1960 ISDT COTTON REP
Sixty years ago, the Cotton factory ran three bikes in the 1960 ISDT. This recently completed replica features a frame from one of those works bikes, unearthed purely by chance
No needle involved – just an ISDT Cotton frame and a man inspired
Back in August 2015, at a Kempton autojumble, Cotton enthusiasts Paul Powell and John Harding spotted a bare Cotton frame which appeared to have been extensively modified. There was no information or obvious identification, so after a brief look they moved on.
As they continued around the stalls, both mulled over what they had seen; reinforced downtubes, crankcase protection plates, unused standard footrest lugs. Paul was intrigued enough to go back and buy the reasonably priced frame.
They decided they would take it to fellow Cotton enthusiast Fred Clutterbuck, who would probably shed some light on their find. Fred had a hunch it was something special and bought the frame from Paul, hoping it would be a major piece of his long-time quest to build a replica of one of three Cotton machines which were ridden successfully in the 1960 International Six Days Trial (ISDT).
The ISDT is the oldest off-road motorcycle event in the FIM calendar, having first run in 1913 at Carlisle, changing its name to ISDE (International Six Days Enduro) in 1981. Riders are expected to compete over six days, against the clock, whilst maintaining and repairing their machines without outside assistance. In 1960, there were no purposebuilt enduro machines like today, so building a machine fit for purpose was down to modifying road machines, led largely by small manufacturers and the riders themselves.
Fred explained: “The ISDT is one of the greatest tests of endurance for man and machine, often referred to as the Olympics of motorcycling. Cotton provided three modified road machines for riders in the 1960 ISDT based at Bad Aussee in Austria, where the riders were to cover over 1100 miles, much of it on mountainous off-road terrain.”
Terry Owens, one of the three riders, told the fascinating story of this event in the Cotton Owners Club magazine Cotton Pickins back in 1999. His story inspired Fred to research details of the machine and plan to build a replica.
Terry’s story began before the 1960 ISDT at the Welsh Two Day trial that same year. He was on National Service and ran a vehicle and motorcycle training unit, helping to recruit good motorcyclists to act as instructors. Fellow motorcyclists Roy Barnes and Gordon Coppuck fitted the bill and joined the unit. There were many opportunities to enter Service and National motorcycle events. Terry decided to enter the three riders in the Welsh Two Day trial, using the best machines available to his unit. These were not particularly competitive rigid 350cc Matchless 3GLS.