LEO KUSMICKI AND THE NORTON SQUISH

Research into the history of VMT816RC inevitably brought up the question - where did Norton get the idea for a 'Squish' combustion chamber, from which Veloce gained their own Production TT victory in 1967?

The answer, in Norton's case, was a Polish engineer by the name of Leo Kusmicki (1911-82), who, the story goes, began to make suggestions to Joe Craig, legendary race boss at Norton, about how he might improve the performance of the aging 'Manx' OHC engine. In the 1940s Kusmicki was employed by the Norton factory as a 'sanitary' engineer, i.e., a janitor! Who was this broom-pusher to tell the indomitable Mr. Craig how to make his engines faster?

The story of Leo Kusmicki, like so many invisible heroes, has never been fully told; a web search reveals no photographs, only a few parroted mentions of the high points of his life. Undoubtedly his lack of renown suited his character, for he made no pains to publicize the contributions he made to the English motorcycle and Automotive industry from the 1940s through the 70s. From what little is published, we know that Kusmicki was a lecturer at Warsaw University in the late 1930s, specializing in internal combustion theory. He must have also been a pilot, if not yet in the Polish Air Force, then as a private citizen, for he managed to escape the two-sided attack on Poland in September 1939 from Germany and the Soviet Union, and make his way to England.

A sidebar here on some WW2 history; it's often repeated that Poland fell 'in a day' to the oncoming German Blitzkreig, with images of Polish horse-mounted cavalry facing Panzer tanks to their doom. The truth is more fierce - the Poles fought like demons against an invader with vastly superior forces and armaments, and managed to wipe out fully 30% of German heavy artillery, 285 of their planes, and 16,000 troops. About 66,000 Poles were killed, with almost 700,000 captured; lopsided yes, but Hitler was shocked at his losses. Josef Goebbels, Nazi Minister of Propaganda, spun stories about a 'walk through' victory in the East which resonate to this day, as do many other of his highly effective fabrications - the man was good at his job. Other forgotten tidbits; three Polish mathematicians, just weeks before the invasion, cracked the German 'Enigma' encryption code, and managed to smuggle the information to England via France which greatly eased intelligence during the War.

The Polish Air Force, in common with much of its military, managed to escape through Hungary to France, just in time for Germany's invasion of that country. Kusmicki would have had been a hardened veteran pilot by the time the Polish military-in-exile escaped to Britain after the fall of France, officially establishing themselves in June 1940 on English soil. The Polish Air Force became legendary during the Battle of Britain for their effectiveness (using English planes - Spitfires and Hurricanes), and Squadron 303, named after Polish-American hero Gen. Tadeusz Kosciuszko, had twice the 'kill' rate of the R.A.F., as they had already been fighting the Luftwaffe for a year and were successful tacticians.

By the time the War was over in 1945, Kusmicki had been fighting for 6 years on foreign soil, in the branch of the military with the highest casualty rate, with his homeland occupied first by Germany, then post-War by the Soviet Union; there was no going home. After such an experience, is it any wonder he took refuge sweeping floors at Norton Motors?

Which is where Joe Craig discovered a secret asset already within his building, who extended the useful racing life of the beloved Manx for another ten years. The revelation of Kusmicki's deep proficiency in combustion chamber theory came inauspiciously, with an upbraiding! Charlie Edwards, a Norton race shop employee, remembers (vide Mick Woolett's 'Norton' - sadly out of print):

"When I came in one morning he [Kusmicki] was sweeping the experimental department and we got talking. It was soon obvious this man was no ordinary sweeper-up and we were chatting away when Joe Craig came in. He was like a bear with a sore head most mornings and he gave Leo a right dressing-down for standing talking and not getting on with it - and then I got one! But I told Joe that this guy might be able to help, and that he should have a talk with him. Well, it wasn't long before Leo was in the drawing office and in my opinion it was he who vastly improved first the 500 then the 350, He was brilliant on cam profiles, combustion chamber shapes, valve timing, porting - the lot."

