Remembering Fritz
As a long term CBG reader I congratulate the team on the new look. The two race photos are superb and just right for framing however I notice there is an obvious mistake in the spelling of the late, great Fritz Scheidegger's name but what happened to passenger John Robinson's recognition?
Looking more like a school teacher than a world champion sidecar racer, Scheidegger was a gentleman and always found time for fans, of which I'm pleased to say I was one. His death on 26 March 1967... the day after my wedding day... was a great loss to the sport.
John Dotvson.
Via email
Ed Note - A typographical error on Fritz's name and just an error in omitting John Robinson. A terrific team, fantastic outfit, nice guys, indeed a great loss. Does anyone know what became of John Robinson?
That first Norton twin
Here's a photo of the first Norton parallel twin, designed by Jackie Moore, who was assistant to Norton chief designer Edgar Franks. I got the image from Bob Collier, who worked at Bracebridge Street from 1949 until the factory closure in 1962. He's a good story - must write that up some time. (Yes, you must - Ed)
Bob told me that Jackie drew up a parallel twin because Norton could see the success of Triumph's Speed Twin and Tiger 100 and needed an answer. It had two camshafts, as Anna Dixon's photo shows (November issue) but Bob didn't know what had happened to the bike. As he was the man who saved a lot of rarities destined for the scrap man when the Birmingham factory closed, which you can see at Sammy Miller's Museum, he would have known if it was still about when the old place closed.
Bob said that the design was set aside when Bert Hopwood joined the company and drew up what became the Model 7 Dominator power unit, using a single camshaft behind the centre line, as he'd done with the A7 and its successors at BSA. I spoke to Jackie Moore on the phone, but he was retired and didn't want to talk about his Norton days.
Jim Reynolds Cleobury Mortimer Shropshire
My pal passed on the October issue as I am a Velocette fan. I bought my beige 1956 MSS Velocette when it was maybe three months old, shop soiled, ran it for seven years and covered 96,000 miles before marriage forced me to sell it for £40. I replaced the valve guides at 27,000 miles, rebore at 40,000 and a complete strip at 60,000 with no faults found. I always keep a log of all my machines. I was working at Aston Martin, in Newport Pagnell, and living in London, so was doing 120 miles a day, plus more at weekends. It was a fantastic bike, not ever so fast, maybe 85mph but would outsteer any Triumph or Norton. With regard to the box-out 'What goes wrong'
1. I never had any thread problems.
2. No clutch problems, well designed, smooth and indestructible.
3. Never smoked, no piston slap, in fact when it was new I could hear the contact points clicking when at tickover.
4. Starting procedure - no problem simply turn engine to tdc, use lifter to edge just over, ignition half way, no throttle, just use the tickover screw which opens the carb slightly, it would then start even when seated in the saddle.
] Stanton Chipping Ongar Essex
That Mclntyre Matchless
Really enjoyed the new look CBG, great colour pictures of Hailwood and Scheidegger. It was full of interesting reads and super clear pictures on nice glossy paper. I enjoyed the Mclntyre Matchless story but found it puzzling. The writer talks as if the 1962 Mclntyre Special was built to take the 7R AJS engine and goes on to say that this was the version that Findlay purchased in 1962/3.
I always thought that the 1962 Mclntyre Special was fitted with a G50 from the start and was built specifically to race in the 500cc class on UK short circuits. Early that season Mclntyre scored 500cc wins at Mallory, Oulton and Beveridge Parks riding his Matchless Special, something the writer fails to mention.
Another gripe. This story has been covered many times over the years in different magazines but each time there's never been a picture of Bob riding this bike in 1962, which is the same again in this article. Surely there must be a good picture of him riding this machine in Mortons Archive, I have a couple but not of very good quality.
To end on a sad note. Bob was not riding the Special when he was killed, he was on a stock Manx Norton.
The last time the genuine Mclntyre Matchless was ridden in 1962 was at the Mclntyre Remembrance Meeting, at Oulton Park, on 6 October. At this meeting his friend Alastair King rode Bob's last special on a tribute lap.
Terry Birch Bulwell Nottingham.
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