A regular part of the Carole Nash Classic Motorcycle Mechanics Show is our Classic Dirt Bike area.
Words and pics: Tim Britton
As the British industry stuttered to a halt, there were still those who had faith in its products and the lads at NVT, for instance, felt using a Starmaker engine in a superb chassis would produce a bike of note. It did actually, and the model was popular but ultimately too late, Graham Nock’s bike did some winning in 2019, winning the Best Scrambler award.
WE only managed to squeeze one photo from our part of the Carole Nash Classic Motorcycle Mechanics Show into the last issue due to print deadlines, so here’s a reminder of what went on in October.
Every time I see a nice shiny BSA I want to pull mine apart and do some work to it… would I get it as good as this? I doubt it.Life not exciting enough? Need a challenge? Need to make your heart pound? Try sidecar sport.
There were lots of things at the show to pique the interest of the classic dirt bike enthusiast and with the weather being fairly grotty, thankfully for us the best of the exhibits were inside the halls.
Once Badger Goss had won his British championship on a Husqvarna, he was offered the chance to become Mr Maico and he is responsible for popularising the German make in the UK. We know BSA’s Bantam was a lightweight, but surely this is taking things a little too far, and perhaps an engine is really needed?
That’s not to say there was nothing outside in the autojumble area of course, and it seemed possible that any number of projects could be had for not a huge amount of cash.
BSA were riding high in the off-road world in the Sixties – not only did they have a couple of world championship MX titles, thanks to Jeff Smith, but Arthur and Alan Lampkin took top spots in the Scottish Six Days Trial. This B40 looked like a good starting point for a dirt bike project.
By the time you’re reading this though, the show will be just a memory and our show the Hagon-sponsored Classic Dirt Bike Show at Telford, held over February 15-16, will be almost upon us.
