FRANZ KRIEGER, MYSTERY PHOTOGRAPHER

A crudely-erected obstacle course for the rider of this BMW R51

A laborer in New Jersey regularly cut the grass of an elderly German man, upon whose death he inherited 50,000 baseball trading cards, and a photo album which was clearly from a professional photographer during WW2.  The album held a curious blend of very personal snapshots, such as convalescing in a hospital, contrasted with closeups of Hitler and other heads of state during the eastward push of the Wehrmacht across the Soviet Union towards Stalingrad during 1941-2.

The mystery photo album

The laborer borrowed money from a New York garment district executive, and when he was unable to repay the loan, the exec was happy to take the baseball cards and photo album and settle the debt, recognizing the value of all-access photos of Hitler, obviously assembled by a professional photographer, although they bore no identification. This New Yorker recently fell on hard times after quadruple-bypass heart surgery, and anonymously contacted the New York Times to help identify the photographer, and to help value and sell the photographs, anonymously.  The Times put the story online in late June, in association with Der Spiegel, and within 3 hours the mystery of the album was solved via the internet.

A slowly advancing German military column, somewhere in the Ukraine, 1941.  Note the horses pulling Howitzers

Franz Krieger was a professional photographer in Salzburg between 1938-41, working on staff for the Nazi propaganda ministry, and very briefly joined the SS police in 1941, before quitting that notoriously nasty group, and joining the Goebbel's Propogandakompanie, which followed the military into battle, documenting the rapid advance of Hitler's army eastward, after Germany broke the Molotov-Ribbentrop Non-Agression Pact, which had made temporary allies of Germany and the Soviet Union in 1939.  Hitler needed Ukraine's grain, and the oil fields of the Caucasus, to fuel his war machine, and invaded the Soviet Union in June 1941.  Stalin's pact with Hitler was sheer expedience, as Hitler's autobiography and political blueprint 'Mein Kampf' ('My Struggle') laid out a plan to exterminate or deport to Siberia all 'subhuman' Russians in the valuable grain and oil fields of the western USSR.  Stalin may have been simply buying time in 1939 to bolster his military, expecting to defend against an inevitable German invasion.

Two Propogandakompanie soldiers film the destruction of Minsk

Krieger documented the fall of Minsk and areas of the Ukraine, photographing ethnic Russian and Jewish prisoners taken along the way, the destruction of cities and towns, and the toll taken on German soldiers as well.  As the Propogandakompanie went further into the Soviet Union, Krieger quit the SS photo unit, and was sent to Bregenz (in Austria) to train as a simple soldier, becoming a supply-truck driver.  Krieger's move away from the elite and ideologically-driven SS (police and photo units) to the non-combatant status of a driver, hint that his initial enthusiasm for the Nazi party gave way to a distaste for the realities of war.  His imagery changed from the pageantry of pre-war parades and rallies in Salzburg, historic meetings between heads of state, to troop movements, destroyed homes, ethnic and military prisoners (and the horrors of their treatment), and haunted German soldiers.

Training to ride a DKW RT125 over a tipping board...

While back in Germany in 1942, Krieger documented the Motor SportSchule, at which motorcyclists were trained for battle.  His photographs show the unusual tactics and crude equipment used to raise the skill level of military motorcyclists, including giant teeter-totters and suspended truck tires the riders had to negotiate.  The motorcycles in the photographs are a BMW R51 and DKW RT125, the BMW being quite a hot machine for training purposes; more typical for the military were BMW R71 sidevalve twins, which, ironically, were also made in the Soviet Union under license, and continue to be produced in modified form to this day in both Russia and China, as the Dnepr, Neval, Chiang Jiang, Yangtze, etc, making this the longest continuous-production motorcycle ever.

Two German infantry soldiers showing the toll of war on ordinary men

Krieger was sent back to the Eastern Front in 1942, just in time for the siege of Stalingrad, in which Soviet urban guerrilla tactics stymied the German army, who were trained for rapid heavy-artillery advances with air support, and not small-arms combat.  With the Germans mired in Stalingrad, a heavy winter combined with a slow buildup of Soviet troops, who eventually surrounded the city, led to the defeat of the Germans and the turning point of WW2.  Hitler had not secured his oil fields in the Middle East nor in Crimea, and could not supply bread for Germany from Ukranian fields; in truth his grand plans were finished, although it took two more years and millions more deaths to drive the point home.  The battle of Stalingrad itself cost 2 million lives on all sides.

