Bristol Classic Bike Show 2017 pt2

The second and final selection of photos from my wanderings around the Bristol Show last weekend. So many more marvelous motos that I didn't get to snap due to the crowds but I hope you enjoy the selection.

A Raleigh Light Delivery three wheeler. This one is the 'Factory
Truck' version. This is the forerunner of the Reliant motorcar.
Reliant was formed as a breakaway from Raleigh when in the
mid-thirties Raleigh management decided to halt three wheeler
production.

Raleigh 500cc Sports.

Lovely early Greeves. A 1955 20T trials model. Last year of the
rubber in torsion rear suspension. Note also how the early
models have cast ally engine plates.

The Gold Star Owners Club had a brace of
pre-war Goldies on their stand.

Royal Enfield Bullet diesel conversion. One of the nicest
I've seen. Rather than using an industrial unit this motor
is from an Aixam microcar. It is 487cc, water cooled, cruises
comfortably at 65mph and gives 150mpg.

Nice period badge seen on Matchless JAP
special.

And here is the business end of the Matchless JAP. I couldn't
get a decent snap of the whole machine such were the crowds
it drew. Goes to show that you don't need anything shiny to
interest folks. The running gear is a 1931 Matchless Silver Hawk
frame (with cantilever rear suspension as original) into which
a 750cc JAP sidevalve twin has been inserted to replace Matchless'
ohc V4 unit.

And t'other side of the Matchless JAP.

Just one of the many crackers on the Vincent
Owners Club stand. A Python engined HRD.
Python was the name Rudge gave to their motors
when they supplied them to other manufacturers.

Other side of the HRD Python. Note the four
valve bronze cylinder head.

Something rather special. A 1935 works HRD
racer used in the 1935 TT. It was rebuilt for the 1936
TT with a Zoller supercharger fitted. However the
supercharged arrangement proved unsuccessful
in practice so was removed for the race.

One of the two pre-war HRD twins on the VOC stand.

Incredible the work some people put in to their
bikes. This Moto Morini Dart has had a 501cc motor
fitted to replace the original (either 350 or 400). The
bodywork is not merely carbon fibre stickers, it's the
real deal. Each panel has been replicated in carbon fibre.
Wow!

Very impressive handiwork and the bike is obviously used too.

If you're going to have a chop do it properly.
This Triumph based beast was on offer in the
autojumble. Recently imported and carrying an
American plate there was no price tag... It looks
like it has been fairly recently built, a close look at
the frame and it seems to be new. Great homage to
the golden era of chops.

1929 Harley Davidson model DL 750cc. Nearly finished and
very shiny on the Wessex Veteran and Vintage VMCC stand.

A couple of the pre-war Douglas ohv machines at the show.
Very very desirable bikes. I've never ridden one but they often
get rated as one of the best vintage machines. With their
popularity in vintage sprinting they can evidently be made to
really fly too. The machine to the fore is a 1922 S2 and the one
aft a 1928 RA. Very dull names for such exciting machines.
Note the disc brakes on the 1928 bike.

Close up on the 1928 Douglas RA currently
undergoing restoration. The RA stands for
Research Association - or British Motorcycle
and Cycle-Car Research Association to give them
their full title. The RA were the chaps behind the disc
brake design and as far as is known it is the first disc
brake fitted to any vehicle. The brake is not a disc
as we know them today - the disc itself is angled inwards
(ie very slightly conical) and a v is cut in to the friction
material on the caliper to mate with the disc. The caliper is
on a pivot and when the brake is applied it is pulled down on
to the disc. Though reputed to be good for their day, if
slightly grabby, the RA discs can't have been a resounding
success for they were not widely taken up.