5 replies to this topic

[peterd]

A lazy Saturday (well, it is here) link to indulge in some memories and dreams.

http://www.bonhams.c...A/sale/19391/1/

Edited by peterd, 29 April 2011 - 22:37.

[jonnoj]

I don't know if this has ever been posted here

McQueen at Knatts Valley hill climb

Edited by jonnoj, 29 April 2011 - 23:18.

[rotrax]

I don't know if this has ever been posted here

McQueen at Knatts Valley hill climb

Hi Jonno, I was really interested in the link on your post re the Knatts Valley hill climb and Steve McQueen riding the Douglas twin. I cant remember the year, but it must have been early seventies when I won the Vintage class at Knatts Valley. I was later privileged to ride both the Len Cole Dirt Track Douglas and the Dr. Joe Bayley 1926 TT Douglas which Len prepared for Dr. Joe. It is possible that Steve rode the Dr. Joe bike, which was a genuine TT bike but I am sure it never won a TT. It did earn lots of money for the good Dr. as he used to hire it out at Brooklands before the war to earn useful cash when he was a medical student. Many a Brooklands Gold Star fell to this bike as if you were brave enough to keep it wide open it would do a 100mph lap with ease. When I rode it, just after Phil Manzano the top drag and sprint rider, it had a different tank,without the oil compartment in it.These were a lot of trouble as they would invariably split between the fuel and oil compartments. It had a fuel only tank of a significantly different shape and a small-very small-oil tank on the rear frame. It was blindingly fast for a 1926 motor bike and did 120+mph at the end of the Brighton half mile once. It was never the same bike twice-Len would always change something since I last rode it and I sometimes never even knew its capacity as long and short strokes and different cylinders were used. Barry Briggs also rode for Len Cole and won Knatts Valley on one of the Duggies-which one I could not say. Briggo was also banned from sprints for the best part of one season as it was said he was cheating at the start. It took a proffesional with a movie camera to prove that Briggo's reactions were so good that he was not jumping the old fashioned flag starts. As one of the words best at starting at the speedway tapes this was not realy surprising. In the link it says that Steve is racing with Alf Hagon on his JAP Special. It is a JAP special but its not Alf. I shall contact the e-mail address in the link and refer them to this post which may help them.

Edited by rotrax, 08 May 2011 - 22:17.

[jonnoj]

I went to watch the hill climb at Knatts Valley in 67 or 68 on my BSA C15. A rider bent his pushrods on his C15 grasstracker and he borrowed mine and won his class.
I remember Walby was the man to beat at the time. Was it Len or is that the name of Walby Snr?
I suppose the event was stopped by the same Nimbys who have neutered Brands Hatch

[rotrax]

I went to watch the hill climb at Knatts Valley in 67 or 68 on my BSA C15. A rider bent his pushrods on his C15 grasstracker and he borrowed mine and won his class.
I remember Walby was the man to beat at the time. Was it Len or is that the name of Walby Snr?
I suppose the event was stopped by the same Nimbys who have neutered Brands Hatch

Hi Jonno, The hill at Knatts Valley was put up for sale in the eighties.I believe the Sidcup Club were outbid for it and it went for pony grazing. The VMCC run a grass hill climb at Chalfont and the famous Red Marley has been resurected. One of my mates always said that Knatts Valley was where Gnats Piss beer came from.....

[jonnoj]

Hi Jonno, The hill at Knatts Valley was put up for sale in the eighties.I believe the Sidcup Club were outbid for it and it went for pony grazing. The VMCC run a grass hill climb at Chalfont and the famous Red Marley has been resurected. One of my mates always said that Knatts Valley was where Gnats Piss beer came from.....

If he tried Trumans, he was right!