STANDARD RACE TRANSPORT

(From the Standard Motor Club website):

"Allan Sorensen from Denmark has sent these remarkable photographs of his father, Svend Aage Sorensen, together with this associated story:

Svend was a keen Motorcycle Racer and attended the Isle of Man TT from 1935 to 1953. In 1946 he bought a 1938 Standard Flying 8 Saloon as a transporter for his bikes. He used this to attend the Isle of Man from 1947 to 1952. The photo above shows the car in its transporter mode. Typically, there is a Norton Manx 350cc racer strapped behind, and an Excelsior 350cc bike together with a spare Norton 500cc engine inside, the passenger seat having been removed. As a counterbalance on the front are several wheels and tyres! Most years Svend journeyed on his own except in 1949 when Alans mother joined Svend and travelled in the back seat!

From 1950 to 1952 the car was also used for the trip from Denmark to the Hedemora Grand Prix in Sweden, a trip of sixteen hours each way. The Flying 8 carried the bikes and both Alan and his mother. Alan sat on the floor between his mothers legs and his only view was treetops and the electrical wires. No DVD movies or computer games, but four exciting days in the pits. 1952 was the "worst" year for the Standard as his father had got a Featherbed 500cc Norton, a Norton Gardengate Manx 350cc and a Norton Featherbed Manx 500cc engine. On one occasion they all had to get out of the car when the back seat started to smoke as a rear tyre was rubbing on the bodywork. Alan also recalls his mother taking over the driving when his father fell asleep.

Remarkably Svend was never stopped for being overweight!

The car required painting 4 times in their ownership - the bikes damaged the paintwork.

When the car was sold in 1952 and replaced by an EMW, East German Van, the extra space allowed Allans sister to come along as well.."

[It was common in the 1920s and 30s for impecunious racers to find creative transport for their mounts, tools, and spares. This little Standard is a late example of the practice, and especially dramatic given the number of wheels and tires strapped to the bonnet! - pd'o ]

And this update from Bo Eklund:

"Hallo Paul.
Referring to your recent notes under the heading "Standard Race Transport", about the Danish road racer Svend Aage Sörensen, may I take the liberty to add the following:

Svend-Aage Sorensen was a very competent racer, gaining many very good results i international road races between the years 1934 - 1953.
In 1934 he won the 250 class in Swedish Grand Prix, riding a works British Excelsior "Mechancal Marvel".
He competed in 25 races at the TT in the Isle of Man, between the years 1935 - 1953, gaining some commendable placings and several replicas, often having been supplied Works machines from British Excelsior.
He won both 350 and 500 classes at the major Swedish road race Hedemora Grand Prix in 1950, against international competition, using the same machine, having changed the engines between the races.
At the Hedemora races in 1951 he again won the 500 class and came 3rd in the 350 class.
He was a very popular and much liked and respected rider among competitors as well among the race organizers".
Regards, Bo Eklund, Sweden."

JACKETS, PAINT, AND VINTAGENTS

A reader from Turkey, apparently a graphic artist, sent the photo below, of his homage á Vintagent...I can certainly get behind the motto (it applies to my motorcycles, among other things...), although the Tim Burton characters aren't my cup of tea.

So I suppose it's time I came out of the closet as an artist - I used to paint jackets for my friends, back in the 1980's - here is a selection of my favorites (or at least, the ones I bothered to photograph!). The jackets at top were snapped at the top of Mt. Tamalpais in Marin County, on Easter Sunday, 1987, at sunrise. The
'Easter ride' was for 10 years a fun and slightly arduous pre-dawn foray to the top of the nearest mountain; usually we left SF at 4am, with flashlights or bicycle lights taped to our handlebars if Joe Lucas weren't cooperating, to freeze in the foggy chill and hopefully catch a glimpse of a weak orange sun before tearing back down the hill for breakfast. That's my 'Velocette' jacket, still performing reliably, although seriously patinated at this point. The skull with mohawk image is stolen from Vivienne Westwood's original from the 'Sex' collection ca.1976; hers was made from chicken bones wired together!

The Panther jacket celebrated Wendy's wondrously slow Model 75, purchased from Hollis Button. Terribly reliable though, and she rode it Everywhere in the late 80's, often catching a retinue of young hopefuls; you would have followed her too...

Denise loved her blue Velocette Venom enough to enlarge the Veloce, Ltd headstock transfer; the 'Naughty Lady' has always been a favorite of the cognoscenti (photo by moto-journalist Andy Saunders, ca. '89).

Guy had these 'drama masks' tattooed on his arm, and wanted it visible when he was riding. Yes that's Wendy, and a very young yours truly, before her little blue Panther.

