bmct news spring 2010
DESCRIPTION
New development at Black Country MuseumTRANSCRIPT
with funding which helped obtain a large Lottery grant to bring the collection to the museum. Since then we have also helped with the construction of a large motor depot to house these and other rare and significant machines from the Black Country area. The finished motorcycle dealers shop will be open to the public soon.
Building work on the Old Birmingham Road row of shops at the Black Country Museum is progressing fast. Some of the buildings are finished and already in use, and it won’t be long before the Motorcycle Dealers is open for business, although sadly you won’t be able to go in there and buy a brand new old stock Sunbeam or AJS! The new building is being funded with the aid of a substantial grant from the BMCT, and when it is finished you will be able to take a step back into a rep-lica of a nineteen thirties bike shop with examples of many B lack Count ry made machines on display. Some of our rare machines you will be able to see there include examples made by Wolf, Diamond, Sunbeam and the jewel in the crown, our beautifully restored AJS S3 v-twin. This project is just the latest in a series of developments
at the museum that have been made with the help of the BMCT with the aim of improving the way in which one of the Black Country’s most important industries is represented in the museum. When in 2001 the Marston Collection of Wolverhampton made machines was in danger of being split up by its owners we stepped in
BLACK COUNTRY MUSEUM DEVELOPMENT
CLASSIC SHOW SEASON STARTS WITH A BANG
The classic bike show season got off to a flying start with events on three consecutive weekends in February. First off was the Classic Off-road and Racing Show at the
Telford International Centre, where road racing, trials, scrambles and grass track machines from the vintage to modern era were on show. The guest of honour was
Chris Horsfield, who many will remember for his exploits on the big Matchless 500cc scramblers of the sixties. Next up was the Bristol Classic Show at Shepton Mallet which was notable for the very high standard of the many club stands. Winners of the award for best club stand this year were Wells Classic Motorcycle Club with their recreation of a Transport Café. Last but not least, the Ace Café Classic and Custom Show at Alexandra Palace where we were represented by the London Motorcycle Museum who showed our Scott Flying Squirrel on their stand. See photos on p.2.
BMCT News
Newsletter of The British Motorcycle Charitable Trust March 2010
Inside this issue:
Trustees
Peter Wellings (Chairman)
Malcolm Aldridge
Steve Bagley
Paul Barnes
John Handley
Mike Jackson
John Kidson
Ian Walden OBE
Registered Office
Rodborough Court
Stroud
GL5 3LR
Registered Charity
No. 509420
Administration
Andy Bufton/MMS
Holly Cottage
Bishampton
Pershore
WR10 2NH
Contact details
Tel: 01386 462524
Mob: 07754 880116
E-mail: [email protected]
The new motorcycle dealer premises are furthest from the camera
Ex works ISDT Royal Enfield at Telford
Black Country Development
1
Classic Show season begins
1
Save the Triumph Bonneville
3
Members’ Page 5
Auction News 6
Diary Dates 6
www.bmct.org
AROUND THE SHOWS
Page 2 BMCT News
The 2010 classic show
season got well under way
in February with the
Classic Off-road and
Racing Show at Telford,
followed on successive
weekends by events at
Shepton Mal let and
Alexandra Palace. Here
a r e s o m e o f t h e
outstanding exhibits...
The BMCT‟s own Baughan was a star exhibit on the Golden Valley Club‟s stand at Telford
Only half British, but still a lovely bike nonetheless, this is John Kidson‟s Cotton-Guzzi racer at Telford
A 1926 680cc New Imperial - JAP with a 350cc New Imp racer in the sidecar - a striking exhibit
Douglas being a Bristol make, it wasn‟t surprising they were well represented at Shepton Mallet.
There were some very attractive machines on the New Imperial Owners‟ Club stand
This Matchless G50 took pride of place on the AJS & Matchless stand at Alexandra Palace
The Ally Pally show is for classics and customs, so there were a number of interesting specials like this JAP engined “Manx Superior” on show
The reborn Norton concern were at Alexandra Palace with three of their new range.