The 'Model 30' racing engine had changed little from its Arthur Carroll revamp in 1929; Joe Craig (above), while a very determined and canny race team manager for Norton, was certainly no engineer, and developed his engines on a 'suck it and see' basis, rather than from first principles or theoretical research. Thus, to have an expert in engine theory land literally inside his office was something of a miracle... one for which he showed no gratitude publicly, but such was his manner. He was a hard man, had been a successful motorcycle racer in the 1920s, and followed this with nearly 25 years at the helm of the Norton race team, which had possibly the greatest run of success in International level racing, with the least financial support! Under his helm Norton won 9 World Championships, 27 TTs, and countless GPs.

The principal change Kusmicki made to the Manx engine for 1950 was to create a 'Squish' combustion chamber, although a host of modifications were made to the engine and chassis that year, including the introduction of the Featherbed frame. His efforts on the engine raised power by 20%, from 30hp to 36hp on the 350cc engine. The totally redesigned Manx made its début in the hands of young star Geoff Duke that April, where he smashed race and lap records, a situation repeated at the Senior TT that year, where Duke's race average bettered the previous lap record at over 92mph. Much praise was given to the McCandless brothers' new frame design, and Joe Craig was publicly praised as 'the Maestro of Poke'... although of course, no mention was made of the quiet Pole who had completely revised the Norton racer. But, Geoff Duke (above) certainly knew the score, saying in the 1980s, "After the way he [Kusmicki] transformed the singles, particularly the 350cc, I had great respect for him." (vide Woollett).

Kusmicki continued to develop the Manx for a few years, and was heavily involved in the design of a four-cyliner DOHC Norton racer, but funds for racing grew short worldwide by the mid-1950s, and the Norton race shop was shut down Such talent, even if unsung, does not go unnoticed, and Tony Vandervell, a major stockholder in Norton Motors Ltd, had a passion for Formula 1 car racing. His father, Cornelius Vandervell had purchased a large quantity of Norton stock back in the 1920s (the C.E.V. magnetos which graced Norton motorcycles in the mid-20s were C.E.Vandervell's product, and while technically inferior to an M.L. or Lucas magneto of the day, it took a few years before C.E.V.s disappeared from Norton 'original equipment'). The Vandervell family made a fortune with 'Thinwall' bearings (ie, bearing shells with special soft metal linings for high-pressure oiling systems), and around 1950, coincident with Kusmicki's contribution to Norton, the 'Vanwall' (VANdervell thinWALL) Formula 1 team was created, using modified Ferrari engines in Cooper chassis.

A new all-British F1 car was required, and Kusmicki laid out a 2.3liter engine in 1954 which was effectively four Manx engines on a common crankcase; similar to the extent of using four Amal GP motorcycle carburetors! The engine produced 235hp, which was certainly good enough to win races in 1955 when the car débuted, but the chassis was simply not up to snuff. In a move reminiscent of the McCandless brothers' new Featherbed chassis being mated to Kusmicki's revamped Norton engine in 1950, the services of a rising star in racing chassis design was hired to start from scratch on the Vanwall racer. Colin Chapman, later to gain fame for his Lotus cars, created a typically unorthodox and very rigid tube frame chassis, which allowed for much softer suspension and exceptional handling, the hallmark of Lotus racers to come. The Kusmicki/Chapman Vanwall became the first British car to win a GP series since the 1920s.

The Vanwall team began to wind down in the late 1950s due to Vandervell's health issues, and Kusmicki found work with the Rootes group, designing the OHC engine for the Hillman 'Imp', a late competitor to the Austin Mini. Of course, the Imp engine became a favorite with quite a few sidecar racers, and the wheel turned full circle again. In his later years, Kusmicki worked for Chrysler, and his star faded into obscurity. By the time of his death in 1982, few people realized the contribution he had made to Grand Prix World Championships on both two and four wheels - an engineer's version of John Surtees!

Next up: who invented the Squish?

THE RAREST OF SPARES

While the Replica Factories pop Indian 8-Valve Board Track racers into our world with stunning regularity, the 'real deal' becomes that much harder to find, and document. On ebay at the moment is what appears to be an actual spare 'small-base' ca.1911 Indian 8-Valve racing engine. The story sounds genuine, but if you're considering a bid, I'd get a money-back guarantee in writing with a notary and a lawyer, as this engine could easily top the $100k mark [I've heard a rumor the seller has had a firm $100k offer, but wants $125k...].

