Autumn 2024 issue of Classic Dirt Bike **FREE 20 PAGE PREVIEW**
Anniversariesare allaroundus;some aremorepersonalthanothers, but theyareimportanttous on avariety oflevels.Problemis,the ofcialdate of somethingisn’t alwaysthe actualdate ofthe very frsttime. Forinstance, 2024 marksthe centenar yofscrambling’sofcial beginningand we willberunning our own celebrationofthismomentousoccasionin issue73.Butwhile1924 wasthe frsttime apublication referred to araceoverrough terrainas a‘scramble’, undoubtedlysuch things wouldhave occurredbefore. This ledme to wanderthroughthedarkest reachesof my ownmind to my beginnings inmotorcyclespor t. So,can yourecall exactlywhen youbecame interestedin motorcyclesand/ormotorcyclesport? Was it amomentousoccasionaccompanied by thechimingof aclockbellakintoBig Benin Westminsterormuchmorelow keyand only af terwards wasthe realisationof alengthy involvementinmotorcycling? Personally, my ofcialinvolvement intrials ridingas opposed to observing asectionstar tedin 1974when Ijustsneakedinunderthewire bet weenChristmasandnew year to bea trials rider.
focusedonbeing atrials riderandthis was my ambition…stillis,I suppose.I twould alsohavebeenthe10th anniversar yofJef Smith’s worldchampionshipnowI come to thinkaboutit,whichmakes2024the60th anniversar yofhiswin. Alongthe wayofthis personalgoldenanniversar yofmotorcycle sport therehavebeen alotofchangesin motorcycling.Forinstance, in1974the Britishmotorcycleindustr ystill existedand partsofit were ridinghighontheprevious year ’s successes at theUSA ISDT.This wasn’t to lastthoughandwhile Triumphmanaged to hangon abitlonger,the restofthe industr ywassoon to be consigned to the histor ybooks.OneareawheretheUKstill excelled wastrials ridingtalentand for1974 Malcolm Rathmell wouldbecrownedde fac to worldchampionintrials,thoughhis ofcialtitle wasEuropeanchampiondespite theserieshaving roundsintheUSAand Canada.
As Ipersonallymade my star tintrials riding,I can confdentlysaytherewere threesimilaritiesbet ween myselfandthe Europeanchampion. Rathmell wasstill Bultaco mountedin1974and my frstactual propertrialsbikein1974 wasa 250Bultaco Sherpa…it wouldbenicetofnd another exampleofit,amodel91as Irecall.I tcame with afull Belstaf Trialmastersuit,jacketin blackbuttrousersin redforsomereason. Lookingbackthose50 years Iseem to recall therewereotherswho rodeinsuch ared/ black combination too… perhapsit was aNorthEastthing?Coincidentally,we’ve anarchivefeatureinthisissue celebrating Belstaf ’s sar torial centenar y.
Thefnalsimilarit ybet ween myself and Malcolm Rathmellcameinourchoiceof foot wear.For yearsthe Army surplusstores providedmotorcyclespor tfoot wearinthe form of ex-paratrooperbootspopularin
scrambling,ork nee-lengthNavy boots for trials riders.ThenDunlopintroducedits safet ywelly –orWellingtonboot –these were cheap,waterproofandeasily washed ofaf teratrialanddidn’t needanythingelse doing to them. Theyhad asteel toecap,a steelplate archsuppor t, decentgripsand ribbedshinprotection. As theNCB was bigpurchaseroftheseboots forcoal-face workers,suddenlyminersgained alotof friends.Almostever yone –fromworld champions to newclubmen –worethese welliesuntiltheadventofleatherboots againfrommanufacturerssuchas Alpine Stars.
Lookingbackthroughthepast50 years ofmotorcyclespor tbrings to mindhowit haschanged: forusschoolboytrials ridersin 1974therewerenocapacit ylimits,noneed forahelmeteither.Thescramblingscene wasa littlemorecontrolledwith a125cc limitandtheneed forprotectiveclothing butitstill wasa muchmoreinnocent time.S cramblespaddocks were notfullof motorhomes,luck yridershad avan,most used acarandtrailer.Trials wouldof tenstart justalong aroadside ratherthanhaving to parkina feld andsoon.Change was coming,ofcourse,anditisalwaysinevitable asdevelopments comeinto playand I’m probablynottheonly riderwhosays:“It was betterwhen…”whichisoneofthe reasons forclassicspor t’s popularit y–but we don’t refusethe beneftsofmodern technologyas we prepourclassic bikes,dowe? Here’stothenext 100 years…
Regulars
03 In Balance
The worldofoff-roadmotorcycles hasbeenpartoftheeditor’s lifefor half acentury. Therehavebeensome changesalongthe way.
