Classic Bike April 2010 by Garry Mears

Classic Bike

Weird ducati the 500 Desmo. What were they thinking?

Cheap ducati 750 V-twin “The most reliable bike I’ve ever owned”

Britain’s Biggest Seller

1929 Ariel & 1954 BSA Side-valve restoration comedy part onE

Triumph In america

The best of times, the worst of times. US dealers remember

Ring, ding, ding MZ 250 sorted

scout mistress Indian v-twin + squaw

Velocette Venom buyer’s guide

Mach III

Kawasaki “I wanted a Kawasaki 500; I had to buy three” From eBay nightmare to dream restoration

Royal Enfield Woodsman honda rc163 replica classic trials bikes Yamaha TZ250/350 expert nortons at brands hatch find your dream bike: Hundreds of classics for sale

uk £3.90 USA $9.99

april 2010

triple

trouble

In need of parts for a Kawasaki H1, John Wyatt bought a donor bike. But it didn’t turn up. So he bought two more. Then the first one arrived. How many bikes does John have?

bike 2

Well, all that’s left of bike number two. A $250 H1-A from Wisconsin that turned out to be more wreck than restoration project

bike 1

Bought on the ’net in 2006 from Indiana but it never turned up, forcing John to buy H1s two and three instead. Then, four years later, it finally arrived in John’s workshop

46 april 2010 Classic Bike

bike 3

Like bike two it’s a ’71 H1-A from Wisconsin. When it arrived in John’s workshop it had a wasps’ nest in the headlamp, mice under the seat and three decades of filth covering every part. Now beautifully restored it’s inspired John to start work on bike number one

Classic Bike april 2010 47

bike 1

John looks beyond this H1’s shabby exterior and sees an ideal project. The tin work’s good, and most importantly it’s all there

bike 3

The speedo is the best original John could salvage from the three bikes. The tacho is a rare NOS item complete with run-in decal

48 april 2010 Classic Bike

bike 2

John’s expression says it all. Bike two was so grotty even the frame was unsalvageable. The quality of projects varies wildly

bike 3

n May 2006, 35 years after he first owned one, John Wyatt bought another Kawasaki H1. He was struggling to find parts to finish a restoration for a customer, so he bought a donor bike to get his hands on some usable spares. The donor, a 1971 H1-A, was complete but very tatty. It was also on the other side of the globe, in Fort Wayne, Indiana. “I figured this bike would help me finish the one I was building, and be the basis of an H1 for me as well,” explains John. “I buy lots of CB750 stuff from the States, and I found this Kawasaki on eBay. It was up for $700. The seller said he’d get it to my shippers in Chicago so I went for it.” Easy enough you might think, but this was the start of a saga that would run for the next four years. Instead of delivering the bike to Chicago, as promised, the seller took John’s cash and disappeared. “The trail went dead, so I had to get onto the Fort Wayne police department to go down and see him. He told them, ‘Oh yeah, I’ll get Mr Wyatt sorted’ and I got a few more emails off him promising to ship the bike before the trail went dead again.” John wasn’t prepared to kiss goodbye to the two-stroke triple he’d just shelled out 700 dollars for without a fight. He traced the seller to an address in Illinois. “I sent him a few emails, but after a year or two of not getting anywhere I gave up. I knew he’d pop up again.” John hadn’t given up on restoring an H1 for himself, so he did the only logical thing. He bought two more, both from Wisconsin and both ’71 H1-As – John’s got a thing about the blue colour scheme

The restored H1’s top end runs the OE NGK BUHX surface discharge plugs with reprofiled heads and 1.5mm oversized Wiseco pistons

from that year. “I was reluctant to buy any more, but I had a bee in my bonnet about it by then.” Unlike the first bike, this pair made it to the UK, although on seeing them, John wished they hadn’t. “When the second bike arrived I thought ‘oh no, I’m going to have to throw this away’. The frame was so rotten that if I’d have put only slight pressure on the tubing it would have snapped. There were so many bits missing, and what was on it was either wrong or broken. Fortunately it only cost $250.” The next one was more promising but, as John points out, “…it still had animals living in it – wasps in the headlamp, mice under the seat, spiders in the tank, you name it.” Three years later it’s been transformed. John’s done a magnificent nut and bolt restoration. If you’d walked into a Kawasaki dealer in the early Seventies and bought an H1 this is exactly what you would have been handed the keys to after signing the HP forms. “I bought my first H1 in 1974. It was an H1E. I’d gone to Kawasaki Leeds and they had a Ducati Desmo in. I thought ‘I quite fancy that’ but I couldn’t afford it. But they had the 500 triple in there as well, so I bought that instead. I remember riding it home and thinking ‘Christ Almighty!’. It’d take a 750 Honda clean out. I used to ride it to race meetings, take off the number plate, fit number boards, race it, then ride it home again.” John’s freshly finished H1-A won’t have to work so hard for its keep, but he’s brought it to a race track (formerly an airfield) so I can have a ride. It’s the only piece of tarmac in North Yorkshire that’s not been liberally seasoned with chrome-eating salt. The bike hasn’t been run for a few weeks but it starts first kick, expelling sweet white smoke into the air with every crisp zing of the throttle. What’s remarkable about this bike is that it really is all there. Standard airboxes are nigh-on impossible to find these days, but luckily for John this bike still had one when it arrived from the States. John’s a stickler for detail and originality, and was determined to use the NGK BUHX surface discharge plugs Kawasaki specified. “Most people shove in B9s, but that’s because the CDI boxes degrade to the point that they won’t give out the voltage they’re

Classic Bike april 2010 49

bike 3

The H1-A. This is in showroom condition and it will make you wish you’d saddled yourself with crippling HP payments in 1971

Kawasaki H1 – timeline

1969 H1 500 Mach III

Frame numbers: KAF-00001 on Engine numbers: KAE-0000 on The original and most collectable. White paint and blue decals – grey was offered but is very rare. Early models had stainless pipes. High and low bar options. Double-ended gear lever output shaft.

