Innholdsfortegnelse for October 2022 i The Classic MotorCycle

That there’s going to be a 1990s hall at the Classic Motorcycle Mechanics Show in October has set me thinking. All the time I’ve been involved in the vintage and classic scene – which is practically all my four-decades-plus of life, and the last 20 years work-wise – it’s always been that classic is, to me personally, harking back to an ‘old’ era. I am into old bikes. But now, suddenly, the era I grew up in and with, is classic. When I was a teenager – I turned 13 in 1991 – my interest was for all motorcycles, from old through to new. I didn’t really differentiate between what was what, era-wise; I wanted an RC30 Honda (actually, it was the 400cc NC30 really) and an 888 Ducati, just…

Internationally recognised as the premier event in the veteran motorcycle movement, the Pioneer Run has always attracted the largest gathering of pre-1915 solos, sidecars and tricycles in the world, providing an opportunity to see machines at least 108 years old in action on the road and on display at the finish. The Sunbeam Motor Cycle Club (MCC), founded in 1924, inaugurated the Pioneer Run from London to Brighton in 1930. The run has been repeated every year since, except when prevented by war 1940-45, fuel crisis 1974, foot and mouth 2001, bad weather 2013 and Covid in 2020. The 2022 run is on October 2, starting from Epsom racecourse, with the finish at Brighton City Airport, Shoreham.…

‘Once a racer, always a racer,’ so the saying goes, and if proof were needed, then the Veteran Speedway Riders Open Championship provided plenty. For the modest track at Lydd in the Romney Marsh, this is one of the highlights of the calendar and this year was the 13th occasion the championships had been held. There were three classes of competition. Riders of 45 and over could compete on the early-generation two-valve bikes, and with the current champion defending and two previous holders challenging, then close competition was surely guaranteed. Those riding the later four-valve bikes had to be over 40. Tim Curnock has made racing older machinery something of a speciality and he was the 2021 champion, but former champion Dean Felton had an impressive CV covering years of…

Dave Skinner – or ‘Dave the Watch’ as he is known by his motorcycle friends in Bath – is, on the face of it, a stereotypical example of a classic motorcycle owner and enthusiast. Despite the fact his odometer of life will click over 90 years on this planet in July 2023, he still comfortably kicks over his smart, trusty BSA B31 and takes part in local vintage/classic rides. Like many others of his age group, Dave also has several mopeds in his small, eclectic collection of machines, and enjoys their lightweight simplicity. Where perhaps he differs is that these come from the French Motobecane factory, as opposed to having come from a British firm, such as, say, Raleigh. Ironically, the Raleigh RM series were actually Motobecane items made under…

Gilera was on top of the world. The firm had won the premier class of the Grand Prix Championship five times between 1950 and 1955. Giuseppe Gilera, founder of the company that bore his name, and his son Ferruccio, decided that the time was ripe to contest all four solo classes of the World Championship series. They asked top designer Franco Passoni to make a 350cc version of the fabulous double overhead camshaft 500cc four, and 250cc and 125cc twins. The smaller parallel twin debuted in the second round of the Italian Championship at Monza on May 20, 1956. Things couldn’t have begun better for Passoni’s baby. Romolo Ferri led from start to finish, beating ace rider Carlo Ubbiali’s DOHC MV Agusta single by 30 seconds. Passoni was so overcome…

You were asking | Expert adviceYOU WERE ASKING IS SPONSORED BY CASTROL CLASSIC OILS Cadmium and nickel-like finishes With reference to your concise reply to the question on cadmium plated fasteners (YWA September 2022, page 84), an alternative worth considering is to glass bead blast stainless steel fixings. This offers a cadmium-like result, with a hint of yellow. The actual finish depends upon how smooth the item was before blasting. An alternative finish for stainless steel items is to heat polished items with an appropriate gas torch until they show a bit of yellow; they then look as though they have been nickel finished. Unsurprising, as nickel is a constituent of stainless steel. Both are relatively tedious processes but give good results. Rob Drury, email. Thank you, Rob, for detailing…

A colleague once remarked that I had a butterfly mind. I don’t know if it was intended as an insult or a compliment, but I have to admit that it’s true when it comes to motorcycles. Just as flying insects ignore the colour of a bloom provided it carries the right pollen, I find all two and three wheelers interesting, whatever their style, capacity, engine type, maker or country of origin. Now, this is obviously something of a boon to a motorcycle journalist. There might not be too much to say about the conventional frames and Villiers engines of Ambassadors, say, but I can always draw attention to details like their idiosyncratic front mudguards, which slide up and down in deliberate contact with the fork stanchions’ paintwork. And while afficionados…

1922 Cyril Pullin (349 and 733cc ohv Douglas twins) smashed a fistful of flying kilometre records in the Avenue des Acacias, Paris, raising the 750cc solo class flying kilometre from 89.91 to 98.039mph and 350cc solo from 83.07 to 91.72mph. With sidecar hitched up, Pullin repeated his successes. 1947 Bemsee (BMCRC – British Motor Cycle Racing Club) staged its first post Second World War road race meeting. With Brooklands shut for racing, the club opted for the Dunholme airfield circuit. With strong trade support, good crowds and the who’s who of racing travelling to the RAF base just north of Lincoln, a good day’s racing was in prospect. Ted Frend, Les Graham and Jock West raced factory 500cc AJS Porcupines, Les Archer a 250cc EMC (a thinly disguised DKW), Denis…

