Innholdsfortegnelse for Issue 107 i Old Bike Australasia

With regard to the AMCA Judging, the organisers have issued a clarification of the way this operates. Ian Pryde, Chief Judge says, “There have been some concerns and misinformation regarding the points system for AMCA Judging. This was as a result of the “Winners Circle” award requiring the entrant to achieve a score of 98 points or better having reached the 95 point threshold for a Senior Award. A new category has now been created by the AMCA named “Marque Excellence”. This award is one that requires a machine to be the very best of its marque and must attain a score of 98 or better to qualify. Again, this machine must have first graduated through the system. I would encourage those that may have been previously discouraged from entering…

The DKW story actually began in 1916 when a Dane, Jorgen Skafte Rasmussen, set up shop at Zschopau in the Saxony region of Germany, initially producing parts for machinery used in the textile industry. During WW1, an acute shortage of petrol encouraged him to produce a steam-engined car, the DKW. The DKW name was conceived from Damft Kraft Wagen, meaning ‘steam-driven vehicle’. Within three years, he had branched into motorcycles, initially producing a 118cc ‘clip-on’ engine to power a bicycle called the Hilfsmotor, with the motor mounted behind the seat above the rear wheel, driving through a belt. A three-speed countershaft gearbox was built into the crankcase. It was well made, easy to ride, and gave a considerable boost in performance over pedal power, although the pedals remained, just in…

But before we get to that, a little background on the Grey Flash itself would be in order. A direct descendent from the original HRDs of the 1920s, the single cylinder Flash was based on the post-war Comet, which itself was sired by the pre-war Meteor Series A. The first of the Flashes saw the light of day in 1949 – two ‘prototypes’ that the factory used for racing, and two built for sale. It was 1950 before the Grey Flash was produced in any reasonable numbers, and even then the total production amounted to just 31. In fact, Grey Flash production lasted a little over one year, and came to an end in August 1950. Remember that these were grave times for Vincent, with the receivers appointed in 1949,…

While in the area, my son found a listing for the Museo della Motocicletta Frera. It was open and there was no entry fee. I had never heard of Frera and by the time I left I was in awe. The Frera story is unlike any elsewhere in the world. Corrado Frera started selling items which included NSU motor bicycles when powered bicycles were evolving. In 1903 he took a gamble and set up a bicycle factory. In 1905 he released his first production Frera motorcycle initially using Swiss Zedel engines which he then built under license before designing and building his own engines in 1914. He was one of the first Italian Motorcycle manufacturers in Italy and in his time became the largest. In its prime Frera had two…

• 11-12 March, 2023–Woolmers Estate, Longford Tas. The much-troubled tribute to the halcyon days of Longford Motor Racing came to a successful conclusion over the March Long Weekend. The volunteer committee of the previous three years was convinced by a promotor that he could take it to the next level, but disappeared with a large check from the state government. With just six weeks to get it up and running, the volunteers decided to try to save the event. It was moved from the village green to the heritage-listed Woolmers Estate that gave it a much bigger area and the prestige of some indoor places to display. The cars were mainly given the grounds around the cottage on the hill that displayed Rob Knott’s spectacular memorabilia collection from Longford car…

• 16 February, 2023 – Orange, NSW The 41st rally was another great success with close to 140 entrants participating in the rally held at Canobolas Scout Camp. A range of bikes from a 1927 Harley Outfit, a 1935 Nimbus through to much later models made up the field of riders, taking to the roads on Saturday from Orange, via Cargo to Canowindra, with morning tea provided by St Edward’s Catholic School P&F committee. It was then on to Neville for lunch, with the route taking riders through the winding Canowindra countryside, via Mandurama. Neville Public School catering team, noted to be rocking along to Abba, prepared an outstanding meal and the chance for riders to cool off in the near 38-degree temperature in the shade of trees and the…

