THAT ‘OLD SINGLE’ AGAIN
Dear CR
Good article on the ‘old singles’ – I’d like to throw in some ideas for consideration.
Firstly an ‘old single’ is a Manx Norton, an AJS 7R, a BSA Gold Star or a G50 Matchless and must be exactly as they came from the factory.
They can be stripped and rebuilt by a specialist technician, must retain the same bottom end, the same bore and stroke and the same valve sizes that they were originally fitted with, and, above all, must be in the same frame/chassis that they were originally built with.
The ignition must also be original and with a four-speed gearbox. If any of these models came from the factory with a forged piston and not a sand cast one, this will be eligible.
The only area that can have any finite adjustment will be the cam profiles; as this is the only area that cannot be stripped and checked at a circuit if required.
The classes will be from 254cc to 350cc and the bigger ones will be from 354cc to 500cc. Also in these classes will be included any British twin with OHV like the Gold Star, any Ducati, Aermacchi or Montesa, Bultaco of single cylinder and original bore and stroke. Also a Norton twin or atriumph/norton twin up to 500cc will also be welcome, with the same criteria as the ‘old singles’. From history this group of machines can all be equally competitive.
The wonderful Seeley models will be a class on their own in the 500cc class but can be included in the 350 class, as above.this will make for some very fair and hard racing in all classes.
These bikes were successful over everything else because of
their lightness, their handling with the comparative engines producing very similar bhp.
The main advantage, that I found of my Seeley over my Manx, was that I could turn up the wick about one-tenth of a second quicker than I could on the Manx and because of the superior handling and lightness could brake later.top end speed was so, so close…
The idea of having a Seeley or original-looking AJS or Matchless, where the engine is a completely ‘look alike’ to the original is completely unfair to those of truly original makes, as the engines have non-standard bore and stroke, completely different cranks and bearings and, as I understand, the 500 Modern Seeley or Matchless produces some 10-20 more bhp
than the originals; therefore in either original-looking guise or Seeley style, these should not to be allowed to compete with the standard model.
In the up 1000 class, any British twin or three cylinder model of push rod style is good to go but has the same restrictions to standard technology as the ‘old singles’. No Rob Norths.
How is that?
Brian Kemp Australia
Hello Brian. Right, there’s some ideas! Let’s leave this one open to the various thoughts and comments from the CR readers. Wonderful people of the CR world, it’s over to you. Anything here that you think works (or doesn’t?). Tony