Innholdsfortegnelse for May 2021 i The Classic MotorCycle

1921 The Motor Cycle confirmed its earlier announcement it would again be presenting a trophy to be won outright for the fastest Lightweight (under 250cc) motorcycle in the year’s IoM Tourist Trophy Races. The 1920 race proved there was much interest in the Lightweight class of the Junior (350cc) IoM TT and it was hoped The Motor Cycle’s continued support would further the development of miniature motorcycles. The Lightweight Trophy was offered in 1914 and first presented in 1920. The Motor Cycle hoped this would encourage the building of lighter machines for all classes of racing and road riding. And it was noted (below) the lightest machines in the top three of the 1920 Senior and Junior races were victorious. 1946 Motor Cycling’s Graham Walker (former IoM TT rider and…

Reading the January 2021 article on the 50cc TT, and the follow-up in the February 2021 issue, brought back happy memories for me. I was at the 1962 TT and watched these incredible machines screaming round Braddan Bridge, swapping cogs mid corner. I remember the race was won by Ernst Degner on the Suzuki by a whisker from Luigi Taveri and Tommy Robb, both on Hondas which revved to 17,500 rpm. I think they had an ignition cut out button and changed gear without the clutch being used. Imagine finishing the two-lap race at just over 75mph on a tiddler! I was lucky to get close up to entrants of all classes during scrutineering, and took photos… Mike Hailwood with his dad Stan, Derek Minter, Jim Redman and Gary Hocking…

Appearances can be deceptive, and that’s a little bit the case here – insomuch as despite it looking pretty much finished, the project Velocette isn’t really quite as far on as it would seem, although completion gets ever nearer. That’s because, well, I couldn’t resist ‘dressing up’ the Viper, using the tank and seat off dad’s 1966 MSS, just to see what the Viper would look like… There are things still to do and bits to source; I found a second-hand toolbox on eBay, which I’m sure had been listed before, and once again I kept an eye on it, this time going so far as to bid; but once again it didn’t reach its estimate, despite being bid to more than I thought it was worth, especially considering it…

From a visit to a scramble at Brands Hatch circuit, a few miles from the Jackson family farm in Kent, to starring in probably the most famous picture in trials, it hardly seems as though Gordon Leonard Jackson put a foot wrong before retiring from motorcycle sport and making his mark in car trials. Says Gordon, “I was still at school when dad took me along to Brands and I thought this scrambling seemed fun, so asked if there was anything on the next weekend…” What was on was a trial and young Gordon learned there were many more trials held than scrambles so, as soon as he could, he got hold of a trials bike and had a go. Early on in his riding, Gordon bumped into another young…

Ignition coils for classic motorcycles, cars, etc, comprise a laminated iron core concentrically wound with approximately 300 turns of thicker copper wire – the primary winding – and approximately 25,000 turns of thin copper wire, the secondary winding. An internal or external current limiting resister is often involved. With the ignition system switched on when the contact breaker closes, after a fractional delay due to inductance of the coil, battery supplied current flows through the coil’s primary winding, producing a magnetic field in the iron core and air (or oil filled) space about the core. As the contact breaker (or electronic switch) opens, the current oscillates between the coil formed inductor and the capacitor (condenser) connected to the contact breaker, altering the magnetic field of the coil’s core inducing high…

In the lead up to the 1962 Sidecar TT, it was a case of which of the BMW crews would run out victorious, and while the two-tone green outfit piloted by Chris Vincent was acknowledged to be fast and its driver skilful, the pushrod parallel twin BSA A7 engine was no match for the overhead camshaft, Rennsport flat-twin motors powering the stellar BMW devices. After all, BMW had won every sidecar TT since 1955, its re-introductory year being 1954. Vincent and passenger Eric Bliss didn’t seemingly have a chance. But they won. Born January 20, 1935, Birmingham native Chris Vincent started his working career at ‘The BSA’, though in those early days he was also in the employ of several other firms around Birmingham at various points – including Velocette…

