Norton-J.A.P.

Further to my previous post about the Brighton Centenary, Chris Illman sent me photos and detailed information about the Norton-JAP sprinter, which it turns out has quite an interesting history. Chris, by the way, is the one riding the bike in these photos, so he has a special interest in keeping the record straight. The beast was also published in 'Built for Speed' (John Griffith, 1962, Temple Press), although it has evolved a bit in the past 45 years. Chris and his son Mark run the VMCC Sprint Section website, which documents the activities of the various ancient sprinters being campaigned in the UK, and has lots of great photos and movies of bikes from past and present.

Chris writes: "Brief History: The machine was fabricated in 1953 by Francis T Williams. It was built specifically for riding at Brighton (FTW lived just up the road at Saltdean). It was the 3rd and final version of the Norton-JAP series he built.... The bike was bought in the late 50's by Ernie Woods who named it 'THOR' and rode it at Brighton and other venues for many years. It achieved many wins both for FTW and EW. It made Fastest Tim of the Day at Brighton on several occasions with the highlight years being in the early 60's. It was retired by Ernie Woods in the 709's and remained in his ownership until his death. It was bought at auction by a good friend of mine, and I have been privileged to work on it an ride it at selected events. The opportunity to ride such a Historic Machine at the Centenary Brighton event was too good to miss and I have ridden it every year since!"

"The particulars of 2005 (your video) is that I achieved two runs of 12.24 sec and 12.25 sec ET (114mph Terminal Speed) over the Standing Quarter and won the John Rich Memorial Shield for the Class win. Interestingly, at a faster time than Ernie Woods FTD in 1961!"

"The fastest I have achieved is an 11.9 second run at a Sprint event in 2006. I am sure it would go quicker but in deference to it's age & value, we are not prapared to push it too hard!"

"Technical: Although it is based on the 'Stronger' 1100cc JAP mk2 Crankcases, it is fitted with 2 Speedway heads and barrels giving a nominal 998cc. It is indeed the 'Two of Everything' version of the Ultimate Racing JAP and has the normal Mk2 oil pump which is NOT Total Loss. For the Cooper cars and circuit racing, Total Loss was unacceptable so a recirculating system was employed. The GP carbs are in fact 1 1/4" and the SU floats came from an XK Jaguar. It runs on straight Methanol and gives circa 100 BHP. The JAP is mounted in a 1952 350cc Manx Norton rolling chassis (the 350 version is lighter than the 500 being made in lighter gauge tubing)."

Top pic is Chris at Brighton with the machine and John Rich shield for FTD in his class; middle scan is taken from 'Built For Speed', which has a nice technical exploration of the bike; bottom photo shows Chris warming up the rear tire before a run at Brighton... This marks the first Smoky Burnout photo on the Vintagent site - what's next, breasts? Harleys?

Norton-J.A.P.

Further to my previous post about the Brighton Centenary, Chris Illman sent me photos and detailed information about the Norton-JAP sprinter, which it turns out has quite an interesting history. Chris, by the way, is the one riding the bike in these photos, so he has a special interest in keeping the record straight. The beast was also published in 'Built for Speed' (John Griffith, 1962, Temple Press), although it has evolved a bit in the past 45 years. Chris and his son Mark run the VMCC Sprint Section website, which documents the activities of the various ancient sprinters being campaigned in the UK, and has lots of great photos and movies of bikes from past and present.

Chris writes: "Brief History: The machine was fabricated in 1953 by Francis T Williams. It was built specifically for riding at Brighton (FTW lived just up the road at Saltdean). It was the 3rd and final version of the Norton-JAP series he built.... The bike was bought in the late 50's by Ernie Woods who named it 'THOR' and rode it at Brighton and other venues for many years. It achieved many wins both for FTW and EW. It made Fastest Tim of the Day at Brighton on several occasions with the highlight years being in the early 60's. It was retired by Ernie Woods in the 709's and remained in his ownership until his death. It was bought at auction by a good friend of mine, and I have been privileged to work on it an ride it at selected events. The opportunity to ride such a Historic Machine at the Centenary Brighton event was too good to miss and I have ridden it every year since!"

