Innholdsfortegnelse for February 2022 i The Classic MotorCycle

The smart money was all on the fact that when BSA returned to the motorcycle market, which has been only a matter of time since the name was acquired by the Indian Mahindra Group in 2016, it would, most likely, be with a twin cylinder offering – after all, Royal Enfield’s Interceptor has proved incredibly popular (the UK’s best selling model in 2020) while the Triumph Bonneville enjoys enduring appeal. One would’ve guessed that the new BSA would be a 650 or 750cc twin, priced midway between the Royal Enfield and the cheapest Bonneville. What no one – or few, anyway – saw coming was that the new Beesa would be a single, and a big single too. But what broke cover at the National Motorcycle Museum on December 2,…

The Sidcup & DMCC joined the ‘levelling-up’ movement when the 2021 Jack Thompson Trial, the 32nd such event, returned to its regular first Sunday in December date, just eight months after the postponed 2020 version finally took place. Club stalwart and clerk of the course Alan Clarke has long experience with the Canada Heights territory at his disposal and on this occasion tried out plenty of new variations. His ideas were thoroughly tested when rain on the morning of the trial, far heavier than forecast, could easily have resulted in a tough event. The first lap was more slippery than the second, as the weather remained largely dry, but all the sections could be cleaned. Always a popular date on the classic calendar, the Jack Thompson draws riders from many…

While all the work was going on, Keith did some research with the documentation handed over with the bike – we’ve all done it, an envelope with info is given and the only bit we check straightaway is the registration document. Inside the envelope was a sales invoice from Hallets in Kent and on it was the name ‘Arter Bros.’ Now, Keith recalled the owner saying he thought the bike had been raced at some point and with the name ‘Arter’ surfacing, it warranted more investigation. With the age and registration of the bike known, and the delivery note available, it wasn’t too difficult to track down the delivery history and it had indeed been supplied to a dealer for a ‘customer’ to race. The date it was supplied suggested…

‘Some cheapa – none beata Cheetah!’ was the headline which greeted readers of TMX when southern centre dealer and competition ace Bob Gollner announced the launch of his new, top of the range trials bike in February 1967. In kit form – to overcome the buyer not having to pay the government purchase tax – the complete machine was available for £249, or, if the rider wanted to use his own Villiers or Tiger Cub engine, a complete chassis kit of frame, forks, seat and tank could be purchased for £85. With its brazed, all-welded and nickel-plated frame, there was no doubt that the Cheetah was one of the most beautiful mud-pluggers ever made, but, sadly, it was launched at a time when supplies of Villiers engines was drying up.…

Housed in New Milton, Hampshire, UK, the museum is crammed full of interesting machines, including factory prototypes and numerous ingenious designs from all over the world. There’s one of the world’s largest collections of exotic racing bikes, including the legendary V-eight Moto Guzzi, supercharged V4 AJS and postwar Porcupine, 125cc V-four Suzuki, plus many more. And of course there are plenty of off-road enduro, motocross and trials icons. The museum is open to visitors daily from 10am, year-round. The museum address is Sammy Miller Motorcycle Museum Trust, Bashley, New Milton, Hampshire B25 5SZ. Tel 01425 620777/616644 or visit www.sammymiller.co.ukfor further details.…

Despite being the powerhouse of leading motorcycle factory design offices and development teams, Valentine Page, always known as Val, was something of a mystery man, who certainly wasn’t the flamboyant character many rivals – including Edward Turner (ET) – were. Even Val’s birth year is a mystery – it has been long accepted he was born Hackney, East London in 1892 but the England and Wales hatches, matches and dispatches records imply 1891. We can assume Mr Page entered the workplace as soon as he was old enough, thus rather than study engineering at university, he was apprenticed to a South Coast vehicle dealer, later moving to Talbot, first in London, then Coventry. Aged 16, Val built his first motorcycle from second-hand Chater-Lea chassis parts, fitted with a Fafnir engine.…

Two years in the waiting and the 81st Pioneer Run was finally on – rather later in the year than usual, too, as it took place on October 3, 2021. The plucky veteran riders rode from Tattenham Corner to a new finish at Brighton City Airport in Shoreham. With the first flight out of Shoreham dated to 1910, the facility is billed as the oldest purpose-built commercial airport still in operation in the world, so it seemed a fitting venue. Harold Piffard was the first to use the grazing land in Shoreham to fly his Humming Bird aircraft in 1910 and soon after others, such as the Pashley brothers – who opened a flight training school at the venue – would come to use what became known as Shoreham Airfield.…

