SILK FOR SALE AT BANBURY

Bonhams' Banbury Run sale next weekend in Oxford has a little-known gem in the ranks, a true connoisseur's machine, and the end of a long line of English two-strokes.  There was a time when most UK manufacturers had a 'smoker' in their lineup, even the esteemed Velocette built only quality two-stroke lightweights for many years before introducing their overhead-camshaft 'K' series in 1925.

The first Scott of 1908

 But the Scott was always something special; a remarkably advanced design when introduced in 1908, genius engineer Alfred Angus Scott created a water-cooled, twin-cylinder two-stroke, with a rigid, fully triangulated frame, two speeds, and telescopic forks!  Scotts were always very quick and handled beautifully, a fact borne out by making the fastest laps at the Isle of Man TT from 1911-14, and winning the event outright in 1912 and '13.  Very few English motorcycles had multiple gears and all-chain drive at the time, and the 'spec' of the Scotts was streets ahead of anything but the Indians which were imported for these early IoM races.

A late two-speed model ca. 1927

 The original Scott two-speed system used a two primary chains on different sized sprockets, with a clutch between, giving two different ratios, the gears changed via a distinctive 'hi and low' rocking gear pedal.  Easy to use, the early two-speeders were very smooth, light, and handled beautifully.  Having only two gears is less a problem than one might imagine, while riding up hills and around bends, as corners could be taken as quickly as you dared, with no braking required!  It sounds like a boast but I've experienced it firsthand on mountainous California backroads (on the 'von Dutch' Scott, no less). A charming and endearing quality for any 'scratcher', Scotts made friends and kept them.

A late 3-speed 'Flying Squirrel

AA Scott left the company after WW1, and the range was evolved over the years to include 3-speed gearboxes and clutches, becoming gradually heavier with added sophistication, although a Flying Squirrel Clubman in the late 30s, weighing a scandalous 400lbs, could still top 90mph.  They never won another TT, and never won a 'Gold Star' at Brooklands, but they were fast and fun on the road, and easy to maintain.

A postwar 'Birmingham' Scott with teleforks

After WW2, the Flying Squirrel with telescopic forks was launched, but the thrill had gone, and Matt Holder bought the company in 1950 (he later bought the remains of Royal Enfield, Vincent, and Velocette).  Holder manufactured Scotts in Birmingham until the late 1960s, and the Holder family's Velocette Motorcycle Company still has stacks of triangulated frames in the old Triumph despatch warehouse at Meriden.

The last of the Silks, with Lester mags and Lockheed discs, ca. '79

George Silk was a serious Scott enthusiast and a talented engineer, and as he watched late 60s two-stroke racers challenge the top of GP racing, he felt a Scott could be fitted with modern cylinder barrel and heads to increase power, and be competitive in racing.  Silk's original racing machines, using Scott crankcases and Silk's own top end, had respectable horsepower, and their Spondon racing frames echoed the old Scott frame, being completely rigid, ultra-light and triangulated, with exceptional handling qualities.  These Silk/Scott racers were underfunded and underdeveloped, typical of a solitary builder working at GP racing, but they were fast and held promise.

More importantly, by 1972 George Silk announced he would begin production of road-going 'modernized' Scotts in Spondon chassis.  Apparently he made his announcement before informing Holders of his plans, for he did not receive permission to use the Scott name or Holder crankcases, and prospective Silk owners had to supply their own 'cases!  Amazingly, as the basic design of the Scott engine hadn't changed since 1908, it was possible to use 60-year old crankcases on a new, 50hp sporting Silk in a racing chassis!

The Silk for sale at Bonhams is the last of the line of 'owner provided' machines, (#23 - clearly this was a low-volume effort), as George Silk manufactured his own engines in their entirety by 1975.  The last Silk left the factory in 1979, by then with a disc brake up front, the last of the Scott family, produced for just over 70 years.  All Silks are rare, and are coveted by 'those who know' for their remarkable handling, ultra-light weight (305lbs), and super-smooth power.  Silks aren't revvy and nervous like their contemporary two-stroke cousins from Japan, but used old-fashioned 'deflector' pistons which generate torque at low rpm, while sacrificing the screaming, wheelying, light-switch powerbands of its rivals.  A gentleman's two-stroke!