Sunday, December 16, 2012

W.F. Omodei Pty Ltd, was a business in the motorcycle trade in Sydney, Australia from the 1920's up into around 1990 when it finally closed it's doors...I've most of the Omodei accessory catalogues and this post illustrates Ariel motorcycle information they kept for staff to sell items for in 1938 and 1939.....

I started with an earlier post on the Sydney business, W.F.Omodei Pty. Ltd with some Amal information..see...
http://velobanjogent.blogspot.com.au/2009/08/276-amal-carburettor-from-early-1930s.html
In the many catalogues from UK and other countries trade houses, for Reg Hardy who was the manager for such a long time and the final owner, was an inveterate writer to these companies seeking products, distribution rights etc, were some hand made data books, which were for the use of himself and his staff to identify parts required from counter and mail order inquiries to assist with sales.
They are fascinating for this use, but now form a very useful reference tool...
This will be the start of a series as I often do, until all the data is displayed....
One of the books featured pages cut out from various motorcycle manufacturers catalogues with reference to the items they could sell to the public...
 I first did  some Velocette information....
Then some of the Norton information...
And this posting is for the Ariel items in the counter book.... 
The information covers tyre sizes, cylinder bore size for piston rings etc....
The cover leaf for the book...now dismantled  for ease of use....
Ariel square 4.....
Ariel Red Hunter VH...
Ariel Red Hunter 350 NH...
Ariel Red Hunter 250 LH...

Ariel Side valve deluxe 600cc VB...
Ariel 500 OHV deluxe VG....
Ariel 350 OHV deluxe NG...
Ariel 250 OHV deluxe LG and OG.....

Sunday, December 2, 2012

A look through the lens of Alan Schafer's camera during the 1939 Australian GP motorcycle races on the Mt.Panorama circuit at Bathurst, NSW, some 150 km west of Sydney......

I've introduced you to Alan Schafer before in several posts on my blog..... and I recently scanned in quite a few small sized photos that Alan had uncatalogued in  a plastic bag....
So I sorted through a 1938,1939 and 1940 Bathurst motorcycle race programs to endeavour to identify most of the pics, which in a way allow you to get a better idea of motorcycle racing in Australia in this pre-war period...
I've included some cuttings from the relevant motorcycle magazine of the time here in Sydney..."The Australian Motorcyclist".....
Now there has been motorcycle racing in the Bathurst area since the 1920's, during the earlier 1930's period it was on the Old Vale circuit, but a new purpose built road over the Mt.Panorama on the southern outskirts of Bathurst was unveiled to the visiting Irish motorcycle racing great..Stanley Woods, who was on a racing and promotional holiday for Velocette with starts in the South Australian Centenary TT at Victor Harbour in late December 1936 and then at Phillip Island in February 1937 and after visiting P&R Williams, the NSW Velocette distributors in Sydney he travelled with P&R sponsored riders Cec Weatherby ( pictured to the left) and Don Bain (second from the right) and is shown below, beside the then mayor of Bathurst ( in the black suit to the centre) on an area, later called Reid Park which would form part of the circuit...
The circuit was completed in time for the Easter races in 1938, although the track was unsealed, that is a dirt/gravel surface for this year and sealed for the 1939 races.

Bathurst town centre in 1939 at Easter for the races...
Well as mentioned, Alan had a camera, although I have no idea of the brand or it's capability for action shots, but Alan did take some and considering what might have been available I think he did a good job and for those interested in motorcycle racing in Australia it forms a valuable record...
So lets wander through the snapshots, which I've labelled where possible...

The start of the 1939 Australian Senior GP and the finish line.....
Through McPhillamy Park corner during the Australian Sidecar GP and Abercrombie handicap....#37 W. Hodgekiss 498cc Norton OHV and #87 N.Hilliard 596cc OHC Norton.
Same corner and race...#17 A.Jones 596cc OHC Norton...
 Decending the mountain in the infamous "esses", George Hannaford (Vic), on a 1938 Mk.7 KTT Velocette.

#19, Doug James, 250 Excelsior Manxman, 2nd in 1939 Lwt TT, in the esses at Bathurst.
#8 Leo Tobin 348cc OHC Norton and #7 Don Bain 348cc OHC Velocette.
#13 Cec Weatherby, 348cc OHC Velocette mk.8 KTT
Start of the 1939 Senior Australian GP...somebody got a "blinder" of a start...the mk.7 KTT is Dave Jenkins and #3 is Art Senior on his potent Ariel 500 special..
#8 Leo Tobin , Norton and #9 Wal Hawtry at the end of what later became called "con-rod straight"....due to the number of engines that broke conrods.
The straight was approx a mile and a quarter downhill....

A rider falls at the end of the main straight...I couldn't identify him....

Following the finish of each race, the first three places were impounded for scruitineering...this occured as pictured at what became known as "the green shed"...the Velo thethe left is Don Bain's 495cc OHC ex works Velo racer known as "The Monster", #25 is S.Sharpe,Norton and the Velocette Mk.7 KTT is likely Dave Jenkins.





Friday, November 16, 2012

2012 "Back to Bundanoon" Australian National Velocette Rally...a pictorial stroll through the week of the rally.....