Kriegers' self-portrait in the mirror of his Kompanie bus

Our photographer Krieger was lucky though, developing jaundice before things got ugly in Stalingrad, and was sent by train back to Germany in late 1942.  He survived the war, and died a merchant in Bavaria in 1993.  How his photo album arrived in New Jersey is still a mystery.

Propogandakompanie buses, as seen in several of the photos

The Minsk Opera House shortly after the German occupation.  Now known as the Bolshoi Theater of the Repulic of Belarus, the building was clearly spared by German guns...perhaps because Soviet fascist architecture was so similar to German fascist architecture!

3 gents before the SportSchule, in Kochel am See

A Soviet prisoner in the Minsk prison camp

A very young Soviet prisoner in Minsk wearing Red Army budenovka hat

The lucky Hepatitis...Krieger at his Bavarian hospital

MYSTERY RACER

A curious racing motorcycle appeared in my mailbox today, of an engine configuration I've never seen.  I have an idea that the chassis is a Smith frame from Australia, which was a scaled-down Norton Featherbed built to house mainly Velocette engines for 250cc racing, and which was based on the Beasley frame from England.  That this machine uses Velocette forks, gearbox, and wheels supports the theory.  Typically, Velo MOV pushrod engines were used in such frames, often with special cylinder heads in bronze or aluminum cast by enterprising tuners such as Carey.  Some frames housed sleeved-down KTT engines, which were certainly heavy but fast and durable.
Australian racers did battle far away from the epicenter of the motorcycle industry; spares took months to arrive, and tuning advice dispensed in a mere trickle from the factories.  So, the 'bush tuners' made their own racing heads, frames, or whole engines.  It appears this curious motor is entirely home-made, and appears to be an 'OP' (opposed piston) engine, in which two oppposed crankshafts move two pistons towards each other in a common cylinder barrel, forming between them the combustion chamber at the top of their stroke.  Fairly common in marine applications and sometimes aircraft, such an engine is very rare on a motorcycle!
There are as many variants on the internal combustion engine through its nearly two-century existence, as there are dinosaurs with outlandish teeth, armor, and body shape.  And, most are equally extinct, for the moment.
Can any readers shed light on this machine's history?

THE ORIGINAL 'CAPTAIN AMERICA'

The caption on the photo says 'Grasstrack, Cedarburg, Wisconsin'.  The date is July 1942, and I've never seen an earlier photo of a motorcycle with an American flag painted on the tank.  While I'm sure Ben Hardy, creator of the 'Captain America' chopper for the film Easy Rider, had never seen this particular motorcycle, it remains nonetheless the progenitor of that 60's icon.

The 'Bobber' movement grew out of the American predeliction for chucking heavy stock mudguards into the weeds in the search for lighter weight and livelier performance, and 'bobbed' motorcycles (so-called for their truncate tails) first appeared in the late 1920s.  They make an interesting contrast to hotted-up road/racers in the rest of the world, which generally included full, if narrow, mudguarding; the Bobber aesthetic grew directly out of Dirt Track racing in the States, as there was virtually no paved-road racing domestically pre-war, and the requirements are quite different from the European Grand Prix scene.  And, typically, the fast crowd wanted to be seen riding what their track icons rode...the rules applied then as now, and since Indian and Harley didn't sell Dirt Track Replicas, the lads made them at home.

The Bobber evolved post-war into the Chopper, which flowered in the 1960s, but had it's own origins as far back as the late 1940s... which will be discussed Later; Who invented the Chopper?

(photo copyright The Vintagent)

LADS AT DRAGONS

by Bill Snelling:
In late 1961, the English motorcycle press debated whether an 'Elephant Rally' could be held in the UK. The Conwy Motorcycle Club of Wales picked up the gauntlet, and the Dragon Rally was born. As a boy, I thought this would be a very good idea and badgered Dad about it, just like I had done in 1960 to get him to come to the TT. Mum didn't fancy the idea of camping in mid-winter, so told us to crack on alone.

