Picture from the past!

You will perhaps have to be of a certain age to be able to identify all four of the people in this photo, taken I understand in the Island? All four involved in one way or another with Bantam racing!

Trevor

hi Trevor, could that be inspector clueseau on the bike

Not quite Nigel, but I see what you mean, but a couple clues are that there are two married couples here, and one partner was a dedicated Bantam racer?

Trevor

Looks like John Milligan in the chequered shirt.

Quite correct Ned. We have John and his wife. The other couple are Hugh Evans, astride the bike and a prominent production machine rider and occasional Bantam racer, together with his wife Eunice, a very successful Bantam racer and ambassador for the Bantam cause!
Great picture with all four in a relaxed and cheerful mood, can`t find anything about the machine however, any ideas anyone?

Trevor

Smallish -- Reversed magaphone exhaust???

...an ERO -- Evan Racing O.... oh oh oh!

When I started racing, in 1963, Hugh Evans was riding a 500cc Clubmans Goldstar in the BRC proddy races. I raced my Norton Navigator 350 in my first two meetings, so I was on the grid with him. Eunice was racing her Bantam around that time. Needless to say, I didn't see which way Hugh went.

I remember that Hugh Evans entered the TT races on a bike using some MV Augusta cycle parts, and a BSA A50 500cc twin engine. Scanning the TT results for the late 1960s and early 1970s shows that he finished 36th in 1967 on an "MV A50". He had a DNF in 1968 on a BSA; DNFs in 1969 and 1970 on a "CRD"; finished 23rd in 1972 on a Kawasaki, and in 1974 he brought a Honda home in 29th place. These were all in the Senior, or 500cc, class.

The bike in the photo looks to have black numbers on a yellow background - which would indicate a 500 - though it is hard to tell on a monochrome image. I don't remember when advertising stickers began to be allowed on fairings in the TT, but that could give us a clue to the year.

My guess is that the "ERO" on the tank actually reads "CRD" and it was probably a special consisting of a lightweight frame, with a BSA 500 unit construction twin engine. The front forks look like Norton, and the front brake plate is a Triumph item, introduced on the Bonneville in (I think) 1968. So it ties in with the late 1960s, when Hugh was riding his specials in the TT.

It is a super photo.

Ha! Success! I've just been up into the loft, where I found a 1970 TT programme. Entered in the Senior 500cc race we have Hugh Evans, riding a CRD 490cc twin. He is riding under no. 79, and entered by the British Formula Racing Club. There are two other riders on CRD twins - Ray Knight (77) and P Coombs (127).

490cc is the capacity of the Triumph twin "500" unit construction engine. Those engines were notably small, for a 500, and were often fitted into lightweight frames. I remember seeing them in frames from 250cc Royal Enfields, Ducatis and others.

Ray Knight was a stalwart of the BRC scene - mostly in the proddy races, if my memory is correct. Anybody know who P Coombs was? Sad to say, none of the three finished the race.

Well done John, that all ties in very neatly with the period in question, the late John Milligan was the chief organiser of the BFRC which explains the group association. I recall a Pat Coombs from that period but always thought he was a Bantam racer, but can`t be certain of that, perhaps he moved on to other things? Ray knight, a very fine racer of production machines and enjoyed huge success, and also proved to be a fine author of related books. I also recall he had a few outings on borrowed Bantams, for team races and the like!

Upon recall it could be Paul Coombs that is the mystery man?

Good times John from a period of which we will not see repeated, a time of perhaps casual, naïve innocence.

Trevor

Past has been and gorne -- ennitt!?

But there´s one thing no one can change and the world in its horrendous muddle cannot change although cióuntry´s like Russia have the ability to rewrite history ...

... each of us Bantam Racers-- or tuners-- who actualy raced or prepared a Bantam Racer  has a particular
time in their own personal historxy of an event or events which stick in memory....****  which being Bantam
Racing is UNIQUE!

Like I  knew a Dave Coombs with a water-cooled Bantam who insisted on battling with me at Brands for 3rd place and made it by half a bike length at the flag:  he kept pasing me coming out of Clearways and I kept  passing him  thro´ Druids** -- 4, maybe five  times -- and be in front of Dave down the hill and into Druids....

What I mean is, that had the feeling of REALLY racing -- don´t matter that it was Bantam -- it really felt like we two were racing.

I don´t need a trophy for that one `cos it is fixed in memeory but I do advize any competitor at anxy sport  who
gets a trophy**** to keep it safe for later when the ancient memorx fades.


**My mentor told me it was stupid to RACE through a Hairpin but evn though my right elbow screeches pain on a cold morning that particular RACE was worth it!

Oh! how boring!!--let´s get back to the present --- Snnnnoooooor!

