Rudge Sports Special period pictures

Here's another crop of old pics. This guy was living the dream late thirties with his Rudge Sports Special. I have no details about the pics other than a quick google reveals that the HNW registration pre-fix is a Leeds registration and 1939.

Happier times before the war with Rudge Sports Special. 

Rudge Sports Special. This pic is noted as 'Great Wasdale
Head'. Must have been a lucky chap to get out into the Lake
District during the war years (black-out headlight mask fitted).

1939 Rudge Sports Special.

Svalan Panther Swedish Motorcycle

Browsing through ebay a couple of days back I came across this Svalan for sale in Poland. It's a marque I had never come across before and if it was brought over to the UK there'd be little chance of seeing two in the same place. 

Svalan 'Lyx' offered on ebay.

Turns out Svalan is a Swedish marque which commenced production of autocycles shortly before World War Two in the town of Falun. Post-war they re-commenced production and produced mopeds, scooters, smaller two stroke motorcycles and four strokes using the British Panther 'lightweight' 250 and 350 engines.

1955 Svalan brochure cover page.

The lightweight Panther engine would seem an unusual choice as its British reputation was as a solid, if slightly dull, workhorse. However in those postwar days supply was limited and it could well be that manufacturers selling complete four stroke engines were few and far between. There was a 250cc rigid framed model, the 'Matcher' which also used the Dowty forks and Lucas lighting as fitted to early post war Panthers. The later plunger framed 350cc model was the Lyx, for this model NSU forks were fitted along with Hella lighting. This appears to be the model currently offered on ebay. It's a nice looking bike and even with the £300 odd pounds it would probably cost to get over to the UK is not terribly expensive even if also not a bargain. But hurry up, only two days left......

Some Svalan links:

Svalan page on 'The Pantherlair'

Panther Owners Club page on Panther derivatives

Svalan page from Mats Berglind

Jonases page on Svalans

Popham Megameet

The August Popham Megameent is now well established in the calendar. An informal ride-in show with club and trade stands. There are a couple of marquees but it is mostly outdoors and has on a few occasions in the  past fallen foul to the vagaries of the English summer. This year, despite the majority of the summer being an absolute stinker weather-wise, the gods smiled and Popham was blessed with glorious sunshine. The combination of motorcycles and aeroplanes at a good old fashioned enthusiast aerodrome is a winner and throughout the day numerous flying machines dropped by, many of them vintage and even a gyrocopter amongst their number. Here's a few photos from machines that caught the eye.. 

Open frame three speeder Scott.

Lovely unrestored dohc MV Augusta race bike.

Detail from a Moto Rumi 'Gentleman'.

Someone got a drill for Christmas! Probably seemed like
a good idea at the time and must have saved at least 50
grammes! A bit of a restorer's dilemma but personally I'd
leave this Moto Rumi Tipo Sport just as it is.

BSA A10 plunger Gold Flash mildly bobbed and with an M20
front end grafted on. Looks very right but probably handles
and brakes worst than original!

Home brewed v-twin special badged up as 'The Indomitable
Jackson'. AJS engine and the other components I'm not too
sure. Very nicely put together.

Unrestored Excelsior Roadmaster on the British Two Stroke
Club stand.

Anstey links on an unrestored Ariel Red Hunter that had been
used by a gamekeeper in Surrey for all of its life.

Cracking little Motom 50cc ohv race bike. Enormous finned
sump and probably a very effective noise generating tool.

On loan from the National Motor Museum at Beaulieu this
experimental 1944 Royal Enfield 350 sidevalve twin was made
for military evaluation. In the end they chose the Triumph TRW.

Good to see a very early Royal Enfield Crusader restored to
original spec. RE persisted with single sprung saddles long
after other manufacturers. Particularly strange as they were
the first in there with swinging arm frames post-war.

Side valve Norton Big-Four sidecar tug mated with a very
glamorous Noxal sidecar parked up in the spectators' bike
park area.

Same Norton, different view.

1911 Rudge labelled as probably the ex DC Bolton Brooklands
racing machine.

Arliguie bicycle / velo

I bought this unusual cycle chainguard at a flea market. Guessed it was post war and probably French. I've done a bit of internet trawling on 'Aliguie' but can find no details other than Rene Arliguie was a small scale quality frame builder based in Montgarnis, just south of Paris, and produced frames in the forties and fifties. For a while he had a successful team, 'Arliguie-Hutchinson'. Other than that I've drawn a blank and not found out anything about why Beelzebub should appear on an Arliguie chainguard! Or, for that matter, any other images of this distinctive piece. Anyone got any further info? It'll make a nice shed decoration or if someone comes along missing this very part it can find a new home...

Arliuguie bicycle chainguard.

Arliguie bicycle chainguard.

Jawa 350 brochure 1950

Lovely stylish brochure from Jawa for their 1950 350. For 1950 the Jawa was quite an advanced bike - where did it all go wrong! Easy to see where the rumours that Mr Turner took his styling cues from Jawa for Triumph's famous nacelle come from...

1950 350cc Jawa brochure page 1.

1950 350cc Jawa brochure pages 2 & 3.

1950 350cc Jawa brochure pages 3.& 4

1950 350cc Jawa brochure pages 4 & 5.

1950 350cc Jawa brochure page 6.

Historic vehicle MOT changes

There's already been plenty written about the abandoning of mot testing for vehicles built 1960 or earlier. In the historic vehicle movement many folks seem to be wary of the move, some reckoning it is the thin end of the wedge and will herald useage limitations on historic vehicles as exist in other European countries. Others seem to believe that they are not up to discerning the roadworthiness of their vehicle themselves and need a check over from a garage to make sure it is ok. If this is the case why not be happy that you are saving money on an mot and book your vehicle in for an annual service where you can get it checked and fixed for not a lot more money than the cost of an mot... The thing is where bikes are concerned that there are many countries out there that do not have testing for two wheelers and the roads are not an unmitigated catastrophy of junk yard motos riding around. France has no vehicle testing for motorcycles, the Isle of Man has no testing for private vehicles at all. How about we can all just celebrate that for one rare occasion we have all actually gained a little bit of freedom rather than lost it. If you are not confident about looking after your machine yourself, pay someone else to do it. If you are then get on and do it. The abandoning of mots won't change any laws about roadworthiness. The mot is after all just a snapshot, there is no guarantee that after a vehicle leaves an mot centre with a new ticket it won't be illegal the next day....

So, thumbs up to no mots. Yeehaw! Slightly more freedom and a few notes extra in the pocket.

However, there is a new proposal, mot related, that is a very scary. The 'Amendment to EC Roadworthiness Package for Historic Vehicles'. Without going in to great detail there is potential that modifications and updating of your own machinery could become illegal. This could be improving the braking or building up a 'shed special' like a Triton.

There's an e-petition up where you can put your name down to urge a parliamentary debate for an amendment:
http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/37784

The above is part of a new EU proposal for 'Roadworthiness Testing'. It's very drachonian and completely unnecessary. Read the synopsis on the Motorcycle Action Group site or the patient can read the proposals in full on the EU site. Then write to your MP and complain for all you're worth!

Vincent HRD 1948 brochure

Latest brochure posted is the Vincent HRD from 1948. Click to enlarge. It's a fold-out so pages not quite in order...

1948 Vincent HRD brochure front and back.

1948 Vincent HRD brochure centre fold-out.

1948 Vincent HRD brochure middle pages.