The Velobanjogent

A few pics from my archive to tide me over for a week...am off to the Historic Motorcycle Races at Pukekohe, NZ for a few days....

2012-02-03T17:03:00.000+11:00

I'm leaving early Sat.4th Feb to fly to NZ for the Classic Motorcycle races at the Pukekohe circuit some 45 minutes south of Auckland....."Have camera, will travel". So I'll do a posting on the meeting in the next few weeks.
To tide us over I found a pile of snaps I'd taken over the years and scanned some in...
Come look with me....
Left click on the images to enlarge...

A sectioned 1954 MSS Velocette engine, sectioning done at Veloce, now the custodian of this item is the UK Velocette Owners Club ...think I took these pics around 1986.

A sectioned Iron MAC Velocette engine, sectioning done at Veloce, now the custodian of this item is the UK Velocette Owners Club ...

A part of Domiracer Inc, Cincinnati, Ohio USA showroom of motorcycles for sale...likely taken in 1989.

A look into the late Ralph Seymours workshop and workbench in his then shop in Thame, UK...Likely 1986.

Hard work!!
An LE, two up, around 5000' up in the Australian Alps during a National Australian Velocette Rally...date on the pic seems to indicate 3rd November 2003.
The riders?
Keith and Colleen Canning.
Keith is the current President of the Australian VOC.

And finally.... odd perhaps for the Velobanjogent's site....
Clive, who was my sulphur crested cockatoo for over 20 years...a great mate that regrettably I had to pass on to another friend...Peter Boros, who is equally fond of him....
A handsome parrot if I do say so myself!

Alpha Bearings, UK....a look into some older master catalogues in particular for Velocette information...

2012-01-22T23:43:00.002+11:00

Alpha Bearings Limited are a company well known in English motorcycling circles for big end assemblies....
Actually they have made other items over the years including engine valves, small end bushes, valve guides and after acquiring the Romac Cable making business, supplied speedo and tacho cables as well amongst other things.
Situated in Kingsley Road, Netherton near Dudley in the West Midlands of the UK, I remember when I first visited them on a business trip in September 1986. I'd borrowed a BMW R100/7 from a long time UK friend, Elvin Bitchell to run around the UK and Europe ( a cheapskates business trip...actually I relished the riding and camping it entailed...but that is a story for perhaps another post..) visiting various businesses of interest, predominately speedometer oriented, and so Alpha were on the list.
It was one of the "hole in the wall" type entrances and some shock when I came upon it riding slowly down Kingsley Road...

Entering the open door I advanced down a darkened passage to one of those half doors such as you find in a horse stable, the top half open..."hello in there!" ...a friendly face appeared and we introduced each other....
Enough of the preamble, I've several Alpha master catalogues I want to share data from with you, this will be Velocette oriented, but for others, the introduction side of the catalogues make interesting reading.
Perhaps I'll publish a more complete listing for other motorcycle brands at a later date...
I've one catalogue up to 1953 and the other up to 1966.
Lets look at the 1953 one first...
I acknowledge copyright to Alpha Bearings Ltd., who are still actively in business...
Left click on the images to enlarge them all for better viewing....

The 1953 catalogue cover...the books came from a now defunct Sydney Motorcycle Accessory firm, Omodies Ltd., and as you can see by the stamp on the top of the cover the Australian importer for Alpha at that time was Eustace G.Jones in Melbourne, Victoria.

Flyleaf for the 1953 catalogue....
Following are information pages from the 1953 catalogue, omitted in the 1966 edition...

The 1966 Alpha Bearing catalogue cover...

The introduction of the Alpha Tru crankshaft truing jig for 1966...

Alpha small end bush listing to 1966, covering Velocette.

Alpha small end bush codes for Velocette to 1966.

Alpha big end codes and dimensions covering Velocette to 1966.

Interesting information....
The codes....
V1..... 1932-1940 GTP
V2.....1934-1948 MOV
V3.....1934-1960 MAC and 1936-1948 KSS MK.2
V4.....1935-1948 495cc, 81 x 96 MSS
V5.....1938 Mk.7 and 1939-1950 Mk.8 KTT
V6/9..1956-1971 VENOM, VIPER and 1954-1971 86 x 86 MSS
V7......1957-1964 VALIANT
V8......1962-1965 VICEROY
Ever wondered what the big end bearing clearance was for an Alpha Velocette big-end, say the V6/9 for the 500cc Venom/MSS/ 350cc Viper?
Taken from the above chart.....
The internal diameter of the bearing ring for the con rod is 1.8765"
The diameter of the crankpin track is 1.500"
The diameter of two 3/16" rollers are 0.1875" x 2 = 0.375"
So.. 1.8765 less 0.375" less 1.500" = 0.0015"
A thou and a half....
When oiled guess you'd have difficulty in feeling any play in the newly assembled bearing.....

M.I.R.A....1956, a look back into the early times of this motor vehicle research establishment in the UK....

2012-01-16T08:19:00.000+11:00

If you're a reader of earlier English Motorcycle magazines and road test reports, you'd have come across the initials, M.I.R.A.
Motor Industry Research Association...a facility based at Lindley near Nuneaton in the UK....
Now as readers of my blog will be aware I've lots of literature accumulated over the years and having been involved in automotive and motorcycle instrumentation, I have a good selection to cover this aspect of my life.
I was looking back through some "Smiths Automobile Review", an in house magazine from the Smiths Instrument group and an article in #11 of 1956 forms the basis for this posting.( acknowledgement to Smiths Industries for these)....

The article in question was on M.I.R.A , now I don't intend this post to be a formal treatise on the body in question, just a general look to bring you perhaps a little more knowledgeable on it....so lets read through the items and I've a few additional comments.
Before this I was in touch with motorcycle historian Peter Jones from Canberra and he offered some initial comment.

"....Formed in 1946, I believe with financial support from the British Govt. About 1/2 of the finances were raised from within the Motor Industry. This was seen as a necessity in the Motor Industry to allow for proper high speed testing of British cars to give them an edge over those being produced overseas - especially Germany where BMW had access to the remaining wartime German jet aircraft high speed testing and wind tunnel facilities.

Around forty or so sites were initially looked at, inc both Donnington and Silverstone, before settling on a ex wartime RAF airfield at Lindley. This was named after a nearby farm called Lindley Hall Farm - sometimes known as 'The Geographical Centre' of UK. The site covers 760 acres. There are some 58 miles of track, covering various options for both high speed and crash testing.

The facilities first became available to motor car manufacturers in Oct 1948, when Jaguar (I believe?) took a prototype sportscar there for secret testing. This car later (several years) evolved into the E Type. I understand Triumph were the first motor cycle users, testing a twin cylinder 500 there in 1949. Initially it was quite relaxed, where both cars and bikes might both be on the track at the same time - as it was quite expensive to book the facilities for sole use. Later, as safety became more and more an issue, this relaxed approach disappeared. It seems that both Velo and Vincent looked at MIRA for their speed record attempts, (the 24 hour record), but both found the cost too prohibitive, and went elsewhere.

The current HQ was completed in about 1954, and a wind tunnel - the first for motor cars - was opened in 1959. This was modelled on the wind tunnel used at Farnborough for aircraft testing.

MIRA have a web site which might be worth visiting - On the 'The MIRA Estate' section they had a historical pic showing an aerial view of the track as it was, and another as it is today. Unfortunately I do not have any photos of MIRA - but I'm reasonably sure that there would have been photos in the press of the day - 'Motor" for example, which can be researched on-line..."

The association does have a website and worth a look at...

http://www.mira.co.uk/about-mira/mira-heritage#timeline-milestone_142

M.I.R.A in 1956.....

White china clay similar to tropical desert dust, used for testing.

Smiths Industries tested waterproofing of instruments...these used on the Austin Champ 4 x 4 and Ferret Scout car.

As I mentioned, M.I.R.A is mentioned in Motorcycling road tests, so I've added some items from the "MotorCycling" Road Test series, between 1958 and 1961 ( acknowledgement to Morton's Motorcycle Media for these)....

The famous Velocette registration number "SOX-631", above in Venom Clubman form doing a stint at M.I.R.A.

This formed the basis for the successful 100mph for 24 hour attempt in March 1961 at Montlehery in France.

http://velobanjogent.blogspot.com/2008/10/velocettes-24-hours-at-10005mph.html

A Panther on the test hill and a Viper on full throttle...

Velocette handling and the big block of lead........and some more Mk.6 KTT information.....

2012-01-03T21:47:00.007+11:00

Just prior to Christmas in my last post then, I alluded to some new photographs that had come to light, exciting ones for me as a Velocette historian and enthusiast....and here I'd like to thank Bo Ekland who corresponds with me for directing me to the site and to fellow Veloman Gert Boll for his help in translation and navigating around the site.....
Sounds pretty clandestine doesn't it.....
The site is the Technical Museum of Vienna in Austria.
The URL for the site is....
www.technischesmuseum.at

It fascinates me that all these years later photo archives still surface with photographs that add pieces to the puzzle, in this case of Velocette history.
So what excited me....
Well we found several items.... one of the ex Roger Loyer Mk.6 KTT Velocette being raced in several Austrian events prior to WW2, ridden by Bruno Ahlswede.
The bike was subsequently destroyed in a firestorm during Allied bombing of Hamburg during WW2...leaving only two left of the original three made up by Veloce Ltd in 1936.
After WW2 Bruno emigrated to Johannesburg, South Africa. I am unsure if he is still alive.

The photos show Bruno Ahlswede on the ex Roger Loyer Mk.6 KTT in the Height Road race in lower Austria, no date given.

Photo Copyright held by Artur Fenzlau/Technisches Museum Wien
www.technischesmuseum.at

Bruno Ahlswede on the Mk.6 KTT at the Stadtpark, Austria in either 1938 or 1939.

Ahlswede's Mk.6...a bit "knocked around"...I suggest Loyer, leaning against the pit wall, must have fell off a couple of times hence the "Velocette" tank transfer fitted low down following a tank repair... see below-

Roger Loyer on the Mk.6 KTT he 'd just received from the factory in the IOM at TT time, June 1936....looks a bit more pristine... photo credit S.R.Keig Ltd, Douglas, IOM.
Well lets get to another exciting set of photos, all from the Technical Museum in Austria...
But first a little history lesson....
During 1935 Stanley Woods approached Percy Goodman, the managing director of Velocette looking for a ride on their bikes...initially rebuffed, Goodman then approached him and they signed a contract for Stanley to ride for them as their no. 1 rider.
His first ride was in the Dutch TT of 1935 in which he reportedly retired with lubrication problems.

