The CVMG News News...The CVMG News - August 2015 Page 3 Vintage Matters Jim Briggs Intake & Exhaust...

The CVMG NewsThe Canadian Vintage Motorcycle GroupL’Association Canadienne des Motos Anciennes

August 2015Volume 48 Number 8

The National Voice of theCanadian Vintage Motorcycle Group

The WarriorsBritish singles that held the world at bay—fi ghting off international multi-cylinder contenders

Paris in the Spring imeNext Year’s National Rally

Marque Announced!

T h e C V M G N e w s - A u g u s t 2 0 1 5

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Masthead Table of ContentsThe CVMG News is published monthly for the members of the Cana-dian Vintage Motorcycle Group, a non-profi t club. All items published are copyright to the author and may not be used without written per-mission. No CVMG insignia or logo may be used without the prior writ-ten consent of the CVMG Executive.

Commercial Advertising: Rates per insertion (monthly): Full page $200; half-page $120; 1/4 page $60; 1/8 page $35. HST extra.

CVMG Event Advertising: Advertising for CVMG Section events is free but limited to three 1/4 page insertions of the same event.

Classifi ed Advertisements: Members—no charge for personal group-relevant items. Occasional other listings may be included at the Edi-tor’s discretion. Non-members may advertise items of interest to mem-bers at the Editor’s discretion.

Member Submissions: Letters and articles dealing with the subject of motorcycling, particularly Vintage or Classic, and reports of group activities are welcome. Submit material or enquiries to the Editor, [email protected], or by mail to the address below. The Editor re-serves the right to edit or reject any material. Publication of editorial or advertising material does not constitute an endorsement of any infor-mation, advice or product by the CVMG. E-mail fi les should be in MS Word and editable, or as body text in a message. Pictures and graphics as .jpg fi les (please limit fi le size to 5MB), or .pdf.

Deadline: Submissions to the CVMG News must be received by the 10th of the month to be published in the following month’s issue, space permitting.

NOTE RE COPYRIGHT & MEASURES TO PROTECT

CVMG Executive, 2015-2016President: Jim Briggs, 238 Westridge Rd. Edmonton, AB, T5T 1C1, 780-930-1519, [email protected]

Vice-President: John Tankard, 215 Neil Ave., Winnipeg, MB R2K 1C8, 204-898-2113, [email protected]

Secretary: Betty Anne Clark, 33 Station Rd. Toronto, ON, M8V 2R1, 416-255-8350, [email protected]

Membership: Dale Prisley, 467 Thorn Ridge Cres., Amherstburg, ON, N9V 3X4, [email protected]

Treasurer: Alison Green, 3174 Lammis Rd, Sudbury, ON, P3G 1M6, 705-523-4689, [email protected]

Newseditor: John Pepper, 240 Wychwood Av. Toronto, ON, M6C 2T3, 416-567-6719, [email protected]

Director: Laurie Mills, [email protected]

Director: Wayne Spears, 78 Victoria St. Elora, ON, N0B 1S0, 519-846-5174, [email protected]

Regalia: Holly Ralph, 51-81 Valridge Drive, Ancaster,ON L9G 5B6, [email protected]

Competition: Neville Miller, 2511 Innes Rd. Ottawa, ON, 613-830-4450, [email protected]

CVMM Rep.: Rod Sheridan, [email protected]

Paris Nat’l Rally Chair: April Temple-Spears, 78 Victoria St. Elora, ON, N0B 1S0, [email protected]

Chief Judge: Peter Salter, [email protected]

Web Admin: Mark Melcher, [email protected]

Vintage Matters, President’s Message, Jim Briggs .............................. 3Happenings ...................................................................................... 4Head Space, Alison Green ................................................................. 5Everybody’s Business, Allan Johnson ................................................ 7Tech Chat, Ken Mortimer ................................................................... 9Paris in the Springtime, Sam Longo ..................................................11Honda Goldwing at the 2015 Paris Rally, Chris Ness ........................13BMW Airheads for 2016, Chris Ness .................................................13From Behind Bars, John Pepper .......................................................14Competition Report, Neville Miller .....................................................15Ontario BSA Owners Club, Bill/Heather Smith, John Cooper ............15Membership Report, Dale Prisley ......................................................17The Warriors—British Racing Singles, John Pepper ..........................18Honda GL and the Vetter Years, craigvetter.com ...............................23Honda GL1000 Goldwing Road Test, classic-motorbike.net ...............25Letters & Links ................................................................................27CVMG Section Contacts & Reports ...................................................28Members’ Bikes & Bits .....................................................................33 Book Review, Jonathan Hill ..............................................................35

Cover Photo: Sandy Ross’ impeccable 1976 Honda GL Goldwing rig which won the People’s Choice award at the 2015 Paris rally. See page 13 for more details.

Event Insurance Liaison: Does your CVMG event have or need in-surance? Check to be sure. Contact the CVMG Secretary, Betty Anne Clark, at [email protected].

We NeedYour

Story!

The CVMG News thrives on your sto-ries and articles. If you have an idea you think would be of interest to other members, if you’d like to see a par-ticular make of bike featured, or a topic covered, let me know.

I can work with you to pull it together. Or just give me the idea and I’ll take it from there.

Cheers, John

[email protected]


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Vintage Matters Jim Briggs Intake & Exhaust John Pepper

Rally Season!By the time this issue comes out, I’ll have been to four or fi ve rallies this summer. There’s nothing better than a curious or attractive motorcycle to provide the spark to start a con-versation with a stranger. These old machines are a magical means of meeting new people.

After a long winter, summer comes on like a whirlwind. For me, it started at the National Rally at Paris in mid-June. Dozens of vendors, hundreds of bikes & thousands of people, all tied together with lots of food–even mini donuts. For bikes, there was a little bit of everything. And being the National Rally, it has the greatest number of section at-tendees. It’s a great place to connect and re-connect.

July started in the badlands of Alberta for the Handhills Classic Bike Rally in Drumheller. It’s a much smaller event than in Paris—perhaps a hundred participants, but these people are turned on. This rally’s focus is on smaller bikes, and there were some amazing machines. The good folks from Rocky Mountain Section brought out a fl eet of Italian singles from Benelli, MV Agusta, Aermacchi & Ducati. There were enough Puch twingles that there was fear of what they’d create if they mated. One of these machines was running Blendzall pre-mix, the odour of which drew an appreciative crowd. How about a classic Yamaha 125 2-stroke single running on nitrous? Really! The oldest bike there was a 1911 H-D 7A Silent Grey Fellow: plated & participat-ing on the rides—truly a thing of beauty. The rally offered two great rides over the weekend on winding, river-hugging roads to canyon hideaways, past hoodoos and rocking pump jacks. In between road rides I exercised my 40-year old trials bike in a blind canyon to enter-tain myself. Like all great CVMG events, there was food and lots of it.

Old Times in the Park took place in mid-July. Not really a rally, it’s a 1-day exhibition free to the public in one of Edmonton’s premier river valley parks. Upwards of 100 antique, vintage and classic motorcycles displayed and started in order to provide the sights, sounds and smells of these great old bikes. While it’s fun, it’s also to generate donations to Edmonton’s Food Bank. It’s also a precursor to NORAL’s annual summer BBQ.

In late-July, it’s the Ponoka Vintage Rally, focusing on fi rst bikes, scooters and sidecars. It’s the 19th consecutive year for this event, which some nickname the CVMG’s western rally. Western hospitality is certainly demonstrated. The only problem is their Saturday night game of Motorcycle Jeopardy is fi xed. The same darn group seems to win every year!

August starts with the Biggar Classic Bike Rally, otherwise known as PUB (Pilgrimage Unto Biggar). No one is more hospitable than the good folks in Saskatchewan. As for those stories about riding in this prairie province being boring, get off the highways and onto the backroads to discover what it’s really like. For 2015, this rally is focusing on six cylinder motorcycles. Mothers, hide your daughters....

There are great times to be had, but they don’t just happen by them-selves. It takes motivated people to put these things together. Make sure you extend some kind words of appreciation to those who are behind each of the events you attend, wherever they are. They’ll ap-preciate it. Perhaps you can even ask them if you can help next time around. Those words will be like magic to their ears.

Enjoy.

Jim Briggs, [email protected]

Hurry Up and Enjoy It!The summer’s only just begun, and the memories of a long and hard winter were so indelibly impressed on my brain that I can’t forget what it was like a few short months ago. I’m writing this as I ride across the country from Toronto to Calgary, where I’ll meet my wife. We’ll take in the Calgary Stampede (our fi rst time), then wind our way through the best of Canadian and US scen-ery and riding roads to end up in Vancouver. July’s only begun, with June having disappeared in a blink of the eye. I’m putting the fi nal touches on this August issue, and telling people that the articles, sec-tion reports and ads they send in now will be in the September issue.

September.... Noooo! Not so soon! What happened to those endless childhood summers? They went on for months and months.. Now the summers just seem to fl y past (why don’t winters do the same?). My point? No, not to complain about the way time accelerates as we get older, but to point out that we need to take advantage of every op-portunity to enjoy our riding season, and to extend it as long as we can—starting as early as the weather permits (my goal is to be riding by St. Patrick’s Day in March) and to keep going through those cool fall days, enjoying the beautiful colours.

There’s lots to do in the Canadian vintage motorcycling summer. Ral-lies, rides, section meetings, trips, places to go, roads to explore. I hope all of you get to enjoy as much of it as possible. Keep work for the wet days, treat the sunny days as national holidays. Prioritize your time to do what you enjoy.

Cheers,

John Pepper, [email protected]


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Happenings Events, Shows, Rallies & Runs July24-26 CAVMG Ponoka Vintage Rally—Stampede Grounds, Po-

noka, AB

24-26 CVMG Quinte Rally—Ameliasburg, ON (www.cvmg.ca/quinte)

August1-2 CVMG Saskatchewan Biggar Classic Bike Rally—Biggar,

SK (setup and early registration on Friday, July 31) Con-tact Dennis Dyck, 306-343-7090, [email protected]

2 CVMG Rally/Quebec Vintage Trials, Ormstown, QC

3 AMCM Annual Tiddler Tour, Manitoba—(www.amcm.ca)

7-9 CVMG Grey Bruce Rally—Whispering Pines Campground, Hepworth, ON. Contact Peter Prinsen, 519-534-3442, [email protected]

8 Honda Rock the Red—Honda Canada encourages you to show off your vintage Honda and participate in test rides. 180 Honda Blvd., Markham, ON. Contact Scott Dixon, 416-574-8046, [email protected] or visit http://motor-cycle.honda.ca/rockthered

8 Norm Carr Classic—Belleville, ON. Dirt track event around a half-mile oval at the Belleville Fairground beginning at 1 pm (see Competition Report)

8 SWOVTG Trials, Haliburton—16376 Hwy 35, contact Al-lan Robertson, 705-489-2218

9 Brits on the Lake—Port Perry,ON www.britsonthelake.com

14-16 CVMG London Rally—Dorchester Fairgrounds, London, ON

15 CVMG Niagara Peninsula Swap Meet—Jordan Lions Park, Jordan, ON. Contact Mike Mahood, 905-562-4317, [email protected].

16 CVMG Ottawa Billings Estate People’s Choice Vintage Mo-torcycle Show—10:00a - 4:00p, 2100 Cabot St., Ottawa

16 Vintage in the Valley—Vintage Motorcycle Swap Meet, Heritage Park, Chilliwack, BC. 10:00a-4:00p (www.vinta-gemotorcycleshows.com)

21-23 VRRA Vintage Festival & CVMG Eastern Shield Con-cours—Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (Mosport), ON

22-23 CVMG Ormstown Vintage Off-Road Festival, QC

29-Sep 4 Isle of Man Classic TT (Aug 29-31), Isle of Man Festival of Motorcycling—www.iomtt.com

30 SWOVTG Trials, Simcoe— Simcoe 320 Decoe Rd, (S of Hwy 3), [email protected]

September2-6 Wharf Rat Rally—Digby, Nova Scotia

12-19 Vancouver Island Section Road Run—see section report for details. Pete Gagan, [email protected] or 250-752-0524

11-13 Old Bastards Rally—Delta, Ontario. www.oldbastards.ca or contact Ernie Olivo, [email protected]

12 CVMG Essex-Kent display & fundraiser for the Maidstone Museum, 1093 Puce Rd., Lakeshore Township, ON

12-13 VRRA Quebec GP—St-Eustache, QC, www.vrra.ca

13 CVMG Golden Horseshoe Motorcycle Swap Meet—Coun-try Heritage Park, Milton, ON. 8:00am - 3:00pm. Contact Frank Nickel, 905-854-5666, [email protected]

13 Great War Flying Museum Annual Fly-In & Open House—Brampton Airport. Contact Great Pine Ridge section, Brian Barrett, 416-724-6623, [email protected]

20 CVMG Quebec Vintage Trials, Grenville, QC

20 British Car Day—Bronte Creek Park, Oakville. 8:00-4:00. www.BritishCarDay.com

27 CVMG Essex-Kent Get to the Point—Vintage motorcycle riders are invited to an informal gathering. Stoney Point Sportman’s Club, 6348 S. Clair Rd, Stoney Point, ON

October25 CVMG Quebec Vintage Trials, Powerscourt, QC

November7 Canadian Motorcycle Hall of Fame Legends in the Dirt

Reunion—Sheraton Toronto Airport Conference Centre (www.canmoto.ca)

CVMG Events & RalliesINSURANCE REQUIREMENTS: CVMG-related events listed here or advertised elsewhere in The CVMG News may be subject to insur-ance requirements. It is the responsibility of event organizers to assess this requirement prior to listing or advertising an event.Refer to the Section Reports pages for breakfast runs, history rides, gatherings and seasonal events, and to the Events page on the CVMG website (www.cvmg.ca). Check individual event or section websites, or contact section representatives to confi rm dates and details.

For CVMG Quebec Vintage Trials events refer to www.epnat.ca/QVT.htm. Contact Eric Pritchard, 450-829-3593, [email protected] or Steve Tucker, 450-829-2597 (day) 450-829-3604 (eve), [email protected].

Section Representatives: Let me know ([email protected]) as soon as you have dates fi xed for CVMG-sanctioned section events to put on the list. Please include confi rmation that insurance requirements have been assessed and, if required, will be put in place prior to the event. With so much happening through our all-too-short Canadian summer, people need to plan in advance to get to all the events. Also, let me know of other non-CVMG events that members might be inter-ested in, particularly if they’re vintage-related. Make sure also to let our webmaster know ([email protected]) so events can be posted on our website. If you have a 1/4-page poster for your event, send it to me in plenty of time to have it included in the CVMG News.

Let’s all have a busy motorcycling summer this year.

Cheers, John


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Head Space Alison Green Going for a Ride??The mantra that we spout over and over again in the CSC “Gearing Up” introduction poses three questions. Seriously, these questions should be addressed prior to any riding, or any other venture out the front door for that matter...

• Are you ready?

• Is your gear ready?

• Is your ride ready?

As I was cheerfully heading down the highway towards the Paris rally, it occurred to me that I seldom actually think about these questions in any organized format.

Any weekend cottage trip involves checklists, either mental or written, of what is needed for the expedition to be a success. Food, house-hold stuff, toys, fuel for said toys, personal kit and meds... and the list goes on. The omission of swim towels might not be life threatening in this instance but will certainly add a degree of inconvenience to the vacation. Our checklist of preparedness for riding should be more crit-ical in compilation and adherence, but is it?

ARE YOU READY?Personal readiness can be defi ned in many ways and ignored all to easily. This is mostly an internal and invisible checklist, private and often viewed through rose tinted glasses.

Meds, lack of sleep, alcohol, emotional up-heaval, changes in physical condition, denial—all are potentially disruptive and damaging to your ability to ride safely. The most insidious of all is denial; the denial that your body is no longer capable of the sustained abuse that once seemed so trivial. Endurance, eyesight, fl exibility, balance, strength... Everything changes. This certainly doesn’t mean that rid-

ing is to be avoided, but that riding wisely and within your limits must be considered for your safety’s sake. We all change from one riding season to the next - work with it rather than denying that you too are human!

There are plenty of ways to increase the ride safety index: Decrease the distance expecta-tions, allow more rest breaks, try a lighter bike or one better equipped with wind/weather protection, allow yourself more time for un-interrupted sleep, eat lighter meals while on the road, get off the bike and walk more.... Ev-eryone knows what their own body needs for optimizing health - we just have to learn how to listen and then heed.

IS YOUR GEAR READY?Most of us have a stash of motorcycling gear - everything from the currently-in-use to the outgrown, worn out and otherwise unusable.

Helmets fi rst! If your head protection is old, chipped, loose fi tting and possibly smelly, do everyone a favour and cut the chin strap and bin it!

