Archive stuff

rocketonarail said:
I was thinking it may have been used on the road , but not sure if any were produced in that form ...... the Laverda powered version may have been unique , but I`m not absolutely sure ........ Tail light seems to be a side mounted endurance race type ( or maybe it`s an indicator ! ) ....... the Laverda powered bike had two large headlights , can`t quite make out from this photos angle if there are two there ...... when M & T dumped the Laverda engine and went Kawasaki , I guess a new Nessie was built to suit the new engine , so the original triple powered version may have ended up on the road , maybe this photo was taken after it was no longer being raced ....... I think this bike ended up being put back together and auctioned a few years back .......

BTW ... the original Laverda Nessie was raced on occasion by ex Norton development engineer Norman White , and also road / sand racer , and 1990`s Castrol Honda World Superbike Team manager Neil Tuxworth .......
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And Neil told me it took some picking up when he dropped it…
 
Not Laverda but worth a smile ........

Advert for an old established motorcycle brand now manufactured in India ..... No , it`s not Harley Davidson , or even KTM ........

Here`s a clue ...... It`s made like a gun , and goes like a bullet .......

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Back in the 'Good Old Days', we even had Formula 500s on the road!
These were taken at an Open Day at Dennis Kelly's 'Avon Bikes', held in December, '79, IIRC.
I'd ridden over to Bristol with a group of the usual ILOC suspects, 160 miles in the rain, in my standard riding gear: flared jeans, denim jacket and training shoes.
I managed several F500 test sessions, which was a hoot to ride, even in the wet, using local dual carriageways as a "circuit".
Later, someone kindly loaned me some leathers while my denim dried out over a radiator, ready for the ride back to London, on my trusty 3cE.

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Andy J said:
Thanks Hamish for the additional photos of UHT601T. They will help with the bike’s restoration.
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I knew I had them somewhere, Andy, but had had no luck finding them, despite having searched my photographs several times.
Searching for the name of a restaurant, through old credit card bills, however,....
 
The Sock said:
Back in the 'Good Old Days', we even had Formula 500s on the road!
These were taken at an Open Day at Dennis Kelly's 'Avon Bikes', held in December, '79, IIRC.
I'd ridden over to Bristol with a group of the usual ILOC suspects, 160 miles in the rain, in my standard riding gear: flared jeans, denim jacket and training shoes.
I managed several F500 test sessions, which was a hoot to ride, even in the wet, using local dual carriageways as a "circuit".
Later, someone kindly loaned me some leathers while my denim dried out over a radiator, ready for the ride back to London, on my trusty 3cE.

View attachment 87042View attachment 87043View attachment 87044
Click to expand...
When it stops raining I`ll nip down to Bristol and take an image of 136 Cheltenham Road as it is today ............... Back in the 1930`s it was a fruit shop run by a John Brooks ........... in the early to mid 1960`s it was Edney Motors ....... in the late `60`s to mid `seventies it became Dons , a Jawa / CZ dealership ......... and then it became Avon Bikes during the late` seventies / early `eighties ....... and then ANC Motors ( African National Congress ? .... No , can`t be ... ) .......... God knows what it is now .... I`ll go down and take a look ....... or take a look at Google Street View , but I`ll still go down there anyway ....

Hamish , your final , head on shot , shows what looks like Arley Congregational Chapel in the left background , at the junction of Arley Hill and Cheltenham Road ........

I believe Dennis Kelly ran a BMW dealership in Crewkerne , down in Somerset , before being attracted to the big bright lights of Bristol ........
 
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It`s 1971 ...... CZ bring out their 418cc , double overhead cam , 16 valve , 90 degree V4 ......73 bhp at 13,600 rpm , and a top speed of 260 kph .......

Originally a 350 with an eight speed gearbox , the 418 was reduced to six speeds to comply with FIM rules .....

Raced for a couple of seasons , not quite able to match the MV`s because of limited development due to lack of funds and materials .

It did get the better of Agostini`s MV in one race in 1972 , but then retired whilst in the lead ......

Eventually the Czech government kicked it into touch , by telling the factory to concentrate on off - road competition ....... Jawa would continue with the road racing ..........

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I`ve used this before , just found it again , so here it is again ..........

Pete Davies , Snetterton ........ It`s 1976 ...... Original caption says Jota , but it`s a 3CE .........

During the Avon Roadrunner series , rival Mike James reckoned his Suzuki GS1000 was 5 - 6 bhp down on the Jotas , so the only answer was to try harder through the corners ........

The original Avon rules called for intact generator covers ....... Pete Davies said that meant new covers at the start of each race , but eventually the scrutineers were happy as long as the covers had started life whole .....

To find more lean angle , Richard Slater would remove the generator rotor , put it in a lathe , and put a chamfer on it`s outer edge .....

A Guzzi Le Mans trick was to fit Fiat rally car valve springs , which would give nearly 10,000 rpm , instead of 8,300 , to try to match the Jotas on the straights ...... Obviously any sort of gearing change was impossible on a Guzzi .........

Ducati 900 SS`s went well with Fred Riley on board , but they had a disadvantage at the dead engine starts ..... They would still be kicking away whilst everyone else had thumbed the starter and disappeared round the first corner .......


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Here you go Hamish .... Avon Bikes revisited ......A trip down Memory Lane , otherwise known as Cheltenham Road , Bristol ....... at 2pm this afternoon ...

That head on shot of you on the F500 would have positioned you close to where the lamp post is , on the right , in the first image .....

The second image is where the triples were parked ( plus the CB250 / 350 ) ..... Who was riding that ? ......

The final two images are of No 136 as it was today ..... still with the ANC Motors sign above the doors as it has been since the late `eighties ......

Some say a grey haired , stooped figure still stalks the streets at night , muttering " I`m a rider / dealer , son " as he stumbles along .......

Only 44 years later .... Who would have thought ... ? ......:) .........




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What is it Massimo ? .... An endurance racer , the basis for a new range of bikes , a mobile laboratory ..... ? .....

Piero once said when the V6 was at full chat on the test bed , you could not stay in the same room as " The teeth , they start to move " ......

Now where did I put that bloody tank ........



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