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Welcome to what feels, to me, a particularly diverse issue, in regards of time anyway, with a 25-year-old (so VMCC eligible) Triumph Thunderbird juxtaposed against a pair of vintage-era Velocettes, covering plenty in between, from a plethora of lightweights – both Italian and the doughty Bantam – to off-road heavyweights and some traditional classic fare. It’s a nice mix, reflecting the broadness of our interest. And as an added bonus, readers will receive a free supplement on British parallel twins, a reprint of one first given away with this magazine 31 years ago, compiled by the incomparable Brian Woolley; alas, I never knew him, though we did correspond when I was a teenager as I sought to ascertain what colours my green-painted 1946 B31 should be. Silver, with two black lines was the answer, with Ford Silver Fox (I always remember that) a good match. The tank badges should be blue on the BSA; I carefully cleaned off all the gold paint, to reveal their blueness. Among the highlights for me this month, was researching the piece on Billy Moore, the archive feature in this issue. This came about because of the discovery that Billy was the uncle of Captain Sir Tom Moore, centenarian NHS fundraiser, and a Scott enthusiast himself. Once one delved into the Moore story, it was no surprise Captain Tom was a Scott man too, as his uncle was a name synonymous with the marque. Research led me down all sorts of paths, and while these days my access to the Mortons archive is restricted by geography, luckily I’ve a fair amount of personal material to hand, so we do the best we can. I loved learning about ‘Yewsix of the Moors’ (Billy’s Scotts carried the registration number U 6) and those early Scott Trials, fascinating stuff. Of course, it sent me off at a tangent, mainly seeing a couple of photographs of Eddie Flintoff, winner of the 1925 and 1926 trials on his Sunbeams, in a post Second World War event on his clearly pre-Second World War, though updated, ohv Beam. This led to correspondence with Steve Corbett and various others at the Marston Sunbeam Clu ub, re esulttingg in mo ore e fa ascina atingg details s, incclu udingg the e whereabouts of at least two Flintoff machines. It all fuels my ongoing Sunbeam affair; though my old stager (1927 500cc side-valve) does plenty to further its own cause, as we completed a 120 mile day out (carrying extra petrol) up to and along the Norfolk coast. It still impresses me every time with its capability.
JAMES ROBINSON Editor
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46 Regular contributors Tim Britton, Rachael Clegg, Jonathan Hill, Roy Poynting, Richard Rosenthal, Martin Squires, Jerry Thurston, Alan Turner, Andy Westlake, Steve Wilson.
THE CLASSIC MOTOR CYCLE (USPS:710-470) is published monthly by Mortons Media Group Ltd., PO Box 99, Horncastle, Lincolnshire LN9 6LZ UK . USA subscriptions are $63 per year from Motorsport Publications LLC, 7164 Cty Rd N #441, Bancroft WI 54921. Periodical Postage is paid at Bancroft, WI and additional entries. Postmaster: Send address changes to THE CLASSIC MOTOR CYCLE, c/o Motorsport Publications LLC, 7164 Cty Rd N #441, Bancroft WI 54921. 715-572-4595 chris@classicbikebooks.com
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CONTENTS ISSUE | NOVEMBER 2020 Archive photograph . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 News
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Books
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Letters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Subscribe and save . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Velocette Model K and KSS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Rickman brothers – part two . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 AJS Model 18 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Lockdown Velocette . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 Triumph Thunderbird . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 Italian collection. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 BSA Bantam Sports. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 Lakeland Museum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 Closer look – TT trip in 1953. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66 Triumph unit twin rebuild . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72 ...................................
