Innholdsfortegnelse for September 2017 i The Classic MotorCycle

ElkPromotions is celebrating 25 years of promoting shows and jumbles around theRomney Marsh area. In recent years, the venuehas been settledon a large field just southof the village of Hamstreet. By mid-morningon themost recent occasion (June 25), an impressive areaof the grass was covered by lines of visitors’ bikes. Voting slips were given to everyone whowas exhibiting in the show, so the results were truly by popular choice.With all the slips returned, counting began andby early afternoon the coveted rosettes started to appear on the chosen. Best 1950s bike went to Vince Gill, who was enjoying the result of a four-year restoration ofaNorton ES2. Competition in the70s class sawhistory repeat itself as old showroom rivals BSAand Norton went head to head once more, Lightning versusCommando. Both hadmuch tocommend them, butSmall…

get it first SUBSCRIPTION RATES Direct debit SIXMONTHLY: Credit card ONEYEAR: UK £20 £42 For overseas rates visit: www.classicmagazines.co.uk/tcm-overseas WHY SUBSCRIBE? .Save over21%offthe coverprice .Nevermiss an issueof TheClassicMotorcycle .Getevery issue straight toyourdoor “By subscribing to The Classic MotorCycle you’ll get a fresh bundle of classic motorcycling goodness to savour at your leisure every month, and you’ll save money too!” James Robinson 2 EASY WAYS TO SUBSCRIBE ONLINEAT:www.classicmagazines.co.uk/tcmdps .CALL: 01507 529529andquoteTCMDPS…

The 1961 WelshThreeDay Trial was a tough event indeed – retirements were many and from the record entry of 105, over half fell by the wayside, fromboth machine breakages and from rider exhaustion. Of the starting line-up of 27 sidecar outfits, only one sidecarmade it to the Llandrindod Wells finishing line – a rorty-sounding 350cc BSAGold Star, ridden by Bathmotorcycle dealer Dave Holoway, with his cousin Nigel in the chair. Surviving, unrestored competition bikes are a rarity but six decades on from his win, I was fortunate enough to meet up with Dave Holoway and get to ride the same Goldie that won him the best sidecar award all those years ago. The bike is now ownedbyWest Country enthusiast KenRees and 50 years after he bought the big BSA, it…

“The McIntyre Special is a curious affair.” There’s a delightful video on YouTube of Bob McIntyre in his workshop. This is the other side of BobMcIntyre, as the RP-voiced narrator rightly points out: Bob Mac the engineer. Of course, BobMcIntyre was better known as the ‘Flying Scot’ – the man so formidable on a racing machine that even Geoff Duke described himas “the most determined rider he had ever come across” He was also – let’s not forget – the manwho cracked the 100mph record on his Gilera four in the 1957 Senior TT (thanks to an injured Geoff Duke suggesting Gilera useMac as his replacement). But on the 60th anniversary of Bob Mac’s 100mph record, let’s look not at ‘the Flying Scot’, instead let’s consider themethodical, mechanical Scotsman. As…

1928-season JAP motorcycle engines Arange of enquiries regarding JAP engines indicates some confusion exists with anumber of readers new to classic motorcycles.While ‘Jap’ used in motorcycling contextmay be an unfortunate abbreviation for ‘Japanese’ motorcycles, for the veteran, vintage and classicmotorcycle world, JAP was the brand given to the products ofMessrs JAPrestwich andCoLtd of Tottenham, London. Outside this feature, it is worth noting the companywas also involved in the early years of cinematography, built pioneering transmission systems, aircraft engines, light car engines (other than the familiar V-twins), a range of AZA two-stroke units, stationary/industrial engines and more. The list (right) from the 1928-season JAP catalogue gives a taste of the extensive range of four-stroke motorcycle engines offered. Throughout its entire production years, JAP added, updatedand dropped engines, thus each year’s catalogue…