I did a post on Stanley's financial dealing with Veloce...see-
http://velobanjogent.blogspot.com/2008/04/how-much-did-stanley-woods-earn-for-his.html

Of more concern to Stanley after he'd had some test rides was the handling of the bikes....
Velocette had developed a ...for then...revolutionary swinging arm framed racing bike.
It used Oleomatic suspension units on the rear with a pivoted fork that is identical to the twin shock rear suspension used today....
There is little around in actual print on this development, much came from discussion in later years with Chas. Udall the Velocette development engineer.
But Udall was not in charge of the racing side at the time...it was Harold Willis.
Willis flew a DH60 Moth aeroplane and knew George Dowty who had just developed an oleomatic strut for aircraft landing gear....
See also my post on this....
http://velobanjogent.blogspot.com/2009/10/dowty-oleomatic-strutmore-simply-mk8.html

I did another post on the swinging arm frame, so this post is really an addendum to both...
http://velobanjogent.blogspot.com/2008/03/origins-of-velocette-swinging-arm-frame.html

Following Stanley's comment...put bluntly the bike does not handle well, Velocette set about rectifying the problem.
Titch Allen in his book "The Velocette Saga",mentions that Willis and Udall visited the IOM in the Autumn of 1935 with ,then, Velocette works riders Wal Handley and Walter Rusk.(p.92)
Udall claims on p.92 that Harold Willis backed the former Velocette works rider Wal Handley in keeping the engine further back in the frame to effectively put more weight over the rear wheel.
Udall claims to have spoken to Percy Goodman relating having seen Walter Rusk on a Velocette racer in mid air at the 13th milestone in the TT and decided the engine should be moved forward, using an aviation principle that the centre of air pressure should be behind the centre of gravity and that a motorcycle off the ground was like an aeroplane without a tailfin.
But they were testing the rigid framed machine and the later tests were with the new swinging arm machine.
He claims Goodman agreed and that Stanley had two test sessions in the IOM and they settled on his suggestion re geometry etc.
Could be, but Willis was a pilot, owned and flew a plane, read the "Flight" and "Aeroplane" magazines, knew George Dowty and was the race chief....
Titch Allen admits as an historian he often went into print without following up all the leads...
Interestingly Handley and Rusk were not factory Velocette riders in 1936....
They were Stanley Woods, Ted Mellors and Ernie Thomas....
A completely new crew....
So I think otherwise...
Reading Ivan Rhodes book, "Velocette,Technical Excellence Exemplified", pages 69-70, Ivan mentions that experimental frames were built for Stanley and Ernie Thomas and these were taken to the IOM for testing using lead weights added to strategic points on the frame such that a new geometry became firmly established...
Perhaps not, for in the Swiss GP, on 3rd May 1936, barely a month before the TT, Stanley was entered in the 350 class and the 500 class.
He retired in the 350 class, for unspecified reasons and finished 6th in the 500 class.
The 350 was a rigid framed Velocette with one of the new 350 DOHC engines fitted, and here I must say I have only ever previously seen the 350 DOHC in swinging arm frames with Stanley and Ernie riding them. Ted Mellors was the only rider to use a rigid framed racing Velocette, both as a 350 DOHC and a 500 SOHC as a works rider during 1936 and part of 1937.
At the Swiss GP, the 500, a SOHC "dog kennel" cambox engine was in the new swinging arm frame and the lead block can be seen fitted, moulded around the lower front down tube, effectively moving the centre of gravity forward....

The small circular protrusion on the top of the block is a cut off casting sprue...where the molten lead is poured into the mould....

Stanley standing with his 500 at the Swiss GP, 3 May 1936.

Stanley with the new 350 DOHC engine in the 1935 works rigid frame setup...other items of interest are the new alloy front wheels on both the 350 and 500. Harold Willis had them painted black by the IOM TT time as had Norton....
Each trying to outwit each other.....
The tachometer is a Smiths centrifugal governor type...changed in the next month at TT time for a Smiths chronometric.....

Photo Copyright held by Artur Fenzlau/Technisches Museum Wien
www.technischesmuseum.at
Velocette did use a different front downtube angle on the new swinging arm frame.....

The 1935 works 500 SOHC Velocette in a rigid frame....see more angled front down tube.

The engine plate detail, above, indicates the position of the engine being further back in the frame diamond...the photo is from the 1935 Ulster GP works Velocette.

The 1937 works 500 SOHC Velocette in a swinging arm frame with the steeper front down tube...

The engine plate detail show the engine further forward in the swinging arm frame....
The "give-away" with the 350 DOHC engine position in rigid and swinging arm frames is the exhaust pipe position, as the engine plates are not conclusive...

Stanley Woods on the 350 DOHC swinging arm Velocette, 1936 IOM TT.

Ted Mellors, 350 DOHC ridid Velocette, 1936 IOM TT.
Both photos...photo credit S.R.Keig Ltd, Douglas, IOM.
So after all the above, I said I felt otherwise....
I'm inclined to the belief that Harold Willis and Stanley Woods solved the handling problem eventually and by the lead block on the photos in early May 1936, the solution must have been close to IOM TT time...worrying for the Velocette race team...
The new oleo rear units had problems with slow deflation at first and this would have not helped the handling.
A factory photo I have of the new 350 DOHC, with Stanley's initial engine number as listed in the works KTT records, but in the swinging arm frame of Ernie Thomas indicates a swap in the IOM....
Did Stanley feel Ernie's frame handled better and as the no.1 rider asked for the frame change...or did Stanley feel Ernie's engine was faster and request it giving Ernie his engine.
If it was the latter it was an irony.... for Stanley retired during the first lap with engine trouble and Ernie finished 3rd after being 2nd for much of the race before falling off and losing a position....
Soon after I posted this Dai Gibberson contacted me with a copy of a cutting from a June 9th 1950 Examiner T.T. Special article by P.J. ( Percy) Goodman....it gives us actual written comment from a major player in the affair....

While emailing Dai over this he mentioned Stanley Woods liked to ski in Switzerland...this triggered a memory of some correspondence I had with SW in 1975....
Part of it is below....

Removal of a Smiths chronometric speedo or tacho bezel rim.......

2011-12-21T07:43:00.000+11:00

This could be the last post from me for the year and it is an item long overdue from me to add to the several posts I've done on the Smiths chronometric speedometer and tachometer.
The bezel of the 80mm diameter (3") chronometric has a rim with an 80mm x 0.9mm thread. The thread is relatively fine for the diameter and removal of the bezel from the case by unscrewing is not always easy.
You need a good strap wrench...the best I came across was a type and you'll see it illustrated, that was made in the USA and has s mall rubber type suction pads.
I dont think they make them like this now as years back I tried to get more and they had gone over to plastic which as you read down the blog, you'll see is not suitable.
Putting too much pressure onto the rim will distort it and that in turn causes the bezel to grip harder.
So what is one of the major reasons a bezel is stuck?
The 'O' ring seal used by Smiths was made of natural rubber and these perish over time and appear to 'melt' effectively glueing the rim to the glass and oozing onto the glass carrier or slipring/mask.
The rim wont move under normal pressure if it is like this.
The trick is to use careful heat, played around the rim edge until the remains of the 'O' ring really do melt and then quickly fit the strap wrench and in 99.9% of cases the rim quickly and easily unscrews and when cleaned up of the resulting rubber mess can be re-used.
As well there is no damage to the dial and internal components.
I suggest you make up, from some convenient angle piece a bracket to mount the instrument to and hold this in a vice.
Left click on the images to enlarge them for better viewing....

The smoke from the rubber melting indicates the bezel is close to ready for unscrewing...

A look through some photos from DQs archive...no particular order but with more of a Norton theme...I like them and perhaps with Christmas approaching.... organising a detailed article is beyond me....

2011-12-14T17:53:00.005+11:00

Well firstly to all my blog fans....
Thanks for stopping by for a look.....
I hope you got as much enjoyment from the diverse, yet often Velocette oriented items I post, that I get in posting them for you...
Seasons Greetings to you all......

Left click on images to enlarge them...

A youthful Kel Carruthers...CR93 Honda, with family, likely Winton road race circuit, near Benalla, Victoria.Probably in mid 1960's.
Kell went to Europe and won a 250 world championship on a Benelli/4. He settled in the USA and ran the Yamaha race team for many years.

Aub Lawson probably at Sydney Showground Speedway.

I found this photo recently...it is one of some 25 pics adorning the walls of a pedestrian tunnel under, for me, nearby Ashfield Railway station.
The text says "motorcycles in a doctors yard,circa 1915". But I doubt the date, as the NSW licence plates are too great a number for that period and the word "NSW" did not appears on licence plates until around 1922...

Down the other end of the tunnel...couldn't resist this, well you wouldn't knowing my interest in traditional jazz.
1950 Australian Jazz convention, held in Ashfield Town Hall...pic is of the street parade. My wife Judy, daughter Felicity and granddaughter Elizabeth May look on....

My good friend John Simms recent restoration of his BMW R69S with Heinrich petrol tank....

The Filtrate Oil trophy...a Manx Norton crankshaft assembly......

J.H. "crasher" White, 350 Norton, 2nd in the 1936 Junior IOM TT, at Quarter Bridge...

From my small snapshot collection..."crasher" White in the paddock at the 1937 IOM TT. #20 490cc Senior Norton.

Jimmy Guthrie on his Senior Norton in the paddock during 1937 IOM TT...

Jock Weddall, 1939 IOM TT, 490 Norton, retired on the first lap...

Dutch TT, 26.06.1948. Artie Bell's Norton with Joe Craig, Mk.8 KTT behind,Franta Juhan.
Photo credit Drents Archief, The Netherlands.
http://www.drentsarchief.nl/index.php

Dutch TT, Assen, 24.06.1933, Stanley Woods, works Norton.

Photo credit Drents Archief, The Netherlands.
http://www.drentsarchief.nl/index.php

Dutch TT,07.06.1951, #68 Phil Heath, Norton and #83 Werner Gerber, 7R AJS.

Photo credit Drents Archief, The Netherlands.
http://www.drentsarchief.nl/index.php

1928 at Dutch TT, 23.06.1928, D.J. de Jong, 490 Norton.

