Old Bike Mart August 2014

Autojumbles, club meets, rallies and more…

Get Out and About with Old Bike Mart – from page 5 issue

350

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August 2014 £2.10

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The Carole Nash Great Scottish Bike Show August 9-10, 2014

Put EH28 8NG in your £8 on the gate and enj Sat Nav, pay oy the show!

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It’s ‘hail the conquering hero’ as John Wallis arrives at the Taverners’ Founders Day Rally on Sunday, July 20 after completing a marathon journey around England, Scotland and Wales on his 1924 Brough Superior in aid of Comic Relief. He was stopped by the police for speeding in Dolgellau – the bike has no speedometer – and they didn’t let him off! The full story of his amazing adventure will appear in next month’s OBM.

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10 A BIT ON THE SIDE

August 2014

Peak District safaris with a Ural!

Mick Payne describes a novel way of viewing the Peak District National Park – from the sidecar or pillion of a Russian sidecar outfit.

F

ounded on April 7, 1951, the Peak District National Park is Britain’s oldest – so it seems quite fitting that Bill Purvis’ choice of sidecar outfit could almost have been hewn from the millstone grit of that very landscape.

Bill owns and operates Sidecar Safari Peak District, and his preferred machine is a Russian Ural sidecar outfit of the type that is still being built in Irbit, in the Ural Mountains, whose sandstone and limestone sedimentary peaks are made of the very same materials that form the Peak District hills – and some would

say the bike has been around almost as long!

“I re-evaluated my life after suffering a kidney failure, when it looked as if I might be on dialysis for the future,” said Bill. “I had some redundancy money, so I decided to invest it on something sensible.”

Whether the average person would think that, never having ridden one before, buying a motorcycle and sidecar to offer tours of his local area is sensible is a moot point, but after he’d bought the Ural ‘On Parade’ model – “the smart one for parades and state occasions” – new from F2

It’s hands up as the ‘taxi’ enthusiastically dips its three wheels into a local ford.

Motorcycles, the struggles began.

“Just getting insurance and a licence seemed nigh impossible,” Bill admits, “but working with the local council eventually led to a sensible interpretation of the taxi licensing regulations.”

The vehicle is registered as a taxi, and Bill has a taxi licence to operate it, which means it has to be MoT tested every year, even from new, and trips have to be pre-booked.

Of these, there is a nucleus of ‘standard’ routes, starting with Monsal Head, a two and a half hour trip around the White Peak that costs

The Ural goes ‘on parade’ in them thar hills.

What a way to take in the scenic delights of the Peak District National Park – in the chair or on the pillion of Ural’s top-of-the-range ‘On Parade’ outfit.

£95, but for the ultimate experience Bill will pick you up from your accommodation and tailor an itinerary to suit yourself starting at £140 for around three hours.

The cost includes use of a helmet, gloves and genuine Ural jacket and can include two people, one in the chair and the other on the pillion.

“They each offer a different perspective,” explained Bill, who tries to persuade customers to try both.

The Ural sidecar is ideal for the job, offering easy access via a step in front of the mudguard, and it’s even equipped with a seat belt.

“I once took out a 90-year-old gent, and he had no problem with it,” said Bill. “He even rode pillion for an hour or so.”

Although most of Sidecar Safari’s customers are not really into bikes but see the sidecar as a novel experience, I can imagine nothing nicer than cruising round the Peak District in a modern, yet classic, sidecar.

Bill and the Ural make the perfect partnership.

If you are even remotely thinking of owning a sidecar outfit then there can be no better introduction to the quirky world of three asymmetric wheels. Why not treat the other half to a tour?

To enquire about a trip, contact Bill Purvis on 07901 860094, or visit www.sidecarsafari.co.uk

August 2014

NEWS 11

Export-only Manxman – Norton’s ‘forgotten’ twin A

This is what the Norton Manxman looked like, after 39 years in New York, when Anna bought it.

lthough the usual image of a 650cc Norton twin is that of a sporting roadburner with flat bars, the Americans had a slightly different view – in November 1960 Norton produced an export-only ‘custom touring’ 650 twin with high bars, a special polychromatic blue finish, lashings of chrome, a bright red seat and a special exhaust system.

