RUDGE WHITWORTH: WHAT'S IT ALL ABOUT?
RICK RATTLES ON ABOUT HIS RUDGE AND HOW THE COMPANY AND ITS BIKES DEVELOPED
My Rudge is based on a 1936 Ulster with a four-valve cast-bronze cylinder head fitted with radial exhaust valves and a central plug. The valve gear is open to the elements and lubricated by grease gun. The Ulster was Rudge’s sports model and 1936 was the last of the old-style Rudges made in Coventry.
Ben’s bike is a 1937 Special, fitted with a cast-iron four-valve head. The valves are parallel and the plug is to one side of a pentroof combustion chamber. The Special was the touring model and Ben’s bike is one of the first of the ‘modern’ Rudges with positively-lubricated valve gear enclosed inside a tidy aluminium rocker box. Rather more sedate than the 90mph-plus Ulster in its day, the Special is nonetheless very tuneable, less complex and is often the chosen engine for classic racing.
RUDGE HISTORY
The flat-tank Rudges of 1924 were the first to adopt the advanced four-valve cylinder head and four-speed countershaft gearbox that became synonymous with the Rudge name. The four-valve design was originally intended to aid reliability more than performance, but development saw improved performance and the 1928-on saddle tank models became highly competitive – especially in 250cc and 500cc form. But the depression struck Rudge hard; bought out by EMI (yes, that EMI) in 1937, production moved from Coventry to Hayes, Middlesex. Sales increased – but two years later, as war loomed, motorcycle production was suspended in favour of expanding space for radar manufacture. Despite an apparently bright future, the Rudge name was not to reappear after the war except as a humble autocycle, manufactured under licence by the Norman Cycle Co in Ashford, Kent. Existing Rudges remained popular enough post-war for Godfreys of Great Portland Street to take over manufacture of spare parts into the 1960s, by which time the Rudge Enthusiasts Club was in a position to be able to take over. Today the REC is the primary source of parts for Rudge owners, although membership is required to buy parts (rudge.co.uk). Another useful supplier is Paul Horton in Norfolk, who manufactures a range of high-quality parts which he retails from his website rudge. parts So even in the 21st Century a Rudge is a practical machine to keep on the road.