A Scooter at the Museum

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Velocette Viceroy

Just something I forgot to pass from a few weeks ago was and article in the London Evening Standard from Wednesday March 12^th and in their regular feature on Homes and property they talked about the amenities near Northolt. They mentioned Greenford park where there are three mounds next to the A40 and the London Motorcycle Museum in Greenford. The photo they used was an old one from 2011 and the display has changed considerably since then!

Now another Monday at the Museum this week as we had around 15 visitors that kept us busy all day with visitors from as far afield as Cornwall and Telford. It seems today there was much interest in the Velocette Viceroy scooter and as you may gather there is another article to quote from in the December 1998 Classic Motorcycle magazine. The article was written by Dennis Frost who is also the LE Velo Club Historian. I have often thought that Velocette had all the ingredients to make some very interesting lightweights but never got around to mixing them together to make more marketable products.

The Viceroy engine was very unusual having a 250 cc flat twin two stroke motor. It had reed valve induction because having a common crankcase piston controlled porting would require twin carburettors or an exceptionally long and cumbersome manifold. Many of the parts were common to the LE and Valiant but was streets ahead in that it had a starter motor run on a gear wheel like a car. Scooters at the time that used Villiers engines had a dynastart fitted that doubled as the generator as well as the starter motor. The Viceroy engine was also used as a commercial engine and many found their way on to lightweight hovercrafts that were the fad at the time. It was a very powerful motor for the day and would pull the scooter along at speeds in excess of 65mph which was quite quick in its day considering that many 350 cc bikes around at the time did not go any faster.

In the range of lightweight models at the time were the LE, Vogue, Valiant and Viceroy all encompassed by the LE Velo Club. The LE and Vogue shared the same running gear. 192 cc side valve water cooled engine. The Valiant was a modified LE engine, air cooled with overhead valves and was also 192 cc. The Viceroy was quite different in having the 250 cc two stroke engine. For the lightweight range you have the LE pressed steel body, the Vogue with the glass fibre body on a tubular frame, the Valiant with the duplex cradle frame and the Viceroy with a pressed steel body around a tubular frame. I wonder what it would have been like to have a Viceroy engine in a Valiant frame. A full 250 cc howling two stroke pushing you along. I reckon it would have given an Ariel Arrow a run for its money!

I have a much modified LE and a black Valiant that has had a few awards at concours over the last few years and if I'm at the Museum you may see one or the other parked up outside.

BSA M20

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BSA M20

In the time there are no visitors I sift through the magazines to see if there is something interesting to read or there is an article on one of the machines we do have in the Museum. In the Classic Motorcycle of February 1993 I find, amongst other things one such article on the BSA M20. The 500cc side-valve single that was a strong plodder and used by many for sidecar work.

According to the report the Ministry of Defence people had set specifications that turned the very comfortable civilian M20 into a decidedly uncomfortable forward lean version with too much weight on the arms and knees pressing into the tank. It did about 60 mpg and about 60 mph! Used for dispatch riding. After the gripes there was much praise for the robustness of the machine that it could carry an extra 400lbs of armour plating along with a machine gun. BSA had provided them with a bullet proof machine and some say one has been purported to have survived a nuclear attack! It was not necessarily the best machine for the job and as you may remember the bit about Douglas DW60, and the TRW and there was a BSA twin that was never to get into action. It did not have the ground clearance or the lightness to be what the military needed and as army surplus you could buy one from Pride and Clarke for as little as £20 in the sixties. It was an endearing machine with good reliability and easy maintenance as most people at the time could not afford someone to do the work for them.

The one in the Museum is of a similar spec but without the monumentally long side stand that you could park it up quickly on any terrain, good old canvas bags and in our case a manikin that has got a bit tired and dropped off holding his tray of medals. 

In the background is the little 122cc James, the “Clockwork Mouse” and next to it a Vickers machine gun (sometimes used to wake him up). In the other photo is the “Flying Flee” a 125cc Royal Enfield that was so named because it was used by the parachute regiment and dropped in a steel cage where it could be rescued from the cage and set free to bite the enemy as required. A complete one in its' cage, can be seen at Duxford at the Imperial War Museum.

