HOW YOU FIND THEM #19: 1911 POPE

A reader sent these photos of an unmolested ca. 1911 Pope motorcycle, imported in 1920 to a 'very wealthy family' in Argentina and now in the hands of a big collector, who would like to sell the machine.

Early American motorcycles are the biggest targets for fakery, but this looks to be a genuine machine, although of course, any six-figure bike demands a very hard look... and in this case, that look would require a trip to Buenos Aires, which doesn't sound so bad.  For now though, take a gander at these photographs; instructive commentary/opinion is welcome!

The Pope Motorcycle Co was one of the first production motorcycles to use overhead valves (Hildebrand and Wolfmuller was first; four valves per cylinder too).  With full suspension front and rear and that magnificent engine with shaft-driven magneto, plus all-chain drive and a proper clutch, the Pope was the most advanced production motorcycle in the world at that date, 14 years ahead of European bikes generally, and 25 years ahead of the first H-D production OHV machine - the 'Knucklehead' of 1936.  JAP produced an OHV engine by 1906, but any English chassis would have been belt-drive and clutchless.

Founded by Albert Augustus Pope in 1878 (Harford, Connecticut), to build the 'Columbia High-Wheeler' bicycle, Pope purchased Pierre Lallemont's original patent for the bicycle.  His canny business strategy of purchasing bicycle patents meant Pope collected royalties on the booming two-wheel market of the late 1800s, reaping huge profits.  It also meant Pope bicycles owned cutting-edge technology, which made them the largest bicycle manufacturer until nearly 1900.

The Pope Manufacturing Co. began selling motorcycles in 1902, which they did not manufacture but were bought in, and re-badged as 'Columbia' (below). They took a break from motorcycles in 1906, but returned in 1911, making their own motorcycles under the 'Pope' name.  True to their early bicycle form, they vaulted to the top of the technological heap, producing the very advanced v-twin as seen in these photos.  Unlike the bicycle craze of the 1890s, the early years of motorcycling were hardly profitable for most companies, and advanced spec meant a higher price, just as for bicycles, but on a larger scale than a bicycle price range.  A new 1911 Pope could well have been a year's wages for the average worker. 

While Albert Augustus was a big supporter of bicycle racing events, teams, and trophies, I've only ever seen one period photograph of a Board Track racing Pope (below), but many photographs exist of converted roadsters.  It seems unlikely that Pope funneled money into motorcycle racing - it could be the profits from his powered two-wheelers was disappointing, and as history tells us repeatedly, the motorcycle biz has always been very tough indeed.

At the advent of US involvement in WW1 (mid-1917), Pope chose to 'follow the money', and ceased motorcycle production by 1918, and reaped profits anew making machine guns for the US military.   Pope motorcycles are rare and highly coveted today; they shone brightly for only a moment, yet remain icons of the very advanced thought behind early American motorcycles.

Shaft-driven 'Armored' magneto, with choo-choo points cap!

Lumpy spots on the forks indicates a paint brush-over at some point in the past 100 years

A dry climate could have helped keep the metal from oxidizing...although a lack of dings raises eyebrows.

 

The Eclipse clutch.

HOW YOU FIND THEM #18: AJS 'H7' RACER

There is little more exciting than finding an old racing motorcycle literally in a barn, slathered inside and out with heavy oil, a solid gold tale of racing history attached.  More problematic is the task of documenting such provenance, for while any 80 year old bike is interesting, a claim that it placed 3rd in the Junior Isle of Man TT of 1927, Jimmy Simpson aboard, is very much more interesting indeed.

This lovely AJS H7 350cc overhead camshaft machine is certainly a rare beast whether roadster or racer, and one of very few from the category 'flat tank cammies', a super exclusive club.  Overhead-cam drive was typically adopted post-1927 by the motorcycle industry; the 'saddle tank' was the fashionable thing by that date, thus only early adopters such as Velocette (1925 - 'K' model) and AJS in 1928 with their models K7 (349cc) and K10 (498cc), but in this case, the letter referred to the year of production.  At first glance, the pannier tanks look to be the real deal, a factory racing item never sold to the public, and it bears a small plaque with '27 TT', plus the number '35'.  The early André steering and fork dampers look correct, as does the rare Binks twistgrip throttle assembly, and the Lucas horseshoe racing magneto. Curioser and curioser. (Above, Simpson making minor adjustments to his mount at the TT.)

The AJS was almost unique in using the simplest method of driving cams before the advent of rubber belts; a chain drive.  There had been plenty of chain-driven OHC motorcycles, cars and airplanes previous to this, but the recently-patented 'Weller' spring-steel blade chain tensioner (see above), used under license, meant the long travel from crankshaft sprocket to cylinder head was not accompanied by chain whip, nor the need to predict thermal expansion of the engine when setting up chain tension.  In short, it made such a drive elegant, and very easy to set up, as opposed to the Velocette/Norton/Ducati shaft-and-bevel drive, which took skills to get everything shimmed up just right, and was therefore expensive to produce.

