November 2024 Number 58
JOHN KIDSON 1934-2024
John Kidson, BMCT Life President, sadly passed away in hospital on 18th October, aged 90. John led a varied life, managing to combine his love of motorcycles and racing with a successful business career. He started motorcycling in 1951 with a 250 cc BSA C10 side valve, progressing through various Royal Enfields and Nortons to a Vincent Black Prince, which he acquired in 1953 and used extensively attending motorcycle race meetings at home and throughout Europe.
Deciding that he could do at least as well as some of the riders he was watching, and despite having only one eye after a childhood accident involving bows and arrows, John embarked on a 31-year racing career, beginning with a 250 cc Rudge-engined Fuller Special on which he finished 6th in his first-ever motorcycle race, at Thruxton, Easter 1959. More good results followed, earning him an International racing licence which allowed him to enter the 1961 Isle of Man TT, the pinnacle of motorcycle sport in those days. John’s mount by this time was the Norguz, another special comprising a 250 cc Moto Guzzi ohc engine in a Norton Featherbed chassis. His TT debut began inauspiciously with an “off” at Glentramman in practice, but with a never-say-die attitude that stayed with him throughout his career he and his mechanic managed to straighten the model out in time for the Lightweight TT, which he finished in a creditable 15th place.
Undoubtedly the high spot of John’s TT career was winning the 1977 Formula III TT on a Honda, and with it a World Championship (he wrote about that race for BMCT News Issue 46, June 2020). After a six year break he returned to the Isle of Man, getting podium finishes in the Classic TT and Manx Grand Prix on his NSU and Aermacchi before his last competitive IoM ride in the 1990 Classic MGP.
An astute businessman, John was well known for his no-nonsense approach and achieved much success as a Honda dealer with outlets in Dursley and Wootton-under-Edge. On retirement he devoted much of his time to the two charities dear to his heart, the TT Riders’ Association, of which he was a Committee Member and President, and the BMCT, which he served for twenty years as a trustee, former Chairman, and latterly as our Life President. Pre-deceased by his son Jolyon, John leaves his wife Mavis and daughters Sarah and Lucy, to whom we extend our deepest sympathy..
John aboard the 250 NSU he campaigned in the early 1970s
Whistling the Honda 400/4 through Ballacraine on his way to a TT win and with it the 1977 Formula III World Championship
With wife Mavis at his 90th birthday celebrations
Starting at no. 12 alongside Cotton teammate Derek Minter in the 1965 Lightweight TT
John made his TT debut on the Norguz
Triumph and the Maudes Trophy
Wbikes then started a marathon 6 hours continuous high-speed lapping of the Brooklands circuit. The Brooklands results for the 1939 test were:
Speed Twin. Riders: Allan Jefferies & Freddie Clarke.
Average speed over 6 hours: 75 mph. Final lap: 84.4 mph
Tiger 100. Riders: Ivan Wicksteed & David Whitworth Average speed over 6 hours: 78.5 mph. Final lap: 88.5 mph
This last part of the test did result in one minor problem, a fractured oil feed to the oil gauge on the Speed Twin, which was simply crimped off to stem the leak. The publicity material subsequently released mentions press coverage in March but not the Maudes Trophy, as the award was not announced until November 1939. The poster illustrated was probably released between those two dates.
e take a look back through the archives as this month marks the 85th anniversary of the last time Triumph won the Maudes Trophy,
The Maudes Trophy is a motorcycle award established in 1923 by George Pettyt, owner of Maudes Motor Mart based in Great Portland Street, London who promoted an impartially-observed endurance test for motorcycles and endowed a challenge award to the Auto-Cycle Union (ACU) who acted as the body responsible for providing observers.
After a successful Maudes Trophy win with the Val Page 6/1 650cc vertical twin in 1933, covering 500 miles in 498 minutes at Brooklands, Triumph entered the three (250cc, 350cc and 500cc) Tiger singles in 1937 and devised a three hour, high speed thrash around Donington Park race track, after running in the engines. This was followed, the next day, by a maximum speed lap of the famous Brooklands circuit. The key factor of the test, as laid down originally, was that the machines were chosen from dealers’ stocks and so were not specially prepared.