Lest we not forget the sacred, Bill commissioned a Triskelion with the Manx logo 'quocunque jeceris stabit' ('where you throw me, I stand'). And of course, our model (a hirsute pd'o) sits on a Norton, albeit a Commando Fastback, ca '69, owned by Craig, the white-scarfed Rocker bemusedly occupying the front steps of a decrepit Victorian, in a then-notorious neighborhood, which of course is nowadays Very Expensive...

And occasionally a client with a Job would commission leather-abuse; Joe preferred a leather-clad Rocker supplant winged Mercury on his Vincent logo, although he's probably the only such to hold a caduseus!

It's hard to look tough when your avatar is Tinkerbell...but, Alison was game to follow my exuberant riding on her own bikes, sometimes ending up in a ditch for her efforts! The jacket held up to the scuffs and insults of pavement, but a few damp Australian winters have taken their toll on the leather - fix it Tink!

Victor, the actor, wanted a dramatic logo for his LA gang to follow, so it was Laughing Death with dice spilling from his ghastly jaws... all in good fun.

And no, I haven't done a jacket for a long time, and don't intend to; now it's up to the young Turks, so to speak, to have their turn...






As an addendum - here is what my jacket looks like 20 years later: Scuffed, scarred, faded, abraded, and just about perfect.

'SUPER KIM'; THE DETAILS

Gernot Schuh has kindly answered some of my technical questions regarding the modifications to the J.A.P. KTOR engine in what was formerly a normally aspirated, racing 1925 Zenith. The first incarnation was surely built under the supervision of Freddie Barnes himself, who personally oversaw all of the 'big gun' racers which exited his factory doors.

While we don't yet know the early history of Super Kim in England, it's useful to recall that this small company holds the distinction of more Brooklands 'Gold Stars' (for a lap over 100mph during a race) to its name than any other. This Zenith was originally built for a purpose - going fast, preferably faster than any other machine available at the time. Thus, it is no coincidence that the Sigrands chose a Zenith (over say, a Brough Superior, MacEvoy, etc) to bring home to South America; the Zenith had the reputation as the Fastest Machine You Could Buy for track racing in the 1920's. George Brough may have claimed differently, but the records at Brooklands tell the tale. Zenith was the Bomb.

Some technical notes (my words combined with Gernot's here):

The bore and stroke of this monster are 94.9x120mm, giving 1700cc, with a compression ratio of 6.6:1. Combine this with the blower's nominal delivery volume, this would give a corrected compression at maximum revs of 15.8:1 !

How can this work, especially with the carburettor setup, which we found to be for petrol rather than alcohol? The 'racing' cam timing holds the clue; the supercharger's efficiency, combined with extensive valve-overlap from the engine's unblown racing days. An 8.8mm valve lift on both exhaust and inlet valves at maximum 'bump' leaves about 4mm of valve opening at TDC! The incoming charge, blown past the partially open valves, would theoretically keep the exhaust valve in particular just a bit cooler, helping it survive in the very harsh combustion environment with such a high C.R.

The gearing pencils out for 260km/hr @ 5000rpm (156mph) in third gear. Wheelspin above 120mph probably would keep the maximum a bit below the theoretical top speed. Super Kim uses a three-speed Sturmey-Archer 'Super Heavyweight' gearbox, one of six ever built for record-breaking, and I believe, the only on not in use on a Brough Superior. Was it originally specified thus from Freddie Barnes? We don't know yet, as we don't know whether the machine was purchased new from Zenith, or in 'used' condition after a few seasons at Brooklands.

At maximum revs of 5000rpm, the piston speed is 20m/sec, a figure typically recommended as safe for racing in the engineering literature. The extensive piston drilling is a relic of 'Teens and Twenty's racing practice, when lightness was a premium (especially during the days of cast-iron pistons!), and engine revs were fairly low. Such drilling was also typical on connecting rods, and just about any other moving part in the engine! By the 1930's, as metallurgy improved, such 'cheesework' became obsolete and unneccessary. The pistons in Super Kim are clearly made in-house, as they're of a design I haven't seen, although it's possible, with such a large bore, that they came from a car.

Overall weight dry is 215kg (473lbs), which is really light for a Land Speed Record machine of this capacity; weight per se isn't a factor in top speed, only acceleration, and in fact, greater weight is an advantage in keeping the motorcycle stable, with both wheels on the ground, and helps minimize wheelspin. Having ridden rigid-frame racers at well over 100mph, I can attest that they aviate! A little avoirdupois certainly couldn't hurt, unless there is limited space possible for a straight-line run - a point completely relevant to a speed record in Argentina, which has few roads (or beaches) capable of a full-throttle, multi-mile record attempt. Quick acceleration might have been essential if only 3 or 4 miles of smooth straightaway were available.

During his rebuild, Gernot replaced the half-time pinion in the cambox, and the right-hand main bearing, and all the ball races in the drive side, along with the chains, tires, valves and springs, ignition cable, and about a dozen smaller parts. The camshaft and roller followers were refaced. All of this work took 320 hours, which includes 120 hours of deep cleaning and rust removal!