That first Dragon Rally was held in February 1962, at Bryn Bras Castle near Llanberis. The MotorCycle's Road Editor, John Ebbrell, promoted the idea. Our family transport at the time was a '55 Series 'D' Vincent, hitched to a Watsonian Avon chair. The Vin was not regarded as anything special, just a suitable vehicle to transport the family on holidays. We also had a trailer and this was packed with tent, primus stove, etc. and off we tootled to Wales. Even though the first stretch of the M1 had been opened in 1959, we chose smaller roads. The Birmingham MCC had offered coffee and soup for those making their way to the rally, setting up just off a big roundabout; a very welcome stop on a cold February morning! Dad suffered with 'white finger' syndrome on his right hand; his solution was to put the hand inside his jacket like Napoleon and ride left-handed on the throttle - try it some time, it's harder than you think!

The further west we went, the more bikes we saw on the roads. It was our first venture into Wales, I can always remember the sheer scale of the rocks going through the Llanberis Pass. As we got nearer to the rally site we stopped at a small country shop to stock up on eggs, bacon, milk. The owner was bemused but mightily pleased by the amount of trade he got that morning - no one had told him of the rally.

Arriving at Bryn Bras the field was already heaving with people. We found a suitable pitch and we (meaning Dad) had the tent up in no time, the family having taken camping holidays for many years. Our tent neighbors were a family who had arrived on a big old Brough outfit which disgorged a skutch of youngsters... only later did we realise it was V.M.C.C. founder 'Titch' Allen and family. For warmth, Dad had found me an old flying coat, the type that buttoned up to make quasi-trousers; quite warm, but comical to walk in. We found the organiser's tent, signed in and got our badge, then went bike spotting as the site rapidly filled. Some of the attendees were obviously camping newbies; Dad was soon assisting to get tents fixed up, but a few oddballs had brought the tent, but no poles! I did not realise until reading later news reports that accommodation was available inside the castle itself; I thought we all just roughed it. At 7 pm a call rang out to assemble for the Headlight Parade. What a tremendous sight to see so many bikes riding through the countryside, the headlamps like a necklace of pearls winding through the hills. I am sure this was where my enthusiasm for our favourite hobby was kick-started. We returned to find camp fires had been lit round the site, where tea was drunk and tales were told and retold. I remember it was a cold night, but we had been taught to strip off before plunging into the sleeping bag, piling the clothes on top. In those days camping was a fairly sedate affair, no beer tents or Miss wet-T-shirt contests! There were some very grey specimens of humanity the next day who had not slept a wink, but Dad and I were alright! With a suitably hearty breakfast inside us, we broke camp and retraced our steps back home to Mitcham in Surrey. I found this article written by 'Founder Allen' on a Dragon Rally website - I know how he felt

"You went to the Dragon Rally? And now you feel a strange restlessness. So do I, and I know the symptoms. What you have is a dose of wanderlust; you have been bitten by the tingle of adventure, by the yearning to get away and explore the land you live in. The Dragon trek was something unique in motor cycling history. The bonfire which blazed in the foothills of Snowdon that wintry night kindled in thousands of minds new enthusiasm for the open air. Can the Dragon spirit spread throughout the land? Can it be used to bring adventure to a generation threatened by the sleeping sickness of spectating - of watching instead of doing? What we want is more Dragon Rallies in more places . . and with a heavy accent on self reliance. Bryn Bras proved that to try to feed and house several hundred motor cyclists is a major undertaking. Even granted the necessary facilities and organization, the product is something between an Army depot and a holiday camp. To demand a roof and fodder for a couple thousand souls restricts the choice of sites, puts a heavy burden on organization. But are these necessary? Dragons ought to be tough. Tent, sleeping bag and cooking stove must be their battle order."

We attended the second Dragon Rally which was held in Grwych Castle. A small group of fellow Isle of Man residents were keen to repeat the winter ride to the 50th anniversary Dragon. The location is kept secret, you arrive at a holding control and are then told of the location of the campsite. Bryn Bras Castle has changed somewhat in the past 48 years, it now offers stately accommodation with suites ranging from £450 to £850 per week! A bit different from a muddy field full of unwashed motorcyclists.

