Building a Norton Four

In the mid 1960s an overhead-camshaft four cylinder motorcycle was the object of fantasy and an ideal of red-blooded motorcyclists everywhere. No fast Fours had been available commercially since 1942, when the last Indian 4 rolled out of Springfield, and only the rare (and ugly) MV Agusta 600 was theoretically available for the street.  The MV was prohibitively expensive, and wasn't what riders wanted, which was a roadster version of their all-conquering World Championship racing bikes.  Four-cylinder bikes had been around since the first FN Four of 1905, but after WW2, only Nimbus offered a four pot bike, and it was a strictly utilitarian holdover from the 1930s, with exposed rocker gear and a strip-steel frame. Creative motorcyclists responded to this void as they always had - by making their own, lashing together a pair of twin-cylinder engines, or fabricating home-designed 'cammy' fours (from Nougier, Marsh, etc), which cropped up in bike magazines like exotic flowers.

Mick King's Norton-NSU hybrid at a bike show in 1973, with Patricia Barret aboard, during her reign as Penthouse Pet of the Year for '1973.

Another route to a 'four' was to stuff a small car engine into a motorcycle frame; that was the route of Friedl Münch, who series produced his 'Mammut' - see our test ride here. The most capacious frame in the 1960s was the Norton Featherbed, which had been in production since 1952, meaning plenty of 'loose' frames were available in salvage yards by the 1960s. A four-cylinder car engine with the right 'spec' was  hard to find, as most automotive 'fours' were both water-cooled and made of cast iron - guaranteeing a very heavy motorcycle. A few small engines were of more advanced spec, and the two most likely candidates (in Europe at least) had deep motorcycle connections built into their DNA.

Mick's Norton-NSU hybrid in the Trev Deeley Museum

The Hillman 'Imp' had a powerful watercooled engine,  designed by the unsung Norton hero Leo Kusmicki, the man who touched the 'Manx' with his magic wand and kept it competitive for 10 years after its 'sell-by' date. Kusmicki worked for the automotive industry after Norton shuttered its race shop, and the overhead-camshaft 'Imp' engine he designed was strong and tunable.  Its water cooling dissuaded many solo motorcyclists, although plenty of racing sidecar outfits found the need to carry water a small price to pay, given the cheap power an Imp provided. Who needed the money of Count Agusta when a wrecked Hillman provided a readymade power unit?

In profile, Mick's special looks like a standard Norton...

Another likely donor came from venerable motorcycle manufacturer NSU. The engine from their 'Prinz' automobile, which served long years as a rally competitor, was tuned over the years to ever sportier iterations, with the '1200 TTS' the ultimate mode.  The NSU engine was air-cooled and all-aluminum, with handsome finning, and few awkward casting shapes to spoil its looks. The Prinz engine fit into the Norton frame without cutting metal, although a new bolt-on sump needed to be designed to fit a Norton frame. It looked simple, but the reality of mating the NSU engine with a motorcycle gearbox, plus sorting a primary chain, and clutch, and a functioning oil sump, required skilled fabrication.  Everything needed to line up and function smoothly, and only a talented stylist could make the result look like a proper motorcycle.

Mick King, owner of Superformance Motorcycles in Vancouver (one of the first performance/custom bike shops in Western Canada) built an interesting special in the late 1960s, using a Norton Featherbed frame and a salvaged NSU car engine.  Mick was kind enough to share his process, in photos, of taking a rustbucket NSU Prinz and a 1967 Norton Atlas chassis, to build  a successful hybrid. The photos hint at the measuring, drawing, and fabrication time required to bring the elements together; the magic of a successful job is making it easy! The Italians call this 'Sprezzatura' - making the difficult look effortless; the mark of mastery.  Mick's build took long enough that both the Honda 'CB750' and the Norton 'Commando' emerged on the market in the meantime, but as his machine was never meant as a production exercise, the Commando contributed useful bits to his Norton/NSU: the front forks and disc brake, mufflers, seat, and clutch.

Mick King's shop, Superformance Motorcycles Ltd, in Vancouver BC

"In the 1960s, there were no NSU dealers in Vancouver, and the car owners couldn't get them repaired... I had a motorcycle shop, and would fix a few NSU cars because I had managed an NSU dealership in the UK. They were so simple to work on, it was a good revenue source and sideline to my motorcycle business, which was one of the first on BCs west coast. I took in a trade an NSU 1200 TT car for two hundred bucks; due to rat infestation and rust the car was gutted and the wheels and sundry items sold off. I kept looking at the engine thinking it might look good in one of my Norton Featherbed frames, which owed me nothing... I had a couple gathering dust in the attic!"

The donor, very rusty, NSU Prinz

"As winter started in, the bike work stopped; I had just brought over an apprentice from the UK, and a new 9-1/2" South Bend lathe for our custom bike division, and decided to see if we could fit the NSU motor into the Norton frame. This gave the new arrival some valuable turning experience.  We wanted the engine to fit the existing Norton engine mounts, as I did not want to mess up the frame for the sake of the NSU engine; I had no input or feedback as to how it may perform.  When the Münch showed up in Cycle Canada magazine I thought, "Great timing! Maybe I can find some encouragement from the article!"  But there was no data -no speed or bhp- as I recollect, the mag people were not allowed to ride it?  So we plodded on, and after a few weeks the engine was roughed-in, and we took it for a ride.  I could see why there was no data available - it was a gutless wonder, despite major engine work! I considered buying a twin-cam Japanese car engine but they were all snapped up for mini flat track race cars, as they are today!"

Looking like a 1940s Gilera mockup, before the job was complete

"Trying to draw a comparison with the Münch would be a waste of time in my opinion, considering the amount of money he invested, plus his engineering facilities and so on. Nevertheless I think from the get-go the Münch Mammut was doomed, mainly because D.O.H.C. motorcycle engines [such as Kawasaki Z-1] were already making their debut, and strapping an antiquated and gutless S.O.H.C NSU car engine into such an enormous and costly project baffled me and my mechanics from the get go. Then there was the price... ridiculous!"

A 'during' shot, while the engine was mocked up into the frame

The two 'big' jobs in translating the engine from car to bike were the sump, which Mick cast in shapely aluminum to fit between the Norton frame rails, and the clutch/transmission interface, which he solved via an extended, demountable coupling between the gearbox and clutch, using a 'simple' steel box attached to the engine plates, which holds an outrigger bearing for the extended clutch shaft. This also meant installing the Norton gearbox backwards! Yes, it works fine both ways, but Mick had to reverse the 'pawl' on the kickstart shaft. The photographs should explain his thinking, which seems sound enough - the clutch no longer runs on the gearbox mainshaft but its own stub shaft, connected to the gearbox via a mated pair of pegged plates, similar to BMW shaft-drive practice. All very clever and relatively simple.

The NSU engine before the new sump was cast

The donor NSU model was the 'Prinz 1000', and had Mick King read the specifications for this model, he might have thought twice about the engine! While an impressive 'spec' the standard Prinz only produced 40hp @ 5500rpm, which is about 10hp less than the Norton Atlas engine which he abandoned to make his 'special'... no wonder then that he was shocked to find his finished hybrid a 'gutless wonder'. If Mick had access to the latest model (1968) NSU TTS, he would have found a 70hp engine, using 10.5:1 compression pistons (not much room for increase there!) and sporting camshaft. But Mick set to work tuning his the motor, and his Norton/NSU was capable of 125mph, so it seems he equaled the NSU factory in hotting up the engine.

The reversed Norton gearbox!

The finished machine did well on the 'show bike' circuit in the early 1970s, garnering Mick many 'Best of Show' wins, and that snapshot with the 1973 Penthouse Pet of the Year, Patricia Barrett. Mick's Norton/NSU special now lives in the Trev Deeley Museum in Vancouver, Canada.

by Paul d'Orléans

Before the Bandit

After legendary Triumph boss Edward Turner retired from his motorcycle factory in 1963, he holed up in a BSA subsidiary, CarBodies Ltd of Coventry, but simply couldn't keep his hand off his original passion, two wheels. Having entered the hallowed pantheon of Motorcycle Greats with his popular, stylish, and sometimes avant-garde machines from the 1920s onwards, he is best remembered as the man who made a parallel-twin engine look like a twin-exhaust-port single cylinder machine (the 500cc Speed Twin of 1938), which fit snugly into the existing 'Tiger 90' single-cylinder chassis. This new combination had magic in name, looks, and performance, and set the tone for the British motorcycle industry for the nearly 50 years.

The prototype Triumph DOHC twin as built in 1968; note the reverse-cone muffler (very similar to the first Tiger 100 'cocktail shakers' of 1938), disc brake, and square tank styling, akin to the Ducati Monza [from Jeff Clew's book, Edward Turner: the Man Behind the Motorcycles]
Edward Turner visited Japan in 1960, and was devastated to see firsthand the technical superiority of both the motorcycles and production methods of the Japanese industry, regardless the bikes built at that time were of small capacity (250cc and under), or clones of larger foreign machines (eg, the Kawasaki 'W1' copy of the BSA A10, and the Rikuo H-D clone). Turner came home to sound the alarm, but was unable to rouse his Board of Directors to make the necessary investment (during their years of greatest profitability, when they conceivably could have invested) to produce a modern motorcycle design in England.  Frustrated, Turner chose to retire, unhappy with the direction of the British industry as a whole. Still, he had always done interesting work as a freelancer, having come up with an advanced overhead-camshaft single-cylinder bike in 1925, and penned the foundation for what became the overhead-camshaft Ariel 'Square Four' in 1928 - which got him a job at Ariel under Valentine Page, and his radical design developed into metal by 1930.

A youthful Edward Turner, while still at Ariel Motors in the early 1930s.  A man of Olympian design talent, with a monumental ego to match! [Quarto]
From the sidelines in 1967, Turner sketched out a direct challenge to the Honda CB450 'Black Bomber', whose performance nearly equaled his beloved but aging line of 650cc Triumph twins... the Honda rubbing salt in the wound with an electric starter and leak-free, reliable running. Turner poached a few Triumph employees to build up a running prototype of his double-overhead-camshaft, twin-cylinder 350cc bike with a short-stroke, 180degree crankshaft - exactly the spec of the Honda, but with 100cc less capacity. Turner was confident his decades of experience squeezing power from his twins would yield excellent performance from this smaller engine, and so it proved to be. The little bike hit 112mph in tests, about 7mph faster than the Honda. The styling was clearly inspired by the contemporary Ducati Monza, which wasn't the first or last time the English took a leaf from the book of Italian bodywork.

