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July 2025

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V-four victory

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Great in the States

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Benelli 2C Mk2

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June 2025

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Unlikely TT race bikes

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Tough nuts cracked

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May 2025

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Soldering on

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Reshaping the Bonneville

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April 2025

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Jumping back in time

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Road racing returns!

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SKY HIGH HILLCLIMBING

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Stately pile-on

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Get up for the Kop

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Rick’s Fixes: cold comfort in the shed

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Did this Curtiss really do over 136.36mph at Ormond Beach, Florida in 1907? Nicksy thinks not...

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A RECORD OF EXAGGERATION

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HOW TO: MAKE A JET BLOCK EXTRACTOR

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BARON’S STROKE OF BAD LUCK

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How To: Make vintage bike grips

HOW TO: RECYCLE OLD CAR PARTS

THE ISLAND’S BIGGEST DRAW

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KEEPING THE FAITH

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HOW TO: FIT AN AMAL CARB TICKLER EXTENSION

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Magazine Issues

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Miller’s marvels

The July issue of Classic Bike gets sporty with a first-year Suzuki GSX-R750 that escaped the scrapyard to become a fine example of the breed after a 17-year restoration – and there’s a twist in the tale for the owner. Much less preparation went into Editor Hugo’s £750 Honda VFR, but he planned to take it to Northern Ireland to see the North West 200 anyway – find out if he made it in the magazine. With many British bikes becoming more affordable, the buying guide on unit-construction Bonnevilles could help you buy a bargain. There’s also a revealing interview with notorious prankster and former team-mate of Barry Sheene, Steve Parrish. Along with the usual stack of workshop insights and projects, it’s the perfect summertime reading material for classic bike lovers.

#### The July issue of Classic Bike is out now at all good newsagents, or why not :a[subscribe today and never miss an issue!]{href='https://www.greatmagazines.co.uk/classic-bike-magazine?utm_source=classicbike.co.uk&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=bau_classicbike&amp;utm_content=newissue_clb' }

#### To Ireland and the **North West 200** on a grotty £750 Honda? What could possibly go wrong? Not much actually...

Words **HUGO WILSON** Photography **HUGO WILSON & IMPACT IMAGES**

###### **One for the VFR £750’s holiday album: Outside the paddock at the North West 200, Friday May 9, 2025**

At a glance, and nicely illuminated by the early morning sunlight and a blue sky, this 1994 Honda VFR750F looks pretty decent. These sports tourers were always good looking; the bodywork’s curves, ducts and bulges look great in red and are nicely set off by black wheels and belly pan, while the frame and single-sided swingarm in bare aluminium suggest purposeful, quality engineering.

Look closely and things aren’t quite so rosy. Every one of the body panels on this 43,000-mile, 31-year-old machine is scuffed, or cracked or both. There’s peeling paint on the engine cases, rust on the painted steel, corrosion on the rear hub and fork sliders, missing fasteners, a mottled plastic chainguard, chipped paint on the wheels, a sun-crazed screen and a misfitting exhaust system. Still, it got me here.

We’re at sunny Port Stewart on the north coast of Northern Ireland, outside the paddock for the North West 200, having made a pilgrimage of 375-ish miles from the English Midlands to one of the fastest and most historic road races in the world.

Apparently the NACA duct, with its distinctive flared shape, was developed by the US National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics in 1945, though most of us weren’t aware of them until Lamborghini put them on the side of the Countach supercar in 1974. The idea is to get maximum airflow into the duct, with minimum disturbance to flow around the fairing. How relevant this is when the duct isn’t really connected to anything is moot, but they look ace.

The NW200 takes place in the shadow of the Isle of Man TT, but is remarkable in its own way. According to the race’s website, it’s Ireland’s largest outdoor sporting event and attracts 150,000 spectators. It’s fast, too. The quickest recorded lap is 127.63mph, recorded by Tom Herron in 1977. Sadly, he died here two years later.

Chicanes have since reduced average speeds on the 8.9-mile course, though it’s creeping upwards. Last year, Glenn Irwin lapped in 4:16.433, for an average speed of 125.928mph. But that’s not the whole story. With long straights, slipstreaming is critical to fast times. At this year’s races, the draft from other racers helped Dean Harrison to blast through the speed trap at a record-setting 209mph on the factory Honda superbike – that’s motoring.

