Old Bike Mart September 2016 preview

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October 15-16, 2016 Staffordshire County Showground Adult: £12 Senior: £11 Child: £3 BUY TICKETS 01507 529529 classicbikeshows.com

“Shot of Redex, sir?” As the rider of this 1955 BSA Shooting Star has his tank filled by a white-attired forecourt attendant, the ‘clock dial’ petrol pumps and Hillman in the background help date the picture to the later 1950s or at the most the early 60s. Photo: Mortons Archive www.mortonsarchive.com

2 NEWS

September 2016

Pete’s Prattle

www.oldbikemart.co.uk email: info@oldbikemart.co.uk

Editor Pete Kelly OBMEditor@mortons.co.uk Designers Charlotte Fairman, Tracey Barton Production editors Sarah Palmer, Sarah Wilkinson Picture Desk Paul Fincham, Jonathan Schofield Advertising Ricky Nichols rnichols@mortons.co.uk Alan Green agreen@mortons.co.uk

01507 524004

T

wo features in this issue – one about Terry Mitchell’s special Ariel Arrows and the other our archive piece about the history of DMW motorcycles (especially the photos of some of the Villiers Starmaker-powered machines) – remind me of just how close Britain, once a pioneer in two-stroke motorcycle design, might have advanced before the arrival of Japanese two-strokes stopped play.

“These are the bikes that Ariel could, and should, have made,” said Terry, as he showed us his potent

Arrow racer and high-performance road bike that were built almost entirely using off-the-shelf components from the period.

And with its 250cc Starmaker engine, Villiers, a respected two-stroke manufacturer for many decades, really did make it affordable for many of us to up our game in road racing, scrambling and trials – I could even buy condensers for my Cotton Telstar from a Villiers agency in Manchester that stocked mostly lawnmowers!

How we drooled when the first photos of the Starmaker-powered

Cotton Conquest sports roadster first appeared in the motorcycle press, and similarly, what a dream of a roadster the DMW Super Sports, listed in the firm’s 1966 range shortly before its demise, and pictured on page 15, might have been!

Pitted against quarter-litre twostroke imports such as Yamaha’s YDS3 and Suzuki’s Super Six, however, the Starmaker’s limitations became ever more apparent. A higher level of sophistication such as an ‘Autolube’-type separate oiling system would have helped,

of course, as would much better brakes (the ones on my Telstar were pathetic for a racing machine), but sadly the die was cast and from the British ame perspective, it became yet another story off what might have been!

Marketing manager Charlotte Park Circulation manager Steve O’Hara Publisher Tim Hartley Publishing director Dan Savage Commercial director Nigel Hole Associate director Malcolm Wheeler General Queries Customer Service Number: 01507 529529 Telephone lines are open: Monday-Friday 8.30am-7pm, Saturday 8.30am-12.30pm and 24hr ansaphone Archive Enquiries Jane Skayman jskayman@mortons.co.uk 01507 529423 Founder Ken Hallworth

Wirral Wobblers’ parking update After arriving in Belfast towards the end of their charity fundraising tour of Northern Ireland, the National Autocycle & Cyclemotor Club’s Wirral Wobblers got a nasty surprise in the shape of 17 parking tickets placed on the seats of their small machines.

Ted Bemand, whose account of the tour has been appearing in recent issues of OBM, immediately phoned BBC Ulster, and within half an hour a TV crew

OLD BIKE MART (ISSN:1756-9494) is published monthly by Mortons Media Group Ltd, PO Box 99, Horncastle, Lincolnshire LN9 6LZ UK. USA subscriptions are $48 per year from Motorsport Publications LLC, 7164 City Rd N #441, Bancroft WI 54921.

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Mortified! One of the Wobblers points to the parking ticket on his Yamaha Town Mate.

had arrived to record the sad outcome of the Wobblers’ charitable work.

The angry pensioners shuffled around, one of the group called Gaynor only just walking after a recent knee operation, and in no time at all a senior hotel manager appeared and called Ted into the office.

It seemed a ‘misunderstanding’ had occurred about the parking advice of the previous night and that of course the agency, once made aware of the Wobblers’ noble ideals (as the whole of Northern Ireland soon would be!) would rescind the fines.

Nope! It was almost the end of August by the time the parking agency finally ask the Wobblers to send in their reference numbers so that the fines could be cancelled and the old-timers could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

At the end of the eventful tour, one of the participants proclaimed: “If the Wirral Wobblers ride for a thousand years, people will say this was their finest tour!”

Romney Marsh Bikejumble

The Romney Marsh Bikejumble and Spares Auction will take place at Marsh Road, Hamstreet, near Ashford, Kent TN26 2JD on Sunday, September 18. Gates open at 10am, and the Royal British Legion Riders’ Section will be running a helmet park for those arriving on two wheels.

Admission costs £4 adults and £3 senior citizens, with children under 16 free.

Essex Air Ambulance Run

Peter Goodwin from the Harwich Motor Cycle Club informs us that thousands of motorcyclists are expected to take part in the Essex Air Ambulance Motorcycle Run from Dunton to Harwich along the A12 and A120 on Sunday, September 11, arriving in time to enjoy the Harwich Fun Day and Festival.

Animal magic at Hull

A tin or packet of dog or cat food is all it will cost to enter your bike in the RSPCA Motorbike Show at the Hull & East Riding Animal Rescue Centre in Clough Road, Hull, on Sunday, September 11. Public entry will cost just £1 (children 50p) and the show will open at noon.

8 NEWS

September 2016

Sun shines for Graham Walker Memorial Run With an entry of 100 riders, this year’s Graham Walker Memorial Run around Beaulieu, Hants, on Sunday, August 7, was one of the best in the area to be organised by the Sunbeam Motor Cycle Club, writes Ian McGill.

In warm sunshine, the riders set off over a route laid out by the Southampton & District MCC, who also supplied the road marshals and markers, at 1.15pm. The 46.9-mile route gave an easy ride through the New Forest, heading towards Brockenhurst and Lepe and then down to Calshot,

with excellent views across to the Isle of Wight during the Cowes sailing week, before returning via Hythe and Holbury.

There was also a route of 22.6 miles for veterans and low-powered machines.

Unfortunately Murray Walker OBE, one of the club’s vice-presidents, was unwell and could not attend to present the awards, but Russell Bowman, the managing director of Beaulieu Enterprises, kindly stepped into the breach.

AWARDS

Best veteran solo, Glenn Williams (1914 New Hudson); best veteran three-wheeler, Ian Clarke (New Hudson); best vintage solo, Andrew Belenkin (1928 BSA); best vintage three-wheeler, Glenn Burnage (1924 Morgan); combined age award for rider and machine (192 years), David Dickerson (1903 Phoenix).

Most technically interesting machine, Rick Verbeeten (1938 Indian); best overall runner-up, Andrew Eason (1928 Norton); best two-stroke, Andrew Titcombe (1925 Scott); riders’ choice of best machine, Ian Anderson (1923 BAT/ Martinsyde); best original machine, Andy Dean (1914 New Imperial); best lady rider, Jane Jarvis (1923 Kelinworth); best PV machine, Chris Kinsey (1931 BSA).

Romney Marsh Run regulations available Regulations are available for the Sunbeam Motor Cycle Club’s Romney Marsh Run, starting and finishing at The Star Inn, St Mary in the Marsh, Romney Marsh, Kent TN29 0BX on Sunday, September 25.

It will be open to anyone, Sunbeam club member or otherwise, entering a veteran (pre-1915) or flat-tank motorcycle, sidecar combination or three-wheeler of any make, but all machines must have been manufactured before December 31, 1930.

Camping is available at The Star Inn on the Saturday before the run (01797 362139) or Norwood Farm Camping (01303 873659).

