Its the time of year to start planning events and as always we will be at the Kempton Park Bike Jumble. The dates for this year are:
11 March
20 May (Includes Southern Classic Motorcycle Show)
22 July
16 September
21 October
2 December (includes Southern Classic Off Road Show)
More details of the event can be found at www.kemptonparkautojumble.co.uk
On 6-7 May we will be off to France for the Vintage Revival at Montlhery in France. Well worth a visit and check out the video below.
July is the Chateau Impney Hill climb and in September we will once again be participating in the Shere Hill Climb. watch out for more news on these later.
Website
The website has been somewhat dormant over the last few months, but work continues in the background to build a shop and to include some more interactive content. This blog will also find its way onto Fenlandclassics.com from this month forwards.
Next Month we will bring you up to date with events covered in the last couple of months.
<Some images are missing from this update> The weather has now changed for the better, but it seems that the very best days are reserved for the times when I have to remain inside.
Warbike Project
The Project is progressing well, but I am having to do a lot of work on the pre WW1 period. Lots of parallel developments that have to be taken into account. The images too are looking very good and thanks again to Mortons Media, IOM Avation Museum and Brooklands Museum for those.
Montlhéry
Later this month the Brooklands Motorcycle volunteers will be off to the Vintage Revival. We were on hand to help out in April as the Six chosen bikes were given a final once over. The 1927 Sunbeam was run before gearbox and sump were drained and oil ways checked for obstructions. I had already given the Best and Lloyd pump a strip and full service last year, so no dramas were expected. It is much easier to over oil this particular model as they have direct feed as well as manual feed. It is all too easy to give the auxiliary pump one for luck which inevitably causes the gearbox to leak or a lot of smoke. The Zenith lubrication system had a repaired crack near the adjuster but this would have been ok for the trip to France. The problem was the Mousetrap Carburettor and Electrics. The Carb was temporarily replaced and the bike ran well. However an intermittent fault caused an occasional loss of spark. It seems that this was picked up on a previous occasion and could not be fixed permanently. The Project Manager decided that it was not worth the risk, particularly as there are more riders than bikes. And so the bike was pulled and replaced with the ever faithful Tommy Meeten Francis Barnett.
This bike is a distance record holder in period. It had an outing to the Sammy Miller Museum in November 13 and drew a lot of interest at the Southern Classic Off Road Show in Dec 2014. Henry Cole's Mate Sam Lovegrove took time off Filming Channel 4's Shed and Buried to take a look. The bike was given a complete rebuild a couple of years ago and was fitted with a pacemaker in the form of electronic ignition to strengthen the spark This has recently been removed for the sake of authenticity. Needles to say that despite being a small 2 Stroke it runs very well and should be very popular at the Event.
Sam Lovegrove takes time out to discuss the Francis Barnett
The Third bike on the list is an early 1900's Kerry Abingdon. It is a lovely example and after a bit of persuasion runs very well. As with all motor Bicycles of this period it is a bit of a handful, but I am sure it will find its legs round the French Oval. Fourth is a Velocette which was modified by its previous owner resulting in a cascade of oil after starting. This bike like the Kerry is privately owned and the current owner is confident that it will perform well with a bit of fettling in the pits. Fifth on the list is a Triumph . Currently on short-term display at the Museum.This bike is a wonderfully prepared machine and featured in a clip from a short film we have been working on the The VMCC.I look forward to some great images of this bike in action.
Last and by no means least is the recreation of Wal Handley's Empire Star.This bike was running at the 2014 Goodwood festival of Speed before going back to the West Country to have some work done on it for the trip to France. It now takes pride of place in the Museum's Motorcycle Display were it was briefly displayed with a Gold Star Telling the story of Handley's Gold Star Win and the development of the iconic BSA motorcycle which bore its name.
The Empire Star on test at Dunsfold Airfield in 2013
As for the 500cc ABC twin. This bike had to be pulled at an early stage because of a bad knocking sound. Having looked at the power unit there is nothing yet which shouts out the problem. It is likely to be a combination of a lot of bearing wear throughout the gearbox/drive. There are some marks on the crankcase which seem to tell a story. However there are some excellent people on the job and they are assisted by a marque specialist via email.
ABC & Brooklands
Sticking with the ABC Story I carried out a bit of Warbike spin-off research on ABC at Brooklands and its subsequent home in Hersham. This will be put into print later, but below are some images of the ABC works in Hersham as it is now, before the site is redeveloped. <Images to be added>
Fenlandclassics TV
Our Pick of the bunch for May and Series 9 Episode 3 of Bike World.
