46 replies to this topic

[Xover]

Reading these pages has been a source of great pleasure for me. I've enjoyed the memories and experiences of others whilst having some of my own happy moments rekindled. In addition to which, the photos that people have taken the time to post have opened a new window on past times. All of this got me thinking about how each of our senses can evoke particular memories. A picture is worth a thousand words, but then sometimes so is a sound...or even a smell.
For example, there is nothing like a musical blast from the past to remind one of a particular time or event in one's life, be it a rock concert or a romantic evening at home. In fact, when it comes to sounds I could wax lyrical for ages about examples such as the sound of Surtees' MV 4 hurtling up Cronk ny Mona with the engine revs dancing as the rear wheel skips the bumpy surface, or the wail of a Honda six reverberating through the trees on the approach to Braddan...etc. etc. But my particular memory-jogging sense for this topic is the sense of smell and how many racing reminiscences can be brought to mind by an odour.
The first and most obvious choice for me is Castrol 'R'. Not the synthetic stuff of today, but the original vegetable oil of 40s viscosity. (Anyone know which vegetable was used in its manufacture BTW?). It's one thing to imagine the TT paddock with the sound of a couple of big singles on open megas being warmed up, but add the fragrance of 'R' and it suddenly becomes more complete.
For those of you who have done any trials riding or moto cross, what about the smell of crushed grass (same as mown) combined with earthy mud and two stroke fumes? Then of course there were the early morning pre practice paddock aromas of bacon and eggs being cooked on a primus stove. And finally, one of my all time favourites, morning practice in the Island between Ballacraine and Kirkmichael and the smell of wild onion that permeates the air there as the morning sun strobes through the trees. Magic. Maybe there are a few you can think of....

[picblanc]

Castrol R did it for me, that and seeing the blue haze rise above the paddock when practice start time began.

[philippe7]

The "vegetable" oil that was famously used in the old days for 4-stroke engines is something called "ricin" in french . The Robert and Collins dictionary I have pulled off the shelf says that it translates to "castor oil plant" in english. Does that make sense ?

For me, the smell of 2-stroke oil burnt thru the (preferably) unsilenced expansion chambers is the thing that always brings back memories when I happen to arrive at a contemporary classic meeting.

[Ray Oldam]

Philippe,

The 'R' was such a lovely smell - while sitting on a cold grass bank at Signpost corner, watching early morning TT practice with the sun still coming up in the grey and pink sky! Then a mad dash on our pushbikes back to the newsagents and complete our paper-rounds before school. Needless to say, I was always a little slow and tired during lessons in TT fortnight!!

I used to use the stuff in the Aermacchi - of course it is long superseded by the synthetic oils now. On cold days you couldn't start the bike as it would turn into glue-like consistency and lock the back wheel up each time you tried bumping it! I improvised - take the bike to the meeting with the oil in a can, and use the gas cooking stove to heat it up in the back of the van, jump out, get the oil into the bike and start it up as quickly as possible before it got cold again!! Once you had it running it would be okay for the rest of the day as the air temperature warmed up.

Of course, these days, you just buy a set of starter rollers!!

Ray

Edited by Ray Oldam, 08 June 2011 - 16:03.

[picblanc]

They dont know there born these days!!

[Rennmax]

Philippe,

....
I used to use the stuff in the Aermacchi - of course it is long superseded by the synthetic oils now. On cold days you couldn't start the bike as it would turn into glue-like consistency and lock the back wheel up each time you tried bumping it! I improvised - take the bike to the meeting with the oil in a can, and use the gas cooking stove to heat it up in the back of the van, jump out, get the oil into the bike and start it up as quickly as possible before it got cold again!! Once you had it running it would be okay for the rest of the day as the air temperature warmed up.
......

Ray

I think this exercise is still popular when you want to warm up your precious engine gently. Helmut Fath put it this way: Oil should warm the engine, not the engine the oil

[picblanc]

As this thread is called Nosetalgia its quite apt that its the smells that bring back the memories!

[joeninety]

Anyone remember Bardahl ? If viscosity floats your boat then check out Mick Walker's piece in his book on Bob Mac.

As this thread is called Nosetalgia its quite apt that its the smells that bring back the memories!

Edited by joeninety, 08 June 2011 - 19:02.