Wesley Wall of the NMM staff tests the prototype [Chris Pearson]
While an advanced machine on paper, with a mechanical disc brake, those cams up top, and excellent performance, the reality was, Turner had designed a hand grenade. The Triumph brass, including new Triumph Chairman Eric Turner (no relation) instructed chief engineer Bert Hopwood to ready the experimental machine for production. Hopwood, performing an autopsy on the little machine after it broke its crankshaft on test, considered the design "fundamentally unsafe", and set about, with Doug Hele, designing a wholly new motorcycle, with enough of the 'ghost' of Turner's idea clearly visible to satisfy the Board.

The restored prototype of the Triumph Bandit, brought back to life by the National Motorcycle Museum [Chris Pearson]
Hopwood's version of the DOHC twin, called the 'Bandit', had a stronger crankshaft, a chain primary drive instead of expensive gears, a 5-speed gearbox, electric starter, and a frame based on Percy Tait's 500cc grand prix racer, designed by Ken Sprayson of Reynolds Tube. The Bandit was a real winner, with the same performance as Turner's machine, but promised reliability, excellent handling, and truly modern specification. BSA shifted its mighty girth and tooled up for production in 1971, but less than 30 machines were built before the plug was pulled on the whole enterprise, as BSA declared bankruptcy, and the British motorcycle industry began a period of free fall.

The chain-driven camshaft drive can be clearly seen on the end of the crankshaft, as well as the shifter gate. [John Woodward]
Turner's prototype has been restored to running condition by John Woodward, on staff at the National Motorcycle Museum in Birmingham. Many thanks to Mick Duckworth for forwarding these photos and information about the prototype!

Pull the pin, lad, and it'll shortly explode...the original 'hand grenade' crankshaft of the Bandit. [John Woodward]
Paul d'Orléans is the founder of TheVintagent.com. He is an author, photographer, filmmaker, museum curator, event organizer, and public speaker. Check out his Author Page, Instagram, and Facebook.

by Paul d'Orléans

Shinya Kimura: 'I Am A Coachbuilder'

A new direction for Shinya after leaving Japan and his former company Zero; this 1913 Excelsior special was built in 2005

In a tradition which predates the internal combustion engine by several hundred years, a 'coachbuilder' was delivered a wheeled chassis without a body, and worked his artistry for the pleasure of a few customers who appreciated, and could afford, a completely bespoke conveyance, or an expression of the particular artistic vision of that builder.  When motorized 'coaches' arrived, some of the same carriage builders worked their magic on the chassis of a Cadillac or Rolls Royce, making an already fine automobile just that bit more special.

Transforming an MV Agusta 750 Sport was an audacious effort

In an important sense, the coachbuilt auto was an expression of respect for the original design of the car, a paradoxical situation, but the resultant vehicle was never known simply as a 'Saoutchik' or 'Ghia' or 'Fleetwood', it was always a Delahaye with Saoutchik body, or an Alfa Romeo Ghia, or a Cadillac Fleetwood.  The coachbuilder seemed to find another possibility for a respected design, perhaps one too flamboyant for general consumption, or simply too expensive for all but a very special customer.

The 'Needle', Shinya's take on a pre-unit Triumph, built for Bonneville

That Shinya Kimura prefers to call himself a Coachbuilder rather than a 'customizer' speaks to his profound love of motorcycles and appreciation for production bikes.  The breadth of his interests are evident in the variety of makes which pass through his workshop, Chabott Engineering.  Excelsior, Ducati, Triumph, Indian, Harley Davidson, Honda, MV Agusta, Kawasaki, Suzuki, have all been 'Shinyized' in his inimitable style.

The streamlined oil tank of his H-D Knucklehead special

His working process is accretive and completely hands-on; Shinya makes no drawings, preferring to embrace a bike with distinctive lumps of aluminum, steel, brass, iron.  A sculptor of motorcycles.  While he has an 'English wheel', the usual tool for hand-forming smooth metal body panels, it's only used "twice a year, as I prefer to use a mallet to shape metal." As a result the tanks, seats, fairings, and beaten parts are clearly handmade, artisanal, with character on the surface - ripples, dings, asymmetries, tiny voids - exactly the sort of 'mistakes' a journeyman panel expert would avoid, but which on Shinya's machines are evidence of the maker's hand; a signature, a fingerprint.

The forks of the 1913 Excelsior are as special as the rest of the chassis

When he was 15, his first motorcycle was a Honda Cub, but it wasn't until his second motorcycle, a Suzuki OR50 two-stroke, that he began making changes, adding a larger tank from a DT1 and smaller seat, plus low handlebars for a café racer look.  He wasn't able to move the footpegs; an awkward riding position was the result.  He kept making changes over the years to his motorcycles, eventually founding Zero Engineering in Japan, where he customized around 300 Harley Davidsons with a very distinctive look.

How the Needle got its name

Wishing to branch further into his art, and work with other kinds of motorcycles, he moved to Southern California and founded Chabott Engineering, where the shop is minded by his partner, Ayu.  He hoped his move "would make me more accessible to people, as it can be difficult to communicate with Japanese businesses from America and Europe.  Now about 60% of my customers are American, the rest in Europe and Japan.  The client is very important to me, as there would be no bike without them; I don't make bikes for myself."  

Glowing amidst the detritus and tools of a busy shop; the MV Agusta 750 Sport

Shinya interviews those who commission his machines, finding what music they enjoy, what they wear, what they eat, but takes no input regarding the direction of his labor.  After finding a donor motorcycle and necessary parts, he may ask a client if the particular marque is an acceptable base for their machine, as happened when a friend offered Shinya an MV Agusta 750 to modify.  Would that I could have been on the other end of that phone call - 'I have a four-cylinder MV - can I make you a bike from this?'  Mind boggling.

A 'logo' detail on the MV exhaust; note the finned final drive casting for the shaft drive

Of his working process, Shinya says, "I don't always know what the bike will look like; I don't imagine the finished design when I begin.  I would get bored if I knew what I was going to make.  Every time I'm surprised..."

The Ducati 750 'Flash'
A running repair as a work of art; the rocker arm support casting broke during the 2010 Motorcycle Cannonball; an artful use of wire retained the parts
Cockpit of the MV Agusta; hand-shaped aluminum, creating worlds
Shinya Kimura in his shop.

 

Paul d'Orléans is the founder of TheVintagent.com. He is an author, photographer, filmmaker, museum curator, event organizer, and public speaker. Check out his Author Page, Instagram, and Facebook.

by Paul d'Orléans

Sale of a 1909 Curtiss V-twin

Nilus (and where did this name come from?), claimed owner of a 'barn find' 1909 Curtiss, was straight out of Central Casting; the director of our TV project had joked the night prior that it would be best if the owner of the Curtiss showed up in suspenders, and Nilus obliged, being a quintessential Iowa farmer. The family homestead, and that’s literally what it was, had been left behind in North Dakota many years ago, but family members still live on the property. That original building was described as having been of rough construction, as when the family arrived in the 1800s, North Dakota was still a very rough and basic territory – Nilus mentioned that regular electricity only arrived in the 1950’s! Thus, his Uncle Tom, the original owner of the Curtiss, would have been left basically to his own devices regarding maintenance and repairs to his motorcycle. During its 8 years of active duty, quite a few miles went under those tires, and the motorcycle certainly showed a hard life; both fenders having been repaired multiple times with rivets and patches, and the petrol tank having plenty of dents for character. The grey/white paint was still in good shape though, with a lot of chips from rocks and spills. Spills aplenty there must have been, as the first paved road in North Dakota came many decades after the Curtiss was laid up.

Paul d'Orléans, Nilus, and the 1909 Curtiss he pulled out of the family junkpile. Maybe without permission! [Paul d'Orléans]
Family lore claimed that the bike was used for courtship; Tom would ride into an adjacent town to visit his sweetheart on two wheels, quite a time saver over a horse as the Curtiss was about the most reliable motorcycle on the market in 1909. I imagine him rushing to court his love in 1917 (having been granted an exemption from the WW1 draft no doubt as necessary to his farm), and having a mighty spill on the slippery mud roads of Spring that year. The left bicycle pedal (the Curtiss is a moped, in common with most others in ’09) broke off, and Tom broke his leg. His relationship with the girl AND the motorcycle ended that day, as he wanted nothing further to do with either. Tom’s brother took the bike and stored it away in the only available storage space on the homestead; the attic.

Setting up the star of the show at the MidAmerica St. Paul auction: Ron Christenson gets to work! MidAmerica has since been absorbed my Mecum Auctions. The 1909 Curtiss V-twin was in remarkably complete and original condition. [Paul d'Orléans]
Almost a half-century later, Nilus’ other uncle, let’s call him Bob (he didn’t want his name used), began to teach his 13 year old nephew the rudiments of mechanicing, as he already had a driver’s license and wanted a vehicle! The first project was to rebuild a small washing machine motor; this was a little four-stroke single-cylinder affair, which they managed to rebuild successfully. Uncle Bob suggested they tackle ‘that old Curtiss’ next, and they poked around at it a little, most significantly removing the spark plugs for a look. Which is unfortunate, as Glenn H. Curtiss, in typical fashion, made his own spark plugs, which are now rarer than hen’s teeth; they were lost forever when Uncle Bob took ill shortly after their initial foray at motorcycling, and young Nilus’ attention went elsewhere; significantly, away from motorcycles, as he never explored two wheels again.

At the time, Paul d'Orléans was the star of a proposed TV series about old motorcycles, which never got off the ground. [Paul d'Orléans]
Another 50 years passed, and Nilus found the existence of the Glenn H. Curtiss Motorcycle and Aviation Museum on the internet (he has a son of around 23 years - who must have alerted him to computers). The light went ‘ding’, and Nilus contacted the museum to inquire as to the possible value of a Curtiss motorcycle he happened to recall…. ‘A lot of money’ was the response Being in Iowa, other hands had to confirm the existence of the bike in the attic, which was a bit difficult, as the house had not only been abandoned a few years prior when Uncle Bob finally died, but had been used as a garbage dump for some time, and was surrounded and filled with rubbish. The state of the family property is a source of deep shame to Nilus… Sitting atop the garbage pile was a Rembrandt, or a pile of cash, however one chooses to look at it, and Nilus found MidAmerica Auctions to help him sell the machine.