"The particulars of 2005 (your video) is that I achieved two runs of 12.24 sec and 12.25 sec ET (114mph Terminal Speed) over the Standing Quarter and won the John Rich Memorial Shield for the Class win. Interestingly, at a faster time than Ernie Woods FTD in 1961!"

"The fastest I have achieved is an 11.9 second run at a Sprint event in 2006. I am sure it would go quicker but in deference to it's age & value, we are not prapared to push it too hard!"

"Technical: Although it is based on the 'Stronger' 1100cc JAP mk2 Crankcases, it is fitted with 2 Speedway heads and barrels giving a nominal 998cc. It is indeed the 'Two of Everything' version of the Ultimate Racing JAP and has the normal Mk2 oil pump which is NOT Total Loss. For the Cooper cars and circuit racing, Total Loss was unacceptable so a recirculating system was employed. The GP carbs are in fact 1 1/4" and the SU floats came from an XK Jaguar. It runs on straight Methanol and gives circa 100 BHP. The JAP is mounted in a 1952 350cc Manx Norton rolling chassis (the 350 version is lighter than the 500 being made in lighter gauge tubing)."

Top pic is Chris at Brighton with the machine and John Rich shield for FTD in his class; middle scan is taken from 'Built For Speed', which has a nice technical exploration of the bike; bottom photo shows Chris warming up the rear tire before a run at Brighton... This marks the first Smoky Burnout photo on the Vintagent site - what's next, breasts? Harleys?

J.A.P. Sprinter

I spotted this JAP (J.A. Prestwich)-engined sprinter at the Brighton Speed Trials in Sept. 2005, and managed to catch a short video when the bike made a run up the strip. British 'Sprints' are the equivalent of American 'Drag Races', but they're racing against the clock only in England, no side-by-side racing, and the film shows several competitors lining up and making a run.

The Brighton event is really worth attending, as the list of machines is invite-only, and the organizers try to cover a range of ages and capacities of cars and motorcycles, from brand-new superbikes to ancient hammers, and the cars range from Vintage Bentleys to newish F1 cars. 2005 happened to be the Centenary of the BST, so the lineup included vehicles which had raced on the seaside from all decades. I should mention that the Brighton event is held on the promenade at the beach, which is normally a pedestrian area full of tourists enjoying the sea and the lousy food. The street level of the town is about 40' higher than the beach, so it's possible to watch the vehicles take their speed runs from above. The second video shows the bikes and cars making their way to the start line - the run itself covers 1/4 mile. Despite all the new machines taking part, often the fastest machines/riders are decades old - this JAP-engined special is normally one of the top contenders, but was a little off-song that day (although it won it's class).

It's an interesting bike; the engine is a 1100cc ohv JAP v-twin, probably from the 1950's, and was developed for speedway sidecar racing and use in Formula 3 cars (eg, Coopers). The engine is housed in a nickel-plated Norton Wideline Featherbed frame, which may well have originally housed a Manx engine - the wheels are certainly magnesium items from a Manx, and the gearbox is a pre-1952 Norton item as well. Sparks are courtesy of two BTH TT magnetos, and the carbs are two whopping 1 1/4" GP items with giant SU float chambers (courtesy of some car, no doubt). The bike would make an awesome road special!

J.A.P. Sprinter

I spotted this JAP (J.A. Prestwich)-engined sprinter at the Brighton Speed Trials in Sept. 2005, and managed to catch a short video when the bike made a run up the strip. British 'Sprints' are the equivalent of American 'Drag Races', but they're racing against the clock only in England, no side-by-side racing, and the film shows several competitors lining up and making a run.