Photo credit Drents Archief, The Netherlands.
http://www.drentsarchief.nl/index.php

1934, 350 Nortons at the Dutch TT, 23.06.1934,#37 Jimmy Simpson and #54 J.Vidal.

Photo credit Drents Archief, The Netherlands.
http://www.drentsarchief.nl/index.php

1935 Dutch TT, Jimmy Guthrie, Norton,06.07.1935.

Photo credit Drents Archief, The Netherlands.
http://www.drentsarchief.nl/index.php

Norton pit at the 1927 Dutch TT,25.06.1927, Stanley woods, in the foreground.

Photo credit Drents Archief, The Netherlands.
http://www.drentsarchief.nl/index.php

Jimmy Simpson,1934 IOM TT.

J.M.Muir, 490 Norton, 3rd 1933 Senior IOM TT...

Finally a little Velocette stuff to finish off this post...
Earlier this year in March was the 50th Anniversary of the successful attempt by Velocette to average 100mph for 24 hours on a basically standard 500cc Venom Clubman motorcycle.
The Australian Velocette Owners Club approached Australia Post and had a special 60cents postage stamp made up....
Club-member Stuart Brown was responsible for the production and the original poster was too cluttered to use, so a modified photo used by myself as my business logo, KTT Services and "MotorCycling" for the cover of their Sports Road Tests seemed imminently suitable...
What do you think....

And if you are in the USA...the latest Black and Decker Garage brochure has an interesting cover photo....

And finally as over the next few weeks with Christmas, a new one year old grand daughter living with us, and Judy and I spending between Christmas and the New Year up in Bundaberg, Northern Queensland with my playing banjo at the 66th Australian Jazz Convention, my post timings could be a little erratic...so from the Velobanjogent...
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year....

Photo credit...my good friend ( Santa) Gert Boll......

Keith Bryen, Aussie privateer and finally works Moto Guzzi rider in 1957.....these are likely the last of the photos I have on him...

2011-12-04T21:45:00.000+11:00

I've done quite a few posts on Keith Bryen, Aussie privateer in Europe from 1953, culminating in a works Moto Guzzi ride later in 1957......
Use the search facility on the RHS of my blog, typing in "Keith Bryen"...... drift back into what many consider was a golden era of motorcycle racing.
Keith and Gwen kindly loaned me many of their photographs of their time in Europe following the "Continental Circus".....
I've scratched through my folder and come up with a few more, but suggest these may be the last without re-using photos.
This happens occasionally and for it I apologise....
Left click on the images to enlarge them....

Len and Neil Tinker, Belgium GP, 1953.

Gilera works team, Belgium GP, 1953.

Moto Guzzi works team, Belgium GP, 1953.

Pit area, Noris Ring, Nurnberg, 1953

Main straight, Noris Ring, Nurnberg, 1953.

Pit area, Noris Ring, Nurnberg, 1953.

Riders and wives, Noris Ring, Nurnberg, 1953.

Leo Simpson,Geoff Walker, Laurie Boulter,George Scott and Ken Kavenagh...unsure where...and likely during 1953.

The 500cc race starts at Solitude, 22.07.1956...

Solitude, 22.07.1956, the 500cc race has just started...

Alan Trow, Peter Murphy (NZ) and Keith Bryen...Bourge en Bresse, 1957.

Gwen Bryen looks on from their van, unknown, centre, Alan Trow, to right Peter Murphy at Bourge en Bresse, 1956....

Peter Murphy, (unknown), Alan Trow and Keith tuck into lunch at Borge en Bresse, 1956.

Geoff Duke, Gilera; Keith Campbell, Moto Guzzi, Keith Bryen, Norton. Swedish GP, Hedemora, 14.07.1957.

Works Moto Guzzi ride, 1956 Ulster GP, on the grid for the 350cc race.10.08.1957

350cc race of 1956 UGP. Finished 2nd place, works Moto Guzzi, 10.08.1957.

More early motorcycling photos...bought for me over the years by my late aunt Flo....and some more from Harry Beanhams album of his travels in 1920's in Victoria and Southern NSW, Australia.

2011-11-27T20:55:00.001+11:00

In my last posting I mentioned my late Auntie Flo, was always on the lookout for little treasures to give my sister and I...
With my interest in motorcycling she often came across small photos in antique shops...

Real early stuff from the 1910 to 1920 period and all UK stuff....
They carry a sticker, "Demaus Transport Photographics, Stagbatch Farm, Monkland, Leominster, Herts, HR6 9DA"..
Either way I acknowledge their involvement, but for sure my Aunt never purchased from them directly.
I've also done several posts previously on Harry Beanham who, in his early motorcycling days in the 1920's toured northern Victoria and southern NSW, often on an ABC motorcycle or a Brough Superior, many times with friends.
Lets look at another small selection from the several photo albums of his I have acquired.
Harry first.....
Incidently if you've not viewed the early Harry Beanham stuff...type in his name in the search facility on the RHS of this blog.....
Left click on the images to enlarge them....

Following are the last of my Aunt's photos....

Ariel rider and others, circa1930 at Brecon...

Meet at the Swan's Nest Hotel, Stratford-on-Avon, circa 1912....

Copthorne hill climb, 1921....

Hipton hill climb Chatcombe Pitch near Cheltenham, circa 1921....

Madresfield speed trials, 1921...

New Imperial on Rosedale Abbey Bank...no date....

Redditch and District MCC rider on hill climb,likely Willersley, 1913...

Sgonina on a Sgonina special at Margam Park, 1922....

Early motorcycling photos...bought for me over the years by my late aunt Flo....

2011-11-19T23:43:00.000+11:00

My late Auntie Flo, bless her heart, was always on the lookout for little treasures to give my sister and I...
With my interest in motorcycling she often came across small photos in antique shops...
Early motorcycling photos, which I really haven't scrutinised carefully, nor utilised until now.
Real early stuff from the 1910 to 1920 period and all UK stuff....
They carry a sticker, "Demaus Transport Photographics, Stagbatch Farm, Monkland, Leominster, Herts, HR6 9DA"..
I suspect they acquired them and popped them into the small envelopes with the label, although they may have the negatives.
Either way I acknowledge their involvement, but for sure my Aunt never purchased from them directly.
So lets view them together.....
Left click on the images to enlarge them, although Google has altered their blogger format such that the images when clicked on are no longer large, assuming you load large files as I do...can't fathom why....

F.A Applebee, winner of 1912 Senior IOM TT astride his 3.5hp Scott. On his right is J.R. Haswell, 3.5hp Triumph who finished 2nd and was the first private entry and the first single cylinder machine to finish.

Coalport speed hill climb,1911. A rider pushes off at the start.

North Middlesex MCC, Start of a road trial, circa 1913.

1919 Sunbeam outfit, Madresfield Speed Trials 1921.

Brooklands 500cc 1 hour race, 29th May 1920.

Triumph, circa 1914.

F.W.Giles, 3.5hp Triumph at Hopton Bank hill climb, circa 1913.

Jimmy Guthrie (AJS),left, winner Lwt TT, IOM, 1930.

The N.U.T. with which Eric ( who??? no surname given ) won the 1920 Sunbac Colmore Cup Trial.

Coalport Hill climb, circa 1911. Extreme left is A.J.Stevens of AJS in the same gear he wore for the 1911 IOM TT.

Redditch and DMCC road trial, circa 1913.

Another 1913 Senior contestant was H.Petty (Singer) seen here at Brooklands shortly prior to the IOM TT.

Indian riders for the 1913 Senior IOM TT event. The machines are wearing their practice numbers.

Water cooled Williamson flat twin in a trial, circa 1913.

A further full look at a scientific paper presented by B.Johnston the then technical manager of AMAL Ltd to an IMechE conference in the IOM 31st May- 3rdJune 1978

2011-11-09T19:48:00.000+11:00

In Feb.2009 I introduced you in a book review to the bound IMechE conference papers presented at a 4 day conference in Douglas, IOM 31st May to 3rd June 1978...obviously just before TT time.
See my blog on this...
http://velobanjogent.blogspot.com/2009/02/design-and-development-of-small.html

I mentioned briefly two of the papers, one from an Amal Ltd representative, B.Johnston their technical manager at the time and the other by Jack Williams on the 7R AJS.
I treated both briefly.
This time I intend to concentrate on the Amal Ltd paper and present it in full, and I acknowledge copyright for the paper to B.Johnston, Amal Ltd, now obviously, because of the time frame, long gone and the Automobile Division and the Combustion Group of The Institute of Mechanical Engineers, London,UK.
Left click on the images to enlarge them and to read the text with the altered blog format by Google which appears to no longer allow you to enlarge an item. You may have to capture the image etc and print it out.

C123/78

SMALL ENGINE CARBURETTER DEVELOPMENT

B. JOHNSTON

Technical Manager, Amal Ltd

SYNOPSIS This paper deals with the development of carburetters during the last fifty years to the present day for what are conventionally termed 'small engines'. Covered are applications, both recreational and commercial, for a variety of uses; motor cycles, mopeds, scooters, marine engines (inboard and outboard), cultivators, generators, lawnmowers, pumps, chain saws, go-karts, snowmobiles etc. Starting in the late 1920's, by which time carburetter design had evolved into recognizable set categories, it follows the innumerable different inventions that had appeared during the formative years of internal combustion engine development and goes on to show the consolidation that took place until the early 1960's, the renaissance since then, the state of the art now, and anticipated future developments.

INTRODUCTION

1 For convenience this paper is divided into two parts. The first deals principally with carburetters for motor cycles, scooters, mopeds and derived power units used in snowmobiles, go-karts etc in short those with a high specific power output. The second covers the remainder; marine engines, lawnmowers, cultivators, pumps, chain saws and general purpose industrial applications usually, although not exclusively, with lower specific outputs. It is assumed that 'small engines' implies production units having individual cylinder capacities from about 50 up to the 500 and 600 cubic centimetre capacity region or multiples of such cylinders. The fact that the text draws heavily on the history of 'Amal Limited' since its formation in 1927 will be evident. This is inevitable and not simply a consequence of the author's long involvement with that company, but because Amal pioneered and dictated the worldwide fashion in small engine carburetters, particularly for motor cycles for the ensuing thirty years or so. That aside, the author has endeavoured to be impartial throughout and acknowledge other manufacturers' contributions wherever applicable. Besides those chosen for inclusion, there are no doubt many noteworthy omissions, but for the given subject and the period of time covered, the space available permits only a superficial resume'.