There’s no argument about the most famous trials motorcycle ever – it’s GOV 132, the singlecylinder Ariel SammyMiller racked up literally hundreds of wins aboard during the late 1950s and early 1960s. But there were other works Ariels, too, including this one – GOV 131. On GOV 131, Stockton-on-Tees lad Gordon Blakeway was part of a three-man Ariel works team in 1957/58, along with Miller and Ron Langston, on Ariel HT5 GOV 130. Blakeway continued on 130 in 1959, though at the end of the year, Ariel disbanded its works team, the firm ceasing four-strokemanufacture tomake the twostroke Leader/Arrow. The Ariel trials irons of the 1950s were top-notch kit. Though Miller’s machine was hugely modified by the time it was retired in the mid-1960s, it started off as a ‘standard’…

Twomotorcycle-mounted scouts come to the aid of a lorry, stranded with a broken rear axle, somewhere in south Yorkshire one would reason, being that Swinton andMexborough are just north-east of Rotherham, on the banks of the River Don. The lorry was ‘conveying supplies to the camp’ from where, one assumes, the scouts had come; the motorcycling press had been at the forefront of the appeals for motorcyclists to join the war effort (war having been declared on July 28, 1914) so much so that just seven days after the outbreak of hostilities, the territorial units were all filled and there was a war office waiting list.The Motor Cycle stated (in the flippant tone of the ‘over by Christmas’ then feeling of the day): “Our readers are advised to seek other…

When 24-hour events provoked thosewithin earshot of the Surrey track to successfully sue the track’s owners for considerable sums of money, the solutionwas to run such events over two days – thus the ‘Double 12,’ held when the daylight was at its longest. With the revival of Brooklands, the Double 12 concept also returned, with various driving tests, including the famous Test Hill, and then a sprint around the adjacentMercedes-Benz test track. The event has had a limited amount of motorcycle interest in recent years, but it was decided that 2017would be different. The usual meeting format was to include the official opening of the start/finish straight, whichwas exposed after almost 80 years beneath a Second World War hangar when wartime Brooklands was responsible for building prodigious numbers of aircraft.…

Though it is Italy’s premier event for historic motorcycles, the ASIMotoShow isn’t limited to home-made machinery and there’s always ahealthy showing of international marques dating from 1900 right through to the superbikes of the 1990s. But if there was an award for the biggest turnout it would have to go to Rudge, with over 30 owners out to prove that the Coventry manufacturer still has a special place in Italian hearts – after all, Enzo Ferrari ran a Rudge race team in the 1930s and a number of Italian manufacturers used Rudge Python engines. Eight-time TT winner Charlie Williams joined the Rudge gang, riding a 1933TTReplica taken out to 585cc. “I’m really enjoying myself here,” he says before offering advice on how tohandle a rigid-rear racer. “Just keep the power…

For anevent that is only eight years old, theFestival of Jurby – held this year on August 27 – takes some beating. Fewevents can boast the variety, the crowds and the riders as those seen at the Isle of Man’s north westerly circuit during theClassic TT festival. After all, this is an event slap bang in themiddle of oneof the world’smost important classic racing weekends. And let’s be fair, the Isle of Man is the spiritual home ofmotorcycle racing. But this year Jurby’s organiser Rupert Murden has pulledout all the stops, centring Jurby around themomentous anniversary of BobMcIntyre’s 100mph lap record, set in the 1957 Senior TT on his works Gilera four. As such, Jurbywill be graced with significant Bob Mac-related machines, including a 1964 500cc Bianchi twin, the 1956…

Early summer brings with it the Banbury Run, filling the Warwickshire countryside with pre-1931 motorcycles. I often sketch the odd engine detail while at this event as there is always an interesting variant that catches my eye. This year, I sketched nothing but engines though, starting with an overhead camshaft Humber and ending with a super rare AJS lightweight racer. 1920 AJS TT prototype The year 1921 was a historic one for AJS, as the Wolverhampton firm took the top four places in the 350c Junior Isle of Man TT -and then Howard R Davies won the 500cc Senior race on his 'junior' Ajay for good measure, too. This major success wouldn't have been possible without the work that was put into the AJS machines that sped their way around…

