VMCC Lakeland Section

Photos of this event are available to view on www.vmcclakeland/galleries/southlakes2009

Here are some extracts from the latest newsletter. Please enjoy the contributions from our valued authors.

Alan Johnsons notes – part 2 on LE Velocettes

Most things on the L.E. do not follow conventional motorcycle engineering practice at all; it takes time to realise this! Such things like the fork legs being much closer together than most normal bikes and the problems of finding tyres which won’t rub on either side. Also there are references by L.E. owners to the mysterious ‘muff coupling’ (I’d never heard of one), which turns out to be a standard Hardy-Spicer type universal joint on the prop shaft! Also, how many of us have fallen into the trap of kick starting the engine with the foot- boards removed? If you don’t know about this just ask before you do it – it does take time you know!

And then, when you’ve got the thing going and are enjoying the undoubted excellent road holding you find yourself somewhat restricted pretty early on, when the front sub-frame or the stand grounds on the first bit of zestful cornering you try. You’ve also got to plan your runs to include plenty of filling stations otherwise your pleasure will be somewhat curtailed by a shortage of the vital spirit, in spite of the modest fuel consumption.

I mustn’t mention the electrics or we will be here all night! 6 volts or 12? Lucas, Miller, B.T.H? All those wiring diagrams, none of which has your combination of switches and ammeter variations, and those funny Miller coils – just like little sausages with the H.T. wire just pushed into the plug lead – but they work. I thought I knew my way round Amal carbs – after all I have been riding since 1936 and have always been a hands-on spanner man but the L.E. with its long induction pipe, that’s another matter isn’t it? At first mine wouldn’t fire on both, not until I set the pilot jet far richer than it ought to be!! And what about icing in winter?

Then the gear change linkage broke at the right angle bend. Oh dear, leaving me to put it in third manually by removing the battery to do the job in order to get home. Then there was the final ignominy when on my way to show off my latest restoration at our V.M.C.C. Spring Run. On belting up a steepish fell road there was a sudden loss of power and a halt in a cloud of steam. Oh yes, you know what that means! I had obtained from those willing lads at Bullers End a complete engine overhaul gasket set with ‘Hallite’ cylinder head gaskets, which I fitted with some misgivings (soon to be realised). They were from the Club so they must be alright I thought. Thankfully this problem seems to have been recognised and later gaskets are now much beefier. You would have thought I would have had enough, but for some strange reason, I persevered as between these minor setbacks I was actually enjoying my new L.E. – the damn thing was growing on me!

As some of you know, my knees DID fail and metal replacements were subsequently fitted, but my big machines had to go. They were the B.S.A. Road Rocket, the Ariel VH 500c.c. and finally, my B.S.A. Starfire, which were all too tall for me now as I hadn’t much push in my legs to start them, or to wheel them about or pull them onto the stand. It’s a sad day when you see the lights of your life on which you have lavished so much – yes, love and care, to be trailered away.

I am now left with my 1926 Big-Port A.J.S. and the L.E. so all is not lost and as my knees get slowly stronger, I am able to enjoy both. As far as the L.E. is concerned, I have to say that it constantly amazes me with its apparently unburstable engine, actually bordering on zestful if you keep the throttle up to the stop, which I admit I do! Of course I dare not take it up our steepest Lakeland pass so my favourite Hardknott has to be by-passed these days although dear departed Alec Partridge used to take his L.E. over and even he admitted the occasional failure when he had to turn it round on a 1 in 3 to have another go. Such is not for my knees, so I have to give it best, although last Autumn I took it (or it took me!) over Wrynose Pass without any fuss on my Annual November ‘season closing’ run of 85 miles.

I have come to love my L.E., whilst having reservations about the styling and curbing my zestful cornering. It is ten years since that fateful day on the roof and I am now well into my eighties (me and Bob Middleton who beats me by a year) and it has given me very much pleasure.

Somehow I don’t think I’ll see this machine trailered away!