Buy good raingear! Finding yourself in a situ-ation where riding in the rain is unavoidable can easily morph from uncomfortable into downright dangerous if hypothermia sets in. Unfortunately this can happen much sooner than we expect as the years pass and our bod-ies become less able to withstand the cold. Likewise with gloves: wet or cold and stiff fi n-gers don’t do well on brakes or clutch.

Bottom line, if your gear is vintage, treat yourself to some modern and effi cient riding togs. That waxed cotton black Barber might look just right with the BSA but.... think FIT, FUNCTION and VISIBILITY and invest in good gear. THEN WEAR IT! Your family will thank you.

IS YOUR BIKE READY?On the drive to the Paris rally, I thought my bike was in great shape. All lights working, brakes fi ne, oil checked, tires good.., etc. But then friend and fellow rally volunteer Chris Procter (and BMW G/S rider) rode my bike and was not at all happy with the front end. I was aware that the steering seemed loose, but was comfortable that the bearings had been properly torqued not that long be-fore. Bottom line, with his machinist’s critical eye, Chris observed that there was a gap (19 thou) between the steering head adjustment nut and the bottom of the top plate! The bear-ings might have been tightened, but they cer-tainly weren’t staying tight. My spiffy billet top plate was not seated down suffi ciently and the jam nut was only tightening against the top of the plate and not jamming the adjuster at all. So, I was merrily riding a bike that was NOT in proper nick!

Two lessons: Don’t assume anything... and having an experienced friend ride your bike can turn up all sorts of conditions that the owner (in this case, me) had missed. I pride myself in careful maintenance, but familiarity and complacency had caught me out.

We are all aware of those things that should be checked, the biggest problem is convinc-ing ourselves to heed what the bike is telling us. When something just doesn’t feel right, it probably isn’t. Investigate and fi x. Vintage bikes can be both fun and reliable—but will not do well when ignored or neglected.

Note to self—dig out a list of torque specs and go over the bike from top to bottom—my life may depend on it...

Ride safe, ride far

Alison, [email protected]

Last Ride—Joe KatzBMW motorcycle enthusiast/Icon, one time owner of Ormond Cycle/BMW of Daytona, Flor-ida. BMWMOA Ambassador, long time CVMG member, and dedicated rally attendee, JOE KATZ of Deland, Florida died on June 23, 2015.

Joe was a fi xture at the Paris Rally and many of the BMW ral-lies attended by CVMG types.

Alison Green

Legends in the DirtThe Canadian Motorcycle Hall of Fame pres-ents “Legends in Dirt Track” Reunion and announces their 10th Induction Banquet to be held in Toronto, November 7th. We will be getting together at the biggest dirt track event

in Canada, the CMA-sanctioned Norm Carr Classic ½ Mile National Championship at the Fairgrounds in Belleville, Ontario August 8th.

Come, enjoy the races and meet the riders and Hall of Fame Inductees. All Hall of Fame Inductees are invited to attend and take part.


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GET to the POINTStoney Point that is!

An ‘Informal Gathering’ of Vintage Motorcyclists

Sunday, September 27th

Stoney Point Sportsman’s Club 6348 St Clair Rd. Stoney Point, ON

Come down the “River Road” to Stoney Point

10:30 to 2:30


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Everybody’s Business Allan Johnson “Seen Through a Glass, Darkly”At the half-way lunch stop on the Trillium Road Run at Paris this year, I was twice asked by other riders for directions as to the “way back to the Rally”. This, in spite of the return “Route sheet of directions” which both were holding.

I asked what particular instruction was con-fusing, but was answered each time that they “couldn’t read the directions and ride, too.” I drew a sketch map of the quickest route to Paris on the back of the instruction sheet for each.

But I did ask each rider if they were wearing bifocal glasses. And they were. Not the old type where you can see the reading glass lens with-in the distance lens but the newer and now almost universal “progressive lens” type where they look like a single lens type, but have a seamless transition from distance vision at the top to close reading through the lower portion of the lens. One has to tilt their head up slight-ly to use the lower (reading) portion, or down to use the distant vision section. And move the head from side to side to counteract distortion at the edges of the lens.

Since I have had this sort of “progressive lens bifocal” myself for about 10 years, I began to think about whether – no matter how clearly written the route sheet instructions might be – the distance from the route sheet page from the progressive lens-wearing rider’s eye, or the angle and tilt of the rider’s head might be ad-versely affecting what the older rider who is wearing these lenses can clearly see.

Using the route sheet as issued for the Tril-lium Run, I found that 12” was the distance which I felt most comfortable reading the page when holding it in one hand. About one third of the center of the page (3”) was in good fo-cus, but head turning was needed to bring the right or left margins of the page, which had the distance values, into clear focus. Sitting on the bike (with low-rise English handlebars and solo saddle) with the route sheet on the tank or on the handlebars as if on a carrier, gave an eye to route sheet distance of 16” to 22”. The fi eld of sharp view narrowed from about 2” to 1” in height and the width of the fi eld about 2”. Outside of this small “window” a good deal of precise and frequent head and eye movement

was needed to read the instructions.

I was a bit surprised at the narrow width and depth of the fi eld of vision and the need to scan right to left and up and down to get different parts of the sheet in focus. And then I went down to the shop and got a mechanic’s ruler.

Measuring the type size on the route sheet found it to be 3/32”, which is just under the 7 point size as used by printers. I looked at an old route sheet for the Hurontario Street Green Lane Run the Group had in the late 1990’s. The type size was 1/8”, which comes out to 9 points in typesetter’s language. And the instructions were done in half the width of the page. As a result these were quite clear across the scanning width of my focused eye at the 16 to 22 inch distances when the sheet would be mounted on the bike. About half the length of the page was also in good focus with-out eye movement.

Conclusions? Firstly, some relief that my eye-sight is not failing more rapidly than I thought it was. Secondly, could those in the CVMG who are making up route sheets for such road-riding events consider that type size, and column width appears to be critical for read-ability of the directions on Group rides? The bigger the better for riders with “progressive lens” glasses it seems.

43 and CountingAs I was suiting up for the Trillium Run at the Paris Rally on June 20th, I refl ected on the forty-three times that the CVMG has held this “Annual Rally.” And the many, many times yours truly has cranked the kickstarter on the same old bike and “Done the Road Run.” No, I haven’t been on all the Road Runs. Sometimes there were other tasks to do at the time of the run, helping put the rally on. But I have at-tended all 43 of these CVMG Rallies and at the fi rst, and now at the 43rd, it was the same old bike and rider.

The increase in size, scale, scope, spectacle and diversity, of this rally over the years has been incredible. The few of us who gathered at the Welland Co. MCC grounds in July of 1973 did not, nor could not, have imagined what the Group would accomplish in the next four decades. I’m looking forward to Number 44 – hope you are, too!

History As A Jig-saw PuzzlePresident Jim, writing in the July issue of the CVMG News, asks that we preserve Canadian motorcycling history by donation of printed items to an archive.

My thought on Canada’s motorcycling history is that much of it has never been printed in books as we usually think of them, but lies in old black photo albums, personal letters long forgotten, diaries we used to keep, articles and advertisements in old newspapers and maga-zines, scrapbooks, home movies, slides or vid-eos, and fading memories.

Most of these sources tell only a small bit of a motorcycling history story. A photograph of someone on a motorcycle. But who, and where and when? If we are lucky some of that in-formation is written on the back of that black and white picture. And if there is enough of the bike shown we can fi gure out the make, model maybe the year the bike was made. Maybe something in the background can tell us where and maybe when. If it is a racing bike and we can see a number plate, a pro-gram from that race can give us information on the rider and, if we are lucky, the program may have been annotated by the holder as to how the riders fi nished.

So gradually we can put together the pieces gathered from various sources and begin to see a picture, and perhaps an interesting story which says a lot to us about our history and the people who made it.

Preservation of these materials is often a mat-ter of chance or simple, blind luck. The story of the fi rst motorcycle ridden across Canada from sea to sea, complete with newspaper accounts, a written account, many lantern slides and so on was once placed out in dust-bins (garbage cans to us) in the Isle of Man for disposal and was only rescued by the ef-forts of CVMG member Gerald Barker. These photographs and the accounts (I believe) are now preserved in our National Photography Library. The year was 1928, hundreds of miles of that journey were done by riding the Ariel motorcycle and Sturgess sidecar over railroad tracks since there was no all-Canadian road across this country in those days. But for Ger-

Continued on page 9


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Everybody’s Business - continued from page 9

ry’s initiative long ago all that history would have been gone – forever.

There are a number of collectors and conserv-ers of these “pieces of motorcycling history jigsaw puzzles” in the CVMG and elsewhere in the old motorcycling world. In many cases they have no idea as to what part of the puz-zle they have, or even what the whole picture might look like and be able to say to history.

But, like anyone of us faced with a dismantled “project bike” and no parts list or shop manual to tell us what is what, we have to rely on oth-

ers in the old motorcycling hobby who come along and say, ”Oh, that’s a widgit and it goes there, under the watchamacallit, they used that from 1948 to 1950.”

In the same way, we need motorcycling his-torians to bring together the pieces of the puzzle, turn them around , gather other “bits and pieces” to fi ll in the blanks and write the history.

“Summertime, and the riding is easy…….”

Allan Johnson, [email protected]

Tech Chat Ken Mortimer By the Members, for the Members

First out of the gate this month we hear fromour Master Mechanic Angus McDonald as we learn about another of his “shop made” pieces of equipment. Again, several motorcycle parts were used in the making of this tool. An-gus writes:

Changing the speed of this drill press was not all that diffi cult, just move the belt to a dif-ferent groove on the fi ve step pulleys, but it seemed kind of primitive and this Triumph TRW gearbox was just sitting around begging for a useful job....

The belt drive from the horizontal gearbox to the vertical shaft has to be twisted 90 degrees

and is guided by two idler pulleys. There was some power loss in this drive so a larger mo-tor was required. I had thought of mounting the gearbox vertically but didn’t know how to manage the lubrication. The reversing switch was probably not necessary, but it was anoth-er thing I had in my junk box. It’s positioned so the operator can work it with his knee.

The 5 step pulleys are retained, giving a total of 20 speeds, from 164 to 2109 RPM. I don’t know if the photo shows it, but there is the customary oil drip tray under the gearbox.

Angus has a couple of more up his sleeve that we’ll save for the future.

Round two goes to Mike Goegebeur (Essex/Kent) with some possible fork seal help:

We all have had leaky fork seals and here is a possible fi x. Find a very thin sheet (or at least a large piece) of material about .002” or .05mm thick. Slide up the dust seal and gen-tly work the thin sheet past the oil seal (see picture) and carefully slide it around the fork tube in an up/down motion. What this hope-fully will do is dislodge any dirt or other matter that has gotten between the seal and the fork tube. Other possible material to use would be old picture negatives. Really anything thin and rigid enough would do. This has not always worked for me, but I always give it a try before ordering new seals.

Thanks Mike!

As usual I’ll remind all members that we need your contributions! Whatever it may be; if it is technical in nature, please share it with

your fellow CVMG pals. Tips, tool or product reviews, stories of your past successes or fail-ures, (we promise not to laugh!). All submis-sions are welcome within the Tech Chat pages.

Ken Mortimer, [email protected]

“Where’s the dead bird? I don’t see it....” (photo sent in by James Lynch). Eileen Percy on an Indian Motorcycle in an advertisement for Fox Shoes. Photo by Charles Gates Sheldon (1920’s)


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Our Friday morning started early. Chris Laidlaw picked me up in his Dodge Ram with enclosed snowmobile trail-

er in tow. We had a mission—we were both bringing bikes to sell at Paris. Chris had his pristine 1984 Honda 1000 Interceptor and I was adding a 1964 Honda 305 Superhawk to the sales mix. Both bikes were Honda’s fl ag-ship models for their respective eras and many commented that it was hard to believe a scant 20 years separated their technology. The en-closed trailer also doubled as our luxury ac-commodations for the weekend.

We settled on a camp site near the black iron gates on the edge of the fairgrounds. As we set up camp and the morning progressed, fellow members moved in all around us, each un-loading treasures that we both tried hard to ignore. Our immediate neighbours Dave and his son Trevor (London Section?) unloaded a pristine 1979 Goldwing and my buddy Chris was instantly interested and commented that as soon as his Interceptor sold he was going to march right over and buy it.

Once the camp was set up we relaxed, enjoy-ing the weather and chatting with new and old friends as Friday afternoon wore on. The true pleasure of the Paris Rally is reconnecting with friends and making new ones. Many people stopped and inspected our bikes but no one was opening their wallets. The most frequent comments were, “nice bike, but I already have too many” or “I would buy it but am already restoring one, got any parts?”

I tried to stay put and not go shopping as rule #1 of Paris is “Try not to bring home MORE than you brought!” which generally helps to enhance marital bliss back on the home front! By Friday evening both bikes had not sold so we decided to go into town for dinner. We ended the evening with a stroll around the Fairgrounds looking at many beautiful motor-cycles and chatting with friends from various CVMG sections. Finally we turned in for the night at the “Chez Skidoo Trailer” and literally froze our butts off….. Someone said it dipped to 8 degrees C overnight and at one point I had a sweater wrapped around my head for warmth. Note to self….next year bring a hood-ie!

Dawn arrived, we survived and the hunt was on for hot coffee. Thanks to the many vendors in attendance a coffee and bacon on a bun re-newed my energy and staved off starvation for a few more hours. Back at our camp, inter-est was at a frenzied pitch for our neighbour Dave’s beautiful 1979 Gold Wing. Apparently while I was out getting bacon, Chris had a taste for “wings” and it was all downhill from there. Out came the cheque book and the deed was done. Now we really did need to sell our bikes lest we break the deadly #1 rule. Alas, it was not to be, by late Saturday afternoon despite a few close calls the Superhawk and Interceptor remained unsold. We did one last tour around the grounds and purchased a few more unobtainium Honda parts and it was time to pack up the caravan.

We did manage to squeeze all three bikes in the trailer and headed for Toronto. I was a little down having to return, tail between my legs, explaining to my signifi cant other that my bike did not sell. But there was solace in knowing that Chris had way more explaining to do than me. It was also neat that the addi-tional bike that was coming home was a mag-nifi cent example of the weekends feature bike, the venerable Honda Goldwing.

All in all it was a lot of fun. Many thanks to all the volunteers that made the Paris Rally another memorable weekend. As an addi-tional footnote; fortunately for me the Super-hawk sold the following weekend and marital bliss returned to the Longo household. As for Chris, I’m still not sure; he might have slept a few more nights in that skidoo trailer! You just have to love Paris in the springtime!

Sam Longo (GPR Section)

Rule #1 of Paris is “Try not to bring home MORE than you brought!”

Paris in the Spring imeYou Can’t Resist Love at First SightAnd Other Stories

By Sam Longo, GPR


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Honda Gold WingsMarque Display at the 2015 CVMG Paris Rally

This year the legendary Honda GL1000 was front and center at the 43rd Annual CVMG National Rally, held in Paris, Ontario. Honda Can-ada supplied their “freshly restored poster bike” for all of us to drool over. They also gave each participant in the display a Gold Wing 40th Anniversary pin.

Down the row from the head table were fi fteen more fi ne examples of the marque, 1975 thru 1979. There were eight lovely examples of the fi rst-generation 1975-77 and seven of the second generation model, 1978, ’79. Of the fi fteen entries in our display six were ridden north-ward from Ohio, Minnesota, and Michigan. One GL sported a plate from Glasgow, Scotland - John Evans via Michigan. The Classic Wing Club and Naked Gold Wing Club were well represented.

Ballots fl ew into the box all day long and the winner of the People’s Choice Award was Sandy Ross’ yellow 1976 GL rig with Watsonian sidecar.

A big thank you to our U.S. friends for making the scene, and everyone else who proudly displayed their GL1000s on Saturday for the throngs of day visitors and Rally participants to see.

Chris Ness, [email protected]

Just about the time the fi rst self-propelled bi-cycle was invented (incidentally it was a 3 wheel design for all you Can Am Spyder fans!). Two wheels up front, one in the rear, “Butler’s Velo-cycle” it was called...Well just about that time... a baby was born into a German family. Birth-date? October 1 1883. His work and creation would be immortalized, and best of all, he lived to see it. The baby’s name?

Max Friz

Incidentally, in 1884 Edward Butler in England exhibited at the Stanley Cycle Show in London, two years before Karl Benz invented his fi rst au-tomobile. (Benz is generally considered the in-ventor of the modern automobile.)

The history of the motorcycle will take you through Hildebrand and Wolfmuller in Germa-ny; The Excelsior Motor Company in Coventry, England; the Orient-Aster of Waltham, Massa-chusetts; Royal Enfi eld, Triumph, Norton, and of course Indian and Harley-Davidson on this continent.

