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	AMCA European Chapter Newsletter Number Two November 2002 Bob McClean and Bruce Linsday came over from the USA to support our first meet in Den Haag, NL. Peter Reeves’ original paint 1936 knucklehead drew the crowds. European Chapter Officers 2003 PresidentVice President Steve SlocombeGuenter Russek 4 Park AvenueSonnenallee 4 DoverD-06842 Dessau Kent CT16 1ER, UKGermany +44.1304.213633+49.34.021000 Steve@vlheaven.comGrussek@aol.com Deputy JudgeSecretary Peter ReevesSteve Slocombe/Vacant 3 Luddington Avenue Virginia Water Surrey GU25 4DF, UK +44.1344.842829 Peter.reeves@virgin.net Treasurer Vacant Message from the President We have had a busy first year as a Chapter, with AMCA President Bob McClean and Norma gracing us with their presence at our first meeting in Den Haag in August. Bruce Linsday, the noted American collector, helped us put on our first judging demonstration, and was no doubt tempted to cross the Atlantic by the chance to ride the 1936 knuckle head shown on the cover. Our members participated in a number of US swap meets, plus the main European ones highlighted in our last issue, and some of these are reported in the following pages. We held our annual meeting at the big Mannheim show in October, and a record of this meeting is included for those who could not make it. I have included a three year old story about trying for 100 mph on a flathead Harley VL, and updated it with some of my quarter mile sprint news over the last two seasons. Please let me know if you have stories to share with us. Our membership has increased by a dozen over the year, or about 10%. People we know in the UK who ‘should’ be AMCA members have been persuaded to join, we have a couple of new recruits in Germany, and numbers have been held or increased elsewhere. Please keep urging those you know and meet to join the Club, so that we can add to the efforts of the US organization in gaining more members. We have had coverage in the AMCA magazine out of proportion to the size of our Chapter, and three of our bikes are featured in the 2003 calendar. Our Deputy Judge’s 1934 VLD and 1938 ULH Harleys are featured in ‘The Classic Motorcycle’ for January 2003. We still do not have a subscription for our Chapter, as our main costs are printing and postage and I have underwritten the cost of our newsletters this year. For 2003 we need new sponsors, or a subscription charge, or an ‘E-mail only’ newsletter. The options are described in a little more detail later, so please let me know what you want to do. On the subject of newsletters, I have started to receive them from other Chapters including Viking, Big Sandbar, Evergreen, Maumee Valley, Sunflower, River Valley, Confederate and Colonial. If you would like to see any of these then please contact me. I would like to thank Guenter Russek for organizing and paying for our AMCA Stand at Mannheim, Eric Bourrague for the considerable effort put into developing our Web site at www.amcaeurope.org, and Peter Reeves for bringing some of his eye-catching bikes to Chapter events. Do not forget to support our 2003 Road Run, from Skagen to Copenhagen courtesy of the Danish Antique Bike Club 29-31 May, and the Old Timers get-together and run 8-10 August in Den Haag, Netherlands. In the meantime, safe riding and seasonal greetings, Meet the Founders This time it is the turn of Guenter Russek our Vice President, and he has supplied the following: I am 56 years old and a hotel manager by trade. I worked many years abroad, starting off in the Lebanon and then Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia, Kenya, Zambia, Swaziland and South Africa. My hobby started in South Africa with a 1948 Harley Big Twin, then I got overconfident and bought something very old and rusty: a 1915 Indian Twin. Since then I cannot shake off all the rust, and recently acquired a 1934 Indian Chief that I had seen 15 years ago in South Africa. And to top it all I have just bought a 1920 Indian Chief, so I have work for years to come. I also have a 1914 Harley single with two speed gearbox in the rear hub. I belong to my local Old-timer Club near Dessau, which recently was given the Fire brigade house, which we are restoring and making into an Old-timer museum - meaning now we have more space at home and can do other stupid things.. Steve and Guenter at our Mannheim meeting in October. Photo: Lars Wredenberg. Country Representatives One way to improve communication is to have representatives for each of the countries making up the European Chapter. The tasks of the Country Representative are to recruit for the AMCA in the local language; stay in touch with national old bike clubs and events; and be first contact for questions from AMCA members in other countries. At present we have this fine list of volunteers: TelephoneE-mail BelgiumJean-Paul Piron+32.2.360.21.71piron.braes@belgacom.net DenmarkPoul Jorss+45.3258.5377Fackmann@post.tele.dk FinlandBernd ‘Fiskis’ Ekmanfiskis@kolumbus.fi FranceEric Bourrague+33.534.36.56.83e.bourrague@newtech.fr GermanyGuenter Russek+49.340.21000Grussek@aol.com ItalyGuido Crucilla+39.06.630113guidocruci@tiscali.it Pasquale Mestomesto.asms@libero.it NetherlandsJan van der Werff+31.182.381165jan.vander.werff@hernet.nl NorwayAtle Monrada-monrad@c2i.net SwedenLeif Joensson+46.454.49002leif.joensson@mbox302.swipnet.se UKSteve Slocombe+44.1304.213633steve@vlheaven.com All of the people named above are members of their national vintage/antique motorcycle clubs, and will have some knowledge of what is going on in their country. I have sent them a copy of the AMCA recruiting leaflet to hand out at bike meetings or to translate for local use. The list above was published in the summer 2002 AMCA magazine, so we shall see what happens. Several people have also written to me offering expertise on various make and model bikes. Please let me know if you are such a person, and we can publish a list of contacts in a future newsletter. Forthcoming Events Here is a selection of events put together by our Country Representatives. Please make a special effort to support our own AMCA Europe events, indicated with an asterisk (). Some of these events have yet to be confirmed, so please check dates before leaving home. Belgium 27 June 2003. Zandhoven Round and Flat tank rally. Pre-1929 machines, all makes. Telephone +32.3.383.5229 or +32.3.475.0140. 28-29 June 2003. The Nine Provinces Rally. Up to 250 pre-1960 bikes, all makes, 750 km around the Ardennes. Fax +32.53.806244. 