There’s also the Honeychild Manor B&B on 01797 366180.

The first entrant will leave at 11am, and the closing date for entries is Friday, September 11.

Entry forms and regulations can be downloaded from the www.sunbeam-mcc.co.uk website.

Wallplanner deadline

Please note that the deadline for event details intended to appear on the 2017 Old Bike Mart Wallplanner is Monday, October 31. Details should be sent to www. oldbikemart.co.uk/wallplanner or typed copy should be posted to OBM Wallplanner 2017, Attn Heidi Lamb and Julie Wood, Mortons Media Group Ltd, Morton Way, Horncastle, Lincolnshire LN9 6JR.

There’s a sunny smile from best lady rider Jane Jarvis (1923 Kenilworth) as the sea breeze catches her immaculate period nurse’s costume.

Highland club’s charity presentation

This is the kind of action in store at the Romney Marsh Run, as a BSA entrant presses on across the marshes.

Best ever results as RE launches third UK store A third UK store for Royal Enfield, the world’s oldest motorcycle manufacturer in continuous production, has opened in Watford.

Steve Parrish was joined

by TT winners Ian Lougher and Dean Harrison for a biking chat show, and as RE’s custom builds, Dirty Duck and Mo’Powa, were displayed in this country for the first time, their

creators Adrian Sellers and Ian Wride told how they were put together.

For the first quarter of the 2016/17 financial year, Royal Enfield’s revenue increased by 42% over the same period last year to £161.8m, with operating profit rising almost 64% to £44.83m.

CEO Siddhartha Lal recently announced plans to manufacture 670,000

motorcycles in the current financial year ending next March, and over 147,000 have been built in Q1 alone.

The firm’s new R&D tech centre in Leicestershire remains on course to become fully operational by early next year, and Lal has relocated to London to oversee expansion in the UK, which is one of the firm’s key markets.

After raising £130 during this year’s Loch Ness Rally, the Highland Classic Motorcycle Club has presented a cheque to Mark Lawless of Mikey’s Text Line, a charity that gives a lifeline to young people feeling alone, overwhelmed or abandoned, and allowing them to discuss anonymously any problems such as depression, drugs, alcohol and bullying. HCMC treasurer John Williams (right), is seen handing over the cheque to Mark, with the club’s vice-chairman Neil Ellison on the left.

Huddersfield Autojumble With up to 130 stalls and good catering facilities, Phoenix Fairs’ Huddersfield Autojumble returns to the Old Market Building in Brook Street HD1 1RG on Sunday, September 18.

12 DIARY DATES

September 2016

Diary Dates

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YOUR OLD BIKE MART WITH YOU TODAY 3 Rufforth Autojumble. www.rufforthautojumble.com 3 Ace Cafe London. Ace Cafe Reunion Weekend Party & London Ride-Out www.ace-cafe-london.com 3 Black Horse Vintage Motorbike Show, Black Horse Pub, Red Row, Beamish, DH9 ORW. Brian Minto 07977 465344. Email. bmconstruction@orange.net 4 Ace Cafe London.

Brighton Burn Up! www.ace-cafe-london.com 4 LE Velo Lancs & S Lakes, Coniston Lake, (meet Steamer Pier Car Pk). Tel. 01772 782516.

4 Stickney Autojumble, Stickney Car Boot Field, Stickney, Boston, Lincs, PE22 8AG. Tel. Richard 01790 754669, mobile 07760 557569.

4 Classic Motorcycle Show, Baldock. Tel. 07963 609143.

4 Craven Collection Motorcycle Museum, Brockfield Villa, Stockton on the Forest, York, YO32 9UE. Tel. 01904 400493.

4 VMCC (Essex) Colne Valley Road Safety Run, Marks Hall Estate, Coggeshall. www.vmcc-essex. co.uk. Tel. Gill Scatcherd 07733 063928 or gillscatch@aol.com 4 30th Festival of 1000 Classic Cars & North West Classic Motorcycle Show, Cholmondeley Castle, near Malpas, Cheshire, SY14 8AH. Tel. 01484 667776.

Email: info@classicshows.org www.classicshows.org 4 VMCC (Northampton) Northamptonshire Navigation Rally (No entries on the day) Earls Barton Cricket Club.

Trevor 01604 859215.

4 Frankie’s Classic Car & Bike Fest, @ Ford’s Dunton Technical Centre, Laindon, SS15 6EE. www.sfh.org.uk/frankie-sclassic-car-and-bike-fest-withvintage-market 5 SEPTEMBER ISSUE OF REALCLASSIC 6-11 Harley-Davidson European Bike Week, Carinthia, Austria www.harley-davidson.com/events 7 B5000 Barbers monthly vehicle meet, held at North Warwickshire Recreational Centre, B5000 between Polesworth and Tamworth, B78 1HT. 9-11 The Soggy Moggy, The Woodgreen Animal Shelter, Kings Farm, Godmanchester, Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, www.Tigermcc.org.uk Contact: 01223 563044, email Time2party@tigermcc.co.uk 9-11 SMAAASHFEST, The Field, Rue du Val, St Saviours, Guernsey, Channel Islands. Contact details: 07911 722649. Email.

Le5454@hotmail.co.uk 10 South Midland Auto Jumble, Ross-on-Wye Livestock Centre, HR9 7QQ Tel. 01989 750731; 07973 889401 10-11 National Rally of Scotland.

For entry forms please send an SAE to 45 Elmwood Park, Deans, Livingston, EH54 8SP or colinbpate@yahoo.co.uk under the heading National Rally.

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VMCC (Northampton) Canal Run, Brixworth Country Park.

Tel. Mike 01604 592666.

Sunbeam MCC Constable Run, Suffolk. Tel. Marian Johnson 01255 554828. mari_35@ btinternet.com Salisbury Motorcylcle & Light Car Club Arbuthnot Trial. Tel. Mike Rye 01725 511131 or Mike Viney 01725 514801.

VMCC (Essex) End of Summer Run, Brock Hill Nursery, Brock Hill, Wickford. Tel. Alan Williams 01268 570145.

Garstang Autojumble, Hamilton House Farm, on A586, off A6, Garstang, Preston, PR3 0TB Ian Sherrard 07836 331324 (day) or 01772 323654 (6pm–8pm) Email: info@garstangautojumbles.co.uk www.garstangautojumbles.co.uk British Two Stroke Club (Lincs Section) Meet at Mablethorpe for visit to Gayton Pumping Station. Tel. Bob or Maureen 01526 345720.

Ace Cafe London. VJMC Bike Day. www.ace-cafelondon.com Essex Motorcycle Run, Ford Dunton, Technical Centre, Basildon, SS15 6EE. www. essexairambulance.uk.com or call 03452 417690 Charterhouse Classic Car Auction, Royal Bath & West Showground, Shepton Mallet, BA4 6QN The Worcester Auto Club aka WAC Motorcycle Club Tuesday Bike meet at The Tower, Perdiswell Park, (A38) Droitwich Rd, Worcester, WR3 7SN Bike Night at Plough Inn, Town Street, South Leverton, Retford, Nottinghamshire, DN22 0BT. Tel. 01427 880323.

VMCC (Essex) Wrinkly Run, Tesco car park, Maldon. Tel. Dave Iszard 01621 892206.

LE Velo Lancs & S Lakes, Brinscall, (meet behind Swimming Baths).

Tel. 01772 782516.

Scorton Giant Auto/Bike Jumble, North Yorkshire Events Centre, DL10 6EJ. Bert 07909 904705.