DETROIT CYCLE CLUB, JULY 4TH 1942

While the rest of the world was at war, in 1940 the US began period of economic recovery from the Depression, as war production began to ramp up. All kinds of sporting events which had disappeared across the seas were yet in full bloom Stateside, even deep into 1942, as these photos attest.

The Detroit Cycle Club, like so many such clubs across the country, had a cadre of dedicated racers who traveled fairly long distances to the best tracks. In the case of the D.C.C., that meant long drives with the old racer hitched to the back of the '39 Chevrolet on a home-made 3-rail trailer, to venues like Cedar Rapids Iowa (shown in these photos), Rochester City Michigan, Cedarburg Wisconsin, or Devonshire, Canada. The machines they raced were generally older models which had been purchased used, then tuned and continuously developed for years, as money was always an issue for the majority of amateur racers.

The D.C.C. mostly raced Harley WR 750cc sidevalve machines (above, brand new!), although one member, Jack Kulan, raced a Rudge Ulster 500cc four-valver (third photo, below). The rules of the A.M.A. by the late 1920s outlawed exotic factory racers which had generated so much exciting technology in the 'Teens and 'Twenties. Gone were the '8-Valves', the 'Overhead Cams', and even the 'Overhead Valve Twins'...the dominant factories (Harley-Davidson, Indian, Excelsior) twisted the arm of sanctioning bodies of US racing, as development costs for technologically advanced racing machinery was simply too high for them, so Production machines had to be raced. The capacity limit was 750cc for Sidevalves and 500cc for Overhead Valves; thus the Harley WR and Indian Scout (below - looking very lithe) raced against Rudge Ulsters, Triumph Tiger 100s, Norton Internationals, BMW R5s, etc.


The benefits of Racing Department research and development into new technologies was focused on the dead end of extracting horsepower from sidevalve combustion chambers...and over the next 40 years H-D and Indian, and eventually only Harley, created the most remarkable Flathead racing machines ever created, ultimately capable of over 150mph from a 750cc engine with valves stuck on the side of the cylinder.

And with the reprinting of the A.M.A. rule book, the American motorcycle industry gave up its position as a world leader in motorcycle technology - a remarkable capitulation. As no other nation by the late 1920s developed sidevalve machines for racing, OHV and OHC English and European motorcycles -at a 50% capacity disadvantage - shared the dirt tracks with their big, tough Yankee cousins. The mix made for amazing races, as the better horsepower and lighter weight of the Foreign machines were well balanced against the 'home team' durability and speed on the rough dirt tracks.

These photographs were taken at a race meeting near Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on July 4th 1942. It was likely a hot and dry day, as the spectators are massed under a central awning - few venture into the sunny benches nearer the pits. Mostly Harleys, a few Indians, and a smattering of Inters, Ulsters, and Tigers dot the landscape, and the track. The primitive conditions for maintaining a racer certainly gave an advantage to a simple engine which could handle a little grit in the works!

Photographs copyright 2010 The Vintagent.

EARLY PHOTOS AT RETROMOBILE

Among the many lots of Automobilia offered at the Bonhams auction at Retromobile in Paris (Jan 27th), are these two limited-edition, very rare photographs of early motorcycling competitors. Each of these photographs has been reprinted from an original glass negative onto high quality, archival stock, and is strictly limited to an edition of 7 per photograph. (Sold for 115Euros)

Most unusual is the 1902 photo of 'Madame Jolivet' (above), competing in Deauville that year on a 2 1/2hp G.Pecourt motorcycle (which used a Zedel aiv motor in a modified racing bicycle frame). Her race average over the flying kilo was 62 km/h! She and her husband were on the Pecourt racing team; they appeared in 1902 also at the Gaillon and Chateau-Thierry hillclimbs, and the Dourdan speed trials. Photographs of women competitors at road trials such as Deauville are exceedingly rare, and this image represents one of the very first photographs of a woman motorcycle racer.
A good look at her outfit tells a tale; women with an inclination towards sports were creating a new category of clothing, necessary to break out of the high collars, corseted waists, and heavy skirting which was the fashion of the day. Ms. Jolivet is wearing a combination of a worker's smock and balloon trousers (overgrown knickers with a 'skirtish' profile to fool the eye), with stockings and what look like an early example of white trainers! She certainly looks comfortable with her machine - but look at that saddle height!