The marque bike for next year’s CVMG Rally is the creation of that tiny German baby born in 1883, Max Friz. In the 1930s there were over 140 different makes of motorcycle available in Europe. Max came up with a horizontally op-posed twin-cylinder design in 1922 that was able to compete with all the other makes in reli-ability, comfort and performance and still exist into the 21st century.

Ladies and gentlemen.... let me introduce to you, the famous, the reliable, the incomparable... The BMW Boxer Twin aka Airhead. Invited to the marque display in June 2016 will be the BMW R32, the R/2 and the R90S. Pass it on!

Chris Ness, [email protected]

BMW Airheads for 2016Marque Display announced for 2016 CVMG Paris Rally

BMW R32 engine (1923)

BMW R69S (1960s)

BMW R90S (1970s)

BMW R32 (1924)

R32 photos provided by Chris Ness; R69S from bmwdean.com; R90S from motorcyclistonline.com and other Internet sources

Early AirheadsWatch out for a future article on early BMW and other boxer airheads, in-cluding Ural, Dnepr, and Douglas. Let me know if you’d like to contrib-ute, have any interesting stories, facts or photos, or if you’d like to help me put this together.

John E. Pepper, [email protected]


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From Behind Bars John E. Pepper Philosophy, Space, Time & Distance

I’m writing this as I’m riding from Toronto to Calgary, where I’ll meet Angela and then continue on to Vancouver, making our way through the best of the Canadian and US Rockies. I’ve taken the US route through Min-nesota, North Dakota and Montana—which has lots of empty stretches of highway. Once you get to North Dakota the rolling prairie scenery is nice, and keeps getting better the further west you go. On these long trips by myself I always imagine I’ll have hours and hours to think and solve the world’s problems, or at least try to understand our universe a little better. I’ll be a modern-day Robert Pirsig.

But no, what goes on in my head is much more mundane.

Volume—How much air is my bike breathing in and expelling? I do the calculations in my head, often having to back up to keep track of the right number of zeroes. OK, an 1100cc four-stroke twin pumps that volume (ignoring pressure variations) every two revolutions. So,

at 4000rpm that’s 2000 x 1100cc every min-ute, or 2200 litres. That’s (hmmm..) 132,000 litres in an hour, or enough to fi ll 32 8” bal-loons (again, ignoring compression—and yes, I had to look that one up). Let’s say the whole trip there and back will take 150 hours of running (12,000km at an average of 80kph), that’s just under 20 million litres of air—or eight Olympic-sized swimming pools. Or one-quarter of the volume of the Albert Hall (re-member A Day in the Life by the Beatles?).

Distance—How far will the pistons have trav-elled during that same trip? The stroke of my 2001 BMW R1100S is 70mm, give or take. As-suming 4000rpm each piston travels through two strokes every revolution, so 8000 x 70mm each minute, which is 560 metres, or 33.6 km every hour. Multiply that by 150 hours equals 5,040 km (with a lot of averaging). Hmm, that’s surprising! Those frantically-oscillating pistons will have travelled less than half the distance the bike will have..

Time—Every time I enter a new time zone I gain an hour. Is that good or bad? I think it’s good. It means I arrive an hour early, and can get to bed earlier to be ready for the next day. How fast would I have to be riding to keep the setting sun in sight all the time...? Maybe

some other time—my brain’s tired.

So what else do I do? When the scenery is nice and the roads are interesting the miles and hours just fl y by. But when my neck begins to ache or when there’s nothing to look at (sorry Minnesota), I get bored and start some mindless activity like looking for signifi -cant digits on the odometer. The big ones like tens of thousands with lots of zeroes, or sym-metrical patterns, or a whole row of fours... Have I reached the half-way point? two-thirds, seven-eights? Cheesh.. I must be bored!

During the last couple of days however, none of that has been going through my mind. The curving roads demand my attention, which I gladly give, and the stunning scenery fi lls whatever brain-space is left. The miles and the hours go happily by. Now that’s how I really like to spend a day riding...

JEP


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This is a reminder of a new event being organised by the Eastern Shield section. Called the Norm Carr Classic, it is a dirt track event around a half-mile oval at the Bel-leville Fairground beginning at 1 pm on Saturday, 8th August. For further details see the Eastern Shield sec-tion report or contact Ian Taylor at [email protected].

The next events on the SWOVTG calendar are:

• 8 Aug—Haliburton 16376 Hwy 35, contact: Allan Robertson 705 489 2218

• 30 Aug—Simcoe 320 Decoe Rd (S of Hwy 3), contact: Lawrence Blakemore

For more information on their activities contact: [email protected]. The next event in the VRRA calendar is their annual Vintage Festival at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park, 21st-23rd August.

Get out there and enjoy some competition.

Neville Miller, [email protected]

Competition Report Neville Miller

Neville, sorry for omitting this photo from last month’s column. JEP . Quinte TT P1 250cc Final: Stan Nicholson (70, Greeves) leads Gary Mc-Caw (31, Ducati) and Robert Orr (774, Bultaco)

June 25, 2015

Ontario BSA Owners is an active group. We have a meeting annually in the spring and fall with attendance typically in the 15-25 range. Members look forward to the annual CVMG rallies in Paris, Ameliasburg (Quinte section), Dorchester (London section), Hepworth (Grey Bruce section), etc. and have also enjoyed BSA rallies in the U.S.A. (e.g., Massachusetts, Cali-fornia, and Ohio).

The weather and camaraderie at the 2015 Par-is CVMG Rally were terrifi c. Friday evening we went for a relaxing one-hour ride (15 bikes) on the beautiful meandering roads around Paris followed by an excellent meal (22 people) at the Legends Tap House and Grill at the south end of Paris. The fi sh and chip dinner there

is highly recommended. We displayed 7 BSAs on Saturday in the swap meet area. The BSA Starlite owned by Charles and Marcia Engvall received a lot of attention.

We’ve planned a camping weekend at West Montrose Family Camp (near Elmira and Wa-terloo) on July 2-6, 2015.

As owners of vintage motorcycles we expect the occasional breakdown but not a bike fi re. Below is John Cooper’s recent experience.

Bill and Heather Smith, [email protected]

Your bike’s on fi re!Early Sunday morning (May 24) I brought my BSA Golden Flash out of the garage and fi lled it up with gas from a container and left it in the driveway. I had volunteered to lead a ride for the Ontario BSA Owners leaving that morning from Paris. I went about my routine of coffee, reading the paper, and then breakfast. I was upstairs when Liz looked out the front window and saw smoke. Looking further to the side she proclaimed ‘your bike is on fi re’.

I ran downstairs and outside to the sight of fl ames and black smoke rising from the entire seat!

I had one fi re extinguisher in the garage and Liz grabbed one out of the kitchen. It took both of us to put the fi re out. The damage appeared extensive especially after the fi re retardant.

I was able to remove the black from the gas

tank. The seat was de-stroyed. The frame, top of the fender, tool box, and oil tank all needed paint. The battery, wiring har-ness, and Podtronics were destroyed.

What happened? I can only speculate that fi ll-ing the tank, then leaving it to heat and ex-pand in the early morning sun caused gas to run out of the fi ller cap. It is also possible that the fuse was on the positive lead on the bat-tery. As the bike is positive ground this means the hot wire is the negative allowing it to short out. I feel lucky that Liz spotted the fi re when she did as another few minutes not only the bike would have been destroyed but also the car, garage and house.

Lesson: Don’t park a bike with a full fuel tank in the sun, and keep fi re extinguishers handy!

John Cooper

Ontario BSA Owners A CVMG Special Interest Group

(Left) One of the most famous pictures of Mike Hailwood, on a Honda RC166 250cc six-cylin-der; (Right) Mike on the MV Augusta four (photos from egli-vincent.net)


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Renewals are due within 30 days of your re-newal date which is found on your mailing address with a hard copy or in your online profi le.

The membership levels are now:

• Full member Canada ($40)

• Full member Outside Canada ($45)

• Full member + 1, 2 or 3 associates (+$5 per associate)

• Full member outside Canada with 1, 2 or 3 associates

If you would like a hardcopy of the CVMG News it is an additional $12 ($1/month)—Where else can you get such quality for $1 a month?

If you have no email address you will auto-matically be mailed a copy. Renewal can be made on line or by mail.

Dale Prisley, Membership [email protected]

Full MembersKen McClure Nickel BeltAlec Peirce Barrie-HuroniaScott Peter LondonStephanie Ramon Old Fort YorkRick Richards Grand RiverWill Robinson Rideau LakesAndrew Scott Old Fort YorkEric Skinner LondonSteven-Alick Smider MuskokaDave Smith Rocky MountainRyan Stack Niagara PeninsulaArnel Tanglao GPRMichelle Tennier QuinteKeith Turner Grey-BruceMike Walker Barrie-HuroniaMichael Wallace Niagara PeninsulaVince Wazonek NationalJohn Welch Nickel BeltWayne Wilson National

Welcome New Members for AugustAssociate MembersClarisse Robinson Essex-Kent Full MembersMohamed Alnouri KeystoneDianne Best KeystoneJeff Bouchard Golden HorseshoeRobert Clark QuinteCorey Comely BCGraham Dewhurst LondonDavid Gilbey GPRKevin Grubb GanaraskaStuart Hardcastle S. SaskatachewanBrayden Haskell LondonDan Hay KitchenerPatrick Julig Niagara PeninsulaMarc Lessard Credit ValleyNathaniel Lickley KitchenerRoger McCallen Barrie-Huronia

Time to check the address label on this issue of the CVMG News—your renewal may be due soon!

Membership Report Dale Prisley


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The WarriorsBritish singles that held the world at bay—fi ghting off international multi-cylinder contenders John E. Pepper

One could say the story began in a time and place far, far from here. The very name evokes magic, and it’s a place

where fairies are still real. Warriors from around the world would gather (and still gath-er) to fi ght for supremacy and honour. War-riors who say hello to the fairies under the bridge—knowing that not to do so could bring bad luck. Warrior and steed pitted against warrior and steed. Which is more important to success—or survival..? One hundred mile an hour laps in the mist and rain around a history-drenched island in the Irish Sea—de-manding the very best of man and machine. To win. To stay alive.

So what’s so special about the Isle of Man?

After accusations of corruption and collu-sion regarding the 1906 International Cup for Motor-Cycles, Freddie Straight, secretary of the Auto Cycle Union, together with broth-ers Charlie and Harry Collier of the Matchless company, proposed a race the following year for touring motorcycles (hence the Tourist Tro-phy or TT) to be held on the Isle of Man on closed public roads. Charlie Collier won the fi rst race on May 28th, 1907, on a Matchless, around the earlier and shorter Clypse course (ten laps of fi fteen miles) in four hours and eight minutes, at an average speed of 38mph. Since then the Isle of Man has been one of the premier racing circuits in the world. Of the many makes and types of motorcycles that made history there and elsewhere, the British racing single has to be the most important in motorcycle racing’s development.

This article is intended to give a brief descrip-tion of the battle the great British singles fought after World War 2 against a rising tide of more powerful and faster multi-cylinder machines from Europe, and then from Japan. It was a losing battle, but not one that was conceded gently. Those roaring warriors did not go gentle into the good night of obscuri-ty. Go to Mosport or any other VRRA vintage racing festival and it can still stir your spirit to see (and hear) a Manx Norton, Matchless G50, BSA, Velocette and Rudge singles take on younger, fi tter multi-cylinder competitors. My story will start with Norton, but it could just as well be any other British manufacturer that supported racing teams in the couple of decades before and after World War 2.

Norton Racing SinglesNorton motorcycles played a key part in the British singles’ battle against the tide of Eu-ropean and later Japanese multis. There are many books written about the history of James Lansdowne Norton’s company and the machines he and his team developed. Much of the following is inspired by the book simply titled Norton by Dennis Howard. Other British manufacturers have similar stories.

Single-cylinder Nortons (that was all there was) did very well at races in Ireland, Britain, Europe and on the Isle of Man in the 1920s with their OHV model 18, with which Stanley Woods won the 1926 Senior TT. The follow-ing year Bert Denley became the fi rst person to ride a British 500cc single at an average of over 100mph at Montlhery on an OHV. Nor-ton’s opposition, however, had fi gured out that to extract more power from a motorcycle engine required a change to overhead cam-shaft confi guration. Norton’s Walter Moore re-sponded with two new ‘camshaft’ models. The CS1 was 500cc version, the letters standing for Camshaft Senior. The 350cc Camshaft Ju-nior was the CJ. The CS1 had the same 79mm x 100mm bore and stroke dimensions as its OHV stablemate. Two pairs of bevel gears and a vertical shaft drove the camshaft in a box mounted atop the cylinder. A new frame was introduced and the ‘fl at’ tank abandoned in favour of a saddle type. In 1930 a Norton CS1 sold for £79 10s compared to the ohv push-rod Model 18 at £50 10s. After Walter Moore

transferred to NSU (and that’s a story in itself) Norton designers Arthur Carroll and the great Joe Craig continued the development produc-ing the International. Overhead camshaft sin-gles were the ultimate in racing engines by the start of the 1930s.

As early as 1932, however, seasoned racers Alec Bennett and Freddie Dixon were talking to the motorcycling press about the impend-ing demise of the single cylinder machine in favour of twins and multis. Norton, as many other manufacturers, may have agreed, but the cost of development would have been pro-hibitive. So things stayed as they were.

By 1935 Stanley Woods had moved to the Moto Guzzi team, which was to break Norton’s dom-inance of the Senior TT, beating out Norton rider Jimmy Guthrie by a mere four seconds. Nortons were to take third and fourth posi-tions. The next year Jimmy Guthrie and his Norton took back the number one spot, and Nortons also took third, fourth and fi fth places (Velocette took second), and a similar lineup resulted in 1937—but the grip was broken, and a tiny crack had appeared in the British singles’ cloak of invincibility. Jimmy Guthrie, by the way, was a gutsy Scot, and a physical fi tness fanatic. He regularly rode his replica TT Norton between his home and a gym he trained at. Local railway workers would often time him between two stations on a track par-allel to Jimmy’s route—producing evidence of ‘overenthusiastic’ velocity on public roads....

“On the ultra-fast Francorchamps circuit, we were really up against it, with a host of Italian multi-cylinder machines in opposition. Howev-er, a combination of many factors contributed to our ultimate success, not the least of these being a discussion on race tactics with Joe Craig during an evening stroll from our hotel down to the course.

“Practice had shown that, unhindered by the poorer-handling Gilera, Guzzio and MVs, we could lap just as fast, and quite by chance the organizers had provided fuel for the race which, to date, was the best yet encountered. Joe had taken full advantage of this by rais-ing the compression ratio to the limit of safety. Add to this the superb handling of the Norton, and we decided we were in with a chance…

By riding on the limit of adhesion throughout the race, increasing our lead only by fractions of a second per lap, we made it, followed home by a Gilera, only seconds behind. Great, great Norton days.”

Geoff Duke recounting the 1951 500cc Bel-gian Grand Prix in the foreword to Norton by Dennis Howard (Ballantines)


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Now, I realise it might not be completely fair or accurate to focus mainly on the IoM Senior TT, but my point is that the strong hold British singles had on the European racing scene was being threatened. In 1937 Jock West took sixth place on a BMW behind three Nortons and two Velocettes. In 1938 Jock and his BMW moved up to fi fth place with a similar mix of Nortons and Velocettes taking every other position in the top ten. In 1939, with war clouds rumbling, BMW destroyed Norton’s and Velocette’s dominance with Georg Meier and Jock West taking fi rst and second places, in what was to be the last British-German cooperation for quite a while. Brit Mau-rice Cann took ninth place on a Moto Guzzi.

By the late thirties supercharging had come on the scene, and the Germans and Italians were quick to take advantage of this technology. In the 1936 Swedish Grand Prix blown BMWs com-pletely vanquished the normally-aspirated Nor-tons. By 1938 an overhead cam Norton could produce around 55 BHP using the petrol-benzole mix of the day. (A ‘blown’ BMW, such as the RS 255 Kompressor, produced over 80 bhp) In the 1937 German GP a furious battle developed be-tween Jimmy Guthrie on a Norton and Karl Gall on a supercharged BMW. The BMW was the fast-er machine, but Guthrie and his Norton weren’t giving anything away. Unfortunately Guthrie, pushing the Norton to the limit, crashed and sustained fatal injuries. With his passing, an era ended. Norton’s continental rivals were produc-ing considerably faster machines. Nortons had a slight edge in handling, but the writing was on the wall. 1937 marked the end of a successful run for Norton. As one observer remarked in Mo-tor Cycling ‘We must produce supercharged mul-tis for racing NOW.’ The gauntlet was thrown—what would Joe Craig and his team do to climb back on top?