06 News andv iews
There’slotsgoingonintheoff-road world.Asbest we canin aquarterly publication,here’sthenews.
The1978500ccMX world championshipseriesstartedoff with ademonstrationofdomination by the reigning champion…Nick NichollscaughtHeikkiMikkolain the SwissGP.
10 Innovative excellence
BasedintheItalian renaissancecityofFlorence,Ancillotti strovetocombineinnovationwith excellence.Checkoutthe company’sPSV250… we thinkitsucceeded.
18 Really Tidy Single
Themoreminimalthemachine,themorediffcultitisto standoutfromtheopposition.RogerTaylormanageditwith his RTSgrassbikes.
KenSedgleysettoandcreatedaGreeves,inspired by one he rodeas ateamriderfortheThundersleyfactoryinthe Sixties.
44 Workshop time
Sometimesbeing in the workshopis atimeofpleasureand relaxation,othertimesit’sa sourceof frustration…
52 Gold St ar
Bikesonceconsidered toolong,toolowandtooheavyfor trialscanbe,withthought,madeinto very nicemachines.
75 Boppingalong
Features Events
Worksriderand worksmachine reunitedinScotland. We lookat Tony Davis’old worksB40, Tony wastheretoo.
62 Ar ight oldscramble
Westmorland’scountyshowgroundhostssomefne scrambles… we wentalong.
66 Alvieadventure
We wentto AviemorefortheHighlandClassic TwoDay Trial–BSAEdition.
On thecover
Ancillotti wasanItalianfamilyfrmwithareputationfor excellenceand innovation.AstheMX world wentmonoshock thecompanyproduced its PSV250. Achanceconversationled tothisparticularmachine fnding its waybacktothefamilyofthe originalAncillotti importer…an even more chanceconversationledtoitappearing onthe coverof CDB
Want to tell us aboutafor thcoming event, or have anyother dirt bike news to share?
EmailCDBEditor@mor tons.co.uk or trackdownthe editor at adir tbikeshoworevent.
TheHagonShocks sponsored Classic DirtBike Show 2025
Howlongdo youreckon HagonShockshasbacked theClassicDirtBikeShow? Six years? Five years? More?Less? Would you take astabat11years? If youdid you’dbebang on, yesHagonhave been behindthe‘mustdo’show inthedirtbike worldfor 11 years.Incommonwith manyinstitutionswhich have afullandoffcial titleThe ClassicDirtBike Showhasbecomeknown totheoff-road world by its locationandenthusiasts willsimplysay “see you at Telford?”whentalking withtheirfriends.The referencebeingthe Telford InternationalCentrein
Shropshirewheretheshow has residedfor thelargest partofitslife.Withinthe hallsenthusiastsknow therewillbethebestof allerasofdirtbikesina varietyofdisciplines.In thehallsandoutsidein theautojumbletheywill fndinspirationfor future projects,partsandspares tofnishcurrentprojects, or evennewprojectsto start ag ainbecausethey’ve justfnishedthe lastone anditis onshow in the privateentriesfor the currentshow.Speaking ofthecurrentshowwhich willbe2025,the dateto lookoutforis February 8/9…see youatTelford.
Will yourrebuild beherein2025?
Anno dominicallstimeon works rider
Thered oescome at imewhen the re alisationperhap syou’ren ot go ing to be makinganattemptonthe classicsportsscenearises.Problem
is yo u’ve built ab ikewhichisa prettygo od facsimile of theone yo ur factoryb uiltfo ryou when yo uwere intheir wo rksteam…andit’sint he
shed…teasing yo u.Sucha si tuation arose with Ke nS edgley, morel atterly known as SilkyS edg e– TheSilkolene Ma nf or hisinvo lvementwith Silkolene Oi lsbutthelad was at op riderinhisdaya ndpart of theGreeve sworks team. He re callsthosedaysfondly andsays beingpartofGreeves wo rkssqua dwas spoton forhim.This wa sp artofthe re aso nf or building am achine inspired by thosetimes,with af ew moderntouchestoo. In re tros pect Ke nf eels he’s unlikelytor ideit so hasput the196524TFSmodelupfor sale.I nt hefrstinstanceto fnd out more, drop Ke n’ss on Neil an email at neilsedgley@ live.co.uk
Show sp onsorMar tin Hagon fanked by gues ts Yrjo Vesterinen (lef t) and Neil Hudson (right)
Brilliantstarttosidecar charityMXseries
Mortimerhostedabrilliantstart tothe TwinshockSidecarCharity Serieswith19teamsenteredin theseries.Thefrst roundbrought alotofheat,notjustthrough the weatherbutalsothroughthe manybattlesthroughoutthepack. Mortimersaw team Keane/Wolff headintotheleadfortheseries withEastall/MeadandBreacher/ Breacherrightbehindthem. Keane/Wolffachievedtwo wins on raceday, withtheBreacher/ Breacher combinationclaiming thefnalwin.Thereweremany battlesthroughoutthe eventwith Chell/Chell,Millward/Millward and Mallows/Dunkleyhaving afght for4th.