The motor cycle carburetter - 1930

2 In order to explain the trend in carburetter development, it helps to look back to the period covering the late 1920's and early 1930’s, when subtle but significant changes were taking place. It was a time of deep worldwide recession which caused the collapse and disappearance of many companies. It coincided with the end of the formative years of carburetter design and evolution. Until this period there existed innumerable manufacturers of carburetters of a variety of types, some good, others questionable, including many engine manufacturers making their own designs. Understandably, supply exceeded demand. The economic pressures helped to resolve the technical atmosphere; those companies with most commercial acumen and/or technical expertise asserted themselves. An example is the formation of Amalgamated Carburetters in 1927 (AMAL), by the merging of three prominent manufacturers. This process encouraged Amal to further design rationalization, resulting in adoption of the most technically satisfactory solutions and commercially viable products; a process that was inevitable but which, without a harsh commercial climate, would probably have been spread over many years. Co-incidentally the remaining manufacturers tended to specialize in particular sections of the market, ie automotive, motor cycles and other small engines.

3 The surviving designs fall into three distinct broad categories that remain to this day, although in some cases there is an interchange of design features, the principle differences are still recognized and applicable, Pig 1 (a, b & c).

Firstly, the fixed venturi butterfly valve controlled type. This is virtually the definitive carburetter, derivations of which are by far the most commonly used for small engine applications. There are variations on this theme in terms of detailed design and sophistication, but usually the simple type, Fig 1 (a), employs an emulsion tube air bleed system for compensation; frequently, an accelerator pump is added to assist rapid transient changes.

Secondly Fig 1 (b), in direct contract are the so-called constant velocity designs where the venturi area is formed by a pressure controlled piston acting automatically upon demand from the butterfly valve. The venturi forming piston adjusts itself to the engine's requirements, a needle attached to the piston meters fuel in correct proportions. This principle is fundamentally self-compensating, the only usual addition being a piston damper to assist rapid acceleration. This optimisation of the venturi area gives particularly good atomization and mixing.

Thirdly, Fig 1 (c), what is best described as a mechanically controlled piston valve type, where a piston valve is directly connected by cable to

the main control. As in the constant velocity types, a needle is attached to the piston to meter the correct amount of fuel, but an additional air bleed is required to provide compensation characteristics. It is this type in which we are principally interested for it became, as it still is, the definitive motor cycle carburetter.

4 1930 - 1950

Why three types? Surely these three principles could have been further optimized with the fixed venturi, type Pig 1 (a) probably fulfilling all likely requirements, a nice tidy situation and an observation containing a considerable amount of truth. It was only persistence by the SU company, with a few faithful supporters and a small captive market, which kept the CV design alive and in production as an alternative automobile carburetter. Similarly there appears at first glance little need for a distinctive type for motor cycles, so it is worth examining the design in more detail, Fig 2, for the features that justify its adoption and use to the present day, not only in Britain but throughout the world.

Its outstanding feature is the smooth main bore, which on an equal area basis permits superior cylinder charging to other carburetter types, which are handicapped by having changes of shape due to Venturis and butterfly valves. This smooth bore is carefully maintained by using a hollow piston valve embracing a jet block. Fuel level is controlled by an attached float chamber with either top or bottom fuel feed. Air supply, and of course engine speed, are controlled by the piston valve. The leading edge of the valve is cut away by the amount required to influence depression over the spray tube. This governs response to initial pickup and transfer from the idling system.

The fuel metering is controlled in stages throughout the range of valve movement. A calibrated jet regulates the fuel used when the valve is wide open. The range is controlled by a tapered needle attached to the valve by a clip and having alternative positions. This needle operates in a calibrated needle jet. The idling system runs in parallel with a separate calibrated fuel jet and adjustable air supply. The idling mixture discharges into the main bore through a calibrated outlet. During transition from idling to main system, the idling mixture discharges through a bypass hole. Compensation is achieved by having an auxiliary passage so that air pre-mixes with the fuel after discharge from the needle jet before its delivery into the mixing chamber via the spray tube. This is optimized by empirically determing the size and shape of the primary air passage, height and external diameters of needle jet, dimensions of the spray tube and the annular air gap. Also contributing is the amount by which the main jet is submerged.

The parts of the range controlled by the various tuning factors are shown on the inset, Fig 2. As shown, it is over simplified for in fact all the adjustments overlap by varying degrees, so that to optimize the setting, a set sequence of adjustment is called' for:

a Main jet

b Pilot adjustment

c Piston valve cutaway

d Needle position and needle jet diameter

Passing through the piston valve is a separately controlled choke valve. This acts as an enrichment device for cold starting. It is supplemented by a flooding button (tickler) in the float chamber. Thus we have a simple device with a relatively small number of alternative sized production parts: main jets, needle jets, needles and valve cutaways. Consequently it is possible to obtain a wide variety of settings, an important point when supplying relatively small numbers of carburetters for a variety of applications. Further it facilitates supplying basic settings for replacement sales which the user can finalise himself from an instruction leaflet and using normal hand tools, and in addition what little maintenance is required can easily be carried out by the user. Of course it has some negative features, although these are rather more academic than real. Firstly it is possible to stall the engine if the twist grip is opened too quickly from idle or just off idle, or when travelling at slow speeds under heavy load. With this is coupled its snap acceleration characteristics which do call for a carefully contrived compensating system. Secondly there is the need for a strong piston return spring to overcome the inherent friction caused by the vacuum effect of the piston against the rear wall of the body when shutting off and particularly on overrun.

These carburetters were manufactured on conventional single station machine tools, ie lathes, millers, drillers etc, largely from non-ferrous materials.

This then is the carburetter that continued virtually unchanged through to the late 1940's and early 1950*8. The only real trends that are evident during this period are the adoption of zinc based castings in place of brass and a gradual increase in the bore size of carburetters used as engine efficiencies and operating speeds increased. This called for continual effort to maintain optimum snap acceleration and compensation characteristics. This 25 year period, interrupted briefly by the war, formed the longest stable period in motor cycle carburetter design. It was a market largely dominated by British manufactured motor cycles, the manufacturers of which dictated the carburetter requirements. It was of course their constant search for performance that favoured this particular carburetter design. Some special versions were produced in light alloys to higher standards of finish for racing, largely developed from experience gained in the Isle of Man Tourist Trophy races and similar European events, aptly identified as 'TT'.

5 1950 - 1970

Whilst the initial postwar demand was being satisfied with continued production of pre-war designs, a generation of new motor cycles was being prepared. These were for the most part based on existing single cylinder power units, but with a growing favour for vertical twins of 500 to 650 cc capacity, but for the carburetter manufacturers the significant factors were the increasing weight which put an emphasis on the need for improving snap acceleration and compensation characteristics, and the smaller amount of space available for the carburetters, multi-cylinder machines usually favouring one carburetter per cylinder. Similarly with improved engine performance, bore sizes were yet again being increased.

To complement the new generation of motor cycles, significant changes occurred in carburetters, although the general principle of operation was retained. Improvements in diecasting techniques permitted the wider use of zinc alloys. This led to the adoption of unit construction body/float chamber castings and also the manufacture of many smaller parts, hitherto in brass, from zinc die-castings. This trend is typified by the Amal Monobloc carburetter. Float chambers now being integral were generally smaller and this was achieved by the use of lever operating float mechanisms, Fig 3(a). In the search for improved performance, particular attention was paid to the improvement of acceleration characteristics from the larger carburetters in use and the compensation characteristics over the extended rpm range, Fig 3 (b).

A substantial improvement was achieved by the introduction of bleed holes in the needle jet component. These served the dual purpose of assisting the compensation characteristics and allowing fuel to collect in the annular space around the needle jet to form a reservoir at small throttle openings which is available for acceleration. Note that this air is introduced after metering fuel by the needle jet orifice to avoid the complication of metering the fuel/air mixture through the needle jet. Detachable pilot jets were adopted for cleaning purposes. The primary air feed hole is removed from the influence of the intake air, but still contained within the air filter trunking.

It should not be assumed that this first new generation of carburetters was automatically modelled on its predecessors. Many other design solutions were evaluated and discarded before retaining the intrinsic original features, and of course another major feature was the unit cost. Motor cycles were still essentially offering low-cost transport for the masses as an alternative to the automobile, the mid-fifties being the moped and scooter era, when smaller versions of the same basic carburetters were developed, which meant that to compete, carburetter manufacturers had to catalogue a range of carburetters from 12 mms to 32 mms nominal bore size for normal use, and up to 38 mms for racing. It is interesting to note, and as an aside, that this new generation of carburetters met with quite a lot of resistance initially, it being necessary to sell the additional features to what was a very conservative market.

For road racing the Grand Prix carburetter appeared, which was carefully designed to permit the maximum power potential of an engine to be realised. The main feature is the offsetting of the metering needle to permit a smooth unobstructed bore at full throttle, the use of remote mounting of the float chamber to isolate it from vibration, the incorporation of an interchangeable primary air jet to facilitate closely matching of the compensation characteristics to individual applications and the ability to use this carburetter at a range of down draught

angles up to the near vertical. Not included is any form of acceleration well, the four stroke engines then being used in racing invariably fitting megaphone exhausts which effectively precluded running at below half throttle except for starting. For the same reason the idling adjustment was only incorporated to assist starting and warm up.

Events soon dictated further changes; pressure on manufacturing costs increased as the European motor cycle manufacturers began to feel the effect of competition from Japanese exports, this in turn led to changes, particularly intended to reduce manufacturing costs. In hand with this was the need to reduce overall dimensions to fit a further generation of motor cycles. By this time two cylinder engines were common and new three cylinder, four cylinder and even six cylinder machines were being contemplated. A further complication was the emergence of the high performance two stroke power unit, particularly in use for cross country competitions and reliability trials. This did not take at all kindly to generations of carburetters with built-in characteristics to suit four stroke engines, so that a new design had to cater for both options.

Similarly, problems were being experienced with dynamic response due to the off-set position of the float chamber in relation to the jet, which could, under some extreme dynamic situations cause either richness or fuel starvation of the jet. As a consequence of the introduction of two stroke engines and a further trend in four stroke engine development, bore sizes were creeping up yet further and a range of carburetters up to 38 mms for production engines was now necessary. The Amal answer to this (dubbed the 'Concentric’) is a typical example of a carburetter of this period and is similar to solutions which came from other European manufacturers, ie Bing in Germany, Dell'Orto in Italy, and from the Kehein and Mikuni concerns in Japan. These designs still retained the original design features, and are generally still in production to-day.