In May 1938 Craig and Norton announced a ‘completely new’ racing mount. From end to end the new TT machines were new, although still using the single OHC concept that had been successful up to then. The bore was increased to allow larger valves to be used, the stroke was shortened to limit cylinder speed. Compression was increased, and deep fi nning used to improve cooling. An oil cooler was also fi tted. The frame was also changed signifi cantly. At the front, large-diameter tubes rigidly mounted to the

steering head were the forerunners of the famous Norton Roadholder telescopic forks. During prac-tice at the North West 200 Freddie Frith stated that the new machine had ‘considerably more urge’ and vastly improved handling. In the au-tumn of 1938 Harold Daniell made an attack on the lap record at Donington Park on his alcohol-fueled Norton, beating the track’s standing 500cc and 1000cc records. How successful would this be? The world would have to wait a while to see.

In 1939 Norton had made a commitment to produce military machines for both the Rus-sian and British governments, and withdrew from offi cial racing support. They did, however, make 1938 machines available to Daniell and Frith, although this was not publicized. The non-supercharged Nortons were capable of around 120mph, but the BMWs they were up against were at least 25mph faster. In the Ulster GP later that year, Freddie Frith described how, when fl at out and chin on the tank, Dorino Serafi ni on a blown transverse four-cylinder Gilera Rondine drew alongside, gave Freddie a friendly grin, then pulled back the throttle and disappeared into the distance. According to eastsleepride.com the 500cc DOHC Rondine developed 80 hp and was capable of 140mph without streamlining, and up to 170mph with. The British singles were losing the battle. What would have happened if Norton had heeded the signals earlier? The racing scene in the late thirties could have been very different.

In August 1945 Norton Motors were released from their contract to supply military machines—and the pre-war models were once again offered for sale. On the sporting and racing scene the former CS1 and CJ ‘camshaft’ models became the Internationals. Production racing machines were listed as the 30M (500cc) and 40M (350cc), and became known as the Manx. With the start of racing in 1947 there was very little time for any serious development, and the TT machines were basically 1938 works models with some minor modifi cations.

Norton CS1, International & ManxFrom 1922 Norton had enjoyed considerable suc-cess with the racing version of the overhead valve Model 18—with Stanley Wood’s Senior TT win in 1926 and numerous wins on the European GP circuit. In 1927 Albert Denley averaged over

“1932 – Those two well-seasoned racing men Alec Bennett and Freddie Dixon were talk-ing freely to the Press about the demise of the single-cylinder racing engine and the need for multi-cylinder units to replace them as soon as possible. Norton in concert with other manu-facturers stated that it might be desirable, but the cost would be terrifi c, and while they were winning so many races with comparative ease using the proven single-cylinder engines, they were not immediately concerned….” From the book Norton by Dennis Howard

From 1949 until the mid-1960s, Brit-ish over-the-counter single-cylinder four-srokes like the Norton Manx and the later Matchless G50 were the ma-chines of choice for privateers that made up the bulk of FIM Grand Prix racing grids. Norton ceased produc-tion of the Manx racer in 1962 and Matchless parent company AMC fol-lowed suit the following year, though it continued producing and selling G50 engines and racing parts for sev-eral years.

In 1962 the fi nancially struggling Nor-ton brand was absorbed into AMC, but by 1966 AMC too was in fi nancial trouble. That was when race special-ist Colin Seeley purchased the AMC works department, including tooling and production rights for engines and spares. This included the G50 and 7R ‘Boy Racer’ and the 350 and 500cc Manx.

Seeley, along with others such as the Rickman brothers, Tom Kirby and Tom Arter continued to support British singles racing in the 500 GP class, developing machines with bet-ter handling, improved braking and increased power. Even so, the Brit singles produced barely 50 bhp at the rear wheel—a good 30 less than the class-leading works MV Augusta triples and Honda factory fours.

Following the 1967 season, Honda, after trying unsuccessfully to wrestle the 500 GP crown away from Giacomo Agostini and MV Augusta, suddenly withdrew from GP competition. From that point on 500 GP events would largely consist of Ago tearing off into the sunset setting new lap records, while the rest of the grid would fi ght it out well behind on aging British singles....

Extracted and adapted from ‘The Linto’ an article about Lino Tonti’s late-sixties 500 GP twin by Graham Clayton


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100mph for one hour at Montlhery on a Model 18. Norton’s opposition, however, were de-veloping overhead camshaft machines which produced more power from the same capac-ity. This prompted Norton’s Walter Moore to respond with the CS1 and CJ models.

In 1932 Norton introduced the ‘International’ models 30 (500cc) and 40 (350cc) designed by Arthur Carroll. These were produced un-til 1958. In 1935 Norton works rider Jimmie Guthrie set several world speed records on a Norton International at the concrete bowl track in Montlhery—including setting a new one-hour world record of 114.09 mph. The term ‘Manx’ was fi rst used in 1938 to celebrate TT victories.

After World War II Norton again dominated the Senior TT scene, taking fi rst and second place in 1947, and all three podium places in 1948. In 1949 the double-overhead cam Manx was introduced. In 1950 Geoff Duke won his fi rst Senior TT with a lap record of 93.33 mph on the fi rst of the new featherbed Manx Nortons, followed by Artie Bell and Johnny Lockett also on Nortons. Norton won all Senior TTs until 1954, after which Gilera (Geoff Duke in 1955 and Bob McIntyre in 1957) and MV Augusta (John Surtees in 1956, 1958, 1959 and 1960) took the lead. Norton still took a respectable number of 2nd, 3rd and 4th places in those years, fi ghting hard and refusing to give up.

Norton’s swan song year, however, was 1961 when the great Mike Hailwood won with Nor-ton’s fi rst over-100 mph average, the Norton team also taking 2nd, 3rd and 4th places! Nor-ton still managed 2nd, 3rd and 4th places in 1962, but the reign was over with Gary Hock-ing on an MV Augusta taking fi rst. Matchless and Norton managed to show a few respect-able places in the top four until 1968, but British domination of the TT was over.

Between 1931 and 1962 Norton managed fi fty-one out of a total of seventy-fi ve podium places, more than twice all other makes com-

bined! And on single-cylinder machines! Until the German Senior TT victory in 1939 Nor-ton took all pre-war podium positions except fi ve—three second places to Stanley Woods on Velocettes, one to Ulsterman Walter Rusk, also on a Velocette, and of course Woods on the Moto Guzzi in 1935.

AJS & MatchlessThe 350cc AJS 7R was built from 1948 to 1963 by Associated Motor Cycles. Known as the ‘Boy Racer’, the 7R was fi rst successful with factory wins, then became a favourite for pri-vateers from 1954. Originally designed by Phil Walker, the chain-driven ohc benefi ted from the pedigree of pre-war AJS ‘cammy’ singles. The initial long-stroke (74 x 90mm) version produced 32 bhp at 7,500 rpm. In 1951 AMC development engineer Ike Hatch increased power output to 36 bhp with a three-valve ar-rangement. Tuning changes in 1954 made by Jack Williams increased power to 40 bhp at 7,800 rpm, which gave the 7R a top speed in the 115-120 mph range. With these improve-ments AJS won the fi rst two rounds of the 1954 World Championship and took 1st place in the IoM Junior TT. In 1956 the bore/stroke dimensions were changed to a more square 75.5 x 78mm. AJSs had good success winning the 1961, ‘62 and ‘63 Junior TT, and came in second in 1966, but like other British singles were losing ground to the European twins and multis.

AJS withdrew from factory racing after the death of Ike Hatch in 1954, but production versions of the two-valve 7R remained popular with private racers.

Although less than 200 were produced, the Matchless G50 is very well known, with a stel-lar reputation, and is one of the best-looking racing bikes of the time. The G50 was intro-duced as a replacement for the G45 twin, and was basically an enlarged AJS 7R designed by Jack Williams. The 496cc 90mm x 78 ohc single had an 11:1 compression ratio, and produced 52 bhp at 7,200 rpm. A 1958 pro-totype had gearbox trouble on the Island, but had better success in 1959 with Derek Pow-

ell taking 4th place and Alan Shepherd 7th in the Senior. Shepherd went on to win the 1962 GP in Finland, and came in a very respectable 2nd to Mike Hailwood on an MV at Spa, Ul-ster and Sachsenring. Argentinian Benedicto Caldarella also took home-turf GP victory on a G50 in 1962. Other successful G50 riders in-cluded Mike Duff, Phil Read and John Hartle. Duff, who spent the early 1960s racing in Eu-rope, won both the 350cc and 500cc classes at Nurburgring in 1962 and set race and lap records. He later won the 500 event in Hel-sinki and the 350 at the St Wendel course in Germany that year.

Although production ceased in 1963, Colin Seeley produced G50 specials from 1966. The G50 engine was used in the Tom Arter special ridden by Peter (son of Jack) Williams in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s, and in Jack Findlay’s ‘McIntyre Matchless’ which came second in the 1968 500cc World Championship.

Recognizing the threat of European multi-cylinder machines, in 1939 AJS developed a supercharged 500cc ohc V-4 which produced 55 bhp at 7,200 rpm. The war, and post-war banning of supercharging killed the project, but AJS, always up for a challenge with in-novative technology, returned with the 500cc Porcupine dohc twin—evidence that AJS un-derstood the days of the great British single were numbered.

VelocetteIn 1926 Irish-Canadian Alec Bennett won the Junior TT on a highly-tuned version of Velocette’s model K, and again in 1928, with Harold Willis on another Velocette in second place. Veloce Ltd. celebrated these spectacu-lar wins by offering the KTT customer version, the fi rst time a race replica had been offered to the public in signifi cant numbers. The KTT Mark I developed 28 bhp (compared to the K’s 20) and was capable of over 90mph. The en-gine was designed by Percy Goodman, son of Veloce’s founder John Goodman and featured the now familiar hemispherical head. As de-scribed by Graham Clayton in his article on the KTT in Inside Motorcycles “It didn’t take long for club racers and up and coming racing talents to recognise that the KTT was the bike to have for 350 GP class competition. In 1930,

(Top) Seeley Matchless G50; (left) the Norton Manx DOHC engine


P a g e 2 1

the fi rst eight riders home in the 350cc Manx GP—a proving ground for promising newcom-ers—were all riding KTT Velocettes.”

The KTT was continually improved over the years. The Mark III was given a four-speed box and engine improvements; the Mark IV had a better more rigid frame, and on to the Mark VIII of 1938 which was virtually identical to the 1937 factory works racers. The Mark VIII developed 27 bhp and was capable of 115mph. It was one of the fi rst makes to use now-con-ventional rear swinging arm suspension, in combination with Webb girder forks.

After the war in 1947 Velocettes owned the 350 class, taking the top four positions in the TT Junior as well as winning the Dutch and Swiss GPs. Similar successes followed in 1948. In 1949 Veloce brought in their dohc model which Freddie Frith won every GP and set lap records. Sadly, 1950 was Velocette’s last season. In 1950 Percy Goodman died and production stopped, although KTTs were used by privateers for another decade or more. Pro-

jecting Velocette’s path of success it seems obvious that if development had been allowed to continue, the marque would have been at the forefront of the phalanx of British single warriors.

In 1931 Velocette produced a special super-charged 348cc KTT at the IOM TT. It was affec-tionately known as ‘Whiffl ing Clara’ by design-er-rider Harold Willis due to the sound made by pressure leaking out of the fuel tank and fl oat chamber after a run. The system didn’t work very well, and in 1931 was raced in the TT with the supercharger removed. In 1932 Velocette tried again, but retired because of technical diffi culties. Further development was abandoned as the company focused on their 500cc twin cylinder ‘Roarer.’ Willis was key in Velocette’s development of successful racing machinery, but sadly died (of menin-gitis following a minor operation) and never lived to see Stanley Woods’ great performance on the 350 in the 1939 Junior TT.

Grand Prix Contenders in the 1950sIn his book Motorcycle Road Racing in the Fifties, Andrew McKinnon lists a number of motorcycle makes that have had signifi cant success on the track and commercially. Mo-torcycle racing in the 1950s was dominated by the British and the Europeans, but it wouldn’t be long until the Japanese would give every-one a run for their money.

Single-cylinder machines of the day included the 350cc AJS 7R and the Matchless G50. In 1959 the G50 replaced its twin-cylinder sister, the G45, as the company’s warrior of choice,

and had a lot of similarities to the 7R from which it was derived. Norton had always been hugely popular and successful, but had been seriously challenged in the years coming up to WWII by supercharged Gileras and BMWs in the 500cc series, and by Velocette and the blown DKW in the 350 class. When racing re-sumed after the war Norton carried on with modifi ed pre-war machines. Supercharging had been banned, so these machines, in the capable hands of riders like Harold Daniell, Artie Bell, Ernie Lyons and Johnny Lockett gave Norton initial success, but by 1949 other machines like the AJS Porcupine, Gilera and Moto-Guzzi had more power and higher top speeds. Norton didn’t even manage to get in the top six for the 1949 Italian Grand Prix.

This put tremendous pressure on Norton, as it did on other British manufacturers, and it was only Norton’s development of the Craig-designed DOHC Manx engine and the Feath-erbed frame that kept the marque in the run-ning for the rest of the decade. Even Norton had plans for a twin and even a four-cylinder racing engine, but the latter was never devel-oped beyond a prototype. One signifi cant fac-tor in Norton’s success

European singles included a Benelli 250cc which took GP victory in 1950, the Taglioni-designed desmodromic Ducati 125cc that car-ried Degli Antoni to lap every other rider at the 1956 Swedish Grand Prix, and Mike Hail-wood to record-setting victory in the 1959 Ul-ster Grand Prix. Moto Guzzi produced a 27hp 109mph 250cc single known as Gambalung-hino (little long-leg) due to its unusually long 68mm stroke. The Gamba won the Lightweight TTs in 1949, 1951, 1952 and 1953, and world titles in 1949, 1951 and 1952 – reputedly not because of its power, but its superior handling and even the ability to adjust the fuel tank to suit a particular rider’s arms. Morini produced 125cc, 175cc and 250cc DOHC singles which enjoyed some success. The Morini 250cc DOHC produced 36 bhp at an incredible (for a single) 10,500 rpm. The 500cc singles typi-cally produced just under 50hp at around 7,200 rpm.

Through the 1950s leading multi-cylinder con-tenders in the larger classes included Ducati twins, four-cylinder Gileras and v-twin Guzzis. Dickie Dale rode a sensational 500cc 178mph Moto-Guzzi V8 at the 1957 Isle of Man Senior TT. MV-Augusta achieved 82 classic victories and 15 world championships through the 1950s, and unlike many other Italian man-ufacturers, did not pull out of racing in the latter part of the decade. In the 1949 350cc and 500cc European Grand Prix and TT cir-cuit, Velocette, AJS and Norton dominated the podium positions. Gileras had a few follow-up

From 1949 until the mid-1960s, British over-the-counter single-cylinder, four-stroke machines like the Norton Manx and later the Matchless G50 were the pre-ferred machines of the privateers that made up the bulk of FIM Grand Prix Racing grids.

From The Linto, by Graham Clayton

CVMG member Neville Miller’s 1947 Velocette MAC at the 2013 Paris rally (photo by John Pepper)

Neville Miller’s replica of the KSS which Alec Bennett took to victory in 1928—the model that subsequently became known as the KTT (In-side Motorcycles)


P a g e 2 2

positions in the 500, and won the Dutch TT. By 1950 the scene was heavily dominated by MV (frequently with the great John Surtees aboard), with Norton bravely fi lling in num-ber three spots in the 350cc and 500cc world champion series. The writing was on the wall.

The Mike Duff StoryCanadian Michelle Duff tells of her Grand Prix racing career in the book Make Haste Slowly. Mike (now Michelle) Duff, was the fi rst North American and only Canadian ever to win a world championship GP race, winning the 1964 250 Belgian GP at Spa Francorchamps, the 1965 125 Dutch GP at Assen and the 1965 250 Finnish GP. In 1964 Duff fi nished 3rd in the 350 world championship riding a private 350 AJS 7R single. In 1965 riding a

factory Yamaha RD56 250 twin he fi nished 2nd in the 250 world championship. Although he never won a world title or Isle of Man TT, Duff rode some of the period’s most exotic rac-ing machines. In the 1960s, when Japanese manufacturers began their dominance in in-ternational racing, Duff had the opportunity to experience historic battles between riders like Mike Hailwood, Phil Read, Jim Redman Gia-como Agostini, Luigi Taveri and Bill Ivy. The book is well worth reading.

The Changing Face of Motorcycle RacingIn the motorcycling Grands Prix for 1935, 1936 and 1937 British singles held absolute control with Jimmie Guthrie on Norton taking the 500cc championships in all three years. Nortons also took the 350cc series with Wal Handley, Freddie Frith and Jimmie Guthrie in the saddle. The big cracks appeared in the armour with BMW (Georg Meier) taking the 1938 500cc championship. Ted Mellors held onto the 350cc series with Velocette. In 1939 Gilera under Dorino Serafi ni had edged out the Brits for the 500cc series, and DKW had taken the 350.