Auctioneer attire! Neither the auctioneering style nor the tie were particularly subtle. [Paul d'Orleans]
The machine was the star attraction at St. Paul, as there was speculation that the Curtiss name and rarity might bring a record price. It was lot #51, and went on the block at around 1pm, when presumably the crowd was warmed up [above, one of the auctioneers - the tie was blinding]. I spoke to a silent crowd for 8 minutes about the machine and its history, and about Glenn Curtiss himself; his bicycle and motorcycle racing exploits, his later fame as a founder of American aviation industry, and the inventor of the seaplane. Bidding started in house with a few hands raised at $100k, but quickly died down inside the room as telephone and internet bidders took over from the locals.

Ron Christensen, CEO of MidAmerica Auctions, talks Nilus and his son off the ledge as bidding stalls. [Paul d'Orléans]
Tension mounted as the bike stalled at $185,000 for what seemed like an eternity - I spoke again about the unlikelihood of finding a Rembrandt in a garbage dump! Ron Christensen persuaded one of the phone bidders to meet the reserve of $200,000; then it was his task to negotiate with Nilus! As you can see from the photos, it was quite a decision for him [see Ron making his case], but eventually he decided that being $200k richer than he started the morning sounded good, and so the Curtiss will move to a sunny retirement in San Diego.

He'd hoped for a $Million, but Nilus was convinced to settle for $200k. [Paul d'Orléans]
As a coda, Nilus’ son got excited by a 2003 Ducati 999 which came up later at the auction, and part of the family winnings went towards the purchase of this hyperbike. The son was clearly very excited, and I asked him if he had experience with such a powerful, built-for-the-track bike… ‘I have a Quad on the farm!’….. when the tale of the newbie 999 owner spread, odds were being laid as to his likely longevity. I spoke with him in the most urgent terms regarding his health being connected directly to how far he twisted the throttle, that wide open was certain and rapid death, he looked at me with clear blue eyes wide, and I knew renewing of the family cycle would not end well… let’s hope he gets off as easily as his great uncle Tom. Godspeed, boy, and good luck.

 

Paul d'Orléans is the founder of TheVintagent.com. He is an author, photographer, filmmaker, museum curator, event organizer, and public speaker. Check out his Author Page, Instagram, and Facebook.

 

by Paul d'Orléans

Book Review: 'Illustrated History of the Shickel Motorcycle'

I will confess to never having heard of the Schickel before finding the marque history for the company, written by the grandson of the founder, Ken Anderson. His book is 'The Illustrated History of the Schickel Motorcycle, 1911-1924; The First 2-Cycle Built In America' (Two Cycle Press, 2008), and thankfully his family has preserved a great archive of photographs, patent documents, and various motorcycles and parts, with which Ken was able to compile this most interesting history.

Norbert Schickel himself inspecting the crankcases (with integral cylinder barrel) at his factory. [Shickel family archives]
As mentioned, the Schickel was the first two-stroke motorcycle produced in the US, and has some very interesting features, including a slew of other firsts, including the first twistgrip transmission control (later to become common on small machines and scooters), the first rotating magneto spark advance, first hinged rear mudguard, a sprung front fork, and an aluminum gas tank which served as the top frame member, with tubing lugs for the lower and rear frame cast into the tank (see patent drawing).

This is the patent drawing for the fuel tank, which was integral to the chassis, much like the Pierce, or later oil-in-frame machines: a large-diameter box (or tube) is a far stiffer chassis member than a thin tube. [Shickel family archives]
Various aspects of his eventual production motorcycle were designed by Norbert Schickel while at Cornell studying engineering, and he built four experimental machines between 1907 and 1911. He was able to show a completed Schickel motorcycle at the Chicago Motorcycle Show inFebruary 1911, which garnered significant attention, bolstering his decision to seek funding to begin series production.

The first production model: the 1912 Schickel 5HP (30.50CI or 500cc) model, a two-stroke single-cylinder machine of unique and ingenious design. The engine and front fork were patented designs, and the final drive is by direct belt, as was common in those days. [Shickel family archives]
He established his works in Stamford, Connecticut, in 1911, and hoped to equip the new buildings with enough tooling to produce his motorcycle by 1912, with a target price of $250. The first motorcycle made at the new factory was introduced at the Motorcycle Show in New York City on Jan.6, 1912, with the following specification: - 30.5 c.i. motor (500cc), with a 'square' bore and stroke (3 3/8"), 5hp @ 3500rpm, top speed 50mph - 3gal gas tank capacity, oil premix (1 cup oil/gallon), throttle and magneto controlled at handlebars, and a decompressor lever also on the 'bars. - Pedal gear starting with band brake and optional coaster brake, and a belt drive with an idler pulley controlled by handlebar twistgrip. 57-inch wheelbase, 185lbs. - Front fork was a patented short trailing-link design, with springs controlling both compression and rebound action.

The 1913 Schickel 'Big 6' (6hp/600cc motor) featured all-chain drive and a clutch, with improvements to the engine. [Shickel family archive]
Following this introduction, close to 70 dealers expressed interest in carrying the machine, and the author estimates that 75-100 were built that year. In 1913, new models were added with larger (6hp - 600cc) engines and chain drive with clutch options (which retained the pedalling starter gear). Price for the deluxe all-chain 6hp model dropped to $235, and the 'Big Six' model became the best-seller of the four-model range. In 1914, an optional 2-speed gearbox was available, but this was the year Henry Ford perfected his assembly-line production for the Model T, which allowed a car to be completed every 93 seconds, and dropped the price of the car from the original $850 (1908) to $480 by 1914. During this period, many small American motorcycle builders folded, as the only way to compete with the Ford was to build bigger and faster models (the route of Harley, Indian, Excelsior, Henderson, etc), or small utility lightweights which were significantly cheaper than a car.

A 1914 Big Six with a sidecar, and you can't say that about many two-strokes! With a 600cc single-cylinder engine, the Schickel had plenty of grunt. [Schickel family archive]
Norbert Schickel's response was to design a lightweight motorcycle (95lbs) for sale at $100, with a 2.5 hp engine of around 200cc, and a bicycle-like rolling chassis. Many of the advanced features of the original 5hp model (cast frame/tank, sprung forks, clutch, starting pedals, adjustable spark) were dispensed with, and the little model was paddled off, and slowed down using a decompressor. The author claims it is "...possible to to come to an almost complete stop and then accelerate without stalling. To my surprise, when riding a 1917 Model with the same type of drive, I found it was easy to start and I was able to negotiate stop signs without stalling if waiting was not necessary."

In 1915, the company also introduced a motorized bicycle attachment (stinkwheel!) called the 'Resto Bike-Motor', for $25, utilizing the same engine, which could be attached to any bicycle.

M.E. Gale towed a 'Prairie Schooner' across the USA with his family in 1915. [Schickel family archive]
An interesting publicity stunt was undertaken by M.E. Gale in June of 1915, in which a 'Big Six' chain-drive 6hp 2-speed model was attached to a 'prairie schooner' covered wagon (with motorcycle wheels replacing the original wooden spoke items). Gale set off with his family in tow from Stamford CT to San Francisco, with an expected travel time of 100 days. His two sons rode a Lightweight model with a twin saddle (side by side!). Gale was a professional rider who made his living performing endurance stunts for advertising campaigns. Whether he made it or not isn't mentioned!

The Schickel 'Resto' bike-motor, of 1915, the same year of the Smith Motor Wheell in the USA. [Schickel family archive]
In 1917, due to increasing hostility towards Germans as WW1 heated up, the Shickel became the S.M.C. (Schickel Motor Company). The Company was recapitalized, and a new Flywheel magneto was added to the lightweight model. In 1918, the Lightweight was renamed the 'Getabout', but due to America's entrance into WW1, motorcycle sales ground to a halt. The company took on work making rocker arms for V-12 Liberty Aircraft Engines, for which they received quite a few honors. At the end of WW1 in Nov. 1919, only ten US motorcycle manufacturers remained of the 100 or so which had existed previously, and Norbert realized that the car had put paid to his modest-scale motorcycle ambitions. In an unusual move, he renamed his Lightweight the 'Model T', and painted it all-black, just like the automobile which had levelled the motorcycle industry. I'm not sure whether to call this 'can't beat 'em/join 'em' thinking, or some kind of homage to the invincible Ford. The company struggled on with this model until 1923, when Shickel realized he wouldn't be able to raise enough capital to continue production, and he tried to sell the company and/or his designs to several of the big motorcycle concerns (Excelsior, Ace, Indian, etc). In 1924, he called it quits.

A thriving factory in very difficult times: by 1918, hundreds of American motorcycle manufacturers had gone bankrupt, due to rapidly rising labor and materials costs, and the impact of the Ford Model T.[Schickel family archive]
As an interesting postscript, in 1924 Schickel successfully sued Indian for infringement on his sprung front fork patent, and they paid him $1750 - $.15/motorcycle which 'borrowed' his design (10,000 total had been produced), plus $250 for non-exclusive patent rights. He also sued Harley-Davidson for stealing his hinged rear mudguard patent, and they paid him $.10/motorcycle for his design (40,000 total) plus $1000 for non-exclusive rights to his patent.

The 'Illustrated History of the Shickel Motorcycle' is available directly from Ken Anderson, and can be ordered here.

 

Paul d'Orléans is the founder of TheVintagent.com. He is an author, photographer, filmmaker, museum curator, event organizer, and public speaker. Check out his Author Page, Instagram, and Facebook.

by Paul d'Orléans

Eugene Ziegler - The Kitchen Master

These incredible models were built in Germany by Eugene Ziegler, who worked nightly on the machines in his kitchen, often with his wife's help.  He used period technical drawings to create accurate 1:4.5 scale models, built entirely from scratch. They are prominently housed in the Deutsches Zweirad Museum (Neckarsulm); if you visit, the large glass case housing these gems is the first display one sees on entering the museum.

A factory racing DKW Singing Saw two-stroke triple, campaigned in the 1950s. A fearsome beast! [Paul d'Orléans]
The construction on these models is amazing: the wheels turn, the suspension works, the fuel tank caps come off, and when you squeeze the brake levers, the brakes function via tiny Bowden cables. Many of the complicated parts, like the engines, were cast using wooden patterns.  The tires were modified from 'O' rings, the tread being applied using hot knitting needles!

Squeezing the brake lever activates a cable and moves the brake arm. [Paul d'Orléans]
The top machine is a DKW 3-cylinder 500cc two-stroke racer, the 'Singing Saw', which was the pinnacle of DKW's racing development. The brakes and suspension components are mesmerizing in their complexity, in real life and on the model. Ziegler also built two BMW RS54 Rennsports; one with a sidecar, and one solo - the scale can be seen clearly in the photo. They weigh about 5-8lbs each, and have a nice solid heft - the only plastic used is on the tiny PVC cable housing, the windscreens, ignition wires, and seat covers. The factory racing DKW 350 looks like it should hold water in the radiator, and the engine just needs a bit of oil smear and the smell of Castrol R to complete the picture. No, they don't run!

