The Classic MotorCycle December 2014

RECORD BREAKER!

STUNNING CAMMY AJS

SPOTTED AT STAFFORD F1 WORLD CHAMPION VETTEL

DECEMBER 2014

PLUS: BSA CB34 Gold Star – one owner since 1971

Prewar Speed Twins Kop Hill Climb JAP restoration guide 1952 Sidecar GP season Bill Nilsson Brighton Speed Trials

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Editor’s welcome The ‘full swing’ riding season is now over, with October serving up the last of the runs and whatnot – I know things are always ‘on’ over winter, but who wants to spend hours cleaning salt off a once gleaming classic?

This means I limit myself to using one machine over the winter (preferably one with lights too), while the others now have a few months’ break, with a few jobs to do on each, ready for next year. It’s also a time to reassess, as well as formulating plans for next season.

I confess I basically default to a certain type and era of machine (late 1920s, sporting) and end up with a host of machines which are a bit too similar. But isn’t everyone slightly guilty of that? I am going to make an effort to try and diversify my riding next year. We’ll see what it brings, but there are some interesting plans afoot…

A massive plus for me was managing to get my last run of the year in, aboard the Rex-Acme, pictured above. This machine is particularly dear to me; I’ve often told the story of how I spotted it on the cover of this magazine, aged 11, and thought it was just about the best old motorcycle I’d ever seen. In 2010, I managed to acquire it and though our time together has had some ups and downs, we’re on a high at the moment. It went round a lovely October Norfolk pre-31 run with not a missed beat and so is now in the ‘seems okay’ collection, where it joins most of the others...

And so to Stafford and a few interesting things came to light. Though much of the show is Japanese accented (and I was seconded into riding in the newly introduced ‘cavalcade’ on a 1970s CB750) I found plenty of motorcycles to drool and lust after. However, my wallet stayed in my pocket – save the seemingly obligatory book purchases! – though it was twitching a few times…

The auction was fascinating, as ever, once again proving that quality 1920s (and earlier and later) are still hugely sought after – even last year’s Formula 1 world champion seems to be getting in on the act, displaying what seemed to be a penchant for prewar Ariels... and who can blame him, they (and most of their contemporary ilk) are indeed lovely.

JAMES ROBINSON Editor

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32 Contributors

Mike Davis, Roy Poynting, Jerry Thurston, Alan Turner, Richard Rosenthal, Andy Westlake, Steve Wilson.

THE CLASSIC MOTOR CYCLE (USPS:710-470) is published monthly by Mortons Media Group Ltd., PO Box 99, Horncastle, Lincolnshire LN9 6LZ UK . USA subscriptions are $63 per year from Motorsport Publications LLC, 7164 Cty Rd N #441, Bancroft WI 54921. Periodical Postage is paid at Bancroft, WI and additional entries. Postmaster: Send address changes to THE CLASSIC MOTOR CYCLE, c/o Motorsport Publications LLC, 7164 Cty Rd N #441, Bancroft WI 54921. 715-572-4595 chris@classicbikebooks.com

IN ASSOCIATION WITH

CONTENTS ISSUE | DECEMBER 2014

28 42 48

Archive photograph ..........................................6 News....................................................................8 Diary ................................................................14 Subscribe and save........................................16 Letters ..............................................................18 French festival.................................................20 Brighton Speed Trials.....................................22 Stafford Show ..................................................24 Kop Hill Climb ................................................28 Ariel Huntmaster superprofile ......................32 BSA Gold Star..................................................42 Triumph Speed Twins....................................48 Straight from the plate – Sunbeam Point-topoint, 1948.......................................................53 AJS R7 Brooklands racer ................................58 Jim Lee profile .................................................64 Ted Mellors’ reflections ......................................70 Closer Look – 1952 Sidecar GP season ..........74 Gary Drake interview...........................................78 Men who mattered – Bill Nilsson..................80 Roy Poynting column.....................................82 Jerry Thurston column...................................84 Marque of distinction – Velocettes................86 You were asking ..............................................88 Restoration Guide – JAP engines....................92 Technical feature – New Imp rebuild, part IV......96 Next month...............................................................112 Classic camera .............................................114