In the 1949 World Championship the inevita-ble changes continued. Les Graham took fi rst 500cc GP place on an AJS Porcupine twin. Second and third places went to Nello Pagani and Arcisco Artesanio on Gileras. Bill Doran took the number four spot with AJS, leaving places 5, 6 and 7 to Norton. The remainder of the 1949 500 GP fi eld was made up of a mix of Moto-Guzzi, Velocette, Triumph, AJS and Norton.

The story continued through the 1950s and 1960s. Gilera and Umberto Masetti took the 1950 500 championship, with Geoff Duke on a Norton taking second. Third place went to Les Graham on an AJS Porcupine, followed by Gilera in 4th and 5th spots, and Norton bravely tailing them with 6th and 7th places. As with the 1949 season, British singles did a little better in the 350cc series. Bob Foster on a Velocette took fi rst place with Geoff Duke on a Norton taking second. Les Graham with the AJS Porcupine took number 3. Familiar names Artie Bell and Reg Armstrong took number 4 and 5 spots. The remaining fi eld was made up of Norton, Velocette and AJS.

By 1955 Geoff Duke had transferred to Gilera, taking fi rst place in that year’s 500cc series. Reg Armstrong, also on Gilera took second. The next six places were taken by MV Au-gusta, Gilera and Moto-Guzzi multis. Nortons took the back of the pack with spots 8 and 11. In the 350cc class Moto-Guzzi took four out

of the fi rst 5 places, with DKW taking third. Again Norton were relegated to 6th, 8th and 9th place with riders John Surtees, Bob Mc-Intyre and John Hartle.

In 1960 John Surtees too had ‘gone Italian’ and took fi rst place in the 500cc series with MV Augusta. Other than Bob Brown on a Nor-ton taking fourth, MV dominated the year’s series. Mike Hailwood, also on a Norton took number 6. All places beyond that were taken by Norton, with the exception of BMW (Fumio Ito and Hans-Gunther Jaeger) and Alan Shep-herd on a Matchless. Phil Read MBE, winner of eight world championships between 1964 and 1977, is Britain’s most successful living motorcycle road racer—with an Isle of Man Junior TT victory in 1961 he was the last rider to win a TT on a British machine.

By 1970 works Nortons, Matchless G50s and AJS 7Rs had disappeared from the interna-tional racing scene, but Colin Seeley versions of the 500cc G50 and 350cc 7R continued to place respectively among Italian multis, Kawa-saki and Yamaha.

British singles must be remembered as the pinnacle of motorcycle racing before World War 2, and held on bravely against BMW and Italian multis for another couple of decades.But, like a lot of good things, their time has come and gone from contemporary racing. Keeping these gutsy machines alive through vintage competition series is one way of pre-serving the history and character of a period of motorcycling racing that will never be re-peated. I know I love to watch, hear and smell these old warriors at VRRA and other vintage racing events.

See you there.

John E. Pepper

Sources and references:

• Motorcycle Road Racing in the Fifties, An-drew McKinnon (Osprey)

• British Racing Motorcycles, Mick Walker (Redline Books)

• Make Haste Slowly—The Mike Duff Story, Michelle Duff (Mad8 Publications)

• The Manx Norton, Mick Walker (Redline Books)

• Norton, Dennis Howard (Ballantine)

• Racing Line—British Motorcycle Racing in the Golden Era of the Big Single, Bob Gun-tip (Veloce)

• Rapid Classics—Velocette’s Winning KTT 350, Graham Clayton (Inside Motorcycles)

Mike Duff (number 27) at Oulton Park on his AJS 7R 350 in 1961, ahead of Mike Hailwood (number 1) and Alan Shepherd. “I particularly like this photo for the suggestion that I am lead-ing both Mike and Alan, but the truth be known I am about to be lapped by these two leaders.” (www.michelle-duff.ca)

I had arrived in England in the early spring of 1961 to contest my second season of British short circuit racing. I took immediate delivery of my new Matchless G50, but could not af-ford to pick up the 350 AJS 7R until early May. Here is a photo of my 7R a few hours after I collected it from the factory in Plumstead sitting in the driveway of my residence in Winchester. Without question it is a very pretty bike, per-haps one of the most beautiful production rac-ing bikes of the time. In its class the bike was very competitive and served me well for two full racing seasons. I sure wish I still had it. For the longest time it was my favourite racing motor-cycle. - Michelle Duff

In 1968, Agostini on the superior MV Agus-ta won all ten rounds of the 500cc. Agostini not only set new lap records on each track but sometimes he even lapped the whole fi eld like on this occasion on the fast Sachsenring circuit. (Source Met-zeller)


P a g e 2 3

Few know the extent that Honda and I worked together in the 1970s to develop fairings for the GL1000. Considering

the fact that in 2010, the GL became an AMCA Classic, this is a good time to tell this story.

The Vetter Windjammer fairing had been an instant success after its introduction in 1972. By 1974, over 35,000 Windjammers had been produced. The Windjammer III, the fi rst ver-sion with Lowers, was about to be introduced. In August of 1974 (before anybody knew there was a GL1000) Mr. Cedric Shimo, VP of Hon-da International Trading Company, called me at my Illinois studio to discuss the possible manufacturing of a Honda-designed fairing. Would I fl y to Honda’s Suzuka assembly plant in Japan to discuss it? There I saw the fairing they had designed. It looked like a slimmed-down Windjammer, but they would give me no idea which bike it was intended for. A month later at the Las Vegas Show I found out.

After seeing their fairing on this monstrous new Honda, I told Mr. Shimo that I thought the design would be a mistake because it was too small for the bike. I explained that the big-ger Windjammer fairing was more appropri-ate for the way Americans rode. They insisted that this was what they wanted. Reluctantly, I agreed to produce it for them with the un-derstanding that if they ever decided that it

wasn’t right, they would come to me fi rst for the next design.

Early in 1975, Honda delivered their fairing and the fi rst three production GL1000s to Il-linois. (A red one, yellow and turquoise) We spent the next year converting their technol-ogy for fairings (SMC) to our technology (Vac-uum-formed ABS). Honda engineers came in from Japan regularly to follow our work.

There was a reason why Honda enjoyed a great reputation. They were very competent. I was impressed. I would have liked to met Mr. Honda but he had just retired from active management of the company two years before in 1973. I am sure we would have liked each other.

Finally, the Big Day came at Honda’s facility in Gardena:

So, what does this have to do with the Wind-jammer story? As we got comfortable with each other, Honda gave us permission to use our loaner GLs to make hardware to fi t up my own Windjammer III fairing. Consequently, we had Windjammer brackets for GLs before Honda dealers even had the motorcycles.

It got better:

Honda agreed to share their candy color paint formulas with us - which sometimes involved

(Left) 1975: When the GL was new and I was 33 (Above) Las Vegas, September 1974: Honda in-troduced the GL1000 and Hondaline fairing; (Be-low) Look at those guys! Is this fun or what?

CLASSIC WING CLUB—DECEMBER 2014REPRINTED FROM CRAIGVETTER.COM

Honda GL1000 and the Vetter years:1975-77


P a g e 2 4

four different layers of metal fl ake and trans-lucent paint! When the 1978 GL1100s were introduced, we had perfectly color matched Vetter Windjammer SS fairings and saddle-bags.

In the meantime, Windjammer fairings had become very popular. In fact, over half of the GL1000s were fi tted with Windjammer fairings. For our famous color ads of 1976, I prepared a special silver Windjammer III with orange pin striping to match the new GL. A 1975 turquoise GL with a silver Windjammer III still makes my heart beat a little faster.

The Honda GL1000 with its Vetter equipment demonstrated that there was a major, unreal-ized market in the US for a large touring bike. Unusual for a Japanese company, Honda stayed with the same design for three years. The result was that American accessory mak-ers were able to tool up for extra lights, radios, CBs, racks, rear luggage and trailers. All this “stuff” made the GL even more desirable be-cause personalizing our motorcycle is one of

the things we like to do. The GL “aftermarket” became big. Because of this, it is hard today to fi nd a pristine, original

The 1970s were heady years for motorcycling. At Vetter, we doubled manufacturing every year, and still had a hard time keeping up with the demand for Windjammers. We were al-ways behind. One day in 1976 (memorialized in the John Marsh painting above) Carol, who then was in charge of Vetter Dealers, informed me that Honda customers were not taking de-livery of their bikes until Windjammers were installed.

If you were Mr. Honda, could you afford to let that happen?

Clearly, it would be just a matter of time be-fore motorcycles would come from the fac-tories with fairings on them. Working with Honda on their “Hondaline” fairing would have helped us all but, a disastrous fi re at Vetter in early 1977 destroyed the Hondaline molds. Although it was a minor setback for their production, it had become clear to Honda that their Hondaline fairing was not going to be competitive with the Windjammer. Honda quietly dropped the project. About 50 Honda-line Fairings were made. All but one went to Japan... disposition unknown.

I saved one which is now in the AMA Motor-cycle Hall of Fame collection in Pickerington, Ohio.

We went on in 1977 to introduce the most refi ned Windjammer ever, the SS along with matching luggage. The Company continued its explosive growth. But for me, it was a time for some major changes. Carol and I got married and at the end of 1978 sold Vetter Corpora-tion. As a result, I never had the chance to design the new fairing for Honda.

Three years later, Hondas came from the fac-tory with fairings made in Japan

In 1980, a new GL1100, called the Interstate, appeared with its own fairing from the factory, which was, in every aspect, a “Windjammer from Japan”. Today’s Aspencade with two more cylinders and more electronics contin-

ues to refl ect its original GL heritage.

I think this is an amazing story of coopora-tion between two companies that together, made motorcycle history. After 35 years, Honda’s GL1000 now qualifi es as a genuine AMCA Classic, eligible to be judged in national competition. Fortunately, “Period correct” ac-cessories do not have to be removed, which means Windjammer-equipped GLs can be judged as we actually rode them.

A major portion of this website features stories and pictures of Vetter owner’s bikes, then and now. Many, like Harald Renndorff’s rig above are beautiful Gl1000s.

Much of this website chronicles what is cor-rect for a Windjammer and will serve as a good resource for restorers. Many of the parts need-ed to restore Windjammer fairings are now available from our Company Store.

This article was adapted from material sent in by Bruce McNab from the Craig Vetter website. It appeared in an issue of the Classic Wing Club newsletter earlier this year

(Above) 1975: Vetter ad shots in Telluride, Colo-rado; (Below right) How it was in 1975-1977 for Vetter and Honda

Check out CraigVetter.com for more inter-esting articles and replacement parts for your Vetter fairings

Craig Vetter today


P a g e 2 5

Honda GL1000 Goldwing Road TestORIGINAL ARTICLE FROM CLASSIC-MOTORBIKES.NET

Riding with Wings

When Honda introduced the fi rst of the GL series at the 1974, Cologne show the rest of the world could never have

imagined it would create a whole new breed of motorcyclist and riding style, let alone still be around in one form or another today. Most had considered a larger version of the CB750 to be on the cards, however few had guessed correctly. Now in its fourth decade and its fi fth generation of continued production the Gold-wing is a true phenomenon of modern motor-cycling. The machine combined what appeared to be a perfectly normal, conventional chassis and cycle parts wrapped around nothing less than a car engine to create a perfectly well be-haved machine. The overhead camshaft fl at-four resembled something out of the back of a Volkswagen car and is technically nothing out of the ordinary, just good sound engineering practise put together in typical Honda style. Despite looking like an automobile engine in-side the fl at four was all pure motorcycle with large valves and hemispherical combustion

chambers producing a healthy output for the period, pumping four large pistons that sat on top of a CB750 like fi ve speed gearbox.

Although often ridiculed for being too big and heavy, in reality the GL1000 is a surprisingly nimble machine, hiding its not inconsiderable mass well thanks to the low slung fuel tank and fl at layout of the horizontally opposed engine. In effect there is little of any weight above ankle height, even the gearbox is situ-ated deep in the bilges, making the machine easy to throw around even at speed. Whilst on the subject of speed for its time the GL was no slouch either being as fast as the benchmark

sports motorcycles with a top speed a shade over the 125mph mark and a 12.73 second standing quarter, faster than a Porsche 911. In use the early GL1000 is a real doddle to get the hang of with few vices, save for the spongy rear shocks that once loaded up are little problem. With a wheelbase a shade longer than a “normal” motorcycle the general han-dling is impressive, combine this with good brakes and a laid-back demeanour and riding the wing is addictive fun. It does feel at times however like the brakes could snap the front forks such is the combined power of them and the weight backing up behind the front wheel, it is all in the mind however and I cant recall an instance of any Goldwings snapping in half at the squeeze of the front bake lever, nonethe-less Honda did fi t larger and larger diameter forks as the model developed over the years. A strange idea is the size of the rear brake be-ing 12mm larger in diameter than the front ro-tors and also grabbed by a more powerful twin opposed caliper rather than the single piston fl oating type used on the front. The rear disc effectively has a twenty percent bigger swept area for the pads to grip than the front discs making it way too powerful especially when stomped on by your best size nines.

Ground clearance is the limiting factor in cor-nering but one soon learns to ride accordingly by going in that little bit steadier before using the torque to stomp out, exiting probably as fast as if you had tried to go around on your knee but without decking the can covers. Of course many degrees of lean angle are eaten up by those hungry shocks and fi tting a longer stronger pair will aid the situation no end.

The fl at-four engine is a silkily smooth delight, even now some thirty years on, so one can only imagine the impact upon the biking com-munity way back at the types launch, pull-ing from way down low in the rev range and maintaining a smooth power curve all the way

to its redline with peak power being made a seven thousand rpm. The power is continuous and certainly up there with the Superbikes of the day with acceleration times and indeed top speeds equal to the mighty Z1 et al. Five perfectly chosen ratios seamlessly slot into the rev range to give the big machine yet another nudge with every shift towards its impressive three fi gure top speed. If you look in the biking bible under the entry for smooth gearboxes, nine times out of ten it will say “see Honda” and that is certainly the case here, aided by a clutch so light it would be better served on a middleweight machine, not a big heavy weight bike like this.

You can move weight around within a struc-ture to help, or indeed totally destroy its bal-ance, but you cannot ever lose that weight, it will always be there. It is this bulk that to-tally destroys the rear suspensions best plans of keeping the plot in shape, being a very ba-sic design of unit the damping fails miserably when passing all but the very smoothest if tar-mac. In typical Japanese testing style no doubt this bike did thousands of miles around a race track being tested by professional riders, this practice common in the sixties and seventies almost without exception failed to highlight a machines worst handling habits and really only served to push horse power limits to the maximum. Consequently we saw a generation of Japanese machines that looked and went


P a g e 2 6

superbly yet handled relatively poorly particu-larly when compared to the Latin machines that were usually developed in a more laid back and hands on style. The GL’s general demeanour is fi ne in a straight line, provid-ing cats eyes and thick white lines are steered away from but get in a bit of a mess mid corner and the big Wing gets all squirrely with the rear trying to do a better job of steering than the front, for a while it manages this challenge and the worse thing you can do is back off the throttle. The best thing you can do however is junk the original shocks and fi t a pair of more heavily damped units.

Shocks apart, the only real tangible fault that you can fi nd with the GL1000, bearing in mind its age and status in the biking world, is the rather pessimistic electric fuel gauge, the fi tting of which was yet another fi rst in the biking scheme of things. To be fair it was good of Honda to fi t one where it is, smack

bang in the middle of the faux tank where it would grab your attention at the right moment and had it been blessed with stunning or even half accuracy it would have been a good thing however the reading does drop, both suddenly and erratically, leading you into thinking you had better fi nd a gas station pretty soon, the reality of the situation is however that you will have many more miles left in the tank.

Honda GL1000 Goldwing Model History

The Goldwing project began in 1970, soon after the completion and subsequent launch of the radical CB750 four, the design brief was simple it must have a bigger capacity than both the Z1 Kawasaki and BMW R90 and produce more power and carry a greater load than the 1200 Electroglide. The aim was clear, challenge and overcome the domination of Harley Davidson in the US cruiser market. The Honda research people were keen to ex-plore the possibilities of ever increasing capac-ities taking the 750cc concept, fi rst seen with the 1968 CB, onto greater things with more power and torque being produced to good ef-fect. The prototype GL nicknamed the M1 or king of motorcycles was an elaborate design featuring a 1400cc six cylinder engine not un-like the later 1500cc Goldwing and Valkyrie of the mid 1980’s.

