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Monday, December 27, 2010

NORTON NOT MAMMUT


Reader Mick King, owner of Superformance Motorcycles in Vancouver (one of the first performance/custom bike shops in Western Canada) built an interesting special in the late 1960s, using a Norton Featherbed frame and a salvaged NSU car engine. This was around the same time Friedl Münch was building his first specials along the same lines; the Norton/NSU makes an interesting comparison to the Mammüt (see my road test here) and another contemporary special using an NSU engine; the Bison.  Mick's Norton/NSU special now lives in the Trev Deeley Museum in Vancouver, Canada.

'In the 1960s, there were no NSU dealers in Vancouver, and the car owners couldn't get them repaired... I had a motorcycle shop, and would fix a few NSU cars because I had managed an NSU dealership in the UK.  They were so simple to work on, it was a good revenue source and sideline to my motorcycle business, which was one of the first on BCs west coast.  I took in a trade an NSU 1200 TT car for two hundred bucks; due to rat infestation and rust the car was gutted and the wheels and sundry items sold off. I kept looking at the engine thinking it might look good in one of my Norton Featherbed frames, which owed me nothing... I had a couple gathering dust in the attic!

As winter started in, the bike work stopped; I had just brought over an apprentice from the UK, and a new 9-1/2" South Bend lathe for our custom bike division, and decided to see if we could fit the NSU motor into the Norton frame. This gave the new arrival some valuable turning experience.  We wanted the engine to fit the existing Norton engine mounts, as I did not want to mess up the frame for the sake of the NSU engine; I had no input or feedback as to how it may perform.  When the Münch showed up in Cycle Canada magazine I thought, "Great timing! Maybe I can find some encouragement from the article!"  But there was no data -no speed or bhp- as I recollect, the mag people were not allowed to ride it?  So we plodded on, and after a few weeks the engine was roughed-in, and we took it for a ride.  I could see why there was no data available - it was a gutless wonder, despite major engine work! I considered buying a twin-cam Japanese car engine but they were all snapped up for mini flat track race cars, as they are today!
Note: four Amal Concentric carbs, and reversed Norton gearbox.  Top photo shows four Norton Commando 'Peashooter' exhausts!

So I worked on the camshaft, flowed the cylinder head, calibrated the exhausts, put one large-bore carb onto each each inlet port, used premium fuel, etc, and finally managed to get 125mph out of it, which in the late sixties was not too shabby.  We painted it up black white + chrome, it looked kinda menacing! It was entered in bike shows from Vancouver to Seattle, and it won a lot of 1st place trophies. The whole project cost around fifteen hundred bucks.


Trying to draw a comparison with the Münch would be a waste of time in my opinion, considering the amount of money he invested, plus his engineering facilities and so on.  Nevertheless I think from the get-go the Münch Mammut was doomed, mainly because D.O.H.C. motorcycle engines [such as Kawasaki Z-1] were already making their debut, and strapping an antiquated and gutless S.O.H.C NSU car engine into such an enormous and costly project baffled me and my mechanics from the get go.  Then there was the price... ridiculous!'

Mick notes, "All of the information above is alleged! and relegated to my memory at the time."

NORTON NOT MAMMUT


Reader Mick King, owner of Superformance Motorcycles in Vancouver (one of the first performance/custom bike shops in Western Canada) built an interesting special in the late 1960s, using a Norton Featherbed frame and a salvaged NSU car engine. This was around the same time Friedl Münch was building his first specials along the same lines; the Norton/NSU makes an interesting comparison to the Mammüt (see my road test here) and another contemporary special using an NSU engine; the Bison.  Mick's Norton/NSU special now lives in the Trev Deeley Museum in Vancouver, Canada.

'In the 1960s, there were no NSU dealers in Vancouver, and the car owners couldn't get them repaired... I had a motorcycle shop, and would fix a few NSU cars because I had managed an NSU dealership in the UK.  They were so simple to work on, it was a good revenue source and sideline to my motorcycle business, which was one of the first on BCs west coast.  I took in a trade an NSU 1200 TT car for two hundred bucks; due to rat infestation and rust the car was gutted and the wheels and sundry items sold off. I kept looking at the engine thinking it might look good in one of my Norton Featherbed frames, which owed me nothing... I had a couple gathering dust in the attic!

