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REALCLASSIC 189: PUBLISHED JANUARY 2020
44
RC REGULARS
EGLI-VINCENT, BY GODET ............................6
Adieu, Patrick. Alan Cathcart marks the anniversary of the passing of Patrick Godet by riding one of his bikes considerably rapidly. Any excuse to ride an Egli-Vincent…
A LITTLE NOSTALGIA ..................................26
Most people remember Burt Munro for his exploits aboard the world’s fastest Indian. Len Page recalls Munro’s racing career on a truly challenging circuit in New Zealand, where British bikes diced on dirt-track surfaces…
TRIUMPH TRIDENT T160 ............................28
The electric-start Triumph triple should have been the British industry’s superbike for the Seventies. But Paul Miles reckons it’s far too flawed to claim that title
MATCHLESS 500 .........................................34
It should’ve been a straightforward fix, restoring illumination to this late-1950s AMC single. But no, Stuart Urquhart wasn’t so fortunate when he tried to revive a friend’s 500… E MAC VELOCETT
BMW R75/5
TALG NORTON NOS
Riding Running, ISSUE 185
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Rea uilding ing & Reb
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EVENTS ...................................................... 72 Planning for summer? So are we, but in the meantime here’s a few more realistic destinations for us all!
VELOCETTE VALIANT..................................62
READERS’FREE ADS .................................. 70 A seasonal spread to tempt your seasonally adjusted wallet. As always, an interesting mix of ancient and not-so ancient
Everyone agreed that Velocette needed a small capacity sportster. No one expected this. Frank Westworth is gently entertained…
FAMILY ALBUM.......................................... 74 Does motorcycling run in your family? RC readers share their relatives’ encounters with old bikes…
NORTON PROTOTYPE TWIN .......................76
The history of the old British bike industry is littered with neverwossers and might-havebeen machines. Richard Negus uncovers a unique Norton. Part Two: Beginning the build
PUB TALK ................................................... 90 PUB pays a visit to Motorcycle Live, where the ‘retro’ trend remains alive and kicking… GUEST SPEAKER ........................................ 96 New year: old chestnuts. As the calendar reveals yet another new decade, Harley Richards reflects upon what used to be, and how it compares to today’s classic motorcycling
BLAZING SADDLES .....................................84
Are you sitting comfortably? Morgan Rue explores an all-important aspect of motorcycle restoration: making sure you don’t get saddle sore…
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TALES FROM THE SHED ........................... 100 Frank’s been off showing again, just for a change. Two very different events, of course…
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WE’VE GOT MAIL! ...................................... 16 Lots of letters about lots of things. This is how it should be. And there’s a lot more to come for next time! Happy typing.
Martin Peacock decided the time was right to buy a modern bike. But which one? The classic characteristics of BMW’s iconic boxer swayed his decision…
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ROYAL ENFIELD BULLET .............................44
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THE CONTENTS PAGE ...................................3 As we tidy up the issue’s loose ends the rain is hammering down, RCHQ Bude is mostly just above the waterline and the last thing we’re thinking about is summer. That’s a fib. Lots to read here, including Vincent and Velocette. Who never made submarines…
