September 2001

THE HILLCLIMBER

Editorial

The usual stuff

As Peter Isaac said on the phone the other evening, it’s been a funny year with a slow start and uncertainty over a number of events up until the last minute.  Still, the weather at most events has been good – too hot at some, I expect.  Please see the details of the remaining events below.  In particular we have been very fortunate to have an additional invitation to run at Prescott on Sunday 7 October.  SAEs to Alyson as soon as possible.

At the time of writing I don’t have a write-up on the Curborough test day, but I understand that somewhere between 12 to 15 new folk had a go.  Let’s hope it’s catching!

Finally, a big thanks to all of you who contributed to this issue.

Date for the next Hillclimber

Articles and other contributions by 31 October for publication by 15 November.  These should include reports of the late summer events including the All-Bike Wiscombe and the AGM & Dinner notification.

As usual, I will accept contributions including adverts etc. by post, email or even dictated over the phone at the eleventh hour.

Tony

 

Event News

Wiscombe Park is ON for Sunday 16 September as far as we know at the moment.  We have to accept that the Foot & Mouth situation is still ever so slightly uncertain and that an unexpected outbreak at a critical time may mean cancellation.  However, let’s be positive!  Wiscombe is the NHCA’s premier event of the year – as well as being a scenic and challenging hill.  All riding members are asked to make the effort and enter… at least one bike!  Regs from Michael Giles, 4 Brookside, Colliton, Broadhembury, Honiton, Devon, EX14 0LL.

The same applies to Fairoak on Saturday 22 September.  Make a weekend of it.  Do Fairoak and then Manor Farm on the Sunday.  Fairoak regs from Geoff Hodges, 1 Willand Cottages, Stapley, Taunton, TA3 7QB.

Manor Farm is on Sunday 23 September.  Regs from Will Wells, Forge Cottage, 1 High Street, Thorncombe, Chard, Somerset, TA20 4PE.

We have accepted an additional invitation from the Bugatti Owners’ Club for 30 or so bikes at Prescott on Sunday 7 October.  This makes up for the one we had to forego earlier this year and we are very grateful to the BOC.  Regs from Alyson Parnell, Rose Cottage, Church Road, Rockhampton, Berkeley, Glos., GL13 9DX.

What about Hartland, I hear you ask?  It’s been deferred until Sunday 14 October on the basis that to run it the same day as Prescott would split the entry too much.  Regs from Paul Jeffery, 19 Littlemoor Close, West Yelland, Barnstaple, Devon, EX31 3HW.

We were also offered a restricted entry at Harewood in Yorkshire, but unfortunately it clashed with Prescott on 7 October.  Additionally, there was some uncertainty as to how many entries we could have.  The organising club had to wait until the car entry was closed before being able to say how many bike entries were available to NHCA.  Never mind, we hope that it will be possible to secure an invitation at this famous venue next year.

 

Tom Chapman – an Appreciation

Tom, who was affectionately known as ‘Uncle Tom’ by most of the hillclimbing fraternity, died suddenly of a heart attack on July 15th.  Tom was a man of many parts.  A printer by trade who successfully ran (with a partner) his own printing business for many years, he was also a bellringer, musician, photographer, railway enthusiast, motorcycle enthusiast, computer expert, hillclimber and more besides.

He had a great deal of drive and energy, but was always very realistic and down to earth with the ability to see the nub of complex problems.  He knew the importance of tradition and precedent, also knew how the world worked and that it was neither fair nor just.

Tom was a benevolent figure with a cheerful generous disposition and a strong sense of humour and fun.  He enjoyed life to the full and had a ready, slightly cheeky, grin and occasionally a wry smile generally accompanied by either a slight shrug of the shoulders or movement of the eyebrows.  Tom was a very gregarious individual who liked nothing better than presiding over a tableful (or caravan full) of people listening or contributing to the conversation and gossip.

Who can forget going to see Tom in the paddock at the Team Piglet HQ (a.k.a. Uncle Tom and Auntie Margaret’s caravan) which always seemed to be full of excited people.  Promptly being invited in and everyone squeezing up to make room. Margaret asking if you would like a cup of tea, always welcome but particularly at a freezing Spring Hartland.  Tom, with his cheerful grin, looking over the top of his half specs and discussing whatever it was that you had gone to see him about.  Drinking tea, listening to the chatter and then squeezing up still further to let yet more people in.  Hillclimbing was definitely more fun when Tom was involved.

Tom was born in Redhill, Surrey but grew up in Bishopstoke near Eastleigh.  As a boy he became interested in bellringing and this remained a life long passion.  After retirement in 1996 he built a small campanile (bell tower) called ‘Pig-le-tower’ in the garden at ‘Piglet in the Wilde’ so that he could arrange bell ringing whenever he wished.

Motorcycles came after National Service and also became a life long passion with a succession of road machines.  The story is told of Tom taking his mother-in-law, then well into her eighties, for a ‘burn up’ on the back of a new BMW.

At Bishopstoke Tom met, courted and married Margaret and started a life long partnership of two people with very different personalities who combined to make an extremely effective team.

Hillclimbing came about by accident.  Tom and Margaret’s son, Chris, started hillclimbing in 1982 and Tom soon got roped in to help.  He obviously liked what he saw because, after Chris had graduated to more powerful machinery, Tom put the 350 engine from Chris’s Morini into a 250 frame and started to hillclimb, at the age of 53, in 1989.  In mid-1990 Tom bought back the 350 two stroke KTM which Chris had used to win the overall championship the previous year and used it until the end of 1994.  It was then passed back to Chris and Tom bought Mark Weadon’s 350 four stroke KTM and used this machine until he retired from hillclimbing at the end of the 1997 season.