The second print depicts a Mr. Wilfred aboard a Léon Bollée tricar, at an unknown event in France, sporting his race number '21' and wearing a competitor's armband. Tricars at this early point in the century were competing with two-wheelers at events and sales floors around the world, as they vied for primacy as the 'best' solution to a powered lightweight vehicle on the road. The configuration of both the Pecourt and Bollée formed branches on an evolutionary tree of motorcycles which have since died off, their brief flowering having whithered away by the late 'teens. The Pecourt has an engine hanging below and outside the front downtube of the bicycle frame, a vulnerable position certainly but one which kept the weight low and forward - which would keep skids ('the dreaded side-slip') and top-heaviness as bay. The arrangement of the Bolée has perhaps a longer lineage, or at least more cousins, with rear-drive three-wheelers still available from the likes of Triking, although they and earlier Morgan, B.S.A., etc, all leaned more towards automotive appearance, with shapely steel bodies and car-type seats. (sold for 345 Euros)

The Bonhams Retromobile Auction site is worth a gander; the sale includes a myriad of drool-worthy cars, and one 1925 Bugatti Type 22, recently recovered from the bottom of Lago Maggiore in Italy, where it lay since 1929! Ready for restoration, I would say... but what a fantastic photograph!! (sold for 260,500 Euros!)

HAPPY NEW YEAR FROM THE VINTAGENT!

Here's to your health and happiness in 2010! May the road beneath your tires be smooth and lead to great places; enjoy the view along the way - the journey is the important bit. Ride safe!

BEST WISHES FOR YOUR HOLIDAYS!

STANDARD RACE TRANSPORT

(From the Standard Motor Club website):

"Allan Sorensen from Denmark has sent these remarkable photographs of his father, Svend Aage Sorensen, together with this associated story:

Svend was a keen Motorcycle Racer and attended the Isle of Man TT from 1935 to 1953. In 1946 he bought a 1938 Standard Flying 8 Saloon as a transporter for his bikes. He used this to attend the Isle of Man from 1947 to 1952. The photo above shows the car in its transporter mode. Typically, there is a Norton Manx 350cc racer strapped behind, and an Excelsior 350cc bike together with a spare Norton 500cc engine inside, the passenger seat having been removed. As a counterbalance on the front are several wheels and tyres! Most years Svend journeyed on his own except in 1949 when Alans mother joined Svend and travelled in the back seat!

From 1950 to 1952 the car was also used for the trip from Denmark to the Hedemora Grand Prix in Sweden, a trip of sixteen hours each way. The Flying 8 carried the bikes and both Alan and his mother. Alan sat on the floor between his mothers legs and his only view was treetops and the electrical wires. No DVD movies or computer games, but four exciting days in the pits. 1952 was the "worst" year for the Standard as his father had got a Featherbed 500cc Norton, a Norton Gardengate Manx 350cc and a Norton Featherbed Manx 500cc engine. On one occasion they all had to get out of the car when the back seat started to smoke as a rear tyre was rubbing on the bodywork. Alan also recalls his mother taking over the driving when his father fell asleep.

Remarkably Svend was never stopped for being overweight!

The car required painting 4 times in their ownership - the bikes damaged the paintwork.

When the car was sold in 1952 and replaced by an EMW, East German Van, the extra space allowed Allans sister to come along as well.."

[It was common in the 1920s and 30s for impecunious racers to find creative transport for their mounts, tools, and spares. This little Standard is a late example of the practice, and especially dramatic given the number of wheels and tires strapped to the bonnet! - pd'o ]

And this update from Bo Eklund:

"Hallo Paul.
Referring to your recent notes under the heading "Standard Race Transport", about the Danish road racer Svend Aage Sörensen, may I take the liberty to add the following:

Svend-Aage Sorensen was a very competent racer, gaining many very good results i international road races between the years 1934 - 1953.
In 1934 he won the 250 class in Swedish Grand Prix, riding a works British Excelsior "Mechancal Marvel".
He competed in 25 races at the TT in the Isle of Man, between the years 1935 - 1953, gaining some commendable placings and several replicas, often having been supplied Works machines from British Excelsior.
He won both 350 and 500 classes at the major Swedish road race Hedemora Grand Prix in 1950, against international competition, using the same machine, having changed the engines between the races.
At the Hedemora races in 1951 he again won the 500 class and came 3rd in the 350 class.
He was a very popular and much liked and respected rider among competitors as well among the race organizers".
Regards, Bo Eklund, Sweden."

