1930 Scott TT Replica testing card

Thanks to Claire Pearson for forwarding this test certificate for her grandad's Scott.

As with many manufacturers of the time Scott would bench and road test their performance models and provide a certificate with the bike for the satisfaction of the purchaser. This 1930 TT Replica was tested at 26 and a half brake horse, a very respectable figure for the vintage era.

Claire runs a site of her own, well worth visiting for some great images from yesterdays. Here are the links to the motorcycle related pages:

https://www.stocksbridgetimespast.co.uk/vintage-bikes

https://www.stocksbridgetimespast.co.uk/stocksbridge-district-motor-club

1930 Scott TT Replica Certificate of Engine Test

1930 Scott TT Relica Certificate of Road Trials

 

Souvenir from the Isle of Man

A postcard from the Isle of Man looking over Douglas Harbour. The nice touch is that some TT legends have signed the card. From the careers of the riders the postcard must date from the fifties. Each rider below is linked to their page on the tt-database.

Geoff Duke

Bill Lomas 

George Newmann

Douglas Con Rod magazine 1928

A rare item this and one slightly too large to scan the whole lot. I thought it might still be interesting to show a few selected pages. The Con Rod was the trade journal for Douglas products world wide. The London Douglas Motor Cycle Club's magazine borrows the title being called 'The New Conrod'.

As always click on the image to enlarge. If you want it bigger still, right mouse button and 'view image' to see full size.

 

 

Sixties Pioneer Run snaps

A couple of snaps from probably the early sixties. I'm guessing it is the Pioneer Run. The road is a slabbed concrete dual carriageway, perhaps someone out there remembers and recognises the location?

Veteran Triumph on the road.

Veteran Douglas storming down a dual carriageway!

Sammy Miller Museum Extension Part 1

During last summer and autumn's respite from Covid-19 I managed to make a couple of trips along to Sammy Miller's museum to see the extension which was opened Spring last year. Plenty more space and plenty more bikes to cast an eye over. Rather than fill the extension with new previously un-displayed bikes there has been a general shuffle around so I wasn't totally sure which exhibits were new and which not. Not to matter, here's a random selection of machinery that caught my eye....

1909 FN four

The heart of the 1909 FN's matter.

1929 Dunelt 250cc ohc face cam

1914 Rudge Multi TT Model ioe 500cc

Cyclotracteur engine on a 1925 Humber cycle

Cyclotracteur from another angle.

1907 Motosacoche

1922 Gnome-Rhone

OK Supreme 1933 250cc ohc 'Lighthouse'

The OK Supreme was nicknamed 'The
Lighthouse due to the sight glass to the
cam. Eat your heart out Ducati!

1926 Pacer 1100cc MAG engine. Marque unknown

1932 Royal Enfield Cycar Z2 148cc

1923 Cykelaid

Cykleaid detail. The motor is a Villiers.

1920 ABC Skootamota

Stafford Mobile Pup

1921 Kenilworth scooter

Barbour Motorcycle and Scooter Wear 1962

Founded in 1894 Barbour originally started out as an importer of oilskin cloth. It wasn't long before they had developed their own waxing process and soon after introduced their own range of oilcloth coats. The first Barbour catalogue of 1908 featured motorcycling apparel but it wasn't until post WWII that Barbour became the go to kit for the British Motorcyclist (along with Belstaff of course). Barbour is still family owned and still makes a range of motorcycling clothing. The waxed cottton jacket has been fully eclipsed by modern technology in both waterproofing and technology but there's still a strange appeal to the faithful musty smelling, nearly waterproof wax jacket hanging on the garage wall. Plus, of course, a waxed jacket looks the business on an old bike.

 

Elefant Rally / Elefantentreffen 1966

In memoriam of rallies we have missed out on this winter here are some of the nicest events photos of yore that I have come across for a good while. They're amongst the favourites in my collection. Pictures from someone's album of days gone by of a trip to the Elefant Rally in 1966.

(tip - as with all photos on this blog click to enlarge. If you then want to see them in even better resolution right click and open in a new tab or view image. All pictures on the blog are scanned in high res.)