In July 1973, in a government sponsored move, a new company was formed from the ashes of the collapsed BSA Group - Norton Villiers Triumph. Against the wishes of the Triumph workforce NVT planned to move Triumph production to the BSA fac-tory at Small Heath, Birmingham. As a result the Meriden workers staged a sit-in that lasted almost two years. It ended finally when in March 1975 a workers‟ co-operative was set up purely to manufacture the Bonneville in 750cc form, primarily for the American market. Although there were some noteworthy bikes built during this period – such as the ‟77 Bonneville Jubilee Special and T140D Special with cast wheels - the writing was on the factory wall. This excerpt from “Save the Triumph Bonneville” by BMCT member John Rosamond is reproduced by kind permission of the author and Veloce Publishing. The world famous motorcycle manufac-turer Triumph Engineering, located at Meriden, Coventry in the West Midlands, exhibited all the trappings of a very successful and profitable business. A subsidiary of the large BSA Group, it still retained all its own Triumph trademark identity and was reported to contribute over half a million pounds’ profit each year to the Group’s results. As such, in 1970 the Triumph factory provided an excellent prospect for employment when my full time trade union official, Mr Andy Smart, contacted me to see if I was interested in a production welding job. Triumph’s wage rates for production welders during the late 1960s and early ‘70s were always in the top three for large factories in Coventry and District. Whilst high wages were paid, it was generally recognised that day or night shift working at Triumph on individual piecework meant everyone earned their money. Triumph had a closed-shop agree-ment with the Birmingham and Midland Sheet Metal Workers’ Union; there were seven other staff and shop floor trade unions at the company. When Triumph needed to recruit production welders it approached the Sheet Metal Workers’
Union in the full knowledge that only suitable candidates would be sent along for a trade test and interview; this was a partnership of convenience that had stood the test of time. I was twenty-five years of age, a qualified production MIG welder, married with a young family and a house mortgage, seeking the security of employment in a high earnings factory; Triumph provided that opportunity. Accordingly, I was very pleased that following my introduction to Triumph by the trade union, I was successful with my welding trade test and interview. It was explained at interview that the company was expanding its MIG welding capacity in preparation for production of the new all-welded Bonneville and Trophy P39 frame; the new frame was being introduced for the high volume 1971 Bonneville and Trophy 650cc twins, production of which was about to start. As instructed in my letter of appointment, I reported for work at the factory in mid-November 1970. The Meriden shadow factory had been built in 1942 on a 22 acre green field site north west of Coventry, to rehouse motor-cycle production after the previous Priory Street, Coventry factory was destroyed by the German Luftwaffe in the Blitz of 1940. On my first day at Triumph I expected to be confronted with mass production individual piecework. I
was certainly in for a shock - there was no work to do, and I was shown into an almost silent factory. The welding section charge hand explained that there was a major problem with the new P39 frame and it had not yet been released for production. The BSA Group had set up a divisional Research and Development Centre at Umberslade Hall, Hockley Heath, Birmingham. This R&D centre undertook the majority of new projects for all Group subsidiaries, including Triumph, and the new all-welded mild steel frame for the big twins, Triumph’s volume sellers, was its first serious motorcycle involvement; it was now nearly three months late for production. Without the release of the new frame design drawings, everything was held up. In an effort to try and counter this production disaster, the Meriden factory had been pre-building for stock Daytona 500 models that did not use the new frame. However, a complete year’s projected requirement of this model had now been stockpiled. In addition, 3-cylinder Tridents had also continued to be built, but market demand for triples was much less than for the big twins. Engines for Bonneville and Trophy models had also continued to be built as per the scheduled build programme, and were now stockpiled all over the factory awaiting motorcycle assembly as soon as the new P39 frames became available - so all was not totally lost! Once Umberslade released the new frame de-sign drawings the welding jigs and fix-tures required for production could be rapidly completed. One young welder who had worked at Triumph for two years told me that to maintain morale during the past three months, inter-section crib, domino and chess tournaments had been organised to prevent boredom. Management had taken the view that it was not the men’s fault there was no work and everyone had been paid ‘average’ earnings and were very happy! Well, perhaps not everyone. A welder with fifteen years service who over-
SAVE THE TRIUMPH BONNEVILLE!
March 2010 Page 3
John Rosamond, former Chairman of the Meriden workers‟ co-operative.
The oil-in-frame Bonneville
explained that this production delay was
unprecedented, and that the company must
be losing an absolute fortune, going on to say
that happiness and security at Triumph was
only guaranteed when high-targeted
production and dales levels were achieved.
