Old Bike Mart October 2015

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Carole Nash Classic Motorcyle Mechanics Show October 17-18

STAFFORDSHIRE COUNTY SHOWGR OUND

Advance tickets on sale Hundreds of traders | Huge autojumb le Display bikes and clubs

Buy tickets 01507 529529 classicbikeshows.com

“Edward Turner testing a Triumph” is the Mortons Archive caption to this intriguing photo. The model is a smart ‘bathtub’ 500cc Speed Twin, with a similar machine behind, and the first part of Brian Sanderson’s feature about parallel twins is on pages 42-43.

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2 NEWS

October 2015

Pete’s Prattle www.oldbikemart.co.uk email: info@oldbikemart.co.uk

Editor Pete Kelly OBMEditor@mortons.co.uk Senior Designer Kelvin Clements Production editors Sarah Palmer, Sarah Wilkinson Divisional advertising sales manager David England dengland@mortons.co.uk Advertising Ricky Nichols rnichols@mortons.co.uk Tania Shaw tshaw@mortons.co.uk 01507 524004 Marketing manager Charlotte Park Circulation manager Steve O’Hara

Putting things into perspective is something we should do a bit more often.

Following my feature in last month’s OBM comparing BSA and BMW Maudes Trophy attempts in 1952 and 1973 respectively, I received a great thoughtprovoking letter from Jack Frost of Tisbury, Wilts, pointing out that in 1981, a standard MZ TS150 Eagle was ridden round and round the Oxford ring road for seven days and nights to record an average speed of 46.6mph, an average fuel consumption of 84.6mpg and a total mileage of 7836.5 miles.

Despite the MZ being a humble air-cooled, single-cylinder two-

stroke a fifth of the size of the German flat twins, and costing a fraction as much, the figures are uncannily similar to those achieved by the prestigious BMW attempt on the Isle of Man. Before the start of the ring road marathon, the MZ was given a normal first service at 174 miles, and the spare parts used during the week-long run were one new headlamp bulb, one indicator bulb, one dynamo brush and one spark plug, total cost £3.20. Apart from the plug change, the engine was kept running while the new items were fitted.

The TS150 was ridden by an 11-strong team from local MZ

dealers Oxford Motorcycle Engineers, and I have to say that, in this instance, East beat West hands down!

Jack wrote: “MZs have suffered an image problem in the UK, but I think this shows that the TS150 was a great value-for-money machine. I admit to bias in this regard as, being an OAP, I regularly ride my 38-year-old MZ and 60-year-old LE Velocette around the Wiltshire lanes.

“I also permit myself an occasional smile when I see big machines for sale in your classified ads with comments like ‘too large and heavy’ or ‘for sale due to age’. Come on, codgers,

get yourself a lightweight. Ride ’em, don’t polish ’em!”

Now that you’ve written my ‘Prattle’ for me, Jack, let’s have your full address because at the very least you deserve a second ‘Muc-Off’ prize this month!

Publisher Tim Hartley Publishing director Dan Savage Commercial director Nigel Hole Associate director Malcolm Wheeler General Queries 01507 529529 (24hr ansaphone) Archive Enquiries Jane Skayman jskayman@mortons.co.uk 01507 529423 Founder Ken Hallworth OLD BIKE MART (ISSN:1756-9494) is published monthly by Mortons Media Group Ltd, PO Box 99, Horncastle, Lincolnshire LN9 6LZ UK. USA subscriptions are $48 per year from Motorsport Publications LLC, 7164 City Rd N #441, Bancroft WI 54921.

Periodical Postage is paid at Bancroft, WI and additional entries. Postmaster: Send address changes to OLD BIKE MART, c/o Motorsport Publications LLC, 7164 City Rd N #441, Bancroft WI 54921.

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An ‘L’ of a way to help Cancer Research UK Graham Lampkin from Colne, Lancashire, is planning an off-road trip through Spain on a classic Royal Enfield next year, in aid of Cancer Research UK, taking in as many towns as possible beginning with the letter L. “I undertook a similar venture last year, called ‘Lampy Goes to Lerwick’, riding off-road wherever possible,” said Graham, 62, “and it raised over £3000 for the charity.”