Thesecond roundoftheseries wenttoNarberth,whichonce again hosted agreatday, unfortunately withfewerattendees.Theteams whichdidattend gainedmore pointsallowing areshuffingofthe serieslead.Bytheendoftheday seriesleaders were theMarshall team,withCarter/Carter-Millis rightbehindthem,bothteams have stayedconsistentsofar. TherewasoneunfortunateDNF ontheday, despiteheroicefforts topushthebike overthelinethey
were classed as non-fnishers. Five teamsmanagedtoscore pointsin this roundmeaning Keane/Wolff droppeddownto6th.
Thethirdroundtookplaceat Abbeycwmhir,hosted by theMid Walesclub.This roundallowed theretobeanother chang ein leaders,asCarter/Carter-Millis managedtoclaimthetopspot withMillward/Millward right behindthemin second.Marshall/ Marshall arenow lyingin 3rd, Turner/Higgins in 4thandChell/ Chellin5th. Thepenultimate roundwillbeatLlanthonyonthe September29,2024. This is aclub thathasalwaysbeensupportive of sidecarsand we hopetheentries will refectthat.
Theseries organiserssay “We wouldliketothank all oursponsors whohave supportedtheseries, AJP Stainless,Carters of Vowchurch, Golden ValleyClassic MCC, Three CountiesClassic MotoxClub and S&JChellGroundwork,” adding “sofar we have managedtoraise £1650whichwill be donatedtothe topfvewinningteams’ charities. We hopetocontinue raisingmore moneyforthose charities by the endoftheseries.”
Astheclassicsportmovement gained pace Gordon wasawelcomevisitorto trials eventsbigandsmall,as well as performingguestofhonour dutyatthe Pre65Scottish TwoDay Trial.Therewas achancetoride187BLF againwhen theEdinburghDMCinvitedmanypast winnersoftheSSDT upto Fort William fora celebrationparadeandarranged glorioussunshineforittoo.
Movingonfromthefarmin Kent, Gordon went westandspent anumberof
Howdoesthe connectionwork? Well,Ancillotti madeMXmotorcyclesusing avarietyofenginesin well-designed rolling chassisofits own.Thecompany wasbasedinFlorence,anItalian renaissancecity, andthefnallinkinthe chainistheUKimporter wasbasedin aNorthumbrianvillage. Justhow did aNorthumbrianvillage becomethe Ancillotti epicentre?Thetaleistakenup by KeithMartin,who isenjoyingthe rare July sunshineas we photograph thissuperb exampleofAncillotti’smonoshockMXer.
Above: Initialthoughts of racing this superb lookingmachine were discounted as it turns outtobever yrare.
Hesays:“In1981 Iwas adirectoratBowman’s AgriculturalSales along at Haydon Bridgeandhadto goouttoFlorenceinItaly to visit oneofour animal husbandrysuppliersand,being amotorcyclist,I checkedtoseeiftherewereany motorcyclepeople close by.” Theupshotwas Keithpaid avisitto Ancillottiand agreedto be theUKimporterfor its MXmachines.Hefondlyremembersthosetimesand reckonedtheydovetailednicelywiththe ATVand quadshe wassellingtothefarmingcommunityin theNorthEast of England.
The very frst exampleoftheItalianmachine Keith imported wasaHiroengine versionand,inanalmost fairytaledebut,North Eastscrambles champ Keith Tindale wontwo races at theIveston scrambleonthe newmachine.Ancillotti wasupandrunninginthe UK.
Thiswinningmachine wasa twinshockbut the world wasaboutto change andmonoshock rear
Above: Thoughthe exhaustwas damaged alit tleitwasn’tasbad as it couldhavebeen, givenits routingwhich is clearhere.
