mt Glorious route were confronted with wet roads littered with fallen leaves and branches, rather large pot holes and a pea soup fog in one area. It turned out an amazing day with 160…

Our esteemed Art Director Mat Clancy recently re-joined the ranks of road motorcyclists. His choice was the very latest Royal Enfield Interceptor which was supplied by our long-time advertisers Motociclo at St Peters in southern Sydney. Motociclo fitted out the Interceptor with the bonus equipment that includes saddles bags, crash bars and windscreen, and Mat took advantage of a rare dry and sunny Sydney day to collect his new mount and take to the streets.…

Geoff was married to his wonderful wife Beth for 70 years, They had three children, seven grand children and 19 great grand children. Geoff was a man of many talents, he was a qualified Electrician, Master Panel Beater and Spray Painter, house builder, boat builder, Service Station Proprietor, pilot, TAFE teacher, Theatre Stage Lighting Operator, Lawn Bowls Champion and later in his life mastered the art of Faceting, which is the specialised cutting of Gemstones. Geoff raced from the early ‘fifties to the early ‘sixties, mainly with his sidecar outfit which was powered by a 1930 AJS R10 500cc overhead cam engine. The engine was made in the same year he was born. He was attracted to sidecar racing because of the teamwork involved. He raced on the beach, in…

New Imperial is not a name that springs to mind these days, despite the fact that the marque was highly successful at the Isle of Man TT and for a time, marketed a quality range of innovative motorcycles. The story began in 1900, when Norman Downs purchased a failing Birmingham bicycle business called Hearl & Tonks. The contents of the old factory was bundled up and moved just a few blocks away and reopened as New Imperial Cycles. In very short order, Downs decided that motorcycles, not bicycles, were the future although the firm’s initial products were something between the two. Six 500cc engines were ordered bespoke from a nearby engineering business and built into a curious device that had the engine suspended on a bracket in front of the…

But 25 years ago the most decisive attempt yet to redress that situation came when 50-year old French industrialist Jacques Gardette tried using his business acumen and financial armoury to create a new bike marque called Voxan – like ELF, a neutral-sounding trademark chosen for its universal pronunciation in any language – starting with 4.5 million francs [then about 700,000 euro] of his own money. Gardette was a biker from way back, ever since he’d owned a Kawasaki H1 triple 20+ years earlier, but by then he was riding a 916 Ducati – a reason for frustration as much as pleasure, he said, since there was no comparable French model to buy. Hence came the decision to do something about this, reinforced by the outcome of a detailed analysis of…

That air/oil-cooled engine, officially called the J-series, is a close offspring of the highly-successful Interceptor twin, virtually one half of it. A balancer shaft takes care of the vibes, and the carefully-mapped fuel injection (in conjunction with the sophisticated exhaust system) is designed to comply with the latest, ever-more stringent Euro compliance. Setting aside the engine for a moment, the frame, suspension, wheels, brakes and pretty much everything else is bespoke to the Classic 350, and a very attractive package it is. The frame is a twin down-tube cradle type with a large diameter top tube that differs from the Meteor to embrace revised steering geometry and a slightly shorter wheelbase. To cater for all tastes, there are no fewer than four variants in the Australasian Classic 350 range, with…

The Vintage Japanese Motorcycle Club of Australia proudly hosted a 50th Commemoration display for the Kawasaki 900 cc models dating from 1972 at the Dai Gum San outdoor area adjacent to the Golden Dragon Museum in Bendigo. On display were 903 cc models 1972 – 1976, and also their air cooled derivatives with engine capacities of 1015 cc (1977 – 1980), and 998 cc plus 1089 cc (1980 – 1984). Participants entered arrived from Queensland, New South Wales, the ACT and Victoria. Kawasaki Motors Australia generously sponsored this display, with commemorative wall plaques, presentation certificates, and also Kawasaki merchandise as prizes. To Kawasaki Motors Australia, we are very thankful and we are gratefully indebted for their continued support of the Vintage Japanese Motorcycle Club. VJMC Kawasaki Z1 50th Awards…

Every year since 1982, the Orange branch of the CEMCC has hosted its popular annual rally, centered on the Lake Canobolas Scout Camp. The Club was established with assistance from the late Alan Pride of the Sydney CEMCC, and Bonner Evans of Orange. Early foundation members still active include John Packham, Kevin Daniel, Rick Kent and Don Wilson. This year, the rally was back in full swing, with well over 100 entrants, and bikes ranging from Stephen Glover’s 1930 BSA H30-8 and Tracy Wilson’s 1928 Harley outfit, to a plethora of ‘70s and ‘80s Japanese bikes, together with strong representation by all English makes, Ducatis, Harleys, Indians, BMWs, Motor Guzzi and one Cagiva. A number of 250cc bikes made up the field, including Christine Millar’s BSA C11. Saturday saw entrants…

After weekends of rain, wind and freezing temperatures Mother Nature smiled upon us for the Yea Christmas Rally. Twenty or so bikes arrived for the weekend, including a few bikes out for their inaugural run – Conor Murphy with his 1935 Chief which he has been working on for a couple of years, Mick Dunne with his 1946 Chief and Maurice Dunston with his 1948 Chief. For Saturday’s ride, Maurice led the way to Seymour on the Ghin Ghin Road into the Switzerland Ranges and we stopped for our first regroup at Highlands. We stopped at JW Elliot Reserve in Seymour for morning tea and then rode back up to Highlands where we stopped for a regroup at the mini Stonehenge. We continued on through to Caveat and Terrip Terrip…