The Brooklands results for the 1937 test were:
Tiger 70 250 cc. Rider: Ted Thacker. Average speed: 66.39 mph
Tiger 80 350 cc. Rider: Allan Jefferies. Average speed: 74.68 mph
Tiger 90 500 cc. Rider: Freddie Clarke. Average speed: 82.31 mph
In March 1939 Triumph decided to push the boat out and devised a really impressive demonstration for their new twins, particularly the Tiger 100 which had only just been announced. Again, models were chosen at random from dealers’ stocks. The Speed Twin from a dealer in Biggleswade and the Tiger 100 from Sheffield. The reliability and performance of these new bikes meant that a long-distance run could be combined with a high-speed demonstration and so a route was planned from the Coventry factory to the extreme North - John O’Groats in Scotland - all the way back down to the extreme South at Lands End, and then across to the Brooklands circuit in Surrey, a total of some 1,800 miles. With no problems at all to that point the two
In 2023, 100 years since its inception, the
Footnote:
Maudes Trophy was awarded to Zero Motorcycles, with a team of riders piloting two Zero DSR/X electric bikes almost 1200 miles in 60 hours.
The Tiger 100 and Speed Twin at the Brooklands track in 1939
Allan Jefferies & Ivan Wicksteed on Speed Twin & Tiger 100
Gordon Jackson Remembered
Iwas saddened to read of the recent death of Gordon Jackson, aged 92, one of our greatest trials riders and one who I was privileged to meet on several occasions. One notable event was at the Ralph Venables Memorial Meeting at Haynes Motor Museum where he is pictured here
Devon, Gordon and his old friend Johnny Giles were invited to the VMCC's Dorset Section Celebrity Evening. Pictured here are Ray Dickinson, Gordon, Johnny Giles (on a Triumph of course) and former Sidecar Enduro champion George Greenland. Together with former NVT Sales Director and moto cross rider Mike Jackson as chairman, it was a most memorable and unforgettable evening listening to the recollections of these two most modest men who were among our greatest competition riders and ambassadors for the sport.
Gordon L. Jackson, the AJS factory rider who won the 1961 Scottish Six Days Trial on one solitary mark, has died aged 92 years of age, on Sunday 7th July 2024. Gordon had endured a period of bad health and passed away in the South Charente area of France, where he had lived for many years.
Kentish Man’ (born on the north side of the River Medway) he was a farmer by profession and became a full factory AJS supported rider in 1953. He won the Scottish Six Days Trial four times (1956, ‘58, ‘60 & ‘61) and the ACU British Trials Star twice, in 1955 and 1958, the equivalent of the British Trials Championship.
When Jackson won the 1961 SSDT on his AJS 187BLF, Bert Thorn of Comerfords Thames Ditton immediately ordered 100 replicas of Jackson’s AJS, a factory order that remained unfulfilled, much to the disappointment of Gordon and AJS customers.
Gordon lost his single dab in the 1961 SSDT on the top sub-section of Grey Mare’s Ridge, in more recent years the section became known as Jacksons’ in his honour. Mortons Media own the image below of that single dab taken by Peter Howdle which is one of the most famous trials photographs in the history of the sport.
His wife Peggy pre-deceased him some years ago and Gordon leaves two sons, Drew and Ross and grandchildren, Lynn and Catherine. He was highly respected by his peers which included Sammy Miller; Roy Peplow; Johnny Brittain; Gordon Blakeway; Gordon McLaughlan; Peter Fletcher; Geoff Ward; John Giles and Jeff Smith, to name but a few. In his days with AJS, Gordon also competed in scrambles both in Britain and in France, as well as representing Britain at the International Six Days Trial. John Moffat of Trials Guru said: “I feel that this is the end of an era, Gordon Jackson was one of my heroes and was truly a legend in the history of motorcycle trials”. G.L. Jackson excelled at motorcycle trials and when he retired from the sport, he took up car trialling and became British Champion in that sport also. I got to know Gordon in the late 1990s and we used to speak to each other by telephone over the years. I spoke very little during our chats, as he was such a wealth of knowledge, I enjoyed listening to him. I was truly saddened when I took the phone call from Drew Jackson to inform me of his father’s passing this morning. Gordon Jackson was a gentleman and a highly respected one at that.”
- Jonathan Hill
Gordon Jackson’s famous AJS (187BLF) now fully restored is displayed in Sammy Miller’s museum at New Milton (below left). And below right, that famous photo on Grey Mate’s Ridge.
Photo: Mortons Media
Winning Ideas –Triumph Experimental projects 1968 -1975
Author: Norman Hyde
ISBN 978-1-3999-6296-0
For orders and information, email triumphbook2nh@gmail.com.