Indian was at the cutting edge of engine technology with their 8-valve racers, a position which they were never to occupy again. The 4 valve per cylinder head technology not only improved the flow of gases into and out of the combustion chamber, but made for lighter valves and an easier time for the whole valve train, as the valve springs didn't need Herculean strength to keep the valves following the cam contours. With the lousy lubrication of the day, less pressure on the cams meant longer life to the components, and greater reliability. Lighter valves meant less likelihood of them breaking and dropping into the cylinder - a real consideration with steels technology of the day, as engineers hadn't perfected which alloys could withstand the nasty combination of combustion heat and quickly reversed inertia, not to mention any lateral forces from imperfect rocker alignment or wear from their exposure to track grit (especially on dirt tracks!).
The seller's description:

HISTORY:
I bought this engine approximately 20 years ago along with other engines and parts. At that time, I was told by the seller these engines and parts were purchased decades earlier from the mother of a early motorcycle racer who lived somewhere in the "desert" and was killed. The racer's mother claimed one of the engines in the group had been raced at the Isle of Man TT. I contacted The Isle of Man TT association and was advised that no 8-Valves were raced there between 1907 and 1930. However, another engine in the group (which I also have) is a 1909 Indian. I believe the 1909 engine is the one the racer's mother was referring to. It appears the 1909 Indian engine was in a bike ridden by G. Lee Evans and finished in Second Place at The Isle of Man TT in 1909. I "speculate" that the 8-Valve engine offered here and the 1909 Indian engine may have been among parts sold at an Indian factory "back room sale" sometime in the late 1940's.
8-VALVE SPECIFICATIONS: The 8-Valve engine offered here is a small base, 1000cc, twin cylinder. It is complete with the exception of the carburetor and one push rod. The engine is in very good condition and still has traces of apparent Indian red paint. The engine was carefully disassembled so as not to disturb this paint and NO CLEANING has been done on any parts. There is no evidence of markings or serial numbers on the outside of the cases and no evidence that any markings were removed. All markings and numbers appear on the inside of the cases. On the inside of the cases are timing marks which look like those used by Indian. See photos. Each cylinder has twelve (12) "ports" at their base for case pressure release. Each cylinder has two (2) threaded sparkplugs holes. The exhaust port spickets are "straight", unlike early big-base and later (1914) small-base 8-Valves which, were "curved" downward.
And if you happen to buy it, let me know!

THE 'SQUISH' THRUXTONS

What is the starting point when telling the tale of a very special motorcycle; is it the delivery date from the factory? Or does one dig that little bit deeper to give the 'back story', the reason Why a particular machine was made?

In the case of a small batch of factory-modified 1967 Velocette Thruxtons, pulling all the threads of the story left me with a pile of yarn on the floor, no scarf, and no knitting pattern! But it is the job of the writer to assemble a chaotic jumble of facts into a coherent narrative, and thus begins the tale of the 1967 Isle of Man 'Production' TT, a dozen very special Velocettes, and 50 years of engine development.

For the 60th anniversary ('Diamond Jubilee') of the Isle of Man TT, it was decided that something of the original intent of the Tourist Trophy races should be resurrected: showroom-floor motorcycles being put through a harsh full-throttle test over hundreds of racing miles on the world's most notoriously difficult race track. Thus for 1967 were introduced three capacity classes (250/500/750cc), with the stipulation that machines had to be standard production motorcycles with no Factory Special tuning parts.

British manufacturers likely gave a nudge to the TT organizers for this new class, as Japanese manufacturers had bitten hard at the TT and Grand Prix races, winning championships in every class. They had not yet conquered the large bike sales market (ie, over 500cc), but Honda introduced their DOHC CB450 twin in 1965, which was far more technically advanced than any British racing motorcycle currently on offer! Thus, a guaranteed British win in the 500cc and 750cc Production races would generate much-needed good press.

June 10, 1967: all three race classes were flagged off on the same day, albeit with five minutes interval between classes (250s went last), using a mass 'Le Mans'-style start. There was suddenly a lot of machinery on the Manx roads! In the 500cc class, as the smoke from blast-off cleared, two riders could be seen kicking at their mounts - both on Velocettes! Neil Kelly (top pic) and Keith Heckles (above, #31) were having trouble starting their Thruxtons, which due to their high state of tune are notoriously finicky and tend to sulk at the very worst moments. Neither Kelly nor Heckles had experience kick-starting a Velo: There is a Knack, and they didn't have it! Arthur Lavington, riding a third Thruxton, had no such trouble, having raced Velos since the 1949 Clubman's TT.

