April UPDATE

I am no Fool. The April Update will appear shortly.

Brooklands @ Kempton Park

Peter Allen with Epsom Salt

Old Timer

MARCH Update

Photo-shoot

Steve Parrish and the Brooklands BSA Empire Star

February has mostly been spent finalising the website but we did get out earlier in the month to do a publicity shoot with Steve Parrish. It was blowing a gale when Steve arrived, but thanks to an Ace team in the shape of Perry Barwick ad Rob Overy we were able to quickly able wrap up some shots which will be used as publicity for the premier Brooklands Museum Motorcycle Event of 2016.

Steve Parrish at Brooklands

The event titled The Brooklands Motorcycle Show “Then and Now” to be held on 4 July will feature iconic motorcycles of the last 80 years including many original Marques with their modern counterpart. Steve Parrish will be attending as guest of honour. Keep posted for more news.

Adventure Motorcycling Evening

One of Zoe's stunning shots of the open road

On 16 February, I was invited to host an Adventure Motorcycling evening with the VMCC. In typical Chat show style I was joined on the couch by Zoe Cano, who headlined the evening with an interactive discussion about long distance motorcycling and her trip across the USA. 

Zoe's Bike

We were also joined by Brooklands VMCC Chair Richard Huckle and Gavin Shaw who gave us an insight into their recent trips to Scandinavia. The Evening was billed as Riders of the Lost Art of Solo Adventure Motorcycling. Our conclusion was that the art is still alive and kicking. 

Norway land of the midnight sun

Zoe’s excellent chronicle of her trip “Bonneville Go or Go Bust” is available on Amazon.

Warbike Review

Thanks to Pete Kelly of Old Bike Mart for reviewing Warbike: British Military Motorcycling 1899-1919. 

The review will appear in the March edition of the paper, and the book is available via our new website. Fenlandclassics.com

Fenland Classic Motorcycles Website is Live

The Website is now up and running, but the shop will follow later after it is fully tested. This blog will also remain separate until April whilst pages are transferred.

Log on and enjoy.

Old Timer

FEBRUARY Update

January is traditionally a lazy month, spent mostly in hibernation. After a very mild December, a return to cold and windy conditions was a bit of shock to the system.

Warbike

The warbike project continues; dipping a toe into the post WW1 period. Tracked motorcycles would you believe! This will be a long research period which will run in the background. However, if you have any information about military motorcycling during the interwar period please drop us a line at warbike@fenlandclassics.co.uk We have already had contact from people with information on testing and sales of ex-military WW1 bikes.

The time in the warm was used to finish the Brooklands Great War 100 event film which is now available via FenlandClassicsTV below:

Last but not least Warbike: British Military Motorcycling1899-1919 is available via the link below.

Kempton Park Bikejumble

Kempton Bike Jumble

We did crawl out for Eric Patterson’s excellent Jumble. We had repro vintage and veteran parts as well as later used parts on offer. There were some real bargains to be had in the Triumph department. We also have semi-liquid gearbox grease for Burman boxes. I have previously trawled Kempton for this grease without success; but when you have it nobody wants it! Anyway if you do need some gearbox grease drop us a tweet (@fenlandclassics) and come to the next Jumble in March.  

Bonneville Go or Go Bust

 Bonneville Go or GoBust is an excellent winter read from Motorcycle Traveller Zoe Cano. I caught up with her a few weeks ago to discuss the book and plan an Adventure Touring Evening with the Vintage Motorcycle Club, I will be joined later in February by Zoe and other riders to talk about preparation....or not! and just why do people ride off into the wild alone.

Zoe Cano

Bonneville Go or Go Bust: On the Roads Tess Traveled is available on Amazon or catch up with Zoe at the Carole Nash MCN Show at the London Excel Centre 12-14 February 2016.

Brooklands Cotton JAP Restoration

During January we had a bit of fun with a Twitter Documentary following the rebuild of the Doug Earle Cotton Jap. This beast is being restored to Earle’s original vision of a Brooklands outer circuit racer. The full story will appear after the project is finished. The Brooklands Motorcycle Team also hope to take it out on tour to various events in 2017. Here are a few pictures of the project so far.

