Hedley John Vickery of Neath....

Alex Woppenkamp wrote to me asking if I knew of a Racing Bantam which had been made by Hedley John Vickery of Neath, Wales some time back in fifties which was recently up for sale on E-Bay and taken off again.

The name `Hedley´ could of course, be with an `a´ as in Headley. Seems this gentleman was a name in the motorcycling world and had a fair business going on down in Neath, where he produced competition bikes going under the name, "Dragon".

Thanks in anticipation,

Cheers!
John.

PS... as with the Bantam Midland Centre forming up nicely and the Eastern Centre still going strong (I was there, with them, last September...!) I wonder if there is a silent group -- not yet aroused -- down South Wales way -- or in South Western England, á la the late George Harris -- who might have such info....

...but more importantly for this site be dragged into the fold...

...Karim??????????

Cheers!

JayBee.

Hi John

Reply not from Wales or the SW but from the land of the Ulster (Rudge men will understand. HJV also had the Horne Rudge for a while. This is a lovely little 250cc machine construct by father Grieg and son Jack Horne around 1954/5 in Perth, consisting of a Rudge engine in a home made featherbed type frame. It was the last Rudge powered machine to win points in a world championship - Ulster Grand Prix 1956).

I had the honour of knowing John for many years until his death in December 2004. He was a true gentleman.

The ‘ebay Bantam’ was sold for £200 by John’s wife Norma (a lovely lady who has also died) to a chap who called at the door. The purchaser, knowing I was a friend of John, offered me the machine at a GOOD profit. I refused. His statement of the spec was:

‘Frame and engine originally believed D1 prior to modifications, both circa 1950-3.
Engine turns OK, not had it running or really tried, stamped 70085YD.
Frame sound, stamped near bottom lower mount YD1 21067.
Front tyre used but very good KR76 Dunlop Racing triangular profile racing tyre 2.50 x 18.
Rear tyre used KR73 Dunlop Racing triangular profile racing tyre 2.75 x 18.
Dunlop alloy rims WM1 2 ¼ x 18” front and rear (£300).
Smiths Rev counter 4:1, 0-12000 rpm - very old racing type as used by Manx Norton etc complete with right-angle drive gearbox on rear (£250).
Amal/Doherty racing levers (£20).
Doherty alloy racing throttle.
Ducati (pretty sure) front full-width hub, type with front and rear air vents.
Alloy top & bottom yokes.
Definitely unique steel petrol tank(!) with quick-action filler cap.
Racing two-stroke silencer made to fit.’

(The value quoted for some items was to justify the ‘bargain’ I was getting!)

The bike was then sold on to a chap in the Bournemouth (?) area who was the ebay seller.
Whether it sold or not I do not know.

While the bike certainly had been lying in John’s workshop for many years when he died, there is no conformation he built it, although he had raced Bantams in the early 50s. He was very much an engine man, and prepared bikes for some of the local lads when he stopped racing.

In 1954 John went into partnership with Harry Hulsman to produce HJH bikes at the Canal Side Works in Neath, but after a relative had looked at the company accounts, he decided to leave. The business closed in 1956.

More info on HJH at

http://britishbikeclub.org/hjh.html


Regards

Jim

KARIM sounds Like an interesting subject and Hareem ! please elaborate John.

Regards Derek

Hey Jimmie! thanks a bundle!

Great! Alex Woppenkamp also said he was a Rudge worshipper.

Derek -- Karim is a Bantam bloke in Wales. Getting into Bantam worship and should be gathering other Bantamites about him to make a SW bantam Centre. He was the one who said he´d paint his domestic radiators matt-black when I gave him the bullshine about radiation. I forgot to say that that would have made his heat transfer (from rad to room-air) quicker (sort of a few seconds quicker...) but since most people associate black with misery who´d do such a thing in an house...?

Thanks again Jim,

Cheers!