Innholdsfortegnelse for January 2022 i The Classic MotorCycle

The Great Dorset Steam Fair (August 25-29, 2022) will be introducing a Modern Classic Motorcycle Section for the first time. Norman Macbeth, who lives near Blandford, Dorset has been appointed as section leader. Anyone wishing to be considered as an exhibitor in the new section at the 2022 show, please contact Norman by email at norman.macbeth@gdsf.co.uk with full details of your classic motorcycle including make, model, year of manufacture, history, whether restored, unrestored etc, together with a recent photograph. The Modern Classic Motorcycle Section will cover the years from 1970 to 1995 and complement the usual, large motorcycle display.…

“The end of lockdown restrictions finally permitted a return to the familiar combination of show and jumble.” Heavy rain and strong winds were sharp reminders that summertime had ended the very morning of the final ELK Promotions event for 2021. Such awful conditions however were not enough to deter the many who made it to the familiar South of England Showground venue. While showgoers’ cars spread across a wide area, the bike park remained the haunt of the truly hardy. The end of lockdown restrictions finally permitted a return to the familiar combination of show and jumble. With almost everything under cover, there was no shortage of hunters for bikes, bits and bargains. When calmer and drier conditions arrived later in the morning, the jumblers with outside pitches could finally…

Especially when combined with an empty purse, necessity is truly the mother of invention. And few men’s creative portfolios better illustrate this than that of Cecil Downer-Groves, a prolific inventor a century ago, who took out many provisional patents, without ever following his ideas through to commercial production. Born in 1880 in Jamaica, of English parents who worked a plantation in Spicy Hill, midway between Ocho Rios and Montego Bay, Cecil Downer-Groves (CD-G) came to the UK in 1897 at the age of 17, to train as a pattern maker’s apprentice. In the process of doing so, and afterwards in working for a South London firm of scientific engineers, he acquired many skills associated with prototype engineering. Together with an enquiring mind which evidently asked ‘how?’ rather than ‘why?, this…

As well as supplying guns to the civilian market for more than 150 years, the gunsmiths of Birmingham had supplied firearms to British and Overseas Governments, when, in 1854, during the Crimean War (1853-56), they united to form ‘The Birmingham Small Arms Association,’ or BSA. Seven years later they formed The Birmingham Small Arms Company Ltd. This new company acquired a 25-acre site at Small Heath, Birmingham, and the Great Western Railway agreed to build a station and goods facilities nearby. During 1863, the initial factory building was finished – unfortunately not to the taste of many local residents, who likened it to a dull, bland fortress, with a tower at each corner. At first using high quality American machinery, the wooden parts of guns were factory produced while the…

After embracing social media and posting a random photo of fitting part of this kit, there were lots of comments about the unsuitability of pre-insulated terminals on motorcycle wiring harnesses. Just to prove there are other terminals and connectors available to me – got a blooming big box with hundreds of them – here’s a photo of what will be used to sort the harness. Missing is the self-amalgam tape which I put down somewhere a moment ago and can’t remember where……

Barry Johnson never believed racing alone was the best or only way to develop carburettors, unless intended solely for speed work. While performance and rapid response were considerations, so too was economy, bottom end performance, good control throughout range, ease of fitment, slim design for installation in multiples and robust construction. Quoting from Barry’s published notes, he and his team, including tester Alan Lines, set targets at the outset: cost, performance, universal left and right-hand fitting, central float chamber and metric bore sizes. One of the team’s dislikes of the then-current Monobloc was its mixing chamber top fitting, with knurled ring and fine, easily damaged body threads, thus the concept of securing the mixing chamber with two screws was adopted early in the project. Suddenly, the design was more robust,…

After years of racing and riding, on October 27, 2021, Paul Smart was killed, riding his motorcycle, in a road traffic accident, which is the subject of investigation by the police and coroner. Paul will forever be remembered primarily in motorcycling circles for his association with Ducati. In the accompanying picture, he races his (and it was his; Ducati gave it to him) 750cc V-twin at Silverstone in 1972, one of three mainland UK appearances he made that year on the bike, having secured his place in Ducati legend, by winning the Imola 200 earlier that year. But the ride didn’t come about in a conventional manner. Talking to Classic Racer in 1986, Paul recalled: “In 1972 I was riding Kawasakis in America for Bob Hansen… We had a deal…

