Here’s another proud motorcycle rider on his Triumph Cub. I’m trying to figure out what make and model the car is. Late 50’s early sixties…? Ford Fairlane?
February 7, 2014
L-Plates
Everyone can remember the first time they released the clutch giving a whiff of throttle…. What better moto than the Triumph Cub to do it on!
Boiler-suited student and their mentor looking happy in the sun in this image. His eyes are on a Bonnie at the dealers… Hang on son! Put a few miles under yer belt on the Cubbie first!
February 6, 2014
Tigers Tale
Tank Art: a hand painted Triumph Cub tank complete with tiger, Catalina GP name and a signature from Ed Kretz Jr. Who raced the Catalina in 1956 on an early Cub to victory.
Ed, who passed away last September at the age of 81, was son of legendary Ed ‘Iron Man’ Kretz sr. (#38). Here younger Ed after that Californian win.
Here’s a link to his blog with many fabulous motorcycling racing photos of him and his father. Kretz Blog
Better go now Easy Rider has just started on the telly!
February 5, 2014
Glendale Bikers
A fantastic image was unearthed today courtesy of Tom Day showing a gathering of a local motorcycle club in the market town of Wooler in North Northumberland (where I grew up).
Taken in about ’51 or ’52 it captures the youth of the day admiring their motos and talking biking. Mostly a bunch of BSA ZB31’s; the sporty 350 single of the day. A couple of postwar Norton 16H’s may be there too. I’m told one of the lads may be my brother-in-law’s father. To be confirmed by the man himself…
Here’s a clean example of this BSA in modern technicolor.
February 4, 2014
Sprockets
A new front sprocket arrived in the mail yesterday. Fourteen teeth. Nice long unworn teeth that haven’t been chomping on a chain for miles and miles and miles.
The original setup is an eighteen tooth front sprocket and forty eight tooth rear wheel one. That gives a ratio from the gearbox of 2.66:1. With the 14 front and a big sixty tooth one that will give me a ratio of 4.30:1. Nearly a 60% increase. A good trials gearing!
Tree trunks? Nae worries!
Dieter says: “You are beautiful and angular.”
February 3, 2014
Brasso Racer
“There is something deeply appealing about this class of machine. It reeks of backyard camaraderie and track-day competition that allowed the pilot to test his design, tuning and raw ability against the rest of the field. There is also an underlying modesty in this class of bike that must beguile the race scene of today which is full of laptop-tuned bullets that offer more corporate signage than anything else. Standing in contrast to the general classic scene, originality is not what you look for in this class of bike. It is the sum of the parts used, the authorship of the machine. This period racer has a 1957 frame and a 1959 engine and John Anderson built it in the mid-1970s. Well constructed and looking the business, it features a hand-built aluminium oil tank and battery box. Reputedly raced by Anderson’s wife, it has very heavy compression and lumpy cams and, of course, runs on methanol so it was not designed as a pub runner but an an “On any Sunday” classic. Note the old Brasso can for the oil catchment!”
Image and text courtesy Webbs Auctions House NZ
February 2, 2014
Charlie Uniform Bravo Tango Twenty
The police also used the small Triumph. No doubt a nippy ‘cycle to whip around town on.
Probably called the Panda Cub if adorned in the usual black and white paint scheme. Radio pillion box also achieves a rapid forward control point for mobile use; however when you have a strapping six foot four copper dressed in waterproofs I bet these little fellers strained their little hearts out. Roll on the Bonneville 650’s for more appropriate power…
February 1, 2014
Salty Cub
Bonneville: this blog is named after this shrine of speed; also used for Triumph’s superlative moto of the mid twentieth century. Here’s Salt Flat photographer Eric Rickman using a Triumph Tiger Cub as ‘pit bike’ to whizz from point to point capturing the hot rods, rocket cars and Burt Munro type characters. His Hasselblad medium format camera assuredly caught some impressive high horse powered streamlined beasts! He hung out with some pretty cool dudes too!
January 31, 2014
Army Traveller
There us so much about this image I like. The sepia tint of age, a smiling lance corporal dispatch rider in Mediterranean wear, and the rime-like dust of the road. Possibly Egypt, Libya or even Italy. Sitting proudly on his BSA M20, workhorse of lightweight and quick travel for the Allies.
January 30, 2014
Spit ‘n’ Polish
I duuno how you’d get an engine THIS clean! It’s like some silversmiths handiwork with finely polished tubes, pipes, covers, and fins. Mine will start clean, though not polished, then attain a runned, oil smeared patina of an engine used. Something more like this…
A motorcyclists engine, gets t’job done!
January 29, 2014
Portrait
Clean, clean, clean; that’s what this Cubbies engine looks especially when photographed by the esteemed motorcycle portrait photographer Daniel Peirce.
It is an illuminating capture of the simple single: sinuous pipe wrapping lazily over the egg-shaped timing case, kicker and gear changing levers await action, and the cooling fins hatch comb-like across the barrel. There’s even a frame mounted hand-pump peeping at the top heralding in golden script: “Made in England”.
An engine IS art!
January 28, 2014
Cub Rocker
Only a couple of hundred ceecee’s of capacity but a stern grimace nonetheless. I’m sure fun can be had on this little baby though: “it’s more enjoyable to go fast on a slow bike than to go slow on a fast one”.
January 27, 2014
Round and round she goes…
After yesterday’s reuse special here’s one for adaptation. My wheel building exploits needs the next step of truing my new front wheel. I slotted the axle into my bicycle exercise roller. It fitted perfectly and spun freely. All I need to do is find the rims new center alignment and affix some nearby reference pins. Then spun, tweak, spin, twerk, spin, twunk. Repeat. Job’s a good un!
January 26, 2014
Make Do and Mend
Yesterday we went to the Holocaust Museum in Skokie to see an exhibition about Wartime austerity in Britain. The population had to tighten their belts, utilize less, close-in, and create a stalwart ‘fortress’ as the Axis shadow grew.
The use of posters was key to promote the needs and my favorite illustrator of the time Cyril Kenneth Bird aka Fougasse created pure form and message.
At the exhibition there was some wonderful COLOUR film from the war years some showing events during The Blitz, others about rationing, and one about the plans set afoot within the defending island state as German forces were breathing down their necks. There was a few scenes of the Home Guard ( Dads Army) going through their paces across a muddy common on motorbikes to become dispatch riders.
Could be a BSA M20. Spotlessly new and ready for service.
Wonderful film.
January 25, 2014
The Shed
The aged patriarch of clan Broon is of course Granpaw. His escape from the extended family is his shed. All his necessities are there including, just peeping from stage right, a British motorbike. Looks like either a Triumph or BSA. Well he needs some firm of transport to hare up to the But ‘n’ Ben…
Oh yeah! Happy Burns Night!
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