The concentric, Fig 4, is a good example of value engineering. To achieve a major cost saving the jet block was sacrificed; as expected the resulting irregular bore shape reduced the absolute power by an average of between 2% and 4% depending upon application, but usually only at peak torque. General road testing indicated little detectable difference in performance. This also gave dimensional and consequently weight savings. The area under the valve was carefully shaped to maintain good performance at small piston valve openings and on transfer from idle to main system. This was the first jet blockless Amal carburetter since the jet block principle was established by Amac Limited, (one of the Amal founder companies), in 1925.

Two alternative systems were developed, one for four stroke engines and one for two stroke engines, (inset), to give appropriate throttle range and compensation characteristics. These resulted in the need for alternative spray tube, needle and needle jet components.

One system is virtually the monobloc principle, retained for four stroke engines but dimensionally more compact and maintaining approximately the same standard of performance, that is the compensation curve inclined towards richness at low speed wide open throttle.

The second arrangement, developed specifically for two stroke engines, maintains tighter control over the fuel metering. A spray tube cutaway chamfered to the rear raises the effective depression across the jet, enabling smaller jets to be used for an equivalent fuel flow. The needle jet is raised above fuel level to eliminate the acceleration well and the linear distance between the main jet and needle jet is reduced to further optimize compensation.

It must be stated that this is only part of the two stroke story, there is still a wide variation in the optimum of fuel/air ratio requirements depending on manufacturer and engine family, which still diotates a need to develop an optimum setting in conjunction with the engine manufacturer. Mounting of the cup shaped float chamber underneath the body ensures a supply of fuel surrounding the jet at extreme angles of inclination, and under demanding dynamic situations, not only braking and acceleration but for road racing, mote—cross, trials, go-karting etc.

Both body and float chamber were designed for production on transfer machines, with the minimum of changes to suit alternative bore sizes and positioning of adjusters. Although batches were made in both aluminium and magnesium alloys, zinc alloys were chosen for the major castings, being the most cost effective. Plastics began to be more evident, although nylon had previously been used for floats and some minor parts, acetal copolymers, 'DelTin' and 'Kemetal' were found to be more satisfactory, and in addition to minor parts, major items could be replaced by mouldings quite economically and satisfactory technically. Not immediately anticipated was the customer resistance to plastic components, these being rejected as cheap and nasty. This generation of carburetters is still in production, giving adequate performance and service at relatively low cost. In retrospect, if the trend could have been anticipated, this design should have followed the original 1930-55 designs, thus cutting out the •monobloc* which was a relatively expensive interim model. It is also interesting that once again problems were experienced in gaining acceptance for these carburetters against the 'monobloc^', which having overcome initial sales resistance was firmly established.

6 The 1970's

Almost before this generation of carburetters became established, further efforts were called for. By this time the dominating influence in world markets by Japanese motor cycle manufacturers was under way. To their credit, expansion of the market was based on selling motor cycles as leisure vehicles to a different class of person. It became the *in thing' to possess a motor cycle. Part of the marketing strategy was producing technically sophisticated and varied machines, with almost any combination of two or four stroke engines from between one and four cylinders in a variety of capacities, not necessarily with any real degree of hitherto unknown technical innovation but with a bold fresh approach stemming from a re-appraisal of known principles, and the apparent opportunity to design from scratch in a totally uninhibited atmosphere.

In making these 'up market' products, function came first; low cost followed from the large volume of machines manufactured. It is interesting to note that the European manufacturers, whilst not reducing

their output at all, went from being the world's major producers to only having something under a 1Q& share of the world market, now reckoned to be between 2,000,000 and 3,000,000 machines a year. From the carburetter standpoint, the significant factor was the higher rotational engine speeds and consequently higher specific power outputs of these engines which once again led to the use of larger carburetter bore diameters for given cylinder capacities, and the need to appreciate the fact that these motor cycles were now being used by persons unfamiliar with traditional features of motor cycle and carburetter design, and demanding a degree of sophistication generally found on automobiles.

This led to a rennaiaance of carburetter design and application, Japanese inspired but with the European manufacturers quickly getting the message, the carburetter, as established and wellknown, still being in vogue but in need of a 'face-lift¹. This led to additional models being introduced having more sophistication for the 'up-market' motor cycles.

The Amal answer is the Mk 2 version of the concentric carburetter, Fig. 5. This retains the same functional core as the Mk 1 version but with certain additional features. It is manufactured from aluminium alloy in a range of sizes from 22 to 40 mms using three basic body castings and a common float chamber casting. The mounting is by rubber connection to reduce the effects of vibration and heat transfer. A separate starter carburetter is incorporated giving a rich fast idle; this replaces the tickler/strangler valve combination which had become unacceptable due to the over-flooding action when using the tickler. The throttle valve is of anod-ised aluminium for improved wear resistance. An air intake adaptor is concentric with the main bore and gives improved air flow. The adaptor also retains an interchangeable primary air jet which is an additional tuning feature hitherto only used on racing carburetters. Float chamber venting is tubed to facilitate connection to the air filter or elsewhere and so that for mote—cross use, in the event of the rider falling momentarily, fuel will spill overboard and not into the engine, thereby stalling it due to richness. There are alternative locations for the pilot jet to suit different engine requirements. For finer tuning, needle clip spacings are closer together. There are also a greater variety of needles, needle jets and spray tubes, jet holders and even floats giving alternative levels. As with previous Amal carburetters, there is also a conversion kit for use with methanol fuels. Inevitably this carburetter is more expensive to produce and is seen as additional to the range rather than a replacement to the Mk 1 carburetter. This design policy is generally in line with other major carburetter manufacturers, who offer almost an identical choice but retaining distinctive 'house of origin' features. Another development has been the introduction of twist grip controls giving positive 'push-pull' action on the piston valve in order to assist in overcoming the high vacuum friction, and consequently high return spring pressures needed when using multi-carburetter installations.

These were supplemented by the re-introduction of other types already described, such as basic fixed venturi carburetters of horizontal or vertical down draught types on mopeds and lightweights for basic transportation. With the introduction of engines having higher rotational speeds, the opposed needs of large bores for power realisation and small bores for maintained acceleration were reconciled by using constant velocity carburetters but with carefully shaped bores to minimise power loss at wide throttle openings. Further, the initial variety of CV carburetters was interesting, both stepped piston and diaphragm controlled piston designs being used, some with the addition of an emulsified jet system and separate pilot system, Fig. 6. Another innovation was the introduction of CV designs having only half length pistons, Fig 7, thus operating as fixed venturi carburetters up to half throttle when the piston would then rise as with a normal CV carburetter, the advantages being size reduction coupled to the maintenance of the CV carburetter performance. This variation has generally diminished in favour of the normal diaphragm controlled piston type, similar to the ZenithStromberg automobile type, but whilst this trend took place, it did display an interesting variety of fresh thought. To maintain the competitive edge of the piston valve carburetter, the Dell'Orto company in Italy introduced a range of piston valve carburetters with supplementary accelerator pumps, which have found considerable favour amongst Italian manufacturers and elsewhere, Fig. 8, and particularly with racing enthusiasts using high specific output four stroke engines.

7 FUTURE

This then is the present status, and under normal circumstances would probably have led to a further period of stability and rationalisation, but already further trends can be detected. It is ironic that the successful growth of motor cycling, stemming from the introduction of technically desirable and sophisticated machines, has brought in its wake a burden that will call for further technical strides that will affect the carburetter manufacturers, namely legislation in respect of:

a Noise: Present standards already necessitate reduction in air intake noise. This is usually reduced by plenum chambers and/or tuned induction lengths on the atmospheric side of the carburetter. Whilst these are very effective for supressing noise, they can have an adverse effect on open-throated carburetters of motor cycle type and are far more compatible with fixed venturi or CV type carburetters which in themselves often supress intake roar.

b Exhaust emission legislation: Although present and future predicted levels, introduced in the USA from 1 January 1978, can be met by further improved piston valve carburetters, future anticipated levels will impose a need for constant close control of fuel/air ratios and mixing which will remain important even if some additional technical solution is needed.

From this it is easy to infer that for motor cycles the carburetter will become an increasingly important component which will doubtless have to acquire further sophistication and which will have to be paid for. It is fortunate that the present generation of carburetters already have the nucleus of features designed to meet this new challenge whilst maintaining the motor cycle's traditional performance. This will probably lead to increased use of CV carburetters. However, there will be some applications for which the CV type is not suitable and this will lead to the continued use of the traditional motor cycle type carburetter in more sophisticated form and also the likely retention of fixed

venturi carburetters on lightweight cheap transport vehicles, where low cost is rather more important.

8 Industrial Carburetters

It is logical to consider the other small engine carburetter applications as one, simply because from the beginning they have generally adopted the same design solution; that which gave adequate function/cost effective results. Initially the volume of engines used for general purposes was very small and consequently suitable carburetters were taken from other applications, ie automotive, motor cycles etc., but as the demand for small engines for utility purposes increased, exclusive designs were created and the basic industrial engine carburetter formula emerged. These are almost without exception very simple fixed venturi types with concentric float chambers and simple compensated jet system, and usually an adjustable idling jet. Usually these are manufactured from zinc based castings, but light alloys and plastics are being used increasingly.

Development has been almost exclusively directed towards cost savings, which have resulted mainly in size and weight reductions for given choke areas, together with the incorporation of simple ancillary devices, eg automatic chokes, simple vane governors or ignition cutouts. Effort has also been directed to improving reliability and simplicity of operation to facilitate the use by untrained persons. The original commercial application of such engines has blossomed into a vast leisure market approaching 10,COO,000 units per year of all types but mainly garden implements and outboard motors. A typical modern example is shown in Fig 9. The apparent simplicity of these carburetters is misleading, as a considerable amount of effort has gone into lowering production costs with improved performance and quality over the years, and is continuing.

A significant development, worthy of special reference, has been the development of diaphragm type carburetters. The introduction of lightweight hand-held portable chain saws and the rapid strides in developing these during the past 25 years, has created a need for carburetters capable of operating in any position. The pioneers and acknowledged leaders in this field are the Tillotson company of the USA. By taking the original concept of an induction pressure regulated diaphragm controlled fuel inlet valve originally developed for aircraft carburetters, and marrying it to a compact pulse operated diaphragm pump, they created a fuel system 'package' that has been universally adopted since the early 1950's. The first generally accepted model, the 'HL' is shown in Fig. 10. This has been systematically improved until the current 'HK' series, which was introduced in 1974, Fig. 11. This is little more than a 1" cube, a striking example of what can be achieved in an entirely new field. Versions which dispense with the pump but retain the diaphragm fuel inlet control are widely used on small engines as alternatives to simple float type carburetters, and larger models have also been used on motor cycles, car, boats and aircraft. Carburetters of this type are still being developed and further significant improvements are anticipated.

