Dear Sid,
Apologies for not acknowledging receipt of your splendid new book, the dedication and the extra set of Colour Gallery pictures, earlier. There was only time to look through it before going to Bonneville and God knows where the time has gone since.
The book is a credit to you and Matthew with interesting stories both old and new, and the collection of photographs is something else.
It is a history book with a different slant and one which every Vincent owner should have.
I found the book so interesting about people I have had the privilege to know, that I hope you don't mind if I take the liberty to pass on comments about a few.
Two men with the christian name of Philip-- What can one say, no doubt one could not do them justice so maybe best say nothing. Should not be derogatory, if only because they have steered our lives for almost fifty years. Little could they have known that they would have influenced the entire lives of so many people.
Page 29, Marty. Probably my best Vincent friend ever. We didn't meet until 1979 but seemed to hit it off straight away. Went with him to Bass Lake Rally and Bonneville in 1980 and have been to and fro ever since.
Page 50, Picador Engine. Whilst serving in the R.A.F. I was stationed at Chivenor, North Devon 1954, where we had Picadors in the hanger. It was a pilot retraining station for Canadian Sabre Jets and the object was to shoot the targets down over the sea. Sacrilege!
John Penn. When Ken Sprayson was making me a racing sidecar at Renold Tubes, he gave me some photographs of himself and Penn building his "record breaker chassis."
Colour Gallery.
Edgar's Black Shadow looks beautiful.
Reg Dearden's Vincent. Somewhat different to its condition at Shadow Lake.
Burns & Wright Lightning. Apart from the Earls Court Show, I only met them at the International German Rally many years later. Got on really well with Bob. Your photographs are really terrific. To see a brand new looking Lightning on the salt where it belongs is great, adds some tingling excitement unlike a sales brochure or museum.
Ian Ashwell and Satan. Second only to George Brown. His mishap happened on 14th Sept. 1968 at Brighton Speed Trials when his front fairing dropped under his wheel at 170 m.p.h. towards the finish line of the one kilometer sprint. It was my first entry there in the racing sidecar class and I asked Ian for advice. He said "leave it screwed on until after the dip which is after the finish line". This I duly did only to watch Ian from the far end of the strip drop it. He parted company with the bike quite cleanly and looked as if he was going to get away with it sliding down the middle of the course. Alas he eventually veered to the pavement then hit the posts along the top of the sea wall, ending up on the sand. We stopped racing for the rest of the day out of respect for him. I see from the results that Mick Merrick beat me into first place 25.52s. to 25.56s. but I was satisfied. I got my revenge in later years.
Maurice Brierly was a bit of a loner, much the same as myself. With Methamon Maurice got only one sidecar World Record--probably because George Brown was about at the same time. There again, George's records in the sidecar class was with a "Wheel on a Stick". This meant that he could ride the bike like a solo until the regulations insisted on a passenger or 152 lb. of ballast.
Carleton Palmer--another good stalwart still going strong. I also went to Daytona with Marty one year.
Mike Parti. We met in L.A. and then in Bonneville with Norm Jamison in 1980. Mike was still running the same outfit as your photograph, didn't do much good though. This year at Bonneville the use of ballast on sidecars was optional.
Dave Matson. Still is the fastest Vincent ever, unless Max can do anything about it in the future. Dave originally got me interested in Bonneville at the Shadow Lake Rally when he gave me a Rule Book. This year he was pulling 217 m.p.h. in 3rd gear when he had a fire due to the timing cover leaking oil onto the pipes. He put it out with his on-board extinguisher but didn't run again as he couldn't get a replacement or refill the bottle.
Max. What can you say? You are no doubt aware of this year's outcome. Somewhere you mention Sonny Angel, I only met him with brother Donny this year. Max did a whole lot of good work last year. Hopefully he will get rid of those 12 bore shotguns and fit a proven method of deploying the chutes. Similarly reduce his gearing by about a 100 miles an hour, to give the driver a chance to approach 300 miles an hour. Then it will be time to reconsider the gearing. This year I got him to reverse the 31T. gearbox and 29T. rear wheel sprocket, it didn't make much difference but as he hadn't got any more chain there was no alternative.