[Ray Oldam]

Graham,

Exactly! Tyre warmers hadn't been invented, nobody would have known what to do with paddock stands - Halfords axle stands were only a fiver anyway! Somehow we squeezed two bikes and all the kit into a VW transporter van. The 'hospitality suite' was a few fold out garden chairs borrowed from my parents ("and don't you get oil on those either!!"). It's all a bit different now!

Ray

[Robin127]

....The 'hospitality suite' was a few fold out garden chairs borrowed from my parents ("and don't you get oil on those either!!"). It's all a bit different now!

Ray

Blimey, you were posh...we used to sit on the trailer.

[picblanc]

Anyone remember Bardahl ? If viscosity floats your boat then check out Mick Walker's piece in his book on Bob Mac.

Bridget Bardahl?

[joeninety]

Doh !

Bridget Bardahl?

[picblanc]

Graham,

Exactly! Tyre warmers hadn't been invented, nobody would have known what to do with paddock stands - Halfords axle stands were only a fiver anyway! Somehow we squeezed two bikes and all the kit into a VW transporter van. The 'hospitality suite' was a few fold out garden chairs borrowed from my parents ("and don't you get oil on those either!!"). It's all a bit different now!

Ray

There is a good pic somewhere of Mick Robinsons Morris Minor 1000 van with doors open and his sleeping bag etc in the back, Mick led the way with the early Motorhome, around 1975/76?

[joeninety]

Balancing wheels on the spindle between two Castrol "R" cans utilising solder and wheel alingment with pieces of string. Good ol' days

Graham,

Exactly! Tyre warmers hadn't been invented, nobody would have known what to do with paddock stands - Halfords axle stands were only a fiver anyway! Somehow we squeezed two bikes and all the kit into a VW transporter van. The 'hospitality suite' was a few fold out garden chairs borrowed from my parents ("and don't you get oil on those either!!"). It's all a bit different now!

Ray

Edited by joeninety, 08 June 2011 - 19:18.

[dommieracer]

Balancing wheels on the spindle between two Castrol "R" cans utilising solder and wheel alingment with pieces of string. Good ol' days

Na two fingers for me to balence the wheel
. The old fingers not popular with the other riders when and if i went past them...lol More often they went past me!

[rotrax]

Reading these pages has been a source of great pleasure for me. I've enjoyed the memories and experiences of others whilst having some of my own happy moments rekindled. In addition to which, the photos that people have taken the time to post have opened a new window on past times. All of this got me thinking about how each of our senses can evoke particular memories. A picture is worth a thousand words, but then sometimes so is a sound...or even a smell.
For example, there is nothing like a musical blast from the past to remind one of a particular time or event in one's life, be it a rock concert or a romantic evening at home. In fact, when it comes to sounds I could wax lyrical for ages about examples such as the sound of Surtees' MV 4 hurtling up Cronk ny Mona with the engine revs dancing as the rear wheel skips the bumpy surface, or the wail of a Honda six reverberating through the trees on the approach to Braddan...etc. etc. But my particular memory-jogging sense for this topic is the sense of smell and how many racing reminiscences can be brought to mind by an odour.
The first and most obvious choice for me is Castrol 'R'. Not the synthetic stuff of today, but the original vegetable oil of 40s viscosity. (Anyone know which vegetable was used in its manufacture BTW?). It's one thing to imagine the TT paddock with the sound of a couple of big singles on open megas being warmed up, but add the fragrance of 'R' and it suddenly becomes more complete.
For those of you who have done any trials riding or moto cross, what about the smell of crushed grass (same as mown) combined with earthy mud and two stroke fumes? Then of course there were the early morning pre practice paddock aromas of bacon and eggs being cooked on a primus stove. And finally, one of my all time favourites, morning practice in the Island between Ballacraine and Kirkmichael and the smell of wild onion that permeates the air there as the morning sun strobes through the trees. Magic. Maybe there are a few you can think of....

Hi, The good old fashioned castor oils were-and still are- made fron the beans of the castor plant. Some blenders add stuff but Newtons is pure bean oil. The sales rep would drink a spoonful to prove this at Swindon speedway years ago. The bloke selling Castrol did not fancy doing the same-said it would give him the squitters! Nostalgic smells and sounds-has to be practice at a grass track.The sound of high comp dope engines,the whiff of methanol and castor oil,crushed grass and cow **** on hot exhaust pipes. Always did it for me.

[philippe7]

Hi, The good old fashioned castor oils were-and still are- made fron the beans of the castor plant. Some blenders add stuff but Newtons is pure bean oil. The sales rep would drink a spoonful to prove this at Swindon speedway years ago.