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1970 H1 500

Frame numbers: KAF-06727 on Engine numbers: KAE-06315 on The most obvious change is the colour – for 1970 it was red only. Minor updates included a change of colour for the seat piping – from gold to black, and a modified grab rail.

1971 H1-A 500

Frame numbers: KAF-23626 on Engine numbers: KAE-21876 on Stronger chassis and revised damping for forks and rear shocks. Fuel tank without cut-outs for rider’s knees. Points ignition for UK models to solve TV reception troubles. Colour blue with silver graphics.

1972 H1-B 500

Frame numbers: KAF-48763 on Engine numbers: KAE-54101 on Front disc brake. New clocks, forks, switchgear, indicators and rear light lens. Outer engine cases polished. Updated silencers, baffles and air cleaner. Ribbed seat cover. Orange, red option in some markets.

“I can feel this motor’s a good ’un. It’s the strongest H1 I’ve tried. The extra 42cc gives a noticeable boost of low-to-midrange grunt” supposed to, but they’ll still fire on a B9. For me, this restoration was about getting the bike to work as it should.” John trawled through his collection of A and B ignition boxes, which all give out different voltages, until he found the best he had. These are the electronic ignition boxes that gave the H1 its reputation for scrambling TV reception up and down the land. The problem was so bad, allegedly, that UK bikes only came with electronic ignition for one year before reverting to points for 1970/71. John is a professional restorer who spends his days elbow deep in Japanese classics, but even so, this restoration was something of a voyage of discovery. He hadn’t been inside an H1 engine for decades, so finding the perfect set-up was a challenge. “One of the cylinders was so bad I had to have it bored to one and a half millimetres oversize. That took it out to something like 540cc with Wiseco pistons, but that meant the head gasket interfered with the pistons and gave a squish band beyond belief. My engine man, Jim Norman, asked me what compression ratios it was running. “It was 14:1, or something ridiculous, and the cylinder-head shapes were just awful. Because of that I’ve had modern combustion chambers machined into the heads. If I ran standard heads it’d ping like hell, but now I can run normal unleaded and rather than losing performance it’s actually gained.” The motor’s on its second rebuild, after the oil pump packed up 400 miles into the first run-in. Fortunately it threw in the towel near enough to John’s home that he was able to whip the clutch in and coast back. It’s now on its second run-in cycle so on my ride I am restricted to 6000rpm of two-stroke surge, but even so I can feel this motor’s a good ’un in fact. It’s the strongest H1 I’ve ridden. The extra 42cc gives a noticeable boost of low-to-midrange grunt. At 5500rpm it’s as if it’s had a whiff of the powerband to come and starts pulling like a dog straining to jump off the leash. Once it’s run in this triple will be easily fast enough to cruise at 80mph and show its teeth to most A-road traffic. John’s meticulous build is apparent in other areas too. The project H1 that CB’s Rick P put together a couple of years ago was a vibey beast. It left my hands and lower arms numb after just a short blast. This couldn’t be more different. It’s strong, yet smooth, and its carburation is crisp and glitchless – John’s jetted it as per the manual, so having a stock airbox really does make all the difference. The gearbox, too, is measurably better than any H1 box I’ve sampled before. These Kawasaki boxes are notorious for feeling baggy after years of hard labour, but John’s taken up any slack by shimming the gears correctly. “You can buy the shims from Kawasaki, but it’s a job that a lot of owners never did. Now that it’s done I’ve got to say

1972-73 H1-C

Frame numbers: not an official model so no numbers available Engine numbers: as for frame Stop-gap model to soak up parts bin spares. Some with front disc, some with a drum. Chrome guards. Colours orange and white.

1973 H1-D

Frame numbers: H1F-00001 on Engine numbers: KAE-70024 on Major update. One piece pipes, new bodywork and seat (basis for later KH styling), H2 CDI ignition, standard front disc brake. Colours lime green and dark green.

that it’s the best H1 gearbox I’ve come across.” I agree – ratio changes are very positive; a result further enhanced by John also taking up slack in the notoriously sloppy gearshift mechanism. It is extra effort like this that turns a good restoration into a great one. Like the engine, the chassis is still running in. The brake shoes are still bedding in to the drum, and I can feel them getting gradually stronger even during my brief time on the bike. John has resisted fitting Hagon shocks, preferring to rebuild the originals, but he’s followed the European specification with two steering dampers – the steering stem friction type and a more conventional hydraulic damper to keep the handling in check. American bikes didn’t run the hydraulic damper. This meticulously-built chassis feels as taut as it’s ever going to be, and it’s a pleasure to sling it on its ear through corners. The tyres are shod with Metzeler rubber (ME11 on the front and ME77 at the rear). They’re a perfect match for the chassis. The main restriction on my riding is ground clearance, especially on the twin-piped right side. It wouldn’t take much to get the stainless pipes kissing the ground. In the 1970s, in search of an inch or two more lean angle, owners cut

Kawasaki H1 – What to look for Complete bike

Buy as complete a bike as possible. Finding missing parts is not as easy as it sounds, and can be expensive.

Oil pump

Will cause loads of aggro, both mechanically and financially, if it’s not working properly. Can become clogged with dirt and eventually expire. Spin the oil pump drive. If it moves easily it’s okay. If it’s stiff the pump’s knackered. Don’t use it. Just get another one.

Airbox

Extremely hard to find as separate spares, and very pricey if you do – we’re talking hundreds of pounds. If you buy a H1 project make sure it comes with a stock airbox.

Front brake

The drum liners can crack. Unfortunately you won’t know if it’s gone until you take it apart. The aluminium around the drum corrodes and expands and this puts pressure on the liner and causes it to crack. They can be relined but it’s an expensive job.

and rare to find in good condition. Can be very expensive to restore too. Replacement stainless pipes are a good compromise – the very first H1s came with stainless pipes – but will set you back £700 for a set.