Once the basics of the design were forged the rest took care of itself mainly out of necessity, of course a fl at engine whether it be four or six cylinder either has to be liquid cooled or feature huge ducting to direct air to the rear cylinders as they sit behind their hot mates up front. The huge torque forces created by the crank spinning in line with the frame was clev-erly offset, unlike the similarly powered Guzzi and BMW’s, by driving the weighted alterna-tor in the opposite direction (the crank spins clockwise when viewed from the front) effec-tively dissipating the energy to reduce to noth-ing the negative impact upon the bike. The engine was quiet too with rubber belts driv-ing the camshafts and the water jackets hid-ing any extraneous sounds from the top end. The perfect primary balance kept everything smooth while a fi ve-speed gearbox, driving a wet multi plate clutch, handled the transmis-

sion via a large shaft to the rear wheel. Ignition wise once again there was nothing spectacular providing the sparks, no CDI or the like just a pair of good old fashion points although the advance retard mechanism was actuated via a vacuum system to take into account engine load.

Build quality was superb featuring wheels laced with wire spokes attached to aluminium rims, later models soon had the cheaper to make Comstar design, while the fake fuel tank up top opened up to reveal the electrics and also some storage space. The real fuel tank is situated below the seat very near the centre of gravity and helps melt away those 584 pounds of excess baggage far better than if the fi ve gal-lons had been balanced on top of the frame like a normal bike.

The type, despite a slow start with a mere four thousand sold in its debut year against a prediction far higher than that, did eventu-ally take off in the states and this in turn led to the opening and subsequent production of GL1000’s in America although considered a risky move the fi rst American built Wings left the factory in September 1979. That year the model also was increased in capacity via a 3mm larger bore size to 1083cc and with this change came a new CDI ignition system greatly helping the types reliability. Smaller carburettors were continually fi tted year on year to aid fuel consumption, this was a regu-lar area for criticism in the press at the time with some journos reporting fi gures as low as 15 mpg during sustained high speed use, the tank was also small for a long distance cruiser greatly exacerbating the problem of a heavy right wrist. The gearbox was revised too, mak-ing the towing of trailers and low speed pot-tering easier, along with a lowered seat and a lengthened wheelbase all aimed at making the king of tourers even more capable of the job in hand.

Honda wandered off a few years after the types introduction to fully develop the sportier mod-els like the CBX and the CB1100R but they did return and the GL grew in both capacity and stature within the two-wheeled commu-nity. The Goldwing is a massively popular life-style motorcycle possessing one of the largest followings, if not the largest, of any machine ever made and is without doubt the most de-veloped with an unbroken production run that has seen the basic GL1000 grow from an un-faired Superbike to the gargantuan long range six cylinder super cruiser we know today.

This article was adapted from material sent in by Bruce McNab from the Craig Vetter website. It appeared in an issue of the Classic Wing Club newsletter earlier this year

Honda GL1000 1975 Specifi cations:• Engine – liquid cooled horizontally op-

posed four-cylinder OHC • Capacity – 999cc • Bore & stroke – 72 mm x 61.4mm • Carburetion – 32mm CV • Max Power – 80 bhp @7000rpm • Torque – 63 ft-lb @5500 rpm • Ignition – contact breaker mechanical

advance • Transmission – Five-speed wet multi

plate clutch shaft drive • Frame – Steel twin loop cradle • Suspension – 37mm telescopic forks

twin rear shocks spring rate adjustable • Wheels – 3.50 x 19 front, 4.50 x 17 rear • Brakes – 280mm Dual disc, single pis-

ton fl oating caliper. 292mm Single disc, twin opposed piston caliper

• Wheelbase – 1545mm • Weight – 265 kgs • Fuel capacity – 22 litres • Top speed – 125mph


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Letters & Links Members’ Mailings, Hailings & Wailings The Other Side of the [Budget] Coin...While most members are supportive of the approved budget changes and recognize the need to balance our income and costs, there are a few dissenting opinions....

I am quite unhappy with the $12 fee for the hardcopy CVMG magazine, as are many oth-er members. Personally I cannot and will not sit in front of a computer to read 40 pages of CVMG news. Other members I have talked to feel the same, especially those that have no computer. Yes there still are some. I believe an increase of not $5, but $10 would have been a more fair way to cover the cost of printed matter.

I fi rst joined the Group for the camaraderie and the newsletter, 20 years ago and it has been a great experience but now I must ques-tion my upcoming renewal. $52/year seems excessive for the benefi ts I receive. (My INOA membership, including 6 newsletters is only $25/year Cdn.) I know of others who feel the same way. My other beef is with the insur-ance. As I understand, non members will not be allowed on group rides or attend monthly meetings. I am concerned that we may lose some perspective (sic) new members because they cannot experience these events.

Paul Reitel , Montreal section

Dear Sir (addressed to President Jim Briggs),

Today I received the June issue of the CVMG News. In it are the various reasons the edi-tor and others justify the raising of the year-ly dues by 50%. One $1 extra an issue etc. when this should be part of the $52 a year this costs. Who wants to read on the computer the monthly news. Certainly not most of the old guys that belong to this. I’m questioning what I get for $52 a year. I can go to the Paris rally and pay the same whether I’m a member or not. Why does this cost so much to run? The AGM should be done by phone and cut 30 grand it costs. The whole raising of the price is ridiculous.

Noel Elliott, Norfolk Section

(Thanks for the opinion Noel. I didn’t repeat all of the comments in your letter, as some were inappropriate. JEP)

Norman Villiers MemoriesJohn,

I took a squint at your CV at the CVMG na-tional website. I too used to have a Norman Villiers, my fi rst road-bike as a 16 year-old lad in the UK in 1969. It was a second- or third-hand Norman B3 with the fabulous (!) 250cc Villiers 2T twin. Ace bars, rear sets, my home-made wooden “racing seat”, and of course

clouds of blue smoke wherever I went!

I imported one of those 2T engines a few years ago into Montreal, in two suitcases of parts (excess baggage charges!) I refurbished it, and tested it at our Ormstown annual rally last summer. It is now looking for a home.

Thanks for your great work for us all at CVMG-HQ !

Cheers, Andy Hall, Montreal section

Villiers 2T twin shown here at First Start-up, 2014 Ormstown Rally. Pipes made from water fi ttings and electrical conduit. (Thanks Andy, this brings back memories.... JEP)

Missing Irishmen... Hi John. I really like your efforts in the CVMG magazine. I enjoyed the article on the Irish contribution to motorcycling but think you missed on another fi ne example of great Irish talent. Sammy Miller was Irish and given his success as a road racer in the 50s and early 60s and his off road expertise in trials with his refi nement of the Ariel HT5 and his develop-ment of the modern trials motorcycle in 1965 with Bultaco He is the reason there is a pre 65 two day trial in conjunction with the Scot-tish 6 day trial event. His development of the Honda trials bikes in the mid 70s and even his input for SWM in the late 70s I feel it’s a shame he did not get a mention.

Regards Dave Butler

(Thanks Dave - check out the July issue. I add-ed some info on Sammy Miller, Ralph Bryans, Reg Armstrong and Irish/Canadian Alec Ben-nett.... JEP)

Corruption ScandalJohn,

I just wanted to let you know that I attended the 2015 AGM and was a witness to the “Pay-day” scandal (The CVMG News, June 2015) and plan to demand a full judicial enquiry into this despicable and brazen act perpetrated by Jim

Briggs. We as an organization need answers to this heinous crime. Where did Mr. Briggs get the funds to perpetrate such a scandal? A full forensic audit of the CVMG books is in order to verify that funds on the scale of this crime are not missing from the CVMG coffers. No matter what the outcome of the enquiry I feel certain that come next election, club members will not forget this act when it comes time to elect the executive.

Waiting for answers,

Stephen Butt, VP, CVMG - RMS

(Thanks Stephen— Do you think this is a Ca-nadian federal offence for the RCMP to investi-gate? Or should Interpol be called in? Perhaps our president is independently wealthy? I for one will remember his Robin Hood actions to support the downtrodden and under-appreciat-ed.... JEP)

Help WantedGreetings....

I was a member years ago but I have not driv-en my bike for more than 16 years... I have a rebuilt 1968 TR6C and I would like to sell it. It needs to have a once over as it has sat for all those years. My problem is that I have lost all contact with those that repair vintage bikes.

My question is do you have any contacts in the west GTA for bike repair. I truly appreciate your help in this matter.

Thank you

Dr Brian Huggins, [email protected]

My daughter, Erin astride Dave Martin’s 1948 Indian Chief at the Reynolds Alberta Museum History Road in Wetaskiwin on June 14—sent in by Bill Hoar


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CVMG Sections Contacts & Regular Meetings Section Website (*also at cvmg.ca) Representative Regular Monthly MeetingsBarrie-Huronia cvmg.ca/barrie_huronia Alecia Brown—[email protected] Summer: 2nd Tuesday, 7:00pm, rotating locations

British Columbia classicmotorcycleclubofbc.com* Alyson Nerker—778-689-3658, [email protected] 1st Tuesday, ABC Restaurant, 2350 Boundary Rd, Burnaby

Central Alberta cvmg.ca/cavmg Russ Nighswander—403-747-2201, [email protected] TBA, see website, or contact section representative

Credit Valley Barry Carr—[email protected] 1st Thursday, 8:00pm, Georgetown Legion, Mill Street

Eastern Shield George Best—613-473-4831, [email protected] TBA (will be announced)

Essex-Kent cvmg.ca/essexkent Dale Prisley—519-713-9111, [email protected] 1st Thursday, Brews & Cues Sports Pub, LaSalle

Estrie (Townships) cvmgestrie.com* Joselito Scrosati—[email protected] TBA, see website, or contact section representative

Ganaraska Fred Down—905-800-0753, [email protected] Winter: 2nd Mon, 7:30pm, Beamish House, 27 John St., Port Hope

Golden Horseshoe Mike Godwin—905-383-3515, [email protected] 2nd Tuesday, 8:00pm, Waterdown Legion Hall

Grand River Peter Salter—905-788-1013, [email protected] 1st Wednesday, 7:30pm, Cayuga Legion

Great Pine Ridge cvmg.ca/GPR Mark Melcher—905-852-5514, [email protected] TBA, or contact section representative

Grey-Bruce cvmg.ca/grey-bruce Loretta Zevenbergen—519-375-7332, [email protected] Summer: Starting May, meetings will be at members’ homes, TBA

Keystone Robert Collings—204-291-9042, [email protected] Winter: 1st Thursday, 7:00pm, Charleswood Legion

Kitchener kitchenersection.webstarts.com* Andy Cox—[email protected] Last Tues, Lancaster Smokehouse, 574 Lancaster St W, Kitchener

London cvmg.ca/london Doug McKinnon—519-285-2206, [email protected] 1st Thursday, 8:00pm, Dorchester Donnybrook Legion

Montreal cvmgmontreal.com* Peter McEwan—514-505-3025, [email protected] Announced monthly, contact your section rep.

Muskoka John Ruff —705-789-4318, [email protected] TBA, or contact section representative

Niagara Peninsula Bob Freeman—905-937-9005, [email protected] 1st Tuesday, 7:30 pm, NOTL Legion

Nickel Belt cvmg.ca/nickelbelt Greg Buchanan—705-853-4200, [email protected] Last Friday, location TBA

Nipissing cvmg.ca/nippissing Mike/Deborah Hickey—705-776-9940, [email protected] 1st Thursday, location TBA

NORAL cvmgnoral.com* Norm Brodie—780-475-8355, [email protected] 1st Tuesday, 7:30pm, Norwood Legion, 11150 82 St, Edmonton

Old Fort York oldfortyorkcvmg.org* Scott Dixon—905-737-5565, [email protected] 1st Thursday, 7:30pm, Madison Pub, 14 Madison Ave, Toronto

Olde Norfolk cvmg-ons.org Eric McNair—416-287-5872, [email protected] Last Wednesday—Location TBA

Ottawa cvmg.ca/Ottawa John LaBrecque—613-324-9033, [email protected] TBA, see website, or contact section representative

Quinte cvmg.ca/quinte Gavin Hussey—613-475-3952, [email protected] 1st Tuesday, 7:00pm, call Gavin at 613-475-3952 for location

Rideau Lakes Tony Thompson—613-326-0659, [email protected] 3rd Sunday, 9:30am, contact Tony Thompson

Rocky Mountain cvmg-rms.ca* Laurie Mills—403-288-2284, [email protected] 3rd Tues, 7:00pm, Chapelhow Legion, 606-38th Av NE, Calgary

Saint John Larry Casey—506-696-1140, [email protected] 1st Wednesday, 7:30pm, Rothesay Avenue Billiards

Sarnia Terry Gower—519-899-2162, [email protected] 1st Tues, 7:00pm, Royal Cdn. Naval Assoc., 1420 Lougar Av, Sarnia

Saskatchewan sites.google.com/site/cvmgsasksection Orville Olm—306-955-1643, [email protected] See website, or contact Orville Olm

S. Saskatchewan Barry Wolf—[email protected] TBA or contact Barry Wolf

Vancouver Island robinsclassicmotorcycles.com Robin Mullett—250-752-8444, [email protected] See website, or contact Robin Mullett


P a g e 2 9

Section Reports From Around the Country Your Editor’s taking some time off to go rid-ing—heading off to the Rockies and the West Coast for a while. This issue was prepared in advance, so I could get it to the printers before I pointed my wheels westwards. Some section reports came in early and I was able to include them here, but the rest will have to wait until next month.

Hope you’re all having a good riding summer.

Cheers, John

BARRIE-HURONIABreakfast runs: Sundays at 10:00am, Country Style, Waverley (all year)

Just returned home from Paris. Wow what an event! Well done CVMG and all the volunteers, and a round of applause to our Janet and Chris Ness for non stop work. Great job guys.

It seems to me Paris has a strange effect on some members, like Will selling some really nice wheels for $12, to they were easily worth

at least $100 ;). And John trying to get me to purchase chaps, no John I can’t sing YMCA! And our treasurer throwing around yellow and silver washers in the long grass of the infi eld, odd. PS Dave I found one. And there’s Jim wandering around with a VERY large muffl er...

What’s wrong with that you ask? Well, Jim came on his bike, loaded with tent, sleep-ing bag and a folding chair of all things and wondering how to get it home, and it wasn’t even for him! And Gary, JB weld makes fl oats heavier not lighter.

Then there’s our Prez riding around on his Ner-a-car with a big grin and confounding a lot of people as to what it was. But seriously WELL DONE Sandy on the marque trophy for your Gold Wing—Bet he’s hoping it’s not Gold Wings again next year, as those big bikes are tricky to unload and load.

Me, I acted perfectly normal, and I plead the 5th (can I do that) on the rumor that I put all my tickets in the prize boxes, including the ones I was supposed to keep.

Here’s planning for next year.

Tony Boothman, [email protected]

BRITISH COLUMBIAJuly being our annual pub run, we have no meeting and no report. We wish everyone a good riding summer.

That’s all folks.

Lorne Reesor, [email protected]

GREAT PINERIDGEBreakfast runs/meetings: Sundays, 9:00 am, Famous Sam’s Restaurant, Gormley (Woodbine & Stouffville Rd).

Paris Rally 2015—The weather forecasters were wrong, fortunately, and it ended up a lovely weekend. Our Friday morning admis-sion security detail ran very smoothly, and in under an hour all those who’d arrived early were lined up and ready to go. Thanks to John Funnell, Doug Black, Linda and Tim McVeigh, Nancy and Mark Melcher for all their help.

Friday evening’s meet and greet was very well attended, with guests and GPRs enjoy-ing burgers and snacks. Saturday’s Trillium Reliability Run took participants on another scenic tour of the paved backroads of beau-tiful Brant County. The weather was perfect and lunch at the Varey’s the usual display of shiny stuff and delicious bar-be-cue. Many thanks for your hospitality! The Show and Shine was held Saturday afternoon – congrat-ulations to Brian Barrett whose 1936 Norton Model-50 took fi rst prize overall. Brian said, “Anyone that stopped to chat, young or old, was quite interested in all of the refi nements of this particular motorcycle.” Saturday’s din-ner was up to the high standard of previous years, followed by some words of wisdom (and clarifi cation of some of the insurance issues that have arisen this year) by CVMG President Jim Briggs. This was Jim’s second consecu-tive visit to Paris as President. Later, there was music in the bar area, for those so inclined. The Concours took place on Sunday morning, but with a change of location to the central vendor area, and with what appeared to be a reduced fi eld of entry.

Section Participation Invited in Executive TeleconferencesThe CVMG’s National Executive has a number of formal teleconferences planned for 2015. They are scheduled for the second Sunday ev-ery other month, in the evenings at 8:30 pm Eastern time (EST/EDT) for 60-90 minutes.

