Classic Dirt Bike Issue 30

10 >Honda CR450R on test

ng ith the idea of havi w up e m ca ns tio Plastic Renova extent of its plastic ll fu e th y la sp di to a showpiece (UK and Here Rad Fismistr renovation service. tive) tells the story.

Europe representa

ford Classic he story starts at the Tel s our first wa It 3.

201 ow Sh e Dirt Bik stic Pla big UK show for S and Renovations. Phil Cox (U g lon the de North America rep) ma to be there journey from the States es arl Ch nd frie d goo my with r ou n ma lp he Bozon and I to . nd sta small st e response and intere ally tot s ion vat no Re stic for Pla se. pri took us all by sur 2 We had my restored 198 red atu (fe RC Honda CR250 t in issue 26 of Classic Dir y shl Bike) and my fre restored 1985 Honda both CR500RF on the stand, stic Pla e hav bikes Renovations restored tanks fitted. up After the show we came e on bik a ing hav of a ide the with stics pla the all had the stand that x and bo air the ing lud inc ed, restor full the w sho to ts other plastic par with old ne do be can at wh of extent k NOS new again. plastics to make them loo bike that didn’t a e search was on for e to have all the hav did it t bu cost the earth, rts and had to pa ro original plastics, no rep te. ple be pretty com as he was close to erican vintage MX have a look at it for me I was looking on an Am s. live r e ne ow cam e day and where the bike swap-meet site on R was probably I know the 1981 CR450 boxes claiming to be in rts pa of e pil a oss acr e and did not bik MX r eve the rst Elsinore. All Honda’s wo a 1981 Honda CR450R was however it t bu re, but in an awful have a fan club at all, en Class plastics looked to be the Op an at pt k em tan att t e patina.  Honda’s firs r of the yea t matt white sun oxidised las the d both side panels an production bike and rthy of wo s was pretty much white, wa it so t the cke in Ro n d see too to be Elsinore Re too. d goo mudguards were there lly rea r s the site. e owne saving. e price wa efully car d few pictures that were on an ts par the the m see fro to rt Phil went plete apa of the st Mo . claimed that it was com xes bo ly front number looked through all the ty and it tat ite unique and some say ug qu s wa it t bu I – re, k take a loo bike was the board. It was decided to to save. e side would need a lot of work ed him if he would ask d an il Ph ted tac con

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WORDS: Rad Fismistr PICTURES: Dori Kolb

panels had quite a bit of damage and the airbox was chewed up fro m chain rash. e front rim had a crack in it and was no good and the frame had a we ld repair to the rear. e clutch cover had a screw lug broken on it and the silencer was mi ssing. e decision was made to buy the parts and make an attempt at getting the bike fully restored and on our sta nd at the next Telford Dirt Bike Show. Phil wa s great and picked up all the parts and too k them back with him to Plastic Renovation s. e weld repair was carefully dressed by Phil and looked really good. He also per formed a weld repair to the clutch casing and made it look like it had never been broken .

All the parts were carefu lly packed and sent over to me in the UK for my part of the build, which was to com pletely restore the engine and chassis of the Honda.

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18 >Feature name

y original comp letely unrestored and mostl mp co a up g nin tur k luc of e ? Welcome It was a strok chines in the off-road world ma ed ch tou un ny ma be n’t T Husky turned up. bike, surely there ca too, especially when an ISD Us d? ise rpr Su e. fiv er mb to bike nu

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he world of almost instant communication can be a doubleedged sword – how many people have bashed out a rant on email then hit the send button... and regretted it?

However, the world of global communications has benefits for all sorts of industries – magazines in particular and electronic mail whizzes in and out of the building at an amazing rate. e beauty of such email communication is pictures can be attached too, this in itself can be a problem as, generally speaking, pictures landing in the ‘inbox’ of CDB’s computer means the editor going all dewy-eyed and lusting after the motorcycle in the image – what d’you mean ‘oh, motorcycle’ what else would he lust after?

Right, so there I was pre Dirt Bike Show, looking to arrange a bike or two for our stand and the message notification in the screen corner flashed up with a name from my early days of writing about motorcycles.

John Docherty had been kind enough to trust me with his Triumph 3HW military single for a test in the early 1990s and the feature meant rescuing military dispatch rider kit from the depths of a shed belonging to a motorcycling friend of my dad, much to the amusement of photographer on the day, Jack Burnicle. In those days when myself and Mr Docherty were leaner and less in need of a hat for the cold days – Jack Burnicle still is lean and has no need of a hat – John mentioned an interest in off-road sport.