Peter Kuhn with a Standard racer with 500cc OHC engine. [Paul d'Orléans]
The final photo shows the curator of the museum, Peter Kuhn, who clearly enjoys his job. He's holding a Standard 500cc OHC racer, which is a little-known German marque outside the continent; note the Harley-Davidson/Brough 'Castle' forks; I confess guilt to having once owned a Standard with a lowly 350cc inlet-over-exhaust Swiss MAG engine, purchased solely to rob its Castle forks! (They are reunited now - a happy ending).

A factory pre-war DKW twin-piston supercharged two-stroke racer. [Paul d'Orléans]
Peter, Wolfgang Schneider, and I had a great time manipulating these little bikes, and a few of the big ones too. This excellent museum deserves more attention.

A closer look at the DKW Singing Saw triple, with one forward-facing cylinder. [Paul d'Orléans]
A BMW RS54 Rennsport, the postwar OHC racer that took 2nd Place in the solo World Championships under Walter Zeller. [Paul d'Orléans]
The front brake and leading-link fork of the DKW Singing Saw. [Paul d'Orléans]
The sidecar version of the BMW RS54, which was their killer app: they won 14 World Championships in a row, then 5 more! [Paul d'Orléans]
 

 

 

Paul d'Orléans is the founder of TheVintagent.com. He is an author, photographer, filmmaker, museum curator, event organizer, and public speaker. Check out his Author Page, Instagram, and Facebook.

 

by Paul d'Orléans

The Blue Box

On being granted a private tour of the NSU collection of the Audi Museum, I asked, 'What collection?'  In 2009, Audi only exhibited DKW and Wanderer motorcycles in its museum, as these companies were two of the 'four rings' of the Auto Union logo: Audi, Wanderer, Horch, and DKW, who banded together in 1932, during the Depression, as a survival strategy.  The four rings logo is now Audi's alone, after Volkswagen purchased Auto Union in 1964, and set about its own re-branding over the years.  NSU was merged into VW/Auto Union in 1969, and its designs and research absorbed into group, with NSU effectively disappearing.  The purchase of NSU included a considerable stock of the brand's history, including most of their amazing Grand Prix racers, including the all-dominant Rennmax twins that took the World Championship three years in a row from 1952-54 in the 250cc class, and two years in the 125cc class.  Even after NSU quit the Grand Prix scene for the 1955 season, and NSU still won the 250cc World Championship, as HP 'Happy' Müller took a private NSU Sportmax production racer to glory - the first privateer to win a World Championship.

The Delphin III world-record breaker: the first motorcycle to exceed 200mph. Read our story here. [Paul d'Orléans]
So, the NSU collection had been absorbed into the Audi Museum, which has a lovely new facility built in 2000 in Ingolstadt, Bavaria.  But on my 2009 visit, there were none of the remarkable NSUs on display: they were in the basement.  Luckily, my host Wolfgang Schneider had arranged a private tour of the NSU storage area, which was truly an Aladdin's Cave of treasures.  Rennmax, Delpin III, Baumm II, supercharged 500cc twin, 500cc DOHC four, Kettenkrad, etc: all the great designs from NSU were present, awaiting reassembly, or simply polishing, but in every case - display.

This photo was taken by a US soldier who was an amateur photographer / motorcycle enthusiast, and shows the NSU RS54 in action at the Nurburgring ca 1951, and is probably Heiner Fleischmann aboard. Note the enthusiastic response of the children in the background! 'Go!' [The Vintagent Archive]
Among the most intriguing of the collection was the chassis of the amazing NSU RS54 500cc Grand Prix racer, a German cousin of Gilera and MV Agusta's all-conquering fours, which was left undeveloped when NSU halted its racing program.  The chassis was totally complete, and looked as if the motor had been removed only recently.  When I inquired, I was told the engine was in a 'Blue Box' - but that box was nowhere to be seen.  We searched high and low, and eventually, I wandered down into a basement, where racks of old office equipment from NSU were mixed with various oddments from that company's history, and deep in the recesses, disguised by an old mannequin and a few blankets, I discovered the Blue Box itself.  Amazing!

The Blue Box, as found behind a row of shelving, and under a blanket. [Paul d'Orléans]
I alerted Wolfgang and our host, NSU historian Ralf Plagmann, that I'd found the box, and we set about opening it, and a few other nearby boxes holding spare engines and parts from the 1954 Isle of Man TT, left just as they were.  Treasure upon treasure!  Opening the boxes was thrilling, with the piquant perfume of old castor oil mixing with smells of old wood, dust, and mildew - a heady mix.  I only had my phone to shoot photos, but at least I could document these remarkable engines up close.

The four-cylinder DOHC NSU RS51 motor, intact barring the sump casting [Paul d'Orléans]
The RS54 engine in the Blue Box was awaiting remedial work; the wet sump casting was missing, and would need replication. The sump had been removed while the motor was tested, likely, and lost in the shuffle of the race shop closure, and later sale to VW. It's a fascinating engine, clearly influenced by the Giuliano Carcano design for the CNA Rondine, which became the Gilera Quattro Grand Prix racer postwar: it's a masterpiece of compact design that set the standard for transverse four-cylinder engines for half a century.

The four Amal-Fisher TT carbs and complicated plug wiring. [Paul d'Orléans]
In the two boxes marked 'Spare parts for T.T.' were other NSU gems, including one of the early R11 Rennfox 125cc engines from 1951, with shaft-and-bevel driven dohc, and the funny canted angle of the cylinder head, desaxe the crankcase; see the photos of the whole machine, taken at the Deutsches Zwierad Museum in Neckarsulm (just a few minutes away from the Audi plant, and with a wonderful collection of machines in a converted Schloss). There has been much speculation about why this cylinder head was designed off-angle in this way, but the simple truth is the pressed-steel frame wouldn't permit this large head to fit in the frame any other way.

The NSU R11 Rennfox engine in another crate, 'For the TT'...which would have been the 1956 TT. The cylinder head is désaxe the centerline of the engine. [Paul d'Orléans]
In later models, the cylinder head was redesigned, and sat straight relative to the crankcase.The R11-51 model also used a petrol tank which was stretched and modified from the original steel roadster item, and lacked the graceful hammered alloy bodywork of the later models. Still, it has a rustic charm, and was certainly effective on the track, producing 12.5hp @ 9500rpm. I'll make a more thorough investigation of the Works versions of the NSU Max/Fox models as time permits this year; their history is amazing, and includes the all-conquering 'if it started the race, it won the race' Rennmax model of 1954.

Another R11 Rennmax at the Neckarsulm Motorrad Museum, showing the offset cylinder head with DOHC shaft-and-bevel gear. [Paul d'Orléans]
The sort of box one hopes to stumble across in one's life...having sat unmolested since the company abandoned GP racing in 1957, and was sold to Auto Union in 1962. [Paul d'Orléans]

 

Paul d'Orléans is the founder of TheVintagent.com. He is an author, photographer, filmmaker, museum curator, event organizer, and public speaker. Check out his Author Page, Instagram, and Facebook.

by Paul d'Orléans

Rocket Cycles! Part 2: Archibald Low

Record-breaking, while a logical use of a rocket-assisted motorcycle, isn't the only possible venue. In 1947 'Professor' Archibald M. Low thought speedway racing in England could use a little boost, and arranged a demonstration at Wembley track, with 90,000 people watching. British motorcycle racer Bill Kitchen was protected by a steel shield over the top of the rocket bodies; the speedway JAP motorcycle used four solid-core rockets, angled downwards (to prevent lift-off, no doubt). Kitchen used switches on the handlebars to ignite the candles, and said 'acceleration was absolutely terrific' when the rockets lit off.

The rocket cycle in flight! A real crowd-pleaser for a night race crowd of 90,000 people. [Modern Mechanix]
The flamboyant demonstration of rocket power to speedway fans was an odd turn for 'Archie' Low, who was a far-sighted and pioneering scientist, whose inventions were ignored by his native British government, but whose work was taken very seriously in other countries. Low showed promise early on, as in 1904 when he was 16 years old, when he invented the first 'pre-selector' gearbox. In 1914, he invented an early form of television which he called TeleVista (seeing by wireless').  He dropped his research on TV on the outbreak of WW1, when he joined the Royal Flying Corps, becoming a Captain and heading up the Experimental Works, where he explored building military drones with remote guidance systems.

Archibald Low and rider Bill Kitchen examine the rocket-boosted speedway machine. [Modern Mechanix, Feb. 1947]
In 1917 Low demonstrated the world's first unmanned drone aircraft before military dignitaries, which was controlled from the ground by radio.  While the drone ultimately crashed, Low carried on research into self-guided aircraft, and developed a system of electrically-powered gyroscopes to keep his planes stable.  That same year, Low designed and built a radio-controlled rocket - the first cruise missile.  Low’s inventions were consistently rejected by his own government, but the Germans understood perfectly what he was up to, and attempted to assassinate him twice in 1915.  They also developed Low's ideas from 1917 during WW2, including the V-1 self-guided cruise missile, the V-2 self-guided rocket, and electrically guided rockets used by the German Navy against British ships.  Low is rightly regarded as the 'father of radio guidance systems.' While the British military authorities thought him something of a crank, the Germans realized how dangerous his inventions could be... so after trying twice to kill him (first using an assassin with a gun, then a strychnine-laced cigarette), they used his research during the 1930's to create their 'V' bombs.

Archibald Low during WW1, testing some of his radio equipment used to control unmanned aircraft. [Wikipedia]
Low was also very interested in motorcycles.  In 1916 he published his first book, The Two Stroke Engine A Manual of the Coming Form of the Internal Combustion Engine. In 1923, after filing many patents under the Low Engineering Company banner, he built the Low Motorcycle, a unique and very advanced machine with construction details covered by several patents in 1922/23.  The motorcycle used a monocoque chassis of pressed steel panels enclosing the motor, an air-cooled four-cylinder two stroke of 492cc - the first of its type ever used in a motorcycle.  The 3-speed gearbox used a shaft final drive within a telescoping housing.  Both wheels featured interchangeable wheels with generous 6" brakes, the front fork was similar to a Montgomery, with a small-diameter tubing girder and leaf-spring suspension.