Sunbeam MCC 8th Sunbeam Sept Challenge, North Yorks. Tel. Alec Thompson 01751 431478. alec81.thompson@mypostoffice. co.uk Kempton Autojumble Kempton Park, Sunburyon-Thames, Middlesex, TW16 5AQ. www. kemptonparkautojumble.co.uk, trade: akitchen@mortons.co.uk or 01507 529435 Ace Cafe London. Blue-Haze Day - FS1E, Sports Moped & Two-Strokes. www.ace-cafe-london.com VMCC (Northampton) Wrong Way Round, Hunsbury Country Park, Northampton. Tel. Jim 01604 766734.

40th Int Veteranentreffen Oostende VZW, Wapenplein Ostend www. veteranentreffenoostende.be LE Club National Rally, 10am-4pm Middleton Hall, Tamworth, B78 2AE £2 members, £4 non-members, www.middleton-hall.co.uk Romney Marsh Bike Jumble Marsh Road, Hamstreet, Near Ashford, Kent, TN26 2JD (A2070 6 miles M20 J10) Tel. 01797 344277 www. elkpromotions.co.uk

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VMCC (Dorset) Last Of The Summer Wine Run, Hinton St Mary. Tel. Bob Hoare 01963 364618.

18 Huddersfield Autojumble, Old Market Building, Huddersfield. Tel. Jeff 07795 505388; 01773819154.

Email. jeffpff@hotmail.co.uk 21 OCTOBER ISSUE OF CLASSIC MOTORCYCLE MECHANICS 23-25 3rd Just Us and You Rally, Slaithwaite Cricket & Bowling Club, Racton Street, Slaithwaite, nr Huddersfield, Yorkshire, HD7 5DQ. Contact details: 07921 334718; 0161 6200097. Email. ingrid.1@live.co.uk 24 Somerset VMCC Giant Indoor/ Outdoor Autojumble, Bath & West Showground, Shepton Mallet. Email.autojumble@ vmccsomerset.co.uk 24 LE Velo Northampton gathering, 12.00 The Stag’s Head, Gt Doddington, NN29 7TQ Tel. 01604 499858.

24 National Motorcycle Museum Friends Classic Bike Tours.

Tel. 01675 443311. www.thenmm.co.uk 24 Brymbo Heritage Group Open Days. Tel. Gordon Watkinson 01978 752890 www.brymboheritage.co.uk 24-25 Oliver’s Mount Road Races: Steve Henshaw Gold Cup. Tel. 01723 373000. www. oliversmountracing.com 25 Normous Newark, Newark Showground, Notts NG24 2NY. www.newarkautojumble.co.uk 25 Sunbeam MCC 3rd Romney Marsh Run, Kent. Tel. Julie Diplock 01797 344277. sunbeameditor@hotmail.co.uk 25 Salisbury Motorcycle & Light Car Club. Mavro Charity Run. Wyndham Arms, Dinton, SP3 5EG Tel. 01722 504587. www. salisburymotorcycleandlight carclub.co.uk 25 Leighton Hall Motorcycle Hill Climb Ian Sherrard 07836 331324 (day) or 01772 323654 (6-8pm) info@garstangautojumbles.co.uk www.garstangautojumbles.co.uk www.leightonhallmotorcyclehill climb.co.uk 25 Ace Cafe London. 59 Club Day + BSA Bantam meet. www.ace-cafe-london.com 25 LE Velo Lancs & S Lakes, Fleetwood, (meet at Model Boat Lk Car Pk). Tel. 01772 82516.

28 OCTOBER ISSUE OF CLASSIC BIKE GUIDE 28 Bike Night at Plough Inn, Town Street, South Leverton, Retford, Nottinghamshire, DN22 0BT. Tel. 01427 880323.

29 VMCC (Dorset) Mid-Week Run, Warden Hill. Tel. Rod Hann 01935 872528.

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YOUR OLD BIKE MART WITH YOU TODAY Rufforth Autojumble. www.rufforthautojumble.com Classic Motorcycle Show, Tile Shop, Buntingford. Free entry.

Contact 07963 609143 for further details End of Summer Biker Bash, Iron Horse Ranch House, 2 High Street, Market Deeping,Peterborough, PE6 8EB. Contact: 01778 346952, www.ironhorseranchhouse.co.uk

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West Country Autojumble, New Cattle Market, Driffield Road, Cirencester, GL7 5QA. Tel. Paul Powell 07831 421455.

Ace Cafe London. “End of Summer” Scooter n’ Mod Special. www.ace-cafe-london.com Newton Abbot Autojumble at the Cattle Market, Town Centre, TQ12 2RJ. Tel. Pete Dear 07977 643852.

Mid Wales Classic Bike Show Pant-y-Dwr Powys.

Email. rogeremason@msn.com The British Two Stroke Club Limited. The Rutland Borders Run, The Rose and Crown P.H. Tilton, Leics. Contact Eric Hathaway 0116 275 0532.

Craven Collection Motorcycle Museum, Brockfield Villa, Stockton on the Forest, York, YO32 9UE. Tel. 01904 400493.

25th Copdock Motorcycle Show.

Email. ady@dovestreetinn.co.uk Tel. 01473 211270.

OCTOBER ISSUE OF REALCLASSIC VMCC (Essex) Wrinkly Run, Costa car park near McDonalds Tollgate Centre Stanway, Colchester, CO3 8RG Tel. Terry Windsor 01206 384764.

B5000 Barbers monthly vehicle meet, held at North Warwickshire Recreational Centre, B5000 between Polesworth and Tamworth, B78 1HT. LE Velo Lancs & S Lakes, Helmshore Textile Museum, Nr Rossendale. Tel. 01772 782516.

High Octane October, Krazy Horse, Empire House, Lark Valley Business Park, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, IP32 6NU. www.krazyhorse.co.uk NOVEMBER ISSUE OF THE CLASSIC MOTORCYCLE Rally, Lowerhouse Cricket Club, Lowerhouse Lane, Burnley, Lancashire, BB12 6LP. Contact details: Red 07955 859476 or Ian 07970 978060. Email risingmoonmcc@gmail.com British Two Stroke Club (Lincs Section) Autumn Leaves Run, from Coningsby Moorside. Tel. Bob or Maureen 01526 345720.

Ace Cafe London. Brit V’s (Vincent & Velocette) & Classic Bike Day. www.ace-cafe-london.com Kenley Autojumble The Portcullis Club, Kenley Airfield, Victor Beamish Avenue, Caterham. CR3 5FX (just off Jnc 6, M25). Contact Martyn 07772 169524 or kenley@ indianriders.co.uk See more at www.facebook.com/ KenleyAutojumble BTSC Red Neck Run to QE Park Petersfield. Contact Bill 01483 272765.

VMCC (Essex) Huffer Run Rayne Railway Station. Tel. Derek Wickes 01787 472432.

VMCC (Dorset) Winter Run, Sherborne. Tel. Roger Gillard 01935 814267.

Garstang Autojumble, Hamilton House Farm, on A586, off A6, Garstang, Preston, PR3 0TB. Ian Sherrard 07836 331324 (day) or 01772 323654 (6–8pm) Email: info@ garstangautojumbles.co.uk www.garstangautojumbles.co.uk

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Oliver’s Mount Hill Climbs: Northern Championships Final.

Tel. 01723 373000. www.oliversmountracing.com 9 VMCC (Northampton) Jim’s Jaunt. Hunsbury Country Park, Northampton. Tel. Jim 01604 766734.

9 Stickney Autojumble, Stickney Car Boot Field, Stickney, Boston, Lincs, PE22 8AG. Tel. Richard 01790 754669, mobile 07760 557569.