> ‘We did a few laps of the course, watched the racing and enjoyed the coast road’

###### **Joey on a red Honda at York Corner in 1998 (we think). It’s not a V4, but an NSR500V two-stroke twin. If you know more, write and tell us.**

Our North West pilgrimage plan was conceived late, but a VFR felt like the right bike to take. An easy-going sports tourer is ideal for the A1-M6-A75 journey to the ferry port in Scotland, but the racing heritage of Honda’s V4s is a huge part of the appeal. On the roads, that pedigree started at the North West 200 in 1983, when Joey Dunlop was timed at 171mph and won the Superbike race on the new RS850. He followed that up at the TT with the first of 16 consecutive Formula One TT victories for Honda V4 racers. They continued to do well at the North West too, with nine Superbike wins (four of them for Joey) between 1983 and 1998.

That 1983 Isle of Man win was popularised by the film _V4 Victory_. It was our first real exposure to onboard TT laps, the flat drone of a V4 engine at peak revs – and to Joey Dunlop. We watched the Duke Video VHS tapes until they disintegrated. Best put a visit to Joey’s Bar – at Ballymoney, a stone’s throw from the NW200 course – on the itinerary for this trip too.

###### **Hugo’s VFR750F outside Joey’s Bar**

The VFR was bought last year, sight unseen, for £750 (_CB_ September 2024). That sounds cheap – but once I’d actually inspected the bike, it felt like I’d paid too much. Its condition is testament to the damage that one neglectful owner can wreak. With new tyres it passed an MoT, but then its reg/rec malfunctioned – ‘They all do that, sir’ – taking the battery with it. With that repaired, I had to accept that it needed new discs and a brake caliper overhaul to make it rideable.

So, after spending a further £750 (tyres, discs, caliper rebuild kit, rec/rec, battery, fluids, secondhand seat), I had a bike that had baggy suspension, woolly carburation, a not very nice clutch and which looked like the unloved runt that it was. It did a few miles on local roads before I parked it in a lock-up for the winter and tried to forget about it. Six months later the NW200 plan was hatched.

###### **Hugo on a slightly less rapid red Honda than Joey’s at York corner in 2025**

After hibernation, the bike was reluctant to start until I’d drained the float bowls of stale fuel. The hydraulic fluid needed topping up before the clutch would work; there was no sign of a leak, so I’m not sure where it went. Ditto the missing engine coolant. The tyres needed air, while the throttle-return mechanism and locks got a light dose of WD40.

With the fluids refreshed, I rode it 10 miles to seek reassurance from Gary Hurd (aka Grumpy), _CB_’s friendly local bike mechanic. Gary wandered around the bike to pass judgement. He pointed out that the rusty fork legs would shortly be taking out the oil seals, advising me to “Take some rag and wipe them down each time you make a stop, to prevent it getting onto the brakes’. He also oiled the chain. Good idea.

Finally, he shrugged his shoulders and asked me: “Have you got recovery insurance?”

###### **Crack maintenance squad in action. The VFR’s missing centrestand makes chain lubrication a two-man job**

My friend Keith was more reassuring: “It’s a Honda; you’ll be fine”. But I was still plagued with doubts, envisaging the journey ending up in the back of an AA van – or in flames on the hard shoulder of the M6.

With a full tank of petrol (Shell V-Power Unleaded – ‘Removes up to 100% of performance-robbing deposits’ they meaninglessly claim) and an anxious knot in my stomach, we rolled onto the A1, heading north towards the Cairnryan to Belfast ferry. Then, against all my expectations, we didn’t stop until refuelling at Penrith, 200 miles later.

On that sunny afternoon, the VFR bopped along at an indicated 70... 75... 80... 85 and occasionally 90mph without drama. At 6000rpm the speedo reads 85mph, with another 5500 to the redline, so it wasn’t working very hard. It was as comfy as I’d hoped too, with a natural riding position that only made me get fidgety after a couple of hours.

Winter spent in a lock-up hadn’t improved the carburation, there’s a stutter around 3000rpm – probably caused by dirt in a jet that Shell’s V-Power hasn’t managed to shift. The suspension is still baggy too. Neither faults caused a problem on the speedy and straight roads between Peterborough and Penrith.

###### **Joey at Church Corner on the Honda Britain RVF750 RC45 in 1998**

The next morning, we rode the more challenging twists and turns of the A75 from Gretna to the ferry port at Cairnryan. Sure, the suspension damping has gone AWOL, but on Dunlop Sportmax tyres the steering is lovely – it has that reassuring Honda feel of stable, but low-input handling. That made me start to wonder what it would feel like with a new rear shock absorber and rebuilt forks...