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WHO’S DONE WHAT REALCLASSIC is built by Frank Westworth and Rowena Hoseason of the Cosmic Bike Co Ltd from the wonderful words you write about your brilliant bikes. Chris Abrams of AT Graphics transforms text and images into bright shiny pages, while Mortons Media Group Ltd at Horncastle manage trade advertising, subscriptions, back issues and other such complex stuff We’re online at www.Real-Classic.co.uk TRADE ADVERTISERS for the magazine or website should call Helen Martin on 01507 529574, email hrmartin@mortons.co.uk EDITORIAL ENQUIRIES should be sent to Frank@ RealClassic.net or to PO Box 66, Bude EX23 9ZX. Please include an SAE if you want something returned or a personal reply SUBSCRIPTION INFO is on pg106. Call 01507 529529 to subscribe or renew or buy back issues SUBS QUERIES, late deliveries, or changes of address should be directed to 01507 529529, or email subscriptions@realclassic.net ALL MATERIAL in RealClassic is copyright its authors, so please contact us before reproducing anything. RealClassic is printed by William Gibbons & Sons of Wolverhampton. Our ISSN is 1742-2345. THIS MONTH we’ve been reading A DEADLY DIVIDE (cultural tensions in French Canada); BLACK RIVER by Will Dean (a missing person in the deep Swedish forest); KILLER WOMEN by Robert White (hard-as-nails contemporary noir), KARMA, by Walter Mosley (excellent short detective story), DOGGEREL FOR DEAD WHORES, by Robb White (astonishingly bleak US detective tale) and NEWCOMER by Keigo Higashino (brilliantly leisurely Japanese murder mystery) MEANWHILE AT THE MOVIES… we’ve been B-movie binging with IP MAN 3 (Hong Kong kung-fu history), THE KEEPING ROOM (a feminist drama dressed up as a Civil War western), ANDROID COP (like Robocop but with zero budget and less sense), EAGLE EYE (say, whatever did happen to Shia LaBeouf?) and the truly stunning DARK CRIMES, black-as-night noir set in Poland – seek it out!
FROM THE FRONT I’d had another great idea. These are not entirely infrequent here at RCHQ Bude, as you may know – and if you do already know, you are immediately forgiven for moving swiftly on to the next page! The great idea? Instead of whining piteously about my lack of progress with – well – anything in The Shed, I would instead write cheery, positive and possibly uplifting stuff about getting out and about to a couple of great events. Not just any old events, no! These would be as different as I could fit into what is in all truth a fairly uncrowded schedule. So, the great big new bike bash which is held at Brum’s NEC each year, and the great grubby bits extravaganza hosted by the Somerset section of the VMCC at Shepton Mallet. Great idea? I think so. You can read the rather rambling results a lot further into this very magazine, but imagine my dismay when PUBtalk landed in the RC inbox and I realised straight away, because I am smart that way, that Jacqueline had also written about the NEC bike show. Rats, I exclaimed, silently, because shouting in the tiny RC office is frowned upon, and I decided that I’d need to do something both constructive and heroic in The Shed at once and immediately to avoid repetition. Then I read Jacqueline’s story. It was fascinating. Because although we’d both been to the same event our impressions of it were surprisingly different. And I had actually gone to the NEC with a sort-of agenda, as you’ll maybe read a little later. Any excuse to do something familiar from a slightly different angle is good enough, certainly for me. In any case, what’s the alternative to doing something? Really? The only sensible excuse for deciding not to do something you enjoy is that you’d rather be doing something else that you enjoy more. My view, at least, and I’m sticking to it. This thinking was a response to comments made by several folk about why they weren’t going to the NEC, but which appear to apply to going anywhere, maybe to doing anything, which made me sad somehow. I pondered the proffered Reasons Why Not, looking for a little understanding. Why, I wondered, would someone not go to a great big bike show if they’re interested in bikes? Maybe, I decided, it’s because the NEC is very big and possibly very far away, and certainly very expensive. That’s fine. I can understand that. Then the same chorus started about the VMCC jumble, which is almost free, is not housed in some vast corporate edifice and is run entirely by enthusiast volunteers for