11 The Worcester Auto Club aka WAC Motorcycle Club Tuesday Bike meet The Tower, Perdiswell Park, (A38) Droitwich Rd, Worcester. WR3 7SN 15 Plop Enduro C90 8 hour Endurance team events, Mallory Park. Contact Graeme Young 07711 231928 Graeme@ sdarmada.co.uk, John Makinson 07710 607835. john@sdarmada.co.uk www.sdarmada.co.uk 15 Scorton Giant Auto/Bike Jumble, North Yorkshire Events Centre, DL10 6EJ. Bert 07909 904705.

15-16 The 23rd Carole Nash Classic Motorcycle Mechanics Show, Staffordshire Showground, ST18 0BD www.classicbikeshows.com 16 LE Velo Lancs & S Lakes, Williamson Park, Lancaster. (on Top Car Pk) Tel. 01772 782516.

16 Ace Cafe London. Red Oktober – Eastern Bloc Vehicle Day. www.ace-cafe-london.com 19 NOVEMBER ISSUE OF CLASSIC MOTORCYCLE MECHANICS 20 NOVEMBER/DECEMBER ISSUE OF CLASSIC RACER 22 Kempton Autojumble Kempton Park, Sunbury-on-Thames, Middlesex, TW16 5AQ. kemptonparkautojumble.co.uk trade: akitchen@mortons.co.uk or 01507 529435 22 Waterlooville MCC 12th Old Fossils Charity Run Dance. Tel. Gordon White 02392 268083. www.waterlooville-mcc.co.uk 23 Normous Newark, Newark Showground, Notts, NG24 2NY. www.newarkautojumble.co.uk

14 FROM OUR ARCHIVE

September 2016

The golden years off DMW Well-built and innovative, the West Midlandsmanufactured DMW motorcycles were among the most sought-after lightweights of their day, as these Mortons Archive photos show

D

espite DMW’s relatively brief period in serious motorcycle production, the firm that was founded in Wolverhampton by Leslie Dawson in 1940 was innovative and dabbled in everything from trials, scrambles and road racing machines to lightweight motorcycles and scooters.

During the prewar years, Leslie was a regular competitor in speedway events at Belle Vue, New Brighton and other venues, and also took up road racing, competing in several Manx Grands Prix as well as events such as the North West 200.

After building one-off competition machines from a garage in Heswall, Merseyside, he moved to Wolverhampton and opened a small garage between a corner pub and coal yard and called it Dawson’s Motor Works. There he developed his patented spring and pneumatic ‘Telematic’ tele forks that were launched in 1942 and sold to customers as kits to replace girders.

He also patented a dual front brake design.

The return of peace brought a growing demand for these components, and to increase both capital and production, he formed a partnership with Harold Nock, who ran Metal Profiles Ltd at Sedgley.

Dawson had already built a few 350cc and 500cc racing machines using JAP engines, which became the first to carry the coveted DMW initials, and the partners were both eager to market lightweight motorcycles, but it wasn’t until Dawson had sold his share of the business to Nock and emigrated to Canada to work with Avro in 1948 that production got into full swing.

Amazingly, Leslie had also patented the entire concept of swinging arm suspension – and equally amazingly, despite telling his partner that DMW could continue using this and his other patents so long as they weren’t allowed to lapse, for some reason they did lapse and must have cost

This 1956 photo shows a smart and fully-sprung DMW Mk8 lightweight powered by a 197cc Villiers engine.

By August 1955, DMW was using the French AMC (Ateliers Mecanique du Centre) four-stroke engines, and this photo showing a 170cc ohv version (overhead-camshaft engines were also produced) was received by The Motor Cycle in September 1954.

Dawson a fortune in lost patent licensing fees, as well as allowing swinging arms to become the worldwide norm.

Leslie was replaced by former BSA development engineer Mike Riley, a successful trials rider, who would work on the design of new models, and to provide the necessary space, production was moved to the Metal Profiles factory.

Powered by a 122cc Villiers 10D engine, DMW’s first lightweight roadster went into production in 1950, and with basic transport in such big demand at the time, the factory was soon turning out 50 per week. A 197cc version with a Villiers 6E engine was added, and both machines boasted square-section frames, plunger rear suspension and Metal Profiles front forks.

In 1952, off-road competition machines were added to the range and the firm exhibited at the Earls Court Motor Cycle Show for the first time. At the end of the year, a 122cc Coronation model was announced in anticipation of the forthcoming 1953 Coronation.

The 1953 models also included the De Luxe, powered by a 250cc Villiers twin, and the following year a new frame comprising steel pressings and square-section tube was introduced, along with 197cc Villiers 8E and 224cc 1H engines.

The 1H powered a model called the Cortina, but Villiers didn’t have it all its own way, for DMW had also embraced the 250cc French fourstroke Ateliers Mecanique du Centre (AMC) overhead-camshaft engines for its 1954 Dolomite I roadster and a 125cc version for the first racing

machine it produced under the Hornet name. This would pop up again a decade later with Villiers Starmaker power.

New 200cc motocross and trials machines were launched in 1955, along with a 150cc two-stroke ‘sports’ machine called the Leda.

With the scooter boom clearly starting to changing the shape of two-wheeled transport DMW (like perhaps too many other British manufacturers) decided to jump on the smallwheel bandwagon in 1957 with the Bambini, a small scooter with a 98cc Villiers 4F engine at its heart.

By 1961, DMW was pinning its hopes on a fully-enclosed ‘hybrid’ called the Deemster that could best be described as a scooterised motorcycle, and remained in production until 1967. How this scribe remembers visiting the 1963 Earls Court Motor Cycle Show where, to the continuous strains of ‘Telstar’ (marking the introduction of Cotton’s Starmaker-engined racer), a police patrol version of the Deemster took pride of place on the DMW stand.

In 1962 the firm introduced a handsome version of the Sports Twin with a 250cc Villiers 4T engine, and having taken over Ambassador Motorcycles, a DMW-badged version called the Dolomite II came out in 1963.

This picture of a rugged 249cc DMW Mk.10, complete with dual seat, high-level exhaust and trials styling, was published in a 1959 sports machine issue of Motor Cycling.

For that brief period before expensive production racing machines like the Yamaha twins became available, Villiers’ Starmaker engine really did hold the promise of a foot on the road-racing ladder, as well as in scrambles, and DMW wasted no time in offering a capable club road racer called the Hornet in 1964, the same year in which a new Villiers 4T-powered Sports Twin came out.

The Starmaker engine was also at the heart of a superb-looking DMW Starmaker Super Sports road machine that was featured in the 1966 range – but by then time was rapidly running out for DMW.

Photos: Mortons Archive www.mortonsarchive.com

The late Vic Willoughby, a renowned Motor Cycle staffman and analytical legend, tries out a 98cc Villiers 4F-engined DMW Bambini scooter in January 1957.

The stylish brakes, distinctive front fork and overall DMW style are all apparent in this close-up shot of the front end of a 1957 Dolomite.

The late lamented Bob Currie looks comfortable as he tries out a 249cc Villiers two-stroke twin-powered DMW Deemster, neither scooter nor motorcycle, in the early 1960s. The model was adopted for rural patrol duties by several constabularies in Wales and the Midlands, and a later version was powered by the Velocette Viceroy flat-twin two-stroke engine.

18 MADE IN JAPAN

September 2016

Small is beautiful – and here’s the proof W

The sub-250cc category is often overlooked in restoration circles – but David Booth’s show-winning Yamaha RD200C is a delight on the eye, writes Steve Cooper.

David Booth arrives at the Girder Fork & Classic Motorcycle Club’s Big Bike Sunday in July with his 1976 Yamaha RD200C. Photo: Pete Kelly.

ithout a hint of irony, David Booth says: “I like my smaller Yamahas” – and his collection, which includes a TZR250 and an example of the ubiquitous Fizzy, would seem to underline the fact. He has also acquired a TY50M, the moped version of the mini trials bike, and the fact he’s just about to embark upon the restoration of a rare 90cc, HS1 twin further proves that small Yams are definitely his thing.