As long as it was rolling, with the revs in the midrange, I didn’t notice the carburation issues either. There was plenty of punchy performance to blast past the trucks and traffic on the journey. My fantasties turned to carburettor rebuild kits... but the view from the rider’s seat of the sun-crazed screen and scuffed-up top yoke brought me back to reality. Sorting the suspension and carburation won’t make it look better.

In the queue for the ferry, the VFR was the oldest bike. No one gave it a second look amongst the 21st century machinery, but I was deeply impressed. Surely we don’t really need much more than this. Joey’s Bar at Ballymoney is 50 miles north of Belfast port, and there were race fans outside enjoying the sunshine when we pulled up to take a picture. Inside, I enjoyed a half pint of Guiness – and the fact that Joey’s 1988 VFR750 is in a glass case in the back room. Admittedly, it’s the VFR750R (aka RC30) but it’s still a VFR.

###### **In the queue to board the ferry home at Belfast, VFR was the oldest bike in the line**

Obviously we did a couple of laps of the course, took that photo at the paddock, watched the racing and enjoyed the famous Northern Ireland coast road.

Maintenance? It hadn’t used any oil, the coolant was still up the mark, so we oiled the chain, replaced a missing fairing fastener with a zip tie and then rode home again. V-Four Victory? I think so. And of course, now we’ve bonded I’m contemplating showering love on the old girl. Full restoration? She certainly deserves it.

First run in 1929, the North West 200 has evolved into one of the fastest road races in the world. The 8.9-mile Triangle Course connects the coastal villages of Portstewart and Portrush with the town of Coleraine.

The coast road, on which the pits and paddock are situated, is undulating with fast curves. The straight connecting Coleraine with Portrush is now slowed with two chicanes. The straight connecting Portstewart with Coleraine doesn’t have chicanes – and that’s where the speed trap is situated.

The original course included a blast along Portstewart’s sea front promenade, but that was omitted after 1971. A traditional early May date means that teams and riders treat this as a warm-up for the TT, which starts later in the month. This year’s superbike races were a tussle between local hero Michael Dunlop and his rivals Peter Hickman, Davey Todd and Dean Harrison. Dunlop controversially won Saturday’s first Superbike race, pulling off an astonishing ride to beat Davey Todd after overshooting the braking point at Mather’s Chicane on the opening lap. Dunlop failed to put his foot down in the stop box as required, but was awarded the win anyway. Hickman, who finished third, boycotted the podium ceremony afterwards in protest. The second Superbike race was won by Todd, with Harrison second. **:a[northwest200.org]{href='https://northwest200.org' }**

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#### Flashback to California in the ’70s – a time of pre-unit Triumphs and barefoot bike building

###### **Andy larking about on his Triumph bobber 55 years ago**

I was surprised to see the Catalina Grand Prix sticker on the very nice Britsteel pre-unit Triumph in ‘Rick Rides’ in your wonderful April issue. I have one on my Mountain Cub to acknowledge their domination of the lightweight class back in the day. Your article also reminded me of my own ’52 Triumph bobber, which I owned 55 years ago.

The late ’60s/early ’70s was a wonderful era – motorcycles were available here in the States for reasonable prices for us youngsters, as were sport cars such as MGs, Austin Healeys and others. I traded a Honda 305 Super Hawk for a Morris Traveller, which l later traded for the ’52 Triumph. The crankshaft was broken – one of the crankpins at the flywheel. I used a unit motor to replace most of the internals and recall having the crankcase machined to accept one of the main bearings. I was a teenager and didn’t know better – but it ran very well!

###### **His friend Stephen doing a bit of bike fettling, ’70s California style**

My friend Stephen Burg didn’t think twice about installing a 650 twin in a frame we found – he had no idea what it was. The bike was built with hand-made intake manifolds, Cub forks, a Harley-Davidson rear wheel rim, and the oil tank was incorporated into the fuel tank. He was an extremely talented fitter and mechanic. Another friend installed Montesa forks, seat and tank on his ’56 650.

I went to a technical college before my first job, at a BSA dealership, followed by a period of being a technician on rotaries. I was on a team that built a car which won a national championship, winning every race in the series save one – of course, the rules changed after that! This was followed by a 30-year career as a machinist/millwright, producing parts for turbines. But I’ll never forget those carefree days of messing around with old Triumphs.