There is an M20 at Duxford parked up by a communications van. In spite of the extensive use of motorcycles used by the military from the First World War onwards there were only a few examples to be seen there.

The Ormonde

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The Ormonde on an outing

I just happened to drop into the Museum on the Sunday to have an update from Bill about what has been going on in my absence and while I was there the owner of the 1902 Ormonde was in to take it out of display in preparation for exhibiting it at the Stafford Classic bike show at the end of April. It was an opportunity not to be missed to take some more pictures of the other side of the bike. It is relatively light and was removed from display with a bit of muscle. It is still at the Museum but now located in the barn waiting for some TLC in readiness for the show. It is surprising what happens when an old bike is just standing there and reveals some of its history.

Out in the sunshine

On the side you are not able to see some of the original paintwork reveals itself.

Mysteriously broken pipework.

The engine number is finally found.

On my travels, later in the day I see something that is a rare sight on our roads today it was bright yellow and turned out to be a modern Triumph outfit heading around the north circular.

During last week I was out and about around Uxbridge and ran into another biker who has lots of biking friends and I passed on a number of Monday discount fliers for him and his mates. I do hope they come and make use of the offer. Also during last week I have set the ball rolling for getting a stand, again this year, at the Southern Classic Bike show at the end of May for the LE Velocette Owners Club. If you look up the EGP Enterprises web site you will be able to see last years winners. Among them were the Tiger cub from the Museum and my Velocette Valiant. I have found another Classic Motorcycle magazine from February 1993 about a BSA M20 and I will be following that up some time soon.

More on Douglas

More on Douglas

Over the last few weeks I have had an enforced rest and during that time I been researching, still did ever Bosch make Douglas motorcycles under licence from 1919 to 1923. It has kept me busy reading and going over some old books like the “Best Twin” by JR Clew and, the more recent Douglas, The Complete Story by Mick Walker. I found the re-read of the Best Twin quite entertaining as there are descriptions of some of the leading lights of Douglas that are amazing Characters in themselves among them Freddie Dixon and Cyril Pullin and Walter More. There are many others who helped make the Douglas brand in trials and on the racetrack however my interest lies in the technology that went with this and during World War One Douglas was testing a leaf spring suspension frame and was in production until 1921 when it was withdrawn it possibly because there was an infringement on the Coulson B patents. In the research I found the Coulson B patents and also a reference to the Cushion Frame patented by Charles Travis in 1899. Spring frames have been around forever and a good site to look them up is at The Online Bicycle Museum. Moving on to the hey day of Douglas and 1927 and the “first” Speedway event was organised by Camberley Motorcycle Club near Camberley that was on a hard surface and a difficult track to ride around the same time Lionel Wills had seen Speedway in Australia and thought it would do well in the UK so he organised the first dirt track race at High Beach in Epping in February 1928 and at Easter there was one at Greenford Park. There is a Pathe News film of one such event. Greenford Park, not far from the Museum, was the site for horse racing that had ceased to become a “Gentlemans' Sport” and had become the Gypsy domain with horse and buggy racing. This did not go down too well with the local population and when dirt track racing arrived it was received with open arms as bringing a “Better class of people to the area” (Somewhat different from the current thinking about motorcycling). Speedway was an instant success as was the Douglas dirt track bikes based on the RA model, first used in Australia and up until the early 30's when the reign was ended by JAP engined bikes. The Douglas had been ideal having a long wheelbase and excellent handling it was the bike of choice. At the outset the art of broadsliding was new to Britain and was aptly demonstrated by a New Zealander Steven St George winning everything he entered. By the end of 1928 the Brits were getting the hang of this technique and Jack Barnett got his Douglas up the front and started winning too!