5-13 July 2003. Liege-Monaco-Liege. Organised by Old-timer Adventures, this is a noncompetitive 3500 km trip for pre-1941 motorcycles. Road maps, hotel and food included. Phone +32.54.326691. Denmark 29-31 May 2003. The Skagen rally (Skagen to Copenhagen), 200 pre-1935 bikes, all makes, about 750 km. Telephone +45.3258.5377. France See Web site at www.amcaeurope.org Germany 13-15 September 2003. Dessau meet in south east Germany. Guenter Russek is putting together a short road run, a visit to the local Junkers museum, a swap meet and some entertainment. Camping and hotel accommodation available. Telephone +49.34.021000. 10-12 October 2003. Mannheim swap meet, Maimarktgelaende, with an AMCA stand for the second time. The largest old bike/car auto jumble in Europe. Contact Guenter Russek if you have a bike to show. Italy Mid-May 2003. Sidecar centenary rally in Brescia. End May 2003. Harley centenary FIVA/ASI rally in Lucca (Tuscany). 21-22 June 2003. ASI Motor Show, Varano circuit near Parma. Biggest event in Italy for bikes over 30 years old. To be confirmed. 19-21 September 2003. Imola autojumble/swap meet, the largest in Italy. To be confirmed. Netherlands 27 April 2003. Horsepower Run for pre-1920 bikes. Tel +31.182.381165. * 8-10 August 2003. Old Timers Rally, Den Haag, 300 American bikes pre-1966, about 80 km run around town. Telephone +31.182.381165. 29-31 August 2003. Vehikel, Utrecht. Biggest Dutch autojumble/swap meet. (provisional). Norway 4-6 July 2003. Skogsloepet run at Harstad near Narvik. This is the main run for old motorcycles in Norway. More information is available athttp://home.c2i.net/nvmc-harstad/Skogslopet%202003.htm. 20 Sep 2003. Oslo (Ekeberg) autojumble (also 3 May 2003), largest in the country. Sweden 6 July 2003. Slootsrallyt at Hoganas. A rally starting at different castles in Southern Sweden every year. All makes of bikes 1930 and earlier. 30-31 August 2003. Skane rundt. A well known 550 km rally in Southern Sweden for pre-WW2 bikes of all makes, starting in Halsingborg. UK 3 March 2003. The Pioneer Run, Epsom Race Course, Surrey. 350 pre-1915 bikes makes this the largest such gathering in the world. Telephone +44.20.8304.1481. 15 June 2003. The Banbury Run, Drayton School, Banbury, Oxfordshire. 500 pre-1931 bikes, all makes, on 100-150 km run. 5-7 September 2003. Beaulieu/Netley Marsh (Southampton). Biggest UK old bike/car auto jumble/swap meets, mostly with British makes. USA 27 February - 2 March 2003, SoCal Chapter Road Run, Borrego Springs, CA. 28 February - 2 March 2003, Sunshine Chapter Meet, Eustis, FL. 25-27 April 2003, Perkiomen Chapter Meet, Oley, PA. 23-25 May 2003, High Plains Chapter Meet, Carson City, CO. 29 May - 1 June 2003, Highlands Chapter Road Run, Natural Bridge, VA. 6-8 June 2003, Colonial Chapter Meet, Harmony, NJ. 20-22 June 2003, Fort Sutter Chapter Meet, Dixon, CA. 27-29 June 2003, Viking Chapter Meet, Farmington, MN. 18-20 July 2003, Prairie Chapter Meet, Wauseon, OH. 24-26 July 2003, Oregon Trail Chapter Road Run, John Day, OR. 1-3 August 2003, Yankee Chapter Meet, Hebron, CT. 15-17 August 2003, Empire Chapter Meet, Brookfield, NY. 29-31 August 2003, Chief Blackhawk Chapter Meet, Davenport, IA. 2-5 September 2003, Omaha Chapter Road Run, Missouri River Valley, IA. 3-4 October 2003, Chesapeake Chapter Meet, Jefferson, PA. Subscriptions Most AMCA Chapters have fixed club premises, annual subscriptions, and a Treasurer to administer the money. However, we have a very dispersed Chapter in Europe, no premises, much of our correspondence by E-mail, and already the highest AMCA subscription cost. I have contacted the AMCA Editor and he has assured me our $40 cost reflects the additional mailing expense for the (excellent) magazine, so there is little chance of a subsidy from the National organisation. At present, nearly all our expenditure goes on printing and mailing this newsletter, at a cost of about 1000 euros/dollars per year. These seem to be our choices for the future: 1. Find sponsors. We can fund the newsletter with individual sponsors, or companies. Other newsletters charge about 50-100 euros per year for a business card sized advertisement in each issue, and we can do the same. Individual sponsors would be recognised, if they wish. 2. Charge a subscription. We can try to find 100 European AMCA members at 10 euros each. This means the newsletter will continue for subscribers, but we need a Treasurer. 3. Stop printing the newsletter. This means it is distributed only by E-mail and over our Web site, so Chapter members without E-mail do not hear what is going on, or somehow pay 10 euros to cover printing cost. Can you please let me have your thoughts by year end, or this may be the last newsletter you will see! Advertisers and sponsors will be particularly welcome. Banbury Run 16 June 2002 This is a short report, as neither Peter Reeves nor myself managed to get booked into this UK run. Even having expanded the pre-1931 all makes entry from 300 to 500 bikes, we were still too late. That’s a lot of old machines over the three 100-150 km routes. However, the associated swap meet yielded a teens Stewart-Warner speedometer for one of our members, plus the spectacle of watching so many different makes of old motorcycle do their stuff. We shall try to book earlier for next year but, even if you are not riding, this is one of the major chances to see old machinery working in Europe. Den Haag Old Timers Run Report 9-11 August 2002 This was the first ‘official’ run for our Chapter. For me it started early Friday morning, as Peter Reeves arrived at my house in Dover with his wife Tina, Bruce Linsday from the USA, brother Barry, member Geoff Skilton, and Peter’s original paint 1936 knuckle head and restored 1938ULH, Barry’s 1942WLA, and Geoff’s 1934VLD. I had my 1934VDR sprinter in the van, so two vehicles crossed the Channel to Calais with the bikes inside. After a few miles, Peter’s van was unloaded and I drove as back-up carrying the camping equipment and AMCA paperwork. We had had heavy rain the day before, but the weather held up for most of the weekend. First out of France and into Belgium along the coast, then to Breskens for the Vlissingen ferry. As this was a holiday weekend, we had to queue for about an hour, but then twenty minutes on the ferry took us to Middelburg. From here we followed the road nearest the coast, over the several long dikes across the mouth of the Maas/Rhine to Maassluis near Rotterdam. The roads were flat, and our little convoy had no problems in holding 50/55 mph (80/85 kph), with