Tom had a very relaxed, but deceptively quick, riding style.  One rider recently remarked that he always looked as if he was “just popping down to the shop for a packet of fags”.  He had many class wins, records and top ten positions on both KTMs, but his biggest success was winning the 350 championship in 1991 on the two stroke KTM, although he told me the four stroke KTM was much more fun to ride and fun always seemed more important to Tom than championship points.

Tom always put more back in than he took out.  During the 1986 season he endeavoured to organise a pool of marshals with some success, but found it a Herculean task.  Much more successful was the ‘central results service’ (i.e. printing and distribution of results) which he started in 1986 and ran until (I believe) the end of 1996.  In addition, Tom produced (with Jerry Burton as editor) and distributed The Hillclimber from its inception in 1987 to the end of 1993.  Much of this work was done on Tom’s computer and, in the process, the club was dragged into the computer age with results, records and much of the archives put on disk.

From the formation of the NHCA in 1987 to the end of 1996, Tom was a member of the board of management and was the club’s archivist.  His ability to see problems clearly, his realism and general advice were of great benefit to the club.  As archivist, Tom researched the history of the sport, prepared a list of events going back to 1922 which is still being added to, and assembled an archive of old results, cuttings, Sprinter articles, etc.  He also archived current results, continuously updating the record times and kept track of the championship positions.

Late last year Tom was diagnosed with cancer and faced it with his usual realism and planned his own memorial service.  He obviously got a lot of enjoyment out of providing pleasure for the many friends and relations who packed the church for, what was, a joyous occasion.  Typical of Tom’s humour was the inscription on the urn containing his ashes – “I’d rather be ringing!”.

Tom was very much a character and a one-off.  I’m afraid we shall not see his like again.

Our hearts and thoughts go out to Margaret, Chris and Lizzie.

David  Childs

 

Gurston Down  26 & 27 May 2001, or More Jamie’s Gibberings (his choice of title, honest)

What better place to start the season than a flat out blast through the hollow at Gurston, that’ll blow out the cobwebs.

After the disaster of Foot & Mouth, some riders managed to start earlier at Scarborough (too far for me), others went to Wales and, after an abortive attempt to enter my first Super Moto, I thought I’d wait until Gurston.  Practice day went well, although the track was very dusty.  Apart from one or two gremlins in the British Contingent, everybody had a reasonable day.

There were many new faces and machines in the paddock.  All the talk of these new VORs and only one turns out – Pete Short’s.  Andrew Bennett had a new toy in the shape of a big JAP V-twin beautifully crafted into a Featherbed frame – potent!.  His brother was on a Manx Norton and Malcolm Carter on an immaculate Gold Star.  I remember him on an XR 750 a few years back.  Martin’s son, Nick, had a gorgeous YZ 426 Yamaha with big fat rims and Terry Alderslade had dragged Kim out of retirement to passenger on Bill’s old trike.

This genetically modified crops scam is finding its way into motorcycles.  Alan Jolly’s Kawasaki is now the same colour as mine so I can’t say mine’s the green one now, and Dave Wills’ new CBR must be in the same team as Richard Bowker’s.

Two other new faces are Mick Dalley on a Monster and Keith Cooper riding a V-Max, both from Crawley.  I think they were riding in their first hillclimb.  I hope they enjoyed themselves.

As I was saying, practice went well, especially for me.  I was 0.04 in front of Paul Jeffery on the 380 KTM.

Sunday morning dawned a bit cool and blowy.  Perfect for engines if the wind was blowing in the right direction.  I remember Pat Clancy would always take a note of the wind direction.

To my knowledge everyone had a good first run, although Richard Cobb’s Rudge kept cutting out on him and I’m not sure about the Velo boys.  In the 250s Short won, but not the usual one.  Mark kept up the family tradition even if Pete (I’m not going to Gurston) couldn’t.  Second was Michael Giles and third Tim Clarke.

Robin had a ding-dong battle in the 350s to win ahead of fellow KTM rider Martin Palmer with veteran Velo rider Dave Child's in third.

It is interesting to note that Dave’s time of 42.00 was a personal best, having set the record of 42.07 back in 1972.  This was riding the same bike with the same leathers, even the same T-shirt by the look of it – the only difference being new tyres.  Hope I can do PBs in my sixties.

The 500s were poised for a real cracker with Paul in front on 33.57 and me on 33.77.  Second run and I’m on a flier through Hollow, but leave the brakes too late and can’t decide between the slip road or Karousel – not that you’ve got a lot of time to decide.  In the end it’s the grass that look the easier option.  Unfortunately the Super Moto tyres didn’t work and down I went, tumbling down to a heap on the slip road with the bike taking up the missionary position on top, hence I’m writing this report.

A couple of marshals had picked the bike up off me, all hell let loose, more marshals, rescue crew, doctors, paramedics, ambulances.  No wonder it all takes so long when a car spins off.  Apparently Wendy was running around like a headless chicken when she saw the ambulance moving.  Eventually I got to see Paul do a 3.32 from the commentary position, not a bad place to watch from actually.  Alan Jolly came in third, so a green bike made the finish.  That was my first fall for four years.

Dave Wills did his best ever run of 34.69 on his new CBR to beat Pete Short, who in turn beat Richard Bowker on his CBR.