The Vintage Motor Cycle Club and Mallory Park Circuit has announced planning is well underway to hold the Festival of 1000 Bikes in 2022. The date is set after a two-year hiatus for July 16/17, 2022, at Mallory Park in Leicestershire. The format is as previously, with road bikes on Saturday and race machines Sunday, evening entertainment on Friday and Saturday, club stands and an autojumble. This event will cater for the earliest veteran and vintage machines up to mid-1990s superbikes. Download the regulations and entry forms from the VMCC website or contact events@vmcc.net for more information.…

Of those finishers, 34 standard ‘stock’ machines secured Premier Awards, with 33 non-stock machines gaining maximum marks, with W T Goodcock (or perhaps ‘Woodcock’ as his name is written both ways) on the right in our photograph, among the latter group, his performance earning him a Special Certificate of Merit. He rode a 3½hp Ariel. The other man in our picture, J Bishop on his 2½hp Sun-Vitesse, was among 22 penalised for not having a front stand. Bishop otherwise qualified for a maximum award, but like his 21 other fellow miscreants, had to make do with a special certificate of performance. The official results read like a who’s who of early 1920s motorcycling. Picked at random, among them were the previous Senior TT winner Howard Davies (on an AJS), fellow…

Loved the Garelli Tiger Cross test by Andy Westlake in the November 2021 issue. It took me right back to my early days on two wheels. However, I must take issue with the statement that the Tiger Cross and Rekord mopeds were imported from 1973 to 1976. I know this to be wrong and they were imported almost as soon as the new law was introduced. How do I know? Well, I had a yellow Mk.1 Rekord, with pedals, which was first registered on April 24, 1972, as EHA 799K. In fact, does anyone know if it is still around? I’d love to know. I cannot remember ever being bested by any other 50, with or without pedals. I had friends who bought other Rekords at the same time as…

New Nortons, old Nortons, New Triumphs, old Triumphs, new legends, old(er) legends… they were all there at 2021’s Museum Live, held, for the first time, as a two-day affair, over October 30/31. The museum’s event was going from strength to strength before you-know-what, but it bounced back with a new format for 2021, the idea being to spread the number of visitors over two days, rather than the over-crowding – particularly of the car parks – which somewhat blighted the pre-pandemic editions of the event. So, two days it was. And it seemed to work a treat. The resurgent Norton concern was in attendance, likewise the established Triumph crew, while star guests spanned the generations; John Cooper was there, John McGuinness too, while current TT top man Peter Hickman was…

With the Second World War finally at an end, the Velocette works at York Road in Birmingham was keen to get back into motorcycle production. Government orders received early in the conflict had resulted in a couple of thousand bikes being built for the war effort, but that was it. Claiming a need for consistency, the War Office soon turned to the big boys, and Norton, Matchless and BSA ultimately provided the bulk of their two-wheeled requirements. Small Heath alone built over 125,000. Velocette completed numerous other specialist manufacturing tasks during the war, but now able to put the demand for Beaufighter exhausts and Wellington bomb hoists firmly behind them, and as conscripted staff began to return from various corners of the empire, the factory wanted to get back to…

THE SPECIALIST If you are looking for bling for your BSA restoration, Barleycorn Engineering has a range of parts, fasteners, oddments, mostly in stainless steel, adding finishing touches to any pre-unit project. Among other models of that era, Barleycorn principal Simon has a thorough knowledge of the Golden Flash and he was kind enough to share it with us for this guide. ■ Barleycorn Engineering: 01379 586728; www.barleycorn.co.uk MODEL HISTORY In 1946, BSA had followed Triumph’s lead in parallel twins with the Val Page/Bert Perkins 500cc A7. The all-important American market was soon looking for larger capacity engines and Bert Hopwood built on the success of that initial design. The similar look of 1949’s new A10 Golden Flash 650cc twin actually concealed many differences from the earlier twin. The distinctive…

I know you are a fan of the wacky and unusual (well, you have two OECs, including a duplex steering example…) so I thought you’d like this picture of a 1923 three-wheeler photographed at last August Bank Holiday Monday’s Grimsthorpe Speed Trials, taken by my mate Mike Smith. Gerry Allen, email. In my first reply to Gerry, I wrote: ‘I assume this wondrous vehicle is an AVRO…’ but couldn’t recall the whole story. As I pinged off the above reply, the grey cells slithered into action to add a second reply: ‘It’s a Harper Runabout built by AV Roe of Manchester.’ This narrow track three-wheeler designed by RO Harper was built first at the AVRO Works, Newton Heath, Manchester c1921-1924 then by Harpers Motors, Old Trafford, Manchester c1924-1926 (perhaps 1928/9).…