the 750 cc Harley being the pace setter. A five minute ferry ride took us to the north bank of the river, from where some cunning navigation avoided the motorways on the way to Den Haag. Bruce Linsday was cracking a grin most of the way, having been allowed to ride Peter’s 36E and pronouncing it the best early knuckle head he had ridden - high praise indeed. We found the Don Bosco park where the rally was held, and got ourselves booked in. The site is a one-time monastery surrounded by water, with a single entrance and extensive treed grounds. The Old Timers club was founded in 1966, and use the main building as their clubhouse. Cars are not allowed, so the vans were parked outside and we were transported back to an earlier style of rally without motor homes and electrical hookups. Perhaps it was the effect of everyone being under canvas, but there is an atmosphere and camaraderie at this meet that is rarely encountered. Bikes arrived all afternoon and evening, with a couple of Hendersons after midnight. We had Dutch, British, Belgian, German and Swiss visitors, with some arrivals having put in three days riding through rain to get to the event. On Friday night the club put on a barbecue and two excellent bands played into the early hours. On Saturday morning we set up our AMCA stand, with the knuckle head and ULH under an awning. This attracted a lot of people, especially during rain showers. Bruce was persuaded to test drive my 34, describing it as the world’s fastest VL and expressing surprise it was street legal. Then Bob McClean and Norma arrived, having landed at Schipol airport the previous afternoon, and been met by a kindly Dutch host. Bob should have been seriously jet lagged, but stood by our stand and chatted to all and sundry about bikes and the AMCA the whole day - thank you Bob. We then assembled for the ride out to the Army museum, escorted by Den Haag police outriders and club marshals. I think the count was 220 bikes on the run, mostly the military 750 cc Harleys the Dutch call ‘Liberators’. Far from being upset at having their roads blocked, the population of Den Haag turned out to wave as our long procession made its way through town. The museum is only about 10 km from the Club, but the organizers had managed to find a one hour/50 km route to get there, stuffed with windmills, canals, churches, cobbled streets, girls in national dress, narrow bridges and everything else you might consider ‘typically Dutch’. We had an hour at the attractive museum, located in an ancient warehouse, which allowed our cooked engines to cool. Then a shorter route back allowed us to put on an AMCA judging demonstration in the afternoon. This was more successful than I had expected, and we managed to go over five bikes and draw a crowd of knowledgeable owners interested in the detailing of their machines. We ran out of handouts and signed up a new member, so our first meeting rates as a success. Saturday night again involved eating, yarning, beer drinking, and two more excellent bands to entertain us. The Sunday morning lie-in was interrupted by the inevitable bikes being cranked up to catch the early ferries, then we too were away to retrace our route of a couple of days earlier and arrive back in the UK in the evening. Another great weekend courtesy of our host club, and good publicity for the AMCA. Breda 18 August This was a one-off attempt to put 750 Harley 750 cc bikes in the town square to celebrate 750 years since the founding of Breda, on the Dutch/Belgian border. Peter, Barry and Geoff from our Den Haag expedition the previous weekend took their Harley 45s to add three to the count that day, which reached about 600. The most interesting outcome to me was the discovery of a few bikes with 50WLH engine numbers. These were factory numbers and close to each other, and perhaps point to a previously unknown contract for Dutch (H=Holland?) machines in this late production year for the solo Harley 45. Chief Blackhawk Chapter Meet, Davenport 29 Aug - 1 September This is the largest AMCA meet, and the one to go to first if you have not been before. This year I persuaded my wife to accompany me, and we flew out to Chicago on Wednesday, driving to Davenport in time to arrive tired and jet-lagged that evening. The next morning we met up with Steve White of Vintage Motorcycles Northwest, with whom I was sharing a stand. I seem to have been the only European selling at Davenport in recent years, with others going only to buy. This year the dollar was less ferociously strong against the euro, but dollar prices were still high and you had to shop around for bargains. We set up at the Mississippi Fairgrounds, with the weather as pleasant as it had been for a while - temperatures around 80F/28C and none of those heavy Midwest thunderstorms. My comment is that pre-1940 parts are getting harder to find, and I was not able to spend my money as usual. This was however remedied by a trip to Steve White’s shop in Washington when on holiday after the show. The vintage racing on Friday night seemed more interesting this year, even though the Amateur hand shift class that I liked best has been altered by the banning of bikes with front brakes. Saturday night was the AMCA banquet, with the usual excellent catered in meal. Bob McClean handed over to Peter Gagan as Club President, Del Schumacher joined the Board, and an excellent after dinner speaker made for another enjoyable evening. Sunday morning meant Peter Reeves and I were able to strut around in our ‘AMCA Judge’ vests and try to absorb some of the knowledge of the other judges. Some of our European members watched the process, and I hope realised it is a good way to learn about bikes and meet their restorers and collectors. There is discussion about judging on Saturday rather than Sunday, and a new ‘Period Modified’ class is on the way, so we shall see how these changes develop. Beaulieu/Netley Marsh 5-8 September If you have not been, these are the two largest UK swap meets. Beaulieu is mostly cars with a chance of picking up bike parts (like Hershey), while Netley Marsh started a few years ago with a breakaway group of bike dealers who felt they were not getting a fair shake at Beaulieu. The locations are within a few miles of each other and they are held on the same weekend. Most visitors from any distance will attend both. I was not there this year, but Peter Reeves (who I failed to mention had bought a knuckle head engine less cases at Davenport) did attend. He had seen a 1916 optional extra odometer for $1000 at Davenport, so was able to pick one out of a box at Netley Marsh for $40 to put on his 1916 Harley. Is this one way for us to justify those airfares to the USA? FN centennial, Herstal 14 September This was a one-off celebration of 100 years production of the famous Belgian four cylinder machine. I was not there, but a German with a 1905/6 bike told me he was tenth off the line from the 200 machines which rode away in serial number order. These bikes went all over the world in the first decade of the twentieth century, and were clearly the inspiration for the later Pierce and Henderson machines. I was in a sprint meeting last year at the famous Brooklands track in the UK, and saw a 1914 FN started up by putting the rear wheel on its stand then turning the back wheel by hand. It fired up right away and ran like a sewing machine - another tribute to European engineering skills in the early years of the motorcycle. Mannheim 11-13 October This is the largest swap meet in Europe, allegedly held on the second weekend in October but turning into a Friday/Saturday show in recent years. I left from England on Thursday with a couple of pals, stayed overnight in Metz, France, and arrived at the fairgrounds 0930 Friday morning. The organisers started selling Friday tickets a couple of years ago, so it is not just dealer set-up day, but includes some serious customers coming in a day before the official opening. We spent Friday foraging for parts, but for me it was like Davenport with pre-1940 items hard to find - there were no Harley VL or JD basket cases for sale, unlike earlier years. I managed to find one nos VL reverse gearbox shifting arm in a pile of parts ‘fresh from Peru’, but Lars Wredenberg one of our Swedish members managed to pick out a pair of 1929 Harley big twin horn brackets from the same pile. This is one of those one year/one model parts that has become almost impossible to find, so we should see some recast repro items available soon. My finds for the day would fit in a shoe box, but my friends had a little more luck. Jan van der Werff found the guts of a 1928/9 JDH two-cammer, so now ‘only’ needs the crankcases and cylinders - help if you can please! Guenter Russek had organised an AMCA stand, conveniently located next to a bar and therefore guaranteeing plenty of visitors. Christian Timmermann from Berlin parked up a beautiful 1930 Indian 4 nearby, which was photographed all day. We held our Chapter meeting on Saturday evening and minutes are at the end of this newsletter. I was pleased to see two US AMCA members join us, who were looking for European bikes while the Europeans were trying to find American bike parts. They found a running 1914 BSA sidecar outfit in the Netherlands later so went home satisfied. The Poles, Czechs, Hungarians and Latvians come to the show as sellers, with Italians, Swiss and Austrians also as buyers, so there is fresh material changing hands rather than seeing the same stuff dragged round the national shows as in the UK. The show is worth coming a long way to see if you have not been before. Chesapeake Chapter National Fall Meet (by Peter Reeves) A friend who works for the airlines made me an offer that I could not refuse. It was the opportunity to fly on Concorde for a fraction of the normal fare. I had to let him know straight away if I wanted to accept and what dates to fly. Over the last 10 years or so, my travelling to the States normally involves motorcycles so I felt that there was no reason this trip should be different. I checked out the advertisements in the AMCA mag and found that the Chesapeake Chapter were holding their national fall meet in Pennsylvania, approximately four hours drive away from New York. PERFECT - I could combine a flight on Concorde, two/three days in New York, two days at an AMCA meet plus some time to travel. This seemed too good an opportunity to miss so I booked the flights. In my eagerness to book this trip I managed to mix up the day of my return so that it prevented me attending Mannheim this year. My wife and I have always wanted to travel on Concorde, it flies over our house every day. Our flight out to the States was fantastic. The acceleration on take off was something to be remembered, and we were in the air for just under 3½ hours - arriving at New York earlier than we had left home! The three days we spent in New York were very interesting and good fun: we did all the normal tourist things. But for me three days was enough and I was pleased to be leaving the city for the slower pace of rural Pennsylvania. We took a leisurely drive from the city but then managed to get lost near Newark. It did not matter which road I took I just ended up heading back to Newark or Staten Island. We finally managed to get back on the right road and continued on our way. When we got into Pennsylvania we left the Interstate and used the smaller roads. After the hustle and bustle of the city, Pennsylvania was very relaxing, with great scenery and winding roads. We arrived at our hotel in Hanover close to the swap meet after dark so it was too late to reconnoitre the swap meet. In the morning just after daylight we set off to the meet, which was held on the property of the White Rose Motor Cycle Club. They have been in existence for over fifty years and have a really impressive set-up. The site consists of various fields and a wooded hilly area; they have a very large clubhouse built to a high standard complete with a large hall for functions and dinners, professional catering kitchens, toilet facilities with showers, various garages as well as workshops. The site is dominated by a hill-climb track, which appears to rise vertically from the side of the clubhouse to the top of the hill; it is so steep that you would need to climb it on your hands and knees. To me it appeared impossible that anybody could ride a motorcycle up it, however there was a video being shown in the club house of previous hill climb events showing that people riding motorcycles managed to reach the top. On film it looks amazing but when you look at the hill it looks impossible. The swap meet was the smallest AMCA meet that I have been to in the States - about half the size of the meet in Florida. Despite this I still managed to find some good parts. Because it was much smaller or maybe because of the very pleasant surroundings there was a much more laid back and friendly atmosphere at this meet. This meet was held over a two-day period and, unusually for AMCA meets, the bike judging was held on the