The Low experimental motorcycle, a remarkably advanced machine. [The Vintagent Archive]
The 2.5gal fuel tank was enclosed by the chassis behind the headstock, while the oil tank filler was beneath the saddle, which was also suspended by leaf springs.  A speedometer was driven direct from the shaft drive, and the bike featured electric lights front and rear, powered by a Rotax generator mounted on the gearbox - a very early application - which also powered the coil ignition.  With wide mudguards and totally enclosed mechanicals, the Low anticipated the Ascot-Pullin by 6 years, and the bike was akin to the Ner-A-Car in its unitary shape.  Low realized his motorcycle was not a practical proposition, and the lone machine built was purely experimental, but apparently was ridden for 1500 test miles, and was described as exceptionally smooth and a pleasure to ride.

The unique inline four-cylinder air-cooled two-stroke engine with integral gearbox for the Low motorcycle. [The Vintagent Archive]
Low was a regular habitué at the Brooklands speed bowl in the 1920s, and even gave a 'Professor Low' cup for a 3-wheeler handicap race on July 29, 1922.  He was also Chairman of the ACU (the sanctioning body for British motorcycle racing) for 24 years.  He has been recognized by later scientists for his pioneering work and far-sightedness, which includes not just wireless television but also digital television and digital image sensors, as used in all digital cameras today.  In 1937 he said, "The telephone may develop to a stage where it is unnecessary to enter a special call-box. We shall think no more of telephoning to our office from our cars or railway-carriages than we do today of telephoning from our homes."  For better or worse, Archie was way out ahead.

 

Paul d'Orléans is the founder of TheVintagent.com. He is an author, photographer, filmmaker, museum curator, event organizer, and public speaker. Check out his Author Page, Instagram, and Facebook.

by Paul d'Orléans

Harry Beanham's Outback ABCs

About 10 years ago, I was offered a collection of photographs, totally out of the blue, by a rare books dealer in Australia. I knew nothing about the photos, or the photographer, other than the set contained shots from the 1920s onwards, of a variety of machines, ranging from ABC and Brough Superior to Velocette, all taken by one Harry Beanham. In later years I came to know a bit about this man who lived in Sydney; his quirky ways, his motorcycles, and his undying love of Velocette LEs.

A self-portrait of Harry Beanham taken April 22, 1923, with his Gnome-Rhone built ABC. [The Vintagent Archive]
My friend Wolfgang asked me to send photos of an ABC for reference, as he's restoring a damaged model which has lived nearby for decades (in Germany). I knew that quite a few photos of Harry's ABC and its French incarnation, the Gnome-Rhone, were in the box of photos; scanner time!

Another shot of Harry's ABC, showing the full-cradle welded chassis (you thought the Featherbed was new?), leaf-sprung suspension front and rear, and overhead-valve gear on the cylinders. [The Vintagent Archive]
The ABC (All-British Engine Company) company existed before WW1, but their story becomes interesting postwar. The Sopwith Aviation Co., makers of the Sopwith 'Camel' biplane during the war (famous for being the plane which shot down the 'Red Baron'), suddenly had no market for their flying wares.

Harry Beanhams attached a sidecar to one of his ABCs to take the family - his mother and brother- on an outing. [The Vintagent Archive]
It was decided that building a motorcycle would be a good use of their facilities, and this new ABC model was designed by Granville Bradshaw, with features far more advanced than just about any other motorcycle in the world in 1919. The spec included; a flat-twin ohv engine of 400cc, a full duplex cradle frame with springing front and rear, a clutch and three-speed gearbox in unit with the engine, chain final drive, and proper drum brakes front and rear. In short, all the items which the rest of the motorcycle industry would take years to adopt. The ABC had excellent performance for the day, being capable of nearly 70mph in standard trim (still not a bad figure 20 years later), and much more in tuned form at Brooklands (a subject for a future post).

Taken on April 29th 1923, at Trawool: two of Harry's ABCs. [The Vintagent Archive]
The detail of the workmanship, as might be expected from an airplane manufacturer, was excellent, and the engine in particular was a fine thing, with lovely delicate steel fins on the cylinder barrels, just like a radial engine of the day. The pushrods tended to fly free of the rocker arms, so aftermarket firms created revised rocker supports, which was fairly easy as these items bolted to the cylinder head. Otherwise, the ABC gave excellent service, and quite a few of them have survived. [The picnic photo is from '24, and young Harry can be seen in the lineup; I surmise that the ABC was originally his father's machine, and within two years Harry was riding it himself]

Harry with one of his Brough Superiors - an SS80/100 model - and an ABC, taken May 12th 1929. [The Vintagent Archive]
The downfall of the ABC was an accounting error, whereby the Sopwith firm lost money on each motorcycle sold. Thus, they abandoned production; they had previously sold manufacturing rights to yet another renowned aircraft builder, the Gnome-Rhone company of France, who carried on for just two years further (1925), after also deciding that no money could be extracted from the sale of such an advanced design. Thus, the ABC passed into history, but by then the BMW R32 had appeared, which, although inferior in performance (due to its anemic sidevalve engine), proved that the formula itself was sound, and the layout continues to this day!

Exploring the burgeoning industry outside Sydney on Harry's ABCs, on Dec. 2, 1928. [The Vintagent Archive]
Harry Beanham was many things; a pattern maker by training, a trader by personality, and a photographer by inclination. He documented all of the motorcycles he owned over the years, from the 1920s to the 60s, and apparently rarely sold any of his personal machines, as several of the bikes, including these ABCs, went under the hammer at his estate auction in 1998, after Harry passed away at age 94. The non-Gnome Rhone ABC, still in its original paint and outback dirt, showed up for sale at Yesterdays around 1999, but I haven't heard of the whereabouts of Harry's Brough SS80 or SS100(!). [Note - they later turned up and were sold at auction for a lot of money, in 2017]

A view over Sydney Harbor, made possible by motorbike! Taken April 27th, 1926. [The Vintagent Archive]
He did the same with surplus machine tools and motorcycles, setting up separate businesses in different locations, ending up with a lot of valuable real estate in Sydney as the city grew up around him. He became a very wealthy man, but even into the 1960s and 70s could be seen riding his humble LE Velocettes to his workshops, clad in his old blue work coveralls and plastic sandals (which, of course, he had bought as a job lot). So, we have a unique photographic history of one man's 5 decade-long relationship with his motorcycles, and in this case, his ABCs.

Harry or a friend riding an ABC up a gorge on May 12, 1929, at Keilor. [The Vintagent Archive]
All the photos are taken in and around Sydney or in the Blue Mountains, from 1926-28. In the very top photo, which must be one of his first efforts, his camera 'bulb', which triggered the shutter remotely, can be seen laying on the seat of his new ABC, along with a bit of hose draped over the bike, which connected to the camera. This is the only photo with the 'structure' exposed - Harry took more trouble to conceal his tricks afterwards, but is often in the same pose, hands behind his back, behind the motorcycle. In this bottom photo, the air line can be seen (barely) coming straight at the camera from under the engine; Harry conceals the bulb in his hands!

A picnic in the outback, showing 'Tommy's Hut' on Aug. 22 1926. [The Vintagent Archive]
The family scrapyard! Taken July 14th 1928. [The Vintagent Archive]
The Beanhams on a picnic, Jan 13th 1924 at Narbethon. [The Vintagent Archive]
 

Paul d'Orléans is the founder of TheVintagent.com. He is an author, photographer, filmmaker, museum curator, event organizer, and public speaker. Check out his Author Page, Instagram, and Facebook.

by Paul d'Orléans

Mod VS Rockers Ride, San Francisco

Mods AND Rockers would be a better description of this event, as the animosity between these groups got left behind somewhere in the 1960's, and an awful lot of classic bike owners have scooters in their garage! I've been guilty as well, with Lambretta, Vespa, and Velocette scooters having sat alongside my motorcycles.  The charms of a scooter are undeniable, which is why they endure in popularity nearly 100 years after their invention (the 1920 Unibus nailed the form).

The setup of the Mod VS Rockers Ride is simple; Mods meet at one end of the Embarcadero (Red's Java Hut) in San Francisco, the Rockers congregate at Pier 23.  All riders mill around and socialize until the appointed minute, then it's time to GO.  We pretty much have traffic our own way for the next couple of hours, blowing off stop signs/lights in a swarm, with our mutual goal a timed meeting in the middle of the Stockton St. Tunnel, where a few minutes of mayhem commences, before the whole troupe dispersed in advance of any police action.  Hooligan fun, nobody gets hurt, no fighting no biting!

Here's my video of the Tunnel meetup.  Yes illegal and inconveniencing traffic, but only for a few minutes, once a year...

Mike and Joe at Ocean Beach with Norton Atlas and Triumph Bonneville, two 1960s classics. [Paul d'Orleans]
Then it's off to the beach; not Brighton but Ocean, as this is the Pacific ocean, there's just a lot of chatter in the parking lot, before we light off again through town, ending up at a big party inside the SFMC clubhouse.

Mike Shiro and his '64 Norton Atlas 750cc twin - the precursor to the Commando, with a proper Featherbed frame. The Commando has a rubber-mounted engine to deal with the vibration of this big twin engine - on the Atlas, the rider must deal with the vibration.... I was riding one as well (from 1965). [Paul d'Orleans]
Sweet 1957 Triumph Tiger 110 500cc, one of my favorite Triumphs, with a lovely patina from an older repaint. This bike was originally imported from England to Indonesia by its pilot owner, and eventually restored there, before being imported to CA in the 1980's. It sat for quite a while before being resuscitated by its current owner. [Paul d'Orleans]
Several motorcycle clubs were flying colors; the SFMC and the Vampires were the most numerous, pictured here in front of a BMW R69S. [Paul d'Orleans]

I hadn't seen Danny's Triton before, which is built from a unit Bonneville engine in a Slimline Featherbed frame. Some interesting contemporary features include the plastic rear fender (front from a Ducati?) and Harleyesque headlamp. Sounded great.

Danny's badass Triton. [Paul d'Orleans]

Baby Kawasakis grow up to be big Kawis eventually....[Paul d'Orleans]
When he was a lad, he used to fit into his father Geoff's sidecar; now Niles Follin wrenches on Paris-Dakar racers, among others, although this year he was stranded in Spain when they called off the race...next year it will be run in South America). [Paul d'Orleans]
On to the tunnel of love... Joe looks like he's enjoying himself! Smiles all around. [Paul d'Orleans]
Peace and Love. To the beach... my Norton Atlas with another silver two wheeler, a Lambretta Li175. [Paul d'Orleans]
Cool RAF Vespa. [Paul d'Orleans]
Breakfast at Tiffany's. [Paul d'Orleans]
A Moto Guzzi Falcone is always welcome. [Paul d'Orleans]
Kim and Pete's 1937 Ariel Red Hunter. [Paul d'Orleans]
Three horsemen of the Apocalypse: Mike, Joe, and Pete. [Paul d'Orleans]
Matchless in name and reputation. [Paul d'Orleans]
The Rocker crew outside Pier 23 on San Francisco's Embarcadero. [Paul d'Orleans]
Mod corner with a pair of Lambrettas. [Paul d'Orleans]
All kinda bikes welcome, preferable period correct. This Honda CL175 counts! [Paul d'Orleans]
Harley and Deb Welch on their Heinkel scooter. [Paul d'Orleans]
 

 

Paul d'Orléans is the founder of TheVintagent.com. He is an author, photographer, filmmaker, museum curator, event organizer, and public speaker. Check out his Author Page, Instagram, and Facebook.