The Manxman preceded the UK’s own 650SS by the best part of a year, and its twincarb, 52hp engine, housed in a slimline Featherbed frame whose top rails were closer together, could reach a top speed of 120mph. A racing version tuned by Heinz Kragler was

Restored on a budget, the finished machine is a credit to its owner.

OWNERS CLUB

capable of 150mph and won pebble beach races in the States in 1961.

Fewer than 600 Manxmen were ever built, with only 12 currently in the UK, and with the success of the 650SS and 745cc Norton Atlas that followed on our home market, the model was quickly forgotten about.

Anna Jeanette Dixon, who started the East Yorkshire branch of the Norton Owners’ Club and runs the Norton Manxman register on its behalf, has restored a Manxman that spent 39 years in New York city, and some time in New Jersey. Despite living on a low income, she did all the work herself during the winter of 2008/09 including rebuilding the wheels, engine, gearbox and clutch and applying the paintwork.

Spares for all pre-Commando Nortons can be hard to come by, and original Manxman silencers are all but impossible. Anna managed to acquire a single silencer from Anders Larsson (who was the Norton importer for Sweden and has a collection of 14 Nortons including a Manxman) but still doesn’t have a right-hand match and is having to make do with the wrong one from a later 650SS. “Although I still have the original Amal Monobloc carburettors, I’m running my bike on a single carb at present,” she said. “I don’t see the point of twin carbs in today’s traffic conditions, with crowded roads, speed bumps, roadside cameras and those endless 40mph sections.”

Although she was only nine at the time, she clearly remembers the tragic accident at Brands Hatch in 1963 when Dave Downer, riding a 650 Dunstall Dominator, was killed in an accident involving Derek Minter at Dingle Dell.

She believes that the engine tuned by Paul Dunstall in that very bike had started life at the Norton factory as one of the test motors for the Norton Manxman export models.

01949 838752

This original advertisement for the Norton Manxman clearly shows the model’s unique polychromatic blue paint finish, special silencers, high bars, bright red seat and chromium-plated parts.

RIGHT: Another advertisement from American importer the Berliner Motor Corporation shows the other side of the Manxman along with a lot more of the technical details.

Actress Ann-Margret, looks a little pensive on this Manxman, while singer/actor Bobby Rydell looks from the seat of a Norton Atlas.

22

August 2014

-MACHINES FOR SALEBSA 1936 B2, 250cc, fully refurbished, new wheels, tyres, engine and gearbox rebuilt, paintwork, chrome, professionally done, taxed, buff log book, full history, original number, _ _ _ 8276, written value £1200, £4950 firm. Tel. 01670-772600; 01912514428.

Northumberland.

OB521186C

BSA A10, 1961, black/gold flash, original reg, owned by me for 26 years, tax/MoT April 2015, £4000.

Tel. 01746 780119. Shrops.

OB521184C

BSA 1936 R4, vgc, mag rewound, original reg no, no buff log book, V5, V5C, BSA instruction book, dating cert, £4600. Tel. John Boyd 01271 860739. Devon. Email: johnboydie@gmail.com OB520499C

BSA B50 Roadster, 1971, 500cc, completely restored, 750 miles, low level exhaust, alloy tank, s/s wheels, mudguards, fixings, electronic voltage control and gin, featured in BSAOC magazine and National Show winner, £5250 ono.