Doug Parnell was enjoying his own close battle to beat Andrew Bennett by 0.01 seconds with Vince Cheeseman third in the big 1300cc class.

There were only three entries of the three-wheeled variety, and variety it was with Terry and Kim fastest on the trike, 37.81, Harry and Carol Foster fastest in the one-wheel drive on the BMW sidecar and Grant Cratchley with Pam Gale next in the Buckland.

This just leaves the top six run-off with Paul, myself, Dave Wills, Pete Short, Robin and Martin Palmer qualifying.  Dave came in third, slightly slower than his class run.  I managed second after bending the bent bits back and ripping off the smashed front mudguard, again slightly slower than my timed run, but none the less happy to do a 33.95.  But it was Paul’s day, doing a fine run of 33.42, two tenths outside the record, so maybe next time.  And where was Glyn?

Jamie Mitchell

250
1              Mark Short            37.55
2              Michael Giles        38.32
3              Tim Clarke             39.21

350
1              Robin Sims            35.25
2              Martin Palmer       35.43
3              Dave Childs          42.00

500
1              Paul Jeffery           33.32
2              Jamie Mitchell       33.77
3              Alan Jolly              37.27

750
1              Dave Wills            34.69
2              Pete Short              35.25
3              Richard Bowker    37.26

1300
1              Doug Parnell         35.73
2              Andrew Bennett   35.74
3              Vince Cheeseman 40.74

Sidecars/Three-wheelers
1              Terry Alderslade/Kim Ursell              37.81
2              Harry & Carol Foster           40.96
3              Grant Cratchley/Pam Gale   46.60

Top Six
1              Paul Jeffery           33.44
2              Jamie Mitchell       33.95
3              Dave Wills            34.93

 

Gurston Down –  9 & 10 June 2001

Here we go again, my second ever hillclimb, the first being a couple of weeks ago.  As those who were there will remember, I really set the hill on fire.  Sorry I forgot you were all in the holding paddock at the top of the hill so did not see my scintillating run.  I know, the times never lie, but if I go slowly, it gives the spectators more time to listen to that nice vee-twin sound.

Two practice runs on the Saturday with cloudy skies but thankfully no rain.  We did have one quick shower, but luckily after our runs so the four-wheel brigade had a wet track for half an hour or so…. Shame!

Paul Jeffery was fastest at 33.45 secs.

Sunday, and again the weather threatened rain but did not deliver.  What it’s like at Gurston in the rain I cannot imagine.  One thing I like about hillclimbing is how friendly everyone is and how willing they are to give advice.  After the first practice run a very jolly fellow who rides a green Kawasaki suggested that I give it less of ‘this’ (makes braking motion) and more of ‘this’ (makes throttle-opening motion).  “Great”, I thought, “now we will get somewhere” so, armed with this knowledge I joined the queue to go up the hill.  Off I go on my next run down the hill – thought the sport was hill climbing.  I don’t shut off for the left hander… well, just a bit.  Much faster round here and still in control, now brake for Karousel and this is where it went wrong.  I shut off and braked where I used to, but was travelling faster than before so anchored up really hard, locked the front wheel and shot straight up the slip road.  All was well as I managed to stop without falling off.  When the other riders came down the hill  I was really touched by their concern for my welfare.  They were all laughing and waving as they rode by, glad to see that I was OK.  When I got back to the paddock I found out their joy was not for me, but themselves.  As a gentleman with a weakness for pasties casually informed me, it was the norm for the first one to leave the course to write the report of the meeting.  I hate you all.  I expect you’re all bored by now, so here are the results.

250 – Mark Short – 37.58

350 – Robin Sims – 36.14

500 – Paul Jeffery – 33.59

750 – Dave Wills – 35.26

1300 – Keith Cooper – 39.52

3-wheelers (two-wheel drive) – Terry Alderslade/Kim Ursell – 37.53

3-wheelers (on-wheel drive) – Patrick & Paul Keates – 36.29

Congratulations to Patrick and Paul who broke the class record and to Gary Webber (250) who ran 38.00 at his first, I believe, event.

Mick  Dalley

 

……..On The Right Track?

Raging Bull and Silver Fox were two ageing bikers who were becoming concerned as they were beginning to enjoy listening to Radio 2 and being two of ‘Terry’s Old Geezers’ or ‘Coffin Dodgers’.

After a lengthy drinking and over-eating session last Christmas, both were complaining about their increasing girth and reminiscing about the good old times when they were young, fit and eager to participate at every solo motorbike race meeting their meagre funds would permit.  Despairing at the fact that they would have won time after time had it not been for the guys who overtook them on the straights – the ones who had loads of dosh to throw at tuning their bikes to perfection, not like these two who had to race on a shoestring, proving their skill by keeping up with the others through the sharp corners.

After yet more drinks, the decrepit pair decided upon a plan.  They were older and wiser – sure, but had earned well over the intervening years, so could afford to “have another go”, but maybe not in the Superbike league.

Then a bright idea was born.  How about sidecar racing!?! If Steve Webster could still be World Champion well into his 40’s, then they were sure they could give him a run for his money!!!!!!   The search for an outfit began!

Some months later, when the pair had sobered up, they purchased an outfit and after obtaining a licence and joining The National Hill Climb Association Ltd, are now wondering what the next step should be.

Where do you practice before committing yourself to the ridicule of being hopeless at your first race?