Teleconference dates are scheduled for:

• Sunday, July 12, 2015• Sunday, September 13, 2015• Sunday, November 8, 2015• Sunday, January 10, 2016• Sunday, March 13, 2016

One representative from each section is invited to join. To raise a topic as new business, send

the issue in advance, preferably via email, for the Executive to consider ahead of time. To connect, 5-minutes before its scheduled start, dial toll-free 1-800-977-8002—when prompt-ed for a conference-ID, dial 485312, then #.

There will also be an Executive meeting at the Paris Rally, to which section representatives are invited.


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Section Reports From Around the Country

Meet-in-the-Middle—GPR would like to invite all neighbouring CVMG Sections, as well as those a little farther afi eld, to join in a won-derful day of shiny old stuff at ‘Brits on the Lake’, in Port Perry. Held this year on Sunday August 9th, it’s one of the largest British au-tomotive gatherings in Canada. There’s room for 30 bikes, with the opportunity to expand into the centre of the main street should num-bers warrant. The street’s closed so no need to worry about getting ding-ed! There are prizes for best in class, so arrive early to be sure ev-eryone sees your bike, and votes. Things get underway at 9AM, and run through 4PM.

Section Meetings—Section meetings are open to ALL members. There will not be a sec-tion meeting in August. The September meet-ing will be held on Monday, September 28 at 7:30PM, at the home of Doug and Lidy Black, 116 Kingston Road, Newmarket.

Upcoming events can be viewed on the GPR page at www.cvmg.ca/GPRevents. We meet

every Sunday for breakfast at Famous Sam’s restaurant at Woodbine and Stouffville Roads. Ride over and enjoy the wonderful collection of bikes parked around the back! We hope to see you at any or all of these gatherings as well:

• Sunday Aug 9—Brits on the Lake, Port Perry. Display and car show 9AM to 4PM – we’re in front of the Piano Café at Queen and Perry Streets. Registration for the display is $15 for one or more bikes in each class. www.britsonthelake.com

• Saturday Aug 15—Ryde Community Co-op Heritage Day, 1624 Barkway Road (near Gravenhurst). Display 9AM to 5PM

• Saturday Aug 22—Copper Kettle Festival, Creemore. Display noon to 6PM

• Sunday Sept 13—Great War Flying Mu-seum Annual Fly-In and Open House, Brampton Airport, 13691 McLaughlin Road, Caledon. Ride Leaves Sam’s at 9AM. www.greatwarfl yingmuseum.com. Contact Brian Barrett, 416-724-6623

• Sunday Sept 27—Green Lane Run. A ride on the less traveled backroads of South-ern Ontario. The 3 hour route is a combi-nation of pavement and not. Depart Fa-mous Sam’s at 9:30AM, ending up at the Tyrone Mill. Coordinator: Andrew Harris [email protected]

• Monday Sept 28—Section Meeting 7:30 PM at Lidy and Doug Black’s home, 116 Kingston Road, Newmarket, 905-853-315

(Please also see events listed under Happen-ings on page 4—JEP)

Nancy Melcher, [email protected]

GREY-BRUCEStarting in May monthly meetings will be at members’ homes. Contact the section represen-tative for details.

This month’s report might be short and sweet! There will be lots to report next time.

Our membership count holds at 73 for our section. We would like to extend a warm wel-

come to Steve Mumford and Keith and Marie Turner. Our bank continues to carry a positive balance.

Our section has been very busy with gather-ings and rides. 17 members enjoyed the Air and Auto Show in Wiarton with great weather. Approximately twenty bikes were in the show. The Grey Bruce Section, with our banner fl y-ing high had nine bikes, one scooter and one mini bike. Member Ted Olver won 1st place with People’s Choice for his 1953 Ariel KHA 500 Twin. Member Kevin Moores won 3rd place with People’s Choice for his 2000 Harley Davidson Heritage Softail Classic. Congratu-lations to you both! The weather was not the greatest in the early morning so not many air-craft showed, but you could have spent hours looking at the vintage cars that arrived. Truly amazing, high quality vehicles, many of them.

We had excellent weather for the Paris Rally and wow was it full of bikes and campers! Twenty section members camped, rode and ogled over all the motorcycles to be seen. There were also many vendors selling their wares. I myself am new to the bike life and learned a tremendous amount while there. Off in the distance I’d hear a bike start up and think, “that’s a BSA” I think I might be addicted to the Triumph, they are such a beautiful bike. Maybe one day I’ll get myself an old Honda with just a bit of chrome. I am also in awe of the people of the CVMG. They are all such a warm and welcoming, respectful bunch. Also within our group, it’s starting to feel like an extended family and I think it’s awesome!

Our next section meeting will be at Roy Pope’s home in Wiarton on August 30th at 10:30 am. Check your inbox for directions.

Keep both wheels on the ground,

Until next time,

Loretta Zevenbergen, [email protected]

OLDENORFOLKRegular Breakfasts: 1st Sunday, (joint with Grand River), 9:00am, Sunfl ower Café, Selkirk

Our June meeting destination was Bob and Susan Andrews’ in Port Ryerse. We had a good turnout of men and machines with 14 mem-bers and 9 bikes being ridden as well as a Tri-umph car and a converted Pinto roadster. Noel Elliott brought along new member Tim Nowe who signed up at the Paris rally. Welcome Tim.

A few members did make a sub run to Port Burwell the week before, that was a topic of discussion. The Paris rally was also a topic with good weather and lots to see it was en-joyed by all who attended. Other topics of up coming events were the Brampton air/car show as well as a swap meet car/bike show at Gopher Dunes near Courtland both on June 27/28.

GPR—Bikes parked at Varey’s at the Trillium Reliability Run (photo by Mark Melcher)

GPR—Brits on the Lake, Port Perry. Photo from Brits on the Lake website (Nancy Melcher)

Grey-Bruce—Ted Olver’s 1st place People’s Choice 1953 Ariel KHA 500 Twin


P a g e 3 1

Cliff made the trip to ‘Rainbeck’ as he called it with wet weather while he was there, but it was still a good outing for him as he was able to sell all his model O Indian parts.

Our treasurer’s report by Bob says with a few more t-shirt sales we are at $750 plus, so all is good. We have good intel that the bike for next year’s rally is the BMW’S airhead, looking forward to that. Our next meeting is July 29th 6:30pm at Lawrence Blakemore’s on the east side of Simcoe

Vic VanLoy, [email protected]

QUINTEJune 25th—For this publication, I thought I should put something a little different togeth-er and call it “Who Are We at Quinte?” After thinking about this for a little while, the “who we are” and “who we are not” comes to mind and this is my rendition.

As most of you out there know, we are a Sec-tion with a long time history of a bunch of guys (sometimes gals) who just like reminiscing of our younger days when today’s vintage bikes were “state of the art” motorcycles, which back then not many of us could afford let alone ride. I remember when my longtime friend left school early and bought himself a ‘41 WW2 Indian for $125 from his earnings. Of course that’s also what I wanted to do but was told “on no uncertain terms” to fi nish school and I could buy, to my mother’s dismay, as many motorcycles that I liked when making my own money. However it didn’t turn out that way af-ter being challenged with life’s many priorities along the way. I merely became as they say today “just a wantabee” when it came to mo-torcycles. Of course it wasn’t until I retired I bought my fi rst vintage bike and learned about CVMG and the Quinte section and that’s how it all began for me.

So, let’s get down to it and talk about Quinte and what we are “Not About Today”.

In my opinion; we are not an aggressive club riding off to far away horizons. We are not that disciplinarian either about pristine concours restoration being 100% perfect right down to the Original Valve Cap, although we have fun trying. We are not ones to enter our bikes in competitive motorcycle sporting events and we certainly are not passionate about dress-ing our bikes with loads of chrome and mega-phone exhausts. We are not paranoid about having the largest membership in the province with achievements of over and above creden-tials.

It was then that I asked myself, if we are not any of the above then Who Are We?

In my opinion; we like to help one another with our endeavors to bring older motorcycles back to (near as possible) their original con-dition and reaping the rewards (and frustra-

tions) of a job well done. We like to display our bikes at public venues and converse with oth-er riders like ourselves who reminisce about their motorcycle bygone days. We are excited about grouping together with other Sections for major CVMG vintage motorcycle displays. We more than ever enjoy the comradeship of our fellow members and to just socialize and talk old bikes. We like to encourage old and new members alike to play an active part in Quinte activities. And yes! We do like to ride our vintage bikes on “not so long” rides just to keep the gaskets from drying out and the spark plugs clean!

Having said this, we at Quinte pyramid our past experiences and efforts toward our long established yearly Rally which always takes place in July. This three day event is the result of everyone contributing in one way or another with their past experience, their motorcycles and enthusiasm which makes our Quinte rally one of the best.

These, my fellow CVMG members, are my musings to date of “Who We Are at Quinte”.

All For now!

Paul Riedel at [email protected]

ROCKYMOUNTAINBreakfast runs: 1st Sunday, 9:30am, Top Brass Restaurant, 1725-32nd Av. NE, Calgary.

The CVMG RMS meeting for June 16, 2015 was called to order by President Randy Er-ickson at 7:13pm with 28 members in at-tendance, and 13 motorcycles in the parking lot. Welcome new comer Salim Cheriet to our meeting. Salim owns a 1968 Honda Dream 305, and Peter Peach who we have not seen in sometime, Peter has a 1983 Goldwing and a 1965 Gilera. Art Cartwright treasurer reported that we have had no expenses since the end of May.

Randy Erickson received an email from Betty Anne stating that she will be taken over for An-thony Petty. Janice will send her a list of our events and dates. The CVMG has also stated that there is a new insurance carrier and that more information will be announced. Janice was pleased to turn in some additional calen-dar revenue thanks to Anderswerks BMW for assisting in our calendar sales.

The Two Wheeled Sunday event was great. Our display tent was the fi rst of many to be set up for the event. There were lots of people come by and lots of help at our tent with 3 great bikes on display. The organizers have yet to have the fi nal meeting so attendance numbers are not available as yet. If food sales were any indication there were a lot more peo-ple there than last year.

The Firebird show and shine was another great event, money raised went to the Chil-

dren’s Wish Foundation. You received a lot for your $10 entry fee, a $25 dollar gift card, swag and lots of great door prizes. Congratulations to Janice for her trophy win with her 1972 Su-zuki T350. The Awareness Ride had a great turn out with about 600 bikes; proceeds were going to Woods Homes. Rides were starting off from several dealers and going to the Grey Eagles for the show and shine, from there it went to the Ranchman’s. Food was good and the beer was not expensive. June 6th, 6 of our membership attended the Missouri River run, this is a fun event, and the weather was per-fect.

Thursday night bike night has had a few poor turnouts due to the weather. 28 bikes showed up over the span of the evening last Thurs-day. There have been some real interesting machines coming out. Darcy would like to see more members and their bikes come out for the evening. There will be a few theme nights coming up soon. The Colonel Belcher visit with the veterans will be on Saturday, June 20th. We are hoping for a good turnout and good weather and BBQ to follow at Jim Ha-zen’s home. Stanley Park is good to go for July 18th, Janice met with one of the organizers and they are looking forward to us being part of their weekend event. We will be using the west entrance, same as previous years.

Swap meet, posters and tear-offs are still be-ing circulated. Jim Ross is still working with the site in regards to a food vendor. Paid RMS members will be able to book their table free of charge. Fred Johansen volunteered to host a donation table of parts from members which will aid in covering some of the extra costs from the Moto Giro. Randy got some more swap meet tear-offs printed and was asking the membership to agree to reimbursement for the additional cost of $176.26. Darcy mo-tioned to reimburse seconded by John Wilson everyone was in favor.

Dave Marshall is now on his third Admin Of-fi cer in Nakusp for approval. Event should be going to council on Monday. Dave is consider-ing going out to get the date of the event nailed down so that he can move forward with the planning. The event was a great success last year and only had one public complaint which is nothing on the big scheme of things.

Janice [email protected]

SASKATCHEWANAlas, as this is being written, the days are already getting shorter and there are still so many rides and rallies to attend. It’s amazing how fast the summer races by!

Sapsford Family Show & Shine, Ride for Dad, June 7, Perdue SK—Sunday was a beau-tiful day. The Sapsford Family Show & Shine, held just a little bit west of Perdue, couldn’t


P a g e 3 2

Section Reports From Around the Country have been prettier. A bright prairie sun shone down on Don and Mary Lee’s lawn, which stretches all the way down to the highway and is big enough to play CFL football on. That Sunday the entire lawn was covered in vin-tage paint and chrome as the annual Ride for Dad fundraiser had attracted at least 70 cars, truck and tractors, all for the sake of prostate cancer research. There must have been more than two-dozen motorcycles that came and went throughout the day as well.

Kevin Falk, Calvin Greenstien and myself en-joyed a leisurely ride out from Saskatoon to Sapsfords’ that morning and were just east of Perdue when we saw a motorcycle being load-ed onto a truck. “That was James Clow’s bike!” we all realized and hit our collective brakes. James’ Harley 45 had indeed let him down and we commiserated for a minute before con-tinuing on and he returned home in the truck. When we arrived at the party we found John Bennett hard at work scrubbing and buffi ng the four motorcycles he had brought for the day. He had his newest, a KTM 690, and his oldest, a 1934 Royal Enfi eld 350 there for con-trast. He also brought a BSA Gold Star and his well-travelled, tried and true Ariel with the sv Triumph engine. John, who farms not too far from the Sapsfords, was kept busy alter-nately explaining the details of his bikes and comparing observations of the crop with other farmers in the district.

With burger in one hand and beverage in the other we all enjoyed walking up and down the rows of muscle cars, and vintage cars and trucks from every decade since the 1920’s. It was a very fi ne day spent on a very worthy cause. When I got home I found an email from James. It seems that troubles were confi ned to the primary case and could be set right in an hour… a happy ending to a very pleasant day.

Rick Epp

Central Butte/Gardner Dam Ride & Lunch Tour, June 21, Central Butte SK—Quality, not quantity, was the order of the rainy Sunday morning. Howie and I, being the only hardy Saskatoon souls, headed out at 9 am. Howev-er, at the Grasswood road turnoff to Hwy 219 my CB750 K model decided to stall, appar-ently suffering from a dead battery. I thought the trip was over, but Howie said he’d give me a push start. Well, the push was successful,

but when I looked in my rear view mirror, I could see Howie collapsing into the ditch. For just a second, I thought I should go back and see if he’s okay, but then thought better of it ... and raced home to get another bike. Heck, I rationalized, if he’s having a heart attack, I should be able to read about it in tomorrow’s paper anyways, eh? Much to my delight, How-ie showed up at my garage a few minutes later, as I pulled my Triumph Explorer out onto the driveway.

Collin Cossette and Bob Lamb from Moose Jaw joined us for lunch at April’s Diner in Central Butte.

Bob Dishaw

As I pulled up beside Bob on his stalled Honda at the intersection of Grasswood and #219, he met my stare of disbelief with a self-effacing posture and tone. He needed my services as ‘bike pusher’ to start his Honda 750 once again. Although rare and appealing as Bob feasting on humble pie was, I thought it best to put him out of his misery and rescue him with another push. So, buoyed with confi -dence in my youthful vigor, I grabbed hold of the rear rack and ran pushing from behind as fast as I could before delivering a hell-of-a-shove. When I fi nally stopped cartwheel-ing at the bottom of the ditch, I realized that both the full-faced helmet and armored outfi t that I wore not only made my tumble easy on the body, but the grassy surface upon which I lay felt like a good place to rest – certainly I had earned it. However, grasping how ridicu-lous the previous tableau must have looked to passersby, let alone embarrassing to me, I thought better of it and crawled up and out as quickly as I could. To my surprise, Bob was, by then, a speck in the distance. But, to my relief, this time he had pointed the bike in the direction of home to trade it off on another of its stablemates.

Thankful that I needn’t have to prove my manliness any further, I hopped on my trusty Kawy to bring up the rear. Time for a new bat-tery Bob... Please.”

Howie Cummings

Other News—The Parkridge Centre in Sas-katoon is a care facility that looks after our

disabled citizens and does a very good job of it for sure. The caring staff is always looking for ways to keep the residents occupied in mind and body. Our Section was invited to display at the “Man show and Show & Shine” they were recently holding. Past President Howie Cummings demonstrated motorcycle safety gear and James Clow had his beautiful Har-ley “45” on display. It was heartwarming to watch and hear the response of the residents as James reports:

I found it a rewarding experience to show my bike at Parkridge. There were a few people mostly in wheel chairs who had ridden when they were younger. One particular women who had diffi culty speaking had me push her here around my bike so she could see all sides and tried to express how beautiful the bike was to her in broken sentences. She had ridden in her younger days, The attendant asked if she was a passenger. “No”, she said. She was a rider!

