The Way It Was....

[laird387]

Hi,

There are various ways of stopping a motorcycle - some less expected than others - seen on Hungry Hill at one of the Talmags was D Hewlett of Wokingham, obviously practising one of his more extreme ways of stopping in the Special Test.

Needless to say I have to add a Public Warning to this image, as follows:- "DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME"

[laird387]

Hi,

Until the storm clouds of war were threatening Europe for the second time in the twentieth century the British Army barely seemed aware of the potential of the role of motorcycles in wartime conditions. However, around 1937, military authorities realised that ‘bikes’ could be extremely useful for speedy communications between units providing their riders were skilled in offroad riding and their machines were suitable for this task. An extensive training programme was set up and the decree came from the top brass. ‘There will be an Army Motor Cycle Championship in 1938.’

At the time there were quite a few servicemen racing in their local scrambles, one of them being Ray Scovell who welcomed the challenge. Ray had joined the army as a boy soldier in 1933 and was posted to Bovington Camp in Dorset. “I was a trumpeter at Bovington and used to sound reveille to wake the troops there,” he said.

It was here that Ray saw T E Lawrence, the legendary ‘Lawrence of Arabia’, ride up to the guardroom on his Brough Superior SS100 to visit the Commanding Officer. Shortly after that visit Lawrence was killed, on his Brough, close to the camp.

A posting to Catterick saw Ray Scovell as the garrison despatch rider, then, in 1937, he was sent to join the4th Tank regiment at Farnborough near Aldershot.

At Bovington in 1946 Ray is seen sitting down on the saddle, a common practice at the time. Remember that some trials still had the marking ‘NNS’ – not normally seated – as one of the penalties. He is wearing a black Tank Regiment beret, DR boots, breeches and gas mask coggles – all useful kit!

Enjoy.

Edited March 8, 2014 by laird387

[laird387]

Hi,

Sadly I have no details of this image except that it was taken by Bill Coles during the 1948 British Experts trial.

However I have to sympathise with the unfortunate rider because it looks to me as though he has just suffered a catastrophic failure of the front teleforks, if you look at the angle of the left-hand leg - and what is happening around the axle mount.

Enjoy.

[laird387]

Hi,

Steve Gagg of the Midland Classic club had this message for the tyre kickers in the 1970s.

Enjoy.

[laird387]

Hi,

There has been recent comment in TC suggesting that the presence of trail machines in the longer distance pre-65-cum-classic trials is detrimental.

There I disagree with the general view - for me motorcycle sport has always been all-inclusive - we should all be there for the fun - not for another chance to moan.......

I was only able to create the British Bike Championship, which grew into the Sammy Miller series with the very positive assistance of elements of the trail riding community. We had a lot in common - even though that seems a contradiction - I wanted to ride my pre-65 British bike because I wanted somewhere to ride and I couldn't afford a new, in my day, Spanish twostroke (simply because they were all new - there were no second hand ones yet!)

The trail boys only wanted to ride their bikes somewhere and they could only afford one bike - it had to be their everyday transport as well.........

So we had a common link and as a result of seeing each other's point of view the best, in my opinion, pre-65 event in the calendar was created. The Tour of Islwyn, created by a club of trail bike riders..........

There was another side to it - and I have chosen a couple of images that illustrate the point.

Brian Clark was competing in the Tour of Islwyn in the early 1990s, on his Matchless with absolutely no springing on the rear end, it was a rigid, and on the front just a simple coil spring in the girder forks - no form of damping other than the friction pads on the girder bottom links - no hydraulics and only minimal movement. But with reasonable skill and because we had plotted the sections to be rideable - was able to get through.

Then came along one of the local trail riders, who we will let be anonymous, his machine was a couple of years old, had marvellous springing front and rear, all carefully hydraulically damped just to suit his weight and copious movement front and rear - would make a simple climbing a rocky stream child's play.........but look at the result - his nice new thoroughly competent machine couldn't cope whereas the sixty-years old British, totally unsuitable, bike had passed through and was continuing on his way......

It proved to the trail riders that you actually needed to LEARN how to cope with various surfaces and conditions - and it really forced home that point.

And that made it all worth while - cos at the end of the day we all sat in the pub and everybody joined in the natter, learning and enjoying.

[laird387]

Hi,

I've just spent a while looking at the results of the 2014 Scottish Pre-65 and I have to admit I am disappointed to find that many of the riders that I know personally to have 'correct' motorcycles, built totally in the spirit of keeping them the way that they were before 1965 - have had, judging by the results, rather difficult rides. I truly hope they enjoyed themselves never the less.

It does seem to me that the goalposts have moved slightly and we have lost the fair day's sport for all - if you can't afford all the costly fiddle modifications then you start at a disadvantage. But, it seems to me, that's just the way of the world today.

To try and show you what I mean by a fair day's sport I have chosen a couple of images from my archive, taken by Mary Wylde at a trial where I was busy on the day, having personally laid out the sections on a forty-mile route and dashing round as soon as the observers were in place to make sure they knew exactly where the section boundaries were - and that they hadn't moved the occasional flag, to improve (in their eyes) the hazard.

The trial was the 1992 Frank Jones round of the Sammy Miller championship and the two riders are from the diametrically most different classes. A rider, who I don't know, from the trial riding class with his 'XT' and Richard Percival with his sixty-plus years old Ariel rigid with girder forks, no damping on the front end, just one simple coil spring........

Judge for yourself whether they had an equal chance of riding the section - whether each could have a day out on their respective chosen motorcycles, each enjoying themselves and enjoying being included. The results - riding entirely the same sections throughout the trial, there was only one route, Richard on the Ariel dropped just fifteen marks, beating the trail rider by a significant margin.

Now that, in my view, is inclusive sport - and that's the way it was.

I rest my case.

Edited May 5, 2014 by laird387