A member of the Colne-based Red Rose Classic Motorcycle Club, Graham plans to take the ferry to northern Spain, ride his Enfield over as many unsurfaced roads as possible over the Pyrenees as he heads into France, then continue to the Channel ports and home through towns beginning with an L. He’ll be joined by fellow members of the Red Rose club, who organise classic trials across Lancashire. All will pay their own costs to ensure that all donations go to the charity, and anyone wishing to sponsor Graham should visit www.lampygoes2Lnback.co.uk

Bikes and bits clearance sale at Worcester

Graham Lampkin takes the splash for Cancer Research UK on his Royal Enfield.

At just £5 per car boot or table, the Worcester Auto Club’s traditional shed clearance sale of motorcycles, parts and accessories on Sunday, October 25, brings a golden opportunity to swap your unwanted items for a bit of much-needed cash towards your next project.

Admission for browsers is free, and the event takes place at the WAC’s headquarters, The Tower, Perdiswell Park, Worcester WR3 7SN. For more information or to book a place, contact Rob Smith at robsa10@btinternet.com

NEWS 3

October 2015

Stafford show visitors cluster around the many stands in the main hall.

Classic Motorcycle Mechanics Show has all the makings of the best yet The 22nd Carole Nash Classic Motorcycle Mechanics Show at the Staffordshire Showground on October 17-18 has all the ingredients to make it the best ever – and that’s saying something considering that it’s already one of the biggest and best motorcycle shows in the world.

Celebrating emerging and modern classics from the 1960s, 70s, 80s and even 90s, the event will boast exotic show bikes galore, many of them with a Japanese leaning; the fastest TT rider in history as its guest speaker; the Classic Dirt Bike Hall; fabulous racing machinery including the legendary 500cc Moto Guzzi V8; a massive Bonhams autumn sale; a Restoration Theatre hosted by Pete Thorne of ITV’s The Motorbike Show; a ‘full house’ of club stands; regular bike cavalcades around the main ring and a Classic Racer GP Paddock with regular fire-ups.

And all that is just the start, for as the nights grow longer and thoughts turn to those winter projects ahead, the main draw of the Stafford show for many visitors will be the endless variety of trade and autojumble stands.

Pete Thorne, a presenter on The Motorbike Show, will be giving live demonstrations and presentations in the Restoration Theatre.

Absolute TT lap record holder John McGuinness is the star guest at the big Classic Motorcycle Mechanics event.

Inside the halls you’ll find every service imaginable, from chromeplating and wheel-building to carburettor cleaning, electrical wiring, engine tuning and much more. Outside, you won’t be able to resist joining the teeming crowds around the autojumble plots hoping to find that elusive mudguard, petrol tank, headlamp, seat base, side panel or even the remains of an unloved old bike that’s just waiting to be restored to its former glory.

With all this and hundreds of bikes to drool over, it’s no surprise that more than 30,000 people attend this exciting event each year.

‘Morecambe Missile’ John McGuinness, 23 times a TT winner and holder of the absolute Isle of Man mountain circuit lap record at 132.7mph, will have a wealth of stories to tell. Remaining on the road racing theme, two of the most exotic Italian grand prix motorcycles ever made, Moto Guzzi’s fabled 170mph 500cc Moto Guzzi V8 and V-twin Bicilindrica will be on display by courtesy of the Sammy Miller Museum.

By courtesy of the Sammy Miller Museum, this fabulous 170mph 1957 500cc Moto-Guzzi V8 will be on display on the Footman James stand at the Stafford show.

One of the most successful grand prix Italian racing machines of its era, this exquisite 1950 500cc Moto Guzzi Bicilindrica will join the V8 at Stafford.

A £1m single-owner collection of 60 rare, mostly American, vintage motorcycles from the private museum of Italian entrepreneur Tioberio Lonati will be the highlight of Bonham’s Autumn Stafford Sale, but hundreds of affordable ordinary classics will also be going under the hammer.

When you’ve had enough of the hustle and bustle of the main halls, you can relax outside and watch

the two daily cavalcades around the showground’s main ring, or see the Owd Codgers doing their stuff on the Dirt Bike Rider trials course, with lots of dry comments from Classic Dirt Bike editor Tim Britton as he interviews off-road stars from the good old days.