POST: The Classic MotorCycle, PO Box 99, Horncastle, Lincolnshire LN9 6LZ EMAIL: jrobinson@mortons.co.uk

News&Events EDITED BY JAMES ROBINSON

Hammer goes down on Buddy’s bike Buddy Holly’s 650cc Ariel Cyclone, part of the country musician Waylon Jennings’ collection, sold in New York on October 5

by Guernsey’s Auction House for $450,000 (£280,000). The bike, with 4000 miles on the clock, had not been run for 20 years.

Having just returned from a world tour, Buddy Holly and the Crickets each bought new motorcycles to celebrate their hard work and good fortune.

They visited Ray Miller’s Motorcycle Shop in Dallas, Texas. Joe Maudlin, the Crickets’ bass player, fell in love with a Triumph Thunderbird.

Drummer Jerry Allison bought a Triumph Trophy while Buddy was

transfixed by a black Ariel Cyclone 650cc and purchased the limited-edition model – one of only 200 built. The trio purchased matching Levi’s jackets and peaked caps and rode the 350-mile trip home in a thunderstorm. The bikes were purchased on May 13, 1958.

The following year Buddy was killed in a plane crash, along with J P ‘The Big

RETURN OF THE HUDDERSFIELD AUTOJUMBLE

After a four-month absence for the summer holidays, the Huddersfield Autojumble made a triumphant return on September 28, 2014.

Future events will take place on November 23 and December 28.

SAM SCOOPS THIRD

Congratulations are in order for young racer Sam Grief, who was on work experience with us

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here at The Classic MotorCycle last year, as he has finished a highly commendable third place in the Classic 50 Championship riding a Kreidler, in his debut racing year. Well done!

DATE SET FOR 5TH IXION CAVALCADE

e 5th Ixion Cavalcade will take place on March 5, 2015. e location for the start of the event is St Barnabus Church, Sea Road, Bexhill on Sea. e cavalcade is scheduled to start at 9.30am.

THE CLASSIC MOTORCYCLE | DECEMBER 2014

NEW TCM 2015 CALENDAR NOW AVAILABLE

The Classic MotorCycle’s 2015 calendar is now available to purchase from www.classicmagazines.co.uk or call 01507 529529. It features 12 stunning images of motorcycling life in times gone by

Calendar 2015

SALMON

CALENDARS

Bopper’ Richardson, Richie Valens and the pilot, Roger Peterson. The press dubbed the event as ‘the day the music died’. Buddy was 22.

The bike stayed with the Holly family until they sold it in 1970. In 1979 it was presented to close friend Waylon Jennings as a birthday gift on his 42nd year. Waylon died in 2002.

each with a brief accompanying piece of information about the image in question.

MORGANS AT SNETTERTON

Just a few of the Morgans in action at Snetterton during the VSCC’s meeting at Snetterton on September 28.

TIGER TIM’S NORTON

e Norton which Tim Hunt used to win the 1927 Amateur TT was not a CS1, as we erroneously said last month (page 80), but a Model 25, as the image above illustrates. anks to Simon Grigson for pointing this out.

International Bike Jacket

Worth £349

The Barbour International Bike Jacket has a standard retail price of £349. Visit www.barbour.com

Name................................................. ............................................................

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Answers on the form (right) or visit www.classicmotorcycle.co.uk, where you can also read the full terms and conditions. Closing date is January 10, 2014.

Beckham’s Triumph

Watching the advert for David Beckham’s new whisky, something struck a chord about the registration number of the Triumph the former England football captain was riding.

A bit of digging turned up the attached picture, with Gordon Farley in the saddle. The DVLA website records it as a 1962 3TA while further research reveals it starting life as a 1962 T100C, but fitted with a 350cc engine later on.

