Steering dampers and FF1

[Tom Gaynor]

Question: I know that some FF1's had the bosses drilled. The bosses are convenient as an anchor point for a steering damper (hydraulic) plate, but I had to drill mine. I've made set of steering damper plates for someone else, and he has found that both his bikes and his spare forks are all drilled 5/16". Can anyone tell me when this was done? They weren't doing it in 1950-51 judging by my own bikes.

 

[b'knighted]

Hi Tom,

I know nothing of FF1s being drilled but my ’52 Comet, bought from Ted Davis came with the bottom lug of the head stem, which I take to be the FF2, drilled. Ted told me that some were drilled for a proposed alternative headlamp mount. There is no way to tell what the production date of that FF2 was. These holes are used on the enclosed series Ds to carry SL3 which supports the bottom of the headcowl, holding it forward. See MO 107D and MO91D
I have seen hydraulic steering damper brackets bolted through these holes.

Cheers, Ian

 

[Tom Gaynor]

Drilled FF2's

Sorry, brain fade combined with laziness: I should have looked at M63 and then would have known it was FF2 not FF1. (

Hi Tom,

I know nothing of FF1s being drilled but my ’52 Comet, bought from Ted Davis came with the bottom lug of the head stem, which I take to be the FF2, drilled. Ted told me that some were drilled for a proposed alternative headlamp mount. There is no way to tell what the production date of that FF2 was. These holes are used on the enclosed series Ds to carry SL3 which supports the bottom of the headcowl, holding it forward. See MO 107D and MO91D
I have seen hydraulic steering damper brackets bolted through these holes.

Cheers, Ian

 

[overthehill]

Tom, my bike has drilled bosses as described although i dont know the exact age of the forks - I suspect that you may not have the original forks for your bike as there was a bit of swapping round when DW got two sets reconditioned.

Mark

 

[Tom Gaynor]

Drilled steering heads

I was with DW (we were racing at Cadwell in 1975????) when he picked up the Shadow forks from Tony Maughan. I think therefore that "my" bike has "my" forks. Although 1) that's not certain and 2) I don't care.
(Highlight of the trip was going to a pub, as we did in those days lest we suffer the curse of sobriety, after the fork collection (in the dark, I stayed in the van), somewhere in Lincs, when I suddenly realised that the person I was looking at in the bar ,was Tony Blackburn, in a blue velvet jacket. He was surrounded by the sort of girls that I imagine would fancy David Cameron. Or Cliff Richard. I said to David "Hey, that's Tony Blackburn" and he said "Oh! Who's he?". There is no answer to that now. Or then.)
So far as I know, your bike was built using Dick Sutherland bits. This was in the days when building a bike that went like SoaS, as BTS 62 always did, was judged more important than having matching numbers. I vividly remember riding back from the Southern 100 in 1975 and on the Moffat road realising that BTS 62 had a motor 10 % faster than it's chassis could cope with, and, mercifully, only marginally less than I could cope with. It did however help me develop a small toroidal muscle low in the body that when I reached Balerno could cut 1/2" iron bars.

I'd rather hoped to provoke "the old guard" into saying that drilled forks lasted from noon xx/yy/19zz to noon, aa/bb/19cc, but no takers yet.

You'll be at Applecross in June? And if not, it'll have to be a really good excuse.

Tom, my bike has drilled bosses as described although i dont know the exact age of the forks - I suspect that you may not have the original forks for your bike as there was a bit of swapping round when DW got two sets reconditioned.

Mark

 

[overthehill]

I vividly remember riding back from the Southern 100 in 1975 and on the Moffat road realising that BTS 62 had a motor 10 % faster than it's chassis could cope with,

and 25% faster than its brakes can cope with

 

[Tom Gaynor]

Brakes and Vincents

Yes indeed. Boosted corner entry speed though...paraphrasing, some achieve bravery, and some have bravery thrust upon them...
I fitted PV 2ls brakes. They stop very well, but the biggest bonus is the relief from a constant awareness in any sort of traffic that if the guy in front crashed on his brakes, I'd have to take avoiding action or run into him.

uote=overthehill;8560]and 25% faster than its brakes can cope with[/quote]