Specification of the AJS overhead-camshaft engine was fairly advanced for the day, with a proper recirculating oil pump and aluminum rocker arms, although AJS had yet to discover that a camshaft acting directly on the rocker arms had different requirements from the whippy 'knitting needles' driving standard OHV engines.  The frame was a bit 'light' for a TT race, and the Druid sidespring forks primitive in their lack of movement...and in the case of this machine, the André friction fork damper would have simply slowed down the meager 1" of motion.  The brakes are nothing to celebrate either, for while the rear will lock the wheel, the front is good for one strong squeeze, then expect nothing further!  I speak from experience, having owned a 'Big Port' ohv from 1928... That said, while the chassis was strictly traditional, these 'flat tank' AJS' steer to a hair, even if they weave a bit at speed.

The oil coating under which this racer was found means somebody cared to protect it, even if the machine sat for decades.  The current owner first encountered the AJS 5 years ago, sitting in a cattle shed in Scotland, although the owner did not wish to sell.  Five weeks ago he was passing the same farm (370 miles from home), and stopped in to ask after the bike, on the off chance.  "The old man had recently gone into an old persons home, to which his son directed me, and that was that!  He told me the bike had stood in the barn for the last 40 years; it was full of oil - the engine, tanks, every part that could hold oil did and then some...a sort of very heavy oil all over.  He said it was Jimmy Simpson's 1927 TT bike, but could not find the paper work. Still hope of this turning up."  Yes, hope will be necessary; if the story pans out, this is quite a discovery.

Addendum:  While an interesting old motorcycle, recently brought to light is a Discovery to the new owner (and the rest of the world), of course there are persons who might have seen the machine many years ago, while it was still in action.  Such is the case here: the Discovery for someone 40 years familiar with this lovely old AJS was that the coveted old girl was in the pages of The Vintagent! 

It would seem unlikely this machine was Simpson's IoM racer, as the factory built 6 or 7 pre-production Works ohc machines for their team in 1927, and Simpson would probably have been given his racing mount to do yet more competition work, after the big race.

This Ajay has had an interesting life - the former owner, in his 80s now, owned this AJS from the age of 15!  His father forbade him to ride it, but of course, he did, and on one occasion pere arrived home and noted a warm cylinder on the AJS.  He than attacked the little bike with an axe, breaking the fins off the cylinder barrel and head.  A talented blacksmithing cousin welded the cast-iron fins back onto the engine, and of course the bike survived the insult.

HOW YOU FIND THEM #17

Manuel from Cometa Restauracions sent in these photos with a query: 'Is this a Matchless?  Did they ever use a Blackburne engine?'

A wolf in sheep's clothing...clearly the saddle tank, which looks bloated over that delicate chassis, is a later addition, meant to modernize an obsolete (by the 1940s)  but very sporty Vintage machine, with legs, so to speak.  The front brake (Enfield), gearbox (Sturmey-Archer), carburetor (Amac), and engine (Blackburne) all appear to have left the factory together.

Blackburne-engined sports bikes are rare and desirable as the engines are beautifully engineered and gave terrific performance in their day, doing well in the TT and at Brooklands.  I'm waiting for the motor and frame numbers, which will prove definitively if the engine is a racer, and the chassis is what it appears to be.

But I leave it open to you to suggest...what is the make of this mystery machine?

HOW YOU FIND THEM #16

A friend who is deeply and professionally involved with motorcycles has been looking for a good, unmolested Norton Manx for a couple of years now, and his search has yielded results beyond my imagining.

The machine is a matching numbers, barely used 1962 Manx 30M, the last year of full production at the factory, with the best equipment of this long-lived series. Double-overhead camshafts, rotating-magnet racing magneto, fabulous double-sided four-leading shoe magnesium front brake, long-range (Isle of Man) petrol tank, and the list goes on.. it even sits on the original triangular Dunlop racing tires.

As you can see from the photos, there is a hint of corrosion on the cadmium-plated (or is it satin chrome?) nuts and bolts, and the paint has oxidized a bit, but those are necessary clues to the bike's originality, strictly as per factory catalogue.

My friend says he'll replace the perished fuel lines, but that's about all - it's perfect as it sits.

HOW YOU FIND THEM #15

When you've been looking for a good Vincent Black Shadow for a while, you realize: 1. they're fairly common, 2. they're expensive, 3. most of them are lousy, 4. when you find the One You Want, grab on with your teeth and don't let go until you've done a deal.