The Doug Earle Cotton Jap in 2013

The original Tank was full of holes

A new tank was fabricated

..together with a new Oil Tank

The Engine ex speedway engine has been rebuilt

Catch up with the next blog in March.

Old Timer

JANUARY 2016 Update

As the clock ticks over into 2016, I am reminded that a century ago millions of people where still being affected on a daily basis by World War One. After this time it is difficult to imagine what it must have been like to live through those times. I was able to get some insight recently whilst carrying out some further research on the 1915 motorcycle events at Brooklands.

The Motorcycle Magazine was understandably excited to be reporting once again on racing at Brooklands and detailed reports were spread across several pages together with pictures of the events. However, it was a different story on the pages of the Surrey newspapers; not a trace of the excitement, but instead columns of war related stories which told of the many local men that had been killed in action. It is therefore unsurprising that the initial euphoria in the motorcycle press was followed by a more restrained hope that future events may take place in 1916. Following conscription in 1916 and the shortage of fuel it was perhaps inevitable that racing would not return to Brooklands until after the War was at an end.

Copy of a Programme for the "All Khaki" meeting 1915

Warbike Project & Great War Commemorations

Buy a Copy Here

Warbike: British Military Motorcycling 1899 -1919 continues to surprise us. It has exceeded our expected sales target for the first quarter briefly entering the top ten of the online publisher’s history category. The book will be reverting to its retail price at the end of January, so if you are interested in getting a copy click on the sales links for the launch price.

We were pleased to get a mention in the Classic Motorcycle Magazine’s write up of the Brooklands Great War Day 100. We are continuing to discuss the possibility of a similar event in 2016, but the Museum are keen to link their events to site related commemorations which from 1916 are connected with Aircraft. As ever you can keep up to date with Brooklands projects and events on the Brooklands Motorcycle Volunteers Facebook page.

Kempton Park Bike-Jumble

Kempton Dec 2015

We will be at Kempton Park on 23 January selling copies of Warbike and a small range of new and pre-used parts for your winter projects including rear lights, headlight glass, rear stand clips, handlebar grips, footrest rubbers and semi-liquid grease for 1930’s gearboxes.

Fenland Classic Gifts

We have some T Shirts and gift items available from on-line partners featuring old Lodge Spark plug adverts. Click on the images for more information.

Lodge T Shirt

Lodge Mug

Fenland ClassicsTV

Forget the rain and relive Wheels and Waves 2015 from the comfort of your favourite chair. Click the image to start.


Old Timer

DECEMBER Update

Where did 2015 go? Once again we crammed a lot into a short time and it seemed that everything was happening in September. We did skip a blog in August and are still struggling to edit the footage from the Brooklands Great War 100, but we should catch up over the next few weeks. Here is a brief summary of our world.

Warbike Project

The book is now available via the link above or Amazon etc. The project is however more than just a book, and work continues to ensure that the full story of War Office Procurement, the motorcycles and their riders continues to be captured. The book is now lodged with the Research Libraries of the Royal Logistics Corps, The Tank Museum, Brooklands Museum, the Manx Aviation & Military Museum and the Imperial War Museum.

Brooklands Great War 100.

The commemoration of the 1915 Military Motorcycle events was well received and the early indications from Brooklands Museum suggest that it will be possible to have a similar WW1 period motorcycle event either as part of the 2016 Great War 100 or as part of a separate event earlier in the year. 

Brooklands Great War 100 2015

I think that it is important that we give both owners and the public every opportunity to see these motorcycles running.

Kempton Southern Off Road Show.

Once again we will be supporting Brooklands Museum at the event which is being held at the Kemptom Park Racecourse on 5 December 2015. We will be transporting a couple of racing bikes for the stand.

Norton OC at  Kempton Show

Kempton Off Road Show

 In search of ABC Motors

Brooklands ABC

I have recently been documenting the rebuild of Brooklands Museum's ABC. The motorcycle is a 1921 398cc ABC designed by Granville Bradshaw. It is somewhat unique in its design having front and rear leaf springs and horizontally opposed cylinders, reputedly later copied by BMW.

