Innholdsfortegnelse for March 2018 i Real Classic

Thanks to everyone who writes in with comments and (mostly) sane suggestions regarding my endless chaos out in The Shed. I try to reply to them all, but sometimes it’s not possible, due to age, weariness and – remarkably – infirmity. Nothing dramatic, but as a long-time scoffer at those who whine with surprisingly vigorous venom about ‘manflu’, I certainly got my comeuppance. Oh yes, and here’s how. I’d arranged to drop off a 3-wheeler for its service and had also arranged to meet up for a charming lunch with Oliver Hulme, writer for another organ, RC subscriber and a decent bloke. For a Viking. Lovely, lovely February morning. A riding day to dream of and a great trip out. There are loads of fine roads between Bude and Ilfracombe,…

Zenith [noun, usually singular] = pinnacle, apogee, summit [antonym, nadir, abyss]. That’s how the Cambridge Dictionary describes the name that British engineer Frederick W. Barnes, then 27, chose in 1905 to market an innovative two-wheeler with a low-slung frame and hub-centre steering named the Bi-car. Powered by a 3hp German Fafnir engine, when launched at the Crystal Palace show that year this was said to be ‘A revolution in motorcycles’. Although the Bi-car had but a short life, its maker went on to experience both the zenith and the nadir of two-wheeled existence, including copious Brooklands race victories, and twice breaking the World Land Speed Record. Moreover, Zenith rode out two World Wars, but in between them also survived receivership as a consequence of the Depression, before finally dying a…

Why a 1956 Royal Enfield 346cc Clipper, you may ask? They’re a fairly rare sight these days, so why would someone want one? I recently bought one which was advertised for £3500ovno. When I went to collect it I asked the seller, who’d owned it for the previous 38 years, if he’d had he had any other calls? The answer was ‘no’, which told me a lot. I got it for £250 less than the asking price, to replace the not working regulator (cut-out box) powered by the dynamo with a modern solid state unit and 6V LED bulbs. In fact, I should have asked for more off. Although the Clipper is MoT exempt, both of the 3:25 x 18 tyres need replacing; new rubber is always a good idea.…

When it came to fuelling the plot, my days of faffing about with secondhand carbs are long gone for anything I want to run properly, not when brand new carbs are easily available and relatively cheaply. Many people dismiss the Mk2 Concentric as being fiddly to set up, and it’s true in the last days of Amal there were some problems with porosity of the bodies. Older ones can also suffer wear in the choke housing, which really throws set-up way out. But these days Burlen produce them on new tooling and with a porosity test bench that actually works, so on new Mk2s dial-in should be pretty straightforward – I’ll keep you posted. The main thing is, not only do Mk2s look more ‘racey’, the improved design actually works…

What with the current and entirely entertaining trend for bobber bikes built with big fat front tyres, this seemed like a good time to remind myself that … well … there’s nothing new under the classic sun. Take the Sunbeam S7, possibly the world’s original gentleman’s bob. Except … it’s not a bobber at all. Bobbing refers to the mudguards, mostly to the rear, and the S7 was constructed with seriously generous mudguarding. I have seen a couple of chopped Sunbeams, a remarkable thought in these restorative days, but never a bobber ’beam. This is possibly just as well. Sunbeam’s misty green machine (OK, so they also painted them black, but green is so much more … green) was never the glorious success its builders had hoped for. You almost…

Winter was coming and I needed a challenging project. The Fleabay advert said: ‘BMW R45/65 café racer, bobber, street tracker project’. The owner said that the bike was a 1978 model but had not been registered in the UK until 1990. An import, perhaps? I put in my maximum bid and won the auction. Speaking to the seller, he seemed to be a reasonable person but was a bit disappointed that the bike and its bits had not sold for more. I arranged a courier and the project arrived a few days later. So what had I got? The bike arrived as a rolling project loosely assembled with its engine installed, a heap of new wiring, a partially installed Motogadget M-unit, powder-coated frame and swinging arm, vapour-blasted engine, two fuel…