HELP!!! – neither Raging Bull nor Silver Fox have ever been on a sidecar seriously before, let alone compete in a hillclimb.  Where can they practice locally in the South West of England, without making complete fools of themselves at their first meeting?

Any tips to prevent them slipping any further into middle-aged spread would be most gratefully received.

Please contact Mark Brown on 07730 733701 or 01666 838434.

 

Classic Prescott – 9 & 10 June 2001 - John Woods writing a report once again – “Is the no end to this man’s cock-ups?” (his own words)

Anyway, on to Prescott’s reason for this write-up.  Struggled all weekend after winter rebuilding session replacing knackered worn out suspension with good shockers, new forks with damping (wow!) and new yokes.  I thought I must be much better, but I found myself a second slower than last year (serious bag on).  On to Sunday, at least it was dry.  After the first run I found myself running two tenths behind Glyn Poole on his VOR at 49.5-ish just for a change, bloody sandbagger.  Having decided drastic measures were called for, got fired up for the second run, onto the line and away….

Absolutely flying start, no wheelspin or wheelying, into first bend, fourth gear, knee on the deck, going great, next news lying flat in gravel at Ettore’s with no wind in body (makes a change), ouch!  Onwards into ambulance, strapped to a board with neck collar on.  It was at this point that I decided I wasn’t going to get into the 48 seconds.  After a check-over in ambulance I was released back into community for nice cup of tea in the circuit office.  At this point I must thank all the paramedics and Bugatti Owners’ Club staff for their care and concern.

On to a slightly worrying note after my demise at Ettore’s, my so-called mates were asked if they were with me after being asked if they were relatives.  The concern for my well-being set in so much so – Simon went two seconds faster than he had all weekend and Jason Reeve took the record with a 46.90 second run (well done, mate).  At the end of the weekend Glyn was fastest solo with a 46.50, me second with 49.7 and Andrew Bennett third with 50.9 on his awesome JAP-engined Manx.

On returning home, reasons for the crash emerged as follows – 1) knackered front tyre, 2) forks ¾” too far through the yokes creating chopper effect and no weight on said knackered tyre.  So now I’ve set the bike up as it should be, i.e. as it was before, after a very painful session.  Also I think something must have been mentally wrong because Jason looked quite safe, which is a scary thought.  Anyway, I hope I don’t have to do another write up this year.

See everyone at Shelsley,

John Woods

 

Scarborough – 12 July 2001 – another crash means another write up; nice gentle slide off in wet this time)

Driving through the monsoon storms, we didn’t think there was any chance of any dry runs today, which disappointed me a bit as I felt after the Shelsley result at having a go at Dave Rowlandson’s record, Glyn’s outright solo if at all possible.  So anyway, with wet weather thoughts switched on we arrived at the circuit and the sun came out (shock horror!!), but by the time I got to the line for the first run it started raining again, so I was quite happy with a 47 second run.  Jason had quite an eventful first run, arriving at the top chicane and finding three or four solos strewn about, including one in the middle of the road, surprisingly one wasn’t mine.  So he got another go, by which time it was just about dry and he did a 44 dead – oh bugger, thinks me.

In the timed runs I managed 44.08 with a couple of massive slides at the top that probably cost me the 1300 record (that’s hillclimbing), but it was enough for the class win and FTD as Jason only managed 44.2 (hee hee), but like he said he did win practice.  Next solo was Dave Ward winning the 750s with a 45.97, then Sam Mathewman winning the modern 1300s with a 46.2.  (I entered the classic 1300s, naughty, naughty.)

A good meeting despite the weather.  Also lots of new faces, which is good to see.

John Woods

 

Curborough – 29 July 2001 – One to forget

I hope no-one’s getting bored with this Northern drivelling, but me and the Weslake are having problems sticking together this year but, after this one, this write up will be the last for the year… unless I can borrow a bike to crash.

On to Curborough.  After a hot day chilling on Sunday watching the track day, I was feeling pretty good for Sunday and even better with a 33 second first run of practice.  It then went downhill with a very big bang – flat out (nearly) in 4th  around that scary first corner all felt comfortable until it tightens up, at which point the front end (some say both) let go.  So down we went, thinking “here we go again”.  I kept hold thinking it would just slide across the grass.  How wrong I was as we hit that small bank (can’t be), everything turned to sh*t as they say, and me and the Weslake bounced end over end, more so the Weslake, which even screamed in pain as the throttle cables were yanked out causing it to have a final big rev up before coming to rest under the bales.  Thanks to Paul Jeffery for finding what was left.

After this, watching was quite difficult (cringe factor), but I managed to see the run-off which was won by a smooth riding Jamie Mitchell from an over-the-limit (well, it looked it; sorry Glyn) Glyn Poole on his VOR, just pipping the hard riding, as always, Paul Jeffery on his undersized KTM.

Finally, thanks to all marshals and paramedics who do a thankless thanked job with special thanks to those with whom I’ve come on first name terms this year.

Anyway, this is John Woods signing off for 2001 to go and lie down (hurts now at 30) and a big save-up!!  Cheers,

John Woods

 

Reflections from a first time sidecar passenger

Curborough Sunday 29 July 2001

Having gone to Sparkford for Curly’s 15 minutes of fame earlier in the week, we arrived at Curborough with a mild understanding of the difference between a trike and an outfit – the front wheel was in the wrong place and my seat was not a seat.  The first thing that struck me was how close the passenger was to the ground, all that tarmac just inches away.