Huile de Ricin ( which seems to be what you guys call castor plant / bean oil ) was a well-known traditional remedy in french medicine to cure ...errrr..."blockages" of sorts in the ...errr..."exhaust system" of the human body, if you see what I mean .

[Xover]

As this thread is called Nosetalgia its quite apt that its the smells that bring back the memories!

Yes, it was deliberate. I'd considered calling it ol' factory bikes...but settled on Nosetalgia

[fil2.8]

Huile de Ricin ( which seems to be what you guys call castor plant / bean oil ) was a well-known traditional remedy in french medicine to cure ...errrr..."blockages" of sorts in the ...errr..."exhaust system" of the human body, if you see what I mean .

Am I dreaming , or did we put Cod Liver Oil in the fuel to replicate the aroma of Castrol R all those years ago ??

[Herr Wankel]

Am I dreaming , or did we put Cod Liver Oil in the fuel to replicate the aroma of Castrol R all those years ago ??

Yes,but probably to stop the suspension squeeking I have one a day and my suspension doesn't squeek.

HW

[terryshep]

Yes,but probably to stop the suspension squeeking I have one a day and my suspension doesn't squeek.

HW

Of course, you fellers are all too young to remember the Cadbury's tent in morning practice!

[philippe7]

Am I dreaming , or did we put Cod Liver Oil in the fuel to replicate the aroma of Castrol R all those years ago ??

How dare you think that I could be mistaking Huile de Ricin for Huile de Foie de Morue ( Cod Liver Oil ) !!! My dear old mum routinely fed me a spoonful of the latter ( a great souce of whatever vitamin, so they said at the time ... ) but thankfully never had to try the former's effects on me .

[rotrax]

Of course, you fellers are all too young to remember the Cadbury's tent in morning practice!

Oh no i'm not!

[Herr Wankel]

Of course, you fellers are all too young to remember the Cadbury's tent in morning practice!

Legend has it that the infamous Owen Sheridan of Swords,cooked two steaks in 'R' (viscosity unspecified) and fed one to Tony Carton back in the day.The outcome was unspecified also.Happy days in Ireland

HW

[larryd]

Legend has it that the infamous Owen Sheridan of Swords,cooked two steaks in 'R' (viscosity unspecified) and fed one to Tony Carton back in the day.The outcome was unspecified also.Happy days in Ireland

HW

More than once, Andy - more than once !!

[larryd]

Of course, you fellers are all too young to remember the Cadbury's tent in morning practice!

True, Terry - by the time I started the Manx in 1978, it was Maxpak tea, coffee or chicken soup.

General concensus was that since they all tasted pretty much the same, we called it "toup".



Mind you, at 7am on a cold and wet September morn, after two 'orrible laps, it was nectar !!!

I think from memory that Dunlop sponsored that tent?

[tonyed]

There is a good pic somewhere of Mick Robinsons Morris Minor 1000 van with doors open and his sleeping bag etc in the back, Mick led the way with the early Motorhome, around 1975/76?

I to had a Morris Thou van.

One trip to Lydden Hill in the 70s we had two bikes, tools, petrol cans camping gear etc for the wekend and two of us.

During the night there was a crash as someone hit the Thou at the front with their van. We both leapt out to remonstrate to find it was Eric Piner and co in a camper van.

'Thank God it is you' said Eric as I'm not supposed to be driving.

The headlights of the Thou on one side were smashed. However we salvaged one from a Mini 'Rallycross' car that had seen better days and had been 'parked' round the back of the toilet block.

The old Thou saw many a meeting, including my first MGP in 1973, before being pensioned off in favour of a 1959 three speed Thames (life in the slow lane).

[Xover]

Of course, you fellers are all too young to remember the Cadbury's tent in morning practice!

I remember the Knorr soup tent. It was quite an innovation, first time I'd ever tasted instant soup and my first polystyrene cup experience too. As someone said, after a couple of early morning laps it was nectar. Does anyone else actually remember the smell of the wild onion on the far side of the Island? It was very pungent.

[larryd]

I remember the Knorr soup tent. It was quite an innovation, first time I'd ever tasted instant soup and my first polystyrene cup experience too. As someone said, after a couple of early morning laps it was nectar. Does anyone else actually remember the smell of the wild onion on the far side of the Island? It was very pungent.