Oh, and he’s owned some eight RD200s over the last four years, so there’s definitely a pattern emerging here…

David popped up on the OBM radar when his gorgeous RD200C was voted best in show at the Girder Fork & Classic Motorcycle Club’s ‘Big Bike Sunday’ at Skipton earlier in the year. Editor Pete was besotted, and decided we needed the story behind the machine.

The bike is an eBay find, like so many projects these days, and was listed as a non-runner complete with mag alloy wheels and knobbly tyres. With a starting price of £400, David entered £650 and was soon making the trip from West Yorkshire to Royston, Herts to collect the careworn 200.

Once back at base, the bike was stripped back to its last nut and bolt ready for a full restoration. The nonrunning engine was actually seized, but despite this the top end was inspected and overhauled, and with a new pair of OEM Yamaha standard-sized pistons it has run as sweet as a nut ever since.

After the engine had been taken apart and the case vapour-blasted to get rid of four decades of muck, the totally rebuilt crank was installed and the motor rebuilt with parts sourced mainly from eBay. Those luxurious outer engine cases got the same cleaning, and were then finished with satin black powder coating. Some of us baulk at sending parts away, but David knew that his would be okay because one of his sons runs a small powder-coating business, which was charged with looking after all of dad’s components – that might be

why the frame and black work all look so good.

As always, the devil is in the detail, and the quality of the fittings can make or break a resto. Knowing this, David blasted every nut, bolt and washer himself before despatching the lot off to Simms of Halifax, which he rates highly, for zincing. Of even more import is the chroming, and the results achieved

by Adbridge Chroming speak for themselves. Finding companies willing to take on stroker exhausts can often prove to be a challenge, but they did the little RD proud.

Ditto Karl Martin with the Portuguese Orange paintwork, which is spot on.

New rims and spokes were a given based on how tired the bike was, and Paul Jackson of Huddersfield sorted the lot out.

While none of this was ever going to be cheap, savings were made whenever possible, and the seat is a perfect example. The base was rusty but sound, so got the powder-coating treatment, and against the odds the original cover was perfectly usable so seat guru Tony Archer carefully re-attached it, thereby retaining a little of the bike’s history.

With everything pretty much sorted the rebuild began, and David reckons it all went together straight forwardly without too much hassle. The Keihin carbs were vapour-blasted and after being treated to a new set of jets and seals ran perfectly.

Back in the day, the RD’s apparently over-luxurious ‘electric foot’ sometimes got slated for not always working, so to be on the safe side David fitted a new set of generator brushes (and as the starter/generator runs four of them it wasn’t cheap).

However, this was nothing compared with what came next. In every project there’s always a killer component missing, and in the case of the RD200C it was the two-part protective spring through which the front brake hose passes. If you’re not into Yamahas of the 1970s, it probably wouldn’t worry you, but for David it was that final, irksome,

20 READERS' LETTERS

September 2016

Irish roses – on the A20

✪ Muc-Off Star Letter

Cafes, jukeboxes and burn-ups – memories of a truly golden age Doug Barton’s email (Letters, July) sparked my interest as I was born in 1940 and lived in Thornton Heath until 1969, so I remember Head’s well.

Having bought my first bike, an Ambassador Super S, from Godfrey’s at Broad Green, West Croydon, in 1959, I then purchased my first helmet from Head’s together with RAF-style goggles.

Head’s gave good service and, I might add, so did Godfrey’s. I wonder if Doug remembers the pie stall at Thornton Heath Pond? It was a great hang-out for riders having their suppers of gorgeous mince pies and sausage sarnies – they were great times!

I’m sure there will be a deluge of memories about bikers’ cafes, too. My first haunt was the Marvinside on the A22 at Kenley – a transport cafe by day but a bikers’ paradise in the basement coffee bar at night. How the neighbours must have hated us as we left late at night, those with the less exotic bikes going first to get to the Purley Way in Croydon and watch the Goldie boys thunder past at the ton (probably more like 80!) on the way to the aforementioned pie stall!

There were some great tear-ups from the Marvinside to the Cosy Cafe at Hooley, on the A23, and back – how I remember the jukebox blaring out Bobby Darin’s Dream Lover!

When the Marvinside closed, everyone went to the Salt Box at Biggin Hill. That place was heaven to me, with such a great crowd, and the owner, Bernie Britton, was such a character. He formed the Salt Box MCC and (I think!) we started to become a bit more responsible.

He organised rallies, runs, fundraising events and so on, and it will always hold fond memories for me as I met my wife there and we’re still together 52 years later.

A golden age indeed – this is the only photo Geoff has of the Salt Box Cafe at Biggin Hill, but how the line-up of bikes outside brings it all back to so many of us!

I cannot recall Anne’s Pantry at Biggin Hill, but I do remember the Squadron and the Nightingale nearby. I don’t have a bike now, but my interest will never wane.

I’ve prattled on nostalgically for long enough, but I can’t wait to read other bikers’ memories of their cafe haunts. Good days!

Geoff Trotman, Email

Keep your motorcycle in concours condition with the help of Muc-Off. Its fantastic range of bikecleaning products will make short work of shifting all sorts of road dirt. Get that muck off with Muc-Off! Each month the star letter on OBM’s ‘Your View’ page will get a litre of Muc-Off Bike Cleaner for your clean start. Visit www.muc-off.com to see the full range, or find Muc-Off on Facebook.

No internal power units on a Lancaster!

Referring to an item on page 47 of OBM (August), the mid-upper gun turret on a Lancaster is operated by an individual hydraulic system driven from the starboard outer engine.

Each of the four engines has a hydraulic pump, with the starboard inner providing power to the front turret and the port outer driving the tail turret. Some machines also had a mid-under turret, and this was powered by the port inner engine.

The inboard engines also provided hydraulics via additional pumps to operate the undercarriage, the flaps, the bomb doors, the carburettor air intake shutters and the fuel jettison valves.

The electrics are provided by two 1500W generators, one on each inboard engine, and for applications where more power was required, an alternator could be fitted to each outboard engine. The aircraft electrics were 24v.

Stan and Dot Cordingley – two peas in a pod

When I worked for motorcycle dealers Wall and Sager in a grotty workshop in North Road, Lancaster, alongside fellow mechanics Norman Rumbold and Charlie Thomas around 1956, I often saw an amazing lady set off to work from Croft and Evans’ farming premises over the road. She had a BSA single, and had no trouble in lifting it off the stand and kick-starting it into life. All of our female customers had spindly autocycles and scooters, but this was something else – all 350cc of it.

After spotting her at the start of the second trial I ever entered, at Galgate, I asked someone who she was. He told me her name was Dot but said: “You’ve no chance, even with a double-barrelled name,” as he pointed out her 6ft-tall boyfriend, Stan Cordingley, who had a brand new Greeves and was tipped to win the trial.

I’d never seen a Greeves before, and its front fork, with the mudguard

One of the most useful features of Thus there were no internal the website is the section entitled: combustion power units on the aeroplane other than the four Merlins. ‘What Thread?’ which very clearly sorts out the otherwise baffling I quote Air Council publication AP options of metric, Whitworth, BSF, 2062A-PN (Third Edition).

David Davies, UNF, CEI, UNC, BA and so on.

I’ve just finished what I call a Brigg ‘heavy recommissioning’ of my late father’s Triumph that he used to race in the 1980s which, being something Customer’s tribute to of a special, involved some ingenuity D Middleton and Son in making things fit.

Without fail, I was able to buy I’m glad you featured D Middleton many apparently obscure products, and Son in the August issue of Old along with standard items, from Bike Mart.