The Brighton event is really worth attending, as the list of machines is invite-only, and the organizers try to cover a range of ages and capacities of cars and motorcycles, from brand-new superbikes to ancient hammers, and the cars range from Vintage Bentleys to newish F1 cars. 2005 happened to be the Centenary of the BST, so the lineup included vehicles which had raced on the seaside from all decades. I should mention that the Brighton event is held on the promenade at the beach, which is normally a pedestrian area full of tourists enjoying the sea and the lousy food. The street level of the town is about 40' higher than the beach, so it's possible to watch the vehicles take their speed runs from above. The second video shows the bikes and cars making their way to the start line - the run itself covers 1/4 mile. Despite all the new machines taking part, often the fastest machines/riders are decades old - this JAP-engined special is normally one of the top contenders, but was a little off-song that day (although it won it's class).

It's an interesting bike; the engine is a 1100cc ohv JAP v-twin, probably from the 1950's, and was developed for speedway sidecar racing and use in Formula 3 cars (eg, Coopers). The engine is housed in a nickel-plated Norton Wideline Featherbed frame, which may well have originally housed a Manx engine - the wheels are certainly magnesium items from a Manx, and the gearbox is a pre-1952 Norton item as well. Sparks are courtesy of two BTH TT magnetos, and the carbs are two whopping 1 1/4" GP items with giant SU float chambers (courtesy of some car, no doubt). The bike would make an awesome road special!

H.C. Lamacraft

Dennis Quinlan sent these photos of H.C. Lamacraft, which are all from the Keig Collection books - which are unfortunately no longer in print (but which can be found online via ebay or bookfinder.com - there are 6 volumes).

Top pic is from the 1934 Junior TT at the Isle of Man, and a youthful HCL is sitting stride his mkIV KTT Velo, which is the machine mentioned in my post as having been sold to David Vincent (and on which he earned his Gold Star at Brooklands in 1935). Henry finished 10th in the '34 Junior TT, earning a Silver Replica (of the statue of Hermes, used as the trophy) at an average speed of 71.17mph. He rode in the TT races every year between 1934 and 1939 (when racing ceased due to WW2). The mkIV KTT can be distinguished from the mkV model in the following 3 photographs by the changes in frame design; the earlier bike has twin front downtubes (from the steering head to the engine), and is an open-type frame utilising the engine crankcases as a stressed element of the frame. The later frame (introduced in 1935) was identical to that used on the KSS mk2 and MSS models, and is the 'full-cradle' type, which means the engine sits within a continuous loop of tubing.

The next two photos both show the same machine, in 1935, on which he entered both the Junior (#10) and Senior (#16) TT's of that year. The mkV KTT Velo would have been brand new, and knowing how Veloce worked, had probably come into Henry's hands about a week prior to the race! Interestingly, HCL did better in the Senior TT on his 350cc Velo against 500cc opponents (making 10th place) than in the Junior TT, where he won 12th place.

Dennis adds,
"Often their times on the same bike in the Senior were faster... HCL was a remarkably consistent rider [with lap times within 10sec/lap over a ~32min lap], and [his lap times] show slowing on the 5th lap in both events...due to the pit stop for fuel...These [pit-stops] appear to be a bit hap-hazard & no real effort made to minimise the time for the stop. Although there is the story of the fuel rep delivering a fuel nozzle to the Velocette camp & Harold Willis [development chief for Veloce - and one of the Great Minds of motorcycling] being very interested in the smoothness inside the pipe, which, presumably allowed fuel to flow more quickly. Shortly afterwards, the rep returned, and embarrassed, asked for it back... of course it then went to the Norton camp of Joe Craig..."


It's interesting to compare his riding kit with some photos from just a few years earlier - he's wearing what became the standard racing outfit from the late 20's until around 1950 (when Geoff Duke had one-piece racing leathers made up by his tailor, to gain a little extra speed). Lace-up high-top boots, leather jodhpurs, double-breasted button up jacket with collar, gloves with long gauntlets. In the third photo, he's switched to horse-riding boots with no laces (or just laces at the ankle, to make them easier to pull on and off).