Ignition box

Make sure it’s got a strong, consistent spark because the quality of the electronic ignition boxes vary. If the bike’s been stored in a damp barn there’s a good chance the electrics will be in poor fettle.

Clocks

Very few H1 clocks have survived the ravages of time, especially those from America. Sun fading, moisture and crash damage have left many in a shabby state. Kawasaki specialists RB’s (see contacts on next page) can rebuild them.

Stainless seat trim

Hard to find as separate spares, so look for a bike that’s got a seat which retains its trim. Most seats will need recovering anyway.

Fuel tanks

Exhaust pipes

Impossible to find new-old-stock,

Hard to find one in good condition. Condensation will have rotted many of them from the inside.

1974 H1-E

1975 H1-F

Frame numbers: H1F-17001 on Engine numbers: KAE-87001 on Engine now rubber mounted to reduce vibration. Cosmetic updates to bodywork, seat, controls and pipes. CDI system updated. Two colour options: green and red.

Frame numbers: H1F-32400 on Engine numbers: KAE-102400 on The last H1 before the arrival of the KH500 in ’76. Minor updates to the clocks and graphics are all that distinguish the F from the E. Two colours, blue or brown.

Classic Bike april 2010 51

bike 3

Out for a run on a disused airfield the H1-A demonstrates it’s leash-snapping urge. 1971 colours are John Wyatt’s favourites. He’s a man of taste

“The bloke must have had a fit of conscience. He apologised and finally he was true to his word and shipped the bike over to me” and repositioned the silencers, as John remembers doing on his H1E. Despite their new-old-stock appearance, the pipes on John’s bike are actually new replicas. “The pipes it came with were battered to hell, and there wasn’t enough meat left on them for the chromer to work with, so I bought these from Overlander Equipment in Australia. They’re made from stainless steel, and they’re a perfect copy of the originals. Even the brackets are spot on.” Like all the best stories, John’s H1 saga isn’t without a twist. After putting in huge effort to restore this triple the first one he’d bought and chased for years finally turned up. “It was just what I thought would happen, the original seller turned up on the internet again,” John says. His reaction was swift and to the point. A five word email, two of which were swear words – one ending in ‘ing’ and the other ‘er’ – did the trick. “The bloke must have had a fit of conscience. He gave me a bit of flannel about being busy and apologised, and finally he was true to his word and shipped the bike over to me.” As if to rub salt into the wound, the H1 that turned up was better than the one John had started his restoration with. “If I’d had this bike in the first place the restoration would have been even easier. With what I know now this one should be fully restored in another three weeks or so. “I’m pleased with the way the bike’s turned out, but what I should have done was go to Kawasaki man Rick Brett (RB’s Kawasakis) in the first place and ask him to get me an H1. That would have saved a lot of hassle. And I should have bought the first bike through PayPal. That would have spared me all the extra grief.” Having sampled the finished machine I’m glad that John didn’t give up on the whole thing. His efforts have definitely been worthwhile.

52 april 2010 Classic Bike

specifications 1971 Kawasaki H1-A ENGINE/TRANSMISSION Type air-cooled piston-ported inline two-stroke triple Capacity Bore x stroke Compression ratio Carburation Clutch Gearbox Ignition

CHASSIS

Frame Front suspension Rear suspension Front brake Rear brake Wheels Tyres

DIMENSIONS Dry weight Wheelbase Seat height Fuel capacity

498cc 60 x 58.8mm 7:1 3 x Mikuni VM28mm wet, multiplate five-speed 12v electronic

tubular steel double cradle telescopic forks swingarm, twin shocks 7.9in tls drum 7.1in sls drum steel rimmed, spoked 3.25 x 19, 4.00 x 18 410lb (186kg) 55.1in (1377mm) 32.3in (820mm) 3 gal (15L)

PERFORMANCE

Top speed 119.14mph* SS 1/4 mile 13.2s, 100mph* Claimed power 60bhp @ 8000rpm Av fuel consumption 36.4mpg* Price new £575* *Cycle World, April 1969

ESSENTIAL H1 CONTACTS

Rising Sun Restorations (John Wyatt) 01423 358004 RB’s Kawasakis 0115 913 1333, www.classickawasaki.com Z-Power 01924 262864, www.z-power.co.uk Kawasaki Triples Club www.kawasakitriplesclub.co.uk Kawasaki Triples Worldwide www.kawasakitriplesworldwide.com Kawasaki Triples Worldwide Resources http://kawtriple.com/mraxl/ Jim Norman 07854 794211 Overlander Equipment www.dropbears.com/o/overlander/

The special relationship Triumph’s success in America was helped by their strong dealer network. It was nurtured by men like ‘Jolly’ Jack Mercer, a company ‘road man’, who visited dealers across 31 States. In the early 1960s he made this record of his travels

this is the baby one

This portly gent, a body polisher at a car factory, is trying a Cub for size at Shep’s Motors in Lansing, Michigan. “This guy is our official frame tester,” Mercer jokes. “He was a Harley guy, need I say more? He said he’d buy a Triumph if we ever made one big enough.”

my ’bird (and my plane) Mercer (left) at a dealership in Louisville, Kentucky with his 1952 650cc Thunderbird and German Steib sidecar. For Daytona Cycle Week in 1952, his ‘Steib-Bird’ was fitted with a sidecar on each side. The outfit contravened width regulations so Mercer carried a falselycalibrated measuring tape to ‘prove’ its legality

