WE FEW, WE HAPPY FEW, WE BAND OF BROTHERS..
The Steve Machinyamahatr2b special
Without a shadow of doubt, they were the ‘dream team’ of Machin and Saunders garage at West Barkwith, near Wragby, Lincolnshire – diminutive ace rider Steve Machin and his wife June; June’s brother and general engine man Dave Saunders; top engineer Don Briggs and ‘ideas man’ Tony Dawson (of ‘Scitsu’ bikes and rev-counters fame). This ‘Band of Brothers’ truly lived up to the ‘Scitsu’ mantra of ‘Selfish Conduct Inhibits Sporting Union’ while not being directly part of the Scitsu brand. Input was by all, with each member of the team having an equal contribution to the whole. As well as the design, build and development of the water-cooled 125cc AS3 Yamaha special, they turned their fertile minds to the creation of a 350cc variant in circa 1970/71. A frame was designed and subsequently hand-built by Don. Interestingly, the almost unique Dunstall forks with integral disc brake calipers were fitted. I have to say that I have always been unsure about this design, as heat from the calipers is easily transferred directly to the fork oil. But, at the time these forks were comparatively readily available, despite their apparent short-comings.
The engine was a Yamaha TR2B unit with the same water-cooling modifications as the little Yamaha AS3 Special. All the cylinder fins apart from the lowest and uppermost were removed and a water-jacket alloy welded around these to form a watertight casing. No water pump was employed, but the water circulated via the thermosyphon system. Here the principle that warm water naturally rises, then sinks back down on being cooled, can be utilised fully. The resultant engine water-cooling helped reduce the power-sapping cylinder distortion of air-cooled two-strokes once they got very hot after a lap or two. The bike was an almost immediate success and Steve finished second in the 1972 350cc British Championships (also winning the 125cc Championships on the sister machine in the same year). It was at this time that Rod Gould (then a Yamaha rider and eventually Yamaha’s European Racing Manager) questioned the team about the value of their water-cooling. Reputedly the forthcoming air-cooled Yamaha TR3 engines were rapidly changed to ‘TZ’ water-cooled types after he had passed information to Yamaha (the firm having used water-cooling a few years before on their works racers). Don Briggs certainly remembers the conversation well and the interest shown by Mr Gould. Time moved on and the bike was sold to Brian Green, who raced it at the TT. It was then subsequently sold to Lincolnshire’s Steve Andrew, who won the ‘Yellowbelly Trophy’ on it. (The ‘Yellowbelly’ was a handicap race, open to Lincolnshire riders, on a mixture of various capacity machines from 125cc to 750cc). However, Yamaha soon had their customer TZ machines, which were subject to continuing development, year on year, and the bike rapidly became obsolete and lost in time… Some 40 years later, the remains of the bike surfaced and were advertised for sale, attracting the attention of Dave Frith. He had left school in 1976 and had started working at Machin and Saunders as a mechanic, having worked there at weekends unofficially before leaving school. Sadly, by then the team had been deeply affected by the tragic death of Steve Machin at a practice day at Cadwell in 1974. The gearbox of the Yamaha he was riding seized, locking solid the rear wheel and Steve died after the ensuing crash. Dave had enjoyed his time at the garage,
leaving in 1986 having worked on customers’ race bikes and engines and seeing, in his early days, Roger Marshall being sponsored by Dave Saunders on a 700cc Yamaha. Don (still a good friend) was contacted, the two went to look at the remains of the bike, agreed a price, and it was duly purchased, with the idea that the bike ‘turned back the clock’ to the early Seventies. It was not long before the full restoration work began, with Don, the man who had originally built it all those years ago, being in full ‘hands on’ attendance – the old teamwork and enthusiasm had fully returned. There ensued a full engine and chassis rebuild and respray. Unsurprisingly, the parts that proved difficult to find were the brake pads for the Dunstall forks. Don had made it clear that he was very reluctant to start up a race bike that had no front brake! That’s what is called having a very wise head on a pair of very capable arms and shoulders. As can be seen, the bike is a testament to the work and ideals of the two friends and the intention is to display it alongside the little 125cc AS3 Special, as a tribute to Steve Machin and that ‘Band of Brothers’ from the 1970s, a time in motorcycle road racing that this Old Codger remembers with true affection, tinged with the occasional moments of extreme sadness.