Back inside the halls, you’ll be able to join the audiences for live interviews with the stars, or watch carefully as Pete Thorne does his stuff in the Restoration Theatre.

In short, you cannot afford to stay at home!

The gates open at 9am each day, and the closing date for advance ticketsis23.59onTuesday,October 13. These cost £11 one-day adult, £22 two-day adult, £10 one-day senior, £20 two-day senior, £3 onedayunder12and£6two-dayunder 12. Gate prices are £13 adult, £12 seniorand£4under12.

Bike jumble at Peebles

Pristine classics line up in the Bonham’s auction hall.

If you have received this issue on time, a motorcycle autojumble is being organised by the Lothian and Borders Classic and Vintage Motorcycle Club at the Drill Hall, Peebles, from 10.30am until 4pm on Sunday, October 4.

18 MADE IN JAPAN

October 2015

Middleweights make so much sense

While large-capacity Japanese classics remain breathtaking to ride, many older enthusiasts are returning to the all-round virtues of the 500cc middleweight.

Steve Cooper sets the theme for his next few articles.

O

No one could ever accuse Honda of not taking the middleweight market seriously. These pictures show the XBR500 sports single, the CX500 water-cooled transverse V-twin, the CB500T parallel twin and, of course, the wonderful 500 four.

nce upon a time in the motorcycle world there was a reassuring feeling of order. Engine capacity brackets came with titles or descriptions and even for the novice there was a general feeling of knowing what was what and where it fitted into the great scheme of things.

Events such as the TT helped to reinforce such ideas, with groupings such as the Junior and Senior events or the Ultra-Lightweight.

Up there in the rarefied stratosphere, there would have been the likes of four-cylinder Hendersons in the early days and then machines such as the Brough Superiors, followed by the big Vincent twins out of Stevenage. For most riders of whatever era these were the bikes of dreams and legend, and generally they tended to remain unattainable.

For the vast majority of riders who started out on something like a 125 Villiers-powered machine or possibly an elderly 250, the next logical step was often a 350. These machines offered a manageable increase in power without too much of a weight penalty, and generally they managed not to drink much more petrol. In the pre and immediate postwar eras the next stopping-off point was a 500 and if you had the dosh it would almost certainly be a twin; probably from Meriden.

However, we motorcyclists are never satisfied and before long 650s were the weapons of choice and remained pretty much so until the mid-to-late 1960s, when things started to hot up. With the advent of Honda’s seminal CB750, three-quarter-litre engines were top dog, leaving everything else in their wake… until Kawasaki spoiled it for the Big Aitch with the Z1.

Since 1972 (more than four decades ago!) the inexorable rise in engine capacities has actually

slowed down, even if the top speeds attainable by the bikes have risen disproportionately.

Another significant change is that more people can now afford machines such as Suzuki’s Hayabusa or Kawasaki’s ZZR1400, altering substantially how bikes are now grouped or classified.

In modern terms, a 750 or 850 is now apparently a middleweight, and a 500 or 600 is supposedly a lightweight. Quite where this leaves the 125s or the post-licence 300s is anyone’s guess, but for many of us old warhorses involved with the classic scene it’s all a bit muddled and messy.

Time was when a middleweight was a 500 and no one argued with that notion. For so many riders from the mid-1950s through to the mid1980s this was the weapon of choice — affordable to buy and run, with enough power for most applications, roomy without being bulky, yet still small enough to commute on and generally fast enough most of the time.

Arguably, a 500 offered the ideal compromise between all of the above and back in the day you were generally more than happy… until some smart marketing suit managed to persuade the world that the word “compromise” was a negative choice and not a sensible one!

If we accept that Old Bike Mart is a classicfocused publication, then indisputably middleweight motorcycles, as we recognise them, make a huge amount of sense.

Possibly the most important factor is price.

With the notable exception of the manic Kawasaki 500 triple, most bikes of the genre are substantially cheaper than their bigger brothers. Even a later single-overhead-cam Honda 750/4 is now touching £7500 if it’s original and in full working condition.

JAPENESE PAGES 19

October 2015

Vintage Japanese Motorcycle Club

Above: ‘Simple but effective’ sums up Suzuki’s 1977 GT500B air-cooled two-stroke twin.