105 CWD won four ISDT golds in the 1960s and the machine is now in a private collection – though not David Beckham’s.

Watch the video at www.haigclub.com

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............................................................

Barbour has long been regarded as one of the finest manufacturers of motorcycling attire on the market, with a long and rich history, which started in 1894, in the Market Place in South Shields.

Motorcycle clothing was first introduced in the early 1930s and in the 1957 ISDT, 97% of competitors wore Barbour. The firm, which remains family owned, moved to a new factory in Simonside, South Shields in 1981.

A new, sand-coloured Barbour International Bike Jacket from its Authentic Motorcycle Collection, as sported by the editor this riding season, can be yours if you provide an answer to the following question: WHERE IS BARBOUR LOCATED? A South Shields B Gum Shields C Force Fields

Answer A B

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WIN a Barbour

Complete this form and return to The Classic MotorCycle Barbour Competition, Mortons Media Group, PO Box 99, Horncastle LN9 6LZ. Photocopied forms are acceptable

Only tick this box if you do not wish to receive information from Mortons Media Group regarding or relating to current offers of products or services (including discounted subscription offers) via email/post/phone ❑ On occasion Mortons Media Group Ltd may permit third parties, that we deem to be reputable, to contact you by email/post/phone/fax regarding information relating to current offers of products or services which we believe may be of interest to our readers. If you wish to receive such offers please tick this box ❑

WAR DISPLAY AT MOTORCYCLE LIVE

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A display showcasing a collection of iconic military machines is anticipated for the upcoming Motorcycle Live event at the NEC in Birmingham, from November 22-30.

Organised by the Coventry Transport Museum, the display is set to feature machines that span the First and Second World Wars and hail from both Britain and America.

Many machines are expected to make an appearance, though if you’ve anything military you’d be interested in displaying, call Christiaan van Schaardenburgh on 0247 623 4282 or christiaanvs@culturecoventry.com Tickets are still available for Motorcycle Live, www.motorcyclelive.co.uk

THE CLASSIC MOTORCYCLE | DECEMBER 2014

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Brighton | Speed Trials

The return of the Brighton Speed Trials After a period of strife and uncertainty, the historic Brighton speed trials made a triumphant return to the British racing roster.

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Words and photography: ALAN TURNER

righton is back! In the aftermath of the tragedy of 2012 in which a competitor died, the 2013 Speed Trials were put on hold and the future of the event looked in doubt.

But an online petition attracted enormous support and included a number of highprofile signatories. While the 2014 Trials could go ahead in principle, the organising Brighton & Hove Motor Club still had a number of bridges to cross and the event only got the final nod to go ahead less than three weeks before the scheduled date.

The club’s persistence was rewarded with dry, overcast weather and a safe day’s racing that finished

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THE CLASSIC MOTORCYCLE | DECEMBER 2014

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Octogenarian Frank Clarke on his 1936 Norton-JAP, a former Brooklands race machine.

at the scheduled 6pm. As usual, entry for the motorcycle element of the event was entrusted to the VMCC Sprint Section.

The terrace, known as ‘the shelf’, that allows spectators to look down on proceedings on Madeira Drive is currently closed for repairs, so a revised arrangement brought them even closer to the action on the sea side of the course. The immediate reaction to a good run – or even a reasonable attempt – is marked with instant, enthusiastic applause. It’s all part of the special atmosphere of the event.

As ever, the main interest in the older bikes was confined to Class I, the consistency class for machines up to 1972. The 1927 Bayley-Cole Douglas of Chris Illman

“The organisers’ persistence was rewarded with a good day’s racing.” was the oldest bike, while the most recent was the CR750 Honda replica of David Perry – still a thought-provoking 42-years-old! Allan Randall and John Bottomley had 250cc Ducatis, the smallest bikes, long-time Brighton campaigner Roy Robertson’s Egli-Vincent takes 1272cc with every breath. Hardly surprising that Roy was quickest in class in practise with 11.33/121mph.