Dave Middleton including smallMy first encounter with the head screws and nuts, thin and thick company was when I discovered a nuts and lengths of bar and tube, number of Middleton-supplied SS which solved innumerable problems fasteners, together with a catalogue, regarding tight clearances, poor for the BMW I took over when my accessibility and the fabrication of father died in 1991, and I’ve been a new parts. customer ever since.

My connection with D Middleton The service I’ve had from Middleton and Son is of course none other than and Son has been absolutely superb: as a satisfied customer. excellent products, a fantastic range, Stephen West-Oram, first-class website and utterly Stretton Grandison, Ledbury reliable delivery. suspended away from the wheel, looked strange, but I was so impressed that, while serving my two years’ National Service, I bought a second-hand Greeves like his to compete in Yeovil, Somerset.

By the time I came back to Lancaster to resume my job at Wall and Sager, Greeves machines were everywhere. Stan came to the shop and ordered a new 250cc Royal Enfield trials machine, which I made ready for sale and gently road-tested.

By then I was becoming become bored with the Greeves, and didn’t like the front forks lifting instead of sinking upon braking and, thinking the Enfield would be a breath of fresh air, I ordered one.

What a disaster! The forks were banging all the time so I fitted second-hand Norton ones. If the rear wheel chain came off, it wrapped around the front sprocket and was impossible to untangle from the surrounding casing. Gear selection consisted of a box full of neutrals and I burned my legs on the exhaust.

The shop ordered another new one, having sold two in a week, but when word got around that they were no good, it took seven years to sell the third one.

Stan then ordered a Triumph Trials Cub from Wall and Sager, closely followed by guess who? It was the third time we’d had identical machines, but I still couldn’t beat him. Both Triumphs bent their swinging arms within weeks, but everyone just put up with the poor design. They were also bad to start because of the sensitive timing of the energy transfer ignition.

I went round to Stan’s house to retime the ignition with a degree disc followed by a lovely supper prepared by Dot, and I had the evil thought that the only chance I’d have of beating him would be to mis-time his bike – but anyone who thinks that a rider would do something like this to another fails to grasp the closeknit comradeship of the trials world.

Stan made the mistake of going to Birmingham to collect a kit-build,

Referring to cafes along the A20, from 1957 until 1959 I was doing my National Service with the REME at 14 Command Workshops, whose main gates were on that road close to the then-new Ashford bypass.

Being attached to the MT, I travelled along the A20 regularly, in a three-ton OY Bedford, Land Rover, G3L and many other types of vehicle. Heading through Maidstone towards Ashford, near Harrietsham, were two cafes almost opposite each other – the Rose of Killarney and Rose of Tralee, which couldn’t be much further from Ireland!

We’d call in at one of them to kill time and have a cup of tea, and if we could find enough change between us we’d play a record on the jukebox – probably only a shilling, but as our weekly pay was only £1 10s, we didn’t have money to throw about.

A very popular record at the time was Blue Moon, but I cannot remember who sang it.

Why kill time? It was to allow time for the cooks to go off duty. No way would they get out of their pit and put on a meal for two or three bods!

The cookhouse keys would be thrown at us and we’d be told to go and help ourselves. What fry-ups we’d have!

Now, at the age of 80, I have many happy memories of my time with the REME, and I’m still riding one of my motorcycles, but not as often as I’d like.

Probably my favourite now, because of its lightness, is my 1926 Ariel Model A, which I recently enjoyed riding in one of our finest pre-31 events, the Golden Era Run from Elvington, York.

Dennis Cooney, East Yorkshire

Trials, scrambles and everyday transport too!

After reading Piers Kurrein’s article about restoring his Norman trials bike, I had to put pen to paper. I think I had that identical model in 1959-60, and as the picture shows it was used in quite a few South Eastern Centre events.

I also used it in several scrambles, including Pembrey, but I don’t think my riding contributed much to the manufacturer’s success!

My Norman was also used as everyday transport to work at Godfrey’s Motor Cycles in South Croydon, and if 620 ATA is still around, I’d love to buy it back. As Piers says, these models are now few and far between.

As a footnote, I still have the very smart designer riding jacket 55 years later.

Bob Gore-Clough, p Sidcup

The Norman makes a determined assault on the second section of the Sunbeam Two-Stroke Trial at Heathfield in 1961

free of purchase tax Sprite trials bike, but he had to retire early in the Scottish Six Days’ Trial because of plastic swinging-arm bearings.

I’d had enough of the Triumph breaking down in the two most important events of the year, the Scott Trial with a toothless gearbox, and the Scottish Six Days with a busted big-end on the third day, so it was time to change again.

Everyone thought I was mad to change to a Spanish Bultaco (to be delivered straight to the house as the 1965 SSDT was only four days away) but what a revelation it was, with fantastic front forks and a fantastic engine.

Only five other Bultacos were in that event, including Sammy Miller’s, and I finally had the edge on my friendly rivals – but it didn’t last long because soon they all had them!

Later in life Stan and I both took up trail riding, and he also turned up on a Velocette at old bike gatherings at

Knott-End-on-Sea. We both went to twice-monthly road bike gatherings called Last of the Summer Wine.

Stan had a very unusual threecylinder Honda road bike and Dot a 250 Honda.

Nowadays I live on a 38ftx7ft metal canalboat doing around 10 miles a day for 10 months of the year touring the country, then returning to Devon to a thatched cottage near Sidmouth that’s slightly bigger than the boat.

Sadly, Stan developed dementia about four years ago, and his death at the age of 83 on Good Friday marked the end of a wonderful motorcycling life.

Patrick Pakenham-Walsh, Sidmouth We apologise for the late publication of Patrick’s tribute, and take this opportunity to also record the loss of another trials great, 1975 world champion Martin Lampkin, who passed away on Saturday, April 2. – Ed

24 TOUR DE LARD

September 2016

Conquering heroes on three wheels!

Nigel Darken tells the story of the ‘Tour de Lard’ – a madcap idea involving two motorcycle combinations and three very secondhand Reliant three-wheelers that raised no less than £27,000 for charity.

R

eading an article in a classic bike magazine about the ‘interesting’ aspects of sidecar handling prompts me to tell the tale of the Tour de Lard’, which involved bolting a sidecar on to my ageing Norton 650SS for a charity fundraising event – but relax, for the event is long gone, and vast sums were raised for the chosen charity, so it’s safe to read on without fear of being asked for a donation!

Wind back to the winter of 2013-14 and picture a remote pub in the wilds of Hertfordshire where, through sheer perversity, I found myself one cold Monday night (we cycle every Monday night) with a pint having travelled there with half a dozen colleagues discussing what our next fundraising event could be.

Some bright spark came up with the idea of attempting the highest paved road in Europe on anything old and with three wheels, travelling there and back under our own steam in a week. During the 1800mile round trip, the highest pass would be the Col de la Bonette, at almost 3000m.

Now just about everything has been done before, so we needed something to capture the imagination by being suitably difficult and uncomfortable and – yes – a little bit dangerous in order to warrant a donation, and so the Tour de Lard was born.

My last combination had been a 1969 Triumph Trophy with a Watsonian Palma attached to accommodate my then newly arrived daughter – in fact this was our sole means of transport all those years ago – so to say I was a little rusty as far as chairs were concerned would be an understatement.

As the other car types would be

sourcing old Reliants from eBay, only Brian and I would be on outfits; his a specially purchased Indian Enfield and suitably old (1949) adult/child sidecar, and mine? Well, I already had the 650SS along with a 1938 ES2 that I’d restored, and I must admit it was a toss-up over which one would be inflicted with the Squire box sidecar purchased for the occasion.

The six-fifty won just because it had suspension (the thought of that solid rear end on the ES2, and long days in the saddle, swayed the choice, although the ES2, with the girders and sidecar lugs, would have handled better). However, I love my 650SS, so that settled it.

