TTC

david bowen

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Non-VOC Member
I was asked what a TTC was! as there is part of in Australia,the only reference I can find is in PEI book one made in 1934 Comet special TTR engine Burman BAPCA gearbox made for Bill Clarke (Vincent HRD Director) for the Six Days Trial ?
 

A_HRD

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VOC Member
After the relative success of the TTR, customers were asking for a faster Series A than the Comet for the road. So more TTR engines were made and fitted into sexed-up Comet cycle parts - thus becoming the TT Comet Special - or TTC for short. Customers could choose what cycle parts they wanted fitted, e.g.: stainless racing tank as per TTR, alloy
P1030337.JPG
composite brakes as per TTR, TT Bramptons, alloy mudguards as per TTR - and so on. The Burman Close Ratio gearbox was also an option. But few of those were made. Unlike the road box, the gears each had 5 'dogs' for slicker changes. All in all, the TTC was an extremely fast and desirable road motorcycle - but the option was dropped after only a handful were made - when the Series A Rapide was announced.

Probably, the most famous TTC was TTC17 the "Cadwell Special". And special to me is TTC20 which is mine - photo attached.

For the road, most TTC engines received a 4X cam, slightly de-tuned from the 5X version. But the TTR slimmed-down flywheels were retained as were the polished crankcase internals and bronze head, etc, etc.

Peter B
 

Simon Dinsdale

VOC Machine Registrar
VOC Member
VOC Forum Moderator
There were 33 TTC Comet Specials made and all of them were in 1936 & 1937. There were no 1935 TTC bikes. Earlier bikes that were a bit special were called TT Replicas and the factory carried on making TT Replicas until early 1938.

The Bill Clarke bike that David refers to is in the works records as an experimental TTR machine and not a TTC Comet Special.

Simon
 
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david bowen

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Non-VOC Member
Thank all that is the info required, Peter going up to Arkaroola next week to service Doug's Comet 700 kms from here, your Dad will be pleased !
 

david bowen

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Non-VOC Member
There are 2 in Australia plus 1 of the Supercharged one being rebuilt, 1 in NZ ,and I think 1 in Japan The Cadwell Special had a Mat Wright designed 1948 Speedway engine fitted into a Series A pre war frame Built in the Vincent Service Dept. by Noman Brewster engine by Cliff Brown, the sad thing after this all the series A parts were sold of to Dealers parts not sold to dealers sold of for scrap, there was some Rudge parts still there they were bought by Ted Hampshire which he built into a Grass track bike, and was raced by a Vincent employee Dennis Burdett Coultes at Eaton Bray.
 
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