ABC Rear Leaf Springs

 Whilst the engine was on the bench several people remarked that it looked like an early aero engine; and they are not far wrong as ABC/Bradshaw were making aircraft engines for Sopwith during WW1. This engine owes much to its aero cousins in the form of lightweight castings and relative simplicity.

ABC Front Leaf Springs

I had already crossed paths with Bradshaw during the Warbike research. ABC were originally based at Brooklands where Bradshaw came into contact with motorcycle racers and manufactures of the day. It is easy to imagine how the ever active engineering brain of Bradshaw was soon developing unsolicited ideas and suggestions for faster motorcycles. This was no doubt the seed that launched a lifelong friendship with Freddie Barnes of local manufacturer Zenith.  At the outbreak of war Bradshaw was forced to move from Brooklands which was being taken over by the Royal Flying Corps. ABC moved to nearby Hersham where they changed the name of the company to ABC Motors Ltd. Here they manufactured stationary engines for the military and a few bikes including a consignment for Egypt which ended up at the bottom of the Mediterranean.

After a bit of digging I discovered that the old ABC works still exists. However, just as I was preparing to take a visit, I was informed that the site was about to be demolished to make way for a supermarket. Wasting no time I took the next opportunity to photograph the site. It was an overcast day, but I managed to get all of the buildings documented before the bulldozers arrive.

Site of ABC Works Molesey Road Hersham

I am now on the trail of Bradshaw's close friend, Freddie Barnes of Zenith. More on this during 2016.

Barry M Jones has just published an excellent revised edition of “Granville Bradshaw a flawed Genius?” ISBN:9870956497574 published by Panther. This book written with access to the Bradshaw Family archives is well worth a read. Barry says that he became interested in Bradshaw whilst researching Phelon & Moore. Bradshaw really did have connections with so many developments. As a postscript I even saw a Bradshaw oil cooled engine advertised on ebay last week. If you are interested in what connects ABC to Suzuki, VW Beetles, 3D TV and Wankel rotary engines, you need to get the book on your Chirstmas List. 

Website

Work on the website continues, but it is all too easy to be presented with a great looking site with little or no content. So; there is a bit more work to be done before it passes the content test. However, it will still have to continue to grow after launch. The shop is slowly being stocked and we also expect to have a regular stall at Kempton Park Bike Jumble during 2016.

1930's Projects

The AJS came out for a photo-shoot in October (more on that in 2016). It is a bike with a special back story and we should have it back on the road in time for the 2016 Shere Hill Climb.

250cc AJS Project

The Sunbeam is now owed a bit of workshop time. I do love an oily rag machine, but too many bits have been breaking lately! The silencer needs to be replaced, and the valve-lifter let go at Shere. The Engine and gearbox will come out early next year and everything will be inspected and the motley assortment of non period fixings and electrics from its 1980s rebuild will be replaced.

The 1935 Sunbeam waits to burst into life at the 2015 Shere Hill Climb

We would always recommend that bikes which no longer require MOTs are regularly inspected and receive a full independent check every two to three years. This will ensure that the bikes remain in a condition to be enjoyed by us and future generations to come.

The second AJS Project is a sound bike, but needs to be registered and a lot more work before it can be put back on the road.

Fenland ClassicsTV

Click below for this month's selection of Bike related Films:





Old Timer

WARBIKE: British Military Motorcycling 1899-1919

 Still at the launch price.

NOVEMBER Update

WARBIKE Launch

Warbike: British Military Motorcycling 1899-1919
Launch Price £8.50 + p&p

                                            

The book was launched on 1 October and has been well received. The aim was always to fill the gaps in current publications and not to cut across other excellent books. The book looks at the development of the military motorcycle which was in fact driven initially more by manufacturers and riders than by the War Office itself. It is interesting that 100 years ago motorcycle manufacture initially continued as normal before more facilities and resources were required for the war effort. The book ends in 1919 as Douglas and Triumphs were piled up at Kempton Park Race Course waiting to be “re-manufactured” by their original makers. 