Most of us will be aware of the ‘neo retro’ genre which has crept up on us over the last few years. It’s a neat marketing term that just describes a new bike which looks like an old bike – simple. Royal Enfield and Harley-Davidson have been successfully doing it… since forever. These machines mostly favour the looks of British twins from 1950s and 60s, with tubular frames, telescopic front and swinging arm rear suspension, spoked 18/19-inch wheels, dualseats and all with a similar wheelbase. To my old eyes (and I assume most of yours: the average age of readership is 62 years) this format looks just right, being the aspirational object of our formative years. At that time I could have easily slipped into a life of crime for…

Next it was time to tackle the Enfield’s biggest issue: vibration. This would mean taking out the flywheels, and getting the engine out of the frame is relatively straightforward compared to any 1950 Brit singles with a separate gearbox. To make things a bit more manageable, the rockerboxes, fuel injection body and cylinder head can be removed while the engine’s still in the frame. There is a bunch of modern style, waterproof connectors up behind the air cleaner that must be removed for access – don’t overlook the engine temperature sender which lives in the rear of the cylinder. The exhaust gas thingy screws out of the exhaust pipe and is easier than finding the connector. Remember to put a few winds in the cable before screwing it back in,…

NEVERWOZZA NORTON I thought I should drop you a line as I have seen the December 2017 issue of RealClassic and of course noticed the mention of the Norton 76 which I have on loan to the National Motorcycle Museum. I did note your mention that more than one must have been built at Marston Road but I can confirm that only one was built at the factory during the sit-in. This will now make you wonder how the second example exists, which I will try to explain. For the USA market the lower emission SU carburettor was required. The required steps to incorporate the SU meant that the frame had to be modified. Two frames were prepared during the development of the bike and my father, Bernard Hooper, bought…

For nearly 20 years, BSA’s 650 twin topped the company’s range. In that time it underwent a total transformation – starting with a separate engine and gearbox in a rigid frame, and finishing with a unit construction powerplant in an oil-bearing, fully suspended chassis. Each incarnation has its devotees: for every A10 enthusiast there’s an eager A65 owner. Some people have even owned one of each – like Colin, the owner of the unit A65 Star you see here. Colin has previously owned a Golden Flash; the base-model A10 all-rounder. It’s now been replaced with the Star, the cooking version of the A65. So Colin is perfectly placed to settle the question once and for all – which is the better classic bike? Is it really worth paying maybe 20%…

My friend Chris has been a fan of the Triumph TRW for many years and is an expert in fettling and maintaining these rare machines. I asked him why he became such a devotee: ‘The TRW is a slow, gentle and assured cruiser that is fun and exceptionally forgiving to ride. However I do realise they are an acquired taste and might not suit everybody. Being rare and difficult to find also makes it an overlooked and relatively unknown motorcycle. ‘With the growing popularity of military gatherings they have now become popular, and as a result prices are definitely on the rise. Although I’ve owned five to date, I have always needed to advertise to find one. Today it is quite possible to pick up a nice example from a…

I generally think that ‘how to’ articles come from professional experts with immaculate and well-equipped workshops who impart secret knowledge to us mere mortals with our leaky overfilled sheds and mismatched tool sets. While re-felting my workshop roof the other day I decided, what the hell, I will write up my top ten (OK, maybe more like twenty) tools, tips and wrinkles. If one or two of them help or inspire one or two of others then I’ve done my bit for (tinkering) society. I am definitely in the ‘amateur’ camp and don’t boast a clinically-clean workshop or a past life in the development department of ACME motorcycles. However, a long career in engineering has created an ability to add up, and a degree of caution when following unproven knowledge.…

I’ve always enjoyed working on and with carbs. Not the edible kind, please be serious. Carbs hold no fears. This is not because I am either skilled or bold, it’s because in these enlightened days I can buy a new one when and if I destroy the old one. This is a good thing, and it was not always the case. At one point I became a sort-of mysteriously partial expert on which carbs from what bikes could be pressed into service on other bikes. The bikes which needed attention to their carbs were almost always AMC, and usually twins. They were affordable and available, and no one else liked them much. I did. But – truth be told – no more than I liked BSA twins, or non-featherbed Norton…