THE LINE UP AT THE DOGFIGHT SALOON

Charlie Taylor forwarded this photo recently - I had seen it months ago and wondered how such an amazing lineup of machines came about. Here is his explanation:

"The 1947 B Rapide on the far left was my Vincent. Coburn Benson, New England Vincent guru, had advised me that I needed a "B".He was right. Mickey Mouse Antiques of Amherst MA sold it to me - cardboard boxes packed with rust and mouse nests. It became my daily rider for several years, and is the Vincent I wish I'd held onto.

The Norton '66 Atlas was Howie's, and he bought it in Panama after a stint in the Peace Corps in Nicaragua, and drove it all the way to Connecticut, developing what he called 'Norton arm' in the process. 'Norton arm' was akin to 'Vincent knee', which I sometimes had. The former was permanent, and the latter temporary. One night, when Howie was returning from doing the Eleven Step at the Nick, the quick detach wiring harness quickly detached when he hit a pot-hole, and he was plunged into total darkness. It was a dark and stormy night, but fortunately the ignition died too, and he didn't crash. There's a moral in this, but I don't know what it is. Howie sold it to Jocko, and he rode it for several years. Jocko actually paid me to work on this bike, and I did quite a lot to it. After Jocko's untimely demise (he is still greatly missed, as is Howie), I was involved in selling it to Peter Shallenberger (sp?), and I also sold Jocko's magnificently ratty Vincent to a lawyer in upstate New York. I rebuilt the Vincent, and it's in a museum somewhere. Peter didn't ride the Atlas much, making excuses like 'my lizard is inactive'. I lost track of it after that. Where are the Rats of Yesterday?

David the photographer [who took the photograph with a mahogany and brass glass plate camera] bought the '49 Norton International in '66 from Harold Perrault in Shelburne Falls Mass. He used it to commute to work at Mystic Seaport, and eventually Kenny Bean blew it up racing rednecks during a summer party at Dogfight. Rednecks didn't catch him, though. I traded David a Velocette scrambler for the Intersaur, rebuilt it, and rode it for many years, until I restored it and sold it to a collector in Maine. The yuppies were a'comin' in.

I worked on most of these bikes, except for the '60 BSA Goldstar, which was owned by Gold Star Kenny, who packed all his worldly goods on the back, and drove it from Georgia to take a job at the Guild Guitar factory in Westerly R.I. He kept it in razor tune, and it always (almost) started on the first kick which was a good thing, because he weighed about 120 lbs.

Ello's Triumph 3T was the hardest working bike of the lot. It was purchased either at Comerfords or Pride and Clarke in south London. Ello used it to commute to her town-planning job in R.I., and if remember correctly, it morphed into the 'bobber' 650 Thunderbird, which I brought back from London in '75, when we did a trade. The 350 then became Marian's bike when we lived in Tomales CA. She put a lot of miles on it, commuting to Dominican College in San Raphael, a 150-mile round trip. She also used it while working as a reporter for the Point Reyes Light, interviewing geezers about clever ways of doing in gophers etc. When we moved back to Stonington, it sat festering in the barn for several years. After charging the battery and draining the carb, it started right up. I remember the burning carcass of a mouse blowing out the left muffler, followed by its nest. Harsh. Marian rode it down the vineyard road and back, and said, no, I don't want to do this anymore, so we sold it to a lady dentist in Mystic.

The '66 Velocette Thruxton mostly lived in the Quonset hut over the bullshit pit, but was hauled out now and then and started for ceremonial occasions, like this one. I sold it to a couple of guys from up north. It started on the first kick and the sale was sealed.. God loves me.