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Roy Poynting column Jerry Thurston
Sketchbook travels. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
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You Were Asking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84 Restoration guide – Chater-Lea . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88 Classic components – JAP part 10. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97 Classic camera . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98 Next month . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
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Yewsix of the Moors One of the star performers of early 1920s trials riding – a gold medal ISDT winner among many other successes – Billy Moore was later part of the organising team. Photograph: MORTONS ARCHIVE
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hose who watched the recent documentary about fundraiser Captain Sir Tom Moore, the man who celebrated his 100th birthday during the Coronavirus pandemic by walking laps of his garden and in doing so raised over £30 million for the NHS, will have seen some brilliant, pre-Second World War footage of the Scott Trial. This was included because it transpires Captain Sir Tom’s uncle was Billy Moore, shown, who was an event regular and star performer in the trial, always on Scotts – the model which Sir Tom was to go on to ride himself, too, him being pictured in the programme with a post-First World War Scott in, presumably, the 1950s. Poor Billy’s fate was revealed; in 1935 he was found dead, in his car, in his garage, and 15-year-old Tom and his father carried his body into the house. The emotion was still raw for the recently knighted centurion, 85 years on from the traumatic event. Tom was already an arch enthusiast and despite his uncle’s sad demise, his twowheeled enthusiasm endured and endures – the programme reunited him with a twospeed Scott (incidentally the VMCC’s famous ‘Reed Scott’, originally registered DN 9, now BDN 498), among other machines. For Billy Moore, there was no other machine. It was Scotts all the way, generally – as in the picture – carrying the U 6 (hence ‘Yewsix of the Moors’) registration number, which now adorns a 2011 Land Rover; it’d look much better on an open-framed Scott. Incidentally, DN 9 is now on an electric Kia. Back to the U 6 number… So the story goes, a local policeman called
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THE CLASSIC MOTORCYCLE | NOVEMBER 2020
unannounced at Billy’s garage one day, to find U 6 displayed on all three of Billy’s Scotts. Billy was a local hero, so the policeman diplomatically, discretely looked the other way. In his book ‘The Scott Motorcycle – The Yowling Two-stroke’ Jeff Clew says, while writing about the super-successful Scott trials team: “The elder member of the Scott team was Billy Moore, a master builder and contractor who lived in Keighley. He rode in his first Scott Trial during 1920 and won the Amateur Award, a feat he repeated again during 1922 and 1923. Yet he was no youngster, for then he was over 40 years
old… a tough, blunt Yorkshireman with greying hair, who always wore a white tie. “Such was Billy’s riding ability that one of his favourite tricks was to ride across the local canal on a plank only six inches wide. He was also seen on occasion riding through town whilst reading a newspaper, seemingly with perfect control over his machine and forward progress. “He had a unique knowledge of the Yorkshire Dales, which was put to good effect in later years when he joined Harold Wood for the responsibility of plotting the course of the Scott Trial. Both knew most of the local landowners and their gamekeepers and it was only on rare occasions that
Classic archive
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their request for access was refused.” Further mention of Moore is found in Philip H Smith’s The Greatest of all Trials (1963) describing Moore thus: ‘…a highly competent precision craftsmen, who built his own personal Scotts. One and all bore the number U 6, which he took over long before the First World War. Naturally, only one machine was on the road at any time, but the rapid changes [to/of machines]… were calculated to mystify those not familiar with this old Moore custom.’ The same book also reveals Moore’s opinions were ‘much valued at the Scott works, and he frequently tried out new modifications and prototypes on their
behalf.’ It also says that Moore ‘…had graduated from cycle racing early in the century and was already established as a first-class amateur trials rider before the war.’ It is in his course plotting capacity Billy Moore is engaged in our accompanying picture. For a Scott Trial preview piece printed on September 22, 1932, Mamore was dispatched to visit ‘the chief plotters Wood, [Geoff ] Fletcher and Moore’ ending his day ‘sore and utterly exhausted’ with his main consolation during the day seemingly being: “One splendid piece of news which all Scott Trial victims, past and present, will be delighted to hear… Wood, Chief Conspirator of all this nonsense, bought
a priceless one – a real purler: head over heels, bent numberplate, grass in the right ear, and all the usual etceteras of a good, hearty moorland crash!” Mamore completed one lap of the part of the course competitors in the next Saturday’s trial would be doing two of, noting: “We had covered just half the 1932 Scott Trial course, taking nearly a day over it: and yet on Saturday, I expect some bright lad will average about 18mph!” And the ‘bright lad’ who was winner of the 1932 trial? Allan Jefferies, on a Scott, the last time the make won a trial the company had founded to test its End machines in 1914.