TWICE AS MUCH DRAG

Tommy Grazias on Parasite II, a famous East Coast drag bike built by Salem, New Jersey Triumph dealer John Melniczuk Snr and powered by two tuned 650cc engines with a Triumph gearbox and a wide tyre on an Indian rear wheel rim. Girder front forks were from an Ariel. Parasite II’s best run was a 10.33second quarter with a 150.23mph terminal. After Grazias married, the machine was sold to Don Hyland who raced it in the UK during 1964. It is now owned by John Melniczuk Jnr

additional words: Mick Duckworth

n the mid-Sixties Triumph was on a roll in the USA. Sales of 65,500 in 1963 had more than quadrupled in 1967. Although the firm’s reputation had been built in California, sales were mostly in the industrial regions of the East and the Mid-West. The mainstays were the T120 Bonneville and TR6 Trophy 650cc twins but the 200cc Tiger Cub had a following, too. Distribution across 31 Eastern and Southern States was handled by the Triumph Corporation (TriCor), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the British factory, based in Towson, near Baltimore, Maryland. Jack Mercer was TriCor’s chief ‘road man’. It was his job to visit TriCor dealers, take orders for machines and parts, absorb feedback, suggest showroom improvements and look for new outlets. Well-liked for his wry humour, ‘Jolly’ Jack took photographs on his travels. In 1964, to give British Triumph riders an insight into the American scene, and its customised and competition machines, he sent a set of photographic slides (along with a taped commentary) to Harold Booty of the Triumph Owners MCC’s Mighty South London Branch. Mike Avel, a TOMCC member since 1950 and a mainstay of the club’s tape-recording and film-making activities in the Fifties and Sixties, preserved the slides and commentary. So this CB slide show is thanks to him and the club. Lights down please.

fun with terriers

“This is an old picture from the 1950s,” Mercer says. “This girl is now married with three kids.” The bike is the 150cc Terrier single imported from 1954 to 1956 and overshadowed by the more successful 200cc Cub with swingarm frame, popular in the US until the late Sixties. “God knows we had enough trouble with those Terriers, but we had a lot of fun with them too.”

taking it easy

Triumph enduro riders in 1964, with Lewis Atkinson (458) on his heavily-chromed T100SC twin. The rider from Columbus, Ohio won Michigan’s challenging Jack Pine Enduro in 1961. “He’s a camera repair man and a real fussy guy,” Mercer says, explaining that the box on the handlebar is Atkinson’s own gadget to calculate average speed. On 417 are Leroy Winters and his wife Louella, from Fort Smith, Arkansas. A seasoned off-roader, Winters added Triumph to his dealership after winning the two-up Buddy Class in the Jack Pine on a standard bike. Next, on a Cub, is Don Seely, Ohio endurance champion and son of Ohio Triumph dealer Russ Seely. Last in the row is TriCor’s renowned tuner Cliff Guild

tiger’s claws

Milwaukee Triumph dealer Gus Herting shows off a Tiger Cub built for racing on frozen lakes in the area. Ex-Indian and Harley-Davidson employee Herting marketed the rigid rear end conversion and alloy tanks, while the steel spikes on the tyres were individually turned. The Cub was ridden successfully by Eddie Clifford, associated with BSA Gold Stars on dirt, and on occasion by the legendary Carrol Resweber, four-times winner of the multi-discipline US Grand National series

crisp shirts

Indiana boys of the Wildcat MC in neat striped tops with a 650cc Trophy scrambler. The rider is the bare-headed man, a distributor for Chesty potato chips (crisps). Mercer says the man on the left is a bartender who gets supplied with crisps, while the chap in the middle is a bar fly. “I’d guess you’d call him an alcoholic in England, but he’s also a Triumph booster as all bar flies are.”

identified flying object The Vincent Black Lightning streamliner New Zealander Russell Wright rode to a 185.15mph world speed record in 1955. Photographed at Marysville, Ohio, it was at Bonneville in 1956, but couldn’t match Johnny Allen’s 214mph runs in a Triumph streamliner. The bike is still in America but the aluminium shell has been lost

springfield smiles

Two ladies, apparently members of a pipe band, with a modified 1951 TR5 Trophy during a race meeting at Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield. The bike has leading-link forks and shocks made by Martin in California. Chrome plating on the alloy front brake plate, timing cover and gearbox was a new process at the time. “Believe it or not, those forks actually stay together, even on rough stuff,” Mercer says

Magic roundabout In a candy-coloured kaleidoscope a beautiful blonde in hipsters, a vest and sheepskin boots rides a baffleless antique motorcycle. An Alice in Wonderland fantasy? Or the here and now? Words: Gary Inman Photography: Fly Tipping

Classic Bike april 2010 65

Wall of Death

The blonde keeps on circulating, perpendicular to terra firma, 15ft in the air. I’m hypnotized, gobsmacked and grinning.

The noise of the motorcycle reverberates as she takes her hands from the ’bars, extends her arms like wings and flicks her fingers with a flourish. She’s smiling. Then, with her hands back on the ’bars, she knocks off the throttle and coasts lazily down the wall towards me. In the sudden silence, a man’s voice jars me out of my reverie, “Luke, have you got the valve spring compressor? Bring the tyre levers then.” The voice belongs to Ken Fox. The kaleidoscope is his Wall of Death. This is his show, his world, his whole life. Ken Fox is a third generation Wall of Death owner/rider. He’s been circulating since 1976. His sons, Luke, 22, and Alex, 15, are fourth generation hell riders. The Fox family are a fascinating and lovable throwback to a pre-digital age. They’re out of step with the now. They make their living the hard way, with old bikes, self-promotion and lots of graft, in the shape of as many as 28 15-minute shows a day. It’s heartening to hear an attraction that debuted in the early 20th century is still popular now. But, really, how could you not love the Wall of Death? It has authentic antique charm, fearless riders, Cossack boots, noise, glamour and splinters. All for a £2 entrance fee. Today, the wall is built and ready for the start of the Haddenham Steam Rally, near the Foxs’ base in Cambridgeshire. Steam fairs make up a big part of the roving show’s ever-growing calendar. “The season used to run from Easter to October, but now it starts in January and ends on December 7,” Ken explains. They’re on the road so much they don’t even own a house. Yesterday was set-up. “It takes seven hours to build up the wall and two hours to break it down. 20 tonnes up and 20 tonnes down. There’s no quick way to do it.” Ken has two walls, one dating back to 1928. This is the new one. The smooth one. Ken made it himself over the winter of 1994-95. Oregon pine is the timber of choice, because it’s very strong with a straight grain that makes it hard-wearing. The riding area of the wall is 18ft high and 28ft in diameter. The relationship between height and diameter is crucial to the perspective spectators get from the top. Too short and it looks like a bowl rather than a barrel. And a 28ft diameter means you can ride a little slower than you can on the old 32ft diameter wall.