Tel. 0121-7432678; abragg.a65@virginmedia.com OB521001C

BMW R75/5, 1972, RS fairing, owner 26 years, two previous, excellent condition, 40 years service history, original brochure, handbook, tool kit, new battery, shocks, handlebar modification, some spares inc headlamp, MoT, £2900. Tel. 01789-764066. Warks. Email: mgodell41@yahoo.co.uk

BSA 1936 B2 250cc, fully refurbished, new wheels, tyres, engine and gearbox built, paintwork, chrome, professionally done, taxed, buff log book, full story, orig no, - - 8276 written value, £1200, £4950 firm. Tel. 01670-772600; 0191Northumberland.

2514428.

OB521028C

OB521276C

BMW R80 RS, 1985, monoshock, excellent condition for year and mileage, (93,000), invoices for many new parts recently including new barrels, pistons, rings, recon cylinder heads, clutch etc, very reliable, good runner, one year's MoT, £1350 ovno. Tel. David Turner 01803-858182; 0777 9158703.

Devon. OB521169C 1967 BSA Bantam matching engine and frame numbers, good engine, very presentable honest bike, no rust, no MoT at present, reducing collection, £825 ono. Tel. Geoff 01473 827659. Suffolk.

OB521393C

BSA 350 Model B31, year 1957, good condition, last owner 22 years, insurance and VMCC, value agreed £3500; will sell for £3250. Tel. George 0151 3362254. OB520633C

BSA B31, 1950 Plunger model, not used since restored, £3000.

Tel. 0114 2467597. S Yorks.

OB520449C

August 2014

23

40 TECHNICAL FEATURE

August 2014

Tailor-made CDI ignition for classic reliability

Pete Kelly visits rural Oxfordshire to meet Peter Houghton, the head and founder of Electrex World, the ever-expanding manufacturer of trouble-free CDI ignition and lighting systems for a huge range of modern and, more importantly for OBM, classic motorcycles.

Ignition systems for Greeves Challenger, Griffin and Silverstone competition models, and race-kitted Ariel Arrows, are just two of the sought-after products made by Electrex World.

eliable ignition is the key to trouble-free classic bike ownership – and Electrex World’s range of beautifully made CDI systems for older models is expanding so rapidly that Peter Houghton, founder and head of the firm that now employs a skilled and diverse workforce of 18, is looking to recruit someone to give technical help on such machines.

With its factory and distribution

age of 16. He graduated to a Honda C90, passed his test on a Triumph Tiger Cub and many more bikes followed, including a Suzuki GT380 and a Honda CB500T. Before founding Electrex, Peter, who gained an engineering degree at Coventry Polytechnic, ran a breaker’s business in Reading. During that period he realised what a big market there was for electrical parts, mainly for modern Japanese machines, and

R

A BSA B40 engine awaits the fitting of an Electrex CDI system.

centre spread over four large twofloor units at Vanalloys Business Park, Stoke Row, Oxfordshire, Electrex is a massive undertaking producing ignition and lighting systems mainly for more modern bikes and racing machinery, but the classic side is growing too.

CDI systems are available for almost all British and early Japanese bikes, not to mention the Ducati singles that continue to play

Firstly, a taper collet replacing the original key is placed on to the shaft.

such a major part in classic racing.

Peter has amassed a huge collection of engines, ranging from Villiers 2Ts and Triumph twins to BSA B40, Ducati and Yamaha singles, in order to work out the best systems for them, and after showing me all around his impressive premises, he demonstrated the ease of fitting of several of these.

His first bike was a Raleigh Runabout moped, acquired at the

After spacers have been fitted to the three protruding studs, the Electrex stator is pushed into place.

gradually he became involved in the British and classic side as well.

“We’re constantly making new products,” he said, “but demand is always ahead of us.”

Electrex exports about half of everything it manufactures, and Peter is constantly investing in the finest and most up-to-date computercontrolled machinery available. This is reflected in the quality of everything the firm produces.

Now the flywheel goes on, ensuring the red timing marks line up.

TECHNICAL FEATURE 41

August 2014

These rows of newly-made regulator rectifiers are waiting for their epoxy resin sealant to dry.