THE CLASSIC MOTORCYCLE | NOVEMBER 2020
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&
Neews Events
New ws&Events Bonhams back at Bicester
Stafford cancelled Reluctantly, and after much deliberation, the decision has been taken to call off the Classic Mechanics Stafford show, due to be held at over October 10/11. The call was not taken lightly but deemed the only available,
sensible course of action to safeguard visitors and staff. This means that 2020 will see no classic Stafford show at all, but, hopefully, all will be back on track in 2021, bigger and better than ever.
With the cancellation of the Mechanics’ Stafford sale, Bonhams has moved its traditional autumn auction – which was due to be held at Stafford over the weekend of October 10/11 – to a similar format to its successful summer sale, held over 14-16 August, with viewing at Bicester Heritage centre and the sale to be conducted solely on line. The sale is scheduled
to be over December 5/6, with machines prospectively being sold both days. There’s already some tasty machinery consigned, with Bonhams’ buoyed by the number of prospective buyers who registered for the summer extravaganza – more than double the usual number of bidders than is usual for a Stafford sale, registered for the summer event, which all bodes well.
Kempton Park off Disappointing news from Kempton Park, where, at the last minute, the anticipated September 12 event had to be cancelled. The same weekend, ELK Promotions had to cancel its Romney Marsh Bikejumble on Sunday, September 13.
New Trident coming Triumph has announced plans it’ll be introducing a new model in spring 2021, which will see the Trident name pressed into service, once again. Expect something midway between the Speed Triple and the retroesque Bonnevilles, early reports suggest.
Fantastic five Beams This beautiful quintet of Marston Sunbeams has been consigned to Spicers’ sale on November 7, 2020.
Dennis Christian Manxman Dennis Christian passed away on Saturday, August 15, 2020. He finished second in the 1953 Junior Manx GP, and fourth in 1954’s Senior, both on Manx Nortons, moving to the TT in 1956 and recording his best result, 11th in the Junior on an AJS 7R, in 1957’s famous Golden Jubilee event.
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He came back to the Classic Manx GP, recording 17th on a Matchless in 1986’s Senior race. He was then living in Manchester. After he stopped competing in 1993, he remained a regular Isle of Man race-weeks visitor. On his way to 11th place in the 1957 Junior TT, Manxman Dennis Christian aboard his AJS 7R.
THE CLASSIC MOTORCYCLE | NOVEMBER 2020
The oily-rag fab five are made up of a 1926 Model 4, 1927 Model 6/9, 1927 Model 9/90, 1928 Model 8 and 1931 Model 6/9. Although the three 500cc overhead valve machines are perhaps ‘bitsas,’ they are all fabulous, and will maybe offer
a slightly more cost-friendly route to overhead valve Sunbeam ownership. The other pair – side-valve 600cc Model 4 and ohv 350cc Model 8 – are equally charming, too. Details from 01377 593593 or andy@spicerauctioneers.com
&
Neews Events
Craven Meteor panniers New from Craven Equipment are these rather handsome Meteor panniers. A superstylish hard pannier, they’re designed for ‘modern classics’ with kicked up silencers and feature such things as cut outs for indicators. They’ve been designed with Royal Enfield’s
new Interceptor in mind, and there’s colour choices to suit. Prices start from £164.95 plus VAT per pannier, with Interceptor mounting kit £90.40 plus VAT. Details www.cravenequipment.co.uk or call 01986 891096.