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enthusiasts. Maybe there comes a time when folk simply decide to do nothing, for no reason I can understand. Yet. Maybe when I’m older? Except that I am actually older than several of the I’m Not Going crowd. So plainly it’s something else. And then, just when it felt like life could not get more puzzling, a gentleman from Germany took me to task at considerable length for whining about my recently completed BSA A65T. Whining, huh? Do I whine? I re-read what I’d written, and it’s plain that I was sharing with you my frustration at how hard I find kicking the machine over, but whining? I hope not. And of course at times like this, when all around me is bewilderment and wonder, there is always an answer – get out on the bike and blow away those cobwebs, ignore the puzzles, just go anywhere, do anything – something – to clear the air and cheer up. Happy new year, then! Let’s make it a great one. Ride safely
Frank Westworth Frank@realclassic.net
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RC190WILL BE PUBLISHED ON FEB 3rd, AND SHOULD REACH UK SUBSCRIBERS BY FEB 7th
6 I JANUARY 2020
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EGLI-VINCENT BY GODET
M. GODET AND HIS
EXTRAORDINARY
TWINS Adieu, Patrick. Alan Cathcart marks the anniversary of the passing of Patrick Godet by riding one of his bikes considerably rapidly. Any excuse to ride an Egli-Vincent… Photos by Kel Edge
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JANUARY 2020 I 7
I
t’s already ironic that safety-minded Switzerland should have produced the kind of motorcycle that in the past half-century has conceivably brought more fun on two wheels to more people than any other. That’s the Big Twin cafe racer, which Fritz Egli invented back in 1965 by building the first of the Egli-Vincent 998cc V-twins. It’s even more improbable that, for the past 40 years, the most dedicated and capable restorer and recreator of Vincent motorcycles, as well as the most successful Vincent exponent in topline Classic racing, should not be an Englishman, but a ‘bloody Frog’. Using that term denotes no sense of chauvinism (though, of course, Monsieur Chauvin was indeed, erm… French), for that’s what the late Patrick Godet, French Vincent expert par excellence, always called himself! Patrick Frog passed away suddenly last November, aged 67, at his home in the Normandy countryside north of Rouen, and his loss will be keenly felt by Vincent owners and enthusiasts all over the world, as well as by his many friends in the Classic racing scene. Lots of them used the vast array of high quality Godet Motorcycles parts to restore or maintain their original Vincents, while others were fortunate to own one of the 280 superbly constructed Egli-Vincent V-twins produced by Godet Motorcycles over the past 25 years, with Alan C rides rapidly on an Egli-Vincent. Observe the mysterious addition below the engine. Correct; This is a self-starting Egli-Vincent
Observe that this remarkable machine is registered for the road. And used on the road, too, briskly
8 I JANUARY 2020
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EGLI-VINCENT BY GODET the approval of Fritz Egli himself. During that time, Patrick Godet produced the only officially recognised Egli-Vincent re-creations, one of which Fritz Egli, now aged 81, himself acquired, and thanks to the electric starter installed on all such Godet-built bikes, still rides today. Patrick Godet purchased his first Vincent in 1974 at the age of 22, a Black Shadow. ‘I saw a couple of British registered Rapides in Rouen with Vincent Owners Club badges carrying all the gear for touring, and I thought – that’s the bike I want,’ Patrick once told me. ‘So when I got back from doing National Service with the Army I went looking for one, and although for a very short period I first had a Norvin café racer, that was very unreliable, then I found a Black Shadow. So I was involved with Vincent from 1974 onwards.’ Owning, riding and maintaining the Black Shadow led Patrick to become totally smitten with the British marque, and rather than go back to working for his Dad’s large trucking company, he used his saved-up military pay to establish a restoration and tuning business concentrating on Vincents, which he also raced successfully himself in the early days of French Historic racing. With the proceeds from this he bought a Black Prince, and as the founder of the French section of the Vincent OC, Godet used this and the Black Shadow on the road for many years, the latter clocking up over 100,000km with a Precision sidecar attached in attending VOC rallies all over Europe. After a topsy-turvy business career which saw him restoring cars for a living with