In the September 21, 1961 issue of The Motor Cycle, Peter Fraser was let loose on Triumph works star Johnny Giles’s motorcycle, reported to be the machine which the International Six Days Trial (ISDT) British Trophy team rider would be aboard one month later for the trial ‘proper.’ Fraser had gone to Wales, even starting his ride at the Hotel Metropole, headquarters of the forthcoming event, which was taking place October 2-7, 1961. It was reported how this machine was to be ridden by Giles, with Vase A team member Roy Peplow on another and Gordon Blakeway, Vase B, on a third, all of which were identical. The half-litre trio of Triumphs used the same 490cc engine/gearbox unit as the road-going Tiger 100A (which was still in 1961, Bathtub bedecked/encumbered…)…

In a project like this, it’s the little things which take a long time. Shoving an engine and gearbox together is relatively quick and simple, but gathering all the bits takes time. There’s no cutting or grinding or modifying to do, even changing the forks from the hoped-for BSA ones to the newly acquired Triumph items happened very quickly, apart from the missing fork top nut, which was eventually found in a box elsewhere. The point being, for me at least, forks, engines, gearboxes and so on are not bits I can modify, so they’re to standard spec. Other pieces have been modified in the past by those more adept with welding equipment than me and this is where the fiddly bits come into play. In my workshop, I don’t…

YOUR EVENT SHOULD BE HERE The Classic MotorCycle is anxious to learn all about your motorcycle-related events. Contact us at The Classic MotorCycle, Mortons Media Ltd, Diary Listings, PO Box 99, Horncastle, Lincs LN9 6LZ or email obmwallplanner@mortons.co.uk SEPTEMBER 2022 1 Straightliners, Manx Ramsey Sprint. Tel: Helen 07921 712266. Email: helen@straightliners.co.ukwww.straightliners.events 2 OCTOBER ISSUE OF THE CLASSIC MOTORCYCLE AVAILABLE NOW 2 Ace Cafe Reunion Weekend (Continental Run Ride-In), Ace Cafe, Ace Corner, North Circular Road, Stonebridge, London, NW10 7UD acecafe.com 3 YOUR OLD BIKE MART WITH YOU TODAY 3 Cirencester Autojumble, New Cattle Market, Driffield Road, Cirencester GL7 5QA. Tel: Paul Powell 07831 421455. 3 21st Buntingford Classic, High Street, Buntingford, Hertfordshire. www.buntingford chamberof commerce.co.uk 3 Sleaford Classic Car & Motorcycle Show, Council Offices Car Park, Lafford Terrace, Eastgate, Sleaford,…

“The Harley-Davidson Source Book” All the milestone production models since 1903 Author: Mitch BergeronPublished by: Motorbooks, an imprint of the Quarto GroupEmail:specialsales@quarto.comwww.QuartoKnows.comAvailable from specialist bookshops and Amazon. Hardback, 280 x 240mm (landscape); 287 pages with 400 colour and black and white photographs. ISBN 978-0-7603-6190-0 £35 GB; $41 US; $54 CAD; $61 AUD William S Harley and Arthur Davidson had been friends since childhood. Born and raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the young men shared a strong mechanical aptitude. They were in their early 20s in 1901, both working at the Bath Manufacturing Company – Harley as an apprentice draughtsman and Davidson as a pattern maker. William Harley’s first engine design, based on a De Dion Bouton, is dated 1901. However, the first complete machine, with much-improved single cylinder side-valve engine of…

Further thoughts on Fafnir Thanks for the interesting article in the September 2022 issue, on Ian Hatton’s very nice Fafnir, of which I can confirm a previous keeper was Chips Sibley. Since, as the article said, I had a Fafnir, I would like to cover some queries as to the possible makes of these machines. Both Ian and my example most definitely have a typical Fafnir engine, although Ian’s is an inlet over exhaust (IOE) with automatic inlet valve (AIV) with coil ignition. My old 1910 bike had mechanical IOE valves with magneto ignition. Fafnir’s factory was on the border of Belgium and Germany and the town was variously named Aix La Chapelle, or Aachen. Another difference in the specification of these two bikes is Ian’s has an NSU pulley…

Works Norton rider Jimmie Guthrie was on the last lap of the 1937 500cc German Motorcycle Grand Prix, with victory assured by a comfortable margin from the second placed rider Karl Gall, BMW. It would have been Jimmie’s hat-trick of GP wins at the Hohenstein-Ernstthal circuit, which was renamed the Sachsensring at the conclusion of the 1937 race. However, fate stepped in, as Jimmie crashed heavily within 1.6km of the finish line. It was a massive shock to everyone, with Korpsführer Adolf Hühnlein personally investigating the matter. Hühnlein even delayed the award ceremony by 30 minutes so he could establish what had happened. Eventually, the news was shocking, with Jimmie on his way to hospital with serious multiple fractures. When the grim-faced Hühnlein commenced the award ceremony, he made a…

July 2022 was full of club rallies and this entry into the sketchbook was my second of the month, a combined event between the Velocette Owners Club and New Imperial Owners Association, held at Lichfield Rugby Club. With an active autojumble and the concours filling up throughout the morning, there was plenty to see and friendly folk to chat to – what more could you want? My working method for the day was to sketch as much as I could of each machine in pencil, to be inked when I return to the studio. Leaving the inking stage until later has enabled me to capture more subjects in a single day and also review my sketches with fresh eyes before committing them to ink. It has been a worthwhile change,…

Awhile ago I mentioned that I had bought a temperature gauge to help me to set the jetting and timing on the little two-stroke Puch Maxi that I have been tuning. It’s just a ring-type thermocouple that sits under the sparking plug, which gives me a reading of the temperature of the head at that point. At least theoretically, if I have pushed the timing a little too far or got the jetting a bit lean, this gives me fair warning, should the temperature soar, I could stop and do something about it before a seizure. Even so, I was terrified of nipping a motor with considerable time and a little money invested in it, that when I made changes, they were conservative. On the early rides I noted that…