THE WAY WE WERE IN
NOVEMBER 1920
With Brooklands back in the groove for late season record breaking, Vivian Prestwich (250cc DiamondJAP, powered by a new 249cc engine from his family’s Tottenham factory) enjoyed some late autumn days of record breaking and, in some cases, again and again. His huge haul of world records include Flying One Kilometre
1945
Win a brand-new, old Bonnie There’s still time to buy tickets for a chance to win a brandnew/old stock Triumph T140J Silver Jubilee Bonneville 750cc motorcycle in the National Motorcycle Museum’s summer raffle draw. Museum director James Hewing explained: “We have another amazing ‘new/old stock’ first prize for our summer raffle. This Bonneville, which has never been run or registered and is showingg just four push.” Second price is a Retro sty tyle y combination tool chest worth £850 and third a luxury break for two (including a museum tour). Tickets cost £2 each. Even though Museum LIVE won’t
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happen this year, the summer raffle will be drawn, as planned, at the museum, on Saturday October 31, 2020. There’s a special Covid-19 raffle too; all details are at www. nationalmotorcyclemuseum. co.uk/bike-raffle/ While the museum remains closed, every raffle ticket purchased at this difficult time makes a worthwhile contribution, and The National Motorcyycle Museum wants to thank everyone for their support so far.
THE CLASSIC MOTORCYCLE | NOVEMBER 2020
Most established British motorcycle makers were making supreme efforts to return to motorcycle production. And this in spite of shortages of good quality raw materials, hold-ups in supply of same, the need to replace equipment worn out in the Second World War working for the War Office, and the pressing requirement to repair damaged premises and refurbish where possible. Despite sound production levels, many British buyers
1970
Rumours circulating the Midlands suggested the BSA and Triumph businesses were heading for huge financial problems, with speculators estimating the entire group will have lost as much as £8.5 million. It seemed impossible – the
1995
Happy Christmas from Ken Clarke. On November 29, Clarke, the UK Government’s Chancellor of the Exchequer, announced in his November budget speech all vehicles over 25 years old would be exempt from vehicle excise duty (VED) from the time of his speech. And despite some sections of the daily press earlier speculating the ‘nil’ VED would apply to cars only, Ken Clarke made the announcement for all private
(60.481mph) and Flying Mile (62.756mph). During the month he set world records at distances from 10 to 250 miles and two hours to six hours. The newly designed over square engine (70 x 64.5mm) had been further developed for racing by Val Page, who, by fitting a much larger inlet than exhaust valve, revolutionised valve dimension thinking. hoping to secure a new model were to be disappointed as much of the production was destined for ‘Export Only’ to earn valuable overseas currency and those filtering onto the UK market would be subject to a hefty Purchase Tax Levy, adding almost 25% to the cost. Accessories are likewise taxed, leading some renowned motorcycle shops to claim they weren’t motorcycle showrooms anymore, but Government tax collection offices. same company had record profits of £3.5 million a decade earlier. Optimists pointed out BSA has risen to the challenge of many crises during its 110-plus year history and was certain to rise to this financial challenge… use vehicles and, therefore, this included motorcycles. The exemption would roll forward annually with the age of the vehicle being calculated from December 31 of the year in which it was originally registered. All vehicles would need to be insured, annually MoT tested (unless already exempt) and carry a tax disc which would be overprinted ‘25 Year Exempt.’ Richard Rosenthal.