Saturday. Despite this only being a small meet there were approximately forty machines to be judged and a further ten to fifteen machines in the winner’s circle. The judging took place in one of the fields and again unusually for AMCA judging the owners and anybody interested could stand near the machines to observe what was going on. The judges could ask the owners questions and explain to the owners why points were being deducted. I found that judging with the owners present was an enjoyable experience, the owners were appreciative of our comments and wanted to know what they could do to improve their machines. I also found that in some instances the owner’s response on some items that would cause them to lose points was that they knew about the fault already but wanted the bike judged anyway and were hoping the judges would miss the fault this time, as they had plans to put the defect right before the next judging took place. After the judging we said our goodbyes and set off. We spent some time travelling in Pennsylvania and then went up to Cleveland Ohio to look at Bruce Linsday’s collection of early American motorcycles and literature. Bruce has been collecting for many years and has one of the most impressive collections I have seen, in particular he has a 1905 Harley Davidson, that he is restoring and is hoping to complete before the 100-year celebrations in Milwaukee. He has had the engine running and has now ridden it, which probably means that this is the earliest example of a running Harley Davidson in the world. The Harley Davidson factory has a 1903 (1904) example in their collection but refuse to run it, as it is so valuable. Bruce made us very welcome and I very much appreciated the opportunity to see his private collection. After leaving Bruce at Cleveland we travelled back to Pennsylvania in time to attend the Hershey Automobile swap meet, this was huge, but despite its size we managed to cover most of it before we had to return to New York for our economy flight home. Arriving back home on Friday morning suffering from jet lag and aching feet, wishing that I was at Mannheim, my only consolation for not attending Mannheim was that I could now attend a small local swap meet at Dorking Surrey only about twenty five miles away from my home. On the morning of this meet I overslept due to my jet lag, waking up at 08.30. Because it was not raining and I was not really expecting to find anything I rode my bike there, and shortly after arriving brought a rear fender plus other parts which I could not take home with me on the bike. Fortunately I managed to arrange for a friend to take it back. If I had gone in my car I would not have found anything to buy, so my new technique for swap meets will be to go on my knuckle head! The swap meet at Dorking proves that you don’t need to travel halfway around the world and back to find some good bargains. 100 mph on a VL by Steve Slocombe 1999 was the seventieth anniversary of the launch of the Harley-Davidson VL side valve Big Twin and perhaps it was time for a demonstration of just how good the bikes were. I was also getting tired of doing nut-and-bolt restorations and looking for a bit of fun. When browsing through some old ‘Enthusiast’ magazines, I came across this photo in the August 1933 issue: The caption reads “ 104.04 miles per hour! Jim Underwood, Los Angeles, established this new stock machine A.M.A. Record with his VLD at Muroc, Cal.”. The background in the photo must be Muroc dry lake, and Jim Underwood would have been a West Coast dealer to get access to this hot machine. The VLD was introduced as a premium priced sport solo bike for the 1933 model year starting August 1932, with the main feature being the new Y-shaped inlet manifold which gave the bike an increase of 20% in horsepower (all above 3500 rpm) to 36 bhp at 4600 rpm. The stock machine was usually quoted as having a top speed of 85 mph, so this one must have had some work done on it, but as Harley provided most of the funding to the A.M.A. we can assume they got away with it. We can see the longer inlet on the new VLD cylinder by the rider’s right knee. The bike has the front mudguard removed and is running on open exhausts, but still has the dynamo, lights, horn, toolbox and rear stand fitted. It is finished in nonstandard paint work, fitted with the recently introduced ride control on the front forks, and has a 1932 style headlamp, so could be a factory prototype put together to see how the new engine performed. Sixty-six years later I thought we should be able to manage 100 mph on a VLD again. We have the advantage of higher octane fuel, better lubricants, and some knowledge of the methods used by Harley tuners such as Tom Sifton in the 1940s. Looking round the garage I found the 1934 frame I traded for a new-old-stock ULH cylinder at the 1998 Davenport show, a set of rebuilt forks that had picked up a ding in the front section being carried to shows and which would be hard to sell, the leaking gas tanks off my ’33 rebuild, a pair of wheels with new but non-matching tyres, a pair of cylinders on maximum oversize, and a pair of high compression heads heavily pitted by apparently spending part of their life at the bottom of the Mississippi river. I had the flywheels rebuilt and sent off for dynamic balancing, told the engineers to mill down the heads as much as they could, had the cylinders bored with a big 0.005” piston clearance and the Sifton gas flow channels put in between the bore and the valves, then put the whole lot together in a pair of 1934 engine cases I’d traded out with a US customer a few years earlier. The VL cams are very conservative, with the same ones used on sidecar and solo bikes, and almost no valve overlap. I found a rough set to be reprofiled and these came back as ‘street/race’ cams with the inlet opening 24 degrees BTDC and closing 54 degrees ABDC and the exhaust opening 54 degrees BBDC and closing 24 degrees ATDC. Lift had been increased to 0.46 inches, about 30% more than standard. When assembling the barrels, I found these had been squared up for boring, so the pistons came essentially right to the top of the bores. The engineers had taken an astonishing 3 mm off the high compression (5.5 to 1) heads so they were down to 107 cc each, which with my oversize swept volume of 1278 cc would give a blistering 7 to 1 compression ratio. A trial fit showed the valves were hitting the heads, so it was out with the grinder to take off some metal to get them to clear. I’d put in hardened exhaust valve seats, so