A younger man, also in a wheel chair, now nearly completely blind was brought over to me. He too had ridden when he was once able to. It was quite emotional as the atten-dant described what was in front of him that he could not see. I took his hand and let him touch the motorcycle over various parts. An overwhelming smile came over his face as his hands glided over the front fender, tanks and seat. Eventually I put his hand on the tank shifter and he asked “what is this”? It told him it was the shifter. He replied, “My, bike never had one of these.”

I’m glad I was able to take part in this event. It clearly rose up emotions and lifted spirits of those less fortune than myself. I hope that if I’m ever in a similar situation as these in-dividuals, someone would show up on an old motorcycle to talk bikes.

Both the staff and patients were very careful and respectful of the bike and the gear that I and Howie had brought. Riding home, I had a new perspective on just how much riding a bike means to me.

James Clow

Upcoming Events—Full details of all our events will be emailed or you can contact the Section Secretary. Please also check out the Calendar of Events page at https://sites.google.com/site/cvmgsasksection/ for an up-to-date listing of all our future events.

In Closing—A really big “thank-you” goes to all our fi eld journalists for their fi nely crafted reports. Now let’s all go and have some fun at the Biggar Rally!

Orville Olm, [email protected]

Saskatchewan—the ferry ride Howie and James at Parkridge


P a g e 3 3

FOR SALE—1967 Triumph Bonneville Bought in 1972 from fi rst owner (a friend). In great riding condition, all invoices and original catalog to buyer. Changed original parts with mostly equivalent original. Located in Mon-treal, QC. $9,500. Roger Landreville, [email protected] (10/14)

FOR SALE—2004 Buell XB12R Track Bike Rain tires on rims, rear stand and numerous extra parts included. $3,500 o.b.o. May con-sider a trade. Russell Spicer, 289-895-9337, [email protected] (2/15)

FOR SALE—1983 Honda CB 1000 Custom Friend and CVMG Quinte member Ken Mac-donald passed away last January. Hoping to fi nd a good home for this bike. Very clean 1983 Honda CB 1000 Custom. 20,834 km, dual range transmission, shaft drive, 4 muf-fl ers in very good condition. Would make a great sidecar rig. Asking $3,000. Located in Trenton, ON. Joe McMullen, 613-475-2928 or Deb Macdonald 613-955-8509 (renewed 5/15)

FOR SALE—1935 Indian Scout End of res-toration June 2011. 90% original Indian parts, cam case cover and oil pump on 1938 up, cylinder barrel and head on 1940 up. Asking $29,500. Denis St-Onge, [email protected] (2/15)

FOR SALE—1964 Honda 55 Cub Perfect Nostalgic for your fi rst bike? Beautiful red, step-through C105. Very rare (the 50’s are common but the 55’s were rare). Perfect origi-nal condition, only 1500 miles. Battery is only new item. I’m the third owner. See Youtube: youtube.com/watch?v=SAN4XiiYVb4 to see & hear it running, or do a search for 1964 Honda 55 Cub. Asking $2000. Call John Rakos, 613-727-1626, [email protected] (renewed 6/15)

FOR SALE—Pre-’65 Triumph Cub Bought new from Sammy Miller in 2009 and ridden in the 2009 Festival week Manx Classic 2 Day

trial in the Isle of Man. Also, on many occa-sions with the CVMG events. Frame up res-toration with many new parts. It’s much too good to sell cheap. If it doesn’t sell, I’ll ask my wife if I can put it in the living room so I can see it every day rather than in the dark shed... Peter Wardell, Newmarket, ON, 905-717-8033, [email protected] (12/14)

FOR SALE—2005 Ducati ST3 38,000 km, mostly long tours. Original hard cases. Ducati Performance ECU and pipes (adds a few more HP to the 107 HP stock performance). Corbin leather seat. Great for spirited one-up or two-up touring! Also have Scottoiler not yet fi tted. VGC. Will miss it but need the space. $6,200—priced for quick sale. John Pepper, 416-567-6719, [email protected] (renewed 6/15)

FOR SALE—Various BSA & Sportster Parts BSA two frames $100; oil pumps $18; side covers $20; cylinder heads $100; too many BSA parts to list from 1965, 1970, A50R, A65; engine case BSA $100. 1969 Sportster frame with swing arm $130; Sportster head cleaned from 1972 thru 1977 $100 each; gearbox parts Sportster, gearbox doors Sportster $25; two Sportster front ends 1975 to 1979 $150 each. Call Paul Archer, 519-542-7858, week-ends 9-4pm, weeknights 5:30 to 10pm. (3/15)

FOR SALE—2010 Triumph America in excel-lent condition. Asking $7,300. Marilyn Rader, Owen Sound, ON, 519-371-7763, [email protected] (5/15)

FOR SALE—Judson Cycle-Tron Ignition System by Judson Research & Mfg. Co., Con-shohocken, Pennsylvania. Purchased new in 1966 and never used. Details can be seen at http://vwjudsonregister.tripod.com/cycle-tron_sales_literature.htm. Can be installed on any 6 or 12 volt, single or twin cylinder motorcycle with points and replaces single ended and double ended coils. The Cycle-Tron provides constant voltage at high engine

RPM. Asking $100. Located near Carleton Place, Ontario. Mike McGinnis 613-257-4879, [email protected] (3/15)

FOR SALE—1981 Honda CB900F Supers-port 4th Owner. Purchased in 2002. Ridden until 2012. 58,000 km. Paint and decals in 2007. Carbs stripped in 2008. New battery. Needs tires. Some blue smoke when warm-ing up. Asking $2,000. Will send more pics. Located in Waterloo, Ontario. Steve Harding, [email protected] (4/15)

FOR SALE—1983 Honda CBX 550 All origi-nal except Wolfe header. Excellent paint, runs well, stored 19 years. Selling to support our grand-daughter’s fl at track racing (#14 for Flattrack Canada). Asking $2,700 OBO. Call Dave, 519-539-4366, Woodstock, ON or [email protected] (5/15)

FOR SALE—BSA B31 Engine & Transmis-sion with engine mounting plates, outer chaincase, exhaust pipe, for restore. Missing few parts. All for $500. Laurent Brousseau, Trois Rivieres, Quebec, 819-377-1485, [email protected] (5/15)

FOR SALE—1996 BMW 800cc $4,300; 1991 Jawa 250cc $1,850; 1996 Honda Tri-als 200cc, road driveable $1,800; 1976 BSA High-Exhaust Scrambler, needs tires $4,560; Electric Bike, long-range $950. Call John Kulberg 416-466-1829 (7/15)

FOR SALE—1979 Suzuki GS850 35,000 km, all original, Windjammer fairing, excellent condition. Randy Griffi th, jrgriffi [email protected] (5/15)

FOR SALE—1977 Suzuki GS750 Suzuki’s fi rst production four-stroke motorcycle. Very reliable, original red paint, 42,461 miles on odometer. Tires nearly new (estimated 500 miles wear). Pipes, muffl ers and rear crash guards original. Needs new battery but will start using kick-start. Extras include valve removal kit, spare shims, assorted gaskets, spare set of Mikuni carbs, strobe light, Shoei

Members’ Bikes & Bits From Around the Country


P a g e 3 4

Members’ Bikes & Bits From Around the Country helmet, Belstaff clothing (jacket and pants, X-large), Clymer, Haynes and Suzuki manu-als. Located on Pender Island BC. $2800. Ray Pink, 250-629-3558, [email protected] (7/15)

FOR SALE—Tri-umph Collection 1971 Bonnev-ille, ex. condition stock except for pipes.(Copies of 1970s Hooker TT pipes) and higher bars. Asking $5200. 1970 Daytona, stock except for paint, rebuilt with new 9:1 pistons. Asking $5000, many new parts. 1956 TRW complete in pieces for paint, motor and trans complete. Some spare parts incl. Asking $2500. Alan Barnett, Orillia 705-259-1230, [email protected] (7/15)

FOR SALE—1964 Honda C-100 and 1970 Fox Street Scamp Minibike (Honda Cub is in good original running condition, new piston and rings, tires and seat cover, 5,900 miles, original shop manual, $1000. Fox Minibike is in good running condition, 4 HP Tecumseh engine, 2 speed centrifugal clutch. Original rider’s handbook, owner’s manual and parts list, $500. Gary Bruce, 905-466-0302 or [email protected] (5/15)

FOR SALE— 2011 Suzuki Burgman 650cc, excellent condition, 36,700 kms. New tires, many accessories. Certifi ed. $5,199 CAD or best offer. For details call Cliff at 905-689-2053, email [email protected] (7/15)

FOR SALE—1985 Harley FXR Nice old bike looks and run perfect. 5200 kms since engine rebuilt. $8,000 or best offer. For more pictures and info email Ray Pelletier, [email protected] or call 519-712-9380 (7/15)

FOR SALE—1977 Honda CB750F2 Super Sport Clean original example. Needs tires, brakes, battery and whatever it takes to get it running. Paint may be original, tank is clean inside, carbs were drained years ago and look clean, seat excellent. No sidecovers, muf-fl er rotting in usual place. Engine kicks over. Hasn’t been run in many years. Located in Es-panola, Ontario. I have ownership (title). Pre-fer to sell as is. Phil Chandler,705-583-3020, [email protected] (8/15)

FOR SALE—Hondamatic Very clean bike, good runner. Included in selling price, a col-lection of new and used Hondamatic parts. Asking $1,500. Great deal for a clean reliable motor cycle. Needs nothing for certifi cation. Ian Hunter, [email protected] (7/15)

FOR SALE—1964 Velocette Venom ‘Club-manized’ Excellent shape, electric start, all chrome redone, 20,000 actual miles, imported from England in 2007. $26,500. D. Costello 905-356-0566, [email protected] (7/15)

WANTED—Sidecar for 1989 Harley 1300cc Tour Glide. John Kulberg 416-466-1829 (7/15)

WANTED—1923 Henderson Parts Looking for assistance in fi nding parts (either old or repos) to restore a 1923 Henderson Excelsior that my dad owned for many years. I need mostly electrical components, tinware and decals. I live in Australia so its quite hard to gather info from here. Would appreciate any leads or help. Thanks in advance Dale Mc-Cleary, [email protected] (5/15)

WANTED—1969-1970 BSA Firebird Scram-bler (like the bike above) This was my fi rst new bike as a boy, and I think it’s the prettiest ever made (photo above). I’ll pay well for one in good condition. Bill Rowe, [email protected] if you have one or know one that might be for sale. (12/14)

WANTED—Passenger Seat & Supports for 42WLC Marc Belanger, 450-679-1695, [email protected] (3/15)

WANTED—1970 Triumph Tiger 650 TR6R Mostly original preferred. Running or not. Please call Peter Doyle at 450-264-5071, email [email protected]. (8/15)

WANTED—Triumph Gas Tank Late ‘60s pre-OIF large Triumph gas tank (4 or 3.5 gallons) to fi t ‘67 TR6R restoration project. Brett Far-rell, 514-575-2809, [email protected]. (8/15)

WANTED—For BSA Bushman Prop stand, chain guard, points cover, right side cover and much more! Also looking for 1960s Cezeta 502 Scooter parts or bikes. Rick Wood, 613-477-2280, [email protected] (1/15)

WANTED—Altette Horn and Horn Bracket for Brit Bike. Rick Love, 613-745-6084, [email protected] (2/15)

WANTED—Right Hand Switch Ass’y for 1974 Hercules Wankel 300cc Any leads would be appreciated. Fred Kolman, 613-841-9400, [email protected] (05/15)

WANTED—Henderson Deluxe Parts Engine complete as possible, approx 1925. Wheels, any toolbox, battery box, chainguard, tanks etc. Ross Peaty, 604-898-2711, email [email protected] (8/15)

WANTED—54/60s NSU Max 250cc Special or Super Any condition! For restoration Giro and normal road use. Not for resale, but of-fered back when I can no longer ride. Or any parts please. Mike White, 905-885-6290, [email protected] (8/15)


P a g e 3 5

Also check the CVMG website

COTTAGE RENTAL—Eastern Ontario This newly renovated 2 bed-room cottage is right at the water’s edge on 100’ of pristine shoreline on a small, quiet lake. Includes use of kayaks, canoe and rowboat, bed-ding, a well appointed kitchen, garage, and more. Situated in the beau-tiful Canadian Shield 2.5 hours east of Toronto, 2 hours southwest of Ottawa, 3 hours west of Montreal, and 30 minutes north of Kingston. $800-1200 based on double occupancy. Well suited for couples and/or renters looking for a quiet retreat and some of the best riding in On-tario! Not appropriate for large groups. www.CottagesInCanada.com/OakValleyCabin or www.Facebook.com/OakValleyCabin for more in-formation, photos and feedback from past guests. Michael Johnston, [email protected] (05/15)

To place an ad in the CVMG News, send text (and photo) directly to [email protected] Refer to the website for self-posted items—there’s a great selection of stuff there.

Let me know if you’ve sold what you’re selling, or have found what you’re looking for, or if you’d like to continue. If not, I’ll remove the ad after four months. And a reminder—these ads are intended for member’s personal use only, not for commercial enterprises. JEP.

Book Review Jonathan Hill

The Six Day AffairAn account of the 1939 Interna-tional Six Days TrialAuthor: John Bradshaw

Artwork by Brian Cowper

Published by JRB Publishing, www.jrbpub.net

Soft back, 150 x 210mm (portrait); 200 pages with over 60 photographs, appendices, draw-ings and maps.

ISBN 978-0-9566403-7-6

£12

In the history of motorcycle sport, the In-ternational Six Days Trial of 1939 has be-come something of an enigma with very

few offi cial records of the event. People have asked: “Isn’t that when competitors and sup-porters had to beat a hasty retreat from Aus-tria shortly before the outbreak of World War II?” or “Why did they even start in the trial, with such imminent danger?” or conversely “As British riders were doing so well, why didn’t they stay to the fi nish?”

Author John Bradshaw decided that this story must be told, but due to lack of information it would have to be fi ctional. This changed after a lot of research, when he obtained a transcription of a recording made by Triumph

works rider Marjorie Cottle de-scribing her involvement in this exciting escapade. A chance meeting with former competitor Geoff Godber-Ford resulted in a lot more information and list of competitors. To turn this information into the resulting true story, Bradshaw has used two fi ctional char-acters to carry the book along in the form of a competitor 70 years later telling his grandson all about his adventures.

Late August 1939. Hitler’s armies were poised to invade Poland, while in Austria the Interna-tional Six Days Trial was nevertheless under-way. The trial was dubbed “The Motorcycling Olympics,” where the crème de la crème from the fi ve or six nations competed in six days of hard riding. Following the Olympics in Ber-lin three years earlier, the ISDT was seen by Hitler as being another opportunity for Nazi dominance – and the event was unexpectedly held in occupied Austria... Half way through, riding across the mountains surrounding Sal-zburg and with the British teams once again doing very well indeed, they received telegrams from the British Embassy telling them to get out and go home immediately. World War II started just a week later.

The story of how the British competitors and spectators successfully made it away through Switzerland with the help of their German es-corts has so far only been briefl y mentioned in print, but extensive research has revealed

much new material about this fascinating and exciting event – one of the great untold stories of the 1930s. Very well researched, with ex-cellent artwork by Brian Cowper.

Highly recommended.

JH


P a g e 3 6

CVMG Regalia Holly Ralph Beer Can Covers $1.00Sew-on Logos $3.00Stick-On Logos (set of 2) $3.00Stick-On Logos (set of 2) $5.00Lapel Pins (enamel on brass 1.25”) $4.00Metal Tank Badges (enamel on brass 3”) $15.00Mouse Pad $7.00Men’s T-Shirts (S-XXXL) $14.00Ladies’ T-Shirts (L-XXL) - sold out $20.00Ball Caps (yellow, stone or black) $15.00Sweatshirts (black) $30.00Hoodies (yellow or black, S-XL) $37.00Phil Read CD $20.00Paris Rally Playing Cards $10.00 each/$40.00 set of 5

These great sets of playing cards feature marques from the past 5 years (Kawasaki Z1, Vincent, Honda 750, Rudge, AJS) - great for wet days or winter evenings.

This is a short summary. A few new items will become available over the next few months. For photos, available sizes, go to the Regalia Catalogue page at www.cvmg.ca/RegaliaSales.

Prices do not include shipping and handling. Add $12.00 to total order to cover packing and shipping (regardless of order size). All orders shipped Canada Post.

HST/GST will be added to all orders.

Order from:

Holly Ralph51 - 81 Valridge DriveAncaster, ON L9G 5B6Email: [email protected] (CVMG Regalia in subject line)

mg.ca subject line)

Return Address:Dale PrisleyMembership Secretary467 Thorn Ridge Cres.Amherstburg, ONN9V 3X4

Publica on Agreement Number 40033119

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