In the background is the Mosquito Breeding Experiment, Old Blue the Dodge Dart station wagon, whose oil never needed to be changed because David kept ripping the pan out on the dirt road to Dogfight, and the Yellow Truck, a 24-volt Korean War military Dodge which was used for Dogfight dump runs.
But where are the Dogs? Maybe moving invisibly like Civil War soldiers in a Brady photograph.---"

THE RACE IN SPAIN IS MAINLY ON THE PLAIN

Dave sent this photo today, and it deserves a click to see the details. Great atmosphere; the old buildings in the town center with a narrow and unlined main street, the expectant crowds wearing suits and fedoras, the Spanish flag bunting (convenient to use a tricolor as the flag - it can stretch endlessly), the marginal start line, all speak to a 'local' race in a small town, where a bunch of motorcycles blasting through the streets is the most exciting thing to happen since the Civil War ended about 10 years ago...
What we see is three professional racers in this 350cc event; two on Velocette MkVIII KTTs (#s 3 & 31), an early AJS 7R (#8), plus the 'local talent' who likes to ride his motorcycle quickly between farm and town, riding a wholly inappropriate Sarolea (?) with hand-shift, heavy valanced mudguards, wide handlebars with up-turned levers, and most dangerously, studded trials tires. He is wearing leathers, but his jacket has epaulets (never seen on racing kit), his pants are bulky, and he appears to be wearing his shiny street shoes rather than the purposeful boots of the other racers.
Worst of all is the utter disdain being shown by #3, literally looking down his nose at #1.
But, he is NUMERO UNO for the moment! Tally ho!

D.G. MANKTELOW; ROCKER, PHOTOGRAPHER

D.G. Manktelow needed a few college credits, and had an interest in photography, so for his photo class he documented the world of his friends, who were Rockers in East Sussex, England, from 1960-65. Be careful what you study as an afterthought in college, as it's likely to become your career after graduation, as happened with D.G. His son Adrian has kindly consented to show some of these photos on The Vintagent, as a tribute to his father's skill, and the unique period he documented. Many of the riders are still friends of the family, although a few didn't pass the trial by fire of the Rocker years...(top; a pair of Norton Atlas 750s, with 'ace' bars and a dustbin fairing, in front of a 'typical Rocker car covered in Bondo - an Austin Atlantic)'

And all the classic Rocker gear is represented; the Goldies, Bonnies, Dommis, dustbin fairings, even a Norvin, and at the end, a couple of Japanese lightweights.... (Above - Bonnie, Goldie, Bonnie)

There was always a bit of real racing to inspire the 'go faster' look of the Rocker boys; these shots (above and below) of a racing Dominator 88 were taken at Mallory Park. A very tasty machine indeed, and worthy of imitation.

Nothing will make your Norton Dominator 99 go faster than a leopard seat cover and Goldie muffler! The two-in-one exhaust was an optional extra from Norton, and the flat 'bars are standard. It was sporty to begin with... you can tell it's an early '60/'61 model by the two-tone paint job (standard) and the Norton 'button' on the timing cover - of course it's a Slimline Featherbed frame as well.

Another Norton, which is being used to its limits, complete with a Peel fairing, which could use a little tucking in, as the fiberglass will shortly be ground away on the tarmac, or, if you're really unlucky...

...it will find a bump in the road and lift the rear wheel off the deck, pitching itself and the rider off the road completely. This machine is an early Wideline Norton, can't tell if it's a single or twin-cylinder, but it has the '58/'59 type chrome panel on the petrol tank; the 'ace' bars have Doherty alloy levers, very racy, and the rear valanced mudguard has had the removeable rear section... removed! Much of it would have needed repair after this getoff, but it seems the rider never had to bother, as the notation says "he survived this spill but wasnt' so luckly later when he died on his way back from London on this bike...".

Not all Nortons were Dominators, Atlases, or Internationals; this is the only photo I've ever seen of a Café Norton Navigator! The 350cc little twin (below) was never a great performer, and certainly didn't live up to the hotrod reputation of it's bigger brothers. I've owned four of them (don't ask), and the timing chest sounded like a cast iron stove being run over cobblestones... not Norton's best effort. But, they are compact and tidy looking, and share forks and wheels with the big twins...

Not all Rocker-worthy machines were British, either; this NSU Supermax 250cc single is a rare before-and-after study -


of an attempt to lighten and sportify what was already a very good machine. The inspiration must have be the pukka racing NSU Sportmax, one of most beautiful motorcycles of all, but the impecunious young owner could only manage to lose the front mudguard and add 'ace' handlebars... improvement or desecration?