Below: It takesquitea bitofworktoachieve this sort of fnish.
suspension wasonthe wayin.Ancillotti waspretty quickoffthemarkwithitssingle-shockmachine;this oneisanearlyexampleand a1982seasonmachine but probablymade in1981.Itis a250ccmodelwith aMoto Villaengine –priortothe Villa,Ancillottihad usedSachs,Minarelli, TauandHiroenginestoo.Bya quirkoffatetheAncillottihascomefull circle andis owned by Keith’sgrandsonAlex,who wastold about thebikebythelady who runshisftness classinthe markettown of Hexham. Whenaskedwhyteenager
Alexpersuadedhisdad Paultotakehimalong andseewhatthebikemightbe.SaysPaul:“Ofall thebikesitcouldhavebeen,and Iwasconvinced it wouldbesomesortofwrecked roadbike,myjaw droppedtothegroundwhenIrealisedexactlywhat it was.”Mind you,it wasn’tintheconditionitisnow when PaulandAlexsaw it.“Itlookedas youmight expect awell-useddirtbiketolook,”grins Paul.“If ithadn’tbeenanAncillottiand we hadn’thadthe familyconnectiontothemake we wouldhavewalked away fromit.”
Withthebikebackintheir workshopand Keith onhandwiththePRmaterialhe’dkept,thebike was identifedas aPSV250MX.Itsoonbecameclearthis wasabitof ararityintheUKandMrMartinsenior
Above: Ancillot ti wasnoted forits high fnishing spec.
Belowlef t: Some motorc ycleshavepar ts whichlookedtacked on as an af terthought.
ThePSV250exudesthe airofbeing theresultof much thought .except wherethe airbox is concerned.
Belowright: Creating plenty of ground clearancewhile having asensibleseatheightis notaneasytask.
couldn’trecall exactlyhow many he’dimportedbut the number wasn’thuge. WhentheMartinsdidmore investigating,itturned outthe bike wasararityin Italytoo.Thissort of changedthefocusofthebikeas PaulandAlexoriginallywanted to buildthebiketo race –bothdad andladareinvolvedinthenorth-east motorcycle sportscene –andinsteadthe rarityofthe modelandscarcity of parts almostdictatedthebike wouldbecome ashowpiece.
Queryingthemodelnamewith thelads, Imanaged to work outfor myselfthe‘250’ bitwas the capacity butthe‘PSV’ bitwas lost on me.Turnsout it’sa two-partreferencetothe innovative suspensionand theenginesupplier,so, the‘PS’isPullShockandis writtenonthe swinging armtoowhilethe‘V’isfor Villa,who built andsuppliedthemodel’sengines.
Villa’sengine wasquite anadvanced-spec250twostrokesingleproducing39bhp as it revved to8600rpm andneededallitssix gearstokeepthepoweron
Abovelef t: SEMwas silencer supplier toa number of companies.
What wasanissue wasthe airboxatthe rearofthe carb…theshockerbodygoesthroughthemiddleof it…“Ido wonderifthis wasa developmentmodel,” Paul muses,“thereare afew thingswhichyou wouldn’treallydoona productionmodel,ifonlyfor easeofservicing. Ithinkit wasa hangoverfromthe twinshockdaysand as atemporarymeasure they mountedtheshockthroughthe airbox.”Hadthere beenanyneedto change the air flterat ameeting intheolddaystheshock wouldhave to comeoff toaccesstheairbox. “Atthisstage Istillharboured thoughtsof ridingtheAncillottiin racesso wanteda differentairboxarrangement.”After abitofthought Paulcreatedaninletmanifoldfrom aCagiva partand made anew airboxwhichcould be ftted round the rearshock.“It’snotoriginalbutit doesn’tlookoutof the way, doesit?”
Onthesubject of theshockunit,heretheluck departedasit wasinshocking condition –yes,I know… we canallgroan–itcouldhave been rebuilt, eventually, but Paulgot JonoWhiteatKAIS Suspensiontosortout anOhlinsunitforthebike. This wastheeasypart ofthe rear suspension;the linkage systemproved challenging,thoughthis wasn’tthe word heused.“Thereare amultitude of rosejointsinthelinkages andthereisnoother optionbutstrip,rebuild, ft inplacethendo it again… and again…untilit works,”hetellsus.