The motorcycle is the same, presumably, in the last photo, taken at the 1938 Junior TT, but time has taken a toll on the bike - the lining and logo on the petrol tank are gone, as is the chrome on the wheels, curiously. I will speculate that this is the very machine to which he added a supercharger (seen in the earlier post), as the tank looks identical. The question - did he remove the blower for the TT, or did he add it afterwards, searching for more performance. Lamacraft did purchase a mkVIII KTT by 1939, so perhaps the mkV was surplus, and he felt free to experiment with the obsolete machine.

H.C. Lamacraft

Dennis Quinlan sent these photos of H.C. Lamacraft, which are all from the Keig Collection books - which are unfortunately no longer in print (but which can be found online via ebay or bookfinder.com - there are 6 volumes).

Top pic is from the 1934 Junior TT at the Isle of Man, and a youthful HCL is sitting stride his mkIV KTT Velo, which is the machine mentioned in my post as having been sold to David Vincent (and on which he earned his Gold Star at Brooklands in 1935). Henry finished 10th in the '34 Junior TT, earning a Silver Replica (of the statue of Hermes, used as the trophy) at an average speed of 71.17mph. He rode in the TT races every year between 1934 and 1939 (when racing ceased due to WW2). The mkIV KTT can be distinguished from the mkV model in the following 3 photographs by the changes in frame design; the earlier bike has twin front downtubes (from the steering head to the engine), and is an open-type frame utilising the engine crankcases as a stressed element of the frame. The later frame (introduced in 1935) was identical to that used on the KSS mk2 and MSS models, and is the 'full-cradle' type, which means the engine sits within a continuous loop of tubing.

The next two photos both show the same machine, in 1935, on which he entered both the Junior (#10) and Senior (#16) TT's of that year. The mkV KTT Velo would have been brand new, and knowing how Veloce worked, had probably come into Henry's hands about a week prior to the race! Interestingly, HCL did better in the Senior TT on his 350cc Velo against 500cc opponents (making 10th place) than in the Junior TT, where he won 12th place.

Dennis adds,
"Often their times on the same bike in the Senior were faster... HCL was a remarkably consistent rider [with lap times within 10sec/lap over a ~32min lap], and [his lap times] show slowing on the 5th lap in both events...due to the pit stop for fuel...These [pit-stops] appear to be a bit hap-hazard & no real effort made to minimise the time for the stop. Although there is the story of the fuel rep delivering a fuel nozzle to the Velocette camp & Harold Willis [development chief for Veloce - and one of the Great Minds of motorcycling] being very interested in the smoothness inside the pipe, which, presumably allowed fuel to flow more quickly. Shortly afterwards, the rep returned, and embarrassed, asked for it back... of course it then went to the Norton camp of Joe Craig..."


It's interesting to compare his riding kit with some photos from just a few years earlier - he's wearing what became the standard racing outfit from the late 20's until around 1950 (when Geoff Duke had one-piece racing leathers made up by his tailor, to gain a little extra speed). Lace-up high-top boots, leather jodhpurs, double-breasted button up jacket with collar, gloves with long gauntlets. In the third photo, he's switched to horse-riding boots with no laces (or just laces at the ankle, to make them easier to pull on and off).

The motorcycle is the same, presumably, in the last photo, taken at the 1938 Junior TT, but time has taken a toll on the bike - the lining and logo on the petrol tank are gone, as is the chrome on the wheels, curiously. I will speculate that this is the very machine to which he added a supercharger (seen in the earlier post), as the tank looks identical. The question - did he remove the blower for the TT, or did he add it afterwards, searching for more performance. Lamacraft did purchase a mkVIII KTT by 1939, so perhaps the mkV was surplus, and he felt free to experiment with the obsolete machine.