HARLEY-DAVIDSON’S ‘IRON HEAD’ SPORTSTER THE SPECIALIST Established in London’s fashionable King’s Road in 1924, Warr’s Harley-Davidson is officially Europe’s oldest Harley dealership group and for some years the only official UK importer. By the mid-1950s, postwar import restrictions were finally eased to permit civilian models to be sold to those with the (still considerable) wherewithal required. Among those early sales were Harley’s new ‘Iron Head’ Sportsters. Thanks to managing director John Warr for supplying the information for this restoration guide. ? Warr’s Harley-Davidson: 0207 736 2934 www.warrs.com MODELHISTORY In early 1950s America, Harley-Davidson was being bested by the British twins. Harley’s salvation came in 1957 with the launch of the XL Sportster. With its overhead-valve engine it offered 100mph performance straight out of the showroom. Much was carried over from…

YOUR EVENT SHOULD BE HERE The Classic MotorCycle is anxious to learn all about your motorcycle-related events. Contact us at The Classic MotorCycle, Mortons Media Ltd, Diary Listings, PO Box 99, Horncastle, Lincs LN9 6LZ or email obmfreeads@mortons.co.uk AUGUST 4-6 LTTS Presents the 5th Annual Low ‘n’ SleazyBike ‘n’ Bands Weekend. Slow &Easy Pub, LostockGralam, Northwich, CW9 7PJ. Tel: 01606 42148. Donington ClassicMotorcycle Festival. Donington Park, Castle Donington, Derby, DE74 2RP Tel: 01142 873885 www.crmc.co.uk/donington-2017 Oddballs Rally. Abingdon RugbyClub, LambrickWay, OX14 5TJ Email: oddballs.rally@aol.co.uk TOMCCMeriden Bring it Back Rally. Barkers’ Butts RFC, Warwickshire, CV5 9AR. AUGUST 5 Rufforth Autojumble. Rufforth Park, York. Tel: 01904 738620. www.rufforthautojumble.com ClassicMotorcycle Show&Cars.The Coach&Horses, 95TheGreen, Stotfold, Hitchin, SG5 4DG. Tel: 07963 609143. AUGUST 5-6 International West Kent Run.The Friars, Aylesford, Kent, ME20 7BX Tel: 07761…

‘Legendary’ is a termthat is, frankly, bandied aroundmore than is appropriate or necessary. But thismotorcycle is that – it is a machine which created a legend and which fuelled the dreams and fantasies ofmore than one generation of schoolboys. Admittedly, the first generation of shorttrouser wearers would have been during the Second WorldWar, while Imay have been the only schoolboy frommy generation (or at least one of a few!) fascinated by the legend and story, and the image of GingerWood, front wheel aloft, atDonington Park in 1938. For during the SecondWorldWar, the picture was used in publicitymaterial, reminding people that as soon as hostilities ceased, they should be looking towards a Vincent-HRDto provide their thrills. But what hadmade PhillipConrad Vincent (PCV) decide to take a SeriesAV-twin racer toDonington Park on…

In the unlikely event of a newMoto Guzzi Airone Sport being seen in 1949 Britain, it would have stood out like an orchid in a cabbage patch. Exotic, flamboyant and sophisticated; it was everything the C-class BSAs (the only quarter-litre four-strokes currentlymade here in significant numbers) patently were not.Mind you, that’s not the same thing as saying it would have been universally admired. Even without the inevitable postw twar aversion towards anythingmade by a recent adversary, themajor characteristic typifying the traditional Britishmotorcyclist was his distrust of unorthodoxy, and to British eyes thismotorcycle was (and is) certainly unorthodox. Fromtelescopic forks whose movement was guided by rollers, to rear suspension with dampers looking like dogs’ hind legs, there was little reassuring familiarity about the Guzzi Airone. And that applied to the engine…