After the this golden era for Douglas finance and family problems got it the way of producing motorcycles, but that didn't stop some very interesting bikes being produced. By 1935 Douglas had come up with their first transverse flat twin, the Endeavour although not a success at the it set the trend time at what was going to happen later. Even during World War Two development did not stop even though Douglas did not produce any motorcycle, they still did other things for the war effort that included 100cc engined portable generators and pumps, some used in Halifax and Lancaster bombers as a standby power source in the event of a failure of the hydraulic system. Also the bigger engined generators that were used for portable radar equipment used on the south coast as the first line of defence and such was the reliability of those systems. Post was things looked up and Douglas had an opportunity for a military motorcycle contract. An equivalent to an ISDT held at Aldershot for Triumph, BSA and Douglas. Douglas's entry was the DV60 a 600cc transverse twin and not unlike the Endeavour, however on the day the DV60 failed as did BSA's entry leaving the Triumph the only survivor and that as the TRW! 

In the 50's Douglas's fortunes, as with many other motorcycle manufacturers, were not too good and just after their new bike the Dragonfly was introduced the official receiver came in, the company was bought by Westing House and all production ceased with any remaining motorcycles being assembled from parts by Pride and Clarke and sold on at silly low prices. This is not the end of the story Douglas Vespa come on the scene and keep Douglas in the picture for a few more years. Now it is time to read Robin Spaldings book about British Scooters!

The Best Twin

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Douglas

After last Monday at the Museum with just a few visitors that had braved the stormy weather Pete, Chris and I munched our way through the remains of the festive mince pies and chocolate coconut cheese cake that Gita was experimenting with, the next day out was Thursday. At the Wey Valley Advanced Bike club meeting on the first Sunday of the month I was asked if I could stand in and do a presentation because the arranged speaker had dropped out. I had a bit of time to do some research with a view to confirming that Bosch really had produced Douglas motorcycles for a few years after the First World War. This is a 1910 model.

The result was no more information than I had even the 2007 edition of the illustrated encyclopaedia of motorcycles by Erwin Tragatsch and that had dropped the reference that was in the 1975 edition that I have. However other information was discovered buried in the Bosch archives. This was about the relationship with Fred Simms. He was an automotive entrepreneur who sent Mr Bosch a De Dion Bouton tricycle in 1897 for his to investigate its performance. Up till then Bosch had only made a low voltage magneto that would allow engines to run at about 200 rpm. Fine for the big stationary engines but no good for a motorcycle. Bosch needed to develop a better system and the first high voltage magneto was born. In 1898 Fred Simms and Mr Bosch set up the UK distribution centre located in London. By 1902 Mr Bosch had got the high Voltage magneto working properly and had obtained the right ceramic that would stand the heat for sparking plugs and the two together made Bosch very rich. Everyone was using the magnetos and sparking plugs. Fred Simms had close contacts with Bosch but he could see there was an even better way of producing a spark so he manufactured his own motorcycle with the first proper horseshoe magnet magneto in 1903 and used it on the Clyde Motorcycle.

Sadly, the Clyde is no longer at the Museum, the motorcycle was sold by the family and we have not been able to trace where it has gone. In 1907 Mr Lucas took a fancy to the Clyde Motorcycle Company and Mr Simms sold it on. Every one was using the Bosch magneto until the out break of war. During the war Douglas motorcycles were the bike of choice. It was smooth, reliable and had good performance. Large numbers were produced and production was only second to Triumph. There were even some made in France. Post war Douglas were involved in supplying engines for light aircraft based on the 500cc ohv racing engine that produced some 20bhp at 5500rpm. The same power out put as the Triumph Ricardo of that era. Germany did not have any comparable engines at the time and even Mr Messerschmidt was at the Kingswood factory. However he ended up looking at more than engines as he married one of the daughters! By 1923 Douglas motorcycles had claimed over 200 speed and reliability records among them, in the 500cc category, nearly 100mph at Brooklands over the flying kilometre. Records for 1923 were held by Cyril Pullin and Rex Judd.

It has ben reported that Cyril got over 105 mph at Brooklands that year. Cyril Pullin was not only an expert motorcyclist, but engine tuner, pilot and aviation engineer. Also in 1923 BMW produced their first motorcycle in the R32 and the engine looked very similar to the sv Douglas of the time used in a transverse layout and may have been a direct copy. They do look similar but I can find no real evidence to support this other than the family anecdotes and Tragatsch's reference. Engine development progressed and it was not until the mid 30's that Douglas moved over to the transverse twin. The first was the Endeavour and a little later the ohv models 80 plus and 90 plus some of which my father rode as a tester in the late 40's for Douglas. More to follow as I delve deeper into the history of Douglas.