British Forces Motorcycles 1925-1945
Authors: Chris Orchard and Steve Madden
Publisher: The History Press, 97 St George’s Place, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire GL50 3QB Tel.: 01242 895310.
Email: jplimmer@thehistorypress.co.uk www.the historypress.co.uk
Hardback, 160 x 240mm (portrait); 211 pages with Appendix 1 Contract Notes and Appendix 2 very comprehensive Production Tables, with over 150 photographs and illustrations. Second and revised and updated edition.
ISBN 978-0-7509-7023-5
Book Reviews
As most know, Norman Hyde was a Development Engineer in Triumph's Experimental Department from 1968-1975 as well as being a motorcycle record breaker on two/three wheels in his own right. A key member of a close-knit team working under chief development Engineer Doug Hele their role was to improve production machines using competition success to promote the bikes which they ably did with wins at the Isle of Man, Daytona, the Bol d’Or and many UK races.
To keep track of the many drawings and one-off parts emanating for the Department, Hyde initiated a numbering system with each item recorded in a ledger which has thankfully survived. As a result Norman has revisited his original notes and added comments to allow the reader a fascinating insight into how a factory goes about improving the product.
Concentrating purely on development for production and racing, the department was constantly innovating and problem-solving as this 144-page hardback shows. More than a thousand projects are recorded in this unique 50-year-old ledger and can now be found listed, along with many illustrations and images in his latest work ‘Winning Ideas’.
It is an absolutely fascinating insight into the workings of a factory and further shows that despite the numerous magazine features over the past few decades saying that the British motorcycle industry had its head in the sand, that that criticism can and should only be levelled at the management and not the engineers such as Hele, Hopwood, Hyde etc. as this book clearly shows they were in fact ahead of the game! Likewise this is probably the best book of the year!
The standard book comes with a free video of Hyde’s talk and costs £40. An enthusiast’s copy, with a nine-foot-long print of a 1969 T150 engine layout, is £65.
Reviewed by Ian Kerr MBE
The motorcycle began to replace the horse towards the end of WW1. But it was in the period from 1925 to 1939 that the full potential of the motorcycle as part of the military inventory became realised.
First published in 1995, this illustrated book is unique in looking at all military motorcycles of British origin known to have been tested, mainly by the Mechanical Warfare Experimental Establishment (later renamed Mechanisation Experimental Establishment or MEE). This updated edition has new illustrations throughout and updated production tables for each manufacturer including serial numbers, frame numbers, dates and destinations.
The purpose of the MEE was to test and assess the suitability of all forms of mechanised transport, including motorcycles, offered to or acquired by the military authorities for potential service use. The establishment considered that all models should be subjected to a comprehensive 10,000-mile test period consisting of both on-and off-road mileage, the initial 500 miles of the test mileage being a running-in period. After about 5,000 miles an intermittent inspection of the motorcycle was carried out, in order to note the degree of wear and endurance of individual components. A variety of performance checks were also carried out, which generally embodied quarter-mile standing start times and fuel consumption figures over 100-mile distances. The machine’s off-road capability was also reviewed, including its ability to travel across rough ploughed fields, wet clay, bogs, sandy ditches and loose stone surfaces. 28 manufacturers are listed, with the results, where possible, of their 10,000-mile tests.
It is interesting to read that only 947 of the 350cc o.h.v. Velocette MAFs were produced, mainly due to them costing at least £68 per machine compared to, for example, the Matchless G3/L, the Ariel W/NG, the Royal Enfield WD/CO and Triumph 3HW all costing less than £60.
Due to desperate machine shortages in WW2, following Dunkirk and the Blitz, the USA, under the Lend Lease agreement, supplied many Indian and HarleyDavidson machines, solo and with right-hand sided sidecar outfits. Fitted with American-style controls they were both cumbersome and unpopular with British dispatch riders.
A very comprehensive and interesting book. Reviewed by Jonathan Hill
Rare Classic donated to National Motor Museum
ATriumph Daytona Super IIIA motorcycle described as one the UK’s rarest classic motorcycles has been donated by its owner to the National Motor Museum at Beaulieu. The machine is 30 years old having been registered in 1994.
The bike was ridden recently to the Museum by owner Steve Lemoir from his home in Bristol. It has been owned by Steve for the last 27 years having had 6,000 miles on the clock when he bought it, and on his final ride to Beaulieu it just ticked over 49,000 miles.