Many components are made from solid alloy billet in state-of-the-art milling and turning machines, then polished in a vibration deburring machine known to everyone at Electrex as ‘the wobbler’.

Some small parts such as thin stainless steel brackets are laser-cut, and as many of the CDI ignition systems are fitted to off-road machines, everything is made from stainless or electro-plated to avoid rust.

I saw stator assemblies being tested with a strobe; coils of up to 3000 turns per pole being wound on modern computer-controlled winding machines; and a cableprocessing machine that cuts to length, strips the wire/cable and puts the terminal on – if the finished product isn’t absolutely perfect, a pressure sensor spits it out.

Finished regulator rectifiers were placed in long rows on one table allowing the epoxy resin sealant to dry, and the firm even turns out printed circuit boards whose tiny components are assembled with solder paste before being cooked in an oven.

Laser-cut

For a quality finishing touch, a laser machine marks finished alloy products and does a fantastic job on plastic as well.

After introducing me to virtually everyone on his staff, including Mel, Sam, Alicia, Khushal, Pat, Vaqar, Aaron, Kate and Doug, Pete lifted down the engine of a 350cc BSA B40 to demonstrate the fitting of a tailormade ignition and lighting system.

Firstly, a taper collet is placed on to the shaft in place of a key to get over any problems that might be caused by a worn shaft or broken keyway (although Electrex also does a system with a key). Next, spacers are fitted on to the three protruding

Each pole of these beautifully-finished components has no fewer than 3000 windings of copper wire.

studs and the stator is fixed into place, and finally the flywheel is fitted, ensuring that the clearly displayed red timing marks line up.

The system replaces a Lucas alternator and all the old ignition system. It can be used with or without a battery (which isn’t needed for ignition) and Electrex does a version that is ignition only.

“I buy loads of engines of all types for us to do research on,” said Peter, “and this one came from a bike that had been in a garage for at least 30 years. On the other side, the covers had been taken off and just left.”

The next engine up was a BSA Bantam D1, and the ignition/ lighting system that Peter fitted is also correct for all models up to D5.

The clever part is that the kit allows for the correct adjustment even if the crankshaft from a later model (i.e. the D7, whose woodruff key position has a difference of 10 degrees) has been fitted.

After the flywheel had been pushed on, the stator plate to which the lighting and CDI ignition coils are fitted was placed into position (incidentally the lighting coil can be identified by its much

thicker copper wire winding). The flywheels can be made heavier than standard to suit trials riding.

For something completely different, a BMW R80 boxer engine was next on the bench. After the original Bosch alternator, rotor and stator have been removed from the front engine cover, the new system, which has no brushes and delivers a high output at much lower rpm, is located into the seal with anodised aluminium rings.

Neater job

The system comes with a modern regulator rectifier – CDI and HT coil in one go, and is much neater into the bargain.

Finally, Peter fitted a complete CDI ignition system with electronic advance (STK200) which replaces the original rotor on a Triumph Tiger Cub and is very popular with trials riders. “When we fitted the first one ever made, the Cub fired first kick,” said Peter proudly.

As anyone can see, however, the quietly spoken man who’s built up such an amazing industry in a rural English village has much more to be proud about.

LEFT: How neat is the brushless system that replaces the original Bosch alternator, rotor and stator on a BMW R80 engine.

A BSA Bantam D1 engine is ready to receive its Electrex CDI ignition system...

...and the simple fitting begins.

BELOW: The static part of the Tiger Cub system is fixed inside the engine cover to replace the original alternator.

44 IT’S MY BIKE

August 2014

A bargainbasement Norton

Fully restored at last, the majestic 350cc Norton that stood in a garage for 40 years.

Brian Matthews tells the story of his 1929 350cc Norton JE – which cost him and a friend just over £1 in the 1960s!

M The showroom condition of OF 5950 is accentuated by the clean, simple lines of the overhead-valve engine – and that’s why they call it a doll’s head gearbox!

ore than 50 years ago, my friend Arthur and I shared bikes. He was a skilled turner and general machinist, I was a welder, and we worked at the same factory on maintenance.