It was perhaps fitting I run into Chris Orchard co-Author of British Forces Motorcycles 1925-45 at the October Kempton Pk Bike Jumble. Chris explained that he was currently working on a revised copy of the book which is currently out of print. For those who own (or think they own) a military motorcycle BFM is an essential reference book dealing with individual machines and technical specification. It sounds as if the new book will widen its timescale, although as we both agreed pre 1925 is a challenge because of a lack of records and post WW2 presents a similar problem due to many records still being classified.

The Warbike Project continues as a virtual archive of military motorcycling information and we will begin to piece together the development of military motorcycles from 1920 to 1945. We are therefore keen to know about the people who rode, made and repaired military motorcycles. And; because none of us is getting any younger we are also keen to gather experiences of those who have been involved with military motorcycles since WW2. So far we have information about some experimental development following WW1 and snippets post WW2. 

If you have any information from Brothers Fathers Uncles etc please get in touch at Warbike@fenlandclassics.co.uk One other piece of unfinished business concerns commemoration of Phelon and Moore testing at Brooklands. We need a P&M machine to photograph on the Brooklands track as a reminder of the part played by these machines in the service of the Royal Flying Corps. Please get in touch via the email above if you have access to a P&M we could borrow for a half day shoot.

Brooklands Great War 100 Event

Page from 1914 Red Cross Day Guide 

Research projects have a habit of throwing up new information about other areas of history, such as testing at Brooklands and the three motorcycle events held in 1915. There was not room in the book to cover the Brooklands WW1 story, so we are currently working on a separate publication covering Brooklands motorcycling 1914-18. 

This period is currently covered in print, and is quite rightly dominated by the development and manufacture of Aircraft. However, the Red Cross Field day, testing, military meetings and Royal Aircraft Factory meeting and continued record breaking provide more than enough for a reference book that will be available sometime during 2016.

Despatch Rider Peter Birket signs up

Whilst the existence of the military events was know about and is even featured in film on one of the Brooklands Museum DVDs it was a revelation to piece together the names of the people involved and identify them in photos of the event by their race number. It really bought the events to life; and this was taken a step further when I was asked by Brooklands Museum to commemorate the events at the Great War 100 event on 27 September. 

Douglas negotiates the serpentine course

I am indebted to the twenty or so owners who brought their period bikes and took part in a re-run of the Serpentine event and race starts. We even had a bicycle take part! As for the future; if it is up to me there will be another event.

Cameraman Perry Barwick checks non-period cameras
 on Rick Parkington's bike

A new imperial bicycle takes to the course

A period onlooker waits for motorcycles to return from the track 

Aspen Ethanol Free Petrol Test

 In early September we were let loose at the Shere Hill Climb as part of the Brooklands Trust Team. The story began sometime in July as I decided to use the event to test Aspen Ethanol Free Petrol. This was never going to be a scientific test, but we just wanted to see how it would work in a 1930's engine.

As we all know Ethanol attacks many of the parts that we rely on such as fuel tank liners, carbs and even some petcock corks.

I have recently seen firsthand damage caused through exposure to Petrol including this tank liner which has been attacked by Ethanol. 

Carb after a clean up

We have also recently been working on an AJS which had a stodgy mess in the bottom of its tank. This muck extended down into the carburettor, which lead to a lot of work before it was fit to be used again. Whilst the AJS problem was one of evaporation rather than ethanol my research has shown that Aspen also has an extended life, keeping fresh for 5 years meaning that it could also make a good storage fuel.

So back to the Hill climb preparation. The 250cc Sunbeam was drained (no liner) and the carburetor cleaned. The first fill of the tank with Aspen was cut short after one of the petcocks leaked. This is when, with the aid of the Federation of British Historic Vehicle Clubswebsite I discovered that cork also could be attacked by ethanol.

The second attempt with the fuel, sold primarily for Horticultural machinery, was much better and the bike started immediately. It ran for about 15 minutes including a few runs on the Brooklands Banking. 

First Test Run at Brooklands

The bike felt normal and the acceleration was good. Other than a slightly different exhaust smell all was the same as normal.