Asked if there were any surprises, Gernot says, "Suprises? The capacity, sure. Hmmm....and the twisted history, that is absolutely fascinating to me. That there is contact with the family. And so much appreciation for my work."

And how does it SOUND? "Like a tractor on drugs; on revs, it lets out a ROAR..." He adds, "The most important thing is: it runs, despite so many experts, who claimed it would not, and looks more like a racingman's hot dream. The inspection showed that it was used, at least for testing. There were traces of use on the cylinder walls, oil carbon here and there, and in the gearbox there was heavy wear between the mainshaft and the tubular shaft where the sprocket sits. This odd plate, that clamps the gearbox at the pin, were the kick start was once located, was not part of the original design."

To this I would add my own story with Super Kim. I was first introduced to photographs of the bike at Jay Leno's garage, 18 years ago. The seller, Hector Mendizabal (r.i.p.), claimed it was a Brough Superior, and it clearly wasn't, but we didn't at the time know what exactly it was. A bit of research on my own revealed it to be a highly modified Zenith, but the asking price was over the top at the time. By coincidence, I purchased a BS SS100 engine from Mendizabal a year later, and the Zenith came up again, still over-priced. I purchased the machine 11 years ago from the man who actually posessed Super Kim, for half the original price, after a tip-off from a Brough-owning friend in Germany.

I was warned at the time by 'experts' that Super Kim was a fake, a lash-up, a South American piece of trash, not worth the money, and that I would surely be defrauded at best, possibly shot at worst! I've spoken on this site before about the 'aura of fraudulence' around machines from South America, which hovers in the mind of North American and European bike collectors. That mindset persists to this day, and is evidenced by Gernot's own comments above regarding 'doubting experts'.

When I attempted to sell Super Kim 9 years ago, I was met with the same resistance, doubts, and scare talk. One Austrian fellow backed out of a signed purchase agreement, after being told by such an expert that the machine was basically worthless! I am fairly certain he regrets his decision nowadays... given that the last big-twin Zenith with racing history (unsupercharged) sold for $325,000.

ROAD TEST OF THE NEW BROUGH SUPERIOR SS101 'PENDINE'

After many, many months of anticipation, Pebble Beach provided the perfect opportunity for a road test of the new Brough Superior 'Pendine' model, an 1150cc ohv hotrod which is closely modeled on the George Brough's 1927 racing model. The capacity of the engine has increased, as has the power output, along with unseen improvements to metallurgy, casting techniques, and specification which were simply not available in the 1920's. The result is a motorcycle built to appear as an identical sister machine to those earlier models, but with an uprated spec, and a bit more oomph.

Mark Upham and his crew have done an amazing job with the machine, and I'll admit to having some hesitations when he announced his intention to build a new Brough. I've seen quite a few replica 'Broughs', ie built from new parts, and they have never failed to disappoint me - there is always something which gives the game away, from a droop to the exhaust or an amorphous timing chest casting, to a general malaise from poor quality finishing - sacrilege on a Brough Superior! The new machines, I am happy to report, are fantastic, and fulfill the original promise of the Brough Superior as 'Rolls Royce of Motorcycles' admirably. They look right, they feel right, and best of all, they ride right!

My roadtest was piggybacked onto Jay Leno's video test for his personal website, the results of which can be seen here:

Not having a camera crew in chase or a timeline at Pebble, I was able to take the machine for a slightly longer gallop down 17-Mile Drive, sampling the effortless power and incredible smoothness of the new engine unit. It has torque to spare, and doesn't feel twitchy in the least, although the deep bellow and uncoiling of the thoroughbred's legs are very much in the spirit of a KTOR SS100 of yore, with a bit more power available now! The handling felt particularly good; I've owned four Broughs, and this one steered better than any of mine - perhaps a result of a fresh build on a new frame jig? I've ridden several BS's which have felt as though they 'fall in' to corners rather than transitioning smoothly from straight line to curve; it's never felt actually dangerous, just annoying. The Pendine had none of this fault, with a bonus of increased ground clearance from larger diameter wheels and higher footrests; it's a Brough which can take a bend without grinding away precious metal on the tarmac. How rare!

The front 'Castle' forks worked beautifully, and the springs were clearly balanced to the weight of the motorcycle and a rider - an issue with older machines whose springs have sagged after 80 years, or using replacements which are often too hard or soft, giving poor riding qualities over undulations. The ride felt perfectly smooth and stable up front. The downside to Castles is a well-known bugbear - it's simply impossible to get a decent front brake with this short leading-link design. The brake anchor pivots to move with the forks, and somehow the geometry doesn't add up to good stopping power, even on a new machine. This is all, for better or worse, par for the course with a Brough using Castles... although several other types of fork were used on lesser BS models (Webbs, Bramptons, Montgomery), the SS100 was only offered with this elegant twin-tube design (based on a Harley-Davidson 1920's fork, which itself was based on an FN fork - the reason Harley never 'went after' Brough for copying the fork!).