Vincents just a sideline, in 1994 Patrick restarted his motorcycle business, originally focusing exclusively on making Vincents live again. He tracked down several bikes in Argentina, where thanks to Phillip Vincent’s father being a well-connected rancher there, his son’s company had exported many hundreds of bikes post-WW2. After various ups and downs, Patrick’s long hours of hard work eventually paid off in 2006, when he formed Godet Motorcycles in partnership with one of his customers, legendary French singer Florent Pagny, a younger version of Charles Aznavour with a collection of 40 Triumphs and half a dozen Vincents in his garage, many of which he rides regularly. After expanding into a new 600m² factory at Malaunay, just outside Rouen, with a six-man workforce including his long-time helper Bruno Leroy, the only French rider to win a race on the Isle of Man TT Course,
Fritz Egli with his original Egli-Vincent 1000
It may be a little non-stock, but the development is well worthwhile. And the box contains five ratios, too
replica Egli and Godet at the delivery of Fritz Egli’ss own Godet
Patrick Godet, explaining something technical. Probably about an engine
JANUARY 2020 I 9
Fine detailing abounds, as you would expect, and the bike’s electrics are powered by an Alton generator
Patrick’s fanatical attention to detail and dedicated enthusiasm in satisfying his customers brought him business from all around the globe – many of them for brandnew Egli-Vincent café racers. Godet’s Egli connection dated back to 1995, when he constructed the first half-dozen replicas of the bike which had originally invented Big Twin café racing. The supply of replica parts which he’d commissioned for his many Vincent restorations meant that, when Patrick decided to start recreating brand-new EgliVincent café racers, he already had a pretty good platform for doing so. ‘I had several original Egli frames, one of which I used to make a jig to replicate them,’ Patrick told me. ‘To begin with, I didn’t think it’d be as popular as the original British-built Vincents – but after I’d built a dozen or so, and the orders kept coming in, I decided I had to obtain Fritz Egli’s approval for what I was doing – it just seemed right to do so. ‘So I went to see him in Switzerland, to show him what I was making. He was really
Godet’s Vincent is built with two ‘front’ heads, meaning that both 36mm Mikuni VM carbs are mounted on the same side
complimentary, and gave me exclusive permission to use his name on the bikes, because he said I was building them better than he used to himself! He even refused to accept me paying him a royalty on each bike – he said I couldn’t possibly make enough profit to do so! But it means that since then we are the only company in the world licensed to build genuine Egli-Vincents – there are other people claiming to do this, but they’re not the genuine article like ours, and Fritz confirms they don’t have the right to call them Egli-Vincents.’ Godet’s replica of the distinctive Egli spine frame saw its central tube, which doubled as the oil tank, made from cold drawn steel, but with Reynolds 531 chrome-moly hangers embracing an engine
acting as a fully stressed chassis member. This was a period motorcycle hand-built out of modern components, which succeeded in the tantalisingly difficult objective of matching the spirit of the past with the function of the present. Well, just so long as you gave that meaty 230mm 4LS replica Fontana front drum brake a good squeeze before you started exploring the limits of the Egli’s braking potential. Oh, and take account of the rangy steering geometry’s kicked-out 28-degree head angle, and the lazy but stable feel of the 19-inch front wheel, before you try to change direction too fast. Or… but hang on: the whole point of a bike like the Godetbuilt Egli is not that it should be compared to modern sportbikes, but that it provides period-style riding pleasure in complete safety, and with added convenience. And that it’ll get you home again at the end of the day, with none of the irritating but inevitable inconveniences that can befall even the most carefully restored classic bike. It’s a
Two fillers; the front lets the engine’s oil into the top frame tube, which is its reservoir. Traditional vast speedo is calibrated in kilometres – we hope!