Our rather remarkable picture was one of a series used to illustrate an article covering a strenuous, ACU-observed trial, undertaken with three Triumph Tiger single cylinder models – a 250cc Tiger 70, 350cc Tiger 80 and 500cc Tiger 90. Previewing the attempt, The Motor Cycle began by explaining “Since there is not to be a stock-machine TT…” which highlights that there was obviously some clamour for such an event to take place – of course, the idea was to be revisited, but it was 10 years after our image, so 1947, that a Clubman TT was instigated. But we digress. With no Stock/Clubman TT to happen, so Triumph decided to set about a headline-grabbing stunt to underline the excellence of its over-the-counter products. To that end, three brand-new machines were…

My old Triumph I was delighted to see my old Triumph Adventurer on the front of your January 2022 issue – another bike I now wish I hadn’t sold, like all the others! Thought you might be interested to see a photo of the bike when I first purchased it. Your cover bike is the horrible one in the foreground. When I bought it, the bike had just made the return journey back to England after a lifetime in the States, where it had clearly been ‘repurposed.’ Features included handlebars made from 22mm copper plumbing pipe… Nice! No front mudguard, instruments or front brake lever or cable; dented BSA alloy tank, side-mounted numberplate, rocker boxes on the wrong way round and a saddle with no padding, made from plywood, with…

The life of a race machine is often one of a short period of glory followed by a quick fade from the limelight as the next year’s model is launched, in the same way this week’s hot pop group is next week’s has-been. “Once all the parts were ready to go together, assembly was reasonably quick and in very little time, Keith took the bike to his MoT station for the official check, which it passed. Then he was on the phone and Mr Graham was invited over to see the result.” Motorcycles used in racing are quickly shoved into the corner of a workshop, and perhaps a half-life of being loaned to up-and-coming riders looking for something better than what they can afford themselves, or maybe it is robbed…

When first proposed, the idea of a TT for standard machines purchased by regular enthusiasts wasn’t universally embraced by the manufacturers. While some were interested, others were wholeheartedly against it, with more than a few neither fully one way nor the other. Arguments against ranged from ‘the production machines wouldn’t stand up to racing’ to ‘no one wants to see road machines going slowly’ while on the other side, arguments for the race went from ‘a good test of production machines’ to ‘the idea of race success is to sell road motorcycles’ and so forth. Then there was the discussion over what was allowed and what wasn’t, with the ACU adamant the stock machines should be as catalogued and as standard as possible, to rule out works prepped machines. The…

My A10 Anneka was bought late in 1992 from a dealer for £750. It replaced a 1962 A65, which, after a lot of work, had come good enough to ride from Sweden, via Denmark and Germany, to a BSA rally in Holland in a single day. But just when it was right, I’d been persuaded to offer it as a competition prize for the magazine I then worked for. The A10 had been cheap because it was a re-import from South Africa. Hence the export-spec chromed mudguards and Road Rocket optional tank colour; but the guards were fully valanced and the engine all iron – this was a plain, 35bhp Golden Flash. And it needed a complete rebuild. That was undertaken by Miller Motorcycles in St Leonards, East Sussex (the…

Referred to as ‘The Oxford Flier’, John Avery was actually born and raised in Gloucestershire until his father, prewar car competitor Harold Avery, moved the family to Oxford in the early 1940s. Though not particularly interested in motorcycles, John’s dad owned a garage and motorcycles would come into the showroom. When a quarter litre BSA arrived, almost brand-new but with a seized engine, it was passed over to John. Freeing up the motor, the little Beezer was pressed into service for John’s first event, a Reading Ace MCC club trial in 1945. He won. “Scrambling was the thing which attracted me really,” he says, “but I would ride any event.” His first scramble was also a Reading Ace MCC event – the Berkshire Grand National – and the die was…

Bikers and scooterists who were planning to start their year with a bang will have to re-make their plans, as the popular Classic Bike Guide Winter Classic motorcycle show, due to be held at Newark Showground on January 8/9, is the latest event to fall victim to Covid and has been cancelled. Just minutes before this issue of TCM went to press, the organising team for our sister title’s show confirmed the news. The surge in Omicron cases across the UK and Europe, and the Government’s predicted “tidal wave of infections” in January, have been the deciding factors, as the safety of everyone attending is the priority. The event was due to feature TT legend Phillip McCallen, a host of owners’ clubs plus a large indoor and outdoor trade and…