One of the highlights of H&H’s sale at the National Motorcycle Museum on April 28, is the rather fabulous Indian Four depicted, dating to 1937. The red rarity was sold new in the UK and has been in its current ownership since 1967, having been restored in the 1980s and unused since 1995, though started regularly until a couple of years ago. The 1265cc machine is estimated at £45,000 to £55,000. There’s plenty of other attractive motorcycles on offer too, including a cracking NUT V-twin, an unrestored Series C Vincent Comet, a Matchless Model X and a pair of vintage AJS singles. Have a look at handh.co.uk for more.…

Like many early British motorcycle marques, Sunbeam’s antecedents date back to its origins as a bicycle manufacturer – though that in fact only came about because cycling was the company owner’s hobby! Twice Mayor of Wolverhampton, John Marston was a pillar of civic society in Victorian England, as owner of the largest japanning factory in the Black Country. This was a local speciality comprising a form of Oriental-inspired metal finishing then popular for various household tableware and other metalwork, which was duly replaced by enamelling and, later, electroplating. Marston was a keen cyclist, so almost inevitably he began building his own bicycles using his firm’s japanning treatment to impart a finished lustre to them. Apparently his wife Ellen saw one of his early bikes leaning against a wall with its…

The Brooklands race facility, in Surrey, was Britain’s first purpose-built motorsport complex, opening in 1907. It was instigated by pioneer sporting automotive enthusiast Hugh Fortescue Locke King, greatly assisted by his wife Ethel, the determined lady helping to bring her husband’s dream to fruition, as well as saving him from bankruptcy. Hugh was born on October 7, 1848, the son of Peter Locke King, who had inherited a substantial amount of land from his own father and had also been busily buying more too, all in and around Weybridge in Surrey. Peter died in 1885, with his estate, then valued at £500,000, passing to Hugh. In 1873, Hugh Locke King was called to the bar, though it’s reckoned he probably never practised. In fact, it seems he didn’t ever really…

‘NEW sport for motorcyclists’ splashed the Daily Mirror on Monday, June 13, 1928. The headline was referring to the then-novel dirt track racing, which was starting to grip the nation. Dirt tracks were popping up across the country and along with them, a whole host of two-wheeled heroes. Among them was the intrepid Clem Beckett – born and bred Oldham lad and part-time blacksmith. Those of you who read last month’s instalment will know about him already, for those who didn’t, be prepared to meet a true daredevil. But back to the context: it’s 1928 and Britain is brimming with dirt tracks thanks to huge demand for the high-risk stakes taken by its riders. Britain was barely 10 years from the atrocities of the First World War and yet its…

THE SPECIALIST Combining many years working in the motorcycle trade with a keen interest in classic machines, Ian Mosscrop branched out on his own to launch Thunderbird Spares in 2007. Not just Thunderbirds, but his activities include supplying parts for all classic Triumphs as well as BSAs and Nortons. The business also offers rebuilding and tuning services. Many thanks to Ian for his assistance with this guide. ■ Thunderbird Spares: 01772 691377; www.thunderbirdspares.com MODEL HISTORY The Speed Twin had already shown the world there was a viable alternative engine to the near-ubiquitous single. In 1949, Triumph raised the bar again with the launch of the 650cc Thunderbird. The evocative name, inspired by an American motel, proved apt when three launch versions running on low-octane ‘Pool’ petrol, still managed 500 miles…

Moving into the 1890s, the sport of cycle racing on velodromes had become a huge attraction for the general public. Crowds would easily reach 5000 plus, filling the stalls of the banked stadiums throughout countries such as America, England, France and Germany, to name a few. With the advent of electric lighting, an evening's entertainment within this enclosed space startecl to bring in even more people, especially from the working class as it was now outside of their working hours. With compulsory paid entry and the enclosed space of the banked velodrome, cycling had become a very lucrative sport for the promotors, managers and riders involved. This was not just a venue for entertainment, but also a proving ground for athletic prowess and the promotion of the latest cycling technology,…