As winter started in, the bike work stopped; I had just brought over an apprentice from the UK, and a new 9-1/2" South Bend lathe for our custom bike division, and decided to see if we could fit the NSU motor into the Norton frame. This gave the new arrival some valuable turning experience.  We wanted the engine to fit the existing Norton engine mounts, as I did not want to mess up the frame for the sake of the NSU engine; I had no input or feedback as to how it may perform.  When the Münch showed up in Cycle Canada magazine I thought, "Great timing! Maybe I can find some encouragement from the article!"  But there was no data -no speed or bhp- as I recollect, the mag people were not allowed to ride it?  So we plodded on, and after a few weeks the engine was roughed-in, and we took it for a ride.  I could see why there was no data available - it was a gutless wonder, despite major engine work! I considered buying a twin-cam Japanese car engine but they were all snapped up for mini flat track race cars, as they are today!
Note: four Amal Concentric carbs, and reversed Norton gearbox.  Top photo shows four Norton Commando 'Peashooter' exhausts!

So I worked on the camshaft, flowed the cylinder head, calibrated the exhausts, put one large-bore carb onto each each inlet port, used premium fuel, etc, and finally managed to get 125mph out of it, which in the late sixties was not too shabby.  We painted it up black white + chrome, it looked kinda menacing! It was entered in bike shows from Vancouver to Seattle, and it won a lot of 1st place trophies. The whole project cost around fifteen hundred bucks.


Trying to draw a comparison with the Münch would be a waste of time in my opinion, considering the amount of money he invested, plus his engineering facilities and so on.  Nevertheless I think from the get-go the Münch Mammut was doomed, mainly because D.O.H.C. motorcycle engines [such as Kawasaki Z-1] were already making their debut, and strapping an antiquated and gutless S.O.H.C NSU car engine into such an enormous and costly project baffled me and my mechanics from the get go.  Then there was the price... ridiculous!'

Mick notes, "All of the information above is alleged! and relegated to my memory at the time."

Friday, December 24, 2010

Thursday, December 23, 2010

The Hustler

.... and a little more Joe Hurst history.

This time from Choppers Magazine May 1969.


Roth liked nicknames and the bikes named for the features. Roth asked Joe if he had any nicknames, Joe said no.... then Ed asked, if he liked playing pool.... Joe said said yup.

The Hustler is pretty much the prototype of what would become the South Bay Style.

If I got it straight, this was Joe's second Harley and the Shovelhead was out of Dick Allen's chrome frame bike (Wheeler Dealer Chop. Mag. Oct.'68). Joe always laments, the funds from selling his complete Panhead only got him an engine and trans.


Joe's the Godfather of the swooping double braced sissy bar and Dick Allen springers. This fork was the first one Dick Allen made. Actually second, the very first was for a Triumph, but Joe jokes, that doesn't count! The first few Dick made had Harley spring perches and top trees, later versions were completely fabricated from scratch.

From the shadow of the sissy bar, I was able detect the bike next to Joe's was his friend Jim Andrew's Grapes of Wrath. It was featured in another issue.


The tank featured a stylized "13" as on his former Panhead. The seat maker's credit is an error, Phil Ross stitched it up. As Irish Rich pointed out, this front view of the forks was used for the ads in this issue and others.


Here's the cover of the issue it was in. Not Joe's bike, but I know you guys enjoy the Choppers Magazine stuff.

Prior to this feature, the Hustler
had tall stacks and had won First Place in the Street Bike Class at the Trident's custom car and bike show. More on that later.

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Wednesday, December 22, 2010

AMAZING UNRESTORED BMW RACER AT AUCTION


With the introduction of the BMW 'R51' model in 1938, the factory had - finally - a totally up to date roadster, with advanced specification.  Proper telescopic forks, the first in the industry, were paired with plunger rear suspension and a welded, lugless tube frame, which was very light and incredibly strong, using expensive tubing which was both oval and tapered.   Norton copied the BMW forks (introduced on the 'R-7' prototype in 1934) for their Works racers, although it was fully 14 years before most other factories adopted 'teles' as standard.

The new R51 was an upgrade on the 'R5' model of 1936, which used a rigid rear end.  Some prefer the handling of the original R5, as plungers tend to wallow over bumps while cornering, a disconcerting effect.  The powerplant of the R5 was BMWs first truly modern engine, using chains inside the timing case to drive the camshafts, and a 'square' bore and stroke for its 500cc pushrod engine; quiet, smooth, and powerful.  Privateers were soon racing the R5 and R51, tuning the machine to the best of their abilities.