As Great Britain struggled back into the drudgery of civilian life after the war, the younger generation was restless. Juveniles who had been deprived of battle action because of their age were now adolescents. Not for them the privilege of destroying bridges, houses and factories, fraternising with members of the opposite sex in conquered villages, or imbibing in the spoils of the vanquished; wine cellars, larders, clothing, and even purloined motorcycles. As Edgar was demobbed and swapped his Air Chief Marshal’s four-star epaulets for his Savile Row suits – which had been stored in an underground cellar by his tailor H. Huntsman & Sons for the duration of the war – he noted while strolling through Mayfair that the younger generation had taken to dressing in bland and ill-fitting raiment,…

One less hat for Sue OBA 107 marks the final issue for Sue Scaysbrook in her role as Advertising Manager. Sue has admirably held the post since issue 60, making her the longest-serving in this position since the magazine began 18 years ago. She won’t be disappearing, far from it, just enjoying a reduced workload, because she will continue in the other roles she has always had, namely photographer, proof reader, and editorial assistant. “I’d like to say thank you to all my advertising clients for their support over the past seven years,” said Sue. “It’s been a pleasure to work with so many dedicated people from around the world and they in turn have helped keep OBA as the top classic magazine in the Southern Hemisphere. This slight reduction…

The Australian Historic Road Racing Championships rotate between states, so each state (or Territory) gets a crack every seven or eight years. In 2023 it’s Tasmania’s turn again, but instead of the usual venue at Symmons Plains near Launceston, this year’s titles will take place at Baskerville, 20km north of Hobart. The Sports Riders Club of Tasmania will promote the event on November 24-26 at the 2 kilometre circuit that opened in 1958 as the island state’s first purpose-built track. Previously, all road racing in Tasmania had been conducted on old airstrips or public roads such as Longford. Baskerville is well suited to Historics, with a challenging climb to the top corner and a downhill main straight. Watch this space for more news as it comes to hand.…

Rodger was born in Picton in 1953. After the usual road bikes Freeth gravitated into racing and won the NZ Open Production championship during the 1975/76 summer season. In the ensuring years he became infamous as the first person in the world to crash the then-new Suzuki GSX1100E in 1979, the GSX1100ET ‘Black Piper’ in 1980, an RG500 Mk5, plus an RG500 Mk6. Dallas Rankine thoughtfully made a T shirt at the time to remind Rodger of his horizontal antics! Fortunately Freeth could ride well too, as a university student winning the NZ Open Racing championship for two seasons in 1976/77 on a Suzuki TR500 and 1977/78 on the infamous nonaero foil Yamaha TZ750A. He earned the NZ Open TT and Senior TT trophies in 1978 and 1980, adding more…

For decades, the notion of a two-stroke Honda road bike was unthinkable. Honda was steeped in four-stroke development and a world leader in the advancing technology that had made it a powerhouse in both motorcycle Grands Prix and Formula 1 for cars. Soichiro Honda himself, who abandoned the chairman’s seat in 1973, considered two-strokes inferior and refused to entertain the thought of his company embracing such a move. However markets are markets, and one such was the rapidly emerging off-road scene, particularly in the USA, where sales of motocross, enduro and trail bikes was very big business as the ‘seventies unfolded. And so, as Soichiro departed, a milestone was reached with the first production two stroke to wear a Honda badge, the CR250M Elsinore. Thus began a string of such…

Grey Flash number F5AB/2B/2751, the first of the production models, was shipped to New Zealand on the SS Akaroa on November 11, 1949. The recipient was the Auckland Vincent-HRD agent Geoff Weston-Webb, who had seen the first Grey Flash at the 1949 Earls Court Show in London. Prior to loading, 2751 was given its final road test by George Brown at Gransden aerodrome. In New Zealand, the Flash was ridden by several sponsored riders, including Len Perry, until it was advertised for sale in The New Zealand Motor Cycle of November 1953, the ad reading; “Vincent Grey Flash with £50 of racing spares, mileage under 1000, guaranteed perfect. £275.” Perry had led the 1951 NZ TT until the very last lap when the Rudge clutch fitted to the bike failed.…