The past 3 months should have been spent
building and shipping 1971 Bonneville and
Trophy models for Triumph’s major, very
seasonal American market. All late arriving
1971 models that were not available for sale
in America before next May would remain in
stock to be heavily discounted the following
spring. The recruits were then shown the new
welding section where the P39 frame would
be produced. The section was laid out
logically on a flow line basis, with high volume
in mind. Day and night shift working was
planned, with thirty welders on days and thirty
on nights, with the appropriate number of
frame builders and machinists to support the
required production. Whilst we were looking at
the new section, one of the first frame
assembly jigs arrived. I was amazed. It was
certainly impressive; I’d never before seen a
welding jig with ground finishes and painted a
beautiful shade of royal blue. Whilst admiring
it the chargehand told me there were to be
two further back up duplicates of every jig and
fixture. The Group must have spent an
absolute fortune.
The Wavis frame driller machines were also
being installed. Once a frame had been
completely welded it was clamped into one of
the two duplicate frame drillers that would
then precisely ream the existing pilot holes.
By so doing, the exact dimensions of every
important hole on the frame was guaranteed.
Finally, the steering head tube was bored at
each end for the bearings and the frame was
finished. The swing arm assembly was just as
precisely made so that every new 1971
Bonneville and Trophy rolling chassis was
identical, guaranteeing Triumph’s excellent
road handling qualities.
My first day as a welder at Triumph soon
came to an end and I hadn’t even struck
an arc! With the expected high volume
piecework I had thought that I would go
home physically tired, but I didn’t. I was,
however, mentally exhausted wondering
exactly what I had got myself involved in.
My second day started much the same as
the first, with one exception: any previous
thoughts about a secure job and working
environment had now completely disap-
peared. Confronted with chaos and the
thought of having to try and retrieve three
months lost production with a totally un-
known new frame assembly certainly made
me feel very apprehensive about the
future. It was clear from the comments of
other new welding recruits that my feelings
were much the same as theirs. However,
with the new recruits and the Triumph old
hands seeing the P39 frame for the first
time, we were certainly all in it together to
make what we could of the situation. With
a number of production jigs and fixtures
arriving in the area where I was to work, a
start was made.
The major new design feature of the all-
welded mild steel frame for the 1971
Bonneville and Trophy models was the
integral engine oil tank. The large
‘backbone’ main tube of the P39 frame
was to contain the engine oil. Accordingly,
it was vital that all welding on the oil tank
was of a pressure vessel standard,
guaranteeing no oil leaks. I was to work at
the beginning of the welding flow line, the
seat loop to main tube oil tank assembly.
This assembly also contained the centre
swing arm pivot tube and various brackets.
The steering head tube had already been
welded to the main tube as a sub-
assembly. Our first pre-production build was
a disaster; when tested with compressed air
in a large water tank, the main tube oil tank
leaked like a sieve. Not a good sign when
only recently a cartoon had appeared in a
motorcycle monthly suggesting that Triumph
had by now employed the famous oil well
firefighter Red Adair to try and stop the
engine oil leaks! Luckily ,one of the large
influx of welders from all over Coventry and
District had MIG welding experience on
pressure vessels. Triumph’s welding
equipment was suitably adapted to enable
the ‘spray transfer’ MIG welding technique to
be used. This required very high welding
amperages, a reduced filler wire diameter
and a change from pure CO2 shielding gas
to an argon and CO2 mix. Once the new
process was perfected there were very few
oil tank leaks to repair.
With thousands of stockpiled engines all over
the factory awaiting the new frame, and with
the frame section now fully equipped, there
was massive pressure to complete the first-
off pre-production build, prior to mass
production getting under way. The first frame
assemblies were checked practically in the
Triumph way: The installation of a Bonneville
engine. When the engine was found to be
too big, a full dimensional check by the
Inspection Department was called for. Every
P39 frame dimension was checked against
the Umberslade design drawing and found to
be correct - astonishingly not only was the
new 1971 frame design release three months
late, the engines for which it was designed
would not fit into it!
Page 4
To find out what happens next you‟ll need to but a copy of John‟s book! „Save the Triumph Bonneville‟ is available at £24.99 from all good booksellers or direct from the publishers, Veloce Publishing on 01305 260068
The Meriden factory at the time of the workers‟ sit-in, and (inset) the P39 frame
BMCT News
Two machines from BMCT
member Robin Spalding’s
superb British Scooter
Collection have swept the
awards at the early season
classic bike shows. Robin’s
Ambassador (left) won Best
Scooter at Shepton Mallet,
while his Sun Wasp (below)
took Best Classic honours at
Alexandra Palace.
