Gearing the Gold Star

With the Gold Star finally running sweetly the next item on the list was sorting out the gearing. Fitting a Bob Newby clutch altered the primary gearing to 2 to 1. With the 350 motor running a RRT2 box and 19 tooth on the gearbox sprocket it meant that the bike could barely pull top gear on the flat and pulling away in first was a tricky business if pointing up hill.

I had been planning to swap to a 17 tooth on the gearbox and called up Gold Star specialist Phil Pearson to see if he had one. Turns out Phil does not stock sprockets but he was free with his advice and recommended going down to 16 teeth and suggested Autocycle Engineering as the people to call. Phil also gave some decent advice on making the motor more tractable - as a highly tuned and rev happy 350 it doesn't really suit my 6 foot free 15 stone frame. The advice boiled down to it being unlikely that I would ever be content with the 350 and would forever be revving and shifting gears. The bright side though is that a conversion to 500 or 600cc is a lot more reasonably priced than I had expected so I am starting to save my pennies....

Road test time and the 16 tooth sprocket is indeed exactly the right one. The bike is still fairly tall geared but is now slightly more civilised and manageable. There's still plenty of shifting to be done to keep it on the boil but it feels like it is now working as BSA intended.

Next and hopefully final step is to sort out the electrics.

One 16 tooth sprocket form Autocycle Engineering. An
unusual size but they came up trumps and it arrived quickly.

Ready for the new sprocket. Alloy engine / gearbox plates
are fitted. There are quite a few non standard and lighter
parts on this bike, it is however still a heavy old beast.

Autumn has properly arrived but it is peculiarly warm. Hello
global warming! Test ride and all is good, the change of gearing
has made a very substantial improvement.

Moped hooligans on the streets of Paris 1961

I've just come across the British Film Institute archive and there are some real gems there.

For starters from 1961 here's the Cachito Cha Cha Cha shot on the streets of Paris for Cinebox. Cinebox was an Italian made cinema / jukebox found in European cafes through the 60s. Though the tune has a strong Cuban vibe it is actually performed by Philippino band leader Anastacio Mamaril and his orchestra. Mamaril was known as the 'Trumpet King of the Philippines'. The visual storyboard is essentially a group of lads on sporty mopeds in Paris vaguely harassing a pretty girl in a sportscar, she doesn't seem too bothered by them though.

http://player.bfi.org.uk/film/watch-musical-motorcycles-cachito-cha-cha-cha-coursee-1961/

Winter Rallies 2016 / 2017 season

Christmas now apparently starts sometime shortly after summer but the motorcycle winter rally is a tradition more immutable than the birth of Christ himself, for the unchanging season of cold weather two-wheeled camping runs from November through to February. Period.

Over here in the UK the media is predicting a harsh winter, they do every year but usually we end up with murky grey skies and rain. If you want the real deal head North to Scandinavia. Personally I've already got my Dragon Rally ticket and seeing as I now have a sidecar combo and heated grips I say bring on the cold.

So, here for your delectation, I present the annual RDM listing of motorcycle camping masochism. Out with the handlebar muffs and enjoy!

Quick disclaimer - all dates are probably correct, check for yourself to make sure. Most events will be ticket only. Winter riding and camping is very obviously not a walk in the park, make sure man or woman and machine are well prepared for all eventualities.

Winter Rally. 11 to 13 November 2016, Horton, Wales, UK. Welsh Coast MCC.

Icy Ale Rally. 2 to 4 December 2016, UK. Druids MCC.

Force Ten Rally. 6 to 8 January 2017, Warwickshire, UK. Mayflower MCC.

Wintertreffen Augustusburg. 14  January 2016. Schloss Augustusburg, Augustusburg,Germany.

Agnellotreffen. 20 to 22 January 2017. Pontechianale, Italy.

Hot Rod Rally. 2017 dates tbc. Normally end January. Holland. BSA OC.

Alteisentreiber. 26 to 29 January 2017. Austrian Alps.

Savalen Rally. 25 to 29 January 2017. Savalen Fjell Hotel, Savalen, Norway.

Elefantentreffen / Elefant Rally. 27 to 29 January 2017. Loh / Thurmansbang-Solla near Passau, Germany. The original Elefant Rally.

Kickstart Rally, 27 to 29 January 2017. Cirencester. UK. Ogri MCC

Fjord Rally. 7 to 10 February 2017. Jostedal Hotel, Jostedal, Norway.

Wild Boar. 3 to 5 February 2017. Cantabria, Spain. MC Piston.

Frozen Nuts Rally. 3 to 5 February 2017. Stoke-on-Trent, UK. Danger Mouse Rally Club.

Altes Elefantentreffen. 10 to 12 Febraury 2017, Nurburgring Germany. Confusingly the'Old Elefant Rally' is in fact the upstart new Elefant Rally and held at the Nurburgring.

Dragon Rally. 11 & 12 February 2017, Wales. The British Elefant and a grand tradition. 

