Indholdsfortegnelse for December 2023 i The Classic MotorCycle

Now, if one was heading off to the ‘Land of Sun and Sand’ – as the feature with which this accompanying picture was published, on June 25, 1936, was entitled – how many would choose an Ariel Square Four for the journey? With the feature last month (November 2023, Trip of a lifetime, page 46) involving taking a BSA M20 into the same area, what with the M20 being simple, rugged, tough and hardy, as after all 100,000-plus soldiers can’t be wrong, an early Square Four seems a somewhat curious choice. But it was what this correspondent – it is he who is replenishing the oil in the inset picture – had chosen to do. The feature is attributed to ‘H Mazanec = Engelhardswalf’ with no further clues, really, as…

Riding along the Suffolk back roads on Andy Tiernan’s circa 1958 swinging arm BSA B33, my mind started to ponder the question: “Is this the best old British motorcycle of them all?” My case for the possible affirmative answer to that question, comes from multiple sources. As many will be aware, Andy Tiernan is one of the longest-serving, successful classic motorcycle dealers in the world, who has a fine collection of classic machines himself; anyone who buys a copy of Andy’s annual, all-for-charity (The East Anglian Air Ambulance) calendar will appreciate that there’s often a little note saying ‘from Andy’s private collection’ on some particularly tasty tackle, though, for the most part, that’s what the collection remains – private. But what does Andy ride if you see him on the…

You would be reading a more coherent account of the Royal Enfielders Ireland 2023 Powers the Pot rally – if it wasn’t for Niall Carroll. On the Sunday after the rally had dispersed, I had stayed on at the site to try to write up the skirling, excellent event. Fair weather, despite the odd shower, had graced the weekend; not a given, way up the slopes of the Comeragh Mountains, south of Clonmel, where the site is located. So I was sitting under a 150-year-old weeping ash on a bench in front of the main building, with a clear, tree-framed view north to the mountain opposite, starting my notes, when Niall (pronounced ‘Nile’), who owns the site, came out to join his dog Kevin and sat down with me. Base…

Understanding design Pioneer motorcycle builders were off to a running start developing their models, as experience of cycle design helped them with steering head angles, length between axles and needed rigidity. But adding the weight of an engine, filled fuel tank, the lengthening of frames to accommodate pedalling gear and later gearboxes meant the cycle design was a good starting point, but wasn’t the ideal. An example of design problems lives in our workshop. About 15 years ago, son Peter bought a totally dismantled 1910 499cc Campion-JAP. It proved the easiest restoration we’ve undertaken, with Peter finishing it in seven months, from five boxes of parts. Although dismantled for 35 years, the largest missing item was a fork spring. With ongoing leg injury problems, I put my 2023 Pioneer Run…

Rebuild | Triumph unit twin Classic life There are two loosely connected influences for this project, one is the for-1961-only TR5AC – as stunning a 500cc Triumph as you could ever wish to see – the other is the similar year 500cc scrambler built for, or by, John Giles as part of the Triumph factory off-road team. The TR5AC is based around the T100A and has the bathtubs removed and a few special parts created, but not too many, as such special equipment impacts on the cost. So it uses the standard frame, sub-frame and swinging arm, standard forks – though it is possible it may have had sidecar sliders on the stanchions as they’re slightly longer than the solo ones – while hubs and rims too are pretty much…

The reproduced image shows the Triumph sidecar outfit driven by H C Marston, who is behind his mount one assumes, stopped alongside grinning J S Watson’s Sunbeam; somewhat of a coincidence that they should be parked next to each other, as the name of the family behind Sunbeam was Marston. To Watson’s left is a Rudge which one assumes is a spectator’s motorcycle as it sports no riding number; while in the right foreground, (there’s not really enough visible to make out the make of machine, though it has a light-coloured fuel tank) is perhaps another Rudge? What we do know for sure, was that Marston was on a 3½hp Triumph, which he used to good effect, being one of only 16 to claim a coveted gold medal, of which…

This bizarre but strangely handsome – or at least weirdly appealing – device is a rather fascinating creation. Reported in The Motor Cycle of November 14, 1963, though without a picture (that followed on a later page) it is explained thus: “Here come the Mounties! But look what they’re mounted on! Motor-tricycles, no less! In fact the three-wheel motor cycle [sic] is quite common in North America, where it is employed in traffic control duties; but, for the first time, a British factory has broken into the market. From Pashleys (a specialist firm noted for such exotic vehicles as powered rickshaws) a batch of 52 police trikes are on their way to the Toronto City force. The model? You could describe it as a three-wheel 346cc Royal Enfield, with four-and-reverse…

Necessity is the mother of invention, and that explains the plethora of frequently ingenious, sometimes crude but always unique road racing specials concocted in Britain in the immediate aftermath of the Second World War. For despite the ensuing hardship and privation as bombed-out Britain struggled to recover from its crucial role in helping to defeat Hitler, the ceasefire in hostilities released a wave of pent-up energy in all walks of life. For some, this included an urge to go motorcycle road racing, which had been suppressed for six long years since September 1939. But the problem was, with what? The postwar production of brand-new racers by firms like Norton, Velocette and AJS only catered for the 350/500cc categories, and anyway, these cost the earth and were carefully rationed out, with…