Frontsuspensioninthiserawas startingto get biggerwithmoretravelandtheaxlemount was furtherupthesliderto allowforplentyofsuspension travelwithout aridiculousseatheight.The40mm
Farlef t: Theengine hasbeenstrippedand checked.
Above: Both front andrearhubsand brakeplateshavebeen powder coated.
Left: Newbearingsare in both hubs,which are Grimecabythe way.
AN CILLOT TI,E MBRACING EXCELLE NCE
To condensearound 80 yearsof Ancillotti into afew wordsforthis featuresome paraphrasinghas to takeplace. As the 20th centur ydawned,Ernesto Ancillotti wasbusilycreatingmotorisedcarriages inhisengineering workshopssituatedin thehear tofrenaissanceFlorenceinItaly. HissonGualtierojoinedthebusinessand with apersonalinterestinmotorcyclesthe Ancillottibusinessbeganmodifying avariety ofmotorcycles.AftertheSecond WorldWar the Americanarmy leftlargenumbers of
itsmilitar yHarley-Davidsonmotorcyclesin Italy.Ancillottidesigned arearsuspension fortheseoriginally rigidmachines and as rearsuspension wasextremely rare on motorcyclesofthetime,the company gained valuablepublicity. In timeGualtiero’ssons Alber to and Pierojoinedthebusiness and theyturned to manufacturingtheir own motorcycle.
Outgrowingits city centre home,Ancillotti moveda mileor twooutof Florencetoa purpose-builtfactory in Sambuca Valde
Pro-Taperleversmatched to Renthalbarsare apopular combination.
Pesa. In commonwithmany small European manufacturers,Ancillottienjoyedthe protectionofimpor ttarifswhichallowedthe homemarket to fourish;butthe onslaughtof theJapaneseindustr ywas toogreat to hold backandthe Ancillottimotorcyclelineended in1985.
Alongthe waythereweresome great times,withhigh-qualitymachines,andthe namelivesonin2024 as Alber to’s sonTomaso manufacturessuperbqualitymountainbikes forthedownhill racingscene.
Above: The replacementfuelcap came from Italy… of course it did!
Left: Original number board couldbereused.
Below: Providingthe sparks is aMotoPlat elec tronicignition.
diameterstanchions on these Marzocchi units were notbent butthehard chromehadtobereplacedas it wasfakingoff.The rest of the bitswerecleaned thoroughlyand reassembledwithnewsealsand freshoil. Alocalsuspensionguy,a mateof Paul’s, rebuilttheforks andsetthemupfor him.
AnMXbikecertainlyliveslifetothe extremeand theframecantake abitofpunishmentinthe cut andthrust of the racing world.Itisn’tunusual to fndtwists andothermisalignmenttotheframe butheretherewas nodamage at alltothe cradle framethoughthe swinging armhas asmall crack init. Powdercoating returnedtheframetopristine andthesearchwentonfor an uncracked swinging arm.Thoughthedamagedbitisstilloninour pics,
Below: Abig carburet torneeds twin fuel feedsto ensure there’senough methanol to supply the engine.
scenario would be nottohave touseitatall,but justincasethenitisbesttohave bothbikesas close aspossibletoeachotherinfeelandset-up. This ideal receiveda boostwhen an RTS–Roger Taylor Special –came along andjustneeded afew tweaksto matchittotheNo.1bike we featured afew issues ago. Thereare somedifferencesthough,oneprettymajor one…theNo.1bikeisbuilt around one of RayMorris’ frameswhilethe‘spare’isanRTSframe.
Talk aboutstark minimalism,nothing on agrass bike whichdoesn’t do ajob.
Theframealsocarried RTSfrontforkswith therubberbandsuspensionsooftenseenon bikesinthisdisciplineand asystemwhich works extremelywell,haslittleto gowrong with it and iseasilyrepaired.Theyare also much lighterthan conventionalforks,somethingwhich isofimportance inthegrasstrackworld.Grasstrackbikesin general areextremely strippeddownwithnothingon them whichdoesn’t do ajob.This ethosoriginatedas races becameshorterandbegantoemulatethespeedway ovalstyleof racing.Thoughthere areeventswhich have aturnortwoandmaybe ajumptocontend with,the vastmajorityofgrasstrackracesare nowon an oval-ishtrackwherethebikeisexpectedto turn left.