 

by Paul d'Orléans

Conrad Leach at the Legend of the Motorcycle

Each year at the Legend of the Motorcycle Concours, an artist is given a conference room at the Ritz to display motorcycle-related paintings or sculpture. Last weekend the room was occupied by the paintings of Conrad Leach, pictured beside his portrait of Peter Fonda (in his Wild Angels role). As you can see, the paintings are large scale (8' - 10' tall), and beautiful; Conrad had a 5-year contract as artist in residence for Louis Vuitton in Tokyo, and is now branching out, and selling his paintings at galleries and at exclusive shows. There is no other artist I know of working today who possesses such a refreshing orientation to motorcycle subject matter. His sensibility is unique, his painting skill exceptional, and his style will undoubtedly impact a generation of young artists tackling the relationship of men to machinery.

Artist Conrad Leach at the Legends of the Motorcycle Gallery in April 2008 [Paul d'Orléans]
The Norton painting with the pink(!) Union Jack looks like Jimmy Guthrie ca 1934... I coveted it, I wanted it, I considered it, I talked it over with my wife...but the $10k price tag, while very reasonable for a large-scale original painting, was simply too much at the moment. I understand Alain de Cadenet bought it instead; I hope it looks good in your living room, Alain.

'Norton Jack' (2008), with Jimmie Guthrie aboard a factory Norton racer circa 1934 [Conrad Leach]
If you like what you see, he sells giclee (ie, photographic) prints of these and other paintings, including James Bond (Connery, of course), and two Ferrari GTOs (the models for which happened to have been owned by Alain de C, so I guess it was his karma to buy 'my' painting). I think George Cohen will be selling prints of the Norton through his site 'Norton Singles'. There is a rumor that George's most recent creation, the flat-tank 'Silverknob' which he showed at Brooklands and Stafford, will be a future subject of Conrad's paintbrush. Can't wait to see that one. Below are scans which Conrad sent (much better than my lousy pocket camera snaps!).

'Banner Racers' (2008, an homage to American racing [Conrad Leach]
Conrad's most-reproduced painting, 'Lucky 13' (2008) [Conrad Leach]
 

Paul d'Orléans is the founder of TheVintagent.com. He is an author, photographer, filmmaker, museum curator, event organizer, and public speaker. Check out his Author Page, Instagram, and Facebook.

by Paul d'Orléans

Dennis Loveday: Brooklands Racer

At the Brooklands Velocette Centenary in 2005, I met two surivving Brooklands racers - David Vincent and Dennis Loveday.  David Vincent won a Gold Star for recording 100+mph laps at the Brooklands speed bowl during a race, and both men raced 350cc Velocette KTTs.   Regardless Dennis Loveday is pictured here on a Velocette, most of his Brooklands racing was on single-cylinder Ariels.  Both men were successful riders and race winners in the 1930s, and it was fascinating to hear them talk about the old track.

Dennis Loveday getting down on his 1930 Velocette MkI KTT, during the Brooklands Clubman Junior GP, August 31st 1935 - which he won. [AC Perryman]
I asked Michael Sands at Brooklands later about the man: "Denis told me that one of his techniques was 'grass cutting'. He said, 'If I could keep as near the bottom of the track as possible, I would be going round a smaller route than those riding way up on the banking, so I might save a bit of time and that meant that some of the time I had my elbow in the weeds. I fitted a pair of bicycle drop-handlebars to get lower [see the above photo of Dennis 'getting lower'!] and one time Noel Pope said to me, 'That looks a bit agricultural' (meaning the Ariel) but I beat him in one race and he never forgave me!' "Dennis is now a very keen carp angler and although he cannot see the float on his line, he has an electronic bite detector so he can fish day or night. He is still driving short journeys on very familiar local roads because his sight is too poor for general driving....so just beware if you're on the road in south-east Devon!"

Another shot of Dennis aboard his Velocette KTT at Brooklands in the mid-1930s, from the excellent 'A Clubman at Brooklands' (AC Perryman, Haynes, 1979)

 

At the Brooklands Centenial in 2005: Dennis Loveday, John Bottomley of the Brooklands Museum, Paul d'Orleans, and fellow Gold Star winner David Vincent [Dai Gibbison]

 

Paul d'Orléans is the founder of TheVintagent.com. He is an author, photographer, filmmaker, museum curator, event organizer, and public speaker. Check out his Author Page, Instagram, and Facebook.

by Paul d'Orléans

Book Review: 'Private Owner'

While doing some research on the Velocette MkVII KTT production racer, I was reminded of Les Higgins, who rode one in the 1938 Isle of Man TT, and wrote a book about his racing exploits, 'Private Owner' (Foulis, 1948). He was never in the top ranks of riders, but writes about the life of a typical 'clubman', the arch-enthusiast who spent all his money and free weekends racing at Brooklands, the Isle of Man TT, the Ulster Grand Prix, at Donington Park, etc, filling up the ranks of the 'also rans'.  Riders such as Les Higgins were the principal customers for over-the-counter racing machinery, such as the Velocette KTT, Norton Model 30 International /Mans, Excelsior Manxman, etc.

A rare find, but essential for a Velocette KTT enthusiast: 'Private Owner' explores one man's passion for racing. This is a scan of the dust cover, showing Les racing his Velocette MkVII at the Isle of Man in 1938. [Foulia]
His account of racing in the 1930s is a track-side glimpse of an insider who was just as in awe of his heroes as the presumed reader, and he recounts the endless dramas of his various races in great detail.  Lap times, which riders rode which bikes, how the bikes performed, and occasional quotes from the champions, make 'Private Owner' a charming period piece, on par with G.S. Davidson's numerous books on racing in the immediate post-war era. Higgins was quite young when he first encountered motorcycle racing as a schoolboy (1924), along the promenade during the Herne Bay speed trials.  Five years later he purchased a new 1929 Velocette KSS, learning how to ride on the road and prepare for racing.  Like many aspiring but not wealthy racers, he found 'last year's model' racers in the 1930s, like a Velocette KTT MkIV and later MkV, paid for with his meager weekly wages of 57 shillings.  He ultimately bought a new MkVII KTT in 1938, although this meant he had to enter the IOM TT to gain delivery of the bike, but was intimidated, to say the least, with what was the world's most important road race at the time.

Les Higgins on his Velocette MkVII KTT at the 1938 IOM TT races. He finished 29th in the Junior TT, with a 73.39mph average speed, with a fastest lap of 30m 12s.  From the book:"Between 1938 and 1951, fairhaired Londoner Les Higgins had seven goes at the TT and finished once, 29th in the 1939 Junior on the machine pictured. His infinitely more memorable achievement was the original 'Shell History of the TT' which he painstaking compiled in 1953."[Keig Collection]
Here's a couple of extracts from 'Private Owner' : "...an agent whispered into my ear the news of the birth of a new KTT. I straightaway parted with the Mark V and placed an order for a new Mark VII...a few weeks later the agent telephoned to say that Veloce were despatching the KTTs very shortly but were only supplying them to TT entrants. This was a step I had not considered taking, but I decided that if competing in the Island races was the only way to get the KTT then I had better enter!"

Les Higgins at the Isle of Man, with the wind blowing open his leather riding jacket.  Note his gear, with the leather jodhpurs held up by suspenders, and the lace-up boots.  This outfit is likely supplied by D.Lewis, now known as Lewis Leathers... [Dennis Quinlan]
"In 1939 [before the war] England possessed three circuits where motorcycles and cars could be raced: Brooklands, Crystal Palace, and Donington. It was found necessary to commandeer these in order to win the war, and the Palace and Donington became dumps for vehicles...what the tenants did to Brooklands was deemed too terrible to be made public; suffice to say the owners sold out and Brooklands passed out of the history of motoring for ever, mourned by all... Although no one begrudges them their sport, it was remarkable that horse racing in now way suffered, for the grounds so beloved by the horse racing fraternity were soon back in circulation....We did what we could with former aerodromes, which was better than nothing but a poor substitute.  To ad to our woe the peoples of the Continent, their lands ravaged by warfare and raped by the conquering enemy, promptly set about the organization of road racing..."

by Paul d'Orléans

‘Garage Magazine' Photo Shoot

In total contrast to my previous post on a photo shoot, Garage magazine shot a feature spread on 'motorcycling gear through the decades', using the San Francisco Motorcycle Club as their backdrop (the SFMC is the second-oldest m/c in the US, and the oldest continuously operating). This was an expensive studio shoot, with stylists, makeup/hair artists, hired models, a photographer and assistants, lots of lights and camera eqp't, and several vintage bikes as props. It hurt to be relegated to 'prop' status, but I'm always happy to help encourage the old bike scene.

My contribution to the photo shoot: my 1926 Norton flat-tank Model 18 racer. [Paul d'Orléans]

Top pic is my 1926 Norton Model 18 racer, looking spooky in the dark with some up- and back-lighting on wall of the SFMC. This was 'Jimmy's bike' - it has a history going back to Jimmy Shaw (a 'works' rider for Norton in the 'teens thru '30's), and was claimed to be a factory race machine. It was restored about 15 years ago by Ken Blake in England, then my friend Ken Boulter purchased it to settle the unpaid restoration bill(!), and he sold it to me about 8 years ago (after much needling, I assure you). It's a bit of a bear currently, as I need to rebuild the carb and replace the magneto (very hard to start), and the soldered-up gas tank is a little leaky. Still, the bike is fast, having been timed at 94mph, and handles beautifully.

Interior of the SFMC, with a foosball table, flat-track Aermacchi racer, and lots of memorabilia from the 120+ years of the club. Nicole is being prepped for the shoot. [Paul d'Orléans]

The interior of the SFMC is packed full of photos, memorabilia, and trophies on the walls, with two bikes hanging from the ceiling - an Aermacchi/Harley Davidson CR flat-tracker with a custom chrome-plated frame, and 1904 Curtis v-twin in original condition. Plus, there are pool and foosball tables, and a full bar. Pretty much ideal, really. 