9 CONCLUSION

In summarizing: The carburetter design principles formulated for motor cycles were established 50 years ago; this was followed by a 25 year period of consolidation with little change. New motor cycles appearing since the early 1950's have prompted a number of improved designs, mainly in respect of size and versility, but with significant economies in production. More recently there has been a resurgence of activity aimed at improving functional qualities. This trend has anticipated to some extent the need for functionally sophisticated carburetters to cope with future legislation requirements in respect of noise, exhaust emissions and fuel consumption. Similarly the pattern for industrial carburetters was set many years ago and there has been steady continuous concentrated development aimed at maintaining functional qualities in the most cost effective manner. A significant addition in recent years has been the development of diaphragm type carburetters for small engines.

Some more Pen and Ink drawings and perhaps a cartoon from the motorcycling weeklies over the years.....

2011-10-30T10:48:00.001+11:00

I've used these words before...
If you follow my blog you'll know I'm partial to the pen and ink drawings and cartoons from the Motorcycle and Motoring Press over the years...especially from the UK....
I keep a folder titled "Fillin Drawings" that I use when I edit the Australian Velocette OC magazine FTDU...Fish Tail Down Under....
So off we go for a look through some of them...and apologies if I've used them before in my blog...
Left click on the images to enlarge them...

1937 Works Velocette 500 racer...

Velocette invoice logo....

Note the zipper at the rear to allow access to the rubber air bladder inside...

Taper roller bearings in a girder forked machine brake....

Nov.1938 miller 8" headlamp assembly

Feb. 1926 Velocette KSS cylinder head and OHC cambox...

Cross rotary valve.....

1932...new Velocette 4 speed gearbox.

The Cape to Cape Velocette Rally in 2003.......

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Cape to Cape...sounds a bit South African, but the reality is, it is in Australia....
In April 2003 the Western Australian section of the Velocette Owners Club of Australia ran a rally that took in some of the Capes on the southern most corner of the State.... Cape Leuwin for example....
Now I attended the rally which meant a round trip of 10,500km from Sydney...
The trip there and return took 9 days.....
The rally ran for a week.
Towing a trailer with two Velos and three hardy souls in my 1977 300D Mercedes...
Interesting that...speaking to an acquaintance before I left he remarked.. "have you got a house brick to take with you..?"...I looked somewhat puzzled and he continued...
"No cruise control on those early Mercs and with the straight long roads you'll need something on the accelerator pedal to give you some relief..."
He was right....
Although Jim Day and I had done the trip on Velocettes in January 1969...the road now completely sealed, but then over 800 miles of variable dirt road..
Jim Day, myself and Californian Gil Loe, over for what he felt was the trip of a lifetime...cross country over OZ to a Velocette Rally...made up the crew.
I decided we'd make a convoy of Velo people coming from the Eastern States, meeting at Port Augusta in South Australia for the 2000 plus trip across the Nullabor Plain...at least we'd have like minded company in the evenings when we stopped for the night.
Risky business travelling at night in a car or motorcycle due to the kangaroos on the road...they hop into your headlight and it is nigh impossible to avoid hitting them.
The big road train trucks...two and three trailer units just thunder along at 120kph plus with huge bull bars on the front, knocking any wildlife out of the road..

The carnage of the night is strewn across the road as we travelled daily...fresh food for the carrion birds, crows and wedge tailed eagles...
Lets have a look at where we went...

It took up several days to get to Port Augusta with me blowing two trailer tyres despite them being new ones...they appeared suspect in age according to the tyre dealer after I replaced the second one...

We met up with several of the Victorian group on the way to the rendevous point...Gary Gibson pumps fuel then we follow him for a while.

Gil Loe surveys the sign at the start of the Eyre highway, called by many the Nullabor Plain, but the reality is the road only clips the bottom of the Nullabor some distance further on...

Even our avid US tourist succumbed to the monotony with some shut eye... At least Jim in the back was comfortable....

Around Nullabor homestead fuel stop you are within a km or so of the coast and the spectacular cliffs along which the Southern Ocean washes...nothing between us and Antarctica...

I mentioned the dirt road when we travelled across in January 1969...they had to grade it. The grader usually towed a caravan so when the grader stopped for the night the driver had his accommodation.
Earlier graders were horse drawn and there was one on display. Peter Wolfenden poses for the camera...

At Eucla, on the South Australian/West Australian border, Gil decided he'd like to say he rode a Velo on the Nullabor, so we unloaded a Venom...

DQ and Jim in the sand dunes below Eucla in the remains of the old telegraph station, slowly consumed by the sand.

Gil rode it for some 160km before he felt he'd had "the experience"...Jim jumped on and rode it another 600km to Coolgardie...

Jim stopped at some road works...in the "middle of nowhere"...
the Nullabor plain is a treeless plain.

This is a pretty crappy photo, taken on our Velo trip in January 1969 after rain on a clay road,can't locate the colour one in the "mess" I call my office, but it illustrates how difficult that trip was...

There is a straight section of road on the Nullabor that is 90 miles long, no turns....

Yes they even have police cars out here...thousands of km from anywhere.....

Finally we arrived into Perth and the Indian Ocean...

The story goes that as the sun sets into the ocean, at the instant it disappears under the horizon you see a green flash of light....
Look with us...

Did you see it?
Just as I thought, we didn't either.....
Urban myth?
A few more selected pics during the rally...

Cape Leuwin light house...one of the most southerly points on the West Australian mainland...here the Indian and Southern oceans meet at the most south westerly point- David Royston's Viper illustrates the point....

Mick Felder, also from California during a break in the Margaret river area...

Ken Vincent suffered a puncture on his Adler...

One of the tours took in underground limestone caves...
H'mmm..the later group look like they're waiting for the local bus....

Plenty of curious wildlife...Californian Larry Luce feeds a lorrikeet.

1929 USS Velocette....

After it was all over, the Californians flew home and Jim and I faced the long drive back....

A brief pictorial look at a day at the 2011 Australian Velocette Owners Club Rally...just finishing in Toowoomba, Queensland after running all week....

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Well I didn't enter this years Australian National Velocette Owners Club rally, held at Toowoomba in Queensland, but I made the long trip up from Sydney for an overnight stay, taking in the club's AGM...well I am editor of the Club's magazine Fish Tail down Under and as I'm heavily involved in the planning of the next years 2012 Annual Rally I needed to make a presentation...something the organising group has done for some years....
As in past years the rally runs for a full week, operating as a "hub" rally where entrants leave daily for pre-arranged rides with morning tea and lunch stops and evening activities...trivia nights, a talk by Jim Day on the 24hr record Velocette... 100mph for 24hrs over 18-19 March 1961....
Where is Toowoomba..? Other than it is some 1000+ km from Sydney where I live.....

As usual there were entrants from all over Australia and a team of Velocette stalwarts from New Zealand led by the Mickelsons.....

The rally was held in the spacious grounds of a Catholic church children's camp...conveniently vacant at the time we needed it...

You don't see many Amal TT carb. equipped Velos in Oz...
This owned by former IOM TT rider Dennis Fry...the heel toe gear lever and bicycle pedal kick start indicative of racing injuries past....

A typical rally scene....

Becoming a regular "Exon Valdez"...Jim Day's oil stained Venom, which seems to defy all his efforts to keep the oil in the engine/oil tanks....

Doug Farr's early Clubman Venom....

Armchair puncture repairers......

Robert Pound starts his 1938 MSS....

Bob Milner, proprietor of the Sydney firm Classic Allparts...prepares to ride his nice 1966 Velocette Thruxton......see-
http://velobanjogent.blogspot.com/2009/07/classic-allpartsclassic-motorcycle.html

Dave Royston with and enduro Velocette...unsure if it is an endurance model as supplied by Veloce....

Bruce Phillip's mk.2 KSS and Colin Hanger's Venom with special white faced "Velocette" instruments curtesy of DQ/KTT....

On the floor of the Club's AGM...chairman Keith Canning with Jim Day...

An attentive audience....

The Kiwi contingent listens in...
Next year...2012...the Rally moves to Bundanoon in the Southern Highlands of NSW.....

See you there....

Lets look at more archival photos from Keith Bryen, Aussie privateer in the 1950's who eventually "bagged" a works Moto Guzzi ride in 1957

2011-10-04T11:05:00.001+11:00

As mentioned in the previous post I appeared to have overlooked some more photos I'd received from Keith Bryen some time back.
You can view all the posts of Keith's special photo archive by typing his name into the search facility on the RHS of this blog....
These are popular and I feel important, as they allow you to travel with a privateer on the GP motorcycle circuit in an era many considered some of the most exciting in the history of motorcycle racing....
Now that's a serious statement and I won't be drawn into the argument...as a motorcycle enthusiast I enjoy reading and viewing all items from our sport....
So, left click on the following images to enlarge them and savour the times.....

IOM TT 8.06.1956, Keith readies for the start in the Senior TT...he retired during the race.

After the Senior TT in 1956, Aussie Barry Hodgkinson who came 22nd on a Norton and Canadian Gerry Robarts who finished 15th on a Norton....

23.06.1956...Thruxton 9 hour race in which Percy Tait and Keith, pictured, won the 750cc class....

30.06.1956, on the grid for the 350cc class of the Dutch TT, Keith finished 14th.

Ready for the start of the 350cc Dutch TT, 30.06.1956.

Start of the 350cc Dutch TT, 30.06.1956, Barry Hodgkinson and Fred Cook...

Keith is flagged into 14th place in the 35occ Dutch TT, 30.06.1956.

Start of the 500cc Dutch TT, .30.06.1956.

Assen for the Dutch TT, June 1956, Bob Mitchell and Eric Bliss.

A typical overnight stop during the 1956 "Continental Circus", somewhere in Belgium.

Ready for the start of the 350cc Belgium GP, 08.07.1956, Keith finished 13th.

Start of the 350cc Belgium GP,08.07.1956.

On the grid for the 500cc Belgium GP, Keith finished 10th.

In the paddock for the German GP at Solitude, 1956.