Left: A mere 50cc above the ‘middleweight’ parameter, Suzuki’s GT550 air-cooled two-stroke triple was a desirable machine in its day.

By comparison, the hugely competent CB500/4 from the same stable is generally unlikely to make much more than £4000 unless it’s truly awesome. The same goes for Suzukis of the same period. Even though GT750 ‘Kettles’ haven’t quite spun out of reach in the same way as a Z1, they aren’t exactly cheap.

But drop down to the middleweights and see how much you can save. Opt for the Labradorfaithful T500 or the slightly out-of-class GT550 and you’ll still be getting a hugely usable machine for so much less money. In some cases the differences can be as much as 50%, yet it’s hard to argue the Kettle is twice as good!

The next bonus point is weight and ease of use. Sadly, none of us are as strong as we used to be and if we plan still to be riding into our dotage, a bike we can actually manoeuvre out of the garage might be a sensible option. The number of octogenarians able to wheel around the Z1s they might have owed in their younger days could probably be counted on the fingers of Captain Hook’s bad hand.

If you want a mega-fast bike that’s light and easy to use, you’ll have to look at the modern stuff.

Finally, there’s the availability and parts.

Five-hundreds come up for sale regularly, and the chances are you won’t be involved in an unseemly melee as people try to outbid each other online or gazump each other at the front door.

In terms of locating missing parts, 500s are no better or worse than tiddlers or

Superbikes, but where they do score is on consumables. They don’t eat tyres and chains; brake pads and shoes aren’t voraciously devoured and with one notable exception they’re generally good on fuel.

All in all, the classic middleweights have many positives going for them and over the next few months we’ll be taking a look at them. There’s a huge raft that are worthy of consideration and we’ll have a damn good dig through their pros and cons.

From Blighty to Japan, with a detour via Yamaha’s sophisticated XS500 twin had Italy, it should make for a very interesting trip. a variable reputation for reliability.

The Yamaha XT500 spawned a family of great middleweight singles.

The Classic Motorcycle Mechanics Show is upon us once more, as is what has become known as the end of the riding season.

Once upon a time many readers of OBM used their bike as all-weather transport come what may, but in the 1970s and early 80s times began to change depending on where you lived in that economically fraught period. As teenagers gradually acquired money or finance, tired cars started occupying the spaces once taken by well-used Japanese motorcycles.

Our October show stand spans this period and a little later, and highlights some of those bikes that would have straddled the divide between all-purpose transport and leisure activity conveyance.

In the former category, we start off with a 1967 Suzuki T20, completely restored, that had probably been well used by serried franks of learners back in the day. From the same year, we have a rare Bridgestone 350 GTR which probably came via the USA, where bikes were already being seen as leisure items.

The 1969 Honda CB750 that follows it might not have been callously abused, but you can bet it would have seen hard use as the first example of the Superbike.

Moving into the glam rock period of strikes and inflation, we have a stunning pair of Yamaha twins. Round-tank RDs are not a common sight these days, generally having been eclipsed by the more popular ‘coffin’-tanked model. However, we have both 250 and 350 B series machines and it’s a rare treat to see the pair together.

Of the period and undisputably out of left-field, we have a 1975 Suzuki RE5. Despite poor sales and negative press, many a rotary put in hugemileage touring… provided the owner could afford the fuel at 73p a gallon, having been just 50p a year before!

Just like its air-cooled parents a decade earlier, the 1982 Yamaha RD250LC on show has been transformed from everyday hack to concours condition — another hard-worked learner from the period, and arguably a two-stroke twin that changed the face of learner machinery.

Hot on its heels, and probably in a cloud of smoke, we have a 1982 Yamaha RD350LC Special. Few remained standard when new, and this one is pretty trick, which just goes to show how open and broad-minded the VJMC actually is.

On a similar theme we have a 1980 Honda Gold Wing in cafe racer guise which hopefully will offend the purists and make everyone else smile.

Moving into the period where biking was for fun rather than just transport, there’s a 1989 Suzuki GSXR750J sportsbike and a Kawasaki KR-1 1989, unrestored and as original as can be. These exquisite parallel twin water-cooled missiles took the concept as far as it could be extended and then some, and unmolested examples are super rare!