Anoush having her hair done in a very nostalgic venue, with a backdrop of vintage racing photos - mostly of former SFMC members through the decades. [Paul d'Orléans]

 'Slim' Jim Hoogerhyde, SFMC member and vintage racer, who's modeling a pair of odd German goggles I found on ebay. Slim let everyone into the building and hung around all day during the shoot...which might be seen as tough duty, but there were 3 beautiful women changing clothes there all day. He doesn't look bothered at all.

'Slim' Jim Hoogerhyde not looking bothered. [Paul d'Orléans]

 

Stephanie sitting on Stewart Ingram's little Morini racer (don't know the model, but I think it's a 175cc Settebello, with cool little Fontana brakes), amongst all the light boxes and light stands, etc. The Curtis and Aermacchi can clearly be seen hanging from the ceiling. The stylist was fussing constantly over the girls, getting hair and clothing just so, as lights were adjusted and the photographer crouched all over the place taking photos. [Paul d'Orléans]

This pic of Stephanie shows everything in place and ready; what you can't see are all the clips and clothespins which are keeping her leathers tight against her hips, and her blouse pulled back to reveal her racy curves. 'Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain!' [Paul d'Oréans]

Photographer Ed Fox setting up some of the lights to shoot John Goldman's '47 Bianchi, which is a totally original machine, except for the seat cover. [Paul d'Orléans]

Anoush sits before the bike in the finished shot, backlit against the wall of photographs. She's actually wearing a new Belstaff waxed cotton jacket, cut very Brando-style ('whaddya got?'). There was
another Belstaff in white cotton, which was very chic but looked pretty useless for a bike, as it wasn't waxed cotton or particularly waterproof. [Paul d'Orléans]

I've owned Belstaff rain gear before - once it's been ridden in the rain for a few weeks, you don't want it anywhere near nice clothing, as it will leave dirty streaks! It also tends to collect cold water in the crotch after about an hour in a steady downpour... I have bitter memories of a ride through the Tatra mountains in Czechoslovakia, after leaving communist Poland (1987), being completely soaked through despite my waxed cotton gear... even the MZ I was riding (which breathed through its frame backbone!) was gasping for air and choking on the waves of muddy water thrown over us by trucks passing the other way. Luckily, I was young, and arrived safely in Vienna after 12 hours, whereupon I KISSED THE GROUND. No kidding. Then I had a beer at a MacDonalds (and I hate Mickey D - that's how bad the food was in the 80's Eastern Bloc). Sorry for the digression!

Nicole was assigned to my Norton, in Art Deco attire. [Paul d'Orléans]

The last set of photos involves Nicole (don't ask for her phone number, as I don't have it!) with my Norton. Top photo shows the setup with Nicole silhoutted against the dome light. Dan Stoner, editor of Garage, stands to the left. Second pic shows Nicole wearing a leather helmet and my Avionix goggles (contemporary, from France), and a sort of Art Deco blouse. The bottom pic shows her outfit better; jodhpurs, Deco blouse, leather helmet, tall boots - a nice look... motorcycles do look better with a beautiful woman next to them!

Nicole with my backlit 1926 Norton Model 18 racer. [Paul d'Orléans

 

 
  

Paul d'Orléans is the founder of TheVintagent.com. He is an author, photographer, filmmaker, museum curator, event organizer, and public speaker. Check out his Author Page, Instagram, and Facebook.

by Paul d'Orléans

Shooting 'The Mule'

Nick Cedar, a photographer with many books, magazine articles, and calendars to his credit, arranged a photo shoot of my Velocette MkIV KTT (better known as 'The Mule') this weekend, for an upcoming article in 'Motorcycle Classics' magazine (Margie Segal will be writing the text).

Photographer Nick Cedar examining his oily subject, my 1933 Velocette Mk4 KTT 'The Mule'. [Paul d'Orléans]

He chose the Marin Headlands as the backdrop; the day was crystal clear and warm, almost too warm for the vintage outfit they requested from the rider! The view from the headlands is directly over the Golden Gate Bridge, back towards San Francisco, as can be seen over my handlebars in the second photo. The Headlands is a State Park, and used to be part of the greater military defenses of SF bay, which have all been decommissioned since the 1970's. Thus, there are many gun emplacements and concrete batteries along the cliffs, making for dramatic backdrops, with stunning overlooks.

Evertbody loves an oily old bike: here some curious tourists check out the Velocette. It's always the men who talk, and 80% of the time they ask if the bike is a Norton. Aussie and Kiwi tourists seem to know the most about bikes in general, for some reason I'm rarely approached by English tourists. [Paul d'Orléans]

Apparently a $200 fee is required to take commercial photographs in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, to help deal with the congestion caused by a photo shoot (there are always a zillion tourists clogging the first 1/4 mile of the road into the park, who all take three photos of the GG Bridge, but very few venture further into the hills). A park ranger stopped and quizzed us about the photo setup, but I told the truth and said I would be posting them on my blog (Nick kept mum).

Nick Cedar getting oil on his pants...[Paul d'Orléans]

Nick's getup was completely minimal - not tripods or lighting rigs, just a camera and the occasional fold-out reflector, to cut through the oily gloom around my engine! And, as you can see in the pix, I haven't washed the Mule in 18 mo's (I do wipe it down to check for loose bolts), which is how they wanted it for the article.

It's all crumbling decay at the Headlands, and I do mean the concrete. You'll note my helmet acting as a kickstand - it works well, but I should stop using this particular helmet, as it was reputedly used by a privateer racer in England, who raced a Velocette MkVIII KTT in the 1950's. I haven't found a pic of the helmet anywhere though, so if it rings a bell, drop me a line. It has a yellow stripe which ends at a 'V', forming an arrow of sorts, but also the Velocette V (there's a Velocette tank transfer on top of the yellow paint). Click on the first photo for a better look. [Paul d'Orléans]

 

Not the ranger, he's one of a group of Alameda Police who happened to show up, circle the Velo, and stop to chat! They had just completed their motorcycle training, and were out for a celebration ride on a beautiful day. You meet the strangest people on a Velocette. [Paul d'Orléans]

 

 
  

Paul d'Orléans is the founder of TheVintagent.com. He is an author, photographer, filmmaker, museum curator, event organizer, and public speaker. Check out his Author Page, Instagram, and Facebook.

 

by Paul d'Orléans

2007 Banbury Run

The Banbury run is the biggest VMCC-sponsored event in the calendar, and is generally limited to 500 machines, ranging from 1897 to 1930, and they turned away hundreds more. The event is held on the grounds of a school in the eponymous town, which clearly has the capacity to park 500 motorcycles, plus a hundred or so post-vintage machines in the adjacent fields, and a large autojumble to boot. Top two pics show how crowded the grounds became as the day began, especially when the motorcycles were flagged off individually on a 40-mile regularity run in the surrounding countryside.

A rare Velocette Ladies Model of the early 1920s, beside another Velocette two-stroke H3 model: until they introduced the overhead-camshaft K model in 1925, Velocette was known for building quality two-strokes.  They carried on building improved versions of these machines through 1949. [Paul d'Orleans]
First off, an 1897 Leon Bollet Tandem. I watched the riders chuff away for a while, but it takes a long time to get 500 bikes out of the car park when they must stop to be photographed before leaving. Luckily, the autojumble (pic 3) was humming, with lots of bikes and parts for sale. Pic shows a lineup of interesting machines from just one stall. I saw several Velocette KSS' available, as well as Pioneer and Vintage machines of all stripes, from European to American.

When electrical switches were an event: the Lucas bakelite knob on a NUT V-twin. [Paul d'Orleans]
The next set of pix show Velocettes! A 1923 Ladies' Model, similar to the one Keith from Oz has restored, with a USS behind. Below is a 1913 Model A 203cc two-stroke, which belongs to Ivan Rhodes, and is among the oldest Velos still extant. I doubt the paint is original, but it looks great in patina green. Single-speed belt-drive, and note spare belt on the carrier - they do break! I've ridden this machine, and it's... slow. But as an admitted Velo man, an important piece of history for me.

Ancient Veloness: a 1914 Velocette Model A two-stroke. [Paul d'Orleans]
The variety of machines held great appeal, but not enough Continental iron is on display - only three machines (Leon Bollet, BMW R47, and a D-Rad). There were likewise only four Yank bikes (two Indians, one Harley, one Henderson). Still, the Connaught with Bradbury 'Oil Boiler' engine is a rarity, especially pulling a sidecar. It's a 1922 293cc, so they're not going anywhere fast. What's in that big bag? Note crankcase castings which cover the cylinder for the oil cooling arrangement, inside the unit-construction engine with a wet sump cast into the cases.

A Connaught with Bradshaw oil-cooled motor. [Paul d'Orleans]
Next pic is a Brough Superior 680cc ohv model, which is lovely as are all Broughs - George knew how to style a machine better than Edward Turner of Triumph, and that's saying something. Given the GTO engine with exposed rocker gear, I'd say 1927 or so. My favorite machine of the day was this Sunbeam Model 90, ca 1927. It has been lovingly modified by a doting owner, and a click on the pic will show how. Twin front brakes with a balance beam a la Vincents (and a double-cable brake lever), friction tape on the handlebars, plus lots of subtle touches which make the machine unique, and very much the owner's machine, and not another replica showbike. Pic below is the 'yes hop on' shot - love the curved magneto and air levers, which is different.

A 1929 Brough Superior 680, the affordable Brough, or the 'little SS100'. [Paul d'Orleans]
Next machine is ultra-rare and very interesting. A Wilkinson four, made by the Wilkinson sword factory (where your father's shaving razor likely was made as well). Four cylinder water-cooled engine (read our article 'Fours Before Honda'), plus a very comfortable-looking seat upholstered in tuck-and-roll leather! Swank. Earlier models had a steering wheel instead of handlebars.

Ancients and rarities: a super rare Wilkinson 4-cylinder. [Paul d'Orleans]
Below that is the other end of the luxury spectrum - a wooden scooter! It's a 1922 Autoglider Deluxe 2 1/2hp, which the owner says is 'a bit unusual with suspension wobbles at both ends'! Pic shows owner Alex Taylor aboard the approx. 300cc two-stroke, with it's engine above the front wheel - never a great location for stability, but it's easy to make adjustments on the road! Plus, checking your fuel level is easy, with the petrol tank mounted to the handlebars.... Note the crowds in the background; this shot was taken mid-morning, when half the riders had been flagged off individually (you can see their paper place-markers on the ground), and the remaining riders are suited up and awaiting their number to come up.