OLD GOGGLES

I mentioned in an earlier post that I hadn't found a good source for old goggles to match the items in this period (20's) photograph...but now I have! A fellow in Oporto, Portugal has an ebay store, Luis Collectibles, which carries a huge variety of authentic, original goggles, helmets, gloves, sunglasses, etc. Check it out! The reason I'm telling you this? I already have 15 pairs of riding goggles... Bear in mind that you'll usually have to replace the elastic on an old pair, which shouldn't be too difficult. The rubber within tends to degrade after only 20 years or so (well beyond the original service life if you think about it).

A word of caution about old rubber - some pairs of vintage goggles have rubber pads around the eyes, which can be very small or very large indeed, almost like a mask; if you're buying something online, make sure the rubber isn't perished/perishing, as it will be impossible to replace without making a mould and casting your own... Also, celluloid doesn't age nearly as well as glass, so it's important to check the condition of whatever the 'clear' part of your goggles might be. Some celluloid (which is an early form of plastic - geek out and check the wiki:celluloid entry) has survived remarkably well, others have yellowed and cracked or have become too scratched to be useful. Replacement lenses are easier to come by than rubber bits, as any good eyeglass place should be able to help. I've also had great luck using Allyn Scura for new lenses. They also sell the best vintage sunglasses (and sometimes goggles - I got my Spaceman Spiff items from them).


If you don't want the hassle or uncertainty of vintage items and are looking for new goggles, the best I've found are made by Aviator Goggle (Leon Jeantet) in France, which are shown in the bottom photograph. I've seen them advertised at classicgoggles.com.

OLD GOGGLES

I mentioned in an earlier post that I hadn't found a good source for old goggles to match the items in this period (20's) photograph...but now I have! A fellow in Oporto, Portugal has an ebay store, Luis Collectibles, which carries a huge variety of authentic, original goggles, helmets, gloves, sunglasses, etc. Check it out! The reason I'm telling you this? I already have 15 pairs of riding goggles... Bear in mind that you'll usually have to replace the elastic on an old pair, which shouldn't be too difficult. The rubber within tends to degrade after only 20 years or so (well beyond the original service life if you think about it).

A word of caution about old rubber - some pairs of vintage goggles have rubber pads around the eyes, which can be very small or very large indeed, almost like a mask; if you're buying something online, make sure the rubber isn't perished/perishing, as it will be impossible to replace without making a mould and casting your own... Also, celluloid doesn't age nearly as well as glass, so it's important to check the condition of whatever the 'clear' part of your goggles might be. Some celluloid (which is an early form of plastic - geek out and check the wiki:celluloid entry) has survived remarkably well, others have yellowed and cracked or have become too scratched to be useful. Replacement lenses are easier to come by than rubber bits, as any good eyeglass place should be able to help. I've also had great luck using Allyn Scura for new lenses. They also sell the best vintage sunglasses (and sometimes goggles - I got my Spaceman Spiff items from them).


If you don't want the hassle or uncertainty of vintage items and are looking for new goggles, the best I've found are made by Aviator Goggle (Leon Jeantet) in France, which are shown in the bottom photograph. I've seen them advertised at classicgoggles.com.

1928 HUMBER 3.49hp OHC

Here's a rare bird; Humber was one of the original motorcycle makers in Britain - according to 'The Autocar' of June 6, 1896, ' the first practical motorcycle made in this country was completed last week when Humber & Co finished a bicycle fitted with a Pennington two-horsepower motor...'.

Humber started life in 1868 making bicycles, and branched out to making cars about the same times as they added an engine to one of their bicycle frames. By around 1903 the cars especially became very successful, with motorcycle and bicycle production developing alongside. The factory backed a racing team in the Isle of Man TT in 1911, and won the Junior TT (PJ Evans aboard) with their 350cc inlet-over-exhaust-valve v-twin. The factory also made sporting flat-twins (a la Douglas), and a machine which they copied from no-one; a 3 cylinder flat triple! One cylinder in front (78 x 78mm), two at the back (58 x 78mm), nominally 6hp, but which works out to 785cc... I'll try to find a photo!

