Been under the pump as they say and my next post isn't yet ready.....soon...
Sunday, December 25, 2016
Merry Christmas from the Velobanjogent for 2017..
Merry Christmas to you all...
Been under the pump as they say and my next post isn't yet ready.....soon...
Been under the pump as they say and my next post isn't yet ready.....soon...
Wednesday, November 16, 2016
Apologies to my followers for this....
But last month DQ joined up with Gert Boll from Germany, my Velocette research friend, in the UK for a 10 day tour of some archives resulting in some more interesting photos and information, particularly Velocette...
Unsure how to present this, I thought I'd select from the 1500 odd photos we collected, a range of interesting stuff...obviously I'll present more in time.
For those of you who follow Facebook group sites, I contribute to "Velocette Motorcycles", "Velocette" and my own site on motorcycle instrumentation..."motorcycles speedos, tachos and other instruments" as well as the "smiths chronometric" site....
Worth a look, perhaps even to follow....
Down to business...
In the VMCC library is a source of interesting photos, including a small collect from Rex McCandless, responsible for the Norton Featherbed frame.....
In 1939 Rex made a "Triton"...utilising a Norton inter frame with one of the newly introduced in 1938, 5T/speedtwin Triumph 500cc engines.
Testing the new Norton Featherbed frame at the circuit Autodrome de Linas-Montlhéry near Paris in 1949...Joe Craig holds the indicator board out....124mph...
Its not all "work"....
Time off with Dai Gibberson to visit a flight of canal locks near Devizes...the Caen Hill Locks,on the Kennett & Avon canal, around 29 in all in the area...
Ivan is selling the ex Bob Foster TT winning DOHC 350 from 1949....
Speak to Ivan if you are genuinely interested....
Then we spent several days with James Robinson the editor of "The Classic MotorCycle" at Morton Motorcycle Media identifying photos for them..
The archive has many contact prints prewar in a form of albums with a penned code number...identity long lost, but often on the edge of the negative a comment....
Lets look at the 1938 ISDT which was in Wales....
1938 ISDT,Wales, Crymmych HRMS check....
Some Velocette items....
Brooklands....Lamacraft's supercharged 350 KTT Velocette
The Roarer being assembled before the 1939 IOM TT...looks like an OHC special of some sort under the bench.....
All internals were removed to make the bike lighter to move around.
The front wheel is from a mk.8 KTT racer as the original Roarer wheel was on loan to Geoff Duke for his KTT special at the time...
On ya Bruce...!!!
Thursday, June 23, 2016
Eric Hinton....the Velobanjogent remembers a friend and a great rider from the "Continental Circus" and Australian motorcycle racing.....
Last December was a sad day for motorcycle racing with the passing of Eric Hinton after a long illness.....The day of his funeral was a cool wet day in early summer in Sydney, but many of his friends, acquaintances and people who respected him for the man and great motorcycle racer that he was joined his family to say their farewells......
This remembrance from me is long overdue so lets follow Eric photographically through some of his motorcycle racing life.....
Many of the photos following are a result of the diligent work by motorcycle journalist Don Cox in the preparation of his "essential reading book"...
"Circus Life" published in 2012 and reviewed by me the other year....
And I thank Don for his permission to use them
Eric was borne into what became the Hinton dynasty of motorcycle racers....his father Harry Hinton, elder brother Harry Hinton Jnr and younger brother Robert Hinton.....
He and Harry Jnr rapidly made a name for themselves in the world of European motorcycle racing in the period 1956 to 1965 over several period during this time. Sadly Harry Jnr died of pneumonia in hospital following a crash at Imola, Italy in April 1958 when the big end of his Norton broke and seized with the bike hitting a fence and cannoned back onto the track hitting Harry in the chest.....
L to R... Eric, Harry snr, Harry jnr.
Eric, #2, pushes off his 350 Norton in the 1956 IOM Junior TT
Eric and fellow Aussie Dick Thomson's Ford V8 van, transport for 1956.
Following a conversation with Keith Campbell, Eric made the decision not to ride in GPs but to enter the lesser international race meetings where start money and prize money was better but the chance of being overlooked for a factory ride was the downside.
Pierre Monnerett, factory 350 Gilera-4 harassed by Eric at Villefranche-de-Rouergue in 1956.
#80 Eric, 350 Norton....St Wendel, West Germany.
Eric with a new 350 Manx at St.Wendel, 1956.
Eric #4, full bin streamlined Norton follows #8 Hans Baltisberger likely 1956 in Czechoslovakia.
In the Chemnitz Hotel, Chemnitz Germany August 1956...Eric centre, Keith Bryen by the gramophone, Bob Brown down to Eric's right, Alan Burt to the front of Bob.
Team Hinton 1957, Eric and Harry jnr...
Eric at the IOM TT races, 1957. He finished 5th in the Junior TT.
Eric Hinton, the toast of St.Wendel after he won the 350 and 500 races on Nortons....
Eric wins the 500 class at St.Wendel 1957
The Hinton brothers at St.Wendel 1957
21-7-57 the German 350 GP at Noris-ring, Nuremberg. Keith Bryen 1st, Eric Hinton 2nd and Vally Lunberg 3rd.
Harry jnr, Keith Bryen, Eric , Vally Lundberg German GP 1957.
The Hinton "camp" at the 1958 IOM TT...Harry jnr had acquired the ex Geoff Duke Velocette with an ex works 350 DOHC engine. Later on the continent at the German GP when he entered it in the 350 class he was sniggered at...but the smiles soon vanished when he finished 5th on it....When Eric was in aged care several years ago I asked him why the Velocette and he said Harry jnr felt it was a better all round ride....
Eric with the 350 DOHC Velocette at a friends house in the Birmingham area, 1958.
Eric with Ken Kavanagh at Brno, Czechoslovakia in 1958.
Eric on his 250 NSU Sportsmax at Schleiz, East Germany 1958.
On the road in 1966 during his final tour...Eric with Jack Ahearn.
Eric in later years......
Many of the photos following are a result of the diligent work by motorcycle journalist Don Cox in the preparation of his "essential reading book"...
"Circus Life" published in 2012 and reviewed by me the other year....
And I thank Don for his permission to use them
He and Harry Jnr rapidly made a name for themselves in the world of European motorcycle racing in the period 1956 to 1965 over several period during this time. Sadly Harry Jnr died of pneumonia in hospital following a crash at Imola, Italy in April 1958 when the big end of his Norton broke and seized with the bike hitting a fence and cannoned back onto the track hitting Harry in the chest.....
Following a conversation with Keith Campbell, Eric made the decision not to ride in GPs but to enter the lesser international race meetings where start money and prize money was better but the chance of being overlooked for a factory ride was the downside.
In the Chemnitz Hotel, Chemnitz Germany August 1956...Eric centre, Keith Bryen by the gramophone, Bob Brown down to Eric's right, Alan Burt to the front of Bob.
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