Neil Kelly's path to the saddle of a special racing Velocette was quirky indeed. Reg Orpin, the sponsor of Kelly's racing Thruxton, had contracted Dennis Craine (winner of the '65 Manx GP) to race the machine, but two weeks prior to the race, at a local Scrambles race, Craine had crashed, been hit by another rider, and broken his arm.... it was Kelly who ran him over! Orpin, suddenly without a rider, offered Kelly the ride for the TT.

In truth, Kelly should not have been allowed to participate in the Production race, for while the '67 was his third TT, he had not completed a single practice lap for this event! The 'Production' Thruxton prepared by Veloce Ltd for his sponsor, Velo dealer Reg Orpin, was late to arrive. Thus Kelley practiced on a borrowed MSS model, which had every sort of mechanical problem, including a badly slipping clutch, which generated a fabulous story told by every Velocette enthusiast; Kelley's clutch was slipping so badly near Quarry Bends he pulled up and considered his practice chances nil. An ancient local farmer, by legend, pulled a nail from an adjacent fence, and adjusted Kelley's clutch! But while kick-starting the MSS, the 'roads open' car, signaling the end of practice, drove by, and his hopes for a complete practice lap were dashed. Kelley in fact went to work the following Saturday, thinking himself disqualified, only to receive a frantic phone call from his pits at lunch - if he could make it to the starting line in time, he could race! His leathers were ready, the bike had passed scrutineering and was ready to go. Kelly's friends had successfully swayed Mary Driver, the Secretary of the TT, on the importance of having a local hero in the race; he DID have 6 Manx races under his belt after all, so was unlikely to be an embarrassment or safety hazard. Still, a few rules were bent.

Rules had been more dramatically bent by Veloce Ltd in providing several 'Production' machines to dealers Reg Orpin (Kelly's sponsor), Geoff Dodkin (Heckles), and Arthur Lavington, for these machines used engines which had been specially developed by Veloce in a bid to win the TT that year - hoping to come home with an Overall win in the process. All three used 'Squish' combustion chambers with specially-shaped forged pistons, and the Orpin/Dodkin machines had a host of internal improvements including needle roller bearings on the cam followers - all of which served to produce and extra 4.5hp over the standard Thruxton, according to Bertie Goodman, Managing Director of Veloce.

In the event, even with his dismal start, Kelly won the 500cc race easily at an 89.89 mph average, passing through the speed trap at Ballacraine at 116.9mph. Keith Heckles on the Dodkin machine was 2nd, with a fourth Thruxton (probably a Squish machine as well), ridden by Bob Biscardine, flew through the radar at 121.6mph, the fastest 500cc machine in the race.

What had inspired Veloce to build a batch of 'Squish Head' racers in 1967? Credit is due to Dennis Quinlan of Australia for communications with the Factory regarding Down Under Velocettes. While the rest of the world had moved away from Velos in serious racing competition, it seems the candle still burned bright for the marque on the other side of the world, and a host of very clever engineers were madly tinkering, modifying, and successfully racing their Velocettes well into the 1960s and 70s. Their ingenuity extended as far as special DOHC cylinder heads for 'pushrod' engines, lightweight frames, bronze cylinder heads for older racers, and experiments to improve combustion and generate more power from the standard article.

Three teams independently produced 'Squish Head' Velocettes in 1964, using post-1951 Norton Manx cylinder heads and pistons as their model. The Aussie tuners found through trial and error that their engines produced significantly more horsepower, with a marked reduction in 'pinking' under load, cooler running, less spark advance, and clearly a far more efficient combustion process. Quinlan wrote to Veloce that his Squish Velo, when road-tested by his co-builder Keith Smith, got 75 miles per gallon!

Bertie Goodman was a racing enthusiast to the core, and the beating heart of all competition success at Veloce Ltd post-war. Had he but a majority stake on the Board, racing Velocettes would have graced the race tracks of the world for many years after 1953, when the factory dropped all race support, to concentrate on their humble 'LE' model. It was Bertie who supported the amazing 24-Hours at 100mph World Record with a 500cc Venom at Montlhery in 1961 (which still stands for a 500cc single, by the way), as well as the attempt with a 350cc Viper model at the same record. Bertie also ushered in the Thruxton model, having taken a good look at some American-brewed special cylinder heads and realizing the potential for an excellent Clubman's racer, or Café Racer!