Top right a winterised BMW combo - check the
homemade muffs around the heads and barrels to
stop it getting too cold! As a testament to their
quality you still even now see BMWs like this doing
the rounds of the winter rallies.
Bottom left the Nurburgring pits and grandstand area.
Bottom right. Well done sir! A venerable plunger framed
Golden Flash BSA has made it along from the UK.

Top. Tents under the trees with a
Jawa combination.
Bottom a very smart Vincent Black
Prince combination. Note the Harro
Elefantenboy tank bag and five inch
Black Shadow rev counter. The Black
Knight was already out of production for
more than ten years by the time this picture
was taken but it would have still been the
most potent bike at the event.

Top left a pair of Harleys.
Top right, those Harleys again. The license plates
are US forces in Germany type.
Bottom left. A glamorous visitor from Britain -
Vincent Black Shadow with Watsonian chair.
Bottom right. A NSU 501T from the late twenties.

Top left a sweet cafe racer based on a DKW RT350
twin.
Bottom left a Beemer combo alongside another
DKW - an RT200(?) this time.
Bottom right. US visitors. A Harley Duo-Glide
to the fore.

Top right a Triumph hitched to a child-adult
chair leads a Royal Enfield with Wessex sidecar.
Bottom left, the pit area at the Nurburgring.
Bottom right another Brit bike, an Ariel Square
Four MkII.

Harley Davidson Model J

 A wonderful picture this one. The bike is unmistakably a Harley, a Model J and there is some local interest for me as the picture is captioned 'Taken Sept 1919. Outside Sam's Office in Yeovil'. Anyone out there from Yeovil and recognise the building? Obviously a well to do family this one, looks like grandad is a bit behind the times with his top hat though.

Magnificent c1919 Harley Davidson Model J.

1903/4 Lea Francis bicycle

Lea-Francis Light Roadster 1903 / 1904.

 Here's a recent purchase. I've been searching a while for a pre-1905 cycle within my budget that I could perhaps use to join in with the VCC London to Brighton Run. This Lea-Francis turned up in a South West London suburb and though it needs work it fits the bill rather perfectly. In the last few years the London to Brighton run has opened up to cycles and motorcycles of the correct age. Perhaps one day I shall be under motor power with my 1904 Quadrant.

The model is "Light Roadster" and it is a single speed job with a suitably large sized frame for my lanky stature. After some investigation I found that his particular Lea-Francis features on The Vintage Bicycle blog where there is a lengthy description of it and some good images. Rather strangely on the blog the Lea-Francis is judged by the author of the piece (who was not the owner) to be beyond repair due to rust around the bottom bracket. Personally I think that a bit harsh, it really doesn't seem so very bad to me and there is no evidence of the cycle having been dismantled at all for inspection so in my mind the verdict was rather premature.

The 'Leaf' shall be dismantled, thoroughly cleaned and preserved then returned to a rideable condition. It really is in rather remarkably original condition despite its generous covering of rust. This was probably the most expensive cycle one could buy in its time and as a comparison cost over a quarter more again than a Dursley Pedersen. Obviously I need to find a suitable saddle but everything else is there. The cork handlebar grips will have to have some remedial work and hopefully I can manage to replicate the celluloid upper to the chainguard.

Restoration will take a fair while what with other projects on the go but then again so will getting my fitness up to scratch to pedal the beast from central London down to Brighton seafront. 

The Coventry Victor Type N engine

 A bit diversionary from the usual theme of this blog but these Coventry Victor motors do often get confused for motorcycle engines. Coventry Victor did infact make motorcycles from 1919 to 1930 (as well as light cars) that were fitted with flat twin engines. However from 1930 onwards they specialised in engines for maritime and industrial use. This brochure is undated but I believe to be from the late forties.

Early Triumph combo

 Happy New Year 2021 to all!

 

A lovely photo and surely an interesting story behind it which, alas, we shall never know. The bike is unmistakably a Triumph and looks to date from just before WW1.

Veteran Triumph sidecar combination.