MOTO GUZZI
C11 BELT DRIVE PEUGEOT
Mike Morgan tells me he has always wanted a 500cc single Moto Guzzi with a preference for a postwar Falcone, but prices have risen to become out of reach for a retired engineer.
He therefore obtained an engine and rolling frame as shown here, believing they could both be assembled into a single machine.
Alas, not so. In fact the rolling chassis is for a PE (sprung frame) 250cc prewar Guzzi dating from 1938/9, the E in the model name standing for Elastica, meaning the sprung frame. The number 61745 is stamped on each half of the 500cc engine cases, and Mike is endeavouring to discover the year and would therefore like to acquire a matching frame and other parts, and a complete engine and gearbox for the 250cc frame he has. He has heard, however, it is now no longer allowable to export prewar machinery from Italy, so advertising there may not produce the parts. Can anyone in the UK help? The frame is stamped PE 604071.
Mr B Caton, writing from Truro in Cornwall, sends me this photograph of a recently acquired 1951 Triumph TR5, registered MFF 304. The registration document issued by the DVLA indicates a first registration date of 2006. The despatch records held by the VMCC indicate the bike was delivered new to Withers of London SE27 on September 21, 1951 and Mr Caton wonders at the reason for the discrepancy. In fact, the registration number is not the original: it’s an age-related number issued in 2006. What the original registration number would have been is now impossible to determine because all the old London registration records have been destroyed (on the DVLA’s instructions, God bless 'em!), but the old number may have been sold by a previous owner.
In the July issue I showed what purported to be a BSA C11. It was actually a
1939 C10 due to a mix-up with the photographs, and Ron Williams has now sent me the correct photograph showing what a basket case the C11 was when acquired. The C10 is now on the road with an age-related number, and he’s not bothered about that as long as it’s on the road. He found my comments about the C11 very helpful but there is one puzzling aspect of the pile of bits you see here. Although not immediately apparent, the front tunnel on the petrol tank has been welded up. Why this should be is anybody’s guess. He now promises to send me some photographs of his B31. Watch this space.
Tony Hetherington sends me these photographs of the Peugeot moped he collected, totally dismantled, from Torquay. In the first photograph you see it totally asunder and in the second loosely assembled. The EACC has dated it as a 1963 BB1 S model. It’s missing just the drive belt, headlamp and fuel tap, and has matching numbers. It will be restored mechanically, retaining its 60-year-old patina on the wheels and tinware.