“I thought the Wall of Death was something to do with horses. I’d never even ridden a motorbike” Today the wall is having its annual safety inspection and the bikes are being fettled. The oldest of the Indians is nearly 90 years old, and they’re not allowed off-days. The valve timing of Kerri Cameron’s Indian Scout is causing problems, and Ken is busy sorting it out. Kerri is the 26-year-old blonde member of the troupe. Like the rest of her colleagues she’s anomalous to her peers. Sure, in her civvies she could pass for a young woman from a marketing department, but she has a steel spine and the necessary wanderlust. “I saw an advert in the job centre for a Wall of Death rider. The horse riding school I was working at had just closed down and I thought the Wall of Death was something to do with horses. I’d never even ridden a motorbike.” In fact that was an advantage – it’s easier to teach a complete novice to ride the wall because they have no preconceived ideas.

66 april 2010 Classic Bike

You don’t want to scrape the bottom of the barrel, let alone put a wheel over the top. Below, from left: fettling a Scout; Honda CB200 with left hand throttle; open pipes and flame paint transform Honda into Wall of Death bike

Classic Bike april 2010 67

But that wasn’t Ken’s first concern when the then 19-year-old Kerri contacted him. His first question was, “Do you have a beard?” “We attract some strange people,” Ken explains. “And the last one I interviewed before Kerri phoned me was a woman with a beard.” The lack of nags didn’t put the new applicant off. “I saw Luke on the wall and thought, ‘That looks good! Forget horses.’” Kerri recalls. Kerri was offered the job and started training. “My dad thought it was brilliant,” she remembers. “At first, I rode pillion to get over the dizziness. Then I moved onto driving the go-kart round the wall. After that, I practiced riding the Hondas so I could be in the first act.” The Honda CB200s used in the first act are also used for practice, but the Indians are better for trick riding. Kerri still doesn’t have a bike licence. Instead the troupe helped her through her Class 1 HGV test so that she could drive the trucks. Apprentices are taken up the wall, on bars or pillion, in every act for four or five weeks to deal with the dizziness. There’s no real secret to it, just practice – riding for five to ten minutes then taking a breather before going again. “Just going round like a bumblebee in a jar,” as Ken puts it. They have to do 40-45mph, just like the seasoned riders. That’s third gear on the Indians and 60mph is about the limit; above that the g-force can make you black out.

“Kerri kicks the V-twin into life and rides up the wall. The wooden barrel comes alive. It shakes and shimmies” There’s a myth, among macho bikers, that riding the Wall of Death is easy. True, some can grasp it quickly (and a couple of years ago a group of young builders from the East Midlands made their own wall from pallets and rode it on mopeds), but others never acclimatise. Even if you think riding the wall is straightforward, the trick riding Ken and his troupe showcase certainly isn’t. Over the years the Fox family have added more bikes and riders to the wall. The finale to their act is now a race, with three bikes zig-zagging past each other. “See all those scrapes?” asks Ken, pointing to the angled ramp riders use to gain speed to ride the wall. I do. There are dozens. “Every one of them is where someone has come a cropper. The problem is we make it look too easy.” The last really big accident happened in Germany, at their regular Oktoberfest gig, and involved Ken’s eldest, Luke. He was riding close to the white line that tops the wall and pulling off the dramatic dips, where the rider swerves up and down the wall like the blip on a heart monitor screen. Then Luke put a wheel over the top of wall. There’s no way back from that kind of miscalculation and he was thrown 18ft to the ground. “I took all the skin off my chest,” he remembers. “I got back on and finished the race, then went to hospital. You have to get back on straight away.” With the valve problem sorted Kerri is ready to test the Scout again. “It’s not going to seize up is it?” she asks Ken. “No, it might just make a funny noise,” he says unconvincingly while wiping his Snap-On tools clean. The bikes aren’t modified to allow them to run on their sides; centrifugal force keeps the oil where it’s meant to be. Kerri kicks the V-twin into life and rides up the wall. As she does, the aspect of the wall’s charm that can’t be seen in photos or on video, becomes apparent. When the wooden barrel strains to deal with the centrifugal force created by bike and rider it comes alive. It breathes and shakes and shimmies. You feel it in your feet, while the beat of the twin makes itself felt in your ribcage. After a few revolutions Kerri’s fully confident with Ken’s work on the bike and is riding side-saddle with no hands on the bars, then she coasts down the wall to pause before joining her fiancé, Luke, to give a demonstration of two Indians on the wall. This is the day of the annual check but the Wall of Death is the antithesis of Nanny State Britain. The troupe don’t wear leathers or gloves and it’s impossible to wear a helmet. “We’re pulling 3G during some of the tricks. When you’re learning your neck aches at the end of every day. It’s hard to lift your chin off your chest and difficult to stand up. If you wore a helmet the added weight would be too much.”

68 april 2010 Classic Bike

THE BIKES

S cout Masters “You couldn’t make a more perfect Wall of Death bike than the

Indian,” reckons Wall of Death owner Ken Fox. “They have a low centre of gravity and the geometry is perfect.” And the control cables run inside the handlebars, so they won’t snag on a rider’s leg during acrobatic manoeuvres. “The Scouts’ seat and handlebars are at the perfect height for trick riding. The big footboards and the low petrol tank are also ideal. The rigid rear end helps and we stiffen the front suspension with an extra couple of leaves.” The Wall of Death has eight Indians, dating from 1921 to 1927, plus spare engines. This is enough for when both walls are touring in the summer and includes the ‘Bally bikes’ chained to the rollers on the stage out in front. They also have ten 1970s Honda CB200s for various acts and for training. I don’t know if Ken’s wholly accurate when he says, “Everyone who thinks of Indian, thinks of the Wall of Death,” but they certainly should.