the bike would run on regular unleaded fuel. For engine oil I chose my regular straight 50 grade, with EP80/90 in the loosely rebuilt three speed slider (crash) gearbox. The engine had been rebuilt with racing bearing clearances (0.0012” for the drive side rollers and 0.0015” for the crank pin and piston pin) and spun easily on reassembly. I fitted a 1932 vintage bronze M2 Linkert carb fitted with the 1 1/8 inch venturi from the first 1935 80 cu. inch bikes and, as a vanity touch, two 50 year old second hand Harley spark plugs. The bike started first kick after rebuild, which is always satisfying. Now for the government technical inspection or MOT test! I had left off the front mudguard and rear chain guard, blanked off the generator, skipped the lights and dash panel, and found a set of handlebars without horn or dip buttons. I rigged up a battery/coil ignition system through a kill button, fitted a stock 1934 exhaust, and fitted a safety guard with a mechanical klaxon horn. In a vain attempt to save weight, I had also removed the hand shift lever and gate from the tank, and relied on a ‘jockey shift’ directly onto the big hex nut on top of the gearbox. As usual, the bike did not have a speedometer or brake light, which I knew would be OK for its age. I put it in for its test like this, on the theory that I could then do the minimum to comply with the regulations when it failed. When it passed first time I did not stay to argue but ran the bike over to the registration inspectors, who checked what I knew were a good set of engine case numbers and gave me a title and period registration number. Loose parts to street legal in just a couple of months! I spent June and July putting 300 road miles on the bike, and noted how cool it was running compared with my usual rebuilds to factory specs, and how much midrange pulling power it had. It has the optional extra high gearing with the 25 tooth drive sprocket, so does not run comfortably under about 40 mph in top. The suicide foot clutch and jockey shift makes for relatively quick gear changes, when they are not missed through lack of a shifter gate and wear in the mechanism. Now I joined the VMCC Sprint Section and signed up for the August meeting at Wroughton airfield near Swindon. This gives you up to six runs per class for the one kilometre and quarter mile standing starts, and I was able to enter both ‘Pre-war’ and ‘Street Legal’ Classes. For £50, including one day ACU competition licences, I could therefore have up to 24 blasts down the track. I sent off for a copy of the ACU regulations, bought a Class A crash helmet and a second hand leather racing suit, then booked a dynamometer session to make sure the bike would do its thing on full throttle. I cranked the once through oiling system up to maximum, put fresh oil in the crankcases, advanced the ignition to about 35 degrees BTDC, then lashed the front wheel into a clamp, put the rear one on the dynamometer drum, and straddled the bike to work the controls and hold it steady. The operator crouched down on the right hand side to read the dials and off we went. The bike kicked into life easily and pulled strongly through the gears before developing a major midrange misfire. Oh dear! Maybe it was the plugs so we changed them and tried again. Same misfire, so I reset the timing. No good, so I rechecked the plug gaps and the points gap. Nope, so we checked the fuel, changed the oil and tried again. Sometimes the bike ran well and showed 30 bhp at the back wheel at about 85 mph, but that big misfire had to be the carb and I was running out of time. The two hours booked was soon gone, so I made another appointment and went home with my tail between my legs to strip the carb. I checked the two needles, pushed the cleaning drills through the drilled holes in the body, checked I had the 9/64 inch fuel inlet valve from the 80 cu. inch machines, changed the float, set the fuel level a tad higher, then took the bike back the next day. No way! Still a massive midrange problem, so this time the dynamometer operator came to the left hand side to watch the fuel spray distribution into the carb. What he saw was my combat trousers being sucked into the air cleaner, and our misfire was finally explained. After some judicious application of duct tape to the offending garment, we measured 37 bhp at the rear wheel at 90 mph/4000 rpm and cranked the bike up to 100 mph on the dynamometer, which corresponds to 4600 rpm with 3.72 to 1 overall gearing and 19 x 4.00 tyres. We even had time to try different ignition advance, and tune the carb for fairly rich running (1 ¾ turns out on both needles). So, if the original factory power curves were measured at the crankshaft, and allowing 10-15% transmission loss, I was pulling 15 or maybe 20% extra power with my reprofiled cams, higher compression ratio, and gas flowed barrels. Time for the VMCC Sprint meeting! I took the bike down on a beautiful Saturday in August to Wroughton airfield, where a bunch of older guys were standing round what were obviously well fettled machines. The owner I parked next to had brought three overhead cam Nortons running on methanol, and spent the whole weekend reducing his best elapsed time by 0.01 second. I suspected it would take me a long time to get to that position and I was right. It was a friendly crowd of owners (no spectators allowed), and as the only American bike and the only side-valve present the Harley got plenty of attention. The bike had been given race numbers 33 and 34, so what better start could I have for a VLD? We walked the one mile runway to pick up stones and litter, and I could see the first couple of hundred metres were actually slightly uphill, and a light breeze would be blowing in our faces. Next was the scrutineering: you need a front chain guard, but no rear one is all right. All handlebar levers have to be ball-ended, so a large nut was taped over my front brake lever. Foot clutch and foot rear brake levers, and the rod sticking out of my jockey shift did not cause any objections. However, all bikes must have a throttle return spring and the VL, with piano wire controls, needs one so strong the throttle is hard to keep open. Helmets were inspected as well as racing suits and then we were ready. I wanted to make an early run over the kilometre to check the course, so was one of the first ones up. In sprinting the competitors go one at a time, and once you break the first light beam at the starting line you can go in your own time. This contrasts with drag racing