I fitted a few sidecars while working as a bike mechanic at a well-known dealership in the early 1980s, so I had some idea.

The winter was spent prepping the bike, lowering the gearing, sorting electrics and oil leaks, and generally leaving nothing to chance.

With the box sidecar fitted and several bags of salt as ballast, off I went for a test ride and it all came slowly back – the head-shaking (the bike not me); the need to power round left-handers and feather the front brake on the right handers; the sheer physical effort required.

Fast forward to leaving day when, laden with half my workshop, gallons of oil and petrol, camping equipment and spares, I set off to the start at our cycling meet pub complete with local press, Vicki Butler-Henderson as ‘our’ celeb‘, and everyone’s families.

To my horror, the extra weight in the box altered the handling to such an extent that I could barely get round the bends. It just wanted to go straight on! By the time I covered

the 20 winding miles to the start I was knackered. I’m reasonably strong but I did wonder how on earth I was going to do it.

Thankfully the route to Dover via the M25 and M2 is fairly straight, and I figured that, with three delinquent Reliants, my less-than-reliable Norton and the Enfield, there was a fair chance that we wouldn’t even get to Dover, let alone the Alps!

Sure enough, within 10 minutes one of the Pigs (I’ll call them that for now and explain later) had a problem. With the weight of two sturdy lads, hence the name Tour de Lard, the prop shaft was fouling something. It was unfixable for the moment, so we set off again, and to everyone’s amazement actually made Dover.

On the straight roads to the coast, the handling of my box-outfit wasn’t so bad, so I started to think it might all be do-able. What I’d forgotten, of course, was the different camber of the French roads, which somewhat negated my English set-up, and meant the bike wanted to pull to the right with some determination.

Hmm! This was going to be tough after all, especially as the snails’ pace of the Reliants meant long hours in the saddle.

On the first night we had to camp rough in a sloping field, with the endless entertainment of rolling out of my tent at regular intervals.

Day two saw us in the first village fixing Pig 2’s undercarriage by bodily lifting the thing up and attaching blocks of locally scrounged wood to the axle with cable ties to increase the clearance.

The Norton purred on, as did the two-up Enfield, coping manfully with the weight of two study lads and a sidecar filled with stuff.

Made it! The motley crew pose triumphantly at the 2770m summit of the Col de L’Iseran.

We made several supermarket stops for vital provisions – beer, wine and gherkins. Yes, the head shopper and ace Reliant mechanic had a fetish for huge gherkins, so the diet was interesting to the extent that, with all the physical effort, after a few days I had to suggest that we should have a proper meal at least once a day, much to the general relief of all except Chip, the gherkin addict.

Now for some explanation of why the Reliants were called ‘Pigs’ – to be absolutely correct Thunderpig 1,2 and 3. One of the main protagonists of this pork theme was a pig farmer. Pig 1 was fitted with a horn that loudly emitted the sounds of a cockerel crowing, cow

mooing, dog barking and so on, and the three Reliants, all liveried up in sponsors’ colours, crowing loudly through French towns, was a sight to behold and had an amazing effect on the locals.

Following the Reliants on our outfits, Brian and I were reduced to almost losing control with laughter.

Each of us also had a nickname based on the pork theme – all very juvenile, I know, but it added to the flavour. Ha! There was Professor Strangepork (Brian actually is a professor), I was ‘Rasher’ and so on.

As long as the speed stayed below 50mph, the Pigs didn’t overheat too much – inconvenient for me because it meant revving in third or labouring in fourth. A

Looking down from the top of the Col de la Bonette on the Reliant trio that became known – not for reasons you might assume – as Pigs 1, 2 and 3.

Nigel Darken’s Norton 650SS and well-laden box sidecar with the back of Brian’s gallant Indian Enfield outfit as ‘Professor Strangepork’ holds forth.

Yet another ‘Pig down’ stop takes place amid magnificent mountain scenery.

The Tour de Lard participants’ impromptu swim in undies shocked the French into welcoming Brexit!

28 ARROWS THAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN

September 2016

Futuristic grroundbreakers… db k …but were Ariel’s two-stroke twins just too cool fo or the old school, asks Tim Britton as he visits Terry Mitchell of Arrow Te ech fame.

C

onceived in the mid1950s, when the idea of an all-weather motorcycle for transporting Mr Commuter safely to work and, perhaps more importantly, get him there in pristine condition ready to start the day, Ariel’s 250cc Leader was a brave step away from traditional motorcycle design and manufacture.

However, by the time the futuristic-looking machine had made it from the clean sheet of paper given to designer Val Page in 1955 to the showroom in 1958, waiting in the wings was the Mini car that would do exactly what Ariel’s perceived role for its new machine had been.

For a number of reasons, it was a great shame that Leader sales didn’t meet projected levels, not least the failure to recoup the massive investment that had been required for the new idea – and Ariel had pinned so much hope on the two-strokes that it had also decided to drop its entire four-stroke range, although arguably such a decision would have originated with the BSA Board.

Was the market research wrong, as has been suggested many times in the intervening years? Possibly, but was it more to do with motorcyclists being a conservative lot in general, who might clamour for radical new designs and even applaud them, yet when it actually comes to buying them?... well, it could be a different kettle of fish altogether!

As the marque approached the Sixties somethingg had to be done, and the Arrow – essentially a stripped-down version of the Leader – was launched for the 1960 season. Gone were the enclosures, fairing, panniers and screen, giving

it a much sportier look for the newly-created 250cc learner market.

Concerns were growing about allowing learner motorcyclists being able to fix their ‘L’ plates to bikes of any capacity they chose, and road safety experts suggested a maximum engine size of 250cc until the test had been passed.

The thing was, though, Japanese machines were coming to the market and bringing new levels of sophistication with them, and all of a sudden the home products started to look dated. It wasn’t that the Leader and Arrow weren’t good motorcycles, for they were – with good handling, a distinct lack of vibration and a decent turn of speed into the bargain.

An unofficial entry into the 1960 250cc TT showed exactly what a modified roadster in the hands of Mike O’Rourke could do, coming home just a few seconds behind a Honda factory racer.

It was against this background that teenager Terry Mitchell made his entry into motorcycling.

Just a few weeks ago we were standing in his garage, looking over his two Arrows – a smart red and light grey roadster and a red and bronze pure racer – when the 70-year-old retired development engineer casually mentioned that his first motorcycle had been an Arrow.

“My father bought it for me when I turned 16,” said Terry. “A lot of my friends were heading to the Japanese showrooms, but that wasn’t really an option for me, because my grandad and dad both served as dispatch riders, one in the First World War and the other in the Second.”

They’d both retained a healthy interest in motorcycles, but by the time Terry started riding, his father was running a car garage business.

Looks can be deceiving. This Arrow looks standard, but is finely tuned and has the dolphin fairing as supplied by Geoff Monty for the race bike kit they did.

“Dad bought the Ariel for me becaause he was impressed by the concept – if not the execution – of it,” ssaid Terry, who added that his fath her felt Ariel hadn’t gone in quitte the right direction with the A Arrow and he was deteermined to make it at leeast the equal, if not the better, of the orieental opposition.

“A few of my mates weree attracted to the CB7 72 Honda, and dad felt tthe Arrow could mattch the Japanese bikee if only it was put together prop perly, so that’s whaat we set out to do,” said Terry.

“I w was just starting my aapprenticeship in en ngineering at the ttime, so for the earlyy stages I was more assisstant than anything else.”

Th The road bike we were looking at, seen in the accompanying p y g photographs, is a direct clone of that first Ariel, or what it became as it was developed patiently over a period of time, and eventually this modifying of Arrows created a business, Arrow Tech, which Terry ran for a lot of years, becoming the ‘go to’ place for the two-stroke twin.