Triumph only ever intended this bike to be a limited-edition model and built just 805 of them. It was on sale between 1993 and 1996, so sales were never hurried, but those who took the plunge enjoyed a Cosworth-tuned engine with more aggressive cams and flat-slide carburettors. It also had bigger brakes to help reel in the engine’s 115 bhp. There are some unique parts to the model including carbon fibre silencers, carbon fibre front mudguard, carbon fibre rear hugger, two carbon fibre clock infill panels, and 6-piston front brake calipers. The bike is in an immaculate condition but has a few non-original parts such as the rear indicator stalks and brake discs and a centre stand.
Steve Lemoir says, “I was 39 when I bought the bike but now, many years later, I have decided it was time to move it on. On holiday last year I visited the National Motor Museum at Beaulieu and loved the bike collection, so this prompted me to consider donating the bike to a museum. Luckily my offer was accepted by Beaulieu”.
“I bought the bike because I wanted to support the new Triumph enterprise started by John Bloor. The first bikes were produced in 1991 from a new factory in Hinckley, Leicestershire. Many of the bike components were made at the factory including the engines. All assembly was at the Hinckley factory. These bikes have a small Union Jack on each side fairing as a nod to being made in Britain. My bike was made in the Hinckley factory before most Triumph bike production and assembly was moved overseas.
“I did lots of work on the bike to get it as original as possible to be
displayed in your museum. I replaced the original low bars, fitted new fairing bolts, fitted the seat cowl, replaced the carbon silencers which I had stored for safe keeping and did other detailing work.”
National Motor Museum Vehicle Curator, Patrick Collins says, “We’re delighted to have been donated this rare Triumph Daytona Super III. The Daytona was in direct competition with the Honda Fireblade at the time and seen as the British answer to fulfilling the market for a full-on contemporary sports bike. The bike has acquired a
bit of a cult status, and with its striking Racing Yellow paintwork, it will be a great addition to our motorcycle gallery - part-funded by the BMCT - which showcases the history from the first motorised two wheel vehicles to the fastest production motorcycle sold.”
Details of the motorcycle collection at the National Motor Museum are available at: https://nationalmotormuseum.org.uk/collections/vehicles/
Ref: BMCT News Issue 24 - July 2013. Page 7, (Info. Please re YP1376)
Hello Andy,
Ref. The above article “Do you know this bike?”
Just to say that after many years - 11 in fact - with the BMCT’s help, I’ve found YP1376. It is coming up for auction at Mathewson’s of Thornton le Dale. Someone appears to have painted the petrol tank the wrong shade of green, has stripped it of its beautiful acetylene lighting and stuck what appears to be a trials-type sidecar on it - poor little thing! Nevertheless, it is still in existence and I propose to try to contact the new owner as I still have paperwork and manuals that might be useful.
So thanks again for inserting the article back in 2013 and wish me luck as I try to contact the new owner. And thank you for all you do for the BMCT and producing the magazine and keeping us enthusiasts well informed.
Yours gratefully, Dennis Lane.
Steve hands over the Super III to Rebecca Town of the NMM
Riding with Sammy
Sharing the road with a motorcycle world champion could be daunting but Dennis Frost takes such things in his stride.
“What route are you riding?” shouts Sammy Miller above the din of umpteen veteran and vintage motorcycles. It’s Sunday 18 June 2023, the VMCC’s annual Banbury Run, and Sammy has appeared alongside me on his AJS in-line four. “I’m taking Dennis Frost’s route”, I reply.
“That’ll do me,” replies Sammy, smiling. “I’ll ride with you.”
I have been riding at Banbury for years, but my current mount with its open exhaust, TT gearing and lever throttle is not suited to a civilised saunter through the pretty villages of north Oxfordshire. After all, Velocette’s 1929 KTT was sold as a race replica.
So in deference to those rural dwellers, I stick to the main roads. Turning out of the British Motor Museum’s Gaydon start, the old Banbury to Leamington road soon brings us to the Fosse Way – that Roman artery linking Exeter and Lincoln. Straight as an arrow, this now little used B rated byway leads to the Stratford-upon-Avon to Banbury road – and the anticipated delights of Sun Rising Hill. At Drayton, on the Banbury outskirts we turn left back onto the Leamington road, returning to Gaydon.
Sammy rings me a few days later. “Thanks for chaperoning me, Dennis. Let’s do it again next year.” So, we did.