Book Review ‘No Room for Watermelons’ A man, his 1910 motorcycle and an epic journey across the world. Authors: Ron and Lynne Fellowes Publisher: High Horse Books Email: info@highhorse.com.au Can be purchased through Amazon for a black and white unsigned version, or for a signed fullcolour copy, go to the website: www.oldblokeonabike.com and follow the link. 160 x 230mm (portrait), 229pp with 115 photographs and illustrations. £16.45 (UK), $21.81 (USA), $28.50 (Canada), £29.95 (Australia) ISBN 978-0-646-93141-8 In 2012, while others his age were enjoying quiet retirement, Ron Fellows set off on the challenge of a lifetime. His dream – to ride a 102-year-old FN motorcycle from Nepal back to the Belgian factory where the bike originated – had all the hallmarks of an epic adventure: one that was never going to be easy. New Zealand-born Australian Ron Fellowes was given the unnamed, incomplete and rusty remains of an old motorcycle when he was 26 years old. The machine turned out to be a 1910 Belgian FN (Fabrique Nationale was a renowned motorcycle manufacturer from 1901 to 1967) – a superbly-engineered machine with an inline 500cc, air-cooled, four-cylinder, inlet-over exhaust engine with shaft drive, single speed and pedal assistance. However, it would be over 40 years before Ron, a diesel mechanic and skilled engineer, was able to start the restoration, requiring many hours making replacements for damaged or missing parts. For eight months, Ron rode 9072 miles (14,600km) through 15 countries under gruelling conditions, into some of the world’s most hostile territories. He faced desert sand storms, mountains too steep for the motorcycle’s capability – the threats of rock slides and bombings when he took a detour – and pressure from
armed police through conflict zones. He was robbed and when held at gunpoint, Ron came face-to-face with his own mortality. The motorcycle’s limited capacity – with its single speed and no gearbox, pedal assistance and only one rear wheel brake – made it a daily struggle. Breakdowns were common, and only Ron’s ingenuity and singlemindedness, and Lynne’s logistical support and mobile phone contact, and the generosity of others, kept him going. Finally, when receiving an enthusiastic reception on arriving at the Belgian factory, FN’s CEO Robert Sauvage asked: “What was the purpose of your journey?” “I am here to settle a warranty issue,” said a tonguein-cheek Ron. “Unfortunately,” Robert replied, “the warranty period only applied for the first 100 years!” The book, co-written by Ron and Lynne (journalist Lynne collated and edited Ron’s sometimes rather salty diaries), is an engaging and entertaining account of one man’s stoic determination to fulfil his dream. With many superb colour photographs, you will be carried along for the ride, and inspired to achieve your own dreams. A true modern-day pioneer. Highly recommended. Book reviewed by Jonathan Hill
THE CLASSIC MOTORCYCLE | NOVEMBER 2020
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Recommended reads
Although some of us may be able to start getting out and about for a few rides, there’s no likelihood of big congregations or events anytime soon. To keep you entertained, here’s a bit more suggested reading. Whatever happened to the British Motorcycle industry? To my shame, I realised I’d never read Bert Hopwood’s oftdiscussed, seminal work, so decided to rectify the situation. I admit, I wasn’t much relishing the prospect, anticipating a dry old text, but actually it’s nothing of the sort. Hopwood is a colourful narrator and is forthright in his opinions. Edward Turner was ‘quite definitely, the most egotistical man I ever met’ while he also acknowledges that their working relationship (flamboyant, extrovert Turner/ dour, pragmatic Hopwood) was a good one, their personal one not so much; Norton’s racing first policy was ‘commercial suicide’ while some of his insight into BSA, especially in the early 1970s, has to be read to be believed. It can occasionally come across as ‘everyone was wrong but me’ though in discussion with our contributor Steve Wilson (who wrote the foreword for the edition published after Hopwood’s 1996 death, and who corresponded at length with him, as well as interviewing him several times). Steve opines: “I found his version of events closest to the available facts.” Which is considerably worrying. During the period Hopwood is involved in the industry (he started at Ariel, aged 18, in 1926), rather than making progress, it seems to go backwards; by the 1970s, the whole thing a huge, ghastly mess – though the signs had been there from 20 years before, when the British industry was enjoying almost-unrivalled worldwide dominance. But the catastrophic mismanagement, the constantly poor decisions, the crazy ideas… It does lead the reader to think ‘what if’ on many occasions, but, of course, this is clearly one side of the story. And it’s always easy to be wise after the event. But then again, some things are blatantly bad ideas from the start (hello Ariel three…) while the never-ending catalogue of missed opportunity almost makes one weep, as, you feel, it almost did Bert Hopwood. An eye-opening read. Out of print, around £40 seems to secure an internet purchase. James Robinson.