Thus, it was Dennis Quinlan's (above, left, with Keith Smith in '64) loyal correspondence with the factory about his tuning efforts which set Bertie's ambition on a Production TT win. The Thruxton was already fast, producing 8hp more than the Venom Clubman model; an extra 4.5hp would give that much more of an edge at the Island. Velocettes had already proven their reliability with their 100mph/24hr success, as well as wins in 12- and 24-hour Endurance racing at Barcelona, and of course at the eponymous Thruxton airfield race circuit. While the Australian Squish cylinder heads were far away, Norton Manx cylinder heads were certainly available for inspection, and Goodman had special pistons forged to the Norton pattern, which mated to modified Thruxton cylinder heads.

It seems clear that two engines were heavily developed with many internal modifications as noted above; these went to Reg Orpin and Geoff Dodkin. Between 5 and 10 more Thruxton engines were modified with the 'Squish', albeit less heavily modified. These were sold to selected friends of the factory; long-time racers or dealers who sponsored Velo racers.

One of these engines was sold to Arthur Lavington, legendarily stalwart Velocette racer, the last man to race a MkVIII KTT in a Grand Prix, who in fact died in practice for the 1969 Production TT, when he was struck by another rider and his Thruxton struck a stone wall. He almost certainly used a Squish engine in his '67 race machine - the engine of which was VMT 816RC. A photograph of this engine is shown below.

The development of the 'Squish' engine itself deserves a telling, and will be the subject of my next post.

Daytona Bike Week - Get a Start on the Rally Season

The 69th anniversary of Daytona Bike Week is being held February 26 - March 7, 2010 in Daytona Beach, Florida. The start of Daytona Bike Week is often announced on the morning TV news shows. You know, where somebody sticks their face in front of the camera and announces: "We're at the opening of Daytona Bike Week. Good Morning America," and then you see a whole line of bikes roar off in front of the camera. Unfortunately, most of the remainder of Bike Week will not be seen by non-motorcyclists.

Check out my article, Daytona, for details.

Here in the frigid Northeast, I hear plenty of people talking about going to Daytona. Some are riding down with friends. Riding sometimes means riding in a car and towing a trailer with the bike on it. After all, the 1500 miles down with uncertain weather conditions has left many a rider stranded in a snow storm or Nor'easter. After that happens to you once, you tend to be a little more cautious the next time you go.

Maybe you want to skip Daytona and concentrate on planning to go to some smaller rallies this year. Be sure to read my article, Motorcycle Rallies, where I discuss rallies and give you information about the top rallies that I like. Of course, your views may be different -- this is Motorcycle Views after all.

I just got my registration information for the Americade Motorcycle Rally. That one is my favorite and I've gone almost every year since 1994.

It can get expensive going to lots of rallies, especially if you're taking two bikes. Double gas, double tolls. You just have to pick and choose what appeals to you most in these uncertain economic times. Motorcycle rallies are a lot of fun. If you've never attended a rally, you owe it to yourself to go. You just might find a rally or two that you'll want to go to every year, just like I go to Americade, regardless of the weather.

Terrorist get away attempt.... Bad terrorist!

A clean get away... NOT!!!

Big Ol' Johnson

By John Reno

Motorcycle Swap Meet

Motorcycle Swap Meet

I made it out to the Fort Worth Texas Scooter Times Motorcycle Swap Meet last Sunday. I went early with two of my sons; Joshua and Jacob with my grandson Ryan. There were a few vendors still getting set up but the majority of them were ready for business. There were all types of vendors and wares for sale from all over Texas.

We saw stuff for guys, gals and kids. Of course, almost all of the miscellaneous motorcycle parts were for Harley’s. I think you could have purchased all the parts there to put together a complete bike.

The swap meet seemed to be well attended with a lot of people going through and carrying armloads stuff they had purchased.

Jake bought a pickup piggybank for Ryan which he pushed around making engine sounds on our second time around the swap meet.

