Vee for victory!

I’ve recently been building a Velocette V-Twin in the pages of CMM and it was finally ready. But I needed that perfect finishing touch: a clock!

I wanted to fit an 8-day windup Jaeger clock like those often fitted to top-end British bikes such as the Brough Superior, Vincent, and a few others, but I hadn’t realised how rare and valuable these clocks were! I then thought: ‘Why don’t I convert a vintage Jaeger 8-day car clock to fit?’ These are similar in size and can be bought from around £50; the Jaeger 8-day car clock is slightly larger diameter, longer, and isn’t fitted in a waterproof casing. The internal workings were almost the same so I stripped the clock down and removed some internal spacers and brackets. This reduced its overall height so that it almost fitted into a spare Smiths motorcycle speedo casing. The dial was a few millimetres larger in diameter and made from brass sheet so I trimmed it down with tin snips, being careful not to chip or scratch the original painted dial face.

To finish it off I machined up a brass winder knob to complete the look, and made a stainless steel bracket to mount the clock on to the forks next to the speedo! The clock is keeping excellent time and is a really useful addition when out on a ride.

I’m looking forward to being one of the guests of honour at the 26th Carole Nash Classic Motorcycle Mechanics Show at Stafford over the weekend of October 19-20, so please do come up and say hello!