10 I JANUARY 2020
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EGLI-VINCENT BY GODET
Modern Classic in all senses of the term. That’s thanks to the finely engineered pushrod ohv 50-degree V-twin Vincent engine, a power unit assembled by Godet Motorcycles using 100% new parts commissioned from top-level suppliers around the world. Originally, Patrick built these as faithful replicas of a 1950s Black Shadow-spec Vincent 998cc engine – but then he went large, and the bored and stroked 1329cc version of the V-twin motor powering Florent Pagny’s own personal Egli-Vincent café racer gives much more performance, as well as an easier ride in modern traffic conditions. To create this uprated 92 x 100mm 1329cc version of the traditional 84 x 90mm 998cc Vincent motor, Godet cast new crankcases with a wider cylinder stud spacing for the bigger bore, and on Pagny’s bike as well as others, made these in magnesium, for a massive 14kg weight saving over aluminium cases. This allows the complete bike to scale 164kg with oil, but no fuel – a 9% weight saving compared to the 178kg aluminium version. The forged Wossner pistons, made in Germany and running in Nikasil chrome bores, are mounted on new-type JPX conrods and a crankshaft assembly incorporating an INA big end, and give a slightly higher 8.4:1 compression via a reshaped combustion chamber with greater squish. The new cylinder heads are fitted with oversize G&S steel valves – two per cylinder, of course – running in seats and guides whose modern material allows the use of unleaded fuel. Even with exhaust valves that are actually smaller than original, the soup-plate sized 49mm inlet valves dictate the use of offset 10mm spark plugs fired by a Hall-effect Grosset electronic CDI with mechanical advance, have
uprated springs, and are fed by a pair of 36mm Mikuni VM carbs, rather than the 30mm Amal Concentrics of the one-litre bikes. The net result is a considerably enhanced output of 88bhp at the crank at 5300rpm – around 20bhp more than the smaller engine, and with much greater grunt, Ceriani 35mm tele forks replace the oriigiinall Vincent Girdraulics, while stopping the beast is the duty of a 230mm too, of course. Fontana 4LS type front brake I could exploit the 87ft-lb of torque peaking at just 3000rpm to save features the same distinctive semi-elliptical gearchanges on such a tight circuit as Carole tubing as the original Egli chassis, and the five– though the five-speed transmission Godet speed gearbox features triplex chain primary had developed for the engine shifts sweetly. Florent’s 1330 Café Racer is geared for speeds in drive, just as back then. The timing gears, rear hub assemblies and many other smaller excess 140mph, so I only got a true fourth gear components, were manufactured for Godet at Carole on this long-legged modern classic… by the engineering company run by today’s Stopping the Egli-Vincent test bike from British owner of the global Vincent trademark those speeds is a task entrusted on the Pagny David Holder, another admirer, and supporter, motorcycle to an oversize version of the drum of Patrick Godet’s work. Modern updates are brake package fitted to the original Eglis, now provided by the French-made Alton alternator, featuring a replica 230mm Fontana 4LS front (210mm originally) and seven-inch Vincent 2LS a multiplate dry clutch with Kevlar friction rear, with the Ceriani 35mm tele forks matched plates – and praise be, an electric start! by twin British-made Maxton rear shocks that Best to own up now that I, too, had a are adjustable only for preload. That large Vincent, once – but I got better the day I sold front brake worked OK at slow speeds without it, which was also the one and only time I grabbing, thanks to a careful choice of tipped ever persuaded it to start first kick, when linings which heated up quite fast. This meant the guy who wound up buying it came to I didn’t need to squeeze the lever as hard as inspect it. Hallelujah! That early-50s V-twin on other Godet-built Eglis I’ve ridden with the Rapide was frustratingly headstrong and smaller front brake, in order to get the bike self-willed, with all the potential for terminal to stop remotely quickly from high speed. handling problems that the Vincent Girdraulic The extra security of the larger Fontana drum fork offered with a shock that was not justis welcome, albeit at the expense of a slight so. But my Vincent kept offering tantalising increase in unsprung weight and heavier glimpses of the performance utopia which the steering. The rear twin leading-shoe Vincent Stevenage factory’s V-twin family represented brake also worked quite well, especially for by the standards of the era – a nirvana which correcting corner entry speed via a brief brush couldn’t be reliably accessed until the 60s of your toe on the foot lever. advent of the Egli frame, which the Godet The French-built frame’s swinging arm reproductions made even more user-friendly.