My first lesson was at Sparkford with Guy showing me the points to hold on to.  Jon and I set off and did several laps just turning right.  Once we had the hang of that we thought we would throw in a left.  I asked Guy how he changed over from right to left and his answer was ‘I don’t know’, so I just left it to chance and seemed to manage it somehow.

So there we were at Curborough, on the start line ready for our first run and …. oops, Jon stalled it.  We were allowed several more tries because the back wheel hadn’t crossed the lights.  Once Curly came over and suggested to Jon that he pull away in first gear and not fourth, we eventually got off the start line.  We were given handy hints and tips from Jess and Curly following each run e.g. the aim is to get your rear end, which Jess suggested was my largest part, out over the left wheel (thanks Jess).  When I finally thought I was beginning to get the hang of the esses, along came the open and out I tumbled.  I haven’t a clue what I did wrong apart from letting go with both hands.  As I came to a stop and realised that there was no pain, I got up only to see Jon disappearing off round the last right hander and, oblivious to the red flag being waved at him, continued to gun it down the straight to the finish.  It was not until he saw Dave Wills waving at him from the start line that he realised something was amiss and turned round to find himself passengerless.  Oh well, all good experience and it was great to see everyone again.

Thanks to Curly for allowing us to use his outfit and to Jess for the excellent tuition.

We shall return!

Sandra

 

A Stitch in time?

Are you poking out of your leathers due to stretched stitching?  Kim Catlin received some promotional bumf from Stitches, 207 Higher Union Street, Torre, Torquay, Devon, TQ1 4BY (tel. 01803 290231; email hussain@stitches.fsnet.co.uk) which she has passed on to the Editor.  Give me a call if you would like a photocopy of their information sheet, which includes examples of their prices.  Very useful.  Feedback to the Hillclimber on the quality of their work will be gratefully received.

 

Kop Hill

Kop Hill near Princes Risborough, Buckinghamshire, was a famous public road hill climb, until an accident involving the unprotected spectators caused the demise of public road speed trials in Britain.  Many famous riders, drivers and machines took part in events on this spectacular piece of country road.  Many thanks to Alan Hummerstone for submitting this article to The Hillclimber and particular thanks to the author, Hugh Gallagher, for allowing it to be reprinted here.  Acknowledgements too to the Vintage Motor Cycle Club in whose magazine it first appeared.

A brief history of Kop Hill, near Princes Risborough (Map reference OS sheet 165 815030)

The first speed event up this fairly straight, loose macadam 1 in 5 gradient was held in 1910, and the last on 28th March 1925, and it was as the result of a mild accident to a spectator at this meeting that the RAC decided to ban all motor sport on public roads. Unfortunately as this was an open public road the public could not be restrained from going and standing where they wished, and private vehicles had to be given the right of way if they wished to drive up or down the hill.

The total length of the hill is 3,848 feet with a total rise of 304 feet, but the competitive section is 903 yards long. The banks where spectators stood too close to the speeding vehicles have now largely gone and the road is much wider and better surfaced.

In 1911 cars also started to use the hill and most meetings had classes for both cars and motorcycles. In the early events, in the motorcycle section, machines were separated into a bewildering array of classes, and, in the meeting held on 6th May 1911, the fastest times for the climb in each of the classes were:

Experts
Class 1: lightweights up to 110 lbs, GE Stanley, 2.5hp Singer, 68.4secs. (with pedal assistance)
Class 2:146 lbs. to 300 lbs. G Patterson, 2.75hp New Hudson, 54.2secs.
Class 3: twin cylinder 146 lbs, 343cc, H V Colver, 2.75hp Enfield 54.4secs.
Class 4: single cylinder 557cc, W G McMinnies, TT Triumph, 43.8secs.
Class 5: any single cylinder, W G McMinnies, TT Triumph, 44.2secs.
Class 6: twin cylinder 750cc, S T Tessier, 5hp BAT, 40.8 secs.
Class 7: any twin cylinder, F W Barnes, 6hp Zenith Gradua, 43.2 secs.
Class 8: any machine, S T Tessier, 5hp BAT, 4l secs.
Class 9: passenger machines, F W Barnes, Zenith Gradua and sidecar 64secs.
Class 10: flexibility, W Pratt, 3. 5hp P&M, difference in times 111 secs.
'Yates 2hp Humber, fast but pedalled…J Holroyd 2 1/2hp Motosacoche, fast but pedalled…D R O'Donovan 2hp Singer pedalled hard as also did Eli Clarke (2 3/4hp Douglas)'.

The comment in The Motor Cycle for this meeting says “The surface left a good deal to be desired, as it was extremely rough throughout the whole course and more especially near the top where there was a deep rut, which occasioned one spill and nearly accounted for several others.  But for the surface, this location is nearly ideal for a competition.  It is safe, almost straight, and the progress of the climb can be seen almost from start to finish.”

The 1912 meeting was held at nearby Aston Hill, and at the March meeting the following year (1913) Barnes was using an 8hp Zenith and clocked a time of 35.4 seconds to record fastest time of the day, followed by G Griffiths also on a Zenith in 38 seconds.

At the August 1913 meeting there were not more than a handful of competitors, and very few more spectators to witness the ascents.  There was only one exciting incident the whole afternoon, and that was when J Kennedy (8hp VS) somehow lost control of his machine and dashed full speed off the road.  He and the big cream coloured twin landed in the hedge and, marvellous to relate, were 'not much knocked about'.  Fastest time of the day was made by A J Brewin in 48 seconds on an 8hp Zenith.