Geoff Brazendale on Night Riding

THE JOYS AND PERILS OF NIGHT RIDING

Riding in the dark is an exhilarating experience quite different to a ride on a summer’s day. In fact my first ride on a motorcycle was in the dark. The desire to ride became too great so I borrowed my father’s 98cc Norman Autocycle, put on his riding coat and beret and went for a spin in the lanes. Mind you, the old man was ready to reprimand me when I got home, then he remembered he’d done exactly the same thing on his father’s 1920 Norton combination. History repeats itself.

I’ve ridden solos and combinations at night for more than fifty years with acetylene or six volt or twelve volt battery powered lights. Many of these had dubious generators and regulators as befits the ‘Prince of Darkness’ Mr. Lucas.

On a night ride you are really on your own and even with a passenger quite isolated from the rest of the world. You have to be extra vigilant and ready for any eventuality. It’s one thing to ride around a town at night but when you are in the real and often remote north country, like the old A6 over the top of Shap you need to look out for all eventualities.

Occasionally there are wonderful moonlit nights. In 1961 I rode back from Liverpool on my Longstroke Sunbeam over Blubberhouses Moor at midnight. It was a beautiful ride, one I shall never forget.

An earlier experience of night riding occurred on the Houghton Le Spring road, north east of Durham. I realised I was lost and eventually I saw the outline of a lone pedestrian. On stopping I asked the way to Newcastle. Never have I seen anyone bolt so quickly; obviously the young lady, as she turned out to be, had been told not to talk to strange men! The sight of a phantom motorcyclist on a dark winter’s night was too much for her. I had no option but to turn round and retrace my tracks to the centre of Durham City.

Whilst returning to Liverpool from Newcastle via the Dales on a particularly dark winter’s night, I reached Widdale just after Hawes. Climbing uphill towards Ribblehead and Settle with a loaded up 1935 ES2 Norton and sidecar the 6 volt battery discharged. In effect I was riding on direct lighting and after miles of slogging uphill the battery was as flat as a fluke. When I changed gear on an easy road down to Horton in Ribblesdale the lights went down to a glimmer. Unfortunately there was a sharp left hand bend looming up with a Yorkshire dry stone wall. I came to rest a couple of feet from the wall – phew! The next day I went to Liverpool and purchased a brand new Lucas battery from Cundles the B.S.A. main agents.

As a student in Liverpool I had a vacation job working as a conductor for Ribble Motor Services. This meant working very early and late depending on shifts. My only transport at that time was my 1926 350cc Sunbeam which had acetylene lights. I decided to use this for my journeys from Great Crosby to Skelhorne Street, Liverpool. A year or two later I rode the same machine to the Colton night trial near York. As the Sunbeam was my sole transport I rode down from Durham to York in the afternoon sunshine returning later in the dark. I turned the carbide lights up a bit by increasing the water drip on the generator and headed for home along the A1. In those days that road was empty late on a Saturday night. It certainly wouldn’t be safe to repeat that ride some fifty years later.

The salting of roads was not commonplace even in the 1960’s, so a combination was ideal for all weather riding. I rode a 1949 Big Four Norton with sidecar during the bad winter of 1962/3. Coming down through Lydiate from Rainford towards Maghull near Liverpool one night, there had been a fall of snow. This melted in the afternoon and then it all froze up to form a skating rink. The Big Four Norton was chugging along when I realised that I was approaching a left hand fork a little fast for an icy road. I retarded the outfit and touched the back brake resulting in a stalled engine. As soon as I hit the bend the whole outfit pirouetted round and round like a Keystone Kop in his model T Ford.