Similar but different, we should have a frankly bonkers 1990 Yamaha TDR250 if the owner finishes her basketcase resto in time. Variations on the theme give us a 1994 genuine Lucky Strike replica Suzuki RGV250 that perfectly counterpoints the T20.

Bringing us closer to the new millennium, there’s a Marco Simoncelli replica Honda CBR600f from 1996 based around a basketcase restoration, and finally a slightly modified Suzuki GSF1200N from 1999.

Whoever said the VJMC was stuck in the 60s with hundred-point perfect museum pieces probably needs to get out more…to the CMM show!

Tel. 01634 361825/ 07948 563280

for membership enquiries only office hours M-F.

www.vjmc.com

AT YOUR SERVICE 45

October 2015

Elusive as Nessie –

but brilliant at their work!

Mick Payne travels north in an attempt to track down Loch Ness Restorations... and discovers a hive of activity in rural Scotland.

S

ince that famous alleged sighting of the Loch Ness Monster in 1933, the creature has proved most elusive — and I was beginning to feel as frustrated as some of those Nessie hunters as I searched for the almost equally hard to pin down Loch Ness Restorations.

Although their location, in an old sawmill, is well off the beaten track, it doesn’t cause the firm any problems at all in finding work. In fact Colin Craig opined that the lack of passing trade could be seen as an advantage, because it means they can work without constant interruption and helps security as well.

“We like being here,” he said, “and the people who matter know where we are.”

It took four months to get the sawmill into a usable workshop, and bikes come in to be restored from all over Scotland. There’s even a customer in Norway! The machines arriving vary in state, but Colin tries to steer clear of boxes of bits as the ones

that are invariably missing can take so long to track down.

Loch Ness Restorations certainly don’t have any problems over what to restore, though. Two- or four-stroke, road or competition bikes all fall within their remit, and if an owner wants to continue using the bike as the manufacturer intended, they’ll do just the amount of restoration required.

Illustrating the point was a lovely patinated Bultaco trials iron with just enough restoration for it to continue being usable rather than becoming a show piece.

On the other hand, there were plenty of very nice bikes to be seen, especially a Kawasaki 1000 in a striking Kermit Green!

Colin did his training in the motor trade, and his son David worked in a modern bike shop for five years, “He can strip the bodywork from a bike in the time it takes me to even think about it,” said Colin.

The third member of the team is

One advantage of working at Dolgarroch is the trails and open spaces that surround the place – just right for a quick lunchtime ride out into the hills!

Another sparkling Japanese restoration gets underway.

The bright green paintwork hits you right in the face as a Kawasaki Z1000 awaits the next move.

brother-in-law Graham, who worked for Ferranti and is an ace wire-man, and the three ably cover all the disciplines necessary for completing a full rebuild to the highest standards.

Even the restoration work they choose not to do is generally kept in Scotland, with a wheel builder in Fife and the paintwork done by a guy who paints moderns but loves classic bikes.

Not only does this keep prices keen for the customer, but it also helps to keep the web of small businesses in Scotland going. “We’re keen to use each other’s expertise,” said Colin, “although once south of Edinburgh, we find that people would rather use specialists from England”.

Although the company has gone down the road of perfection, Graham prefers a slightly less regimented approach. “Waiting for exactly the correct part can be so timeconsuming and expensive for the customer,” he said, “and personally I think a bike being used on the road is better than having any amount of machines waiting for original parts.

Life’s too short.”

That said, one customer who’s short of a genuine front mudguard for his Suzuki GT380 is happy to do all the hunting himself.

Although the backlog of work will probably remain constant, judging by the number of people wanting to ride machines from their past, Graham pointed out that if they shut the doors tomorrow, they’d have two, three, maybe even four years’ work to keep them going, and that they had around 40 bikes on the go at the moment.

When he pointed out a lovely little

A Matchless single receives attention at Loch Ness Restorations.

Ducati Bronco from the early 1960s, sporting a jewel-like overhead-valve 125cc engine, I remarked on the number of Ducati Kate and I had seen on the previous day, a Sunday.