With a pair of Rudges to the fore, motorcyclists congregate not for a club event, but for an official exercise, organised by the Cheshire Motor Cycle Dispatch Corps, intended ‘…to bring home to many of the members that main roads do not provide the only means of passage between places that might have to be visited.’ To that end, it was to Jenkin Chapel Hill (located about four miles northeast of Macclesfield and there is a real chapel there, built in 1733) that the mass descended, with around 50 members of the Corps attending. The Motor Cycle explained: “Jenkin’s Chapel is not exactly everybody’s cup of tea, but, on the other hand, in trials circles the hill was for some time considered not really worth observing as a straightforward climb…

I enjoyed the tribute piece about Ken Sprayson in the December 2021 issue. And what a smashing picture of Ken too; looks like Nick Nicholls just managed to grab the shot as Ken powered by. Ken was a brilliant storyteller and once told me a great anecdote about Alec Frick. Alec came to Reynolds from Ambassador, and was a pretty good draughtsman. Ken told me that Alec taught him a lot. Frick came into our conversation because I’d realised that Veloce had asked Reynolds to sketch out a scooter using the LE engine, long before the two-stroke Viceroy scooter was on the stocks. Ken was onto it straightaway, and showed me Frick’s drawings. Ken told me that Frick went on to Jaguar, making it clear that he had been commissioned…

In April 1911, The Motor Cycle ran a story on the opening hill climb of the year with a record entry run by the Oxford Motorcycle Club at Kop Hill, Princess Risborough in Buckinghamshire. It stated that the almost straight climb on a relatively smooth surface devoid of ruts had no equal as an ideal venue, which attracted 142 motorcyclist participants. The publication went on to explain the ACU had a formula which favoured heavy machines with small engines, which caused several riders to weight down their bikes to gain an advantage. Fastest time of the day was set by a 3½hp single cylinder Triumph, which managed to beat many twin cylinder machines. BSA, Kerry-Abingdon, Rudge and Humber machines all also featured in the results at the bottom of the…

Relief may seem an odd emotion to experience when letting rip on a Triumph twin, but that was my first feeling after hitting the road on this TR5T Trophy Trail, owned by Tony Page. Like Tony, back in the day I had always hungered after one of these trail-oriented Meriden 500cc unit twins, with the engine housed in an oil-bearing frame derived from BSA’s B50MX big single. But the two examples I’d been lucky enough to road-test previously had somewhat deflated the dream. The first had seemed peaky, over-stressed and vibratory, with a frightening front brake, and road/trail compromise gearing which appeared to strangle the motor. The next one was better, with the six-inch front brake working almost acceptably, but I still felt that the gearing, the engine’s mild cams…

This particular diminutive BSA, a 1956 D3 Bantam Major 150, is unusual in a couple of ways. Firstly, the 148cc variant, usually finished overall in Pastel Grey, was only made for four years, from 1954, so there are fewer about than the ubiquitous D1 125s, or the many later 175cc versions. And secondly, for this Major’s current keeper, Alex Taylor, it’s exceptional, as his friends have gleefully noted, due to its smart finish. Alex, more than capable with the spanners, has a floating collection of classics, several of which have previously featured in these pages. While all have been stripped and refurbished mechanically, Alex tends to leave the cosmetics as found, with the resulting look either “patinated” or “ratty”, your choice. The D3, previously restored for sale at Bonhams in…

Wiring diagrams are simple schematics which guide the transfer of electrical current from one component to another. They are easy to follow, the sort of thing one does after tea while the coffee is brewing… or so qualified electricians tell me. My experience is slightly different. I find these diagrams confusing, unintelligible and just downright contrary – and I don’t mind admitting it. Yes, I know the logical thing is you start at one component and work systematically, but I still end up tight-lipped and cursing under my breath. At least with an electronic kit from Boyer there are fewer bits in the old points housing, which neatly brings me to a problem of my own creation... When deciding to abandon the distributor as the primary ignition unit and investigate…

After reading the BSA three-wheeler YWA article in TCM, October 2021, friend and magazine regular Brian Young recalled the following memories. “This photograph (right), taken in 1958 is of a friend’s 1937 four-cylinder BSA three-wheeler he bought as a BSA Scout. Later, we were told the Scout was a BSA four-wheeled car. In those days it didn’t matter to us what it was called, we just got on and restored it. To be fair, it didn’t look much better after we had finished, except that you couldn’t see the road through the floor anymore… I seem to remember we used a lot of plywood! “We were told its side-valve four-cylinder engine was based on the Austin Seven design – is that correct? It was a decent runner, turned out to…