Around the same period I attended the Midlands Region Boxing Day Rally at Solihull in Warwickshire. This meant an early start from Liverpool on my 1927 Longstroke Sunbeam. I passed through the Mersey Tunnel and rode all the way down the A41 through the Black Country. It was subzero all the way there with the roads covered in frost. The cold resulted in my carburettor icing up so I resolved that next year I’d travel on the combination. I took the passenger body off and fixed a plank on the chassis to which I tied, with rope, the Sunbeam. There were no bike ties or bungees in those days, just rope. All went well until returning from Solihull when we hit really deep snow between Newport and Chester. It was snowing dinner plates in Shropshire. On the hills near Wem and Prees the few cars that were on the A41 were in real trouble.They were skidding sideways and impeding my progress. With a good load and sidecar we never spun or went out of control. This proved to me that an outfit may be a strange conveyance but it is a safe form of transport even in the worst of weather. My view was reinforced some ten years ago over the A6 on Shap in deep snow when our four wheeled friends were stuck. The outfit just sailed along and it is no wonder that the A.A. and R.A.C. used them until recent times.

In the late 1960’s family circumstances meant that I was reduced to a 1946 125cc Francis Barnett Merlin with girder forks and twin exhausts. This was a pre-war model continued after the war. My father was very surprised to see me in Liverpool on the ‘Fanny B’ to celebrate his sixtieth birthday. The Merlin took me from Scarborough to Liverpool and back (c. 280 miles) via Sutton Bank and Blubberhouses in one day. It never missed a beat and was cheap motoring at 100 miles per gallon. The Merlin had a Villiers Direct Lighting Set which was very reliable. Going back in the dark all the way I retraced my tracks to Scarborough. I had to ascend Sutton Bank in 1st gear in the dark and it was quite an experience. That was Vintage Motorcycling!

More recently, since retiring I’ve gone back to an outfit using an Indian Enfield with a Watsonian chair. This has 12 volt electrics and an alternator. However, the salesman didn’t tell me about Indian wiring looms and defective bulbs when I purchased it new! Eventually I replaced all the bulbs and put heavy duty copper wires in place of the Indian materials. The Enfield is now as reliable as the old Big Four Norton. The 12 volt headlight with a halogen bulb gives a good light to compete with these new fangled blue car lights.

One of my worst experiences in recent years was returning from a Lakeland section Meeting. At Greystoke I got a very flat rear tyre on the outfit. Of course I had forgotten the essential torch and was lucky to find a very dim street light in the village. I did have a new tube, spanners and tyre levers in the sidecar boot. Most centre or rear stands on motorbikes present a problem when changing the rear wheel, especially on an outfit. You simply cannot get the wheel out unless the stand is raised up off the ground. This is an easy job at home where I use a trolley jack. Fortunately there was a convenient kerb and in the dim light I groped about and pulled out the so called ‘quickly’ detachable rear wheel.

I suppose by then it was 1a.m. as I changed the tube and it takes even longer to get things back. I arrived back home in Etterby about 2:30 a.m. after an exhausting evening. My hands were absolutely filthy, far worse than usual! So now you all know why my supposed yellow jacket is somewhat oily. Enfields have nasty habits; they’re not nick- named Royal Oilfields for nothing.

A broken rear chain can also delay an outfit rider for quite some time. This is especially so when the final drive is on the sidecar side. The problem is having retrieved the chain one has to re-hang it around the sprocket of the gearbox and pull it backwards at the same time. This is reasonably easy on a solo but on a combination presents a problem especially in the dark. A wire coat hanger can be a most useful accessory for this job. One evening I broke the chain on my way to the Dalston Male Voice Choir rehearsal. I arrived very late looking like a donkey engine greaser.

I’ve always got a tremendous buzz from night riding. A sidecar outfit does allow the carrying of a more comprehensive kit for emergencies. Such items as extra clothing, wellington boots and dry gloves are most useful. I also think handlebar muffs are a great invention mainly because your fingers keep dry and don’t get so numb. The yellow coat and extra sidecar lights do help other people to see you. The stop lights required on bikes these days and on the sidecar put a drain on the battery especially in towns with frequent stopping. Everything needs to be A1 particularly with coil ignition. In the old days of magdynamos at least one could switch to the side lights and follow a lorry. I once did this on a night ride across Norfolk on my B31 lightweight outfit. Investigation the next day showed that the lack of charge was caused by the dynamo filling up with rainwater.