Race Across the Great Divide
The Scott Motorcycle
Though a healthy contingent of riders from down under had alreadyy become part of th he Continental Circu us privateer commu unity tyy in 1950s-60s Gran nd Prix road racing, it wasn’t until the advent in the 1970s of the Superbike era – a class of racing founded in Australia in 1972, as its inventor Vincent Tesoriero explains in this book – that Australasians began to really make their mark on the global stage. This magnificent coffee table volume recounts the often amazing story of how that occurred, told by two of Australia’s finest motorcycle journalists who were there when it happened, and illustrated by a vast number of photos, many of which speak a thousand words. A country whose Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser had got noticed when he swapped the succession of Bultaco offroaders he’d been riding for a KTM in 1977, Australia witnessed an explosion of interest in motorcycling in the early 1970s, fuelled by the massive mining boom which put money in the pockets of young blokes in pursuit of speed and thrills on two wheels. Over 160,000 motorcycles – minibikes, off-roaders and high-performance road bikes, 90% of them Japanese – were sold in 1972 to a population of just 12.5 million, and in June 1973 Sydney’s Oran Park race circuit claimed a world record weekend race programme of 1400 entries. Authors Don Cox and Darryl Flack have tracked down and interviewed many of the men involved in this explosion of talent, to tell the story of those hell-raising days, vividly social nights and thrilling weekend races which eventually made Grand Prix team bosses look at Aussie and Kiwi riders as must-haves, rather than could-bes. This book is a must for any fan of road racing in the last three decades of the 20th century, because so many of the men depicted in it went on to make their mark on the world stage. It’s a big book and a truly gripping read, though it’s almost worth buying just for the photos, all 335 of them. Foreword by Wayne Gardner, published by Bellbird Publishing bellbirdpublishing.net Price direct from publisher: AUS $68.00 plus $10 P&P within Australia (Rest of World AUS $40) Alan Cathcart.
When I was at primary school, we were instructed to choose a book to read at home, with a parent – I chose Jeff Clew’s book about Scotts, subtitled The Yowling Two-stroke. Oh, how I’m sure my mother couldn’t wait for those evening reading sessions… I’ve had cause to revisit the book several times of late – the feature on my dad’s Scott in the August issue, the tale in this number about Billy Moore, plus a few other bits and pieces – and have found myself once again getting drawn into ‘Scott world’ and, once again, rereading the book. The book is a fairly straightforward account of the quirky Yorkshire company; genius designer and engineer Alfred Angas Scott and his forward-thinking motorcycles. Scotts, especially before the First World War, were, really, in a class of their own, as witnessed by victories in the 1912 and 1913 Senior TTs, the second by virtue of Tim Wood; Tim not being short for Timothy but ‘Timber’ as that was the name given to Wood at Bradford technical college to distinguish him from his old boy brother, known as Splinters! I’ll always remember that detail. Lots of the famous names of Scott feature in the book – Frank Applebee (1912 Senior TT winner), Frank Philipp, Harry Langman and the Langtons, Allan Jefferies, Clarrie Wood, Tommy Hatch, Frank Varey, Allan Jefferies, A E Reynolds, Noel Mavrogordato, Tom Ward… right through to Ossie Neal, Clive Waye and Chris Williams. The Scott is unlike any other motorcycle; that much is true. Allan Jefferies – writing the foreword, in July 1974 – records: “For thousands of motorcyclists during 65 years there has been a kind of love/hate for this unique marque… One minute you could be gliding along in transcendental bliss and in a flash the two-speeder’s high gear chain would snap…” And that, in a nutshell, is the world of Scotts. It attracts devotees like few other marques. The book gives an insight into this quirky, special, quite odd world. £25 on Amazon. James Robinson.
If anyone wants to recommend a read please email jrobinson@mortons.co.uk About 300-350 words, please, and a picture of the cover if possible.
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THE CLASSIC MOTORCYCLE | NOVEMBER 2020
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