Odd
bits for Now
Just
received the July Newsletter from the BCMT and there is a bit about
Moto Museo at Bassella! Somewhere that I visited last September and
now it appears in the News. Another co-incidence? More people are
visiting the Museum but the numbers still need to increase. The
Haynes Museum gets 100,000 visitors a year. How much better we could
do if we had that number coming through the door? What has peaked my
interest and get me to go along to Sparkford is that Robin Spalding’s
collection of British Scooters is well displayed there. Good for a
visit on a rainy day later in the year (or August).
Moto
Museo Bassella
Now
back at our Museum and passing the 1927 Sunbeam I see spots of red
stuff on the floor. No pools of blood visible anywhere, no body lying
around so I guess it has come from the bike. Perhaps it really is a
living thing that responds to the rider?
To
me, it looks more like RedX the fuel additive, but why it should
appear now? I have no reason as it has not been run for some time.
Could it be a spiritual phenomenon? There have been many such things
reported about tears from statues in religious quarters. So something
coming from a revered motorcycle should that not be significant too?
So
while I was having fun in Swindon and Chinnor Byke Dayz going on
Frank was off at Brooklands doing the test hill. Having done it twice
on the, one and only, 1930 OHC single It expired on the third
attempt. Frank thought he had broken it so he spent last Sunday
working away to find out what had happened to it. It turns out that
the rockers have clamps on the bearing shafts. The spindle has no
flats on them to stop the rocker arms moving so as things warmed up the clamps worked
lose and the valves remained firmly closed. Once the clamps were
tightened up valve operation returned and we, once again, have a
running bike. It should be fine when it goes again at Kop Hill. Not
sure what else will be at Kop Hill.
So
here is the link for the short video of Frank firing up the Triumph
after being fixed.
https://youtu.be/u199yteQ3Go
So
far I am progressing slowly with the book on Granville Bradshaw, “The
Flawed Genius” and when I have finished it I'll report back. It is
very technically detailed and is requiring slow and careful reading.
Little nuggets of information pop out. Granville did lots of work for
lots of people and Zenith was one of them. Zenith had a factory in
Lower Mill Road East Molesey and there was some production at Hampton
so could the Gradua at the Museum have been produced at East Molesey
instead of Hampton? Another thing is that the ABC works, now a
housing estate, in Hersham was across the road from the Barley Mow
pub and behind the Petrol station. Many of the ABC twins were
produced in the Sopwith works at Richmond Road, Kingston-upon-Thames.
Further
to that the Scootamota in 1919 was produced at the Hersham works but
from later that year to 1922 it was made at Selsden Engineering,
Brighton Road, Croydon. The engine is reputed to be half of the 250cc
unit that was used to power generators in World War One and could
produce 3bhp at 4,000 rpm and one was reported to have managed 10,000
rpm!!!!!! Even so, 4,000 rpm was a good pace for any engine at that
time. More to come on Granville as I work my way through he book
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