An earlier posting under almost the same title "DQs off to the Back to Bundanoon Velocette Rally" I left Sydney for 8 days taking in the 2012 National Australian Velocette Rally.
 It was based in a small town, Bundanoon, in the Southern Highlands of NSW some 750 meters above sea level...in early Spring the altitude gave nice cool weather for Velocette riding...although a severe weather change that swept through on the Thursday evening of the event brought light snow to surrounding areas and heavy rain closed some roads such that the main days ride for the Friday was cancelled and two smaller rides in undamaged areas replaced it...
 The Rally started on the Sunday afternoon 7th October with the usual check-in with some 144 people entered including 100 motorcycles of which around 85 were Velocette and we usually had some 75 Velocettes on the daily rides....
Australia's a big place and the rough breakdown of entrants was 14 from Western Australia,25 from Victoria, 18 from South Australia,22 from Queensland,53 from NSW,1 from Tasmania,2 from California USA, 1 from UK and 8 from New Zealand.
Showing most of the bikes in the lineup on the final Saturday for a press photograph for the local newspaper...the railway station behind, the photo taken from the roof of the Bundanoon Community Hall by our erstwhile reporter, Colleen Canning!
Oldest Velocette at the rally was Dave Dettmar's 1925 model K ( Gill Loe pic).

The club's newsletter editor, Doug Farr has a son into woodwork...he made this half scale model of a Mk.2 KSS he is fiddling with...interestingly it has a concentric carb. on it and the wooden model has one also!
Doug carefully transported it the 900km to the Rally and then back again...
"Mr and Mrs Rally Director"...Di and John Jennings on a lookout during a days ride.
The Jennings started the rally series for the Velocette Owners Club of Australia back in 1982...a 2 day event at Bundanoon.
Hence the "Back to Bundanoon" Rally title....
Daily maintenance during the ride....
I call him "The Scarlett Pimpernel"..Graeme Glover aboard his BMW R80 during the Velocette Rally with Kiwi Caryl Sanson pillion...GG shows up at Vincent Rallies in the UK, BMW/Velo/Vincent Rallies in the USA and Canada as well as Velocette Rallies in NZ...."they seek him here, they seek him there...."
In fairness to GG he loaned Velos to NZers over for the Rally...On ya GG!!
Stuart Hooper...the World's Fastest Velocette with Gil Loe(USA) on the Rallies fastest FT500 Honda! Both rode down 1200km from Brisbane,Qld to the Rally and then Stuart with wife Marsha pillion toured further south into the alpine area of NSW and then rode home all on his Venom. Including engine main bearing replacement on the far south coast after arranging the bearings to be couriered to a helpful local who was also a motorcyclist...
Tough man...
Peter Wolfenden ( left) with his neat little 250 MOV special...yours truly DQ (centre)...who sold the engine to Pete and Tony Keene. PW machined up the hubs a la KTT....
Annie Albrecht's 1951 MAC pictured against a south coast vista during a morning tea stop at Stanwell Tops.
Peter Ellis starts his 1958 Mk.3 LE ready for a days ride...Richard Fanning and Peter Boros look on...
The Rally was accommodated in three venues in Bundanoon and one afternoon in the YHA, the Rally breakdown/catch vehicle driver, Rob D'Jarlais with partner Willi provided a beer tasting of their home brew....

Rallyists Dennis Fry and Dennis Quinlan were re-united with DQs VMT that they rode together in the 1971  Castrol 1000 6 Hour Race at Amaroo Park raceway. The current owner brought it over from Western Australia for the Rally.
 As per usual, the Club's AGM was held on the Tuesday evening.
The existing committee and ex-officio members were all re-elected unopposed.
The Club's patron...Anne Frampton ( nee Goodman), the daughter of Bertie Goodman the managing director of Veloce Ltd, manufacturers of Velocette is re-united with a Velocette Vogue scooter after almost 50 years.
Anne was the model for the original B&W publicity photos of the time..pictured below..Californian Club member Mick Felder models his "Velocette" sweater.
Mick was presented with the Annual "Bertie Goodman" award, presented by Anne at the Rallies final dinner on the Saturday night.
Anne presents a surprised Mick Felder with the framed BJ Goodman Memorial prize, pictured below.
Speaking of the final dinner, the Bundanoon Hotel dining room was suitably decorated with black and gold with memorabilia on the walls and each table....


 The Saturday morning, following the motorcycle lineup in the main street of Bundanoon, featured earlier in this post, a short ride was taken to nearby Robertson where they were celebrating the 80th anniversary of a rail spur to the town, with a double headed steam train...a 32 class and a 36 class locomotive hauling carriages of rail enthusiasts.
We were invited to line up Velocettes and three horseman from the Lancers army unit which took over from the Australian Light Horse Brigade of WW1 and WW2 were present.  
On 31 October 1917, the Australian 4th Light Horse Brigade charged across two miles of open terrain in the face of Ottoman artillery and  machine gun fire to successfully capture Beersheba in what would come to be known as the  Battle of Beersheeba.


 During the Rally there were plenty of our mounted riders...
A selection follows...



Next year, 2013, sees the National Australian Velocette Rally move to Tasmania... with Adelaide, South Australia in 2014 and Western Australia in 2015...
Thanks to Colleen Canning, Bev Wolfenden, Gil Loe, Tim Thearle and DQ for the photos...