Krystall Rally. 16 to 19 February 2017, Røros Hotel, Røros, Norway. Just because it is in a hotel don't think that this is an easy option. Temperatures this time of year can drop to minus 20 degrees.

Primus Rally. 24 to 26 February 2017, Velmunden near Bjøneroa, Norway.

Primus Borealis Rally. Mid February. Just South of the North Cape, Norway. Not sure if this one is still running but it merits inclusion by nature of being the most extreme. Both of the Primus Rallies are notoriously hard to find information about on the web.

Motorcycling An Illustrated Social History book review

It's pretty obvious from the contents of this blog that I am keen on old photos of regular folks with their motorcycles. The premise of this book is a collection of such images each of which carry a paragraph or two of explanation. The social history of motorcycling is a neglected area, sad really as it is a fascinating subject. Motorcycle history is massively intertwined with the growth of individualism, industrialisation and leisure for the working classes. The way that motorcycles gave regular working people freedom and the ability to get out of cities and enjoy days out with independence. The taste for speed that motorcycles gave. The whole social scene that grew from the myriad of regional motorcycle clubs that once existed and are now for most part forgotten. The role of the motorcycle in youthful rebellion, and that is something that was happening way before rockers in the fifties. As a child I can remember my grandfather telling tales of speeding on his New Gerrard with straight though exhaust in the 1920s and getting stopped by the police. The complaint was that the machine had no silencing and the copper tested it by putting a stick up the exhaust to feel for a baffle. Nicked!

Where this book wins is that beyond the pictures author Roger Fogg has collated, researched and narrated the back story about the folks depicted and the locations. It is an easy book to pick up and dip in to a few of the 160 pages for a while without having to read from cover to cover and should appeal to anyone with even a passing interest in old motorcycles.

Gilera 175

The UK importers brochure for the Gilera 175. I believe this dates from 1958. They might have been sweet little bikes but in the UK they were damned expensive. To put in to perspective in 1958 you could buy an AJS 18S 500 ohv single for £198 or a Gilera 175 Sports for £193. Only a few quid more and you could have a 350cc Velocette Viper (about the same price as the tuned 175 Gilera), the Gilera might have been nice but I know which I would have chosen....

Gilera 175 brochure front cover.

Gilera 175 brochure pages 2 and 3.

Gilera 175 brochure page 4.

Gilera 175 brochure page 5.

Gilera 175 brochure rear cover.

Two wheeled goodness for sale

Since a sidecar has come in to my life I've been finding my garage very very crowded. Of course so the saying goes n+1 is the right number of bikes for a chap to own. Problem is a sidecar is n+2 space-wise so I need n+2(-1) to maintain equilibrium...

Anyways the finger of doom has pointed at my Royal Enfield J2. Or could this be a great opportunity for the bike to find a more loving and dedicated owner who will lavish more time and attention that I am able to what with my motorcycle lovin' being spread so thinly.

Also I did not know that bicycles are related to rabbits. Behind my back they have been multiplying furiously. At least one needs to go. The one that represents the biggest input in time and all for a cycle that will be too small for me to actually sensible ride is my (probably) Jo Routens.

Both of these gems have just now been anchored at the bay of e and can be found right here:

Royal Enfield J2

Jo Routens frame

Kenilworth Motorcyclette saw bench

Latest to take up residence in the shed is a 1919 Kenilworth that for a while gave service as a saw bench. The Kenilworth is one of the crop of scooters that appeared in the immediate aftermath of World War 1. The craze was short lived but produced some innovative and unusual designs. The earlier scooters of this craze were literally motorized scooters and were paddled off by the feet and ridden standing up. This Kenilworth is one such device, later models had the luxury of a saddle.

The Kenilworth is fitted with a sweet little ohv 143cc motor made by Norman which drives a countershaft by belt and then the final drive is by chain. There is no clutch. Controls are just a front brake, decompressor and throttle.

This one will be a fairly long term project, there's a few parts to find or make. The appeal lies in the quirkiness of the device and that I was able to bring it home in a swap for a bulkier basket case project thus clearing some space in my over crowded garage.

By strange coincidence I saw a petrol tank for sale at the Great Dorset Steam Fair back in August. I looked at it and thought, lovely tank but who out there needs one of those.... If you were the chap selling it and still have it then please do get in touch.

Kenilworth off-side view. Engine hangs on one side of the
foot boards, magneto the other and flywheel in the middle.
The main bulk of the chassis is a pair of large plates with slots
for the rear wheel and countershaft. Headstock is plain bearing
and joined to the chassis by straight bolted up tubes.

Near-side view of the Kenilworth.

Little 143cc ohv Norman motor. Curiously overhead valves
were commonplace on early scooters whilst very unusual on
motorcycles. Several of the scooters were designed by aero
engineers so this could explain why.

This Kenilworth was manufactured by Booth
Brothers of Coventry and there is a transfer
on the rear mudguard to this effect.