Murray Walker Of the recent obituaries in the national press of Murray Walker, who has passed away aged 97, many make scant reference to his motorcycling career, while one called it ‘underwhelming.’ Well, to most people, winning a Gold Medal in an ISDT, and a first class award in the Scottish Six Days, as Walker did in 1949 (as well as the being part of the winning club team) is anything but underwhelming – but then Walker did so much more, too. Born Graeme Murray Walker in Birmingham in October 1923, Murray was the only son of Graham and Elsie. Graham being, of course, Graham Walker, works racer, TT winner, team manager, then editor of Motor Cycling magazine for nearly 25 years. It was only natural Murray would be interested…

As a 13-year-old watching the film ‘Easy Rider,’ little could Jim Thompson have imagined that five decades later, he would be following the same wheel-tracks of ‘Captain America’ across the USA, or that during that trip he would become the owner of this month’s test bike. The machine in question is a BMW R75/5, which rolled off the production lines in 1972, and one known by aficionados of the German marque as ‘The Toaster’ – a nickname given to the bike due to its likeness to the classic Dualit product. West Country enthusiast Jim was on a lengthy trip from Peru to the USA with his friend Ben Mitchell on a pair of lightweight 250cc Yamahas when he came across the BMW at a dealership in Ocean City, Maryland, in…

Angela Cotton likes Triumphs. You may recall our article on her Tigress 250 scooter, and another on her Tiger Cubs (TCM, November 2019). Six years ago at Netley Marsh autojumble she upped her game, purchasing a 1961 3TA 350cc twin. “I’d always fancied a bigger Triumph,” she said. “I really wanted a 500, but this was within budget.” “Though you’ve spent the difference and more since then,” laughed Angela’s partner Graeme Stretch. He’s into Triumphs too, though in his case it’s the classic four-wheeled kind, and he has helped with many of Angela’s rebuilds. The 350 from the trader turned out to have been bodged together with several non-original and ill-fitting parts. This was to be a practical, ridden machine, not a show bike, so the lack of detail originality…

Even in his wildest dreams, as Edinburgh MCC secretary Campbell McGregor received entries for the first ‘Scottish’ in 1909, he couldn't have imagined the event would gain such worldwide acclaim. Punctuated by two world wars, Foot and Mouth Disease and now Covid-19, the Scottish Six Days Trial (SSDT) remains ‘the event’ for many trials riders and enthusiasts. What could be better than a week’s holiday in the Highlands, competing, watching or officiating on the most scenic trials sections in the world, against backdrops which have inspired thousands of artists and poets. Over the years, many SSDT histories have been penned – rather than repeat them, here’s a few highlights to set the scene. 1909 (July 1): Twenty-six entrants assembled at Murrayfield tram terminus, Edinburgh, for the start of the first…

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 obmwallplanner@mortons.co.uk In normal times, the diary pages are a regular, popular go-to section of The Classic MotorCycle… But these are far from normal times. The team at TCM has received much correspondence regarding date changes and so on, but the situation is ever-changing. However, please keep sending us all the information you can and we’ll keep our systems updated. Normal service all-round will resume as soon as possible. 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…

EDITOR James Robinson Tel 01507 529405 Fax 01507 371066 email jrobinson@mortons.co.uk REGULAR CONTRIBUTORS Tim Britton, Rachael Clegg, Jonathan Hill, Roy Poynting, Richard Rosenthal, Martin Squires, Jerry Thurston, Alan Turner, Andy Westlake. CONTRIBUTORS IN THIS ISSUE Alan Cathcart, Colin Rogers. PRODUCTION EDITOR Sarah Wilkinson ART EDITOR Kelvin Clements DESIGNER Charlotte Fairman PUBLISHER Tim Hartley GROUP ADVERTISING MANAGER Sue Keily DIVISIONAL ADVERTISING MANAGER Tom Lee ADVERTISING Sarah Mitchell-Savage Tel 01507 529418, email smitchell-savage@mortons.co.uk SALES AND DISTRIBUTION MANAGER Carl Smith MARKETING MANAGER Charlotte Park COMMERCIAL DIRECTOR Nigel Hole PUBLISHING DIRECTOR Dan Savage EDITORIAL ADDRESS PO Box 99, Horncastle, Lincolnshire LN9 6LZ VISIT OUR 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…