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JANUARY 2020 I 11
The chance to enjoy lapping the Carole track aboard Florent’s beautiful 1330 Café Racer re-introduced me to a Vincent done right, with its nicely run-in engine showing 3578km on the big Smiths speedo which dominates the view from the bridge. Just as on the Godet-built 998cc Egli Café Racer I’d tested some years earlier, there was no need to grope around with my right leg for the kickstart lever while balancing the bike on my left foot, hoping to get enough of a swing to persuade it to light up from cold – because there isn’t one. A kickstart, that is. Instead, Godet had grafted a French-made electric start to the rear of the V-twin ohv engine – a mechanical convenience that’s hard to overstate. However, there’s enough drag from the multiplate dry clutch fitted – to replace the oil-bath unit on previous examples – to prevent you starting the Vincent in gear if you fail to find neutral when stationary. This is difficult to select at rest, so the trick is to find it as you coast to a halt, rather than hold the light-action clutch lever in while stopped. As soon as it lights up, the 50º V-twin engine settles down to a quiet 1000rpm idle – with relatively little mechanical noise despite the pushrod valvegear, which makes subdued and barely noticeable clicks and rattles. On this bike Godet had switched
12 I JANUARY 2020
from the full-electronic Boyer Bransden CDI ignition he previously used, which wouldn’t maintain the correct ignition timing over an extended period of use. This caused it to backfire after some mileage, and to kick back through the electric start – thus destroying it! Instead, he’d fitted a Hall-effect CDI with mechanical advance, and the result is a smooth, refined-seeming motor, with very little vibration, even at higher revs. I got the impression this was an engine on which lots of attention had been lavished to make sure that every clearance was just right, every adjustment just so – as you might expect, for this was the bike with which Godet Motorcycles secured Euro 3 compliance for its range. At the same time the Vincent motor sounded poised for action, thanks to the muscular offbeat crack issuing through the gracefully curved 2-1 exhaust’s single silencer, and the fruity suck from the twin Mikunis when you twist the wrist, thanks to the use of two front Vincent cylinder heads on the engine, to ensure both carbs are the same (left) side, XR750 Harley-style. Pausing only to take in the undeniable presence of that massive trademark five-inch 150mph Smiths speedo parked right in front of your
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EGLI-VINCENT BY GODET Maxton shocks hold the rear end to the road, while slowing services are the job of a seveninch Vincent 2LS drum
eyes, the smaller 8000rpm Chronometric rev-counter beside it on the right, and the Monza cap for the oil tank which comprises the frame’s central spine parked just j in front of the matching fuel filler, reach for the one-up o gear lever with your right foot, and try hard to ease e it into bottom gear without crunching it – which is i difficult, if not impossible, at rest. There’s no way to do d it smoothly, agreed Florent, after I apologised for graunching g the transmission in front of him! Ease out the very light-action clutch, and the meaty Vincent engine e lives fully up to expectations by the prodigious amount of torque on hand from very low revs - barely o off idle, in fact, so it pulls smartly away from under 1500rpm. Indeed, it’s so tractable you can maximise accceleration simply by cracking the throttle wide open ass soon as you’re on the move – no need to slip the clutch to coax it into the powerband. And that acceleration is really impressive – the 1330 Café Racer R is a living reminder that there ain’t no substitute for cubes! You can treat the Egli-Vincent as a thoroughly modern motorcycle, with no allowances to be made for its period ancestry. That’s because this is indeed a practical mile-eater – it feels very modern in concept and especially in execution. Fit a set of small disc brakes, and you’d have a 21st century motorcycle in period drag – but one that’s more than able to live with modern traffic conditions, as I’ve experienced on previous Egli-Vincent rides. It’ll run unfussedly along in third gear to go with the flow, before you just wind the throttle wide open when a gap appears, and the Egli lunges forward as you surf those waves of torque.