Cheers!

JayBee.

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some pictures of an aussie bantam, courtesy of Ken Seeber, from a land down under:cheers:

I found this one picture of a 125 DKW, very similar in concept to the later Bathhurst Bantam pictures that Nigel has posted, but with the reversed cylinder.

I will dig around for others, they are on the computer somewhere but can`t locate the relevant file!

This picture is of the 125 ZPH, that became, once again, an IFA and then an MZ, the text will explain!

Daniel Zimmerman and two of his friends got hold of a pre-war IFA RT125, this trio were subsequently so dissatisfied with it`s dismal race performance that they felt they could do better. Zimmerman had opened an engine machine shop during 49/50 and the engine was altered there to 54x54 from the original 52x58 bore and stroke, a new smaller crank and case stuffers were made. The real innovation was the introduction of a disc valve on one side of the engine. When it appeared the machine was renamed a ZPH, the initials of Zimmerman, Petruscke, and Henkel. With Petruscke riding, the official works IFAs were trounced, so great was the performance difference. In charge of the IFA, later to become MZ, race department at this time was, Walter Kaarden!  
Zimmerman was subsequently “persuaded” by the local Communist authorities in partitioned East Germany, to relinquish his progressive ideas to IFA, for the greater good of the Communist cause!

And so an illustrious pedigree culminating in the Aprilia engine, was established. Zimmerman did not invent side case disc valve induction, that was the earlier creation of Sun Motorcycles, but it is he that should be celebrated for what he did with the concept that realised it`s potential.

Trevor

Located this picture at last, found it in the Yamaha/Suzuki file, as you do!
Not obviously a crank-case inlet option for one of the carbs, but cleverer subtleties have happened? Lovely snap shot of a restored `Deek`racing machine. The Bantam, mirror image, is very clear!

Trevor

very nice looking classic Trevor, never heard of it before , but i can see the bantam mirror image very clearly.. seems like everything you can think of to up the anti with the engines have been tried years ago. what do you think about the F A S T System... i looked at the ema site for a better insight with pictures as i found the written explanation difficult to understand. But seems a good idea to maybe base the water cooled barrel on.

Well done that man...,

... this pic show distinctly the the "leaning away steering Flop" I tried several times to explain when speaking of HANDLING the negative (some say) steering effect which was never fully concluded.

Sorry to interrupt your digression -- I´ll drop back to noddy land....

Cheers!

JayBee...

Nigel,
Could you let me have the web address for ema and the fast system please. I can`t seem to locate it and just get lots of daft stuff thrown up. Expect it`s staring me in the face , wood and trees and all that!

Cheers, Trevor

Don’t know if any of you oldies have seen Dave Riley website, just found this link
[url=http://daveriley.weebly.com/llandow.html] showing Llandow - BRC 17th August 1974
Programme/Photos/Results (photos by Bill Riley).

There may be other circuit programmes for BRC have a look, might bring back some old memories.

Courtesy Of John Colter.

All naked -- no skirts -- before fairings....

Some look familiar -- is it Cadwell John?

CHeers!

JayBee.

The picture above is from 1964 or '65 and is, of course, at the Cadwell Park Club circuit hairpin, on the first lap of a race. Judging by the number of riders wearing sweaters over their leathers, I'd guess it was the first meeting of the season.

I can name three of the riders with certainty. Disappearing off the RHS is Sam Benn. Next to him is Terry Beckett, and that's me over on the LHS. The chap next to me, looking across, is (I think) riding a George Todd Bantam. It seems to have one of the double sided front brakes, as currently discussed on this forum in another thread.

Can anybody name any of the other riders? I could make a guess at a couple of other names - no. 2 at the back, and the fancy sweater in the middle of the shot - but I'll hold off until I see what others think.

Looking at the spectators, standing safely behind that rope barrier(!), the fella third from the left looks very familiar, but I can't put a name to him. The couple standing next to him (fourth and fifth) look like Hugh and Eunice Evans. If it IS them, it takes us neatly back to the first picture in this thread!

JC.

Well tucked in John...

Really no need of a fairing -- coefficient of air drag about 0.3*** ....

I didn´t think anyone could get as well tucked in as Dave Hunter -- seasons later, of course -- what did you weigh
in those days?

Rude question, of course -- beg ´pardon!

Cheers!

JayBee...

*** same as most racing MC fairings....

Ah, Yes! That's a sore point, JB.

Ten and a half stone then - over thirteen stone now.....................

I've still got those racing leathers. They were made by the old fella, Frank Barker of St Helens, who made Geoff Duke's leathers. He made them for Phil Carter, from whom I bought them. I was still able to wear them comfortably at the age of 65, but I've blossomed a bit since then.