ENGINE The 42° V-twin Scout engine uses two camshafts, one per cylinder, with a single cam on each operating the inlet and exhaust valves. A train of gears drives the camshafts and the magneto ahead of the front cylinder. Most of Ken’s bikes are 596cc and run Austin 12 pistons. Done properly, the engines are fairly tough. Ken’s was re-built in 1985 and hasn’t needed anything since. Luke’s was re-built in 1986. “They start and run with very few problems.”

RELIABLE-ISH Indian engines are the weak point of the bikes – the frames are incredibly strong, designed as they are for colonial conditions. “Common problems are cracked flywheels, cracked crankcases and broken flanges on the cylinders,” says CB’s Rick Parkington, who used to earn a crust fettling Indians for specialists Motolux. “The three-speed, ‘crash’-type gearboxes aren’t particularly strong either.”

CONTROLS The Indian’s left-hand throttle has no return spring, allowing ‘hands free’ trick riding. Legend says that the left hand throttle was to allow Police riders to shoot from the saddle. The truth is more prosaic. Indian introduced twistgrip controls in 1904 when carburettors were crude and unresponsive. Putting the essential ignition advance/retard control on the right twistgrip was a valid decision. And Indian stuck with it.

CHASSIS The Scout, and particularly the later 101 with its lower seat and longer wheelbase, established itself as a favourite with stunt riders from day one. Ken’s bikes do without front brakes, a feature that turned up on the 1928-on 101 Scout. Front suspension is leaf-sprung girder. Indians often sport two rear brakes – a drum and a contracting band – to satisfy the requirement in the UK for two independent systems.

WHEELS AND TYRES “It takes about three years to get a bike you’ve built from scratch feeling beautiful,” Ken reckons. “Then if you change a tyre the feeling’s gone. We use a Continental rear and an Avon Speedmaster front on modern 19in rims. About five years ago something on the Avons changed; they went from lasting two years to lasting two weeks. They said nothing had changed but something was different.”

BUYING Indians were popular in the UK until the late 1920s, when increased restrictions on imported goods came into force, so they’re not uncommon. The Scout was built in 500, 600 and 750cc displacements, with the 101 Scout (1928 to 1931) regarded as the best of the breed. If you want one, budget between £5000 and £10,000, keep an eye on the Classic Bike classifieds or try specialists Motolux (01315 575807) in Edinburgh.

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“The youth of today, they drive you up the wall, charging around on their motorbikes. Most of the time they’re perpendicular. They make a helluva racket. It wasn’t like this in my day. The wood? Isn’t that Oregon pine?”

Over a cuppa Ken gives me a short history of the attraction. “A company called Silodromes used to own all the Walls of Death and rent them and the riders out to showmen. Billy Butlin was a director of Silodromes so, at one time, every holiday camp in the country had a Wall of Death.” By the 1970s holidaymakers wanted different attractions and the walls’ popularity dwindled. Now, the Ken Fox troupe have the only working walls in the UK. Ken thinks there are probably only 40 Walls of Death left in the world. Like any business they have their ups and downs. A lot depends on the weather – if a show is a washout they can come away with nothing. And keeping this show on the road isn’t cheap – the troupe’s two Land Rovers and three trucks have a healthy thirst for diesel. It goes without saying, this life isn’t for everyone. “It can be hard, when you’re taking down the wall in the rain and you’ve got to dig the trucks out of a field because they’ve sunk in the mud. You’re never clean in this job. But who wants a cheque from Tesco every week? I like living by the seat of my pants.”

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Where to see t h e Wa l l o f D e at h

The Foxes have two walls touring in the summer (and one at less busy times) so it’s likely they will bring their world-famous show within a short ride of most UK readers at some point this year. The 2010 season starts with the Troupe appearing as part of an art theatre project in Glasgow, Aberdeen and Edinburgh. The Wall of Death will then appear at a mixture of motorcycle, steam and car shows including the BMF, Paignton Bike show and Stotfold Mill Steam Fair in May, the Hell’s Angels’ Bulldog Bash in August, the Great Dorset Steam Fair in September and the NEC Bike show next November. There are dozens of dates in between. For the most up-to-date information on where the wall is next, go to their website at www.wall-of-death.co.uk

Project Side-valve Part one

Th e lost

World

These two bikes were solid, dependable plodders. But evolution passed them by. In the next four months we’ll rebuild them and find out how they stack up as 21st-century classics

Hugo’s Ariel

This pile of parts was a 1929 Model A 557cc single with a three-speed Sturmey-Archer gearbox. The project cost £1000 but the mudguards, headlamp lens and seat have been lost; have you got any of the missing pieces?

april 2010 Classic Bike

Rick’s BSA

It’s a 1954 M21 that’s rusty, but in amazingly original condition. The paint may be faded, but it was applied in Birmingham 56 years ago. Rick swapped it with a pal who needed a Triumph engine rebuilding.