Magic moments are often conjured from everyday, unlikely ingredients. An empty, well-surfaced back road, running downhill for amile or so to a T-junction. The blue and white of a Springmorning with a few light clouds above. And an unlikely classicmotorcycle – what could bemore everyday than a well-used 1950s 350? Particularly one whose dualseat was covered with blackmesh like Ena Sharples’ hairnet, to keepthenibblingmice atbay in the shed? Andtherewas afinal, invisible element, the warp and woof of personal history – this was notmy first time on these singles. So there I was, testing Reg Eyre’s 1954-based Ariel NH, and there was that pale empty road, with good lines of sight each way as it wound past some trees and an estate gateway, switching smoothly left and right, then climbing for…

Outwardly, the BSA storywas forever and they’dnever succumb to the vagaries of world economics, poormanagement decisions and customer whims. But the Small Heath giant did – and surpassingly quickly. 1931 • BSA began introducingnew sporting models, startingwith the four-speed 350cc ohv single cylinder Blue Star. • Daimler, part of the BSAGroup, acquired car-maker Lanchester and transferred production to Coventry. Its Sparkbrook premises, next toBSA’s Montgomery Street works, were taken over by the BSAgroup. • As in1926BSA declined a stand at the London Motor Cycle Show, instead relying on privatedealers’ shows to promote the next season’s 12 solo model range. • Major rival AJS was forced into liquidation thanks to poor decision making by its bankers. After being sold to Matchless, it realised AJSwas solvent and viable. It was a lucky…

History French physicist and physics lecturer at the Conservatoire des Arts&Mètiers in Paris Gaston Plantè (1834-1889) is universally creditedwith inventing the rechargeable lead acid battery in 1859. Earlier, some French scientists and others were studying galvanism and carrying out other electrical research and in 1801 Nicolas Gautherot observed and noted that after an electrical supply, such as from a Volta-type battery, had been disconnected fromsome metal wires or plates that had been used for electrolysis type research, a small amount of electrical current remained in the wires or plates. At this time, scientists were involved with many electrical projects, including electricity generated by animals. Until 1859, all batteries used for electric current supply weren’t rechargeable in the way we understand today. Using the observations, papers and reports of Gautherot and…

EDITOR James Robinson Tel 01507 529405 Fax 01507 371066 email jrobinson@mortons.co.uk CONTRIBUTORS INTHIS ISSUE TimBritton, Rachael Clegg,MikeDavis, JonathanHill, Stewart Perry, Roy Poynting, Richard Rosenthal, Martin Squires, Jerry Thurston, Phillip Tooth, Alan Turner, Andy Westlake, Steve Wilson. PRODUCTION EDITOR SarahWilkinson SENIOR DESIGNER Kelvin Clements DESIGNERS Michael Baumber, Libby Fincham PICTURE DESK Paul Fincham, Jonathan Schofield, Angie Sisestean PUBLISHER TimHartley DIVISIONAL ADVERTISING MANAGER Billy Manning ADVERTISING SarahMitchell-Savage Tel 01507 529418 email smitchell-savage@mortons.co.uk SUBSCRIPTION MANAGER Paul Deacon CIRCULATIONMANAGER Steve O’Hara MARKETING MANAGER Charlotte Park COMMERCIAL DIRECTOR Nigel Hole PUBLISHINGDIRECTOR Dan Savage EDITORIAL ADDRESS PO Box 99, Horncastle, Lincolnshire LN9 6LZ VISITOUR WEBSITE www.classicmotorcycle.co.uk GENERAL ENQUIRIES &BACK ISSUES Tel 01507 529529, 24-hour answerphone email help@classicmagazines.co.uk www.classicmagazines.co.uk ARCHIVE ENQUIRIES Jane Skayman jskayman@mortons.co.uk Tel 01507 529423 SUBSCRIPTION Full subscription rates (but see pages 16-17 for offer):…