It’s now Sunday 16 June 2024 and I’m back at Gaydon with the KTT. Sammy – who owns a rather better choice of machinery than me – is this time aboard his 1925 Grindlay Peerless, powered by a 1000cc V twin Barr and Stroud engine.
TTurning onto the Fosse Way, I swing open the Velo’s throttle lever and the bark from its exhaust rises to a bellow. A glance behind and Sammy is right there. The air is clear, the blue sky dotted with clouds. What a day to be in the saddle.
Soon we join the Banbury road. Passing the sign to Lower Tysoe the wooded slopes of Sun Rising come into view. The first corner is an easy, rising left before the road steepens sharply to the right. A notch down a gear using the KTT’s foot change, puts me in good stead to tackle the steepest part of the climb past the solitary Sunrising House and the spectating crowds.
Through the old ironstone village of Wroxton, we are soon in the outskirts of Banbury and in no time back at Gaydon, the first riders to return. As we approach the finish, I wave Sammy past to make his magnificent return.
With an empty parking area, Sammy regales the public with details of the Grindlay’s advanced sleeve valve design while taking time for an interview with John Oakes from the Classic Motorcycle Channel. Meanwhile Jim Devereux, Sammy’s chief mechanic, fires up the five cylinder rotary engine Verdel – another gem from the New Forest Museum. After leaping aboard, Sammy is off – returning beaming.
As Sammy circulates, I remember that my fellow rider is 90 years old. Golly how could I forget? That’s because when out riding motorcycles we are all in our prime.
- Dennis Frost
he photo on page one shows our Norton P53C taking a breather somewhere in darkest Herefordshire whilst participating in the VMCC Herefordshire and Mid-Wales Section’s “Herefordshire on the Edge” navigational rally. After a trouble free 300 mile day we were rewarded with a Gold Award for managing to visit 22 controls within the time allowed. Andy Bufton is seen below right discussing the Norton with fellow competitors at one of the rest halts. Andy also took the Norton to the Prescott Bike Festival (below left) entertaining the crowds with a couple of ascents of the famous historic hill climb.
Sammy goes for another gear as he leaves Gaydon
Photo: Andy Bufton
Dennis storms up Sun Rising Hill on his Velocette KTT
Photo: Richard Cerrig
THE BRITISH MOTORCYCLE CHARITABLE TRUST
A Charitable Incorporated Organisation
Registered Charity No. 509420
Trustees:
Ian Walden OBE (Chair)
Peter Wellings
John Handley
Mike Jackson
Nick Jeffery
Mike Penn
Dennis Frost
Secretariat:
Holly Cottage Main Street
Bishampton
Pershore
WR10 2NH
United Kingdom
Secretary & Editor
Andy Bufton
Mob: 07754 880116
Email: editor@bmct.org
The British Motorcycle Charitable Trust (BMCT) was originally formed in 1979 to facilitate the building of the National Motorcycle Museum at Bickenhill, near Solihull in the West Midlands. Since 1995, however, the BMCT has been an entirely separate organisation, a grant-making Charity dedicated to the promotion of British motor cycle engineering heritage through a network of affiliated transport and local interest museums in England, Wales, Scotland and Isle of Man
Associate Membership is open to all, and allows entry concessions at all 18 of the museums in our affiliation scheme (listed right). Our funding comes from membership subscriptions, bequests, donations, and income from our investments. Please direct any enquiries to the secretary at the Secretariat address on the left.
Our affiliated museums are:
Black Country Living Museum, Dudley Brooklands Museum, Weybridge Coventry Transport Museum
Dover Transport Museum
Gloucester Life Museum
Grampian Transport Museum, Aberdeen Haynes Motor Museum, Somerset
Internal Fire Museum of Power, Tanygroes
Isle of Man Motor Museum, Jurby
Jet Age Museum, Gloucester
Manx Museum, Douglas, Isle of Man Museum in the Park, Stroud National Motor Museum, Beaulieu
Royal Engineers Museum, Gillingham, Kent
Sammy Miller Museum, New Milton
Silk Mill Museum of Making, Derby
Tank Museum, Bovington, Dorset
The Norton Collection Museum, Bromsgrove
Sammy’s “Porcupine” Celebrates Moto GPAnniversary
Moto GP celebrated 75 years of World Championship motorcycle racing with a special display on the start line at Silverstone in August. Sammy Miller’s AJS Porcupine, winner of the inaugural 500 cc World Championship in 1949 in the hands of Les Graham, poses with the Ducati of reigning Moto GP champion Francesco Bagnaia.