Scotting about
I thoroughly enjoyed the Scott article in OBA 53; as a long-term Scott owner I have come to truly enjoy my capricious 1946 Flying Squirrel. Scotts can be temperamental; when they are running well they are an absolute joy to ride with terrific acceleration, little vibration, great handling and a fantastic “yowling” exhaust note, but when they are sulking, getting hot and bothered around town, they can be a right cow. Scotts were never noted for their top speed but they did have tremendous acceleration that left most machines in their wake. The deflector piston twin produced lots of torque at lower revs but ran out of puff at higher revs because of the tortuous route to the transfer ports. It was fortuitous that they didn’t need to be revved as the overhung crank didn’t like high revs, breaking crankpins, the usual limit was 4000rpm. The Owners Club did produce some special cranks that were safe to 5000rpm for racing. When Scott owners get together the first subject they usually discuss is oil pump settings and oil. The Scott’s Achilles heel is the Pilgrim Oil Pump, designed There’s a Raritee t-shirt waiting for you in your choice of design Stuart – but my guess is that you’ll opt for the Scott version! – Ed.