Innholdsfortegnelse for April 2022 i The Classic MotorCycle

Thick fog and generally poor weather conditions did not stop over 50 AJS and Matchless machines making their way to the iconic Ace Cafe to celebrate 70 years of the owners’ club on January 16, 2022. Formed there with just six people in 1952 after a gentleman by the name of John Trant wrote a letter to the weekly title Motor Cycling suggesting the formation of a club for owners of the two brands, the AJS and Matchless Owners’ Club has gone from strength to strength. Although no longer riding at the age of 91, John still attends Yorkshire section meetings and is pleased to see the club thriving, with over 40 UK local and many overseas sections spread around the world. One of the few owners’ clubs with its…

The Moto Guzzi stand at the annual NEC motorcycle show was always the highlight for me. In the pre-internet days of the late 1980s, if you hadn’t looked closely at that week’s MCN, you would most likely have no idea what was going to be on display. At the 1989 show, I anticipated that there might be updated Le Mans and California models, but, to my amazement, taking centre stage, there were two stunning, identical twins. Two black bikes, perched one above the other, in the centre of the stand. With orange stripes, chrome clip-on bars and brightly polished rocker covers gleaming in the spotlights, they stole the show, and my heart. A walk around revealed the Le Mans spec engine with 40mm Dell’Orto carbs, cast wheels, chrome engine bars,…

THE SPECIALIST The BSA Owners’ Club was established many years ago and with thousands of members worldwide membership is a must for anyone enthusiastic about anything made by what was once the world’s largest motorcycle manufacturer. Thanks to various club members for their observations on the Dandy and especially arch-proponent Rex Webb. ■ www.bsaownersclub.co.uk MODEL HISTORY The 1955 Earls Court Show saw a plethora of mopeds, mainly imported continental designs, apparently ready to sweep away outmoded autocycles. With an eye on new markets, BSA displayed its Beeza scooter and the Dandy ‘scooterette’. Both were well received, but the Beeza vanished without trace and the Dandy’s development problems delayed production until the 1957 model year. Like most British manufacturers, BSA had struggled to match stylish European lightweights with its own products.…

In part one (published in the December 2021 issue) of this two-part epic, we left the reader on a cliffhanger... Dennis Norman had thrilled the crowds in Anderstorp, Sweden in 1969, where he left his trademark trail of smoke behind him when sprinting down the tarmac strip on his double-engined Triumph, covering the quarter mile in times tantalisingly close to the 10-second bracket. Classic head-to-head battles against the famous Pegasus Vincent team were the headline act at these meetings, as the British entries demonstrated they were at the top of the game. The following year, Dennis finally broke the 10 seconds barrier, at Santa Pod in July 1970, with a time of 9.92 seconds on Conquest. Dennis was certainly making a name for himself, so much so that America came…

On Monday, February 9, 1925, at approaching 9pm, a crowd gathers to watch the departure of a 350cc OK-Bradshaw, fitted with an OK Number 2 touring sidecar, on a 2000-mile nonstop trial. Occupying the appendage was an ACU observer, while there was a team of eight riders scheduled behind the Easting screen fitted to the motorcycle – the ACUmen (there were three of them, including Arthur Bourne, the others S T Huggett and T Pope) was afforded the same protection. Most of the riders were OK agents in various parts of the country – they were J Edmondson (Keswick), R Hickman (Luton), G Sankey (Service Co., London), R Lawson (Bristol), Frank Hallam (Birmingham), plus OK head tester W J Johnson, A Johnson (another OK tester) and Jack Emerson, from Bradshaw…

T his picture was published in Motor Cycling of April 10, 1958, with the caption: “Bernal Osbourne, our Midlands man, looks on as the frame number is stamped on a 250cc James Commodore he has just selected on the assembly line. The machine, after it has been run in, will be the subject of a Motor Cycling road test.” All perfectly understandable and seemingly logical, the apparently random choosing of the James, which would then be given a write-up. But then we have to go forward to Motor Cycling of August 14, 1958, to discover said description: that’s four months, which on a weekly title, means 16 issues, though all was apparently explained early on in the (rather glowing) feature. “Let it be stated boldly, at the outset, that the…

“A flexible, fast-cruising touring mount with superlative steering and good suspension” was the way The Motor Cycle described the new swinging arm rear suspension BSA B31 on its launch in April 1954. Seven decades on, I’ve just turned the engine off and dismounted following a wonderful ride through the twists and turns of the superb roads in West Wiltshire and can only 100% agree with the period journalist’s statement. In fact, I would go as far in saying that this month’s test bike is the best 350cc single I have ever ridden. BSA aficionados will be quick to point out it’s not a model that came from the Small Heath production lines, as it clearly isn’t a standard B31, a Gold Star or one of the very rare Catalina racers,…