John’s email also contained a pic of an enduro Husky and the words casually mentioned ISDT, auto and Army team 1977... the interest level was racked up instantly. But when he added ‘just as it finished the first day of the 1977 ISDT...’ well, I almost had to go and lie down in a darkened room. e next question had to be ‘could we get our hands on it for our stand at Stoneleigh Dirt Bike Show?’ Yes, it was available but John couldn’t deliver it. Luckily the Secret Society of Northern Trials Riders were planning a visit to the show and had recently acquired a van... job sorted.

With the bike on display and its original rider George Webb one of our ISDT/E

19 Just as George Webb rode it in 1977, complete with period decals and seals.

Look past the rusty pipe and the scuffed cases. It’s obvious the Husky hasn’t done too much.

RestORe OR RecOmmissiOn? Given its history and its little use, John is reluctant to rip it apart and do it to show standard. He has done some work to the bike though, the bearing was so badly worn in the clutch that damaged the case too. the easiest way to sort it was to buy a new case, this on, the bike was mobile again... it is apparently quick. next stage will be the fork tubes – too badly pitted and rusted to use – they will either be replaced or rechromed. “After that i think it will get new tyres and i’ll sort the brakes then use it. i don’t want to lose all the

patina of age from it,” he grins.

Like a lot of people in the old bike world, John’s experience of the DVLA is mixed. Over the phone and through the web was not a good experience, face to face was much better. He learned the DVLA had transferred records to tape or disc from paper and far from them ‘not existing’ it seems it just needs work to sort out the records. A personal approach to the local office worked wonders and the bike is now wearing its original registration... could be useful information that.

A bird’s eye view, the easy way.

26 >Archive feature

The day the

world

changed There are certain points in motorcycling history, any type of history really, where with the benefit of hindsight, a finger can be pointed and it said: ‘That’s when it all changed.’ CDB looks back…

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here are a few defining moments in motorcycle sport when either machinery took a leap forward and rendered everything else obsolete, a new accessory came along, or a rider changed the face of the sport. is isn’t the definitive list and like all such lists, very much dependent on the writer’s point of view, so don’t go writing in saying ‘how could you possibly have omitted…’ Actually, when I think about it, do write in and point out something I’ve missed or that maybe you felt was more worthy of inclusion in such a feature.

In some cases the change was blindingly obvious at the time, in others it has only become apparent with the passage of time or in research while doing articles such as this.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy our little selection and it promotes a bit of discussion between you, your mates and us here at CDB.

27 april 1951: bill lomas’ James Bill Lomas’ James changed the world in April 1951. The  Derbyshire road racer and motorcycle shop owner didn’t make the first trials James but he did develop one into the sort of bike he felt the factory should produce.

The family shop handled James as a marque and Bill felt the tiny two-stroke had a bit of potential to be a serious trials bike.

His biography, published by Redline Books, reveals that the James performed well enough for Lomas to approach the factory and say: “We’re on to something here.” Parts were issued as he needed them, the bike took shape and Lomas headed for the Durham Dales and the Newcastle and DMC’s Travers Trophy trial.

As he lined up to wait for his starting time the establishment rather pitied him and his toy bike but, in an event marked by extremes of weather and toughness of the “in his workshop he modified course causing a high retirement rate, bits and pieces, altered what Lomas and the James sailed round. he felt needed altering and took In the village of St John’s Chapel, the the resultant machine out for a results were worked out and the James spot of practice.” recorded the first national win for a twostroke and a small capacity machine.

Bill Lomas in action in the 1951 Travers Trophy Trial when he changed the world by being a lightweight winner of a national trial.

John Giles’ Triumph chanGed The world in early 1954 Simply by riding in a trial. A trade supported national called the  Red Rose. Giles didn’t win it, nor did he win a capacity cup, though he came close to doing so. How he changed the world was to use a swinging arm Trophy rather than a rigid model. e world at that point knew the only way a trials bike would get grip in sections would be to have a rigid frame. It didn’t matter what the bike was, it had to have a rigid frame to succeed, after all, that’s what had been winning.

John’s rigid Trophy had gone back to the factory to be fettled for the forthcoming SSDT and an unexpected weekend leave from National Service meant he arrived home but with no trials bike to ride in the Red Rose national.

Giles rode his scrambler Trophy and casually remarked to his contemporaries at AMC how easy the suspension had coped with the rocks.

A week or so later the entire AMC team turned up at the West of England trial and won on springers. e world had changed and everyone else was playing catch-up.

We don’t seem to have a pic of John Giles’ win in the Red Rose but, here at the SSDT it is clear Triumph picked up on the swinging arm thing.