Still life with motorcycles. 2010. Part of an exhibition of work still to be done by the artist Rick Parkington

Classic Bike april 2010

By the mid-1960s about the only thing you could buy with a sidevalve engine was a lawn mower. Perceived as inefficient, uneconomical and underpowered even before the War, the only real selling feature of side-valve motorcycles was their reputation for simplicity and a huge torque curve that commended them to traditionally-minded sidecar enthusiasts. While other models adopted swingarm suspension, side-valves, apart from Ariel’s VB, remained rigid or plunger framed. This reflected the sidecar driver’s belief that un-sprung frames were more sturdy (and allowed for more suitable location of attachment points) but it left these big machines stranded in a rather stagnant stylistic backwater. So is the side-valve just a dinosaur that deserved to die or does the double underhead valve engine still have some relevance for the classic rider in the 21st century? This project should give us the answer as it covers two side-valves: a 1929 Ariel 557cc Model B, which CB editor Hugo picked up in bits last year, and a 1954 BSA M21 that I rescued a couple of years ago from a mate’s back garden. Both bikes are from the drawing board of the same designer, Val Page, a man whose quiet influence shaped many of the most highly-respected British machines. The Ariel represents a fine example of the side-valve in its heyday, while the BSA

“The plan is to get both bikes on the road, then pit them against each other” comes from the twilight years when only the buying power of large organisations like the AA, who chose the big BSA to power their sidecar patrol combinations, kept the archaic design in production. The plan is to get both bikes back on the road and then pit them against one another to see how they fare and whether the 25-year gap between the two makes much difference and whether they are practical bikes to use for everyday riding. Hugo bought the Ariel from a work colleague who had obviously spent quite a bit of money on stove enamelling and plating; but the yellowed copies of MotorCycle News wrapping the painted parts tell their own story – for whatever reason, this project ran aground thirty years ago. Luckily, it has remained in good condition and almost complete. The missing bits (mudguards, headlamp reflector and seat) were probably sent away for repair or refurbishment and

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Hugo’s Ariel

The Ariel’s bottom end has been assembled. But has it been rebuilt?

rick’s bsa

Project Side-valve Part one

Side-valve technology

The clue is in the name. In a side-valve engine the valves are positioned vertically beside the cylinder bore rather than over it, so that the inlet and exhaust ports enter the combustion chamber from below. The combustion chamber is extended to provide a pocket into which the valves open. The main problem with the side-valve layout is that it restricts compression ratio. There must be space above the valves so that the gas flow is not masked, but this increases the volume of the combustion chamber in an area the piston can’t fill. The layout also forces inlet and exhaust gases to travel a more tortuous path. Another issue is cylinder distortion caused by the dramatically different temperatures of the neighbouring inlet and exhaust valve chambers adjacent to the cylinder wall, a problem shared by piston-ported two strokes. Distortion can lead to head gasket trouble and contributes to inefficient compression as the bore goes ‘out of round’. In the early days, Blackburne and AJS avoided this problem by making the valve chest separate, as part of the cylinder head casting. Other manufacturers relied on heavy finning around the exhaust valve. Where the side-valve really scores is in its simplicity: the cylinder head is, in effect, just a lid and the more direct operation of the valve gear minimises moving parts. And there is no real danger of a valve hitting the piston, even if it breaks – a common problem up until the mid1920s when satisfactory valve steels were still under development. The side-valve’s reputation for simplicity, durability and slogging power saw production of the BSA M21 stagger on until 1963. The Americans persevered for longer, keeping ‘flat-head’ engines viable in both racing cars and motorcycles well into the 1960s. The BSA’s mileage was clocked up a long time ago. Cobwebs will be blown away eventually

Far left: rebuilt wheels have aged better than their wrapping. Middle: the Ariel’s engine looks better than the crusty BSA (right), but is it?

With valves running vertically alongside the cylinder, heat transfer can be a problem. But its simplicity is a strength

Classic Bike april 2010 75

Project Side-valve Part one

CB Editor Hugo separates the Ariel’s engine cases to check the main bearings

“the bare minimum required to make a barn find bike reliable and safe” forgotten. But these items aren’t too hard to replace and the rest of the bike’s components are in incredibly good condition, so I’m hoping it won’t be too hard to finish the job. The licensing record within the original brown log book indicates that the bike was in regular use during the late 1940s. Typically this was when vintage bikes met their end – offering cheap transport to be run into the ground – but this bike appears to have been well maintained by a caring owner. These late twenties ‘black Ariels’, as they are known (to distinguish them from the 1930s Red Hunter models) make a perfect introduction to vintage bikes. The big 557cc engine is quite powerful, and capable of long distances in relative comfort with a top speed of around 70mph. 1929 was the first year of Ariel’s re-circulating oil system, a big advance on the total-loss oiling of the past. The chassis is sturdy and the brakes generously proportioned. This was the era Ariel coined the advertising slogan “The Modern Motor Cycle” and the black Ariels represent a fairly painless 1920s experience – I think Hugo’s going to love this one. He had a quick spin on my mate Peter’s 1928 model at the Manx last year and came back with a gleam in his eye... The M21 came to me from my old pal Mick O’Reardon who used to run it, with sidecar, to transport his Rhodesian Ridgeback dog. Eventually it conked out and has sat under a tarpaulin for the last 15 years. Planning a house move, Mick didn’t know what to do with the BSA, so since I was about to undertake a Triumph engine rebuild for him, I suggested taking the BSA as payment. I’ve never owned an M-series Beesa, despite going through a phase of wanting an ex-War Department M20 in my teens, so I’m

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The BSA M21’s engine is still an unknown quantity. But the rust is plentiful

looking forward to getting this one sorted out. It looks pretty rough but it hasn’t deteriorated that much since Mick last used it. Magneto failure is what took it off the road and when you kick it over there are some alarming clunks but the bike is complete and original. The unusually-light wear at key points suggests that it hasn’t done that much work – although probably more than the 27,000 miles on the clock. This is exactly the type of bike people describe as an ‘easy restoration’ but… er, I’m not intending to restore it. I love it like it is; it’s an old bike and it looks its age. So much would have to be replaced to make it shiny: handlebars, wheel rims, possibly even the tank, all to turn an honest working slogger into some precious jewel that never goes out in the wet. No, with the M21 we’re going to establish what is the bare minimum required to make a barn find bike reliable and safe. We’ll just run an oily rag over the rest. Quick refurb on the BSA and just throw a 90 per cent finished Ariel together? This has to be the easiest project yet... doesn’t it? I suppose we’re about to find out.

