They just don't write em or ride em like that anymore...sigh! Or do they?

[Greencan]

Arvo All...

The following extract  if from 17th November 1949  original issue of The 'Motor Cycle' by Mr Dennis May.

"Organised breeze-up is something for which humankind will always pay good money, plus amusement tax if necessary: witness the ecstatic overtone in the soprano yelps issuing from the Giant Racer on any showground: witness the steady stream of funkhappy customers who nightly darken the doors of the spooksmiths' establishments: witness the fact that the writer of this prose, who for a decade-and-some bas gone the rounds with a bonnet and upwards of four cylinders between himself and the accident, had to pick on the world's fastest production motor cycle for his re-introduction to grip-twisting.

Pre-war, the learned clerks who Pre s-tested motor cycles for a living (I was one of them), used to sigh in vain for the machine which would wring a too-fast-for-owner confession from their typewriters. In just that one respect they were all the same-T.T. Replica five-hundreds, solo Thousands, fours, what-hast-thou: you pointed them down. the 'pike, you rotated the wrist, you waited for the crankshaft to catch up with the twist grip, it did so, you unwound again. Provided
(a) your 'pike was intelligently selected, and (b) the bicycle steered and held the road reasonably well, there was never  any call for Christopher Robin to start saying his prayers before the crank caught up with the grip."


Yee Haaa...ton up!!!


Yee haaa...ton up plus 50.313MPH!!!


I donna ifa thisa ridin astlye willa catcha on...but Ia push, and Ia win!!!


Nothings new,
Ciao, the can :)

[terrydj]

That second picture to me is the most famous photograph in the history of motorcycling. It was on my wall as kid forever. That bloke (Rollie Free) all stripped down and lying on the bike doing a run at Bonneville was all the go and I still lie down on me bike, but with all the gear on. He done a 150mph, pass on the salt and put Vincent right on the map as the fastest motorcycle.
What they never told anyone was that the Vincent  had been worked over by the factory by the best replacing the standard carbs, pistons, cams and a whole heap of other stuff, and then shipped from Pommy land to Bonneville.. Hmmmm, maybe Vincent should have told everyone that old Rollie was really a factory Indian rider as well

[Greencan]

What they never told anyone was that the Vincent  had been worked over by the factory by the best replacing the standard carbs, pistons, cams and a whole heap of other stuff, and then shipped from Pommy land to Bonneville.. Hmmmm,

Yes, and largely all made possible by the local Melbourne Lad, Phil Irving ...Humm,  perhaps best not to get me started...

...but will finish off with this quote from the man himself, this is the very last words he said to his Editor in his autobiography...

"I suppose I would probably have become a farmer if all the things had not happened which led to my becoming an engineer It is not easy to decide which of my designs has been the most satisfying, but on reflection I think I would say the Black Shadow. For me it was most satisfying because of the breadth of its achievements, by which r mean that Black Shadows held national speed records in almost every country of the world, while they were also very good touring bikes and made some great long-distance trips.

I do get some satisfaction, too, from the Repco Brabham V8 engines. I was the sole designer of the 1966 engine, which won that year's Formula One championship despite the doubts of the experts You could say I'm the only Australian - in fact probably the only bloke in the world -who has designed both a record-breaking bike and a world championship car.

It's always difficult, trying to wrap things up. How do you know when you've got to the end"

Just a thought,  :)

[terrydj]

Seem to think their was a bloke called Phil Vincent who had a lot to do with the design, development and the racing of the Vincents both before WW2 and after. Phil Irving I think was still working as a Harley Mechanic right up untill the end some where near Ballarat, seem to think