A clamor arose from these privateers for the BMW factory to provide racing kits and tuning advice for their mounts.  BMW responded by offering two types of racers: the R51 'SS' (SuperSport), basically a tuned-up and stripped down standard roadster, which were 'cataloged' and available -at a price- to the public (approx. 50 built), plus the R51 'RS' (RennSport), of which only 17 were built, and loaned out to carefully chosen professional racers.

The R51 'RS', while based on the roadgoing R51, wasn't merely a tuned-up roadster; it had a very different engine and gearbox, visually similar to the R51, but significantly modified for high performance.  Keen eyes can spot the 'RS', but only if they were familiar with the standard R51...more on this later. The most significant upgrades included a new crankcase which housed a gear-driven timing chest (supplanting chains to drive the cams) and a racing magneto atop the crankcase, replacing the generator of the R51 (which used coil ignition).  An early-style R5 gearbox with no air filter box housed a close-ratio racing 4-speed gear cluster.  The cylinder barrels used a distinctive 'staggered' fin pattern (see above), and the cylinder head used larger valves and inlet tracts, breathing through Amal-Fischer 'TT' racing carbs, plus a camshaft-driven rev-counter.  The specification varied for other items; some R51RS used 21" front wheels (all had 19" rear wheels) with alloy rims, some used 19" front and rear with steel rims, a few gained genuine factory racing hubs and brakes, while some, like the example here, used the steel hubs from the standard roadster. Some RS used a Rennsport racing petrol tank, some used the roadster R51 tank.  All used an open, long-taper megaphone exhaust, exactly as the 'Works' racers.  The frame, forks, and plungers were subtly modified from the standard R51 roadgoing items, similar to the 'Works' RS255 machines which were reaping race wins all over Europe at the time.

The BMW importer in New York, Emil Recke, was a keen sponsor of racing BMWs in the US, and managed to prise one of these seventeen R51RS racers out of the grasp of the factory. Under Class 'C' racing rules in the US, any motorcycle raced at an AMA-sanctioned event must be a 'production' machine, with 200 units built to satisfy homologation requirement.  If major parts were different from the road-going model, such as a bronze cylinder head supplanting an iron one (as with a Triumph Tiger 100 of the day), these parts must be freely available from the factory, to the public.  Internal modifications were allowed, but the engine, gearbox, and frame must be 'as available' in the catalog.  Clearly, the R51RS did not satisfy the rules for Class 'C' racing!

In truth, BMW sold very few motorcycles in the US in the 1920s and 30s, as protectionist trade policies introduced in the mid-20s levied a huge tax (up to 100%) on 'heavy' imported goods.  Thus BMWs were rare and very expensive in the US, and it is doubtful AMA scrutineers would recognize the difference between the R51 and 'RS', as they had probably only ever seen the model before their eyes, at the race.  Careful study of the 1939 BMW motorcycle catalog would reveal no secrets, as the factory-prepared racer wasn't in the catalog!  The 'RS' was a perfect 'sleeper', although still a pushrod 500cc ohv flat-twin...sans supercharger.

Recke's designated rider for the BMW was Joe Tomas, who used the 'RS' at Daytona in 1940 and '41, long after the rest of the Europe was bombing itself to bits. Resentment against the German racing machine reared its head during a 100-Mile race at the 1-mile dirt oval of Langhorne, Pennsylvania (the 'Indianapolis of the East'), in 1941; according to track-side stopwatches, Tomas and the BMW set the fastest qualifying lap, for which a prize of a gold watch was awarded, but AMA officials claimed their 'timer had broken' and Tomas' speed was never officially recorded.

This was only the start of Emil Recke's troubles, for when the US finally entered the War in Dec. 1941, Recke, as a German national and 'enemy alien', had his bank accounts seized by the US government.  Suddenly broke, he was forced to sell his BMW dealership, parts stock, tooling, and motorcycles to survive, for which he was paid pennies on the dollar given the ramping-up of the propaganda machine against anything, and anyone, German (or Japanese).  After selling nearly everything he owned, all he had left in the world was his most precious possession, the R51RS which had been entrusted to him by the BMW factory.  When it became clear that this, too, must be sold, he did what he had to, and sold the bike.  He then took his own life.