“I tried to track down my original machine, VBU 150, but without any joy,” Terry told me, “so this one is an exact clone of that bike.

Everything we did to the original is reproduced here usingg Ariel parts, and Ariel could easily have done the same if only someone there had been either interested in the idea or allowed to do it.”

Once

Terry Mitchell with his well thought out and attractive racer. Designing is in the genes – his great great uncle Reginald designed something equally well thought… the Supermarine Spitfire.

Terry’s dad, Bill, got to grips with the Arrow, the biggest p problem – ground g clearance – was cured by rebuilding the wheels with 18in rather than 16in rims.

“Most people chucked the centre stand away as it seriously limited cornering,” said Terry, “but with 18in rims the stand could stay.”

Next up was to improve the performance to match the 24bhp Honda CB72, so an extra 4bhp had to be found somewhere in the Arrow Super Sports engine.

Thankfully the Ariel two-stroke was quite a basic engine, and even some mild gas-flowing on the ports produced p a decent result, and once the carburettor had been bored out, re-jetted r and a float bowl extension added a to hold more fuel, the required r power was there.

“In retrospect, it could have h more flowing, and racing had c carburettors would have added m more power, but once we’d got it to

match the Honda, that was enough for the road,” said Terry.

The next area to look at was the braking. “Ariel’s standard Arrow brakes are just okay, but the extra performance needed extra braking, so we made a twinleading-shoe conversion for the cast iron hubs rather than the alloy versions which can crack if used hard,” he added.

The conversion uses an accurately-machined standard brake plate and a special actuating arm, and the braking became much better for a pre-disc arrangement.

“The annoying thing is that Ariel could well have done what we did, as few non-Ariel parts were used both for the original and my replica – and even the non-Ariel bits were available off the shelf in those days” said Terry.

Careful modification of the Arrow brake plate gives a twin leading shoe – tls – option which makes a big difference to hauling up the roadster.

Twin clocks are common on roadsters these days, but were not in the early 1960s, at least not for the smaller bikes.

Extra performance required extra fuel, and a float bowl extension helped.

Though the Arrow had alloy drums, they could crack under heavy braking so Ariel used cast iron drums later.

September 2016

NEWS 35

unearthed

If you have unearthed something recently and would like to share the news, or think I could help, write to me Mike Worthington-Williams, The Old Schoolhouse, Cenarth, Newcastle Emlyn, Carmarthenshire SA38 9JL email worthycomments@btconnect.com

LE GITANE

SIMPLEX SERVI CYCLE

Pete Nolan (who signs himself ‘Wirral Wobblers NACC’) bought this 1958 Le Gitane at an auction a few months ago, thinking it would look good as a static display. It needed quite a bit of work on the VAP engine to make it a runner, and the engine bits and drive sprocket were sourced in France. He’s applied for an age-related number from the DVLA, so doubtless the NACC will have helped with a dating certificate.

Eric Bayless in Brixham, Devon has acquired this little American bike which he was told was one of a batch dispatched to the UK in 1954/5 for use on US air bases. It’s a Simplex Servi Cycle of the type used by the US Air Force worldwide, and by Western Union in their thousands for use by telegraph boys. The engine is a 125cc two-stroke automatic and features all-belt drive, even to the back wheel.

Apparently they were made from 1935 until 1960, and this one still has its USAF markings and livery.

REUNITED Robert Freeman of the BMW Club sends me this photograph of his 1951 BMW R25 which he has now restored and made ready for the road. He first owned it in 1966, selling it to Clarke’s Motorcycles of St Albans in 1985 to help finance the purchase of his first ‘own home’. Tony Clarke apparently put it in the little museum he maintained at the side of the shop, and there it sat until about 2000.

Around that time the shop was sold up, and Tony took the bike and a couple of others to his home in Knebworth. Whenever Robert contacted him, he was “going to do it soon”. In fact restoration never started, and in 2009 Robert was able to buy it back.

Doubtless it cost a little more than the £10 delivered Robert had paid for it in 1966 – at which time his mum labelled it “a little horror”. Actually both Robert’s parents were very pro-bike, and his dad had a BMW R5 in 1938 which, although before Robert’s time, was influential in his choice of bike now.

After the success of the Vespa and Lambretta scooters in the 1950s, it wasn’t long before most of the established motorcycle companies, and a few new ones, started to offer their own versions, with varying degrees of success. Tim Lezard recently attended another auction in France and sends me these photographs of unrestored examples of scooters made

by Puch, Manhurin, Magnat-Debon and Motobecane, all on offer there.

John Bradford writes from Liskeard in Cornwall concerning the 1957 Rixe RS100-3 Torpedo, shown here together with its badge, that he is currently restoring. It bears frame number RS 425957 and engine number 2260232, and the engine is a Fichtel & Sachs 97cc two-stroke. Rixe & Co GmbH were based in Bielefeld, Germany and some sources say they were in business from 1934 to 1959, so this is one of their last models.

The bike was only 75% complete when acquired, and John still needs a silencer with downtube, the headlamp main switch, glass and reflector. He would also appreciate a wiring diagram. He seeks contact with other owners, and letters can be forwarded.

SUN WASP

AJS MODEL D Charlie Hall in Derby sends me this photograph of the 1919 AJS Model D he’s restoring for the current owner, who’s had it for the past 35 years. Before that, it was owned by Ivan Rhodes. For most of that time the Ajay was partially dismantled in boxes, but restoration is now well on the way. The frame, engine and gearbox numbers are all the same and bear the prefix 11483. Rob Harknett of the AJS Owners’ Club has confirmed that all the numbers are correct for 1919.

Sadly, however, the bike came with no documents for the original registration DH 1760. This is an old Walsall series, and the archive records are preserved by Walsall Local History Centre in Essex Street, Walsall. If they show the frame number, then the DVLA should accept them as evidence of entitlement to the number. If the frame number isn’t shown, however, the DVLA is now digging its heels in and refusing to reallocate.

An approach to Ivan Rhodes might be helpful, and if anyone out there has information (or better still documents) relating to the bike, let’s hear from you.

If you have unearthed something recently and would like to share the news, or think I could help, write to me, Mike Worthington-Williams, The Old Schoolhouse, Cenarth, Newcastle Emlyn, Carmarthenshire SA38 9JL. email worthycomments@btconnect.com

SCOOTERS, SCOOTERS, SCOOTERS…

RIXE

Ray Sparks bought this little Sun Wasp on eBay in July, but it came with no documentation or information of any kind.

It bears frame number 200 YMC 89 but is missing its engine. I’ve referred him to Alastair Dick in Cannon Park, Coventry, the VMCC’s marque specialist for Sun, who will no doubt be able to help him date the bike and possibly source the right engine for it.

MYSTERY AUTOCYCLE Bob Brough sends me this photograph of a recent barn discovery and asks if I can identify the make and year. As can be seen, it’s an autocycle, and the engine has since been found. It’s a 98cc Villiers two-stroke.

Well, there were a number of autocycles around in July/August 1939 when this one was registered – Rudge, New Hudson, Excelsior included – but I don’t think this is any of those. The pressed steel forks give a clue, but several makes employed these, albeit not at first. Answers on a postcard please…

TWO BEEZAS Rob Caton has inherited the two unfinished projects you see here from his late father-in-law.

He is interested in selling them, but is unsure of their value. I’ve referred him to Ben Walker of Bonhams, who is the head of the motorcycle department there and in an ideal position to advise him. The first is a c1959 BSA Gold Flash A10 with swinging arm and 650cc engine reregistered in 1981. The second is a c1956 BSA C10 250cc registered MDW 635. If anyone is interested, letters can be forwarded.