**Andrew Granovsky, Ventura, California**

The 1970s may have been the era when Japan’s two-stroke 250s caught the imagination of a generation of young Learner riders – but other options were available from closer to home

Words **RICK PARKINGTON** Photography **GARY MARGERUM**

###### **The Elettronica added a dash of Italian panache to the 250 stroker screamer pack. Did Rick click with it?**

**E**ven as a child, I didn’t like the ’70s. All the grown-up stuff about three-day weeks and Ireland’s ‘Troubles’ sounded grim and I couldn’t see how ugly, angular beige cars or avocado bathroom suites made up for it. But if there was light shining in that tunnel it came from the elevation of the 250cc two-stroke twin from the drudgery of life as an economy commuter to the glamour of L-plate mania and beyond. I’m really enjoying getting to know the Mediterranean beauty you see on these pages – but maybe that’s a bad way to put it, because this kind of bike doesn’t really take much learning.

Choke is generally needed for starting, except when very warm – it’s operated by a lever on the left carb, so it’s important not to forget to flip it off once underway. While there’s no electric start, typically for a two-stroke twin it’s very easy to kick over and sits happily burbling away until you’re ready to go. Once underway, you can just get on and enjoy it because, being Italian, it handles well. Also, as with Triumphs of the time, you get surprisingly good brakes because the scale of local industry only allowed for one product not a range of descending prices; so here you get a Brembo disc that’s much better than those on other contemporary 250s.

> ‘It’s an exciting bike to ride once it’s on the boil’

The Benelli is so light, manageable and compact that my initial impression is of something even smaller - like an RD200 or Suzuki X5, those handy lightweights whose Learner sales suffered from being not quite the full measure permitted by law. Pulling away and keeping the revs low, the Benelli can feel quite tame – but once you hit the powerband, its character transforms and it’s off like a banshee. Claimed power was 32bhp; I’d guess that may be fishing-talk, being a couple more than an RD250 even though its capacity (at 231cc) is significantly less. But it’s also more than 10% lighter, leading me to suspect that on the right roads the 2C could have the edge. Certainly it’s an exciting bike to ride once it’s on the boil.

One of my favourite things about two-stroke twins is that they can be silky smooth and very tractable, with the ability to purr along at modest or low speeds without getting lumpy – then, when prodded, they take off like a scalded cat and, if you get your gearchanges right, stay screeching up there to make you feel like a short-circuit star. The Benelli ticks that two-bikes-inone box very satisfactorily. I’d say the power starts to kick in around 3750rpm – with a peak figure of 7000, that’s a very useable range (although in practice, I found it paid to keep an eye on the rev counter to avoid disappointment when changing up at slower pace). At speed, the balance of weight, braking and handling really comes into its own.

###### **Even the lever for adjusting the shocks has a touch of Italian flair**

It’s quite comfortable, too. Bikes of this era, even ones intended for tear-arse teenagers, were mostly still made in the classical upright format – it was up to you if you wanted to make it look like a racer. Maybe that was because bikes still had to be multi-purpose; as well as weekend fun, you still needed to ride it to work.

Through subsequent decades, the quest for sales has led to bikes being streamlined into more defined roles; I think they’ve lost something along the way. Certainly when you look at things in classic bike terms, for those of us who want to ride rather than simply collect, that all-rounder quality combining fun and practicality is more important than engine capacity. There’s also much to recommend a bike that’s easy to wheel about and doesn’t take up too much room in the shed.

But despite its merits, I wonder how many of us, looking to relive our L-plate yesterdays, would seek out a Benelli? They were never common in the UK compared to RDs, GTs and Kawasaki triples – I don’t remember having seen one until Carlo Battain flashed past on this gleaming Mk2 during last year’s VMCC West Kent Run. You may recall that I tested Carlo’s BMW K100 in the May issue of _CB_, but I must admit it was his Benelli I was really looking forward to riding. He’s owned the bike for about 25 years, but it’s not his first one.

“With a proud Italian for a father, when I was looking for a bike in the mid-1990s, I was steered away from a Japanese bike and bought a Series 1 Benelli 250 2C locally. The Series 1 differs from the Series 2 in having a twin-side drum brake – which, surprisingly, I found worked better than this single disc. For a time, I had both bikes on the road at once – the difference in the brakes was quite noticeable, but apart from that this one was a much better bike. My Series 1 had clearly been hammered in its lifetime – it was slower than this one, so I ended up selling my first one.