Indianapolis racer Rody Rodenberg was a notorious 'Harley hater', and raced anything but H-D on the dirt tracks of the US.  He also rode Triumphs and Indians, but from 1947 through 1952, it was the 'RS' pounding the sand at Daytona.  It's known he won some events on the BMW, including an Indianapolis '100', and photographs of Rodenberg racing this machine can be found in Steven Wright's excellent 'American Racer' and Don Emde's definitive work, 'Daytona 200' - both still in print.

When Rodenberg was finished racing the BMW, he parked the machine, and the current condition is exactly as he left it, 'as last raced'.  Only 3 genuine R51RS motorcycles are confirmed to exist, one of which sits in the BMW Museum in Munich.  This is the only unrestored example, although replicas abound on the vintage racetracks of Europe.

This 1939 BMW R51RS  is coming up for auction at the Bonhams Las Vegas sale on Jan. 6, 2011.  Sale estimates range from $120k - $140k; given the utter rarity of the model, plus the complete from-new period documentation offered and confirmation of authenticity from BMW itself, I suspect the price could well exceed these figures.

AMAZING UNRESTORED BMW RACER AT AUCTION


With the introduction of the BMW 'R51' model in 1938, the factory had - finally - a totally up to date roadster, with advanced specification.  Proper telescopic forks, the first in the industry, were paired with plunger rear suspension and a welded, lugless tube frame, which was very light and incredibly strong, using expensive tubing which was both oval and tapered.   Norton copied the BMW forks (introduced on the 'R-7' prototype in 1934) for their Works racers, although it was fully 14 years before most other factories adopted 'teles' as standard.

The new R51 was an upgrade on the 'R5' model of 1936, which used a rigid rear end.  Some prefer the handling of the original R5, as plungers tend to wallow over bumps while cornering, a disconcerting effect.  The powerplant of the R5 was BMWs first truly modern engine, using chains inside the timing case to drive the camshafts, and a 'square' bore and stroke for its 500cc pushrod engine; quiet, smooth, and powerful.  Privateers were soon racing the R5 and R51, tuning the machine to the best of their abilities.

A clamor arose from these privateers for the BMW factory to provide racing kits and tuning advice for their mounts.  BMW responded by offering two types of racers: the R51 'SS' (SuperSport), basically a tuned-up and stripped down standard roadster, which were 'cataloged' and available -at a price- to the public (approx. 50 built), plus the R51 'RS' (RennSport), of which only 17 were built, and loaned out to carefully chosen professional racers.

The R51 'RS', while based on the roadgoing R51, wasn't merely a tuned-up roadster; it had a very different engine and gearbox, visually similar to the R51, but significantly modified for high performance.  Keen eyes can spot the 'RS', but only if they were familiar with the standard R51...more on this later. The most significant upgrades included a new crankcase which housed a gear-driven timing chest (supplanting chains to drive the cams) and a racing magneto atop the crankcase, replacing the generator of the R51 (which used coil ignition).  An early-style R5 gearbox with no air filter box housed a close-ratio racing 4-speed gear cluster.  The cylinder barrels used a distinctive 'staggered' fin pattern (see above), and the cylinder head used larger valves and inlet tracts, breathing through Amal-Fischer 'TT' racing carbs, plus a camshaft-driven rev-counter.  The specification varied for other items; some R51RS used 21" front wheels (all had 19" rear wheels) with alloy rims, some used 19" front and rear with steel rims, a few gained genuine factory racing hubs and brakes, while some, like the example here, used the steel hubs from the standard roadster. Some RS used a Rennsport racing petrol tank, some used the roadster R51 tank.  All used an open, long-taper megaphone exhaust, exactly as the 'Works' racers.  The frame, forks, and plungers were subtly modified from the standard R51 roadgoing items, similar to the 'Works' RS255 machines which were reaping race wins all over Europe at the time.

