NORTHAMPTON’S TRIALS STAR
I really enjoyed the Built in Britain article about Scorpion off-road motorcycles. An article that was right up my street – or should I say muddy hill? Just like Odgie, I have a long term affinity with this side of our two-wheeled hobby. There can’t be enough competition bikes of any type in RC for my liking, because they seem more characterful and alive to me.
My friend George Rhodes has ridden and owned a trials Scorpion from about 1990 and competed in the South Eastern Centre area on it. A very unusual fabricated sheet steel main frame concept for a competition bike; far neater looking and so much lighter than the road-orientated Ariel Arrow frame designed by Valentine Page in the late 1950s. George’s bike hasn’t been used for a while, but should re-appear in April at the ‘SnowMann Test Day’ hillclimb on the South Downs.
The Scorpion Team photo of the three works riders recalled a more modern memory for me, when I was riding in the Arbuthnot Trial down in Wiltshire seven or eight years ago. Friend Mick Brown and I tried to avoid a badly cut up track (I hate 4x4s) by going slightlygy off course into a field,, but when we came to re-join the route there was a threefoot wide and three-foot deep gulley to jump with no run up possible. Mick’s Tiger 70 (which I now own) was lighter than my Ariel 500, so was easier to drag out when the back wheel got stuck in the gulley. But my Ariel needed a third pair of hands to get it out. An old friend of Mick’s came along at that point and the three of us got the Ariel back on track. This old friend just happened to be works rider Chris Cullen! Unfortunately I had left my autograph book at home but we had a good chat after the trial.
The end of the article refers to Ben Falconer riding in the 2012 Scottish two-day trial on his Scorpion. Ben’s comments about the alloy barrel being an REH type I originally thought was a misquote, because I had never heard of this one, but I have since learnt that REH did make alloy barrels. I always knew Robin Humphreys (REH) for making alloy slider front forks. These were very good forks and cheaper and more readily available than the Cerianis they mimicked. Later on REH made their own yokes and then alloy wheel hubs. The more usually available alloy barrels were Parkinson, Marcelle, DMW, Ajax, Greeves and Cross. Greeves manufactured two 66mm bore types of alloy barrels; an earlier square one and the later and wider finned Challenger type. REH in modern day form are still currently manufacturing forks as I write.
The use of fibreglass panels from Butler mouldings on the Scorpion was interesting. Many will know this company for producing the complete frame kits of square tubing for upgrading several makes of those old fashioned Villiers-powered trials bikes. Another friend of mine owned a Butler and was still using it several years ago. A very pretty looking machine. Dave Blanchard, member 4809