At the March 1914 meeting competitors met at the George and Dragon Hotel in Princes Risborough.  Unfortunately owing to the weather conditions the top part of the hill was rather soft and rutty, and several of the fast men wobbled dangerously just before the last steep pitch.  The afternoon was marred from a spectator’s point of view by the torrential rain and cold driving wind.  Fastest time of the day was made by R R Coes on a 7hp Indian in 43.2 seconds.

The March 1920 meeting was the first open hill-climb held in the Home Counties since the war.  Fastest time of the day went to Oppenshaw on an 8hp Zenith in the very fast time of 32.6 seconds.

The May 1920 meeting was organised by the Ealing and District Motor Cycle Club as a contrast to all the other meetings which had been organised by the Essex Motor Club. Fastest time in Class A (up to 550cc) went to H le Vack on a 3 1/2hp Duzmo in 40.4 seconds.  In Class B (up to 750cc) he was also quickest in 41.4 seconds and in Class C (up to 1000cc) he was also fastest in 41.4 seconds, all on the same Duzmo.

At the April 1921 meeting fastest time went to T C de la Hay's Sunbeam 3 1/2hp in 30.4 seconds followed by H le Vack's 7.9hp Indian in 32.4 seconds.

In March 1922 a large entry did not materialise, but some exceptionally fine climbs were made, and the star ascent of the afternoon was Kaye Don on a 7.9hp Indian at a speed slightly over 70mph, in 26 seconds!  Second was T C de la Hay on a 3 1/2hp Sunbeam in 28.2 seconds and third G J Read (8hp Enfield) in 28.8 seconds.  The fastest ascent in the open car classes was by Count Zborowski in a 4.5 litre Indianapolis Ballot 0.8 seconds slower than Kaye Don, which was to remain as the fastest climb by a car, and runner up was Tony Vandervell in a Sunbeam in 27.2 seconds.

The May 1922 meeting was run by South Midlands Centre and had a record attendance and fine weather. Competitors had to wear TT helmets and this saved one unfortunate rider who fell off from severe injury.  Problems were caused by thoughtless spectators wandered on the course and obstructed the riders' views of the road.  George Dance was outstanding with a time of 28.2 seconds on his 492cc Sunbeam and made fastest time of the day.

The October 1922 meeting was also run by the South Midlands Centre and in spite of a wintry wind that swept the bleak face of Kop Hill a goodly crowd of spectators turned out.  The timekeeper located himself on a far-away knoll whence he could see the starting and finishing lines and the Heath Robinsonian string operated signal arms thereon.  The timing could not have been accurate to the tenths of seconds employed but probably the error factor was constant.  Fastest time of the day went to H H Saddington on a 662cc James in 30.4 seconds.

In the March 1923 event, organised by the Essex MC, O M Baldwin riding a 994 Matchless-MAG made fastest time of the day with an average speed of 72.6mph and a time of 25.4 seconds.  A Goyder-Smith, a one legged ex-naval man, on a 490cc Norton and sidecar performed very well with a time of 37.2 seconds!  J A Welch on a 349cc AJS made a meteoric ascent in 30 seconds but sat up suddenly as he crossed the line, lost control, and finished up in the hedge, fortunately without serious injury.  F G Hicks on a similar machine also suffered at the hands of fate, running over a dog but preserving his balance.

In the car section L C G M Le Champion drove a 20,508cc Isotta Maybach aero-engined monster to make second fastest time of the day after Humphrey Cook in a TT Vauxhall who did it in 29.8 seconds.

At the March 1924 meeting which was held in a biting north easterly wind, the Essex Motor Club was criticised for a programme which made it utterly impossible to follow the progress of the various classes.  The riders were sent up one after another in batches comprising several classes.  Thus the first group consisted of twenty riders from nine classes.  Fastest time of the day was made by Freddy Dixon on a 997cc Harley Davidson in 31.4 seconds, slowest time of the day was by T G Meeten on a 147cc Francis Barnett in 73 seconds.

The October 1924 meeting was run in brilliant sunshine.  Freddy Dixon again made f.t.d. with 24.8 seconds on his 997cc Harley Davidson and in another class Freddy did 25.8 seconds on a 594cc Douglas, 25.6 seconds on a 494cc Douglas and 28 seconds in the sidecar class!

By the start of 1925 concern was growing over the risk of accidents to spectators at public road events, and a recent court case where an onlooker injured by a competing motorcyclist had been awarded damages, was a worrying precedent.  Public road speed events had already been banned in Worcestershire, Warwickshire and Staffordshire, but a solution seemed to be at hand.  A bill was in preparation to go before Parliament to permit the closing of public roads for motor competitions, in the same manner as had been done in Northern Ireland and Isle of Man.

At the March 1925 meeting there was a particularly large crowd who obstinately, and often rudely, refused to obey marshals' instructions to retire to safer vantage points.  They were particularly thick, in both senses, at the very fast top right hand bend of the hill.

J T A Temple on a stripped Norton stopped half way up the hill but was immediately followed by T R Allchin on a 998cc Zenith-Blackburne who came up very fast but appeared to be worried by a group of spectators assembled around Temple's machine on the bend.  He took the right hand curve extremely close, shot across the road on to the grass, and, after jumping a deep gully and hitting a bush, crashed on the left bank, fortunately without hitting any spectators.  He was reported to have a broken wrist, concussion and bruises.  Fastest time of the day went to Freddy Dixon in 22.8 seconds on a 736cc Douglas and the same bike fitted with a sidecar only took 2 seconds longer.