###### **Owner Carlo Battain’s Italian dad bought the bike in Florence**

“Ironically, this one was the ‘donor bike’! My dad found it at a big market in Florence in 2000; it was on offer for about £200, so he bought it as spares for my existing 2C. But when it arrived here, despite dad saying it had been scrapped, I couldn’t believe the condition – it was far better than mine and only had about 10,000km on the clock! I think they had something in Italy at that time where, if you weren’t using a vehicle but didn’t want to pay tax or insurance, you could declare it ‘scrapped’. The only problem with that was it meant I didn’t get any documents with it, which complicated re-registration over here a bit.”

I’d assumed that Carlo had restored the, bike but in fact it’s still mostly original – even the much-maligned Italian electrics. “Yes, apart from a good clean up, all the bike really needed was new tyres and a set of fork seals. I also fitted a new seat cover, but the paint and chrome is mostly as it left the factory. Mechanically, I’ve had no problems and the electrics all work perfectly “Benelli fitted electronic ignition when even the Japanese were still fitting contact breakers and I’ve never had to touch it. Even these cheap and nasty handlebar switches work perfectly – although I think that’s mainly down to the low mileage. They were in a bit of a state on my original bike and most of these you see now have been converted to Japanese switchgear.

###### **Powerband stetches from just below 4000 to 7000rpm – relatively user-friendly compared to other screamer 250s**

“It’s a great bike for VMCC runs round the lanes – even though it can be a spiteful little bugger at times, spinning out the back wheel on damp roads and pulling accidental wheelies!”

One problem I associate with Italian bikes is spares supply, but again Carlo surprised me. “Admittedly, I’ve managed to collect up a few useful bits, including a spare engine, and if it came to it I still have family in Italy, but really the internet has made a massive difference.

Anything I’ve needed has come from Benelli-Bauer in Germany; in fact, I ordered something from them recently for the first time in a few years and it was just: ‘Oh hi, Carlo. Yep, I’ve got that...’ really great service.”

Two-fifties are a funny thing; if you passed your test on one, it’s hard not to see them as just a stepping stone – a sort of curfew imposed by a government mistrustful of our natural riding skill (aka youthful over-confidence). That sense of insult created a widespread mindset that a 250 isn’t really a ‘proper bike’. I think that’s a mistake – one that was later challenged by the RD250LC so successfully that its impressive top speed reputedly led to further learner restriction down to 125cc.

But on top of that, not everyone likes two-strokes, either due to simple prejudice or some past trauma arising from whiskered plugs or blown crank seals. If so, I’d say you need to think past that. About the only drawback I can see with the Benelli is that it’s premix – you need to mix the petrol and oil rather than having an injection system – but once you get used to that it’s no problem, especially if you’re not using it daily.

What you gain is a simplicity of design that requires minimal servicing and maintenance and gives a huge amount of fun riding in return – especially if you can find one as attractive and unusual as a Benelli.

###### **Stylish Benelli is 10% lighter than its tearaway stroker rival, the RD250**

Confusingly, the ‘2C’ model code can refer to the 125 or 250 model. The 125cc 2C was also a two-stroke twin with a bore and stroke of 42.5 x 44mm, producing a claimed 18bhp at 8100rpm. Both models were first seen in 1972, with iron cylinder barrels and drum brakes. Both models had electronic ignition (hence the ‘Elettronica’ emblem on the side panel) from 1974, acquiring a disc front brake and ‘Series 2’ status in 1975 and remaining in production until 1986.

Benelli is unusual among motorcycle makers is having a female founder. Widowed Signora Teresa Boni Benelli used her late husband’s inheritance to set up her six sons in business at Pesaro on Italy’s Adriatic coast in 1911. They produced their first motorcycle in 1919, graduating to building their own engines the following year. For the next two decades, Benelli progressed into advanced single and double overhead cam designs driven by a trademark train of gears, culminating in a Lightweight (250cc) class win at the 1939 TT, ridden by UK rider Ted Mellors.

Like other industries in former Axis countries, Benelli took some time to recover from World War II. A family dispute saw gifted company designer Giuseppe Benelli leave to found his own company, Moto B Pesaro (later to become Motobi). After starting out refurbishing former military machines for civilian use, the main Benelli company began its regrowth with an economy 98cc model. By the late 1960s, they were producing an impressive 650cc parallel twin to rival British models – but the rising success of Japan’s motorcycle industry hit Benelli both at home and, more dangerously, in their export markets.

The 1972 takeover by Argentinian racing driver and entrepreneur Alejandro de Tomaso saw the introduction of more competitively modern models like the 2C right up to the Honda-copy four and six-cylinder four-strokes. An element of ‘badge-engineering’ with other brands from his portfolio was added too, so the 2C was also supplied as the very similar Moto Guzzi 250TS (below) as well as a near-identical 2C Elettronica from sister company Motobi.