Next quickest was straight-line legend John Hobbs. A long way from his retirement home in the north of the country, John had brought Olympus, his re-creation of his 500cc supercharged Triumph-engined bike. Still a perfect fit for his 1970s Kershaw leathers, he looked as sharp as ever as the Triumph took him over the line at 12.51/109mph.

Quite some time elapsed before the bikes were called for their first timed runs. While Roy Robertson struggled for grip at the start, a superbly judged launch from John Hobbs sent him flying down to Black Rock on an 11.99/120mph run, quickest in class.

In the second runs, Roy Robertson was a tad sharper off the line and quicker overall. However, Hobbs’ finely judged 12.00 was just a hundredth of a second different to his first run, his 120mph terminal speed identical, earning him the class win and the John Rich Trophy.

With a date already arranged for the 2015 Speed Trials – Saturday, September 5 – it looks as if, thankfully, seaside sprinting remains on the calendar.

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Mike Wade couldn’t afford a Gold Star, so bought this 350cc Ariel Red Hunter and was pleasantly surprised at how well it performs.

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Frantic work on the Derek Leigh Rudge saw Mark Illman complete his timed runs.

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Michael Payne and 500cc BSA Gold Star – but which is in charge?

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Richard Morgan on the family’s long-serving Rudge sprinter.

(Photograph: Carol Green).

End

THE CLASSIC MOTORCYCLE | DECEMBER 2014

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THE CLASSIC MOTORCYCLE | DECEMBER 2014

Ariel | FH Huntmaster

Heavy horse More than just an A10 in disguise, the Huntmaster twins were machines Selly Oak could be proud of.

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Words: STEVE WILSON Photography: JOE DICK/GARY CHAPMAN

riel was sold to BSA by owner Jack Sangster in 1944, but retained its own identity as ‘The House of the Horse’.

Inside the Selly Oak factory there may have been discontent at some interfering BSA-appointed middle management, and at strokes like the detuning of the Red Hunter singles in the early 1950s so as to favour Small Heath’s Gold Stars. But for the public, Ariel, the smaller concern, continued to plough its own furrow and provide what many perceived as a well-produced quality alternative.

From 1948, the Val Page-designed KH 500 twin had been well received, and along with the whole range, was styled and detailed distinctively. By 1954 the signature sober deep claret maroon paintwork had displaced the glorious postwar bright red and chrome, but Ariels remained handsome and individualistic motorcycles thanks to styling touches and ‘jewellery’ – the way the Burgess silencers’ tail-pipes belled out, the original, semisweptback handlebars, the unique swelling curve of the slightly larger diameter exhaust pipes, and the little chromed Ariel name-badge above the rear lip of the back mudguard.

All these and more were to be found on the new 650cc twin introduced for 1954, the FH Huntmaster.

Though Selly Oak had experimented with twin inlet port heads for the KH 500 twin with its pair of chaindriven camshafts, the decision was taken, probably by the parent company, to go in another direction for the 650.

The engine was a BSA A10, wasn’t it? Yes, but Ariel very much kept its own identity with it. Though the single carb engines were built at Small Heath, they were adapted to suit Ariel’s existing transmission with a clutch and separate gearbox by Burman. Their castings were styled to resemble the existing range, and particularly the KH 500; and the engine was then slotted into a brand-new swinging arm frame, different to the one BSA adopted that year, and soon used by most of the Selly Oak stable – another point of commonality in the range.

How did they change the engine’s looks? One of the main differences was the outer timing-side cover, which was recast in a shape that lost the A10’s elegant curves, but a triangle with rounded corners, was more typically Ariel, resembling both the 500 twin and the current Square Four. ‘Twin’ was stamped in script on this cover,

sometimes flanked by the smaller words ‘Six’ and ‘Fifty’.

The A10’s may have been prettier, but the main point for Selly Oak was the family resemblance. The inner cover was reshaped to suit.

The drive side inner case was also machined to take the long and shapely Ariel primary chaincase cover, with its big circular chromed detachable cover for the (dry) clutch.