The success of the Humber cars and their excellent construction became the undoing of the motorcycle branch, as the Rootes Group (which had already absorbed Sunbeam, Hillman, Singer, Commer, and Talbot cars) took over the factory in 1930. Rootes had no interest in motorcycles, and rather than selling off this side of the business (it was, after all, the worst year of the Depression), they 'hauled down the motorcycle flag'.

This 3.49hp ohc machine (no catchy name like 'Lark' or even 'KSS') therefore represents the pinnacle of 34 years of motorcycle production, and was the top of their line, 'a very refined and sporting mount', according to 'The Humber Story' (Demaus & Tarring, 1989).

It's a very interesting little overhead-camshaft engine of their own make, with and adjustable oil feed directly to the cams via an oil pump on the cambox, although the engine lubrication is still total-loss. In general layout they certainly took their cues from the best, as it looks very much like a Velo K series, and even more closely resembles a racing Koehler-Escoffier 500cc ohc machine, which also has a total loss system, although not the oil pump directly on the cambox. The cambox itself shares the same rocker mechanism with the unfairly maligned Walter Moore Norton CS1 of 1927-29, in that the rockers exit the SIDE of the casting (see drive side detail photo), and don't move up and down through a leaky slot one either end of the cambox. It's so much easier to add an oil seal to a rocker shaft as on this machine, than try to seal a 1.5" long open slot....look at the back of any Manx or my mkIV KTT after a hard ride, and you'll know immediately what I'm talking about.

The rest of the machine is typical of the late Vintage period; bought-in forks (Brampton), gearbox (Albion), wheels (Webb or Enfield hubs), carb (Amac), magneto (ML), etc. The factory would have of course made their own frames, and probably petrol tanks, as they must have had sheet metal pressing capacity for their cars...
Ohc machines are very rare in the Vintage period, and a motorcycle of such limited production like this one is an especially unusual discovery.

1928 HUMBER 3.49hp OHC

Here's a rare bird; Humber was one of the original motorcycle makers in Britain - according to 'The Autocar' of June 6, 1896, ' the first practical motorcycle made in this country was completed last week when Humber & Co finished a bicycle fitted with a Pennington two-horsepower motor...'.

Humber started life in 1868 making bicycles, and branched out to making cars about the same times as they added an engine to one of their bicycle frames. By around 1903 the cars especially became very successful, with motorcycle and bicycle production developing alongside. The factory backed a racing team in the Isle of Man TT in 1911, and won the Junior TT (PJ Evans aboard) with their 350cc inlet-over-exhaust-valve v-twin. The factory also made sporting flat-twins (a la Douglas), and a machine which they copied from no-one; a 3 cylinder flat triple! One cylinder in front (78 x 78mm), two at the back (58 x 78mm), nominally 6hp, but which works out to 785cc... I'll try to find a photo!

The success of the Humber cars and their excellent construction became the undoing of the motorcycle branch, as the Rootes Group (which had already absorbed Sunbeam, Hillman, Singer, Commer, and Talbot cars) took over the factory in 1930. Rootes had no interest in motorcycles, and rather than selling off this side of the business (it was, after all, the worst year of the Depression), they 'hauled down the motorcycle flag'.

This 3.49hp ohc machine (no catchy name like 'Lark' or even 'KSS') therefore represents the pinnacle of 34 years of motorcycle production, and was the top of their line, 'a very refined and sporting mount', according to 'The Humber Story' (Demaus & Tarring, 1989).

It's a very interesting little overhead-camshaft engine of their own make, with and adjustable oil feed directly to the cams via an oil pump on the cambox, although the engine lubrication is still total-loss. In general layout they certainly took their cues from the best, as it looks very much like a Velo K series, and even more closely resembles a racing Koehler-Escoffier 500cc ohc machine, which also has a total loss system, although not the oil pump directly on the cambox. The cambox itself shares the same rocker mechanism with the unfairly maligned Walter Moore Norton CS1 of 1927-29, in that the rockers exit the SIDE of the casting (see drive side detail photo), and don't move up and down through a leaky slot one either end of the cambox. It's so much easier to add an oil seal to a rocker shaft as on this machine, than try to seal a 1.5" long open slot....look at the back of any Manx or my mkIV KTT after a hard ride, and you'll know immediately what I'm talking about.