By the late 1920s, Triumph was struggling financially, as were rivals. As the world economic slump and ensuing depression took its toll, Triumph’s motorcycle designs were too dated for some who still had cash in their pocket and, at the factory, Triumph cars were gaining ground in the hierarchy. Despite – or perhaps because of – the runaway success of their single cylinder motorcycles with Triumph built and designed engines from mid Edwardian days until the First World War, then further bolstered by another success story, the 550cc three-speed Model H, the company waited until 1923 before dabbling in the car world. First off was the 1.4 litre 10/20 followed two years later by the 1.9 litre 13/30 with Lockheed hydraulic brakes, claimed to be the first British car to…

Special exhibition at Stafford Among the many attractions which make a visit to Stafford show over April 23/24 even more tempting this year, is the chance to see an extraordinary display of personal memorabilia belonging to the late, great Mike Hailwood – all items which still belong to Mike’s family, and the majority of which have never been seen in public before. Among the collection items are, for example, Mike’s George Medal, the yellow baseball cap he wore on the 1978 TT podium, his torn up 1966 season MV Agusta contract, right down to things like his leftover supply of stock letters declining invitations in the wake of his 1978 comeback victory, his expenses details from being on a Question of Sport, his monogrammed hairbrushes, passports, diaries… It really is…

The wrong run? Congratulations to you and the team for the remarkable way that you have all kept TCM going over the last two years and maintained, if not improved, the standard. It’s always a treat to see it in the letterbox. The contributors all bring a different angle to their subject and, being a late starter with classic bikes, I learn a lot from each edition. I have no particular favourites but always enjoy the Sketchbook Travels piece, especially for Martin Squires’ illustrations which really bring the bikes to life, somehow better than a photo. I’ve just reread his piece about Dennis Norman in the December 2021 edition. It talks about his riding WD motorcycles up and down the ‘infamous Cresta Run’ in the summer, with a terrific picture…

Covid-19 sadly killed off Indian’s plans for the 2020 centenary of its iconic Scout model’s birth, to be celebrated with a series of global parties, with the result that it passed almost unnoticed. Still, the ongoing showroom success of what is the Minnesota firm’s best-selling current model since making its born-again debut in 2015 with its liquid-cooled 1133cc (69ci) 60 degree V-twin eight-valve engine, followed a year later by the entry-level Scout 60 with smaller 999cc (61ci) motor, and together hastening the demise of Harley’s air-cooled OHV Sportster, will have helped make up for that as far as the marque’s current owner Polaris is concerned. A conservative but astutely managed Midwestern company, Polaris’ management today could hardly be more different than those who ended up running the original Indian Motocycle…

A cold, crisp morning, with clear blue skies, greeted the hundreds of spectators who travelled to the MoD land at Hungry Hill, close to the garrison town of Aldershot, for the annual Talmag Trophy Trial at the end of January. Normally, for both riders and spectators it is an event not to be missed and this year expectation was even higher, as last year’s event was cancelled due to Covid, hence the high, early turnout of spectators. The excellent programme listed 216 riders and passengers in the eight classes for machines manufactured before 1965, including those made from parts from that were in circulation before the cut-off date, with many more potential riders being refused an entry due to missing the closing date. In 2020, the Talmag organisers accepted electronic…

In part one we covered motivation, inspiration, acquisition; then the initial strip down and the start of the rebuild, including chroming by Vehicle and General Polishers and Platers Ltd at Arlesley, in Hertfordshire; plus the wheel rebuilds, which included coating the hubs and new rims and spokes, all taken care of by Central Wheel Components. Now it was time for the paintwork and my good friends at Morley Brothers of Cambridge was the place to go. I regularly use them and they are into restoring bikes themselves, so when you see their own bikes, you are happy to enlist them with anything, and as per the other work I’d had done, about a month after dropping off my bits, I collected my items. Once stripped down, I just cleaned all…

During the pioneer period, transmission shock absorbers weren’t a consideration for the majority of motorcycle makers. Many early machines used drive belts to the back wheel from either engine or gearbox (later machines) which acted as a transmission shock absorber, although that wasn’t the primary reason for their fitment. Riders and makers of all chain or shaft drive machines often put up with the effects of transmission impact shocks. As motorcycle design advanced and engines became more powerful and/or offered faster throttle response, when in particular allied to poor gear change technique, the need for transmission shock absorbers increased. However, there were and still are motorcycles made without, though often these are low power models. In our custody lives a Vespa PK50 scooter devoid of a transmission shock absorber. The…