So it was with this machine and its new owners... when ebay and various dealers failed to produce a machine which 'felt right', it took the Old Boy Network, and many months of persistence, softening up, and raising the ante, to view a '52 Black Shadow. It has matching #s, and had been sold originally as a Lightning in the US, spending almost all of its working life on dragstrips and salt flats - to no tremendous avail actually, but the modifications added to the charm of the beast, which had sat in boxes for 35 years.

Something about the history of the machine, its completeness and low mileage, and its charisma, convinced the heroes of our story that they absolutely wouldn't settle for another Vincent, this had to be the one. Thus the queries began, tenative at first ('would you consider selling?'), then more bold ('would you take x?'). Finally an audience was granted.

The story improves: on the appointed day, sitting discretely in another box was a second Shadow engine, and just about all the rest of the bike, which had been drag-raced in the 1960s, using an overstretched Egli-style backbone for a frame... and the humorous indignity of having its crankcases chromed. That's just not going to come off! But, perhaps it could be painted black....

It seemed natural to make a package deal for the entire lot, taking the former owner out of the Vincent business completely, and perhaps adding significantly to his retirement fund. A deal was struck, a handshake, a hug, a trip to the bank, the renting of a truck to haul it all home, and two Vincents will, within 12 month's time, be on the road and roaring again. The new owner is no slouch.

HOW YOU FIND THEM #14

From the 'Auckland Stuff' website:

BURIED TREASURE: Karen Amor found this 1920s motorcycle buried in her back yard. Keen gardener Karen Amor got more than she bargained for while digging her vegetable patch. The Three Kings resident found a vintage 1920s motorcycle buried under 10cm of dirt. "The wheels and the motor have corroded but other than that it’s in pretty good nick," she says.Ms Amor and her partner were digging up the lawn in the corner of the yard last week when her spade hit a metal spring.

Her partner was using a rotary hoe and hit the back of the bike at the same time. "We thought there was a lot still there so we got out the smaller spades and brushes and uncovered it. When they realised it was almost a complete bike they dug it up. "Our neighbour has lived here for 64 years and she’s never seen it. She thinks it might have been there since the war," Ms Amor says. She has shown the bike to colleagues at Turners Auctions but they have not been able to identify it.

A friend who restores old motorcycles also looked at it. "He thinks it might be an Ivory Calthorpe, which is really rare," Ms Amor says. "He thinks it’s from 1929 to 1931 but we can’t be absolutely sure because some of the defining features are no longer there." Remnants of green paint on the bike have prompted speculation that it might be an Indian Chief, used by the army.

"It would be nice to know exactly what it is," says Ms Amor. The bike’s number plate is still faintly readable but has different numbers on each side. Ms Amor can’t trace it because national records do not go back far enough.

Motat’s road transport volunteers say the bike is British and was likely made in the mid-1920s, but definitely before 1930. It also has a gate change which means the gears were changed by hand rather than by foot. But the volunteers could not say what make it was. "After much discussion it was decided it is either a BSA, a Royal Enfield or an Ariel," says Motat marketing and events coordinator Bridgette Johanson. Some of the volunteers have taken away a picture of the bike to research further.

(I don't think it's any of those mentioned; any guesses?)

Thanks to Jorge for sending this article!

Howard from Australia thinks he has the very model; below is a photo of the BSA he is convinced is the same...

HOW YOU FIND THEM #13: VELO VENOM

Dai spotted this circa 1962 Velocette Venom at the Kempton Park Autojumble last weekend; asking price £700. This is the 'Special' model, meaning cheaper! The Venom Special was sold between 1962-69, as a more economical version of the evergreen Venom; Veloce were canny about their expense-paring, and managed to make a bike which was significantly less expensive than the standard Venom. The crankcases, timing, and gearbox covers were unpolished, and the fiberglass covers over the power unit, made in conjunction with Mitchenall fiberglass (friends of the Goodman family), were cheaper than polishing up the raw aluminum castings. The hubs are cleverly disguised to appear as full-width alloy items, but have painted steel, ribbed covers over the single-sided, obsolete hubs, of which Veloce had many in stock. The petrol tank also is the 'old' 3.5 gal model (the larger 'breadloaf' 4.5g tank was introduced in '60), and ribbed aluminum strips were screwed to the sides as an alternative to chroming the whole tank. All this saved about £15 over the standard Venom (which sold for £285 in '62) - which might have been a few week's wages for the average yobbo.

The Specials were painted pale blue (see pic from the '62 Earl's Court Show, with a Viceroy scooter - the real nail in the coffin for Veloce, in back), which although very pretty, was like a blue flag indicating you'd bought the 'cheap' model. Performance (except for braking!) was identical to the more expensive model. As an indicator of how dire the economic situation had become for the British motorcycle industry after the drastic fall-off in sales post-1958 (the peak year for all Brit sales), Veloce sold only 20 Venom Specials in 1963, and 34 350cc Viper Specials.

