Innholdsfortegnelse for June 2022 i The Classic MotorCycle

Dictionaries describe ‘legendary’ as ‘remarkable enough to be famous’. True legendary status is rarely sought, and often appears unbeknown to those creating it, as they’re just getting on with doing the job, whatever the job maybe. Race bikes are a prime example, they’re built to win races and once this is done they’re discarded. Just occasionally though, one survives and transcends to a higher plane to be whispered about with awe, or in the case of Son of Sam – the legendary T160 Triumph triple race bike – discussed in Black Country brogue by John Young, current custodian of this incredible machine, during a talk at the Northumbrian Section of the VMCC’s club night. John regaled the tale of how this ‘not’ works bike built by works mechanics and raced…

British interest in the American sport of flat-track has increased since the style became popularised, initially by custom builders looking for something different. Would-be flat-track racers in this country are mainly restricted to far shorter British speedways, so smaller capacity Japanese machines prevail. Adrian Soames is kicking the trend with his home-built rigid-frame BSA B31, seen here at Iwade, Kent. He machined more than 8lb from the crank flywheels then fitted the top half of a CB34 Gold Star. The many other modifications included fabricating his own fuel and oil tanks.…

Spicer’s first auction of 2022, on March 26, after a year in their new premises, promised to be a good day for vendors and buyers. With an open day on the Saturday before, with all lots on display and food laid on, it was more like a social event with over 200 people attending in the glorious weather. Regular viewing days on the Thursday and Friday meant everyone had space to view and on sale day extra TV monitors around the premises meant there was no overcrowding. With multiple lots of spares and 95 bikes it was the largest auction Spicer’s have ever held, and they sold a healthy 85%. Some highlights were two Sunbeam S7 incomplete projects at £1200 and £1300; lot 551 a 1927 Norton Model 18 at…

That’s Les Williams Thanks for a very good magazine. Your article entitled Saint set for duty, in the May 2022 issue, has a famous Triumph man in the picture. In the article Perry Tait is mentioned, he rode the famous Triumph triple (Slippery Sam) many times, while I think the first man in uniform from the left is Les Williams. Les was in the Royal Signals and after leaving, started work at the Triumph factory at Meriden. He was charge hand in the experimental department and worked on all the triples. He eventually bought Slippery Sam and many production TTs were won on this famous bike. It is now in the National Motorcycle Museum after being rebuilt after the fire. Again, great magazine, thanks. Rob Rank, via email. First in…

Is there a more handsome 1920s motorcycle than the flat-tank Model 18 Norton? Well, I’d put forward the case that quite possibly there’s not – though I am biased. We’ll come to that later. In many ways it represents the ultimate extension of the first, standardised motorcycle design, so an engine fitted in what is still identifiably a bicycle frame, forks which are still – just about – bicycle in their lineage, and the petrol tank between the two top rails of a strengthened bicycle frame. The gearbox is suspended from where the pedal crank would’ve been, with the down tubes prized apart and the engine filling in the space. It is, truly, a motor in a bicycle. The Model 18 is also a vehicle capable of performance, which meant…

THE SPECIALIST Moto Guzzi motorcycles tend to attract a faithful and enthusiastic following. The manufacturer’s long history means there are plenty of its older machines still being ridden and owners are welcomed either by Moto Guzzi Club UK or, in this case, the Vintage MCC. The VMCC's marque specialist is Mike Walker and thanks to him for his assistance with this guide. ■ Vintage Motor Cycle Club: 01283 540557; www.vmcc.net MODEL HISTORY Post Second World War Italy struggled to meet an insatiable demand for transport. New and established manufacturers were offering a plethora of lightweights, with two- or four-stroke engines in a variety of styles. Moto Guzzi had its own distinctive designs, but was also one of the few manufacturers offering larger capacity machines. The Airone (the name means ‘heron’)…

Having managed to persuade this machine into life, I’m more than happy with the current state of cam timing with the motor, but still the reasons behind it not working are puzzling me. As far as I can tell, the cam wheels are common to the whole range over a number of years, though there was a change in tooth form early on in order to quieten the engine. There’s no evidence in the manuals, guides and handbooks I have to suggest the cam timing marks on the cam wheels are different either, yet this must be the case or the engine would have worked on the standard timing. Despite inspecting the cams and wheels I have, and matching them to the numbers in the parts books – yes, I…

On the reverse of this photograph, there’s some brief notes, added at different times, as evidenced by the varying writing implements used and the handwriting styles. The first, beautiful flowing writing, in pencil, describes; “JAP Loxham machine, rider Herbert Houlding, photo by J H Jamison, Preston” while various other styles of writing have added more, including – in Biro – when and where it was published (The Motor Cycle, May 26, 1910) and “1910 Moveo-JAP, with shaft-driven Bosch magneto, makers: Loxham Garages, Preston.” If anyone has seen a copy of enthusiast Paul Ingham’s book ‘Bert Houlding: TT Pioneer’ then they will be familiar with Houlding’s story, though not the picture, as it doesn’t appear in there. Paul still has some copies of his 2012 published work available, to which the…