Rennie Scaysbrook joins Wilson Craig for TT Continuing a tradition of Aussie riders in the famous Northern Irish team, Rennie Scaysbrook will join Wilson Craig Honda for the 2023 Isle of Man TT. Cameron Donald and David ‘Davo’ Johnson have both raced for Wilson Craig which is now owned by Darren Gilpin following the death of founder Wilson Craig in 2019. “Rennie’s story is great. He’s clearly a really talented racer given his success at Pikes Peak and how well he did in his debut year despite the issues he had. I’m excited to see how we can help him progress this year,” said Gilpin. Rennie will contest the RST Superbike, RL360 Superstock and Milwaukee Senior TT races on a Honda CBR1000RR-R. “Moving up from Supersport to Superbikes means I’ll…

• 4-5 March, 2023 – Collie Motorplex, WA The 7-round HCMC Interclub Championship enjoyed ideal weather and although entries were a little down the racing was excellent across the classes, with some outstanding individual performances on the day. The P6 750, Pre-Modern 750, P5 250GP, Pre-Modern 250GP were the first bikes on track for season 2023 and out of the blocks it was Paul Smith (RetroMoto 1990 Suzuki GSXR750) that set the standard for the day winning all three races. Dean Nicholls (Honda NSR250) was the highest placed 250cc machine in ninth place. In the P6 250 Production, P6 125GP David Manson (Turn1 Motorsports Honda RS 125 NF4) won all three races in convincing fashion. Special mention to Lauchy Williams (Huey Rural Contracting 1990 Honda RS 125) who races on…

• 11-12 February, 2023 – Ulverstone, Tasmania The Ulverstone Rowing Club clubrooms were used to house the healthy collection of bikes entered in the many classes for judging. The vast car park and lawns were used for the trade displays and bike parking along with the WSM Freestyle and Trials demonstration. Richardson Motor Cycles had a vast demonstrator fleet of bikes from their House of Motor Cycles division for anyone to come along and go on a demo ride going all weekend. The earliest bike would have been 68-year-old Ron Fellows’ 1910 FN. As a solo in 2012 he rode it from Kathmandu back to his “home” in Belgium. He was just beaten in the pre-1920 class by Mick Johnson’s 1915 Indian Board Racer built from just a few scrap…

• 26 January, 2023 – Caboolture, Qld The Pine Rivers Area of the HMCCQ has a long history of supporting the Samford Museum on Australia Day, but unfortunately remodelling of the adjacent park meant there was no area for a motorcycle display. Glynn Leach noted that the Caboolture Historic Village Celebrated the day, they had plenty of space and were very happy for us to display our historic motorcycles. I counted 35 motorcycles, many of which I hadn’t seen before. There were 11 veterans in the mix including Barry Deeth’s Triumphs from 1907, 1908 and 1909, a very nice 1915 BSA round tank 557cc Model K and a 1926 BSA 250cc. There were three Outfits including Jeff Rook’s 1917 BSA 550cc Model H with replica 1920 Goulding side car, Laurie…

Transforming an XL350 Every now and then there is an article about a bike which brings memories flooding back and the story in OBA 105 about the Honda XL 350 is one of those, as in 1975 I traded a rather tired XL250 on a near-new XL 350 at Tom Byrne’s in Wentworth Ave, Sydney. The XL 250 and 350 were wonderful bikes around town and having watched AJS 7Rs and Manx Nortons in the Australia Day vintage races at Amaroo Park, the XL 350 inevitably became a complete road bike. At the time there were still remnants of the pre-war, pre-Japanese motorcycle industry clustered around Wentworth Ave and Surry Hills where I lived and I can remember a workshop just off Wentworth Ave run by two old blokes. One…

“Pheasant Wood is proud to become the home of All Historic Racing and looks forward to these events growing year on year. As most of you are probably aware there are plans to extend the circuit from its current length of 1.6km to around 3.2km in the very near future. These plans have been in the pipeline for almost 3 years now, with Covid delaying proceedings for just over two years. Rest assured the Pheasant Wood team is now full steam ahead to make these plans a reality, so hopefully 2024 will see the All Historic Racing event run on the longer track. “Along with the planned circuit extension there are plans for a new pit building with garages, driver amenities and viewing areas. I look forward to exciting times…

Organiser Dennis Quinlan has advised that the annual Old Timers Dinner which is usually a fixture in May each year, will not take place in 2023. Dennis is optimistic that the popular evening will be reinstated in 2024. It was also announced that the annual Velocette/Vincent Rally will not happen in 2023 due to accommodation shortages at the regular headquarters, the Caravan Park in Oberon NSW. Dennis usually organises the Velocette side while Jo Wenden looks after the Vincents, and they are confident the rally will be back in place next year.…