Regarding clip-ons; for the seriously racy crouch, the rule was, 'the lower the better' - just above the lower fork clamp seems to have been the goal. Inspired by racing practice, it became Fashion, and the utility distorted out of the equation... no racer had 'bars that low! The fellow on the second machine has inverted some fairly high handlebars to really get down to it.



This Triumph Tiger 90 with 'bikini' rear enclosure, ca.'62-'64, has met its cornering limit fairly quickly - the centerstand and footrests are being shaved away by tarmac. This bike is very standard though - rearsets would be useful for such scratching! Undoubtedly, the rider needed the bike to take him to work or school the next day, so practicality ruled the hour...



Here's another rarity; a Royal Enfield Super 5, their sportiest 250 in 1962/3, with short leading-link forks, 5 speeds, and a 20hp engine, giving about 84mph top whack. This is a '62 model with deeply valanced front mudguard - amazingly the bike is completely standard, with 'ace' bars as per catalogue spec. R.E. had a clue; in 1964 they introduced one of only three genuine Factory Café Racers; the Continental GT. The other two? You tell me - prizes for correct answers.

Another fantastic period machine, and an early example at that; a Norvin, the immortal combination of a Vincent 1000cc v-twin in a Norton Featherbed chassis, which according to the notes 'had only three speeds', but still went like stink! This machine falls into the Barely Legal category, with no head or taillamp in the first photo.


But later on, it was completed, and our lad can be seen 'hanging off' at the notorious bend which ate the Norton above. Note the number of spectators lurking on the outside of the bend - the Rockers must have been the best thing going on a sunny weekend day, and clearly this was a corner worth watching.



Another corner worth watching; here a Goldie tears around the bend, while the fellow in the plaid jacket records the proceedings on his portable tape player! I can hear it now - the classic Gold Star muffler has been replaced with a short megaphone (actually a factory racing item), and it was LOUD. The rider is very well tucked away and leaning a lá Phil Read into the bend. Nice technique.

Another shot of our B.S.A. Gold Star hotrod, with clip-ons a bit lower than the Factory set them...the tank is patterned on the 'Lyta' large-capacity racing item, although his might be a fiberglass copy - much cheaper, and money was certainly tight in the 60's. Phis Read had only recently introduced the 'knee hang' on GP circuits; it would be a few years yet before racers would hang completely off the seat. The lad had good style, this is one of the best 'action' shots of the group.

"Into every ride a little Trouble must fall"... and if you've ditched your center stand for more ground clearance, a kerb is a handy thing.
Even a Learner could ride a hot Royal Enfield Clipper 250cc, as this fellow has, while waiting for his pal on the Norton with Peel fairing to sort out his issue. Note the four-wheeled competition driving away; truly, motorcycles ruled the road in the 1960s in England. That little Hillman (?) saloon would be hard pressed to make 70mph, and certainly wouldn't get there quickly.


And if you've got a bike, and your mate's is down, give the lad a ride...no holding onto the rider though! A very nice Norton Domi 88 or 99, with optional tachometer, but driven from where? Perhaps it's just for show - I only see one cable - or maybe it's an 8-day clock!




And now, the Trojan horses appear... so unassuming in these early days, and so small. And while the 125cc SOHC Honda CB92 Benly had tremendous performance for it's capacity, it was still only a 125... and if the rider was a big bloke, it would take a while to achieve the 70mph max - no passing Hillmans then. Note the fellow's '59' Club patch; Father 'Bill' Shergold's club for motorcyclists, and you had to visit his church in Hackney Wick, London, to get a patch. It was the largest motorcycle club in the world during the 1960s.

By the time this Yamaha YDS1 250cc two-stroke twin appeared, all bets were off, and Honda had already won a string of TT victories. Yamaha and Suzuki were pressing hard on the Island as well as on the GP circuits, scoring victories over their exotic DOHC counterparts from Italy and Germany... Britain had long ago given up a credible threat in this class, although 'special' builders continued to shrink Velocette KTTs and BSA Gold Stars for something competitive.

Cue 'The End' by the Doors please, as this was the smoky perspective soon to be seen by all the leaky, unreliable, cobbled-up, badge-engineered, head-in-the-sand British Café Racers in the very near future. More's the pity, and they are missed.





All photos courtesy Adrian Manktelow, and copyright D.G.Manktelow. Images used by permission.