After the war Bayley engaged his friend Len Cole to look after the bike. As a leading light in both sprinting and Douglas twins, Len’s stewardship was an inspired choice. As the years passed, he simply made his long-obsolete motorcycle go ever quicker.
As well as tuning and preparing the bike, Len also engaged people to ride it. The list of those who swung a leg over the saddle is a who’s who of star riders. Howard German, Barry Briggs, Alf Hagon, Bert Harkins, Doc Willoughby, George Brown and Denis ‘Jenks’ Jenkinson are among them.
For a long time Phil Manzano became the tuner/rider. Ownership had passed to Dr Joe’s son, (also Doctor) Tony Bayley. Chris Illman rode it at Brighton on September 10 this year and by the end of the afternoon he had secured a class award to add to the long and illustrious history of this motorcycle.