This rather wonderful photograph appeared in The Motor Cycle of February 25, 1932, with the caption: “There is nothing of the frail lady about Miss Violet Porter of Auckland, New Zealand, who has done over 30,000 miles of lone touring on her BSA since August, 1929. She recently rode 250 miles to see Wizard Smith’s record attempts at 90-mile Beach, and startled the mechanics by appearing shortly after dawn.” Miss Porter’s motorcycle is a BSA Sloper, though it’s the more unusual side-valve (as opposed to overhead valve) version, available in two sizes, 493cc (the same engine size of the ohv model) and also 556cc, achieved by boring a larger hole in the cylinder barrel and fitting an appropriate piston, 85mm as opposed to 80mm – the (already long) 98mm stroke…

Contemporary photographs reveal February 19, 1928, was a bright, sunny day at High Beech in Epping Forest, ideal weather for what is generally held to be the first speedway meeting in England. Some 94 years later, and nine miles away, the elements were less favourable for the Celebration of Speedway marking that anniversary at the National Speedway Museum. With a pessimistic outlook (Storm Franklin ‘imminent’ in Shipping Forecast parlance) this did not bode well for those displaying bikes under the usual gazebos and foldaway shelters. Once again, the Museum of Speedway, located within the Paradise Wildlife Park zoo, had turned the clock back in magnificent style. Nearly every bike on show had its defining single cylinder at the vertical rather than the laydown style that has dominated track racing for…

Way back when, I was fortunate enough to be the custodian of a Rocket Gold Star, 369 FLC, which ultimately left me when it was sold to the VMCC to be raffled off. It was actually a pretty fantastic bit of kit, though I struggled to really know what to use it for, but did a few miles on it, while it also featured extensively in Classic Bike Guide of February 2011 – there was even a poster of it, alongside a DB32 and a DBD34. The main thing I remember about it though, was the rudeness it provoked in other ‘enthusiasts’ – everywhere I stopped, someone would come over and start with the line ‘So is it a real one then?’, then sniggering ‘they all are now’, after I’d…

That the coil ignition and alternator-powered electrics on old British motorcycles have been objects of derision should come as little, or no, surprise. Even in the 1960s, riders were sceptical about their reliability, as the six-volt batteries struggled to feed lighting and ignition through loose or corroded connections. No wonder then that Joseph Lucas, who was the founder of one of the biggest electrical equipment manufacturers of the 20th century, was fondly called the ‘Prince of Darkness.’ But that, I think, is unfair: we only had ourselves to blame. Electrics, as the Lucas epithet suggests, were a mystery to most riders despite their relative simplicity, and were neglected until the lights went out or the engine stopped. Dynamo charging had been the mainstay on motorcycles since electric lights replaced gas…

Firsts and a last hurrah • First IoM TT win by a Manxman • First standalone Lightweight 250cc TT • First dohc machine to race in the Island • First TT ride for Stanley Woods, career – 10 wins from 37 starts, 1922-1939 • First TT rider to have a bend named after him – author stretching a point! • Last side-valve machine winning a TT Entries and disappointment By early April 1922, the Manx Motor Cycle Club had received 135 entries for three classes; 29 runners for the new 250cc Lightweight race scheduled for Tuesday, May 29, 34 machines for the Junior race also planned for May 29, and an impressive 66 men entered the Senior event on June 1, making a total of 129. The remaining six entries…

Another lightweight single Erring from chronological order, we jump forward to October 1952 and Excelsior’s announcement of their next season’s range, including the C series powered by the factory’s newly developed 147cc (55x62mm) single-cylinder, two-stroke unit with bolt-up three-speed Burman gearbox, right-side mounted Wipac flywheel magneto and flange fitted Amal carburettor. The engine was in production for a decade for motorcycle and scooter applications. Sources vary from 1962-64 regarding this engine’s end of production, but although the Walker family sold their Excelsior business to Britax in 1964, a few 147cc U series four machines, with the factory’s own 147cc engine were available as late as 1965, probably new old stock. Twins Back to 1949 and Excelsior’s launch of their totally new engine, the 243cc (50x62mm) Talisman Twin. The concept of…

H&H Classics’ motorcycle sale at the National Motorcycle Museum included some exceptionally rare and interesting machinery, the bidder response endorsing that view, giving the company an 80% sell rate. Top item in the April 6 sale was a wonderful side-valve V-twin Coventry Eagle Flying 8, sold for £94,300. Last on the road in 2019 and used for the Banbury Run, it was beautifully patinated. It is believed that it was used as daily transport for the owner at the time who was an archaeologist, and who had his tools in a wooden box on the back. A lot in current ownership for 40 years and dispatched new to Deeprose Brothers, Catford, SE6 on July 27, 1955 as a Rapide, a Series D Black Knight sold for £35,650. Acquired by the…