The rest of the machine is typical of the late Vintage period; bought-in forks (Brampton), gearbox (Albion), wheels (Webb or Enfield hubs), carb (Amac), magneto (ML), etc. The factory would have of course made their own frames, and probably petrol tanks, as they must have had sheet metal pressing capacity for their cars...
Ohc machines are very rare in the Vintage period, and a motorcycle of such limited production like this one is an especially unusual discovery.

Supercharged Velocette

I became interested in HC Lamacraft after doing some research on racing Velocettes at Brooklands, and came across these two photographs of his ca.1935 mkV KTT, to which he added a blower in 1938. Supercharging a single-cylinder motorcycle isn't easy, as the intake comes in pulses - by contrast, multi-cylinder engines draw more evenly from a forced-air chamber. They work best when a chamber equal to the engine capacity is added between the blower and the engine; I can't tell whether the large sheet-metal enclosure over the blower is has an air chamber, or is a protective cover for Henry's tender parts! Superchargers spin at very high rpm, and were known to blow up in those early days, so he was certainly being prudent.

I owned a supercharged Zenith for a while - subject for another day.

Supercharged Velocette

I became interested in HC Lamacraft after doing some research on racing Velocettes at Brooklands, and came across these two photographs of his ca.1935 mkV KTT, to which he added a blower in 1938. Supercharging a single-cylinder motorcycle isn't easy, as the intake comes in pulses - by contrast, multi-cylinder engines draw more evenly from a forced-air chamber. They work best when a chamber equal to the engine capacity is added between the blower and the engine; I can't tell whether the large sheet-metal enclosure over the blower is has an air chamber, or is a protective cover for Henry's tender parts! Superchargers spin at very high rpm, and were known to blow up in those early days, so he was certainly being prudent.

I owned a supercharged Zenith for a while - subject for another day.

BRIAN VERRALL

I was saddened to learn today of Brian Verrall's death on Saturday the 3rd of Feb. I know he had endured various health problems, but seemed well and in good spirits when last I saw him in June. I knew Brian since 1984, when as a fresh from college youth I entered his emporium and was agoggle at all the amazing bikes on display. He helped me at various times in my motorcycling career in tangential ways, making a connection or suggestion for me, supplying literature, helping place a value on an odd machine. I always found him very professional and up front about his business practices, and always willing to stand behind what he sold. I can honestly say that I held him as a model of a respectable motorcycle dealer, and have incorporated some of his philosophy into my own business dealings. Godspeed, Brian!

BRIAN VERRALL

I was saddened to learn today of Brian Verrall's death on Saturday the 3rd of Feb. I know he had endured various health problems, but seemed well and in good spirits when last I saw him in June. I knew Brian since 1984, when as a fresh from college youth I entered his emporium and was agoggle at all the amazing bikes on display. He helped me at various times in my motorcycling career in tangential ways, making a connection or suggestion for me, supplying literature, helping place a value on an odd machine. I always found him very professional and up front about his business practices, and always willing to stand behind what he sold. I can honestly say that I held him as a model of a respectable motorcycle dealer, and have incorporated some of his philosophy into my own business dealings. Godspeed, Brian!