Other aspects of the machine were so good as to be ignored; the clutch worked perfectly without drag or slip, the gearbox snicked into position via the tankside selector lever without fuss or drama, and the rear brake could easily lock the wheel.

While it may be true that a Brough Superior was always an amalgam of bought-in parts, it was ever the case that George Brough specified the quality of those parts, and was notorious for his rejection of engines, gearboxes, wheels, which didn't meet his quality standards. Thus, his engines, his gearboxes, his clutches, etc, were that much better than supposedly identical bits on similar machines. Taken as a genre, the BS has always been just another overhead-valve v-twin literbike, but there is something magical about the whole package, a happy synergy of the components, which established the reputation of the original, and no doubt will secure the admiration of the connoisseur motorcyclist interested in this new SS101.

Brough Superior was always synonymous with quality and bespoke service, and Upham and Co clearly intend to continue this tradition. To quote the catalog:

"Brough Superior has always been the epitome of exclusivity, luxury, elegance, style, extraordinary design, allied to a great passion for motorcycles."

THE RESURRECTION OF 'SUPER KIM'

Lying dormant like an Argentine volcano for 75 years, the amazing supercharged Zenith 'Super Kim' has been brought back to roaring life, after a surprisingly short stint on the workbench of Gernot Schuh of Austria. Longtime readers will recall the extensive story of the Sigrand family of Buenos Aires, certainly one of the most interesting in South American motorcycling history (click here for the relevant posts); Roberto Sigrand purchased a racing KTOR J.A.P.-engined 1925 Zenith from England while living temporarily in Europe (studying engineering), and brought the machine home, coming to dominate local speed events in solo and sidecar classes with his 1,000cc racer.

Around 1931, Sigrand began to extensively modify the big Zenith for an attempt at the World Motorcycle Speed Record, adding a large blower, plus all the elegant mechanical support necessary to make it all work. The machine was apparently run up to speed a few times, but remained mostly as a display in the 'Aros Kim' factory which Sigrand owned, as a testament to his engineering prowess.

The story of Why the machine was never truly used in anger will be published later; suffice it to say that it involves much family drama - paternal tensions, political pressures, sex, infidelity, sibling rivalry, even death. It's still a difficult subject for the family, and Ignacio is to be lauded for his efforts at bringing the saga to light, where perhaps the weight and shame of it may be dissolved, as the brilliance of their success is celebrated.

My connection with this machine is described in earlier posts; in sum, I owned and treasured it as perhaps one of the most amazing 'barn finds' ever in motorcycling - to my knowledge, there were simply NO other complete and unrestored supercharged 1920's motorcycles in the world. To have owned it for a time was a gift and a blessing, and a bit of a burden. I knew that any restoration work I commenced would break the magic spell of its sleep, and after a time I reached the conclusion that far deeper pockets than mine would be needed to do the Right Thing - a totally sympathetic restoration to full running condition, without compromising the total originality of the bike.

And I was right. The current owner has commissioned extensive and meticulous work on every aspect of the machine, with the dictum, 'new parts only where the old are missing or destroyed, no new finishes, everything as was wherever possible'. Gernot has fulfilled the task admirably.

He had quite a few surprises along the way! I knew from flashlight inspection that the interior of the combustion chambers were shiny like new, but Gernot's heart must have sagged when he discovered that water had lain in the timing chest and eaten the camshafts.

But, going deeper into the motor, almost every part was found to be 'as new' and in pristine condition - the bearings, crankshaft, rods, piston, etc, were all in amazing condition and needed little to be brought back to life. New camshafts were made - to a grind which indicated their earlier unsupercharged life; too much valve timing overlap for truly successful forced induction, these were very 'hot' racing cams, which must have been used to set all those speed records around 1930. Supercharged engines prefer 'truck' timing, as lots of valve opening overlap tends to blow the induction charge right out the exhaust port!

The other great surprise during the rebuild was the engine capacity; 1700cc! The size of a Volkswagen engine - now commonplace on motorcycles, then an absolute Monster. A special crankshaft, rods, cylinders, and pistons were made for the huge displacement (note the special cylinder sleeve cutaways which accomodated the long crank throw).

I had assumed the supercharger, which must be matched in capacity to the engine displacment, had come from an 1100cc MG 'K' car, but it seems the Sigrand family owned a supercharged French sports car of the proper engine size - more on this later.

You can see from the 'finished' photos that the great smoking gun of the Zenith is an impressive machine, and I look forward to a test ride in October! Stay tuned...