In following years, Benelli went through a succession of owners. A high point was the 900cc Tornado Tre of the 2000s, allegedly inspired by the success of Hinckley Triumphs. Since 2005, the name has been owned by Chinese industrial giant Qianjiang who produce a range of models designed in Italy.

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Classic Bike Magazine is your perfect guide for fixing and enhancing the bikes resting in your garage with our practical workshop tips to help keep your bike running sweetly. We’ll also bring you insightful buying advice every month to help you make great buys and you can read great tales from motorcycling’s heroic past as well as reader restorations and rebuilds. Enjoy all this and more every month with Classic Bike.

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With the world-famous festival of road racing looming, the June issue of Classic Bike is a bumper Isle of Man TT special. Reflecting the spirit of the Island, there’s the story of Joey Dunlop’s greatest race, alongside tales of TT tearaways who bunked off school to see the races. Bike-obsessive Manx residents are also tracked down to their dens and there’s a roundup of the most unlikely TT race bikes ever.

Elsewhere in the magazine, a treasure trove of 11 Triumph prototypes built at Meriden is revealed, and there’s a tour of Wiz Norton Racing’s wankel workshop – as well as a Suzuki T500/GT500 buyer’s guide and all the usual practical fettling tips in the 22-page special section. Time to put your feet up and have a good read…

#### The June issue of Classic Bike is out now at all good newsagents, or why not :a[subscribe today and never miss an issue!]{href='https://www.greatmagazines.co.uk/classic-bike-magazine?utm_source=classicbike.co.uk&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=bau_classicbike&amp;utm_content=newissue_clb' }

#### Some surprisingly diverse machinery has entered competition on the Isle of Man’s legendary Mountain Course over the years. **Mark Graham** examines some of the more left-field examples

Just two years after its 1975 launch, the mighty Gold Wing was being repurposed into a Formula 1 TT contender. Well, not much of a contender – it endured an unrewarding practice experience and failed to make the grid for the race.

This was no ordinary Wing. Dave Degens, of Dresda repute, had wrapped some lightweight tubing around the big flat-four, and AP Lockheed calipers were employed to help scrub speed off the monster when required.

A Wing might seem a somewhat perverse choice for the Island, but back in ’77 it was still an actual motorcycle as opposed to the luxo-touring leviathan it has morphed into today. With 75bhp and 60lb ft to waft this lightweight version along, experienced TT rider Hugh Evans would surely have been in the midfield mix had the big Honda made the Glencrutchery Road startline. On another note, isn’t that period Dresda seat unit gorgeous?

Honda’s CBX750 may have looked something like a sports motorcycle. The spec might even have hinted in that direction: Pro-Link rear suspension, around 90bhp at the rear wheel and fake bellmouths moulded to the airbox sides indicated Honda were at pains to make it appear as racy as possible.

It was anything but. Boasting hydraulic valve lifters (as opposed to shim or screw-and-locknut) it was clear this engine was purposed as a low-maintenance hack. Which it might have been, had not early camchain tensioner failures been a problem.

The CBX was used largely as a police bike in Greece and Ireland. Not even the cops deserved it, but the opposition in the 750 class at the Production TT in 1984 must have been even worse. The top eight at the finish were all on Hondas, with Trevor Nation taking the win at 102.24mph.

By the following year, sports bike design had moved on, and Mick Grant won the class on a Suzuki GSX-R750, with six of the top ten on Gixxers.

Flitwick Yamaha boss Steve Linsdell made his name hustling a Royal Enfield Bullet 500 around the Island in Manx Grands Prix – an original Bullet from the Redditch factory in Worcestershire. Plainly no stranger to making unlikely machinery circulate the Mountain Course (he posted a 102.52mph lap on the Bullet) it was not a surprise when he entered Yamaha’s portly but ingenious GTS in the 1994 TT.

The Yamaha’s pivoted-fork front suspension and steering was not the issue (it was not a true hub-centre set-up), because that worked well. The major drawback was the sheer mass of the bike. At a lardy 289kg (637lb) wet, it was a brute of a thing to change direction with – even Linsdell’s vast Isle of Man experience and firm hand on the ’bars could not tame it enough to trouble the leaderboard.