Wild garlic it was (is still!!)

Once over the jump at Rhencullen you could smell it in the fields on the left, down through Bishopscourt and all the way to Alpine House.

[Xover]

Wild garlic it was (is still!!)

Once over the jump at Rhencullen you could smell it in the fields on the left, down through Bishopscourt and all the way to Alpine House.

Once again I have fallen for the trick of believing someone because they sounded knowledgeable. Having lived 20 years in Cornwall, I too always knew the plant (with the triangular stem) as wild garlic, but was assured more recently that the correct term was wild onion. Having checked on Wikipedia, I see that wild garlic is the appropriate title for the smelly little woodland plant and I stand well and truly corrected. Thank you Larry!

[jonnoj]

I knew riders who used to buy the 1 pint can of R, and put a capful in their petrol, to give the impression they were using it. I heard it could gum up the carb and valves if too much was used.

Castrol is a combination/contraction of castor and oil.

The smell of Castrol "R"
Castrol has been at the forefront of motorsport since the idea of racing cars began. The company's founder Charles Wakefield ensured that his product was the oil to have. Ask anybody, who was around motor racing in it's golden eras to tell you three things that remind them of the time and you can bet that almost everyone will mention "the smell of Castrol 'R'".
Our racing oil was almost universally used from the F1 down through to the junior formulae. It was a castor oil specially developed for highly stressed racing engines. It was developed in two grades, for two and four stroke engines and could be added to fuel as an upper cylinder lubricant, this is what produced that evocative exhaust aroma.

The history of Castrol

Edited by jonnoj, 10 June 2011 - 15:25.

[Ray Oldam]

On the 'nosetalgia' topic - does anyone remember 'Linklyfe' that we all used to boil our chains in before the spray on stuff?? Not as nice smelling as 'R' that's for sure, but often the accompanying smell of a midweek evening's bike preparation!!

My brother had a little disaster with Linklyfe - he put it on the cooker at Stafford Coulson's house when Stafford was away working, and the phone rang. After finishing the call he went back out to carry on with the bike. It was a good 15 minutes before he remembered the chain!! He rushed back to the kitchen to find it full of a choking black fog from about shoulder height upwards, but thankfully nothing had caught fire. When the windows were all opened and the air cleared, the tin was virtually empty apart from the chain - he had managed to 'Linklyfe' the entire kitchen from about four feet upwards from white to a murky shade of dark grey!!! Needless to say he was not too popular when Stafford got back the next day!

Ray

Edited by Ray Oldam, 10 June 2011 - 19:23.

[fil2.8]

Nice one , Ray

[rotrax]

On the 'nosetalgia' topic - does anyone remember 'Linklyfe' that we all used to boil our chains in before the spray on stuff?? Not as nice smelling as 'R' that's for sure, but often the accompanying smell of a midweek evening's bike preparation!!

My brother had a little disaster with Linklyfe - he put it on the cooker at Stafford Coulson's house when Stafford was away working, and the phone rang. After finishing the call he went back out to carry on with the bike. It was a good 15 minutes before he remembered the chain!! He rushed back to the kitchen to find it full of a choking black fog from about shoulder height upwards, but thankfully nothing had caught fire. When the windows were all opened and the air cleared, the tin was virtually empty apart from the chain - he had managed to 'Linklyfe' the entire kitchen from about four feet upwards from white to a murky shade of dark grey!!! Needless to say he was not too popular when Stafford got back the next day!

Ray

Hi, Rick Timmo the Oxford Speedway captain in the early seventies would use a gallon oil tin with the side cut out, a little sand in the bottom ,a good spash of dope and then light it. The linklife would go on top with the two chains off his JAWA-JAP speedway bike untill it hed melted and they were ready. He already had two other chains hanging on two nails on the wall of his little workshop in the pits at the stadium. These would go on the bike and the others on the wall.By doing this he rotated the chains and spread the wear and always had clean,lubed ones ready for the next meeting. In the nineties I was the Training Instructor for Oxford Speedway,looking after the young hopefulls trying their luck at a hard game.The little workshop that Rick had used was then a store fore the track rakes and fire extingishers. The pit maintenance bloke was always painting two bits of wall in there. The wall would look good for a week or so and then two brown vertical streaks would appear,one longer than the other...................

[Ray Oldam]

Rotrax,

Hi. Great story. I think he accidentally invented the disposable barbecue - he was way ahead of his time!!