Gwen with Bill Hall, closest to camera and Barry Hodgkinson having a "cuppa"...

Awaiting the start of the 350cc German GP, Solitude circuit,22.07.1956.

On the grid for the 350 German GP at Solitude..Keith #98, with Ken Kavenagh on the works Moto Guzzi.

Start of the 350cc German GP,30.07.1956.

18.08.1956, practising at Sachsenring on the Hohenstein-Enstthal circuit...those cobblestones...aghhhh

August 1956 at Sachsenring with Bob Brown.

02.09.1956, bound for Tampere in Finland.Keith finished 7th in the 350cc race.

Keith Bryen, Aussie privateer in the 1950's who eventually "bagged" a works Moto Guzzi ride in 1957....I found a few more of Keith's archival photos to share with you.....

2011-09-25T22:48:00.002+10:00

In my blog over the last few years I've shared quite a lot of Keith Bryen's private photos taken during his years with the "Continental Circus", that happy go lucky group of motorcycle racers, mostly privateers and mostly from Commonwealth countries who tried their had in the motorcycle GPs throughout Europe in what many consider was a "golden age"...the 1940's,50s,60s......
I thought I'd exhausted them all, but a review has brought to light some I'd overlooked....
They are to good to overlook, so settle back and take another look at the ghosts of the past racing motorcycles and living in the paddocks of the race circuits in Europe...
Left click on the images to enlarge them.
Again my heartfelt thanks to Keith and Gwen for letting me share these with so many of you ....
You'll kind all the others posted by typing in "Keith Bryen" in the search facility on the RHS of my blog....
Actually as I assemble this blog I can see I've still enough photos for several more...good news eh!

Keith and Gwen's "hotel" for the 1956-57 season....

Keith's first race in 1956 a very cold and wet Silverstone...

Keith and Gwen at St.Wendel, Saarland,29.04.1956...

On the grid at St.Wendel, Saarland, 29.04.1956, 10th in the 500cc race.

The paddock area at Hockenheim, Germany 13.05.1956..refuelling.

In the paddock area at Hockenheim, 13.05.1956, sharing a cup of tea in the Bryen's van.

Paddock at Hockenheim, 13.05.1956...Shell mobile workshop and fuel depot.

Heading out to the starting grid at the German GP, Hockenheim, 13.05.1956

On the starting grid at Hockenheim,13.05.1956.

On the starting grid at Hockenheim13.05.1956...6th in the 350cc race.

Ready for the start of the 350 German GP, Hockenheim,13.05.1956, Gwen holds Keith's goggles.

In the paddock at Floreffe, Belgium,6.05.1956..."home", "storage for the bikes" and transport for the bikes from meeting to meeting....a far cry from today.

Going out for practice at Floreffe, Belgium,06.05.1956..finished 13th in both 350cc and 500cc races.

It was hard going for the ladies...Gwen washes her hair, Keith ponders one of his Nortons, paddock Chimay, Belgium,20.05.1956.

Practice at Chimay, Belgium, 20.05.1956...6th in the 500cc race.

Harold Willis....Velocette engineer and race supremo....details of a Velocette Owners ride to his last resting place in Wales......

2011-09-18T14:23:00.003+10:00

I've done an earlier few postings on Harold John Willis and suspect there may be a couple more to come....
See.....
http://velobanjogent.blogspot.com/2010/06/whiffling-clarathe-1931-supercharged.html

http://velobanjogent.blogspot.com/2011/02/harold-willisvelocette-engineer-and.html

Left click on the images following to enlarge them.....

Harold Willis was a director, engineer and race chief of Veloce Ltd., makers of the Velocette motorcycle until his untimely death in June 1939 following a simple medical procedure in the Nerve Hospital, Birmingham, England.
His death occurred at TT time in the IOM and cast a pall over the Velocette camp.
I've never really been sure where he was buried and suspected it may be in Wales as he often flew there in his de Havilland DH60 Moth which he called "Clattering Kate".
Richard Atkins, editor of the UK Velocette Owners club notified me of a ride being organised by Rob Evans of the Cheshire Centre to Llanfair in Wales to visit St.Mary's Church and to see the memorial plaque fitted to The Bishops Chair in the Church in honour of HJW.

I emailed Rob and in correspondence he agreed to assist with photos taken during the visit....
These follow and my thanks to Rob and to all those on the ride, who at this stage I have no names for nor identification of in the photographs.
The "icing on the cake" to use a well worn expression was that Ivan Rhodes made the trip over as well and spoke at Harold's gravesite....
Where is Llanfair....?
Where is the church and cemetary..?

Velocettes arrive in Llanfair, Wales near St.Mary's Church.

St.Mary's Church and cemetary, Llanfair, Wales.....

Harold John Willis's grave....

He is buried with his mother Eliza, who I suggest was Welsh and another Willis, a major in the army who appears to have died in France. Regretably the text on headstone is illegible...

Ivan Rhodes speaks some words of HJW's life to those who attended at the gravesite.

Then the group moved into St.Mary's Church and viewed The Bishops Chair with the memorial plaque to HJW.

The group poses for a photograph outside the church gates with aptly a Mk.1 KSS Velocette...the machine that HJW was intimately involved with ....an early OHC Velocette....a fitting end to the tribute ride for Harold John Willis, Veloce Ltd director and engineer and race director for the Velocette racing effort to his death in June 1939.

Motorcycle saddles from the early 1950's back.....

2011-09-08T21:06:00.002+10:00

Recently I had an email from a looker of my blog and there are a lot of you out there...thanks for stopping by.
I hope what I post continues to interest you......
He asked about early Lycett saddles for a Brough Superior.
Now I'm not even sure they used the Lycett brand...but a look through my archive came across catalogues of a few other brands, so I decided to share these with you.....
Who knows it may just be the photo you were looking for to take to a swap meeting/autojumble...
Left click on the images to enlarge...
We talked of Lycett, so lets look at an early 1950's catalogue...I believe it to be so, as it has a dual seat illustrated in it.....

A 1931 Dunlop catalogue.....

A 1930 Brooks catalogue....

A 1935 Brooks catalogue...

Moseley made air cushions for the pillion on motorcycles....

The Velocette KTT Mk.7 and prewar Mk.8 used a Moseley air cushion...

The photo shows C.Moore on his Mk.7 KTT at the IOM TT races in June 1938. He finished 14th in the Junior TT.
The illustration of the dual seat in the Lycett catalogue can't go uncommented....
Velocette patented the dual seat, later selling the patent to Feridax...

The photo below shows their use of it on one of the works racers, called by Harold Willis with one of his "Willicisms"...The Loch Ness Monster Seat...

The photo shows the 1936 TT DOHC Junior Velocette, KTT483/
s, with frame SF1...the first swinging arm frame made by Velocette......
Interestingly the engine S483/S was allotted to Stanley Woods but in frame SF2, while KTT481/S was allotted to Ernie Thomas in frame SF1.
Now the photo was taken in the IOM and obviously either the engines have been changed..could be because Stanley perceived Thomas's engine was quicker in practice...or the frames were changed, again because Stanley disliked the handling of his machine...
We'll never know....
What we do know is Stanley's engine broke an oldham coupling forcing him to retire on the first lap , whereas Ernie Thomas was in second place when he fell off on lap 6...remounted and finished 4th behind the other DOHC Velocette, ridden by Ted Mellors who came 3rd....

Team Velocette at Bonneville 2011...progress to date....

2011-09-01T10:00:00.006+10:00

Team Velocette.... is a group led by Stuart Hooper from Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, ably supported by his wife Marsha and close friends Keith and Colleen Canning.

See their website...
http://www.worldsfastestvelocette.com/
Their aim after purchasing a Velocette Viper Clubman several years back was to modify it to add to the Velocette records the major one that still stands today after being set in March 1961...100mph for 24 hours.
In this case their record was to be the worlds fastest Velocette.
This was always considered to be held by Bert Munroe of New Zealand, with his 1930's MSS special attaining 132.35mph in 1971.
Bert of course is now long dead.
Stuart altered his engine to over 700cc, built a special streamlining and a longer swinging arm and has visited Lake Gairdner in South Australia on several occasions, the last earlier this year was washed out due to severe rain conditions in Northern Queensland draining into the salt lakes in Central Australia.
Stuart's current highest with the bike is 139.001mph.
See my earlier blog....
http://velobanjogent.blogspot.com/search/label/Worlds%20Fastest%20Velocette
Bonneville was always a goal for the team....it is the mecca for record breakers, even though the available strip has shortened over the years due to salt mining.
He visited Bonneville in 2010 as a reconnaissance and the decision was made to travel from Australia to Bonneville to take in two landracing meeting in late August early September.
A special crate was made for the bike with a total of two engines and gearboxes included and this was airfreighted to Salt Lake City.
They are currently at the first meeting and on the limited information I have their highest speed to Tuesday 30th was 147.485mph, although the best I could find on some printed sheets on a blog was 146.351mph
http://www.landracing.com/forum/index.php/topic,9954.0.html
See Stuarts updated blog for an explanation....
http://www.worldsfastestvelocette.com/2011-update.php

An earlier speed sheet...

The bike in the technical inspection line...

The team shelter from the heat....

The altitude of Bonneville is around 4200' above sea level so the UV is a problem. Usually the temperatures are in the 40 deg. Celsius plus range.
This meant an "educated guess" for the initial carburation setting from the sea level settings in Australia.
The number of runs in a day a Bonneville are limited due to the number of entries, so getting the best set-up can be frustrating.
When you set a record the bike goes into an impound area until the following run. Then the average speed of both these runs are taken and this forms your speed.
So a run in the cool of the early morning can be quick and the following run is often at a higher temperature later in the day often affecting the speed.
I went to Bonneville in 2004 and came away with a different outlook on the effort the people who run bikes and cars.
Glib statements that " a good 500 in a fairing could easily so that" etc don't hold up to scrutiny.
If it was easy others would have done it.
That said I was amazed in 2004 when a cigar shaped 125cc Aprilia engined streamliner did over 140mph...
Paul d'Orleans, The Vintagent, gives a valid explanation on his first blog on this years Bonneville, titled "Song of the Salt"...
See....
http://thevintagent.blogspot.com/2011/09/song-of-salt.html
He says...