where two riders go against each other and the lights count down to the start. The VL was easy to stage by crossing the first photocell, then after getting the green light to show the course is clear you can crack on the revs and let out the clutch to break the second light beam and start the clock. The VL pulled away strongly, the gear change was made into second and then top, and then I crouched down to complete the course and be clocked for time and speed through the trap at the end of the course. I was holding back somewhat on my first run, but recorded 35 seconds and 80 mph for the kilometre which was a reasonable start. However, shortly afterwards a Douglas drove into the timing gear so that was the end of terminal speeds for the day. I did a couple more runs, fluffing the gear change, then changed the race numbers and competed in the street bike class. Next day we were back with different timing gear for the quarter mile and with a larger number of competitors. It took about 20 minutes pushing your bike in the queue before firing it up a few bikes from the front, then making the run in front of the other riders. I had no problems in staging or pulling away, but missed a lot of gear changes from slop in the shifter and ended up changing straight from first to top. It didn’t make a lot of difference though, and 19 seconds/75 mph was a reasonable first effort. I was getting comprehensively thrashed by the methanol burning Nortons, Velocettes and a twin-engined Triumph dragster in the pre-war class, and by the Hondas and Kawasakis in the Street Legal class. It didn’t matter though as I found out two months later I had won the ‘unlimited’ category twice, which must have consisted of a (very) small entry indeed. Apart from the trophy hunting, the sheer exhilaration of blasting down the track hoping everything holds together is a great feeling, and the friendly welcome from other competitors means first time entrants should not be intimidated. My main problems were sloppy gear change, remedied by fitting a new-old-stock shifter tower I picked up the following month at Davenport; expensive noises on the overrun, which turned out to be the rear exhaust valve touching the head and which was fixed with a 1 mm shim under the cylinders; and the massive throttle return spring which I’ll try to leave off in future. While the cylinders were off I had the inlet ports and manifold opened out 0.050” to improve breathing, changed the gear oil for 5W/50 engine oil, and replaced the engine oil with 20W/50 Harley-Davidson oil. I also weighed the bike on the bathroom scales: 98 kg on the front wheel and 104 kg on the back for a total of 202 kg. This is 38 kg less than the standard weight, and probably 140 kg less than a modern Harley, explaining why the VL can more than hold its own in modern traffic. However, being built like a Victorian bridge the VL was probably about twice the weight of other sprinters, and the out of condition 90 kg (suited) rider probably did not help either. For this season we saw 100 mph on the dynamometer but not on the track, so for next season it’s open exhaust pipes, fit the ride control as well as the steering damper to steady the front end, take off that throttle return spring, and perhaps find a younger and lighter rider less aware of his own mortality. Until then, I look back with increased respect to those 1933 throttle snappers scorching across the California sands. 2002 Sprinter update I never did fit the open exhausts, as it’s nice to keep the bike (just) street legal. First I put on a prototype speedway silencer, worth another horsepower or so, and then a specially made larger diameter straight through item. The steel front brake lever was replaced by a ball end aluminium one to meet safety regulations, and the air intake was reversed to produce a 1930s ram-air effect at speed. The rear cylinder head cracked after the first season, and the front after the second, so both have been replaced with about 6 to 1 compression ratio heads. The inlet manifold and inlet stubs have been opened out, to the extent that I busted the rear cylinder tightening up the manifold nuts (Oops!), so found another well used one and bored it to suit. The gearbox jumped out of top gear on the overrun at the end of the first season, which was due to rounded shifter dogs on the slider gear. The gearbox was rebuilt, and checked out again when the worn out clutch linings were replaced after two seasons. The bike is now pulling about 40 bhp at the rear wheel. There are no more kilometer sprints in the UK that I can find, and the quarter miles are getting rarer. A one eighth mile run (220 yds/200 metres) is not much fun on a heavy bike. So the gearing has come down from a 25 tooth engine sprocket to 23 and then 22. This season I fitted cadmium plated rims and Avon race tyres with a slightly lower profile, thus reducing the gearing again. In my first season my best result was 19.0 seconds/75 mph for the quarter mile, and this year I managed 16.6 seconds/80 mph on a bike that is pulling more strongly and better geared for the event. Next season I think one more tooth off the drive sprocket will be enough, and I can save weight by removing the seat post assembly, putting on the aluminium cylinder heads I’m having recast from a pair of 1935 prototypes, and installing that lightened 80 cubic inch flywheel assembly I’ve put together. If I can keep improving at 0.6 seconds per season I’ll be competitive in a couple more years... In the meantime, check out these Harley race cams I’m putting in a 1933 VLD pursuit bike I’m building: These cams are listed as 80610-30 and 80611-30 in ‘Special Parts Available for Competition Motorcycles’, a Harley supplement dated 1 May 1940. Connie Schlemmer told me that Harley practice before 1940 was to fit special cams only on the inlet valves, which is why there are only two in the set. They are also called ‘hook cams’ and have no more lift than standard, but plenty of duration. I’m looking forward to seeing how they perform next spring when my ’33 should be finished. Judging Peter Reeves is our European Chapter Deputy Judge, and we put on our first demonstration of AMCA judging at the Den Haag rally 10/11 August. Peter and I also gave a demo at the Harley Davidson Riders Club of Great Britain annual rally later in August, and judged at the AMCA Eustis, Davenport and Chesapeake meets in the US. Peter submitted the results of our European judging to Kevin Valentine, National Deputy Judge, and was told we are following the system