Al Osborn interview
From crystal radio sets to current electrical affairs, Al Osborn has had a lifetime of understanding the mystical substance which ignites our engines.
None of us in the modern world can do without electricity in some form or other, and closer to our hobby of old motorcycles, electricity plays a part in igniting the fuel/air mixture in the engine, and allowing us to see as we travel the highways and byways in hours of darkness or dull weather.
The electrics of an old motorcycle are a source of exasperation to many owners, actually I’d say all owners, adding the caveat ‘though there are some who know what to do to make them work again’.
With a wide range of components involved in the electrics on a typical British motorcycle, where do you turn if you’re not that switchedon with the current topic?
Well, since 1976, many enthusiasts have turned to Alan Osborn, when he put his ad hoc advice in the pages of Roadholder – the Norton Owners’ Club magazine – and other clubs’ publications, on a more formal footing with the launch of AO Services, to supply electrical components to the British bike enthusiast.
Al’s route to this point in his life began with a fascination of all things wireless, from building crystal radio sets in his early teens to working in the electrical industry, and formal qualifications in the subject too, but the route in to business was a simple chance comment.
Says Al: “I was editing Roadholder magazine and went along to see Mistral Engineering. The outcome was John Carpenter at Mistral offered a trade account to allow me to supply Lucas RITA ignitions and high output alternators to Norton owners and others. A similar chat with Ernie Bransden saw his products join the range.”
It could have been so different though, had Al managed to pass his car test at 17 – the world of motorcycle electrics would have been so much the poorer.
“I gave up trying to get through the test and instead bought a 1959 250cc Greeves when I was 19.” It was a flat battery on his Norton at the 1971 Dragon Rally though which started him on the route to being a solver of motorcycle electrical problems, he sorted the issue and others asked for help. From advice he progressed to sourcing improvements and commissioning bits which were better made than original components and allowed an older motorcycle to function in a more modern environment.
Though associated with Nortons of various types and yes, there are Norton models in the Osborn garage – an Electra which looks nice but needs fully rebuilding and a
Featherbed Commando which was transport for 117,000 miles – but there is also evidence of a Moto Guzzi habit with a T5, described as a T3 in drag, as well as a Monza which he describes as a ‘shrunk Le Mans’ and a pocket rocketship.
He has found in the last 20 years hi-fi has become too techy and too cheap for his interest, so he’s majored on the classic bike electrics and stuck to what he understands – the ignition and charging systems – but it seems few others do fully understand them. If your headlamp resembles a glow worm and ‘searchlight’ is what you’re after, or the ignition isn’t igniting the way it should, then maybe Al Osborn is your man.
What’s your full name and how old are you?
I’m Alan Osborn, there’s no ‘u’ or ‘e’ in ‘Osborn’ and I’m currently 73.
You’re based in Norfolk, but where do you hail from?
Well, I was born and bred and educated in Hertfordshire, however I moved to West London where I spent 27 years, before heading to Norfolk where I’ve been for 23 years.
Do you come from a motorcycling family background or are you a black sheep?
Oh, definitely a black sheep.
Was there a particular ‘light-bulb’ moment which brought you to these preposterous two-wheeled contraptions we use for transport, fun and sport?
Not so much a ‘light-bulb’ moment but a persistent failure to pass a car test, which led to me buying a motorcycle.
Is there anyone who can be named or blamed for encouraging you in motorcycling?
Yes, one Alan Osborn.
How long have you been involved in motorcycling?
Can it really be 54 years? Good grief, it can!
What was your first motorcycle?
It was a 1959 250cc Greeves which allowed me to become mobile and independent.
You’re noted in our scene for solving electrical problems and helping improve motorcycle electrics, how did you become involved with this black art?
I used to build crystal radio sets which brought me to work as an electrician, then on to electronics and electronic instrument repair. Along the way there were City and Guilds qualifications in the electrical area and motorcycle electrical training began with a flat battery on my Norton at the 1971 Dragon Rally.
If there’s any downtime what do you fill it with?
AO Services was effectively in my downtime from full-time working in the hi-fi and audio repair industry, though I enjoy repairing all sorts of things; astronomy too, walking, model railways, music in the form of a home organ, that do?
I presume you’re a fairly practical sort of enthusiast, but what’s your workshop like? Palatial and fully equipped?
No, a bit more basic but with a few crucial test rigs for electrical stuff tucked in the corner.
Are there any popular misconceptions about motorcycle electrics? Any myths you can debunk?
Oh dear, there are loads… how long have you got and how much space?
One question I always chuck in to any interview is what’s your favourite motorcycle of all time, whether you’ve owned one or not?
Well, I’ve always liked the sound of BSA’s Rocket Three but, oh that clutch, so, I’d have to say my first dream bike would be a Moto Guzzi Le Mans, there is a Norton Electra in the garage, it’s alongside a Featherbed Commando.