A less obvious result of the redesign was that beneath the crankcases, the sump plate, which for the A10 was bolted on bridging the crankcase halves, on the FH was attached to the timing side half. Other differences included the single strand primary chain, unlike the duplex A10’s, to suit the clutch of the Burman GB44 gearbox; initially the FH’s clutch had two fewer teeth, at 42T, than all the other Ariels. In addition the cylinder block and head, more rounded than the ’54-on swinging arm A10s, were the smaller-finned iron ones from the previous BSA twins.

At the top end the alloy rocker boxes, above the four slanted pushrods driven by the A10’s single rear-set camshaft, on the Huntmaster were fastened by a single sleeve nut in their centre, rather than the BSA’s four nuts. The Ariel boxes featured deeper inspection covers, and the addition of an access hole in their top surfaces. This significantly aided assembly, as on the A10 it was famously difficult to keep those pushrods in the right position as the rocker box was lowered into place, despite a pushrod ‘comb’ being offered to hold the rods during the process. With the Ariel arrangement, the access hole let the rods be pushed one by one into the rocker cups, and checked.

It was an example of Ariel’s perceived superior practical engineering, and far from the only one. Ariel roll-on centrestands with their elliptical feet were genuinely easy to use, and could be operated from either side. Both the primary chaincase oil level plug, and the adjustment for the clutch could be accessed easily, the latter unlike the BSA set-up where the lefthand exhaust and the primary cover had to come off first. The rear brake torque arm, slightly kinked, was stamped with ‘Outside’ so that it would be fitted correctly. The rear mudguard was hinged, so that the (standard fitment) QD rear wheel could be easily removed; the bottom of my own A10’s back mudguard, which lacked said hinge, had been sawn off in exasperation.

THE CLASSIC MOTORCYCLE | DECEMBER 2014

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Speed Twins!

This pair of gorgeous prewar Triumphs reaffirm just why the company made such an impact in the late 1930s.

Words: ROY POYNTING Photography: TERRY JOSLIN

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THE CLASSIC MOTORCYCLE | DECEMBER 2014

Triumph | Speed Twins

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dward Turner had a long and successful career with Triumph, but his post Second World War record wasn’t really all that special – little about the Thunderbird and Bonneville was really new, the Sprung Hub was considered more trouble than it was worth, the Terrier seemed fragile and undersized, few appreciated ‘bath-tub’ styling, and the Tina scooter arrived too late.

Worst of all, Turner notoriously studied the Japanese factories and disastrously decided they’d pose no threat to British industry.

It could be said he spent his time looking for solutions to non-existent problems, and ignoring the real ones. And it was strange behaviour considering that 20 years earlier he’d done exactly what the Japanese had decided to do; go out on a limb to make the motorcycles every rider would want, even before they knew they wanted them.

But the 1930s were years when Edward Turner could do no wrong. It all started, of course, when he pitched his idea for a novel square-four engine to Ariel’s receptive boss – Jack Sangster – and was immediately commissioned to oversee its development.

THE CLASSIC MOTORCYCLE | DECEMBER 2014

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THE SWEET OPTION Triumph’s charming 3T The Classic MotorCycle is brought to you by...

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thE classic MotorcYclE usPs:710470 is published monthly by Mortons Media Group Ltd, PO Box 99, Horncastle, Lincolnshire LN9 6LZ UK. USA subscriptions are $63 per year from Motorsport Publications LLC, 7164 Cty Rd N #441, Bancroft WI 54921. Periodical Postage is paid at Bancroft, WI and additional entries. Postmaster: Send address changes to THE CLASSIC MOTORCYCLE, c/o Motorsport Publications LLC, 7164 Cty Rd N #441, Bancroft WI 54921. 715-572-4595 chris@classicbikebooks.com PrintEd bY William Gibbons & Sons, Wolverhampton. © Mortons Media Group Ltd. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage retrieval system without prior permission in writing from the publisher.

ISSN No 0263-0850