correctly. For 2003 we are trying to follow up the interest this year, and judge as often as possible until we can have our own National Meets. We can have judging sessions at Skagen (DK) in late May, den Haag (NL) in August and Mannheim (D) in October, with additional outings at Peter’s place near London (GB) in June, with Guenter in Dessau (D) in September, and near me in Dover (GB) anytime, depending on the level of interest. If you are interested, have good knowledge of a particular make/model, or would like your bike judged, please contact Peter (peter.reeves@virgin.net or +44.1344.842829) or myself. We shall try to publish a more detailed timetable early next year. Any original paint bikes would be particularly welcome. Peter holds copies of the AMCA judging handbooks and judging form, as do the Country Representatives. Please contact them or Peter as necessary for more information. For Sale and Wanted FOR SALE Magdyno, boxed new old stock, Lucas Model MN2E, fits Scott ca. 1937-52. Contact Leif Joensson, leif.joensson@mbox302.swipnet.se. WANTED Engine for 1918 Cleveland two-stroke. Contact Ulf Boehme, UlfHD@gmx.net. WANTED Abingdon engine/transmission or complete bike. Contact Steve Slocombe, steve@vlheaven.com. WANTED for 1922 Indian Chief, brake backing plate and Splitdorf generator (with long shaft). Contact Guenter Russek, grussek@aol.com. WANTED. Sidecar frame and possibly body also for 1930 VL. Contact Erik Birch at ebirch@get2net.dk. Board Minutes Minutes of the AMCA Europe Chapter meeting, Mannheim, 12 October 2002 Present: Steve Slocombe (President), Guenter Russek (Vice President), Kjell-Ake Carlsson, Lars Wredenberg, Juergen Weber, Manfred Schlottau, Benito Battilani, Pasquale Mesto, Geoff Skilton, Kevin Hellowell. Apologies: Peter Reeves (Deputy Judge - judging in USA). Guests: Bob Lundquist (Blackhawk Chapter), Bill Morris (Cherokee Chapter). The meeting started at 18.15 h at the AMCA Stand, which Guenter had arranged and donated. 1. President's report. Steve elaborated on the report circulated earlier by E-mail. This was against the objectives set for 2002: - Recruit new members. We have added about a dozen, or 10% so far this year. Well done all! - Re-energise existing AMCA members in Europe. We have had volunteers for Country Representatives in most countries, and discovered half a dozen serious collectors with a number of rare and interesting machines of museum quality. Our Web site at www.amcaeurope.org has taken shape thanks to the efforts of Eric Bourrague. About half of our membership has E-mail. - Start a full program of Chapter activities. We held our first meet jointly with the Den Haag Old Timers Club 10/11 August, and Bob McClean, then AMCA President, and noted collector and expert Bruce Linsday travelled from the US to join us. We gave judging demonstrations at this and the UK Harley Riders Club meets. Our first Chapter newsletter was produced, and received favourable comments from US Chapters and Directors. - Maintain and enhance contacts with the US organisation. We have spoken to the AMCA Directors after their Eustis and Davenport board meetings this year, and made contact with Peter Gagan, the new President. Our Chapter has received coverage in the AMCA magazine and calendar out of proportion to its size. All AMCA administration forms have been returned in time. We provided judges at the Davenport, Eustis, and Jefferson AMCA meets. 2. Election of officers. Steve Slocombe, Guenter Russek and Peter Reeves were all willing to continue for another year. There were no other nominations so these officers were reelected. We still do not have a treasurer or secretary, and may not need them if we can continue to find sponsorship for the newsletter. Otherwise we will need to set a subscription of about 10 euros per year, and elect a Treasurer to look after the finances of the Chapter. 3. Future programme. VL Heaven has agreed to sponsor our November newsletter. The April one cost 600 euros in printing and mailing, with the next estimated at 500 euros. Sponsors for 2003 are invited. Our road run is the Skagen to Copenhagen run in Denmark 29-31 May, and the Dutch Old Timers Rally again 8-10 August. 4. Any other business. Newsletter. There was discussion on this, as it is currently the only expenditure by the Chapter. For 2002 it has been sponsored by VL Heaven, and alternatives for 2003 were discussed. These included: - charging a 10 euros per annum subscription, essentially to cover printing and mailing of the newsletter. This would probably require a Chapter Treasurer. - distributing the newsletter by E-mail without charge. - a combination of the above methods: charging for hard copies of the newsletter, or leaving out those without Internet access. Steve will put these alternatives to the membership in the final newsletter of 2002, having checked with the AMCA that the extra $20 per annum paid by European members truly represents additional mailing costs. Italian Harley celebrations. Sr. Battilani introduced himself as President of the motorcycle section of FIVA, the International Federation of Antique Vehicles. There will be a rally in Lucca (Tuscany) at end-May 2003 to celebrate the centenary of Harley-Davidson, and AMCA Europe members were asked for their support. The mid-May sidecar centenary rally, held by ASI (the Italian Antique Vehicle Club) will also be important. Milwaukee/Davenport. Bob Lundquist described the 2003 clash between the big AMCA Davenport show Labor Day weekend (first in September) and the Harley-Davidson centenary celebration in Milwaukee at the same time. As the two locations are about 4 hours drive apart, many planned to be in Davenport Thursday/Friday at the swap meet and Milwaukee Saturday/Sunday for the parades. Accommodation has long been booked out in Milwaukee, but Bob offered to find space for any European Chapter member wishing to attend. His E-mail is hottoppers@aol.com and phone +1.414.282.5660 and fax 5858. Bill’s Old Bike Barn. Bill Morris invited European Chapter members to his private Museum, next to his shop at 7145 Columbia Boulevard, Bloomsburg PA and close to the April AMCA Oley meet. Steve has visited this impressive collection and can recommend it. Phone is +1.570.759.7030 and E-mail bikebarn@uplink.net or billm@ptd.net. Next Meeting. Guenter recommended the next meeting be held Friday 10 October 2003, and he would again donate the AMCA Stand. Steve then distributed the AMCA badges etc. kindly left by Bob McClean at our Den Haag meeting and the meeting closed at 19.10 hours.