Correspondent Dagobert (presumedly taken from the Frankish king, who lived c603-639) reported on motorcycling in France, highlighting the many differences that exist ‘in the pastime and the industry’ between the country and Britain. “It is at first sight surprising to find such wide differences in the development of the motorcycle in the two countries” our writer notes, before going on “…the Frenchman does not display anything like the same amount of enthusiasm for motorcycling as is shown by his neighbour across the Channel.” By 1912, France had something like 37,000 motorcyclists, an accurately recorded figure, owing to the manner in which machines were registered and taxed; shortly after January 1, annually, each motorcyclist had to purchase a small plate ‘at one of the tax gatherers’ offices, or at one of…

Steve Wilson obviously enjoyed road testing the 150cc D3 Bantam Major (January 2022) and it prompted some memories for me. It was 1958, I was doing National Service and went to the local dealers with a knowledgeable mate to choose my first motorcycle, a 1956 BSA 150cc Bantam Major. I bought it and the next week went with the same mate to get it. We rode back to barracks through Canterbury, with him on the back shouting instructions. I had never ridden before, but youth has confidence. Training and crash helmets were not yet compulsory, so hearing was easy. It was such a pleasant revelation that I rode it 30 miles to Maidstone that very evening to see my girlfriend. A lifetime’s love and devotion were formed, both with motorcycles…

This year’s traditional December show at Kempton Park offered visitors a difficult choice: Scour the numerous jumble pitches, where there were many new projects on offer; indulge the needle/haystack scenario for that elusive spare; or the tempting option of diving into the hall beneath one of the racecourse grandstands (face masks, please!) and enjoy the eponymous show element. An eclectic mix of machinery offered by the clubs and individuals that never fails to turn up the unusual. “An eclectic mix of machinery offered by the clubs and individuals that never fails to turn up the unusual.” Jumbles are held at Kempton throughout the year, but the one supporting the December show always has a greater competition slant, mainly off-road machines – a broad choice of trials bikes as well as…

For the 1953 season, Norton did a big makeover on both Inter models. Gone was the plunger or Garden Gate frame, in came the racebred Featherbed, both nicknames entering folklore due to riders likening the plunger ride to that of a garden gate, while Harold Daniels returned after his first race on the new swinging arm framed Norton and declared it to be ‘like riding a feather bed.’ Also, the engine got an alloy head and barrel instead of the cast iron ones. With more room in the frame for a bigger gearbox, the new Inter received the better, later ’box with all the action inside the cases. A much neater and tidier thing. Additionally catalogued were racer accessories, probably pinched from the Manx model.…

With the gradual easing of restrictions brought about by the pandemic, one classic motorcycle event that was always going to come back to normal quickly, was the week-long ‘Rally International Motos Clasicas,’ better known as the Colombres Rally, which provides daily rides of around 130 miles in the Picos de Europa, Spain. Combined with the ‘Tour of Northern Spain’ taking place a week earlier – and run on a similar format – ‘Colombres’ is two weeks of superb motorcycling in almost ideal conditions, arranged by the organising Moto Club Indianos, which was formed in 2011. Such is the level of organisation and commitment to the events, the club is backed by the Asturian Motorcycle Federation, and one Spanish magazine previously described the Colombres Rally as ‘The Daytona Bike Week of…

Barry Johnson’s Concentric carburettor design was aimed to provide performance, economy and simplicity. And simplicity wasn’t only in regards of design, but also the use of as many common parts across the range as possible – an ambition which soon faltered. For many years, a range of Amal carburettors had a distance between flange hole centres of two inches and the Concentric offered option of O ring seal or gasket: as we all know, fit one or the other, but never both. The O ring size initially chosen suited sizes 22-30mm but with the traditional flange hole centres maintained, this item didn’t suit the 32mm type 900, thus a thinner section O ring was employed for this instrument only. Then some customers didn’t want an air slide; its adjuster hole…

THE SPECIALIST Norvil has been keeping classic era Nortons fully-functioning since the 1980s. For the owner of a first-generation Commando, it’s a one-stop shop. The concern supplies almost exclusively UKsourced items as it also makes much of what it stocks. Les Emery is Norvil’s enthusiastic principal and thanks to him for applying his huge knowledge to this guide. ■ Norvil: 01543 278008; www.norvilmotorcycle.co.uk MODEL HISTORY Parent concern Manganese Bronze Holdings (MBH) already owned Villiers Engineering and added more motorcycle manufacturers to its portfolio including, after its 1966 collapse, Associated Motor Cycles (AMC). Dennis Poore was the man tasked with showing that AMC and its constituent brands remained a viable motorcycle maker. Within months, a small team created the Norton Commando, a sensation when it was launched at Earls Court in…