The story of the Kempton bike is priceless though; it was recently discovered in a hedge! As evidenced by the foliage still attached to the bike, grass and bushes had overgrown and hidden the Velo for nearly 30 years. It's in surprisingly good shape for living outdoors for so long - it's possible that is was under a bit of overhead cover. The new owner has a lot of work ahead - best of luck!

Statistics taken from Dave Masters' 'Velocette: An Illustrated Profile of Models 1905-1971' (DMD, 2004), which is still available and a very useful book indeed.

HOW YOU FIND THEM #12: MYSTERY BIKE SOLVED - NEW HUDSON

Dave in San Francisco has been investigating old motorcycles in far off lands; while travelling in Nepal and India this Fall, he "saw all kinds of neat stuff, and very occasionally hung out with some wealthy Indians who also loved old bikes. The smaller dealer-types assumed I'm a millionaire." He's been exploring dealers online since then, to see if anything worthwhile turns up; there are plenty of motorcycles for sale, sometimes a seemingly limitless supply of BSA M20s and Norton 16Hs. "They love Indian motocycles in India - they'd buy them all if they could." But the taxation rate is horrendous; 100% on new motorcycles, 180% for something old. "They don't want the market flooded with used cars, so weird collector stuff gets caught in the trap as well." Which is interesting; here in the US, old cars are considered polluters and frowned upon, while India is introducing the cheapest car in the world, the Tata 'Nano', which has absolutely no emission controls - a scary prospect for a country of 1 billion people.

When scouring far corners for old bikes (like India, Indonesia, Argentina, Paraguay, etc), the prices are often enticing, but, of course, there's always the issue of overseas money transfer, in a transaction with an unknown vendor. It can be scary to send a hard-earned pile of cash abroad to a stranger, but I have to say, I've never been 'taken' in such a deal. Angry, frustrated, exasperated, murderous, yes, but I always got what I paid for, eventually. Touch wood. Your results may vary.

So what has Dave found? This bike is a mystery to me, although it certainly looks European, with its wet-sump sv engine and flattened headlamp - very Frenchy-Belgish. Estimated date of manufacture, 1931-'36. 350cc or 500cc, it's difficult to tell.

I don't trust that the 'Norton' gearbox is original, and is probably a replacement from a convenient donor 16H, as are some of the instruments. The timing chest has a curious look, almost as if a chainchase had been cut off from the cover; something seems to be missing anyway.

The primary side is also odd, but could be standard. That large and featureless cover certainly lacks charm, but it seems to fit the crankcase casting well.

The engine has no identifying marks other than a number stamped on the drive side; 'M 2363 SL'.

The chassis seems sound, with Webb-pattern forks, a pair of 6" diameter Enfield-type brakes with aluminum backplates, plus a handsome tank with integral instrument panel, reminiscent of a '32 Ariel. The frame is a duplex full-loop type, and the exhuast ends in a nice fishtail.

There is a ban on export of pre-1941 motorcycles in India, as they are considered part of the 'national heritage', but crafty Indian traders break up the bikes into several lumps, and truck them to friendly shippers in Nepal. From Nepal, they are officially shipped abroad, using Calcutta as their port!

I'm sure if I dig into my library, I could find the machine in these photos... but I'm curious how long it will take if I put the matter to YOU. Do you know the make and model of this bike?




And we have our answer, which took less than two hours, and came from Australia!
Howard Burrows, who knows a thing or two about old bikes, sent this photo of a New Imperial from 1931, which sent me in the right direction.

He writes: "G'day Paul, It's a NEW HUDSON! Yes a New Hudson from about 1930 without its external engine cowls or covers. See photo. Howard" You win! Fabulous prizes to follow.




Further investigation reveals the machine to be either a 350cc, 500cc, or 550cc sidevalve from ca. 1931/2, as shown in the '31 Hew Hudson catalog. A range of models was available from a very standard sidevalver 350cc (which might be our machine) to more deluxe models with legshields and more capacity, to the hot-rod model 'Bronze Wing' 500cc ohv with a tuned engine.

All these photos come from an excellent New Hudson website on '1931-33 Models', which can be viewed here. There is also a book on New Hudson which was sold by the VMCC, but is currently sold out. Look for 'New Hudson, The History of a Motor Cycle Company', by Eric Ion. It seems my suspicion of the Norton 'box was well-founded; they originally came with Albion gearboxes.

The final photo shows just such a machine, with engine covers, at the Banbury run a few years ago (naughty - the Banbury is limited to pre-31 motorcycles!). And the estimated value for such a machine as Dave found in India? A restored model sold at Stafford in '06 for £3500, so an unrestored but correct model will make less - let's say $3-4k. Plus shipping via Nepal!