Ryan on the strangest ride out there

Of course I did not get out unscathed and purchased a raccoon tail for Joshua. We were there about an hour and a half and headed home. Texas Scooter Times has Swap Meets scheduled for Houston and San Antonio in the near furure. They have a Video walk through on their website. Be sure and check one out when they come to a town near you.

Ride on,
Torch

The Snow Is GONE...I'm riding again

What a great day it was today.
Yes, I went riding. I was gonna meet some friends for breakfast this morning, but Mom seemed so depressed, I thought to ask her our for breakfast. We then went exploring in her car...I found a cool new road,right here in my home town. Less than a mile from my house, it went on for about 10 miles...twist's and rises...and lots of farm land. Mom perked up.

I brought her home, and pulled my bike out. Put on my leathers, my scarves, sunglasses, light gloves...and went for a ride. I checked my gas tank, half full...odd...the odometer says 36 miles. Half a tank should read around 50 miles or a bit more...mmmm ah well...get gas later.

I'm in the saddle and I stop at Sycamore Shoals for the encampment going on there. That encampment reflects the 1700's.









I left the Fort and headed North. I found SR 400 and headed South for a time. As I twist and turn on this road, I decide to chase a small side road called Piney Flats Road. I've never been on this road, but it is a fine road. I twisted and turned through some wonderful little hamlets and loads of farm land. I was on the Quilt Trail for NE TN. I found a couple of great barns with quilt designs on them...





Stopping to photograph them, I also discover this grist mill farmstead. Got some decent pictures...







Left the Mill and started to head west on another undiscovered road. I've covered thirty miles now...and forgot to get gas. I realize from the miss I now feel in the engine, I'm running out of gas. I get myself turned around so I can coast downhill toward some buildings off to the North. I got a good enough run before the gas gave out, to get me down to this place. It was some long forgotten "salvage" yard. I called my brother, he came to my rescue with a gallon of gas. I passed the time by taking pictures of the salvage yard! (My reserve don't work, it hasn't worked since 2005.)





Mark came with the gallon of gas and I'm ready to go once more. It's already time to go home. I continue to head North toward home. Stopping at Green Hill Cemetary to photograph the headstones there. Most have been there since the Civil War.







I'm done...and going home...thanks for coming...

'INSPIRATION L.A.' AND THE FUTURE OF THE VINTAGENT

Complicated tales take time to recount properly, and this one is no exception, with plenty of 'unfortunately/fortunately' personal tidbits thrown into the mix. I'll dwell on the fortunate, barring a note that my 6-year-old Mac PowerBook finally bit the dust... but Fortunately I had just purchased a fully supercharged MacBook Pro to replace my ageing but trusty silver Mac. Thanks are due to Mimi at Apple for the killer deal, and to a generous sponsor of The Vintagent for making it all possible. Now there's four on the floor, a blown hemi, and we're leaving long black streaks on the internet.

As scrutineers of my sidebar have noted, the massive pile of parts which supplemented my income for the past 25 years (used to refurbish hundreds of motorcycles) is rapidly shrinking, for I've steered my ship into the parlous waters of Motorcycle Writing. To answer a very common question about this website, I have always had a 'day job', and the answer to The Question is, 'no TV'. Yes, greatly ironic given my involvement with Classic Motorcycle Roadshow, but life would be dull without such paradoxes. I rely on friends to Tivo my appearances on the tube, however brief.

Last Friday witnessed the VintaSprinter fully loaded with 2400lbs of spares, bounding southwards for a powerhouse weekend of horsetrading, gladhanding, dealmaking, and visionary hard work.

First on the agenda was the 'Inspiration' event at Santa Monica airport, hosted by Rin Tanaka. I've long been a fan of fabulously obsessive books on motorcycle jackets, helmets, riding apparel, and obscure subjects like SoCal surf T-shirts from the late 1960s. His 'My FreeDamn' series has become the de facto handbook of the vintage collectible clothing movement, and a constellation of Japanese and American clothing makers hover around his star, making faithful reproductions or re-introductions of iconic shoe, motorcycle, or clothing designs. More on all this later, suffice to say there was plenty to marvel over at the event.

My local representative of this Movement is Kiya Babzani (above), proprietor of Self Edge here in S.F., a shop stocked with limited-edition Japanese denim and other übercool stuff... including my '28 Sunbeam TT90, currently on display in the shop window!