Raymond Mays had sold his two Brescia Bugattis, Cordon Rouge and Cordon Bleu, to raise funds for another project.  Cordon Bleu was bought by Francis Giveen, a Cambridge undergraduate, who did not inspire confidence.  He had already had one testing accident and seemed to have very little awareness of the limits and dangers of this very fast car.  A wild climb by Giveen clocked 31.2 seconds but he seemed totally unaware of the havoc he had created along the way.  He had shot off the road on the last right hander, bounced along the track, and back onto the road again, without pause.  Unfortunately he struck a spectator during the excursion, breaking one of his legs.  Fortunately, by the time of Giveen' s run the crowd had thinned considerably, otherwise the accident could have had even more serious results.  The injured spectator had been one of those who had been asked to move several times during the meeting but had ignored the exhortations of the marshals, so really he only had himself to blame.  But at this point and with several more runs to take place the RAC steward stepped in and stopped the meeting.

A week later a statement was issued by the Auto-Cycle Union.  “Following the decision of the Competitions Committee of the RAC declining to grant permits for any high speed contests on the public highway, the Competitions Committee of the A-CU has passed the following resolution: 'That this Committee having carefully considered the difficulty of ensuring the safety of the public at motorcycle speed competitions on the public highway, involving an excess of the legal limit of speed, is of opinion that until the conditions are changed all such competitions, whether 'open or closed', are prejudicial to the interests of the sport.'”  And that was the end of Kop Hill as a speed event, as well as all speed events on public roads.

Hugh Gallagher

 

‘I’ll huff and I’ll puff…’ Chapter 3

Following on from the pieces in the July and December 2000 issues, here’s the latest from the dark recesses of my garage.

The Millennium year ended on a bit of a high.  A good run at the Morgan club’s straight quarter mile sprint augured well, despite the ignition timing slipping and the flywheels moving out of alignment.  Over the winter the crankshaft assembly was rebuilt with a larger diameter crankpin, made possible by thinner big end sleeves and proprietary needle roller races.  The only other adjustment was to fit a smaller diameter oil-metering pin in the blower to make sure that all those expensive ball races get enough lubrication.  Gave it a tow in our quiet residential cul-de-sac.  It fires up first time over compression and sounds wonderful.  All OK for the Classic Prescott event, then?  Er, no.

Practice on Saturday and it’s misfiring again.  The plugs look oily.  Instead of replacing the smaller metering pin with the standard diameter item, I changed the plugs to two grades softer.  Still misfiring.  “What methanol are you using?” asks a helpful soul.  “Stuff left in the tank from last year”, I reply.  “Probably gone off” is the response.  So, for some reason that escapes me, I decide to fiddle about with the float chambers!  The next day we run with fresh fuel and it’s much cleaner, but still horribly fluffy out of the corners, in particular Pardon.

When we get it home and check it over, it’s apparent that the crankshaft end float has disappeared.  Anyone running an engine with a built-up flywheel assembly will know that this is an almost certain sign of ‘shifted’ flywheels.  As it turns out, this was not the case.  The hub that carries the clutch flywheel has simply moved up the taper and is now rubbing on the rear of the crankcase – thankfully on a bearing, not on the case itself.  The hub is a pretty horrible item that has already had a hard life with different tapers cut in it for different shafts on various engines over the years, so it’s no big surprise that it’s been moving, just a good job that the shaft is undamaged.

The bad news is that No1 piston has started to cave in, only just but enough to indicate that something is not right.  Using NGK 6 grade plugs instead of my usual 8s may well have been a contributory factor, but I can’t help feeling that the manifolding is wrong.  Last year I shortened it from about 1850cc to 1250cc with apparently no ill effect, but upon reflection that was before I had the piston disaster at Mallory.  V-twins are funny with their uneven demands in the induction department.  This is why the gurus such as Phil Irving and Maurice Brierley recommend something like 1.5 times the engine capacity in the induction system for a supercharged V-twin.  The 1850cc system had run fine with the 1155cc engine several years back, a ratio of 1.6 times the engine capacity.  I was now using a 1296cc engine with a 1250cc capacity inlet pipe, only 0.96 of the engine capacity.

Discussions with an engineer friend who supercharged a 1323cc side valve JAP many years ago revealed that short manifolding resulted in problems, albeit of a different sort – usually misfiring on one cylinder.  He even built in a butterfly valve near the T-piece by the inlet ports and ran the engine while adjusting the angle of the butterfly.  Apparently it ran on both cylinders only when the butterfly was quite strongly biased in one direction.  He then built an inlet system that looked like a North Sea oil pipeline and it ran well, so well in fact that it bent a con rod into a perfect S-shape at a Silverstone practice day!

So, it’s back to the reliable cooking Matchless for some fun for the rest of the season.  In the meantime I have had a new clutch flywheel hub made from EN24T with a taper that engages along the whole length of the drive side mainshaft.  A new inlet manifold system will have a capacity of at least 2 litres.  Mind you, it will probably have to run from the Shorrock outlet into the cockpit, around our legs a couple of times and back out under the dummy radiator.