BasisfortheengineisthealloyB44 unitBSA butinternallytheresits aB25/C25crankshaftand ThunderEngineeringB25con rodwhich is stronger than aBSAonewouldbeafterpolishingand lightening.TheB25/C25crankis aforgedone with bolt-onfywheelsand hasa plain big endrather than arollerone. WhatthiscombinationdoestotheB44 engineisbringitdownto350cc. FortheNo.2bikethe ladshave used aJEpistonwhichcanputupwiththe stressesandstrains agrassengineissubjectedtoin arace.
Abovelef t: Forks areRTS versions with rubber band suspension.
Aboveright: Exhaust pipe is underslungbut higher up than the footrest.
Below: Though ex ternally theengine is B4 4, internal alterationsmeanitis 350ccratherthan4 41cc.
fullysorted andusesBSAvalves –the exhaustone issodiumcooled–andthespringsarefromthe B25/C25. Particularattention hasbeenpaidtothe rockerswhichare smoothed,polishedandlightened to relieve stresssotheB50 MX camhasaseasya time of itaspossibleto work the valvetrain. Feeding thedopefuelintotheengineisthejobofamassive 54mm Dell’Ortocarburettorwhichbreathesthrough afoamflter.
Inside aB44 gearboxwouldnormallybefourgears; agrasstrackracer rarely needsmore thantwosoonly twogearsare insidethecases.Inordertomakesure the gearleverwill onlyselectthetwogearsftted,the selectorplateismodifed.The gearcogsareactual BSAonesthoughfttedtoanNEBshaft.Thishasthe advantage ofallowing an NEBclutchtobeusedasit fts on to aspline ratherthana taper.This multiplate clutchwas designedforthespeedway world,has been apopular ftmentintheclassicMXsceneand even,with aplateandsomesprings removed, ftted toclassictrials bikes.The rest of theprimarydrive is pureBSAduplexandthere’snoreasontochangeitas itdoesthejob.
Itisclearfromlookingatthisengineand its externalappearancethere arenooilleaks whichmeansthebreathingisspotonandno overpressurisinghappensastheengineisrun. Helping relieve internalpressureisabig bore breathertube exitingnearthe rearofthebike. Ifthecomponentpartsofagrasstrack racer might seemparedtotheboneandpossibly not as strong astheymightbe,suchabikeisasgood an example of astructureand design providingstrength.The frontpartoftheframeholdsthe enginein amassive cradleformedfromaircraft-quality T6 alloyplate.The cradle,whichisanRTScomponent,alsoprovides themountingpointforthe swinging armatthe rear and extendsuptosupportthesubframe.Oncethe structureiscompletedandthefastenerstightened upthewhole chassisislight,rigid andsimple.Notso rigidisthe right-hand footrestasit’ssettomove as theridermovesaboutonthebike.A particularfeature ongrassbikes over,say,speedwayones,whichlook similarbutaren’t,is rearsuspension,whichonthis bikeisprovided by apairofHagonshocks. Probably riders were mightilypleasedwhenrearsuspension cameinfor asportwhichinvolves racingona surface whichcouldanddoescut up alotduring ameeting. Okay, inorderforthefrontand rearsuspensionto worktherehavetobewheels,oneateachend.Grass
Abovelef t: In order forthe rider’sfootto reachthe gear leverit is pivotedfromthe old kick-start position
Aboveright: Just in case thebracketbreaks, thesafet ywirewill keep thesilencerin position.
Right: Grass bikes have rear suspension… theseare Hagonunits.
Grasstrackis aspor twhichhasn’t caughtthe attentionof majormanufacturersso the majority of constructorsare smallermakerswhocanmake alivingfromshor trunsof framesand components which theenthusiast couldbuild into amachinethemselves.Justsuch amakeris Roger Taylor, whostar tedworking forSelwynPerry,themakerof Ansel machines –Selwyn’s brother Tigwasthemakerof Antig machines. Roger washighlyactivein allsortsofmotorcycle spor tfromtheearly Seventiesand recallsitasan exciting time forayoung racer. When Selwyn Perr ydecided he’d had enoughofthemotorcycleindustry and wanted to retire, Roger tookupthe reinsand RTSwasborn.
Thebusinessstill existsandisheavilyinvolvednotonly in grasstrack racingbutpretty muchever ydisciplinein motorcyclespor t. Rogerisgenerallyfatout buildingorfettling theolderstuf, hislad istuning moremodernmachiner yand asof2024thethird generationisbecominginvolvedinthe business.SaysRoger: “Wetry to be aone-stopshop forclassic motorcyclespor t.”
RO GE RTAY LO RR AC ING
Fueltankis barely widerthanthe frametubes andholds just enough fora race.