As well as restoring old bikes, Graham is also involved with the Highland Classic Bike Club. “On the recent Loch Ness Run we had over 100 bikes,” he said, “but we need a younger membership as we’re all getting on a bit.”

It was good to see that, as well as restoring motorcycles, the team rides them too — a pair of modern trials machines outside paid testimony to that. “We have so much land and trails up here that we go for rides at lunchtime,” said Graham.

They must really enjoy their work, as I’d want to stay out all day long. In fact just as we left, Colin took off on a quad and said: “I’m going out – might be some time”.

Loch Ness Restorations is a great place to work, and some great work is turned out there.

Loch Ness Restorations Unit 2, The Old Sawmill, Dochgarroch, Inverness, IV3 8JG. Lochnessrestorations.com 07748 287618

46 NEWS

October 2015

Revived Kop Hill Climb is still on the way up In 1999, in conjunction with the Bean Car Club, the town council in Princes Risborough, Buckinghamshire, ran a commemorative event to celebrate the original Kop Hill Climb that had last been run in 1925, writes Ian Kerr.

The demise came about 15 years after the first Kop Hill event in 1910, after a bike crashed into the crowd of 3000 spectators, followed by a Brescia Bugatti car, fortunately without serious injuries.

Despite the success of the 1999 revival, it took another 10 years before the current annual revival meetings started in 2009. In 2010, the two-day centenary event exceeded all expectations, with 350 vehicles having a run up the hill watched by more than 8000 spectators, and raising a substantial amount of money for charity into the bargain.

The Kop Hill’s popularity has risen to the point where 150 potential entrants had to be turned away this year, because there wouldn’t have been enough time for them all to ascend the hill.

A look back through the motoring journals of the day, when it was a competitive event, shows that it was one of the most famous hill climbs of the early 20th century. Because of the steepness of the upper part of the hill, ruts developed that made it even harder for the competitors and even more spectacular for the spectators.

Motorcyclists were given the benefit of a 50yard flying start, which helped them get up the 1-in-8 gradient for the first half, before the 1-in-4 top defeated many. The ruts didn’t help, and neither did a starting cannon, which was inadvertently fired across the path of one bike competitor in 1913, causing him to crash.

Many famous riders competed at Kop Hill, including Freddie Dixon, who set the fastest time on a hill of 22.8 seconds on his 736cc Douglas in 1925, averaging 81mph. With a sidecar attached to the same bike, he was only two seconds slower!

Nowadays the hill is 860 metres long and well surfaced. It starts with a gradual slope that becomes 1-in-6 at the half-way mark and rises to 1-in-4 just before the summit. The run

The spirit of the Kop Hill Climb is captured as riders on a variety of vintage machines await their turn.

With its large-diameter exhaust pipe, a RexAcme is ready to roar.

This purposeful-looking Douglas seems well up to the challenge.

finishes short of the summit to allow vehicles to slow down and turn to head back to the paddock on open roads.

While the hill itself draws the crowds, the display of classic bikes and cars in fields at the bottom is starting to rival some much bigger events, and probably would if the space were available.

If you like the idea of vintage and classic cars and bikes in action, keep the third weekend in September free next year, for you’ll not only have a great time, but will also be contributing to many worthy causes.

It’s the mixture of cars, bikes and three-wheelers that makes the Kop Hill event so special. Here a Morgan crew prepares for action.

Huge NMM effort brings Classic TT paddock alive

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No fewer than th h 32 Nortons, representing every ryy era in the th h history ryy of the th h famous marque, were transported from the th h National Motorcycle Museum to this year’s Classic TT Festival.

Visitors described th the huge pop-up museum display as the best ever seen in a TT paddock, with a Norton racing machine to represent every decade from the 1900s to the 1990s.

As if that wasn’t enough, the museum excelled itself with a parade around the 37.73-mile TT

Also available. Two-stroke take-apart silencers, pipes for Villiers engined bikes, plus specials made to customers’ old patterns, and

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William Dunlop, who sadly failed to finish in the F1 race, gets off the line on the museum’s racing rotary Norton.

circuit on Saturday, Augu gust u 29 entitl tled, l ‘Norton – The Rotary ryy Years’, in which no fewer than th h 12 of its revolutionary ryy machines took part.