Clem Johnson. Now there's a legend. Never hear anything of him this side of the pond these days. Surely he can't still be riding? Nice photographs.
Roy Charleton's Rumbleguts. Photograph looks as if it was probably taken at the1957 V.O.C. Rally at Coventry in the Standard Motor Co. car park.
The Thing. I have enclosed some recent photographs to give you an idea of what it ended up like. The ones you show were as you say "still early in it's development". It was my second machine. Very few V.O.C. members ever saw the first three wheeler that I set the records with, unless they bought the motorcycling magazines at the time. My records were set using 32mm 10TT9 Carburettors. Primary chain drive ended up with Morse Hyvochain. Front axle was a Jaguar drop axle with 17" spoked dragster wheels, O.K, for 200 m.p.h. The turbo was fitted high up with equal length exhaust pipes and waste gate set at 24 p.s.i. whilst using 12.5:1 pistons. The torque converter was changed for a 9'' dia. slipper clutch and nitrous oxide injection was fitted with a 2" full-flow S & S fuel carburettor fed by a Holley electric pump. The backbone of the chassis comprised two oil tanks, one for the engine, one for the turbo charger, all of this you should be able to see on the photographs enclosed.
The view of the slipper clutch also shows the electric starter and the main drive shaft with an outrigger bearing. Also enclosed is an early photograph showing a transmission brake fitted to a gearbox shaft to reduce chain stretch. This was done away with when the torque converter was dispensed with.
Never realised that nave Matson used a twin engined Vincent at Bonneville, still 1959 is going back a bit.
Nice picture of a young Gene Aucott.
Fritz Egli was a special friend years gone by. Firstly he offered me the Egli dealership in the U.K. and secondly offered me his Vincent engines and stock for L. 300 (many moons ago), when he packed up Vincents to concentrate on Japanese machinery. My first Vincent was bought in 1953 and I've owned Vincents ever since. Unlike you, I intentionally tried not to mix my engineering business and Vincents. However Vincents often cost the business dearly. EBX625 which I still own was successfully raced in production events by George Breach and then myself, was 50 years old on July 2rd.
Page 81, September 1962. Looking up the programme, the race was actually June 29th 1963. No.59 definitely a bearded Alan Richmond, No.58 Jonathan Hill lining up at Silverstone for the High Speed Trials. I see in M.P.H. 174 and 175 that they both got first class awards. Opposite page, top left, No.78 is probably Derek Older. At the same meeting I was running in the Production Sidecar event, whilst rounding Woodcote Corner, the change into 3rd from top, resulted in an almighty bang. That was the last time I ever used a bronze caged bearing on a Vincent. It had fractured, the balls crowded and burst the outer race and crankcase casting. We lived and learnt.
Page 83. Rollie Free. Kindly gave me a dedicated signed photograph of the same occasion. Marty also gave me one with him lying prone, but wearing leathers and boots. I have included a photograph of Rollie being reunited with his Lightning at the 1980 Bass Lake Rally. I almost bought the bike but he put me off by telling me that the machine had been ransacked of its original equipment over the years and it was in a pretty poor state at the time.
Page 111. John Andrews and friends could never have known what they were starting when they organised the first International Rally. Personally I have ended up with far more Vincent friends overseas than at home.
I could go on and on about numerous others that you have mentioned, but think I'd better call it a day. Trust I haven't bored you too much.
Due to neck problems I am not able to drive a car more than a few miles at a time, let alone raise my head to see where I am going on a Vincent, for about the last seven years. I have to rely mainly on public transport. It is easier to fly to an overseas rally than traverse the country lanes to get to one over here.
Thanks for the interesting recollections, congratulations once again. Regards to Matthew.
All the best,
Yours sincerely,
Ron Vane