Not even the considerable early prowess of Joey Dunlop could help nurse this big six-pot Benelli 900 to the finish of the 1979 Formula 1 TT. You can see blue smoke fairly billowing out of the foghorn-like exhaust and the machine was retired after just one lap.

It was a serious attempt, backed by the importer Agrati Sales Ltd. The substantial front-mounted oil-cooler, Micron exhaust system and SW air shocks indicate considerable efforts were made to give the engine a fighting chance – as well as to sweeten the handling of the big, wide device on what was then a much bumpier, punishing course than it is now.

It’s hard to tell from the photograph if the production duplex final-drive chain was retained, although that matter is academic as the Sei was among 23 DNFs in the race, sharing that ignominy with BSA, Triumph, Laverda and Ducati machinery. Hondas filled the podium places, with Alex George winning from Charlie Williams and Ron Haslam in third.

The Itom Competizione was the go-to 50 for privateers denied Suzuki, Honda or Kreidler products. In 1962 Beryl Swain, the first female to race at the TT, had to wear a diver’s weighted belt for the race after the FIM invoked a minimum rider weight in an attempt to prevent the eight-stone Swain from riding. ‘Too dangerous for women’ was the backward thinking. She finished 22nd at 48.33mph after losing top gear from her three speed ’box on the second of two laps. Ernst Degner won on a Suzuki at 75.12mph.

An even more exotic machine than the factory Honda RVFs of the 1990s – and certainly put together on a tighter budget. The Kiwi meisterwerk wowed IoM crowds with its lurid power wheelies and visibly brutal drive out of the turns.

Regarded by some as a the ‘wrong’ bike for the TT, with its extensive use of carbon fibre and advanced technology, Shaun Harris finished the 1996 Senior in 33rd place, posting a race average of 107.26mph.The bike’s creator John Britten died in 1995.

There was some exotic Ultra Lightweight machinery on the Island in 1952. Cecil Sandford won on a double overhead-cam MV Agusta, with Carlo Ubbiali and Len Parry second and third on the equally exquisite Monoalbero single overhead-cam Mondials. Further down the field, although not that much further, was Harvey Williams who came home seventh on a BSA Bantam. Sandford notched a 75.54mph average time; Williams achieved a race average of 58.03mph. He was the first (and only) BSA to finish. Bantams – plentiful, cheap and with store rooms across the empire chockful of spares – were a tuner’s delight.

Robust and capable of huge power hikes, the giant-killers of the times adored the little machines.

Aussie tuner Eric Walsh regularly put together 100mph 125s, while Brit George Todd published essential reading in the form of _Boost Your Bantam_, cataloguing myriad ways to go about squeezing unlikely numbers from the piston-port single. Fred Launchbury took a Bantam dripping with Todd mods to 20th in the ’67 125cc Lightweight TT at an average speed of 73.9mph

Hats off to Elmar Geulen for being the one and only TT finisher to ride a turbocharged motorcycle – and a CX650 Turbo to boot. The redoubtable German rider came home 16th in the 1984 Proddie TT, riding a novelty machine that had no reason to be lumped into the 751-1500cc class despite the ‘advantage’ of forced induction.

Still, the fact that the German rider posted a race average speed of 92.82mph compares very favourably with winner Geoff Johnson’s 105.28mph on a Kawasaki GPZ900R.

It’s hard to imagine riding a CX650 Turbo at the speeds required to not be a hazard to other riders anywhere – let alone on the Isle of Man. A ponderous 259kg (572lb) motorcycle with a mere 90bhp is going to be a mission to control anywhere when it gets to three-figure speeds.

Can you even begin to stop trembling at the thought of it hard on the gas between Ginger Hall and Parliament Square? Massive respects to old Elmar.

Flat out down Bray Hill in the 1951 Senior Clubman event is Johnny Cox, one of the leading lights of the Manchester Eagles Motor Club. Pleasant enough as a light tourer, a G9 would hardly be at the top of anyone’s wish list for a TT, even in 1951, but Cox was not deterred.

Plainly made of stern stuff, he would have endured numbing vibration from the iron three-bearing crankshaft engine, and all the time knowing that the fragile mehanite iron piece could spectacularly disintegrate at any moment. It comes as small surprise that Johnny failed to reach the flag in this race.

Triumphs filled the first three places of the race, although it should be noted that four Matchless machines completed the course. This was before the Clubman’s race became a BSA Gold Star benefit.

How we yearn for the days when a motorcycle shop could build a left-field race bike and enter a TT. So it was in 1980 when Trevor Wise borrowed his wife Christine’s Moto Morini to take to North Leicester Motors in Ellistown, south of Coalville, to turn into an F3 machine (250cc two-strokes/400cc four-strokes).

