November 30, 20187 yr During the second world war, my father taught Military Police Dispatch Riders in North Wales, and they used a fleet of 16H Nortons. For one training foray they took a squad up Snowdon, and their Sergeant went on his Brough Superior, so maybe you could include that make as one of the early off-roaders. .
November 30, 20187 yr Author @scifi I like WW2 bikes Norton 16H , M20/Ariel WNG/RE Model C etc i wish i can born in 1940s ?
December 1, 20187 yr On 11/29/2018 at 11:52 PM, scifi said: Hi BSA4Life... I think you have got to realise that nearly every early motorbike could have been used as a scrambles bike. At the start of the 1900s there was no such thing as Tarmac, or Oil Refining. So most of the roads were mud or gravel at best. Even the TT could have been called a Scramble as the course was held over some very rough roads. It all goes hand in hand.. The more Petrol gets used, the more Tar is produced at the refineries, so the more the roads get Tarmaced. Perhaps the British supply of low-tar North Sea Oil, has led to the amount of pot-holes on our roads at present. . I have a Douglas 2 3/4 hp, which were used as dispatch bikes during WWI. I have actually taken it along an easy gravelly green lane which you can rattle along in top gear on a modern enduro, trail or trial bike. It was a real eye opener with clincher tyres which have to be run at high pressure, rudimentary forks and no suspension on the back. Couldn't really go much above walking pace and even if I was more careless about damaging a nearly 100 year old bike, I doubt I could go much faster and stay in control. Combine that with tricky to use controls (eg changing fuel mixture every gear change), not much air filtering and ignitions that must have been very susceptible to water, those early riders and especially early trials riders were hardcore. As for dispatching in a warzone on such a bike, I would have rather taken my chances on a horse or on foot. The Douglas is actually quite rideable for bikes of that period, some bikes having no clutch and others like the Scott with surprisingly lively power to go with no brakes or suspension Edited December 1, 20187 yr by caravan_monster
December 1, 20187 yr Would bikes like Beamish Suzuki count ? ( British built frame & tank , assembled in Brighton ? ) or Yamaha HL500 ? ( assembled by NVT in the UK , with British built Frame )
December 2, 20187 yr On 11/30/2018 at 9:26 AM, greychapel said: I've seen a solo trials too! Thought I might not mention that as a bit obscure, I bet is was well built?
December 3, 20187 yr On 12/2/2018 at 12:55 PM, section swept said: Thought I might not mention that as a bit obscure, I bet is was well built? superb, chrome frame, believe the guy's name was/is Robin Rhind-Tutt
December 3, 20187 yr Is George Greenland not still in possession of this? Not sure if he still rides it.
December 3, 20187 yr 7 hours ago, greychapel said: superb, chrome frame, believe the guy's name was/is Robin Rhind-Tutt so chroming doesn’t make the frame more brittle then!
December 3, 20187 yr 29 minutes ago, section swept said: so chroming doesn’t make the frame more brittle then! As I understand it (leaving myself a get-out there), hydrogen embrittlement can occur when chrome plating, but is not inevitable. Nonetheless, I would opt for nickel rather than chromium, just to be on the safe side. However, if you're buying a 30+ year-old bike and there are no cracks in the frame, I wouldn't be too worried.
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