The question of pistons is still exercising my mind.  If everything else is set up right, the cast KB pistons should be OK, but the have proved a bit fragile and I don’t fancy all that work again stripping the engine to fish out all the broken bits, flushing the oil tank and so on.  Because of the Harley type rods I need to stick to pistons with a gudgeon pin of 0.792”, so I may opt for some S&S pistons.  S&S do some nice forged jobs with un-machined crowns, so they can be turned to suit and kept pretty thick in the right places.  Oh well, it should keep me pretty busy over the winter.

Tony

 

Vintage/Post Vintage Championship
Positions as at 21 August 2001

Reg Davies – 18points
Roy Venard – 18 points
Terry Martin – 15 points
David Carter – 7 points
Richard Cobb – 6 points

The additional Prescott on October 7th will be a Classic and Vintage/Post Vintage championship round as well as a main championship round.

David  Childs

 

Mont Ventoux

In our household the word ‘Ventoux’ is usually seen next to the words ‘Cotes du’ on the label of a bottle containing that red stuff made from grapes.  However, eagle-eyed Doug Parnell spotted an article about the hill climbs held at this Provencal venue in southern France in the Daily Telegraph on 9 June written by motoring historian Doug Nye.  These events began in 1902 and ended in 1976.  The clerk of the course’s briefing to riders was roughly along the same lines as we are used to hearing at our events, “Do battle, but take care.  Have fun, but do not trouble the medicaires.  Respect any flag signals you might see – and vive le sport!”

Drivers and riders sometimes received start, prize and bonus money.  The article goes on to tell of the 1949 event at which world sidecar champion Eric Oliver and passenger Denis Jenkinsion  competed on the Norton outfit.  They entered and won both the under and over 600cc classes by dint of racing back down the other side of the hill after their under 600cc class run just in time to ride in the larger class!  This feat earned them £25 for each class.  In addition Eric gained third place in the 350s (£10) with Jenks ninth (£2 10s).  The article contained a very atmospheric picture of the outfit taking what looks like a banked left-hander with Jenks leaning out with the caption “beard rampant”.

Consultancy and Advice

You know the difference?  Consultancy is something for which business folk pay vast sums, even if the consultant is simply telling them something that they should have worked out for themselves.  On the other hand, advice is something that your friends give you.  It’s free, so you usually ignore it.  I did, anyway.

The carburettor Matchless ran fine at low to medium revs, but it had an annoying misfire above 4,000 rpm.  (It only runs to five and a bit.)  I was using a Citroen 2CV 12v double ended coil and thought maybe with the motor stroked to 1100cc and on 9:1 it’s just not up to it.  Someone suggested I should try a twin output American Dyna coil – about £53.  Expensive, I thought.

So instead I purchased two new Lucas standard 12v coils at about a tenner a go and wired them up in parallel.  Worse misfire everywhere in the rev range and burnt points, even with an additional condenser fitted.  Went to a bike jumble and bought a new Made in Taiwan Harley type twin output coil for £24.  Still experienced a high revs misfire.  Next is £40-worth of second hand Pirhana / Newtronic kit which worked well all week prior to Loton when Cathy was practising on some waste ground but at Loton it packed up just before lunch and just in time to catch the rain in mid changeover to a standard system with the Made in Taiwan coil.  Of course it misfired, this time so badly that it fluffed each time Cathy started her last run and she had to quit.  Desperation.  Cathy nips off to see Bill Tuer, the top Morgan racer, and comes back with a loaned Dyna coil.  The next day the Morgan ran like a dream at VSCC Mallory Park.

So now I’ve shelled out the required £53.  Lesson learned?  Well, until the next time.

Tony

 

Curborough Track Day – 28 July 2001

On what was probably the hottest weekend of the year, we held our first "Track Day" at Curborough.  The glorious weather combined with the beginning of the school holidays combined to make the trip to Lichfield as arduous as possible, as a result we got off to a late start.  Twenty two riders took part; fourteen were "new" plus eight NHCA members who had their own reasons for wanting a go, such as Pete Fisher wanting to frighten passenger Robin Sims on his Moto Guzzi outfit.  The same was true of Terry Martin with his Norton Wasp outfit, only this time it was with his daughter in the chair.  The first timers all seemed to enjoy themselves and were soon comparing times in a familiar fashion as the confidence grew riding became more spirited, two stayed on for the following day’s meeting and put up some respectable times on machines that were not ideal.

Will Track Days bring in new members to the NHCA?  It’s hard to say, but if we don't publicise our sport actively membership will diminish.  There are plenty of alternative pastimes available, many of which don't involve travelling distances in our congested little island.  If there was a common thread running through remarks made by track day riders it was "I'm enjoying myself but I wouldn't travel to Devon or Cornwall just to take part in a Hill Climb".  Time was when I would have said something similar but a few years on I was travelling to Baitings and Barbon as I became more involved.  The point is that you have to start somewhere.  I know from my work that if you spend money promoting your business through exhibitions or advertising you seldom see a tangible result, but if you don't keep on reminding people of what you do, they will forget what you do.  The good thing about the track day is that we covered our costs, so all we invested was time.

Whether it’s worth holding another track day will be up to the committee to decide, but two things are clear in my mind.  One is that we need to spend more time promoting the event, as we did not have a good response to our limited efforts.  The other is that we need more help on the day.  Thanks to those who did help out especially the ones who were involved with the following days meeting which also suffered from a lack of helpers.  As a result there were some jaded people around by the finish of the weekend.  We ought to have learnt by now "many hands make light work", whereas dumping on a few creates problems.

Doug  Parnell

P.S.  I have not had any feedback from my previous whinge about the Dinner Dance.  All comments are welcome, positive or negative.