The wooden chassis of the 1922 Autoglider Deluxe 2.5hp scooter. [Paul d'Orleans]
The lovely Brown NUT (Newcastle Upon Tyne) caught my eye, a very thorough restoration and a neat machine, ca 1921. 600cc sidevalve JAP engine, and detail photos show a profusion of NUT logos cast into the timing chest and muffler, and below that is the largest and most ex-domicile electrical switch I've ever seen on a motorcycle. Look at that wiring, very tidy, very Victorian.

Newcastle-Upon-Tyne gives the acronym NUT, a sporting machine of the late 'Teens through the Depression, with TT wins and sporting successes early on, but most 'built up' bikes suffered terribly in the Depression, and vanished in 1930/31.  Note the lovely cast aluminum muffler box below the JAP engine, and the very early Lucas Magdyno. [Paul d'Orleans]
More rarities; a brace of Ner-a-Cars [read our Road Test and history of Ner-A-Car here], one with an AJS sidevalve engine, the other with perhaps a JAP sidevalve. Very similar, but different, showing how difficult it must be to restore a machine with such a low production run, but with so many individual touches. I liked seeing double.

A very rare, English-version Ner-A-Car with a sidevalve engine, beside the usual two-stroke version seen in the USA.  This was made in Britain under license.. [Paul d'Orleans]
Last but far from least, the most charismatic motorcycle at the rally; a McEvoy with JAP ohv KTOR 1000cc engine. Racing sidecar attached, twin carb setup, long racing tank with loops to attach a belly pad, mighty headlamp stolen from a car, dirty, glorious, noisy, and RIDDEN. This motorcycle is worth nearly as much as my house, but a dedicated owner keeps it on the road, and looking terrific.

Potent! A MacEvoy-JAP 1000cc OHV was a sports racer built in very limited numbers, and a rival of the Brough Superior, with a slightly rougher edge. This one came complete with twin carburetors - a rare feature on a 1920s machine. [Paul d'Orleans]
The MacEvoy seen from above, and its sporting sidecar with multiple mounting points for stability. Note the carbs peeking out from beneath the gas tank, the soldered loops for strapping a cushion onto the tank, the direct handshift knob for the Sturmey-Archer gearbox, the quick-release fuel and oil caps, the steering damper, and the third lever on the left handlebar: clutch yes, valve lifter yes, but also an oil squirter for the JAP engine. [Paul d'Orleans]
A pair of Neracars, as described above. Still the most popular hub-center steered motorcycle ever produced, with over 10,000 examples built. [Paul d'Orleans]
Tempting examples at the autojumble area: care to join the fun? [Paul d'Orleans]
 

 

Paul d'Orléans is the founder of TheVintagent.com. He is an author, photographer, filmmaker, museum curator, event organizer, and public speaker. Check out his Author Page, Instagram, and Facebook.

by Paul d'Orléans

Rem Fowler's 1907 TT Norton

At the Brooklands Centenary meeting three weeks ago, I ran across George Cohen, he of the single-minded pursuit of all things Norton flat-tank. George is a great character, being formerly a psychiatric doctor in Somerset, England, and working on vintage Nortons in his spare time (his website is 'Norton Singles'). Well, apparently spare time got the better of him, and I believe he's given up his medical practice to pursue restoration of his beloved Nortons full-time; a move reinforce by by a commission from the National Motorcycle Museum to restore a replica of one of the most famous motorcycles extant, the winner of the first Isle of Man TT race in 1907 (multi-cylinder division - the single cylinder class was won by Charlie Collier on his Matchless), ridden by Rem Fowler.

'Norton' George Cohen, who restored the 1907 'Rem Fowler' TT Norton after the disastrous National Motorcycle Museum fire. [Paul d'Orleans]
Like most 100 year old machines, this one has had its share of mechanical changes over a long life, but something of the heart of that original Fowler machine remains. The replica of Fowler's Norton was assembled from a very rare pile of bits, back in 1957 by Percy Webb, and passed through several hands and two museums (Stanford Hall and the National Motorcycle Museum) over the decades. Sadly, a few photos with Rem Fowler himself on the machine, plus press stories which failed to mention the replica status of the machine, gave rise to the notion that, like the Velveteen Rabbit, it had become 'Real' over time.

The incomparable 'Norton' George: how we miss him. [Paul d'Orleans]
To compound the confusion, The NMM had a disastrous and controversial fire a few years ago, and this Norton (along with over 300 other irreplaceable motorcycles) was badly damaged, with some parts beyond repair. George Cohen was given the task of bringing the machine back to life, and he did a beautiful job.

He had just returned in fact from the Isle of Man, where he rode this bike around the TT course for the Centenary celebrations there, and had a trouble-free run, no doubt thrashing this ancient racing moped around the course, as is his wont - George believes in using old Nortons as the maker intended. Having ridden with him on the track at Montlhéry [see our film on Montlhéry here] and in his sidecar near his home, I can confirm that he likes to push his machines to their limit. The third pic is an evocative portrait of the man in question, no doubt reaching for matches in the pocket of his Brooklands-style double-button racing jacket over leather jodhpurs, and obligatory reversed flat cap and goggles. He looked the part!

A thrilling piece of history, and one of the earliest Nortons, with its Peugeot V-twin engine. [Paul d'Orleans]
I've included several more detail shots of this remarkable motorcycle, including one at the bottom which I couldn't resist! Mechanically, it's a fairly simple example of a Pioneer machine, with a bought-in Peugeot v-twin engine, using an 'F' head valve layout (side exhaust valve, overhead inlet valve, with the inlet opened by suction from the piston as it moves down the bore). The oil pump is visible on the side of the gas tank; give the big knob a push every few miles to squeeze a measure of oil into the crankcase, where it would be thrown around by the flywheels, and hopefully splash enough lubricant to the few rubbing parts inside the engine. Ignition timing was controlled by the lever on the other side of the gas tank. These would be attended to while bouncing over the rutted farm track which passed for the TT course in 1907, at 50mph on the gravel.

The Peugeot engine, which was the hottest available at the time, and used by other makes for sporting machines, like Vindec Special. [Paul d'Orleans]
The chassis uses bicycle-type stirrup brakes, which work on bicycles but not on motorcycles, and a single-speed belt-drive direct from the engine, with no gearbox or clutch. Once you got the motor started by pedaling, you were moving! This machine was capable of around 60mph. You'll note some amber 'staining' of the new silver tank - this is a clever ruse! George didn't want the machine to look too new, so anticipated some aging from spilled petrol by clever manipulation of the spray gun.

The direct belt drive gave a nice buffer from engine pulses, but slipped badly in the wet. [Paul d'Orleans]
The author in 2007, with the 1907 TT Norton. [Paul d'Orleans]
The original Norton logo, before the 'vampire' script was invented. [Paul d'Orleans]
 

 

Paul d'Orléans is the founder of TheVintagent.com. He is an author, photographer, filmmaker, museum curator, event organizer, and public speaker. Check out his Author Page, Instagram, and Facebook.

by Paul d'Orléans

Velocette Spring Opener

The Velocette Owners Club sponsors an annual Spring Opener ride, hosted by John and Sue Ray at their 40-acre spread in the hills above Napa. Beautiful location, and the Rays are generous hosts, plus there's a lot of room to spread out the motorcycles, no matter how many show up. We met Saturday morning the 19th of May for a ride of about 70 miles through the amazing countryside around Napa and Lake Berryessa - perfect motorcycle roads, especially if your motorcycle has rear suspension, as some of the roads are badly paved and bumpy in the areas where you'd like to be cranked over.

Kim and KSS, with Bill Charman, long-time club member who we don't see enough of on these rides. Bill has an amazing, barn find '55 MSS, which keeps on going without much input - he's had it for 18 years or so, and bought it from Frank Forster for the princely sum of $1200. Frank thought he got the better end of the deal at the time, but Bill has had the last laugh, as these days original/unrestored machines are getting hard to come by. [Paul d'Orleans]

This year, as all my Velos were on the bench, I borrowed John's 1967 Velocette Thruxton [read our story on the Thruxton here], which is a fast and well-sorted machine. I think I kept my promise to only ride it to 80%, and I only opened the throttle WFO to pass a couple of cars along the way. Still, the bike is very fast through the twisty bits, and as that's all there is in the hills, away we went. Thanks John!  There was only one mechanical mishap, when Kim Young's 1930 KSS had primary chain/clutch problems, which she's been trying to sort for a while. The bike has had a bit of teething trouble, and her husband Pete puts a lot of time and effort to ensure Kim has it available for rides.

Note the smoke coming off these riders - they're coming in fast! Paul Zell on the MeSS 680cc custom [Read our feature here], Jeff Scott on a race-tuned Norton Commando, George Shoblo on a Moto Guzzi V50 which he flogs mercilessly (what, no Thruxton George?). [Paul d'Orleans]

 

Frank Recoder's VMT, freshly recovered from a nasty T-bone accident and looking great. Pic 4 is Frank himself, fiddling with the unreacheable float bowl of the GP carb -it was once explained that a 'cooperative, trained snake is helpful in tickling the carb'. Too true; Frank uses a special tool to help. [Paul d'Orleans]

 

The line-up. There were around 35 people present for the event, and about 25 riders. Bikes ranged from Kim's '30 KSS to a gaggle of Thruxtons, and a few brand-x machines as noted. [Paul d'Orleans]

 

Starting games! If you can start your bike in one kick and it idles without touching the throttle, you win. That would be Frank Brennan, another long-time club member who we don't see enough. In the pic is Frank Recoder being watched - the usual Velocette law of inversion ('the likelihood of a Velocette starting is inversely proportional to the number of people watching') is suspended for the event, as all spectators are Velo fans, and most of the bikes started first kick. They were all really shiny too; either standards are going up, or we're not riding our bikes enough, or maybe Bill and I didn't bring our scruffy bikes! [Paul d'Orleans]

 

Dana Shatts giving it a go. His Thruxton was having none of it, and got the sulks. [Paul d'Orleans]

Bill Charman doing what we all ended up doing, relaxing with a beer in the sun. [Paul d'Orleans]

To join the Velocette Owner's Club of North America, click here!  The club has an annual 1000-mile Summer Rally (since 1983), and set the gold standard for vintage riding clubs worldwide.

 

Paul d'Orléans is the founder of TheVintagent.com. He is an author, photographer, filmmaker, museum curator, event organizer, and public speaker. Check out his Author Page, Instagram, and Facebook.

by Paul d'Orléans