Research is a funny old game. You can spend months, sometimes years
searching for information on a particular subject, then up it pops right in
front of you. This has happened on a few occasions, but just recently I was
looking at some references to the early testing of military motorcycles by the
Army. The trail led to HCL Holden, who was the designer of the Brooklands Circuit
and a member of the Army's Mechanical Transport Committee. A random Holden
reference led me indirectly to the 1914 Red Cross Field Day at Brooklands.
About two years ago I had been looking at the event and had concluded this
was likely to be a closed exercise open only to members of the Red Cross,
Military and other interested parties. There was one intriguing report that
hinted at advertising posters, but this was not directly concerned with my
Sidecar Ambulance research so I left it.
This latest gem pointed me to the Welcome Collection and here I found a
treasure trove of information including two Red Cross Field Day programmes and
a flyer advertising the event to members of the public. Still nothing further
on Ambulance Sidecars, but some fascinating insight into the scenarios played
out on the day.
It transpires that the Event was in fact a full scale Red Cross exercise
run with the military which included a two pronged invasion from the South and
East including locating and retrieving casualties from miles beyond the Brooklands
track, as was previously thought. So lots more to write up and place in the
Brooklands Library.
Historians, unlike archaeologists have the luxury of being able to focus on
a single subject without being bogged down by other things they discover.
However I often feel obligated to explore the side shoots which is just a long
way of explaining that the final stage of editing the Book is a slow process.
I recently spent some time at the Royal Logistics Corps Museum in Surrey.
Here I found some excellent documents that tell the early story of military
motorcycling. I am now able to tell the real story of how Triumph and Douglas
became the most successful of the WW1 manufacturers and how Douglas's bid
nearly foundered at the bottom of the Brooklands Test Hill. And, as they say on
the TV news; more on that later!
Vintage Revival
The biannual Vintage Revival takes place on 9/10 May 2015. The event is an eclectic
mix of old vehicles which can be seen on the oval banked xx circuit. The track
is still in very good condition and the Brooklands Museum Railton 4D Experience
production team used the French circuit to recreate the feel of the Surrey
track in period.
The Brooklands Motorcycle Volunteers are currently preparing bikes for
their third outing to the event. This year they plan to take some of the oldest
machines which has its challenges. The Zenith is not run very
often as its mousetrap carb makes this bike a bit of a handful. However this
has been temporarily replaced; new grips and footrest rubbers have been fitted
and the pillion carrier removed. The loose bits have been wired up and it ran
like it was just out of the factory.
The Zenith gets a test
Less successful was the 1921 ABC 500cc twin. This bike was built in Hersham
after the company was forced to move from Brooklands when the Royal Flying
Corps took over. The bike has a few issues, but these were rectified over the
last few months and the bike was test run on the banked circuit. Unfortunately
the engine still had a nasty knocking which was traced to the main shaft
bearing. Fine for running round the temporary track at Brooklands, but this
Bradshaw designed machine is too precious to be risked on the big French oval.
Work has already begun and the engine will be removed during the next few
weeks.
Meanwhile the hunt is on for a replacement. The Museum's 1920's Sunbeam was
test run a couple of time and is looking good for a place on the trip.
More news on the preparation next month.
The Bike Shed Events 2015
The Bike Shed Motorcycle Club is a group passionate about the street custom
scene. This year they have spread their wings across the channel to Paris where
they will be holding their first French event at Carreau de Temple on 11/12 April
15 which promises to be an awesome weekend showcasing all that is current in
the Cafe racer/custom world. Don't worry if you can’t make it to Paris, because
they will be doing it all again at Tobacco Dock in London on 23/24 May 15. Click Here for Tickets and more information on both Events.
Shed Finds: Triumph Model H and Tyler JAP
Triumph Mod H
A few months ago we were privileged to be present when a collection of
bikes were discovered in a shed in West London. Among the mountain of spares
and various post War bikes was a Model H Triumph and a JAP powered Tyler. Both
bikes were in very original condition. Whilst the Tyler was a bit on the poorly
side the Model H looked as if it had been placed in a shed the day after it was
purchased. Both are due to be auctioned at Stafford later this month and we
will have more about these machines in the next update.
Website
We are currently working on a new website, which will include articles,
films and information as well as a virtual Museum and Shop. Watch out for more announcements
on Twitter @Fenlandclassics over the next few months.
Fenland ClassicsTV
This month we have unearthed some more great shorts:
The Build By EXIF
Harley Iron Head from
the slightly strange but Brilliant Cafe Racer TV
Cafe Racer Themes:
Music collection by Kevin Sparrow
On 21 March 2013 we joined the volunteers of Brooklands
Museum Motorcycle Section track testing motorcycles before they go off to the
Vintage Revival meeting at Montlhéry near Paris in April. Here are a few shots
of the day and a full report will appear in the April Update