Justin from Glory Sales & Service had a booth as well, with his Norton Atlas café racer standing guard over the period and modern gear on offer.

My business wasn't with clothing per se, but with Ian and Amaryllis of Falcon Motorcycles.

Falcon and The Vintagent have teamed up to create new business, CafeRacers.com, which is already 'live', but will be filled with content in the next few weeks - again, stay tuned! We're very excited to offer a wholly new perspective on our favorite subject, combined with products we personally endorse as the very best available anywhere. We're roping the pinnacle of talent for the website, including Nick Clements (below), who among his other projects is a major contributor to Men's File magazine (they're doing it Right. Full review coming shortly). Nick's 'period' photographic setups are so good they boggle the mind. It's going to be very exciting to see what he comes up with for CaféRacers!

PAMPLONA COLLECTION: 100 AT AUCTION

Bonhams has scored another coup in selling a large private motorcycle collection, a feat they've repeated 3 times in the past 12 months - someone is on the ball! The 'Pamplona' Collection comes up under the hammer on Feb. 27, 2010, and is a Spanish assemblage of over 100 machines, carefully selected by someone with good taste, although the collection contains enough idiosyncracies to pique the interest of even the jaded auction-hound.

My favorite machine on offer is this 1937 Böhmerland 'Langtouren' (top pic), a marque very rarely available, as only 30 are thought to exist. Designer Albin Liebisch built what he felt was the ideal touring machine, capable of carrying three passengers, the legally sanctioned limit in far-seeing Czechoslovakia. The ohv engine has has a 603cc capacity from 80x120mm bore/stroke. And what quirky machine would be complete without a 'World's First' in the description - in this case, it's the cast aluminum wheels, used nearly four decades before Campagnolo began building their own magnesium (and crack-prone) mags for Italian race hardware. The great weight of the Böhmerland's wheels may have discouraged experimentation! Nonetheless, it would take a mighty blow to deflect his innovation, whereas broken spokes were fairly commonplace on the crappy country roads of rural Europe. Liebisch also designed two-person machines with a shorter wheelbase, and even a Sports model for competitions, although I've never seen one of these in the metal, or even a photo - do any exist?

And, I promise to publish a Road Test here in The Vintagent - stay tuned.

Fabulous machine #2 is this 1933 Soyer SA5C racer, in 'as last raced' condition, with a fantastic homemade exhaust system worthy of a cameo in 'No Limit'. Soyer was founded in 1919 in Colombes, France, and used various proprietary engines, although they contracted with Swiss engineer Walter Freudenfelder to build a 'face-cam' ohc in 1929, which did well in competitions. Perhaps to avoid development costs needed to modernize their cammy racer, in 1932 Soyer used Sturmey-Archer (read: Raleigh) engines of a robust but conventional ohv construction. The marketing division as S-A must have worked overtime, for quite a few companies used this engine in their competition machinery, at the TT and on the Continent, which found but modest success. The great era of the bought-in racing engine seeing success on the racetrack were at an end: the purpose-built ohc single-cylinder racer was on the ascendant, soon to be supplanted itself by the multi-cylinder Works racer, with supercharger. This Soyer is certainly an incredibly rare opportunity to own an untouched, time-warp racer.

From the Bohhams press release:

"The Pamplona Collection represents an important group of motorcycles assembled by a prominent Spanish private collector. Over 100 in number, this extraordinarily diverse collection includes a brace of De Dion Bouton-engined machines dating from the closing years of the 19th Century, as well as nine 4-cylinder models from the likes of FN, Ace, Cleveland, Excelsior, Henderson, Indian, Nimbus and Zündapp. V-twin engined motorcycles are another predominant theme, with no fewer than 18 in the collection including examples from Harley-Davidson, Sunbeam, Vincent, Motosacoche, Peugeot, Matchless, BSA and, of course, Brough Superior in the form of a 1931 SS100. Rare marques represented include Vindec, Wanderer, Acme, Rikuo, Böhmerland, PMZ, Griffon, Standard, Diamant, Laurin & Klement, Phebus and Mabeco.The collection was assembled over the past few years for the enjoyment of the owner’s friends and family, and was housed at various locations before coming to its purpose-built museum home 12 months ago. Almost all of the machines were in running condition at time of purchase, since when they have been carefully stored."