Some of the bikes’ original riders taking part included Trevor Nation, Steve Cull and Ian Simpson, and they were joined by others including William and Michael Dunlop, Michael Rutter and James Whitham.

The ‘White Charger’ that the late Steve Hislop rode to victory in the 1992 Senior was ridden by 23times TT race winner John McGuinness, resplendent in replica Hissie leathers and helmet.

On Sunday, August 30, a number of the museum’s exworks rotary Nortons appeared at the Jurby Festival with the likes of McGuinness, Rutter and Cull on board.

Next day William Dunlop

Every ryone y involved

posted a DNF aboard the th h Team in the National Motorcycle National Motorcycle Museum Museum’s brilliant ‘Nort rton t – The Racing’s rotary ryy in the th h F1 race, and Rotary ry y Years’ parade lap poses with museum director, James Hewi wing, i the machines that took part rt. t commented: “Th he eventt was a huge challenge and we are obviously disappointed not to have finished.

“William declared the bike to be ‘wicked fast’, and he and the whole team worked tirelessly all week, but everyone knows that there is no tougher place to go racing, and the feedback from race fans has been really positive.”

The museum film crew has created four short films from the event, including the paddock pop-up museum, the rotary There’s no mistaking the pink Steve parade, the festival at Jurby and Hislop replica helmet as, on the Team NMM Racing, and all will Rotary Years parade lap, John be available to view from early McGuinness demonstrates the October on the museum’s new ‘White Charger’ that Steve rode to website, www.thenmm.co.uk. victory in 1992.

VINTAGE RESTORATION 63

October 2015

The Cotton they dragged from the Grand Union Canal Brian Matthews, who wrote an ‘It’s My Bike’ article about his 1929 350cc Norton JE last year, tells of the progress he’s now making with the restoration of a 1937 350cc JAP-engined Cotton Sports.

B

ack in the 1960s, my mate Arthur and I bought a 1937 350cc JAP-engined Cotton Sports from a Vintage Motor Cycle Club member for just £2, complete with its original logbook. It came from the Market Harborough area, and the whole bike was covered in blue overspray, as if it had been standing in a paint shop for quite a while.

After trying to start it for ages without success, we discovered that the engine pinion had three Woodruff keys for

valve-timing adjustment. Once that was sorted it fired up but ran rough because the drive-side main bearing was worn out. The JAP didn’t have a journal bearing, but two rows of rollers running directly on to the mainshaft.

Arthur was employed in a machine shop in the factory where we both worked, and thanks to an understanding foreman, he reground the shaft and fitted oversize rollers.

After a new set of rings was added, we had a good engine.

Not a bad buy for £2! The 350cc Cotton is seen, complete with front mudguard and toolbox, before it was dumped in the Grand Union Canal.

Brian Matthews and his father-in-law, an ex-boxer, pictured on the Cotton before it was stolen.

What a bike! It had a lovely frame and went round corners as if it was on rails.

We were both members of the VMCC’s Taverners Section (still are), and I used the Cotton both for work and going to the meetings at the Hope & Anchor pub near Leicester, where among the regulars were Titch Allen, John Griffith and Phil Heath.

After mixing with these giants of motorcycling and supping a fair amount of ale, I felt like Mike Hailwood riding home on the Cotton.

I liked to turn up the wick, much to the disappointment of Arthur, who was Captain Sensible himself.

One day he gave me a call to say that both the Cotton and Norton had been stolen from his lock-up garage. The police soon found the Norton in a railway shed, but a few more weeks passed before the Cotton was dragged from the Grand Union Canal, minus the front mudguard and toolbox.

Eventually, Arthur bought both the bikes outright, and always said he

It’s a start! Brian Matthews holds the newly painted Cotton fuel tank.

The kit of glossy-black painted parts awaits reassembly.

would never part with the Cotton, but unfortunately, because of ill health, the Cotton, like the Norton, has been sold back to me.

The black-and-white photos show what the Cotton looked like before it was stolen.

It has now been completely stripped and I now have a restored kit of parts to put together. The engine will be the last job I do, because I always like to create a rolling chassis first, and I’ll put pen to paper again once I’ve got everything sorted.