Where Are You Now? LRH144

[Graham Smith]

I was contacted the other day by someone seeing information on a Comet which he owned in the 1950s and 1960s.

With all such enquiries, I always send them to Simon and Jon.

This is the message:

My name is Terry Hudson I am the former owner of Vincent Comet registration number LRH144 first registered in 1950. I owned the bike for six years from May 1956 during which time I did approximately 60000 miles. In 1962 I sold the bike for a nominal sum to one of our apprentices before going overseas with my job.

I was a member of the VOC during my years of ownership and used to go with other VOC members on weekend runs in West and North Yorkshire. We used to meet up in various places depending on the route that was planned for that day, one place I do remember was Otley market place. There were usually five or six solos and a couple of sidecar outfits. Most of the members I used to know will not be around now as I was in my late teens and the youngest member at the time. My local section of the VOC was based in Brighouse near Leeds and I obtained spare parts in those days from the agent Marsden’s in Leeds. I also attended VOC meetings during the winter months in a pub in Brighouse although I can’t remember the name of the pub.

I recently checked on the DVLA website and found that the Comet still exists and the last change to the V5C (logbook) was on 12 March 2013. I also note that since this date the bike has been the subject of a SORN.

I would be interested to know if LRH144 is still a functioning machine and would like a photograph is that is possible. If it is owned by a collector and enthusiast they may be interested in the above bit of history of the machine.

I'll let Simon Dinsdale our Machine Registrar take up the next part of the story…

Here are a couple of photos:

 

[Simon Dinsdale]

Thanks Graham.
No sooner had Graham passed the on enquiry then Jon Lambley the Machine Researcher sent me an email saying he will respond, to which I replied OK without reading the initial message. I then spotted the registration and it was one of those moments which I never thought would happen as Machine Registrar, I recognised that reg as my own series C Comet. I had inherited LRH 144 from my late dad Eddie who had bought the bike in 2001 but then due to ill health never got it restored and the Comet is currently in my garage awating restoration.

After contacting Terry he filled in a big hole in its history as to when he bought the bike in 1956 in Hull to how he rebuilt the engine after 40,000 miles and eventually sold it in 1962. This was all new info to me as the DVLA never returned the council logbook to a previous owner when they added to their system so a lot of the previous ownership had been lost.

So I know exactly where LRH 144 is.

Simon

 

[Simon Dinsdale]

Here is a photo of LRH 144 in its current state. Cosmetically its not too bad and I have wondered about just doing an oily rag restoration but I now know its had a hard life and done a lot of miles so needs throughly going through. The paint on the tank I suspect is original, the girdraulics have been rebuilt at some time as the paint is different and it looks like stainless spindles which were not original. The wheels have been rebuilt sometime with flanged alloy rims which in my own opinion is doesn't look right on a Vincent. The engine though has a very nasty knock when turned over and there is no compression at all. I drained the oil several years ago and it contained a lot of flakes (and I mean a lot) so the engine definitely needs a rebuild. But its basically a complete bike which is a big advantage.

 

[Bill Thomas]

May be just a sticky valve ?, Has happened a few times with mine after a winter layup, Just a spray of WD40
Down the plug hole and a few more miles .

 

[greg brillus]

no wonder it wont go.......Its got a load of old twine wrapped around the back axle.......... .........

 

[Martyn Goodwin]

I suspect the locking Feridax twist grip was not original ---- thou very collectable