A chance conversation revealed the whereabouts of three bikes in a shed not too far away, and Arthur went round there straight away. One of the machines was a 1929 350cc Norton JE which cost us the princely sum of £1-10s.

It had its original Sturmey-Archer gearbox and horseshoe magneto, but we fitted a Norton doll’s head box to make it more rider-friendly, and the magneto has since been replaced with a later one. The good thing is, though, that I still have both original

items. All numbers match, and the bike has always carried its OF 5950 registration.

I’m almost 78 now, and although I’m a member of both the Vintage Motor Cycle Club and Norton Owners’ Club, I don’t ride as much as I did.

The overhead-valve 350 JE and overheadcamshaft 350 CJ were made alongside each other in 1929, and apart from the fork spring shroud/damper that was fitted only to the JE and of course the engine, the bikes are identical.

The damper incorporated windows cut into the outer shroud into which friction material was placed, and an adjustable outer band pressed the pads onto the inner shroud (not very good).

IT’S MY BIKE 45

August 2014

The fork spring shroud/damper might not have been the most brilliant of ideas, but after straightening everything out, Brian was delighted with the bike’s handling.

After buying the Norton, Arthur and I soon had it back on the road, and we used it in VMCC events, winning one or two trophies.

Then, finding myself skint, I sold my share of the bike to Arthur.

He embarked on a thorough restoration, spending a lot of money on paintwork, nickel and so on. Over time, however, his elderly mother began to need more help, so the loosely assembled bike was consigned to the garage where it remained for 40-odd years, untouched and crying out for help.

After years of dropping hints and asking Arthur (with whom I still have a few pints) about the bike, he eventually agreed to sell it to me.

I had the petrol and oil tanks restored by an expert, but the frame and mudguards were mainly fine – testament to the work of Long Eaton Enamellers all those years ago.

The wheels were rebuilt and Ensign tyres, which look the part and work very well, were

Eighty-five years old, and still the open road beckons. With no speedometer, however, the JE had to be ‘clocked’ by a friend following on a Norton Commando to establish its comfortable cruising speed of over 60mph.

fitted. All I did to the engine was fit new piston rings.

Although the bike had come with its original Sturmey-Archer gearbox, the last time we’d used the JE it had been fitted with a doll’s head gearbox (same fitting). This disappeared from Arthur’s house after he stripped the bike for a rebuild, but his garage is like Aladdin’s cave, and he found another doll’s head box, still in good order, in a plastic bag.

I duly fitted this Norton box and everything seemed to be going fine until I fitted the clutch. To my dismay, I found that the clutch sprocket had to go on at least another half inch to line up with the engine sprocket. It hadn’t been like that with the other doll’s head box.

The only answer was to modify the clutch

The JE is pictured with one of its stablemates, Brian’s 1952 Norton ES2.

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High capacity oilpum p kits O m ega forged pistons P lease send £2.50 O urrace proven crankshafts are ofan extrem ely high quality as are allthe parts we supply.

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N OW

This is what the JE looked like when Brian and his friend Arthur rode it in VMCC events in the 1960s. Back then regulars in the club’s Taverners’ section, to which both still belong, included Titch Allen, John Griffith and ‘continental circus’ racer Phil Heath.

centre to overcome the problem. This was far from easy, and I can only assume that Norton fitted different mainshaft lengths.

The main problem, though, concerned the forks which were quite badly out of shape. A quote of £400 prompted me to use my own skills, using large clamps in a carefully controlled fashion.

The bike sailed through its MoT, and I was delighted with the handling, so I must have done something right with the forks.

The Norton’s performance is good – a friend, Ken, following on a Norton Commando, said I was cruising at over 60mph – although I expect it to get better once everything has bedded in.

The bike shares the garage with my 1952 Norton ES2 and a lovely 1950 500cc BSA Star twin.

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