N ext m o nth

Project Side-valve Part two NEXT MONTH: Rick gets stuck into the BSA overhaul; what is the rusty Beesa like inside and what needs doing to the engine? JUNE: Finding out what’s missing from the pile of Ariel parts. JULY: We ride them. Well, that’s the plan.

Val Page

Valentine Page came to Ariel Motors from JAP in 1925. Ariel’s range was terribly outdated and Page dived in with a completely new engine in 500 ohv or 550 sidevalve form. This was fitted into the company’s existing ‘flat tank’ chassis for 1926 while Page designed a replacement. His 1927 range, with cradle-type frame, ‘saddle’ tank and generous brakes, provided a solid foundation that was easily updated over the years. Hard times caught up with Ariel in 1932 and Page moved to Triumph, where he produced the Model 6/1, Triumph’s first 650 parallel twin, and an efficient range of singles, before he moved again, this time to BSA, in 1935. He again had the task of replacing a tired catalogue and in his four-year stay, he created a sturdy single-cylinder range that became the backbone of BSA’s production for over 20 years, spawning not only the side-valve M20/M21 and their OHV counterparts, but the sporting Empire Star as well, which evolved into the Goldie. Page returned to Ariel in 1939 and stayed there, supplying the military W/NG, the KH twin, a range-wide swinging-arm frame and the Leader two stroke. He officially retired in 1959 but remained a consultant for some time before his death in 1978, aged 86. If Page had a weakness it was perhaps his slightly puritanical styling – functional but rarely eye-catching. When Edward Turner took over at Triumph he immediately covered the singles in chrome and named them Tiger. He also abandoned Page’s twin in favour of his own Speed Twin, a design that, like his Square Four, became a motorcycling legend. It’s hard to imagine Page’s 6/1 inspiring the same devotion.

The side-valve alternatives

Side-valves may have limited performance but they’ve also got rugged appeal and plenty of charm. Surely you need one in your garage?

N orton

16H

490cc single, 1921-54, 70mph £1500-£2500 Norton’s first own-engined bike was the 633cc side-valve Big 4 of 1908. This was joined by the chain-driven 500cc 16H in 1921. Both models were catalogued until 1954, spanning the rise and fall of the sidevalve engine. In the 1920s the 16H was a fast touring machine for the enthusiast but by the Second World War it had been eclipsed by the company’s ohv and ohc models, remaining in the range primarily as a sidecar partner. Wartime adoption by the armed forces further extended its lifespan – a good War record, alongside BSA’s M20, made for continued post-War sales among those who learned to ride in khaki. Today, War Department stock ensures a good supply of parts. The 16H chassis’ is similar to the pre-war International and is often cannibalised, perhaps explaining the Norton’s popularity and good reputation among the military side-valves.

Le Velocette

150/192cc flat twin, 1949-72, 53mph £300-£800 The LE (Little Engine) was quiet, economical and smooth. The 200cc (originally 150cc) water-cooled flat twin’s pressed-steel cycle parts, including legshields and mudguards, made it weatherproof and easy to wash. Shaft rear drive meant no greasy chain. But it was too slow for youngsters, or established riders, and the design lacked the style that was attracting new riders onto scooters. But Police demand for a near-silent patrol bike saw the LE remain in production into the 1970s – parts are still easy to find.

Flat tank sidevalve 350s

350cc single, 1922-28, 55mph £3000-£6000 Most vintage 350s are much the same, but bikes from manufacturers with sporting heritage, like AJS and Sunbeam, cost more than BSAs or Raleighs, although the riding experience is similar. 350s are cheaper than 500s but usefully more powerful than a contemporary 250, making them ideal as vintage starter bikes. They’re surprisingly usable on today’s roads, with performance akin to that of a Honda 90 and the scarcity of spares is easy to get round by adapting or modifying parts for other machines – it’s worth joining a suitable club for help with problem solving.

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BSA C10

249cc, single, 1938-57, 55mph £500-£1000 BSA’s staple 250 side-valve was another pre-war design that pottered on into the 1950s. This three speed, 8 bhp thumper was a pretty thrill-proof introduction to motorcycling for 1950s teenagers but today it has enough quaint charm to make up for that. BSA had been making side-valve 250s since the Round Tank model of the 1920s and they had long been the choice of the Post Office for telegram delivery. The GPO’s switch to the Bantam hit sales, but the C10 staggered on through the 1950s, gaining plunger rear suspension and other detail improvements to become the C10L in 1953. It was finally discontinued in October 1957. The most likeable models are probably the early rigid-framed machines, whose old-fashioned styling best reflects their performance, but any C10 offers a simple, cheap introduction to side-valves.

Indian Chief

1200cc V-twin, 1930-53, 90mph £15,000-£20,000 America’s isolation from Europe meant side-valves remained the staple for motorcycles, and cars, for longer, with greater advances in performance. The Indian Chief originated in Charles Franklin’s 600cc Scout design of 1920 and the basic concept of a 42° side-valve V-twin with semi-unit construction three speed crash gearbox remained until the last 80 cubic inch Chief in 1953. The Indian engine is a fairly lively performer, as the 750 Scouts proved in Class C racing well into the 1950s, but over the years the Chief especially gained weight and, as the engine grew bigger, filling the space provided, much of the side-valve’s ease of maintenance was lost. But the Chief is a comfortable longdistance bike whose wide spread of lazy power can make overhead valve engines seem pointlessly manic.

Brough Superior SS80

1000cc, 1923-39, 80mph £15,000-£25,000 The SS80 was originally Brough’s sporting big twin, the model number referring to its 80 mph top speed. When the ohv SS100 took over that role, the 80 became the luxury tourer and side-car bike. Brough Superior fitted JAP or Matchless engines into the SS80; the JAP is the more sought after. Detractors say the bike is no more than a collage of parts, but the bikes have a mystique and appeal that has made them collector’s items since the factory closed. Specification varies. Some models are fitted with rear suspension, but in all forms they’re pleasantly powerful, comfortable machines that ooze charm and are unlikely ever to lose value.

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