The final batch of photos from this year's Pioneer Run. All taken in the glorious sunshine at the finish down on Madeira Drive. An absolutely wonderful day of riding. Many thanks to the organisers and here's to next year!
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| The orange is unmistakably Merkel. |
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| New Hudson in a sea of Triumphs. |
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| Gorgeous blue Indian. |
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| Immaculate 1910 Premier 3.5hp. |
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| Unfathomable front springing on the Premier. |
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| American Excelsior with sheepy passenger. |
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| Original sheep accessory on this Excelsior too. Must have been a factory option.... |
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| Lovely sporting Peugeot twin. |
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| 1904 Progress 3hp over from Germany. |
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| Cracking little 1912 Levis. |
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| This 1911 Magnet-Debon was over from Germany. For a good part of the run it ran neck and neck with the Sun. On the flat the Sun had the edge but the Magnet would overtake again on an incline. |
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| 1910 Brown 490cc. I have to admit that I couldn't quite work out how the Bowden gearbox operates. I believe the rocking pedal controls gears and the ratchet lever on the handlebar does the clutch. |
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| Full view of the 1910 Brown. Note the enormous (clutch?) lever on the handlebars. |
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| 1898 Romaine tricycle. |
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| The Romaine's motor. It looks like a beast but is only 2hp. A lot more fins on the barrel and head than most other contemporaries. |
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| Power plant of the 1909 Phanomobile tricycle. |
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| 1904 Rover forecar detail. Note the heal-operated bell. |
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| Another detail of the 1904 Rover. |
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| 1914 Matchless combination to the fore. |
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| Morgan has had a slight oil leak... |
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| Comfortable? |
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| Well patinated 1914 Rover. |
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| Beautiful 1908 Moto-Reve. |
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| Unusual horizontal overhead valves operated by rocking beams on the Precision-engined Calthorpe Junior. |
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| 1902 Quadrant Autocyclette. |
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| Controls on the 1902 Quadrant. |
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| Lovely 1914 Villiers-engined Gerrard. |
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| A lot of interesting details on the 1912 Wanderer that had come over from Germany for the Run. |
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| 1913 Ariel was possibly my favourite machine of the event. The Ariel is a real flyer but looks rather uncomfortable. We played hare and tortoise for much of the Run. |
The Premier front suspension is a thing of beauty. How does it work? My guess is that both upper and lower spring absorb the bumps when the forward arm rises, and they stretch, and the lower spring alone compresses to handle rebound as the forward arm descends.
ReplyDeleteYes, I think you are right. The forks are essentially of leading link design. The lower spring must be there for rebound in compression. Quite sophisticated for their day!
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