Motorcycling And Motorcyle Racing In East Yorkshire

Page 1, A Look At The Early Years

I was conditioned as a boy, to motorcycles of the time.
My father had a 600cc flat-twin Douglas when he was mate on the Hull Lord Line trawlers.
It was one of the first bikes to be fitted with a "Twistgrip" throttle control. Most bikes then had a lever style throttle as well as a hand gear change, accetylene lamps and manual oil-pumps. The twistgrip made quick gearchanges easy.
He took my mother all over the area before they were married, once ripping her shoe to pieces in the rear wheel. After my parents wre married in 1935, he gave his best friend the machine, thinking that, as a husband, he would not use it again
His friend crashed it,and my father regretted giving the bike away. Much later on, during the 1950's, when my elder brother bought a 500cc Norton ES2 from Jordans Of Hull, he became very interested in motorcycles again, possibly never loosing his interest for riding.
In those days, most riders wore flat caps, and "Crash Helmets" were not worn at all. Later on these became more popular, and made compulsory eqipment.

The legal requirement forced all riders to wear them. I still remember my first introduction to that old Norton, when at around eight years old, I saw the shiny chrome-plated exhaust, and reached out to grab it, recieving a nasty burn in the process.
As a younster, my older brother, and his motorcycling friends, were my envy.
The "gang" often rode to places such as Blackpool,or Brighton, sometimes staying on the beach for a quick night's sleep, before riding home the next day. I used to wish I could go too, and could scarcely wait till I could ride.

I rode all sorts of bikes, and even drove petrol tankers, whilst still at school and under age. These were petrol engined Bedford and deisel engined Thames Trader trucks, often full of fuel that belonged to Major's Petrolium, in Newark.Kids eh!
I remember a Majors'driver called Derek, who had a BSA Rocket Gold Star, who let me ride pillion through Newark at great speed. Speed cameras make sure that you cannot do that anymore, although at that time there were very few vehicles on our roads
I remember riding in the sidecar of my brother's 350cc AJS coming home from stamford bridge, and looking at the headlamp beams of other vehicles flashing accross the sky like searchlights. This is now not possible with so many vehicles on our roads.
As my brother graduated to University and moved away, he offered the Norton to my father, who did not need any persuading.He always lisned to the BBC radio as riders such as Geoff Duke, and Derek Minter rode their Nortons around the Isle Of Mann circuit during the Manx TT Races.
He took over, and started overhauling the bike, as he wanted it to be in a true Norton Of Bracebridge Street condition.
I helped with the engine and suspension whilst still at school. The cylinder-head was especially made to use the wartime "pool" petrol, having a recessed spark-plug to avoid pre-ignition.
I travelled many miles on the sprung pillion seat of that Norton, after my brother bought it, from Jordan's Of Hull.

I also remember many fast, powerfull machines that my brother used when visiting us in Hull. He borrowed bikes such as Rocket Gold Star's and Triumph Speed Twin's etc. to cover the distance from London as quickly as possible, but it was the Norton machines that seemed to give more interest.
My Aunt Blanche rode a 500cc BSA combination, carrying washing machines to householders in the Hull area. This too was an inspiration to me to own a motorbike.
At sixteen, I bought a small 250cc BSA C11G, which is all I could afford, and travelled many miles on it before buying first, a 50cc Itom, a 250cc Matchless, then a 500cc Norton International, which was really a hybrid with an AMC frame.

-Although the engine was over 30yrs old -- Could that old bike GO!!, and I soon learned what it was like to slide off on a bend, when it got a bit slippery.
I had three BSA Gold Star machines too, before getting quite attracted to motor cycle racing when visiting Scarbro's Olivers Mount "Cock Of The North" race meeting.

There I saw John Cooper from Derby, win the 500cc final, and was determined to join him.

Motorcycling And Racing -Page 2


Page Updated 09-November-2008