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JANUARY 2020 I 13
Patrick Godet receives the Award for Engineering Excellence from Carl Fogarty, Stafford Show 2009. The bike with the trophy is the bike Alan’s been riding
Having built up speed, the Egli-Vincent is also incredibly long-legged. There’s a much more relaxed gait to it than to a modern V-twin – even a Ducati or Moto Guzzi with their lazy-sounding 90-degree engines – and it certainly feels to have greater reserves of torque than the heavier modern Italian bikes. As stated, the Egli’s uprated 1330 motor has superbly meaty grunt, helping it accelerate very impressively from way low – it pulls wide open from as low as 1500rpm, with zero transmission snatch. Changing up at 5000rpm leaves you still fat in the powerband, and there’s relatively little vibration at higher engine speeds from what is obviously an extremely well-balanced engine. It’s really unnecessary to rev it right out to the 5500rpm rev limit, just to ride that torque curve and focus on getting it into top gear via a change made sweeter than before via needle roller gear shafts, so you can play the throttle to deliver performance to go. 80mph on the big speedo equates to just 3000rpm on the typically jerky-action Smiths tacho, so what we have here is a genuine classic-era mile-eater, that’s enjoyable to ride hard and long. Well… once I try to forget I’m riding a €60,000+ motorcycle, which its watching singing star owner has to ride home after I’ve finished playing with it. So no pressure, then… The stretched-out riding position is actually quite comfortable, with ultra-rearset footrests delivering a semi-reclining, wind-cheating stance, and the clip-on handlebars set just right for good control. And in spite of minimal padding, the seat seemed comfortable, too. The 35mm Ceriani forks and that raked out chassis geometry deliver lazy but predictable steering. Even over the Carole circuit’s few bumps taken at speed the bike didn’t display
14 I JANUARY 2020
a trace of the front-end foxtrot that Girdraulics will spring on you when you least expect it. The Egli frame felt firm and well-balanced to ride, if not exactly agile by modern standards, just solid, with well set-up suspension whose twin-shock rear end offered excellent compliance, especially in the context of the era the bike was designed in. It’s a sign of how well-sorted the chassis geometry is that it doesn’t need a steering damper, and never once flapped its head despite being given every opportunity to do so at Carole. The handling of this Egli-Vincent and other Godet-built bikes I’ve ridden on the street reminded me a lot of the green-frame 750SS Ducati I’ve had in my garage for the past 40+ years, which was of course the Italian firm’s take on the Egli-Vincent café racer concept. Same rangy steering geometry (though thanks to its 50º V-twin motor, the Egli has a shorter 1445mm wheelbase than the 90º Latin lovely’s 1500mm stance), same planted feel to the handling, same spacious riding position, same slim, And after the cobby stance to the bike vigorous track as a whole, and same offtest, the Egli’s beat lilt to the engine note owner, Florent – only an even lazier gait. Pagny, rode it home again… Compared with what back in the 1940s/50s was the established order represented by British parallel-twins, this was a new generation of sporting motorcycle – one that eventually led to the Ducati V-twins’ later dominance of World Superbike racing. This EgliVincent was the prototype
for those bikes’ format. So, in more than just a single way, the importance of what Patrick Godet did before his sad passing deserves to be recognised. On one level, he built the ultimate replica – one praised by the man who created the original it’s copied from as being equal to or better than anything he made himself. In that way, he kept an important piece of motorcycle history alive and well for today’s enthusiasts to appreciate – if they could afford what was an undeniably, if inevitably, costly entry ticket to the Godet-Egli owners club. Patrick also provided a reminder of the excellence of what many will say is, within the context of its era, the finest British motorcycle engine ever built, for those who never sampled it in its heyday to appreciate and enjoy in the 21st century. And finally, he recreated a key model of a bygone world, which was a vital ingredient in the evolution of today’s superbikes. Yesterday once more – but with a practical classic. Though Florent Pagny intends to continue running Godet Motorcycles, it’s uncertain whether that will extend to building any more Egli-Vincents – leaving the 280 such bikes built as a suitable memorial to Patrick’s genius. My day at Carole riding the Egli-Vincent ended with Florent donning his helmet to ride the bike home in the Paris rush hour traffic, bidding farewell to a relieved as well as grateful yours truly for having been able to cover 25 laps of the Paris circuit before handing the keys back to the fortunate owner of such a beautiful and impressive bike. But sadly it was the last time that I’d see Patrick Frog, and our handshake before I set off for Calais on the drive home was adieu, not au revoir. The best tribute that I can pay to my friend of 35 years is to own up to the fact that every time I’ve ever seen one of his gorgeous, exquisitely-engineered bikes, I’ve desperately wanted to ride it. And that afternoon at Carole, I did… Godspeed, Patrick.