"....The salt is also a terrible place to go fast. Yes it is generally packed firm on a good year, although on a bad year even the scraped-smooth racing lines will have soft spots hungry for your speed. Packed salt gives poor traction, being greasy and slick, with loose bits scattered over the top, and applying power is a delicate business. Plenty of powerful machines simply cannot put all their horsepower through the wheels, and calculating wheel-spin into rpm/speed readings is a fine art. Typically estimated at 10% of your wheel rotation, what this means is you're doing a white burnout all the way down the line. A too-rapid course correction, say after a gust of wind, could well have you spinning off course, or far worse. Braking is a bad idea too, for the same reason; what you are riding on is best thought of as salted ice. Flat yes, fairly smooth (but pretty bumpy in the pilot's seat), slippery and treacherous for the very people who cannot keep away; acolytes of the cult of Speed..."

Following are some pics from Brisbane early August as they finalised the packing etc.

Good Luck Team Velocette...we all hope for the magic 150mph for you...!

The bike in its shipping container...

Stop press....
Seems the weather on Wed. 31st after 1pm was not conducive to running on the salt.
No news if the Velocette got a run in.....
The reports put it at 24mph plus from the SSW with predicted winds of 40mph and they don't run at wind speeds over 12mph or some figure like that....
Hope for Thursday 1st...
Two pics from my trip to Bonneville Salt Flats in 2004 which assist in giving a sense of the scene.
See...
http://velobanjogent.blogspot.com/search/label/Bonneville%20Record%20Breaking

Finally a photo of a proud Team Velocette with their record breaker....

K100..BMW Motometer instruments .....the German motorcycle industry goes electronic for its instruments....

2011-08-24T00:15:00.001+10:00

With the introduction of the K series 4 cylinder 1000cc BMW motorcycle in 1983 came the first total use of electronic instruments for BMW motorcycles and it wasn't without its problems.
Motometer continued as the instrument supplier for the motorcycle side of BMW and a new large binnacle with speedometer on the left, tachometer on the right and a liquid crystal display quartz clock in the middle.
Left click on the illustrations to enlarge them....

BMW K series....

The instrument binnacle and the accessory instrument.

Exploded parts list drawing...

Speedometer details....

Tachometer detail....

Gearchange indicator and trip odometer and reset detail....

Pages from DQs somewhat scribbly and cryptic workbooks with information on connecting test and calibrating equipment to the K100 instruments and the figures to calibrate it...
so calibration figures for the speedometer are....
49.7cycles/second (hertz) = 60kph
66 cps(hertz) =80kph
82.1 cps(hertz) =100kph
97.9cps(hertz) =120kph
113.4cps(hertz) =140kph
128.7cps(hertz) =160kph
The rear wheel had a metal disc with "teeth" on it that a hall effect pickup in the final drive was set near and detected the passing of the sheet metal "teeth"...the speedometer then displayed this as kph or mph and drove an odometer by a form of servo motor.
The instrument binnacle suffered from mild corrosion on internal terminals such that the signal would be lost and the speedometer stop working.
A frustrating instrument at best....
The LCD display on the clock and the gearchange indicator would, with time and vibration, segment to a black blob appearing visually and masking any reading.
Once Motometer stopped the supply of parts in the early 1990's it became almost impossible to repair....

Ferodo's "Record Braking" for 1938...a look at,by today's standard, an extravagant advertising booklet on their successes for 1938...

2011-08-17T23:14:00.000+10:00

Like many of the trade house in Britain and elsewhere prior to about 1950, Ferodo the brake, clutch and friction lining people put our a rather extravagant advertising booklet on the successes using their produces....
The titled it Ferodo Record Braking....
(an apt pun in the title on the word "braking"....)
So lets look at the 1938 edition in it's entirety....although as the first 19 pages are devoted to the automotive successes and I'm predominately a motorcyclist, I'll cover those two pages at a time, with the motorcycle stuff a page at a time....
As usual for my blog...left click on the images to enlarge.....
Where are these available? Guess a swap meeting, sometimes on Ebay and on the elusive book auctions.....
I'd suggest you'd be paying up to 50 quid for a good copy.....

The cover....

The flyleaf...

Pages 2 and 3...

Pages 4 and 5...

Pages 6 and 7...

Pages 8 and 9...

Pages 10 and 11....

Pages 12 and 13...

Pages 14 and 15...

Pages 16 and 17....

Page 18...

Page 19...

Page 20...

Page 21....

Page 22...

Page 23....

Page 24...

Page 25....

Page 26...

Page 27...

Page 28...

Page 29...

Page 30...

Page 31....

More on dynos from a little booklet I was searching for in my collection with test information ,1939, of Castrol's newly released oil...Castrolaero.....

2011-08-10T09:54:00.000+10:00

When I did the recent post on engine testing with dynomometers I searched my archive for a little Castrol booklet I knew I had that featured motorcycles engines on test....
In fact the post of that dyno article had been delayed over a year because of that small booklet and finally in frustration I did the post without it....
Well I found it last night...ok where? Secured with catalogues of Lycett motorcycle seats of all things...any wonder I couldn't find it...
But it was worth waiting for and worth a post on its own.
In 1939 Castrol released a new engine oil..... Castrolaero.
They obviously arranged with quite a few major motorcycle manufacturers to test the product and give them a testimonial....
Some did prolonged road tests, most dyno tests...
I've scanned all the photos of the engines on test, a chart of their recommendations and only one testimonial, that from Velocette.
That said, the others were all positive...
Who were the manufacturers....?
AJS, Ariel,BSA,Excelsior,Levis,Matchless,Norton,O.K Supreme,Enfield,Scott,Sunbeam,Triumph and Velocette.
Left click on the illustrations to enlarge them...

Ariel engine under test...

BSA engine under test...

Excelsior Manxman engine under test...looks like Tyrell-Smith conducting it.

Two views of a Norton engine under test...

Sunbeam engine under test....

Tommy Mutton with a Velocette KTT Mk.7/8 engine under test...

Velocette testimonial letter to Castrol...

List of oil recommendations for various motorcycles....

Export Trader magazine for February 1947...a look at a few articles- JAP speedway engines, Velocette range for 1947 and Velocette and Vincent-HRD adverts.....

2011-08-01T23:09:00.003+10:00

I've a couple of these small magazines for the years 1947 and 1957...."Export Trader- British cycles and Motor Cycles"....

Published by the Iliffe Group who were a major publishing house and of course produced "The MotorCycle"....it was to ensure the British Industry associated with cycles and motorcycles got worldwide exposure.
This edition, February 1947 covers the drive by the British government to get export sales and thus revenue for Britain....

I'll be looking at two articles....."The Heart is British" which covers the J.A.P speedway engine and the Velocette range for 1947 with two adverts from Velocette and Vincent-HRD.
I'll feature some other items in a later blog....
Left click on the images to enlarge them....

Dynamometers and engine testing...a brief generalised look.....

2011-07-26T01:34:00.004+10:00

Since the early part of the 20th century, engine, vehicle and aircraft manufacturers have developed means to test the power output of their products....
By far the best known, in the British sphere of things anyhow, is the firm Heenan and Froude Ltd. of Worcester, UK.
Reading through the English motorcycling press one sees reference to the DPX water brakes from Heenan & Froude.
So I've scratched around my stuff and come up with enough to run a generalised look at the dynomometer.
Including notes from Phil Irving's Autobiography and his little black notebooks from his time at Veloce Ltd.
So left click on any images to enlarge them.....
PEI on his return to Australia after years in the UK spent time at Repco Ltd., a company that developed an engine for Jack Brabham's successful attempts at the F1 automotive world championship title.
He won the title three times and third time used the Repco-Brabham and the cylinder head was developed by PEI and as it so happens the Heenan & Froude dyno he used for the testing has been given to the National Motor Racing Museum of Australia in Bathurst, NSW.
It is pictured below...

Veloce Ltd built a new test house at their factory and inside it there were several Heenan & Froude DPX dynos installed. Stanley woods was invited to open it and is pictured below. Design engineer and race shop supremo, Harold Willis is pictured in the white dust coat.

Inside, Stanley simulates operating the engine controls for a TT engine on test while Harold Willis and Percy Goodman, the Veloce managing director look on.

Race mechanic Tommy Mutton tests a Mk.8 KTT, a production racer engine sold to the public from 1939-1951.

Tommy Mutton and development engineer Charles Udall with a 1947 350 SOHC TT Velocette engine on test.

PEI developed the military MAC and unused MSS engines during WW2 at Velocette.Below is his results from a test of a 350 MAF engine.

From one of PEIs little black notebooks...the data is the "pull" of the brake or dyno which, via a simple calculation, knowing the RPM you get the BHP developed.

PEI did an article for " MotorCycling" on Jack Williams development of the postwar 7R AJS engine.

During 1939 a contributor,to "The MotorCycle" using the Nome-de plume of "Ubique" did an article on the dynamometer...the Heenan & Froude DPX...

The Owen Organisation were involved in the development of the BRM racing car engine used in F1 world championship GPs.
Below is a race car in 1965 or 1966 on a rolling road dynamometer which gives the BHP developed at the rear wheels.

They also used Heenan & Froude engine dynamometers as illustrated in the advertisement...

Note in the above photograph, there is no attempt to silence the exhaust into a large chamber. The brake operator, even with earmuffs must have had a headache at the end of the day.
Contrast this with the pre-war Velocette test house where the exhaust pipe goes into a large chamber allowing the operator some relief from the noise...
Even if we consider it "good" noise...

A BMW Rennsport 500cc twin engine used in racing sidecars in the GP races and engine dyno in the workshop of Krauser in Munchen, Germany. Photo taken by DQ in 1974.

Above a 500 speedway JAP engine on test late 1946.
Below, photo taken at JAP the proprietary engine maker in London, prewar...

From "The MotorCycle", January 7th 1937....

From the French motorcycle magazine "Moto revue", #1375, 25 Jan.1958,
a 175cc Terrot motorcycle engine on test. The gave about 10.6 CV or bhp.

And finally...what happens if you make a model engine and need to test it?
This article comes from a paper clipping, it is pre-war and likely 1936...

"Go Fast Goodies".... a look into a 1966 edition of "MotorCycle" at what was available......

2011-07-17T21:44:00.000+10:00

The 1960's and into the 1970's in Britain saw an upsurge of interest in "go fast" items or "go fast goodies" as the Motorcycle press labeled it.
So lets look into the 5th May 1966 edition of "The MotorCycle" and browse through some dozen or so pages with offerings from motorcycle dealers and small outfits that concentrated on items for one make.....
Left click on the images to enlarge them....