MEMBERS’ PAGE
ROBIN’S SCOOTERS SCOOP THE AWARDS
other Wolverhampton make, in 1937, and
Associated Moto Cycles was formed.
Eventually AMC absorbed Francis-Barnett,
James and even the once-mighty Norton,
transferring production of all these makes to
their huge factory in Plumstead, London. With
the decline in the British industry, by the late
sixties AJS was reduced to making solely off-
road machines for what had by then become
Norton-Villiers Limited, based, somewhat
ironically, in Wolverhampton.
Member Richard Maby from Dorset sends
us this picture of his 1939 AJS Model 26
350 twinport, a 3-owner machine complete
with its original handbook. By the time this
bike was made, AJS had been part of the
Matchless concern for some eight years,
and most AJS models featured a high
proportion of Matchless components. In
many cases, such as this, there were AJS
and Matchless versions of the same ma-
chine. Matchless bought Sunbeam, an-
Page 5
NEW MEMBERS We welcome the following new members and supporters of our
cause:
David Milgate A. Ross
Neil Freemantle Brendan Mulcahy
James Francis David Taylor
Martin Friendship Trevor Heaton Shelley Ripper
Nigel Summerton Nigel Ballard
J.M. Atkinsonn D. Franklin Adam Ball Ian Defoe
Mick Brooks
BMCT News
Holly Cottage
Main Street
Bishampton
Pershore
Worcestershire
Phone: 01386 462524
Mobile: 07754 880116
Email: [email protected]
The British Motorcycle
Charitable Trust
Preserving the past...for the
future
The British Motorcycle Charitable Trust was originally founded in
1979 as a means of raising funds to establish what was to be-
come the National Motorcycle Museum at Bickenhill, near Bir-
mingham. By 1995 the museum was well established as a suc-
cessful commercial venture, and it and the charity became
separate organisations. A new board of trustees was appointed
to manage the assets of the BMCT as it pursues its objective to
preserve and promote British motorcycle engineering heritage.
Our funding comes from bequests, donations, membership fees
and interest on our reserves. We have an expanding network of
affiliated museums that we assist with projects, and we also
own a growing collection of rare and unusual machines which
can be seen on display at various locations throughout the coun-
try. Our members enjoy free entry to all our affiliated museums
for the very reasonable sum of £20 a year.
To enquire about membership or to find out about how you can
help the trust through a donation or bequest, please contact
Andy Bufton at the address on the left.
www.bmct.org
Edited and published by Matchless Management Services, Holly Cottage, Bishampton, Pershore, WR10 2NH
Visit our website at:
Who are we…?
Bonhams’ sale at the RAF Museum, Hendon saw over 100 machines from the Spanish Pamplona Collection offered for sale. The collection featured a diverse
selection of bikes from a 19th century De Dion Bouton to more recent Harley-Davidsons. Highest priced on the day was the American Cleveland Tornado Four (above) at £48,000 including buyer’s premium , while the top price for a British machine was the £29,900 paid for a Series C Vincent Rapide (below) which
was very strong considering its non-standard specification. The bike sported Amal Concentric carbs, electronic igni-tion, alternator, 150 mph Shadow clock and 18 and 19 inch wheels. Elsewhere in the country, H J Pugh of Ledbury had the usual assortment of fairly unremarkable bikes in their sale in January, but amongst them was this gem (below), a 1936 Triumph 5/5 498cc twin port. Very nicely restored three years ago, this example of the last Val Page designed Triumph failed to reach its reserve, despite the best bid on the day being £11,500!
UNDER THE HAMMER
UPCOMING AUCTIONS Cheffins Cambridge April 24th Bonhams Stafford April 25th
Brightwells Leominster June 24th
DIARY DATES March 28 Shropshire Classic Show, Wistanstow April 4-5 Red Marley Hillclimb, Great Witley, Worcs. April 5 British Historic Racing, Mallory Park April 11 Bike Jumble at the Sammy Miller Museum April 18 St Georges Dragon Roast and Military Vehicle Day, London Motorcycle Museum April 25 Post Vintage Humber Club at London Motor- cycle Museum April 24-25 Classic MotorCycle Show, Stafford April 24-25 VMCC Coventry to Brighton Run May 2 Lambourn Vintage Machinery Show, Berks. May 8-9 British Historic Racing, Three Sisters, Lancs. June 20 VMCC Banbury Run, Gaydon, Warks. June 26-27 British Bike Bonanza, Nailsworth, Glos. For more details see our website