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JANUARY 2020 | 15
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WATN? John Surtees sits astride a Norton Dominator, chatting to Geoff Duke. A couple of years later, RC reader Derek used a Surtees racing frame to build an extraspecial Dominator This must be the most impossible ‘where are they now?’ quest, but I have to give it a go. What became of my HNS? After completing two years National Service in REME, 1956 to 58, I parted with my faithful old BSA A7 and purchase d a 1953 Norton Dominator. It came from our local, rather dubious dealer of all things old and new in motorcycles, one Frank Miers in Kent. The Norton’s previous owner had an argument with a bus and did not survive; the bike did but required some cosmetic work. This had not included the frame, as I discovered when the Norton wandered ever so slightly towards the gutter… I was not too perturbed by this, as much can be achieved with an oxyacetylene welding torch. Better yet, a friend knew someone employed at the Surtees outfit who had access to one of John’s ex-racing featherbed frames and it could be mine for the princely sum of £25. This had to be the answer. Everything slotted into this much lighter frame, with a few extra brackets bronze welded on. The swinging arm gussets had obviously housed the footrests and had been levered up, I suppose to allow more clearance on corners. I stoveenamelled it black along with the fuel and oil tanks, forks, etc – we did it all in those days. I dispensed with the steel mudguards and fitted alloys. I fabricated a rear chainguard in aluminium along with a speedo bracket and some other parts to save weight. I’d always admired the shape of the peardrop silencers so retained one with siamesed pipes. You could get some attractive chrome winged badges at that time, to which you cemented the letters of your choice. Hence
16 I JANUARY 2020
HNS: Heather Norton Special. I wasn’t usually given to showing off but they did look good on the black tank! The end result was handling like I had never experienced before. It was almost scary: you were tempted to corner just a little faster each time. The weight reduction seemed to enhance the bike’s performance – possibly wishful thinking. I aimed to do some work on the engine, but the all too familiar situation arose. The Norton was sold to pay for an engagement ring… the things
you do for love! I sold it to a dealer in south London who didn’t pay much as it ‘wasn’t original’. They were right there. I deeply regret that I don’t have a photo of it, no paperwork and can’t even recall the registration. I’m not sure the frame had a number stamped on it and I never got the logbook altered. Someone out there got a rather special bike, if only they knew. Does it ring bells with anyone? If so, I’d love to hear. 01634 579830. Derek Heather, member 3016
ANOTHER WATN? I wonder whatever became of my 1959 Triumph 5TA Speed Twin, registration 613 JUP, which is no longer on the DVLA records. This pic was probably taken in 1975 and, as I moved on to larger bikes, was the last time my feet could lay flat on the ground for many years. Paul Narramore, member An enterprising reader found some info on the isitnicked.com website which shows this bike was last MoT’d in 2012. At that time it had covered just seven miles since 2006. Maybe someone out there knows more…
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