Motorcycle legend, Graham Walker (1896-1962) was a TT winner, multiple ISDT gold medal winner, team manager, broadcaster and journalist. Walker’s love affair with motorcycles began aged 13 and his legacy continues with the Graham Walker Memorial Run, which, in this its 59th year, attracted 75 pre-Second World War machines to the National Motor Museum at Beaulieu in Hampshire, where Walker was the first motorcycle curator. Walker had a strong affinity with Beaulieu, actually living in a wing of Beaulieu Palace House when he first moved to Hampshire in 1954. In 1956, his enthusiasm for motorcycles led to a special motorcycle section being opened. The run is a collaboration between two clubs, the Sunbeam Motor Cycle Club and the Southampton and District Motor Cycle Club. Graham was the chairman of the…

THE SPECIALIST Long-time marque enthusiast Gary Warr established ‘Ossa Stuff’ with the aim of establishing a one-stop UK business to ease supply problems and eliminate expensive shipping costs. Looking after his own bikes had necessitated buying parts from a range of suppliers, based either in Europe or the USA. After some years of experience, Gary can help with most parts, new, pattern or second-hand. We are grateful for his input with this guide. ■ Ossa Stuff: 01258 577900; www.ossastuff.com MODEL HISTORY Prewar, Ossa was a manufacturer of film projector equipment, referenced in the logo adopted for the motorcycles it started producing postwar. Initially fitted with either two- or four-stroke engines, the company eventually became more focused. Ossa established a good reputation in America with off-road models that were powered by…

Although the vast majority of motorcycles built from the pioneer days to the Second World War had rigid frames, there were exceptions from makers as diverse as OEC, ABC, PV and Indian. Arguably, the first true sprung motorcycle frames were made circa 1906 by ASL (Air Springs Ltd), although whether their desire was to promote their shock absorbers or to market motorcycles is debatable. Why many makers left it until the late 1940s to develop sprung frames is questionable, but economy of manufacture may have encouraged such delays. Many knowledgeable souls considered sprung frames unsuitable for racing or high-speed road work, stating ‘it adds unwanted flexibility to frames and thus machine instability.’ The Italians regularly disproved this dodgy, unfounded theory through the 1930s, with Stanley Woods proving suspension worked well…

Cole and co wow the Stafford crowds We’ll be doing more on the autumn Stafford Show next month, though suffice to say it was a great weekend, with star guest Henry Cole, Allen Millyard and Skid Willison proving a big hit with showgoers, as exampled by our image below. Elsewhere, Ray Robinson’s Honda CB750 K1 claimed best in show, and despite the rain and mud, the stunt teams and outdoor entertainments all went ahead as planned, as sun replaced rain over the course of the weekend. Crowds were buoyant, enthusiasm was high and the club displays were first class. Excellent all round. Tickets up for grabs for Motorcyle Live The ‘modern’ motorcycle show at the NEC, Motorcycle Live, is nearly upon us, being held over November 18-26, 2023. Though it…

The 75th anniversary of the Velocette LE This year, 2023, is an auspicious year for Velocette owners as it marks the 75th anniversary of the launch of the Velocette LE and, as the new publicity officer of the LE Velo Club, I didn’t feel I could let it go unrecognised. The LE was announced to the motorcycle press on October 28, 1948, then was on show at Earls Court from November 28, 1948. Throughout the history of the Veloce company, it was always the ambition of the directors to produce a motorcycle for every man, inexpensive but not cheap, easy to maintain and to run. The LE resulted from many years of careful consideration and incorporated many features that had been realised in the prototype Roarer racer and its roadster…

Suck, squeeze, bang, blow. At the turn of the last century, if there was one man in America who really understood the workings of the internal combustion engine, it was Oscar Hedstrom. The inventor and designer of Indian motorcycles built his prototype in 1901, only six years after Count Albert de Dion and Georges Bouton introduced the first ‘high speed’ four-stroke engine. Like the French original, the Hedstrom engine had an automatic inlet valve operated by cylinder suction, positioned directly above the side exhaust valve – a design that would become known as the F-Head. The inlet valve was housed in a bronze casting that carried the mixture from the carburettor. This valve used a light spring but no rocker, cam or pushrod to open it. When the piston moved…

As ideas go, ‘expensive and exclusive’ is an interesting one, it being the chosen theme for this year’s National Motorcycle Museum display at the Motorcycle Live show, held over November 18-26, 2023, at Birmingham’s NEC. Curated by National Motorcycle Museum director James Hewing, it chronicles the development of the motorcycle and what became exclusive as time went by. As James pointed out: “I included the 1903 Minerapowered BSA, because, at the time it was made, any motorcycle would’ve been exclusive, and expensive!” He’s right, of course, because as we progress through the ages, we see how exclusivity soon comes to the fore – in the time of the BSA and the 1912 Brough, motorcycles would’ve been few and far between, but by the 1920s they were a far more common…

After withdrawing from Grand Prix racing in 1957, Gilera turned their attention towards off-road competition, particularly the ISDT, to keep the brand in the public eye. Chasing competition success had been a strategy that had served Gilera well. Between 1950 and 1957 alone, the firm won six World Championships, with high-calibre riders like Umberto Masetti, Geoff Duke and Libero Liberati giving plenty for the marketing department to plaster over sales literature. Why couldn’t that work with off-road competition too? Though the Saturno was the real race replica, it was the factory’s lightweights that had brought in the revenue to keep Gilera’s racers racing and the lines moving at Arcore. Simple, reliable singles, available in Turismo and Sport trims to suit the differing tastes, proved consistent sellers throughout the 1950s and…