Dennis Loveday

In my previous post on David Vincent, I couldn't recall the name of the 'other' Gold Star winner at the Brooklands Velocette Centenary in 2005. Dai asked Michael Sands, who filled us in on Dennis Loveday's background. Here is Michael:

"The Gold Star holder to whom you refer is Dennis Loveday who won his Gold Star on a Velocette, although most of his Brooklands racing was on Ariels. Denis told me that one of his techniques was 'grass cutting'. He said, 'If I could keep as near the bottom of the track as possible, I would be going round a smaller route than those riding way up on the banking, so I might save a bit of time and that meant that some of the time I had my elbow in the weeks. I fitted a pair of bicycle drop-handlebars to get lower [note -see top photo of 'getting lower'!] and one time Noel Pope said to me, 'That looks a bit agricultural' (meaning the Ariel) but I beat him in one race and he never forgave me!'
"Dennis is now a very keen carp angler and although he cannot see the float on his line, he has an electronic bite detector so he can fish day or night. He is still driving short journeys on very familiar local roads because his sight is too poor for general driving....so just beware if you are on the road in south-east Devon!!"




I found some great photographs in 'A Clubman at Brooklands' (AC Perryman, Haynes, 1979), where Dennis is mentioned ten times.
Top two pix show Dennis on his mkI KTT Velo, during the Brooklands Clubman Junior GP, August 31st 1935 - which he won. Bottom photo shows, l to r, Dennis, John Bottomley, Paul d'Orleans, David Vincent.

Dennis Loveday

In my previous post on David Vincent, I couldn't recall the name of the 'other' Gold Star winner at the Brooklands Velocette Centenary in 2005. Dai asked Michael Sands, who filled us in on Dennis Loveday's background. Here is Michael:

"The Gold Star holder to whom you refer is Dennis Loveday who won his Gold Star on a Velocette, although most of his Brooklands racing was on Ariels. Denis told me that one of his techniques was 'grass cutting'. He said, 'If I could keep as near the bottom of the track as possible, I would be going round a smaller route than those riding way up on the banking, so I might save a bit of time and that meant that some of the time I had my elbow in the weeks. I fitted a pair of bicycle drop-handlebars to get lower [note -see top photo of 'getting lower'!] and one time Noel Pope said to me, 'That looks a bit agricultural' (meaning the Ariel) but I beat him in one race and he never forgave me!'
"Dennis is now a very keen carp angler and although he cannot see the float on his line, he has an electronic bite detector so he can fish day or night. He is still driving short journeys on very familiar local roads because his sight is too poor for general driving....so just beware if you are on the road in south-east Devon!!"




I found some great photographs in 'A Clubman at Brooklands' (AC Perryman, Haynes, 1979), where Dennis is mentioned ten times.
Top two pix show Dennis on his mkI KTT Velo, during the Brooklands Clubman Junior GP, August 31st 1935 - which he won. Bottom photo shows, l to r, Dennis, John Bottomley, Paul d'Orleans, David Vincent.

HOW YOU FIND THEM # 5

This is a before-and-after post, but there's a lesson in here about appearances and intuition. I found this terribly funky Velocette Venom Endurance way down in Southern CA, at the actual edge of the desert in Riverside County - the scrub and sand began across the street and stretched out for hundreds of miles. This bike was amongst a pile of basket-case Velo dirt bikes, but the Endurance seemed to me a possible goer... so I took it home and disassembled it completely, down to the last nut and bolt, and cleaned it thoroughly, removed the corrosion (the desert air had preserved the bike, and there was almost no rust) and sludge and bird's nests and cut off the stiff old tires.
Then began reassembly, and the number of replacement parts included a set of fork seals, a pair of tires, a new seat cover and foam, taillight and headlmap lenses, and most significantly, a new gearbox cluster, as the old one had rotted away. The piston was reused (with new rings), as were the big end and main bearings. After it was deep cleaned and rubbed down with an oily rag, it looked pretty good, and now can still be called 'original', as I really didn't change any of the cosmetics or major parts, just did the necessary repairs.
The bike went to my friend Jeff Scott as a partial trade for his Sprinter van, and he proceeded to ride it TO the last Velocette Summer Rally, in Montana. Then he rode it the 1000 miles of the rally, then rode it home - a total of around 4500 miles in about 14 days. Mechanically, the bike did very well, requiring only the odd adjustment, but it ran through magnetos like I've never seen... Jeff went through two of his own before borrowing one of mine, and eating it as well.