The BMW importer in New York, Emil Recke, was a keen sponsor of racing BMWs in the US, and managed to prise one of these seventeen R51RS racers out of the grasp of the factory. Under Class 'C' racing rules in the US, any motorcycle raced at an AMA-sanctioned event must be a 'production' machine, with 200 units built to satisfy homologation requirement.  If major parts were different from the road-going model, such as a bronze cylinder head supplanting an iron one (as with a Triumph Tiger 100 of the day), these parts must be freely available from the factory, to the public.  Internal modifications were allowed, but the engine, gearbox, and frame must be 'as available' in the catalog.  Clearly, the R51RS did not satisfy the rules for Class 'C' racing!

In truth, BMW sold very few motorcycles in the US in the 1920s and 30s, as protectionist trade policies introduced in the mid-20s levied a huge tax (up to 100%) on 'heavy' imported goods.  Thus BMWs were rare and very expensive in the US, and it is doubtful AMA scrutineers would recognize the difference between the R51 and 'RS', as they had probably only ever seen the model before their eyes, at the race.  Careful study of the 1939 BMW motorcycle catalog would reveal no secrets, as the factory-prepared racer wasn't in the catalog!  The 'RS' was a perfect 'sleeper', although still a pushrod 500cc ohv flat-twin...sans supercharger.

Recke's designated rider for the BMW was Joe Tomas, who used the 'RS' at Daytona in 1940 and '41, long after the rest of the Europe was bombing itself to bits. Resentment against the German racing machine reared its head during a 100-Mile race at the 1-mile dirt oval of Langhorne, Pennsylvania (the 'Indianapolis of the East'), in 1941; according to track-side stopwatches, Tomas and the BMW set the fastest qualifying lap, for which a prize of a gold watch was awarded, but AMA officials claimed their 'timer had broken' and Tomas' speed was never officially recorded.

This was only the start of Emil Recke's troubles, for when the US finally entered the War in Dec. 1941, Recke, as a German national and 'enemy alien', had his bank accounts seized by the US government.  Suddenly broke, he was forced to sell his BMW dealership, parts stock, tooling, and motorcycles to survive, for which he was paid pennies on the dollar given the ramping-up of the propaganda machine against anything, and anyone, German (or Japanese).  After selling nearly everything he owned, all he had left in the world was his most precious possession, the R51RS which had been entrusted to him by the BMW factory.  When it became clear that this, too, must be sold, he did what he had to, and sold the bike.  He then took his own life.

Indianapolis racer Rody Rodenberg was a notorious 'Harley hater', and raced anything but H-D on the dirt tracks of the US.  He also rode Triumphs and Indians, but from 1947 through 1952, it was the 'RS' pounding the sand at Daytona.  It's known he won some events on the BMW, including an Indianapolis '100', and photographs of Rodenberg racing this machine can be found in Steven Wright's excellent 'American Racer' and Don Emde's definitive work, 'Daytona 200' - both still in print.

When Rodenberg was finished racing the BMW, he parked the machine, and the current condition is exactly as he left it, 'as last raced'.  Only 3 genuine R51RS motorcycles are confirmed to exist, one of which sits in the BMW Museum in Munich.  This is the only unrestored example, although replicas abound on the vintage racetracks of Europe.

This 1939 BMW R51RS  is coming up for auction at the Bonhams Las Vegas sale on Jan. 6, 2011.  Sale estimates range from $120k - $140k; given the utter rarity of the model, plus the complete from-new period documentation offered and confirmation of authenticity from BMW itself, I suspect the price could well exceed these figures.

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Merry Solstice

Believe what you wish, but there's no denying that this time of year has always been linked to many traditions, ceremonies, and celebrations which were connected to the sun's rebirth. Decorated evergreen trees and the 12 festival days of Yule are just a couple examples of those old celebrations.

This art shows why we have seasons. The globe to the right is where we are now.

Christians did not always celebrate the birth of Jesus as the original focus had been on his resurrection. It's interesting how the birth of the "Son of God" is celebrated at the time of year that many ancient (and not so ancient), cultures celebrated the return or rebirth of the "Sun" which they worshiped as God.


Talk about alignment. It was rained out here on the west coast (bummed I couldn't see it), but a rare lunar eclipse that coincided with this year's solstice happened early this morning. It's been centuries since and will not happen again until 2094. Most people alive today won't see it. Makes you stop and think... and wonder what the world will be like then?

I have to admit, I like the ancients, have always been a bit relieved and happy when the days get longer each day.

Monday, December 20, 2010

And Now ...Something Completely Different


I'm not into Hondas, but it's cool.


Just in case you were wondering where it's from.