The notion of building a pukka race machine using the humble Norton Model 88 as the donor harked back to 1956, when celebrated designer Doug Hele took up a post at Norton. Among many other duties, he was charged with producing a machine that could comply with the new rules for AMA racing (principally the Daytona 200) after the banning of overhead camshaft engines, which made obsolete the previously all-conquering Norton singles. Work began on the 497cc Dominator engine and for the next four years various production 88s were fitted with tweaked bits and extensively road tested. Alongside this, top-secret work continued on the chassis and other components of the “prototype racing twin”, and this was sent to Daytona (with a standard Slimline frame) in March 1961, but failed to finish…

Laverda obviously got caught up in the off-road fever sweeping the Italian nation in the late 1960s and early 1970s, where every second Italian town produced their own version of an ideal dirt bike from a ‘lolly shop’ catalogue of common components. Often the only difference was the frame, tank and plastics. Mr Acerbis must have been flat out designing a different look for the myriad manufacturers. It would seem Laverda pride necessitated a cleansheet design to set themselves apart form the crowd, and so a totally new model was produced. Testing in Tunisia gave it the name Chott from a type of salt lake in the area. The first striking feature is the enclosed chain drive – only seen on the most serious ISDT bikes like JAWA, MZ and…

Chris never made it to Australia that time, nor the next attempt, returning to Ireland twice before settling down to a normal life for a rather long spell. In 2021/22 he retraced the journey in a few stages (and with just as much political drama). This time when he got to India, he had the bike shipped to some friends in Brisbane before returning to Ireland. He finally flew into Australia and was reunited with his bike at the end of February 2023. His itinerary was one week in Brisbane then ride to Sydney where he was to meet with the Moto Guzzi Club and then on to the Festival of Moto Guzzi at the Cathedral (Teo Lamer’s Moto Guzzi Museum) from March 11 to 13. HMCCQ Pine Rivers member…

• 18-19 February 2023 – Sydney Motorsport Park, NSW After enduring the limitations and problems of the Covid period in recent years, the Post Classic Racing Association’s annual open meeting bounced back to something like its former glory over a blisteringly hot Sydney weekend. Held over the full circuit at what we all call Eastern Creek, the entry included reasonable grids across all solo classes and a very healthy turn out of sidecars. PCRA president Ken Lindsay said, “Overall we are very happy with the result and everyone seems to have had a great weekend, despite the heat. This event marked the return to our earlier style of meeting, with trade and merchandise stalls. Gate entry was by gold coin donation and we collected about $1800 there which will help…

A Bantam with Adelaide-built Tilbrook Tom Thumb sidecar. (RL) Weather predictions for the 2023 All British Day were for a bright sunny day with the high estimated at about 28 degrees. So much for forecasts! Heavy showers before the gates opened to the public at 10:30am dampened the area but not the spirits of the organisers or those displaying British-made machinery. Whilst the rain cleared the clouds didn’t, so the day remained overcast but enjoyed by the higher-than-average number of spectators, officially put at 4,836. Entries exceeded 900 including 177 motorcycles, and 759 cars, trucks and other British machinery, an improvement over the last ABD held early in 2020 before the dreaded Covid did its damage, causing cancellations for the past two years. The event this year concentrated on two…

• 4-6 February, 2023 – Invercargill, NZ In the early part of 2021 the chairman of the Southland branch of the Vintage Car Club, came up with the idea of hosting the 2023 National Motorcycle Rally (2023 NMR) in Invercargill the weekend before the Burt Munro Challenge. This offered a number of advantages, the principle being it would be an inducement to riders in the North Island contemplating a 1,700 km, three-day drive and an expensive ferry crossing, to attend. The chosen weekend was Waitangi holiday weekend, with Monday off. The Southland Rally could be included in the weekend. It was decided to hold the Southland Rally on the Saturday and run the 2023 NMR on the Sunday and Monday. This allowed motorcyclists to compete in two rather different rallies,…