Sport Motorcycles
Motorcycle Modif
Motorcycle News
Beauty Motorcycles
Sexy Motorcycle

Sunday, December 10, 2006

WHAT THEY WORE, PART 2



Here is 'Vivian' Prestwich on a 250cc Diamond with his family product, a side-valve JAP engine (Jos.A.Prestwich&Co). This photograph was taken Nov 23, 1920, and his little machine made 62.39mph, an impressive figure for a little flathead engine of the day, and a new record. If you click on the photo, you might make out the lovely cursive script on the tank, and the fact that EVERYTHING is drilled to swiss cheese standards on the machine.
Notes on the man; I love that sweater! Hand-knit with the family firm's logo and decorative bands, striped tie, jodhpurs, and WHITE buck shoes! His right shoe is a little soiled (oiled!), and he's wearing a wristwatch, which was rare for racers at the time. Moustache of a type to become very unpopular twenty years later.
Safety gear for racing had yet to become standardized, and helmets, leather jackets, and boots were not universally adopted until the later 1920's.

No comments:

Post a Comment