On my night rides, mostly on the Enfield, but occasionally on my L.E. Velocette with its surprisingly good headlight, I often imagine I’m Tom Silver on his 1904 Quadrant or Ivan Hart-Davies on his Bradbury outfit doing the End to End in two or three days.

We are lucky now, with electric lights and decent clothing and even mobile ‘phones. Long ago they had to contend with carbide and water, matches (dry we hope) and small fuel tanks. Those pioneers were men.

George Crellin writes:-

After some thirty plus years of Japanese motorcycling, I decided to return to the world of old British bikes about six years ago, but what to choose? I fancied something simple and reliable to use regularly. The opportunity of a Panther 650 seemed to fit the bill and held great appeal as an opposite to my other bike a Honda Goldwing.

I did however decline the opportunity to buy the huge double adult sidecar that matched the Panther, garage space and a preference for solos being the main reasons. I got the bike as a ‘rough runner’ but over the last few years spending more money than I care to count I have done a rolling restoration with the invaluable assistance and expertise of Tom Lewthwaite and John Reed both of whom I hold in high regard and must be known to many fellow members and other motorcyclists.

I have to admit that no other motorcycle I’ve owned has ever created so much interest and curiosity. I can only attribute this to the Panther’s relative rarity despite the fact they were produced fairly locally in Yorkshire for some sixty years! As a member of the Panther Owners Club I do the local rallies at Kirkpatrick Fleming and Silverdale each year and have already booked for the Manx G.P. again this year and intend to do the Panther International Rally in Ireland this year as well.

So with Sunday runs to Devil’s Bridge and a few V.M.C.C. runs I look forward to motorcycling and meeting other members in the coming year.

George Crellin

V.M.C.C. Lakeland Section

It has been some time since I have sent out an e-mail to Section members, and while there are many not on this mailing list the numbers are slowly growing.

If you know of any members who have access to e-mails and are do not receive this communication, please encourage them to contact me with their e-mail address.

2010 Events List

All Section members should now have a copy of the events for 2010.  However I have discovered a glitch in the system.  Members who ticked a ‘no contact’ box on their renewal form / details will have missed out because their addresses were not included in the information sent to me from V.M.C.C. Headquarters.

If you come across anyone in that category, tell them to contact me so that I can make sure they are on my list of members (unless they want to stay out of circulation).  For convenience I have attached a copy of the list which you can print out / pass on to anyone who would like a copy.

An Appeal

Tim Savelio who lives at Blitterlees near Silloth has been in touch with me with a plea for help.  He has rebuilt a 1953 Ariel VB but is having problems getting it ready for the road.  The problem is lack of power; it starts and runs, but has no ‘go’ even on the slightest gradient.

We discussed the obvious such as timing etc. but this has been checked without success.

If you are knowledgeable on Ariels, or even better could visit Tim with some practical assistance he would be most grateful.

Tim can be contacted by ‘phoning 016973 32659, or by e-mail to timsavelio(at)yahoo.com

February Club Night

For those who did not make the January Club Night, please note that the version on the 2010 Events List that has recently been circulated is the correct version.  That is, February’s Club Night is with Geoff Brazendale who will be convincing us all how brilliant the Velocette L.E. is.  Having briefly owned one (a non-runner because it was in many separate pieces) I am to be convinced; but it did have a strange fascination.

The Border Run

Geoff would like it emphasised that The Border Run to take place on Sunday 25^th April, will depart promptly at the advertised time of 10:30a.m. so it would be advisable to arrive a bit earlier to ensure that all signing on and other preparations are complete.

Please pass this on to any other member you think will be taking part in this run.

Best Wishes,

Malcolm Miller

Secretary V.M.C.C. Lakeland Section

Telephone 017687 72121

malc.miller(at)btinternet.com