laird387 Posted January 7, 2014 Report Share Posted January 7, 2014 (edited) Hi, This image from the offroadarchive shows Chris Cullen in May 1964. As you can see, he is very wet - yes 1964 was one of the very few wet SSDTs. Chris, on his works Scorpion trials, found he also had another little teaser to cope with, those wily Scots had found another little pile of rocks to tease their Southern cousins with!! Yes, 1964 was the year that 'Pathfinder' Pollock added Pipeline to the list of 'tasks for today' for the riders - but, as you can see, the real task was just to keep going......... By the way, note the duplicated cables - with a spare already in place. Enjoy Edited January 7, 2014 by laird387 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pickle Posted January 7, 2014 Report Share Posted January 7, 2014 Excellent picture Deryk. Not seen this one of dad before... Would love to know where this bike is nowadays?? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trialsrfun Posted January 7, 2014 Report Share Posted January 7, 2014 The crankcases look like the webbed Alpha aftermarket type, is it a Marcelle top end ? no rock guards though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparks2 Posted January 7, 2014 Report Share Posted January 7, 2014 Correct about the crankcases - Alpha The barrel is a Parkinson Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big_Gasser Posted January 7, 2014 Report Share Posted January 7, 2014 Great to see interest in the Scorpion - we have one of Dave Lomas' 2 bikes and would really like to be in contact with former riders and current owners. I rode it in the 2012 pre 65 Scottish http://www.wgdfmcc.org.uk/events/othertrials/pre65_scottish_2012.htm and the bike will be there again this year in case I can get a ride (more in hope than expectation!). There's a pic of it in the 2 stroke trials book after Dave Lomas removed the tank and put the fuel in the frame. Here's a pic of it now: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pickle Posted January 7, 2014 Report Share Posted January 7, 2014 I know had a soft spot for the 2x Scorpions he rode for the factory. (both 200 and 250 versions I beleive) I'd love to reunite him with one as It would make a wonderful addition to his collection of trials bikes he has. Im sure he would be full of useful info regarding the bikes and their history so I can pass the message on. (hes not online much at all so I might have to act as go-between!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big_Gasser Posted January 7, 2014 Report Share Posted January 7, 2014 Would be great to meet up - we have been feeling in the dark a bit since taking it on as a non runner, although the bike is very original we are trying to make it a bit better. Feel free to message me your contact details. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie prescott Posted January 8, 2014 Report Share Posted January 8, 2014 Hi Guys. I saw this bike for the first time in London ,1964 motorcycle show. And Thought ,Wow that is what I want to do with my life, design stuff like that , and be inivative . And that's what I did for a while, and passed this on to my eldest. Insidently I then went on to watch in the West End one of the best movies ever. Laurence of Arabia ,with my mate Dan Shorey. after meeting the kid Barry Sheene. Happy Days . Regards Charlie. ---I hate this I pad! Regards Charlie. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
340villiers Posted January 8, 2014 Report Share Posted January 8, 2014 Hi Outstanding pictures/images from days of old, please keep them coming. Regarding to the engine, crank cases and head barrel, this is a full Parkinson engine. The Scorpion, very nice, somebody should be producing this as a frame kit, something different. Willie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old trials fanatic Posted January 8, 2014 Report Share Posted January 8, 2014 Just goes to show what the British bike industry could have done if had only removed it's corporate head from it's own backside. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laird387 Posted January 8, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 8, 2014 Hi OTF, For me that attitude was really apparent when one talked to Bob Manns. He had worked in various of the factories, and ridden in almost every form of motorcycle competition that was available at the time. In later life Bob was virtually demoralised, but I managed to talk to him because I had one of his own factory AMC triallers at the time, TUL 654 - and wanted to understand what had inspired some of the mods. and tweaks that were on the machine. It was obvious that his opinion of the factory management was abysmal - but the final straw came when he was employed as Sales Manager for AMC, based in the AJS factory in Woolwich. The SSDT was the 'blue riband' of trials at the time and AMC had always been relatively successful in Scotland but then Sam the Man had begun to work his miracles with his Ariels, GOV 132 et al, and the AMC competition shop got their heads together and produced 187 BLF for Gordon Jackson to ride in the 1961 Scottish. The tweaks inspired Gordon and he had his famous win, just dropping a single 'dab' on Grey Mare's Ridge - and to this day Gordon still doesn't know why he gave 'that' rock the one silly prod. But to Bob Manns, here was an answer to their ever increasing sales doldrums in AMC, make a Gordon Jackson Works Replica. Take off all those extra bits that every private owner took off the day after they bought their AJS trials bike from new, like the front mudguard stay, like the heavy old exhaust system - replaced with an aftermarket upswept pipe, etc., etc. To Bob it seemed obvious - put a lot fewer parts on the machine - make it cheaper to produce - but with the 'Replica' name tag you could sell it for more than a standard bike. His ideas were put to the board - where a bunch of financial old fuddy-duddies who never rode motorcycles gave their verdict, "The man's an idiot - sell a motorcycle with fewer parts for more money. Ridiculous !!" No wonder Bob was disillusioned - and Great Britain, the worlds largest producer of motorcycles, began to slide at ever-increasing speed down the list of producers......... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laird387 Posted January 20, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 20, 2014 Hi, One of the few Scorpion trials models ever seen in private hands, David Lomas from Cheltenham who rode it in Western Centre events for a few seasons, seen here in a Stroud Valley event at Lyppiatt Park in 1970, by Alan Vines. Enjoy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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