Ray

[greg1953]

I can well remember Castrol R alot of people still use it in the classics ( at least they do at Croft ) but there was also Shell's version "Shellsport R" in a yellow can.
Was Bardahl oil the stuff that turned your petrol black ? and I can also recall people using BelRay in the 70's and seizing lots of TZs & T500s.
Greg

[Arthur]

I can well remember Castrol R alot of people still use it in the classics ( at least they do at Croft ) but there was also Shell's version "Shellsport R" in a yellow can.
Was Bardahl oil the stuff that turned your petrol black ? and I can also recall people using BelRay in the 70's and seizing lots of TZs & T500s.
Greg

Yes I used Shellsport and so did many others because we had contracts with Shell who supplied us oil and fuel free and small payment on results.

[joepotts7]

I can well remember Castrol R alot of people still use it in the classics ( at least they do at Croft ) but there was also Shell's version "Shellsport R" in a yellow can.
Was Bardahl oil the stuff that turned your petrol black ? and I can also recall people using BelRay in the 70's and seizing lots of TZs & T500s.
Greg

My dad was given BelRay when it first came into the country. I think it was mixed at something like 50:1 in his Yam TD3/TR3 and he never had a seizure. He spoke highly of it, saying it was good for piston/bores, but wear to the main bearings was a faster than with Castrol R.

Ben

[fastfitter]

My brother had a little disaster with Linklyfe - he put it on the cooker

I did the same thing at home and had to face my mum's wrath


I heard that WW1 pilots suffered the raging trots from sitting in a stream of burnt castor oil from their engines. I don't suppose facing the Red Baron helped either.

[exclubracer]

I did the same thing at home and had to face my mum's wrath


I heard that WW1 pilots suffered the raging trots from sitting in a stream of burnt castor oil from their engines. I don't suppose facing the Red Baron helped either.

That would have been the Sopwith Camel, which was notorious for chucking out gobs of castor oil from the motor (or so I'm told)

[rotrax]

My dad was given BelRay when it first came into the country. I think it was mixed at something like 50:1 in his Yam TD3/TR3 and he never had a seizure. He spoke highly of it, saying it was good for piston/bores, but wear to the main bearings was a faster than with Castrol R.

Ben

Hi, I had a conversation with George Beale when he had just finished some of the exquisite replicas of the Benelli fours. He said that they used Mobil 1 fully synthetic oil in them from new but as the oil was so good the bores would not run in. After using normal oil for a while everything was OK. George said it was not possible to wipe Mobil 1 from your finger and thumb with cloth or a tissue,you had to wash your hands to get it off. Must be good stuff!

[joepotts7]

Hi, I had a conversation with George Beale when he had just finished some of the exquisite replicas of the Benelli fours. He said that they used Mobil 1 fully synthetic oil in them from new but as the oil was so good the bores would not run in. After using normal oil for a while everything was OK. George said it was not possible to wipe Mobil 1 from your finger and thumb with cloth or a tissue,you had to wash your hands to get it off. Must be good stuff!

We use Mobil 1 in the four valve Velo and it is indeed great.

Ben

[rotrax]

Rotrax,

Hi. Great story. I think he accidentally invented the disposable barbecue - he was way ahead of his time!!

Ray

Hi ray, I think the petrol tin and sand dodge was used in the western desert by our troops for cooking, petrol substituted for the dope. The idea may have been stolen from aussie or kiwi's as there were plenty of them around at that time. Timmo got into bother as he had nicked the sand from a fire bucket in the pits and one night the Referee made a safety inspection and found a half empty fire bucket. Danny Dunton bent his ear big time.

[Xover]

Well...I guess that's exhausted the smells. Unless anyone remembers the rag toilets at Aintree?

[harbee]

"I heard that WW1 pilots suffered the raging trots from sitting in a stream of burnt castor oil from their engines. I don't suppose facing the Red Baron helped either."

After which it froze due to the temp' at altitude!

[exclubracer]

Well...I guess that's exhausted the smells. Unless anyone remembers the rag toilets at Aintree?

And the breeze block bogs at Darley moor took some beating, best to park at the other end of the paddock...

[rotrax]

Well...I guess that's exhausted the smells. Unless anyone remembers the rag toilets at Aintree?

Hi, another unique smell of all motor sports has to be Gunk on a hot engine-still smell it now and again even though its got many competitors now. The others dont have the same evocotive "Nose" of the old Gunk!