What to do when it rains!

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Visit a Museum 

I tend to go find something to read but just once in a while there are more active things to do. 

Sunday I was at the Wey Valley Advanced Motorcycle club first Sunday of the month and this new year for the morning as bad weather was expected and I headed home early and spent the afternoon reviewing my London Motorcycle Museum presentation. Monday I was at the Museum and we have a new volunteer in Chris to help out. He has loaned us his Triumph Trophy and it is on display in the Home of Triumph. It rained and rained all day so I looked up more things from the Classic Motorcycle. We did have a few visitors, one from Moscow. His English and grasp of technical terms was very good. I would like to have that level of understanding in another language. Tuesday I was at the Isleworth Probus club to give a presentation about the Museum. I’d scrubbed up to look my best, suit and all for the occasion. 

They were an enthusiastic group and many recounted their own exploits on motorcycles from their youth. I didn’t need to hand around any fliers as they had already booked a visit to the Museum for Monday February 3^rd.   

Wednesday was a trip out to a private collection I had been invited to while at the Off Road Bike Show in December. This was the first promised dry day for ages and I made the most of it heading out to deepest Surrey late morning. To say the least it was not a warm ride but the reception certainly made up for it. There were more than forty bikes in the collection with early AJS’s in pristine condition. In the collection are Ariels including a real red Red Hunter, a couple of Greaves and a Royal Enfield track bike that has a very short wheelbase.

 His line up of Norton’s’ is very impressive. All of the bikes are in such good condition and roadworthy. If you would like to view his collection then contact Dave on 07836384505. He has some interesting stories to tell from his youth and still enjoys his bikes searching out and rebuilding them often making his own parts that have become impossible to find. I did like the experimental bike known as the Dunaton a classic in its own right that was drawn from 1930 parts plus a few newer ones to finish it off.

 Dave has an early Gold Star a ZB34 and a Triumph TR5 that has the same top end as the generator engine mentioned in the GP racer posting. There are bits around everywhere waiting to be used in the assembly of yet another project. His collection continues to grow. Keep an eye out for him at some of the events in Surrey as he usually rides one of his bikes to them.

The Norton 500T

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Another Norton.

Another week since I was at the Museum and that was just before New Year. The weather is still inclement but it did not deter the enthusiastic. We had visitors from Norway, Switzerland and Belgium plus a few sturdy Brits who took advantage of the pound off Monday saver. Since then I have been out and about on the Kawasaki trying to avoid the rain with no trip out being completely dry and not managing to leave fliers anywhere. As to my last day at the Museum I discovered another article in the Classic Motorcycle of May 1996 about another Norton we have at the Museum. This is a 1949 500T. T is for trials although at 300lbs or 136kg it is not a lightweight but it is allot lighter than bikes of that capacity now. My Kawasaki ER6F weighs in at 407lbs or 185kg and the Buell at 462lbs or 210kg. Bikes have got allot heavier and taller.

 So this Norton had alloy head and barrel that has a cast iron liner. The rigid rear end always gives a lighter bike than one that has suspension. The low compression of 6:1 of this long stroke single assisted greatly in ensuring the engine would pull from nothing but still had enough get up and go to get around a difficult trials course for that time. These machines were campaigned successfully by such people in Irish Trials as Kevin Keegan, Chick Gibson, Bob Kenny, Mick Treacey and Sean Whyte. I have heard that even Sammy Miller had ridden one.

 The style is a winner and was displayed on the Museum stand at the Kempton Park off     Road Bike Show in December receiving an exhibitors medal. At the Museum it sits at the back of the competition display next to the Norton 650SS production racer.

There is more interesting stuff in this magazine with Mike Hodder in 1969 testing out the 100bhp Honda 4 that Mike Halewood raced and Dennis Frost talking to Peter Goodman on Velocettes, the restoration of a Gnome-Rhone and Gold Star single verses the Gold Star Twin of later years. You may wonder what there is to do all day at a Museum but there is always some researching to be done to add a little more information about the bikes in the Museum so that when you do come along we can answer some of your questions.