During the week before the event I took the bike out for a full test run and apart from wet sumping all went very well.

A quick check before the start

Come the day of the Hill Climb I was having a few continuing oil issues, but as far as fuel was concerned the Aspen performed well under load up the climb and on the return which involved running on public roads. I was also conscious that the bike was starting better than normal.

A rest between runs

So, a non-scientific test which will continue as I see what happens to the components over time. One of the main benefits for me personally was the lack of smell. When working on bikes I find that pump fuel hangs around on my hands and cloths etc. Whilst the background aroma of petrol and oil makes for a proper shed ambiance, the strong smell of pump fuel gives me a headache. Aspen has hardly any smell and no noticeable lasting aroma meaning that I was not experiencing the usual petrol smell as I drove the bike away in the van.

It seems that this is one of the reasons that the product was first developed; so I met up with Eddie Bocquillon of Aspen to find out more. Eddie explained that the fuel was developed in 1988 by Roland Elmang, a Swedish chemist to help deal with the affects of normal petrol on forest workers working with chainsaws for long period. Bending down, they were breathing in the exhaust fumes leading to headaches and potential long-term health issues. I was shown two of Eddie’s party pieces. First he presented me with a jar of Aspen with a piece of expanded polystyrene floating on top, which he tells me has been in the jar for three months. I was given a jar of pump fuel and invited to float another piece of polystyrene. I placed the polystyrene in the pump fuel which immediately consumed it within about 15 seconds leaving no trace. I was given the test kit to take away and now after seven months in the Aspen the polystyrene is beginning to absorb the fuel but it is still holding its shape even down to the moulding marks. The second demonstration had to be done in pictures as we were standing opposite the Goodwood Pits, but Eddie likes to set fire to a plate of pump fuel followed by a plate of Aspen. This demonstrates the clean burn of Aspen compared with pump fuel and can be seen below.   

Eddie went on to describe where Aspen, more properly known as Alkylate petrol fits into the crude oil to fuel refining process. It all seems quite complex, but essentially Alkylate petrol could be described in layman’s terms as gases from crude oil distillation resulting in clean burning and exceptional antiknock properties. As a result Akylate petrol contains less of the harmful ingredients of pump fuel, no ethanol and has a storage life of five years! This link provides more technical information and the table below provides a comparison with pump fuel.

So, is Alkylate Petrol the answer to all our ethanol woes? Not quite. The fuel is only currently available from horticulture outlets and is more expensive than pump fuel. However, it does make a viable alternative to flush out the pump fuel on the last runs of the season if your bike is being stored for the winter. As ethanol free pump fuel becomes harder to locate accurately and ethanol levels are increased it could become the only real alternative. I was very impressed and we will certainly continue to use it in the Sunbeam as part of an ongoing trial. 

ALKYLATE PETROL (Aspen 2 stroke and Aspen 4 stroke)	UNLEADED PUMP FUEL
Chemically stable/long storage life	Deteriorates rapidly/short storage life
Designed for machinery with small engines	Designed for car engines
95 RON, 92 MON	95 RON, 85 MON
Labelled as harmful	Labelled as toxic
Less than 10 hydrocarbons	Over 100 harmful hydrocarbons
25% less hydrocarbon emissions than pump fuel	25% more hydrocarbon emissions than Aspen
Less than 0.01% aromatic hydrocarbons	Up to 35% aromatic hydrocarbons
Less than 0.01% Benzene content	Up to 1% Benzene content (volume)
No Toluene content	Contains Toluene
Only 2 ppm sulphur	10 ppm sulphur
25% more hydrogen/burns cleaner/less soot production = cleaner engines	n/a
Ethanol content Nil	Ethanol content 5-10%

New Web Site

We have put the new website on hold until next year and continue to source interesting original and re-manufactured items. Warbike: British Military Motorcycling 1899-1919 will however be available via a temporary page at www.fenlandclassics.com shortly. 

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WARBIKE: British Military Motorcycling 1899-1919 Is available at the special launch price of £8.50

Old Timer