Formula 3 lasted from 1977 to 1981, with Ron Haslam winning a World Championship in 1980 on a hot Honda 400/4.

Trevor finished 18th in the 1980 IoM round at 79.36mph. Barry Smith won on a Yamaha 250 at 91.98mph, while 11 Aermacchis finished.

Another Moto Morini shop, Elby Moto, entered Trevor in 1981 on a trick 400cc Morini which was faster (128mph at The Highlander has been mooted) before destroying a rear piston on lap one.

Another rider taking a highly improbable mount to a very decent placing is Nick Jefferies – eighth in the 1984 Proddie TT and seventh in the 1985 race. “It was a lot better than people thought,” he says. “It was a bit heavy and a bit slow, but only 18mph slower than the winning GPZ900R. It would only ever do 137mph – it just would not go any quicker than that.

“But it pissed off a lot of riders getting beaten by it – and BMW were delighted with what it did. They got a lot of good publicity from it – full page adverts, the lot. It was an easy ride compared to the Honda CBR1000F I rode. That bike was evil. I managed top six with it. Honda were so impressed, they took me out to dinner with the top brass, gave me the bike, the works.

“In all the 42 years I rode there, that was the worst by far.”

Do you see any of these unlikely TT race bikes battling away on the Island? Let us know: **:a[letters@classicbike.co.uk]{href='mailto:letters@classicbike.co.uk' }**

#### :a[Head into stores to grab your latest issue, or why not subscribe to Classic Bike and enjoy 3 issues for just £5! But hurry, offer ends soon]{href='https://www.greatmagazines.co.uk/classic-bike-magazine?utm_source=classicbike.co.uk&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=bau_classicbike&amp;utm_content=article' target='_blank' rel='noreferrer noopener'}

#### **Norton 1500cc V8** prototype clears its first hurdle, an 8000rpm run. Here’s how it went

It breezed up to 110mph, where it was completely stable.” That was the verdict of _Classic Bike_ contributor and professional test rider Bruce Dunn, after his first ride on the recommissioned Norton Nemesis. “The speed data trace was a dead straight line, with no flattening off. That suggests there’s a lot more to come.”

The Al Melling-designed V8 prototype, which started life in 1998 as a doomed attempt to revive the Norton name, has been brought back to life by famed engineer Allen Millyard. “He rode it first, because he wanted to check if the cooling system leaked, and that the engine held its oil,” explains Bruce. “Allen’s had to do a lot of re-engineering, because he worked out that the original oil pump couldn’t flow the capacity required – don’t ask me how he worked that out, but he did – so he increased the bore size of the passageways and changed the oil pump. He re-engineered the original cooling system too, so that needed checking.”

Once Allen had deemed the bike safe, Bruce was given the job of running it up to 8000rpm – some way off its 14,000rpm redline but ample for a first run, given that Nemesis hadn’t been on a dyno beforehand.

“We had to run it at _MCN_’s test strip because it’s so noisy,” says Bruce. “A V8 through straight pipes makes some racket. But it doesn’t sound like an American V8, because it’s a high-revving short-stroke engine.

“It feels bulky, but well balanced. When I was turning round it didn’t want to flop over like some cruisers, but the main thing is the power – Allen wants to break the land speed record for a V8 bike \[136mph\] and it should easily do that.”

Nemesis is rumoured to be appearing at Goodwood Festival of Speed on July 1013. We’ll let you know if that’s confirmed.

Four-time World Superbike champion Carl Fogarty will headline a huge celebration of World Superbikes at this year’s Festival of Speed on July 10-13. More than 40 race bikes and dozens of riders from WSB’s golden era will be loitering in the paddock, and Foggy will thrash up the Goodwood Hill on his

1995 championship-winning Ducati 916. “I’ve had such a great time at the Festival of Speed over the years,” says Foggy. “I haven’t seen my 1995 916 for a while, so I’m looking forward to being reunited with the bike across the weekend.

“It’s great that World Superbikes is getting a moment in the spotlight and fans can see the bikes up close in the paddocks before they take to the hill.”

• Goodwood tickets available from **:a[goodwood.com]{href='https://goodwood.com' }**

#### The hardest part of Rupert’s Morini overhaul? It turns out to be removing the exhaust system. Although the gear linkage causes frustrations too

#### **Rupert Paul**  
1981 Moto Morini 350 Kanguro

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