Sammy Miller has just revealed this fully restored 1924 Beardmore Precision Ladies Model, so called owing to its step through, loop frame to allow for the ladies’s dresses when mounting/dismounting. The fuel tank was also mounted forward. This now fully restored model is the only known survivor of this model and was made by the FE Baker Group in Kings Norton, Birmingham. The restoration work has been completed by Sammy and chief mechanic, Jim Devereux. The bike joins the nine other ladies models in the Ladies Model section of the museum, including the 1923 Beardmore Precision 350cc side-valve model. Another interesting point of note is one of the museum’s current restoration projects, a 1913 Sun, has a Beardmore Precision Engine, 597cc Side Valve.…

After the few events that were allowed under the Covid measures, the first Elk Promotions show of 2022 was held in far more favourable conditions. Face masks were almost all confined to the numerous motorcycling visitors who had taken advantage of a fine spring day to ride in to this rural Sussex location. The year’s first such occasion is always a mix of the already seen, the recently improved and the newly restored. A trio of V-twins generated some of the greatest interest, confirmed when the award winners were decided. However, there were three very different stories behind each of the interpretations of that classic engine configuration. The oldest was the 1903 Clement of Karl Foulkes-Halbard. This was rescued by his father, Paul, from a French scrapyard in the 1960s,…

On Saturday, July 6, 1957, at 8pm, it’s ‘go’ at the start of the 1957 Monjuic 24-hour race, the famous Spanish street circuit competition held on the track located on the Montjuic mountain in Barcelona, Catalonia. This year’s edition welcomed 45 participating motorcycles, whose first riders are seen running towards their machines after the flag has just been dropped. The Italian factories were taking it particularly seriously, with among those 45 machines, thinly disguised four-stroke single overhead cam 125cc MV Agusta and Ducati Marianna GP racers intent on wresting the title from home maker Montesa, whose 125cc two-stroke machine had filled the first four places the year before. This year, though, Montesa was using some 175cc machines as well. Grand Prix riders Gibraltarian ‘John Grace’ (actually Juan Manual Gracia Yome)…

‘A Rocket goes into orbit… New clubman’s six-fifty twin from BSA’ was the headline which greeted readers of The Motor Cycle on February 8, 1962, announcing the launch of the A10-powered Rocket Gold Star. Usually mounted in a slightly modified – minus the kink to avoid the 500cc single’s oil pump – twin downtube Gold Star frame, the 650cc RGS was – in my opinion – the most beautiful bike ever to leave the Small Heath production lines. But its star didn’t shine for long… By 1962, the pre-unit twin cylinder engines had been superseded by BSA’s new unit construction 650cc A65 and 500cc A50 twins, and production of the RGS would only last for around 18 months. In that time, around 2000 machines would roll out of the factory…

By the mid-1970s both on road and track, the era of the single-cylinder motorcycle was over, killed off by the invasion of faster, more complex, multi-cylinder lightweights from Japan that outperformed the British bikes with half the engine size, and undercut them on price – or so it seemed. But a decade later, in the mid-1980s, the concept of a light, narrow, lean and lithe single-cylinder road bike, designed and developed in light of modern engineering practice, had made a startling global comeback fuelled by its ironic cult status in an unlikely country: Japan. First Yamaha, then Honda with all their many permutations on the single-cylinder theme, had sold tens of thousands of single-cylinder street bikes in their home market, where the sign of ultimate chic in certain two-wheeled circles…

As the UK industry fizzled out in the 1970s, it was fashionable to criticise its reliance on outmoded singles and twins in the face of four or more-cylinder sophistication from Japan. The talk among us young motorcyclists in those days was how the home industry had finally got its comeuppance and could no longer survive on another rehash of the same, tired, old concepts. To hear my contemporaries talk, all the British industry had produced in its entire existence were four-stroke singles, twins and a few basic two-strokes for the small companies who bought engines in. British innovation was laughingly described as moving the valves from the side to the top of the engine, as we lusted over the latest, across-the-frame ohc-four from the east. Such is the naivety of…

Anyone attempting to assemble bits of motorcycle they have lying around, into a working machine, knows there will be work needed to make the bits functional. In a project such as this, it would be all too easy to fling loads of cash at it and have a working motorcycle in a very short time, but where’s the fun in that? The pre-65 trials scene is an example of this, as most machines used in the sport are assembled from bits. Why? In the first instance, there weren’t actually many proper competition machines built by any factory –it took time away from the bread and butter road bike-manufacturing. The other side of this is these days, there are lots of aftermarket bits and pieces available to build whatever bike you…