This page shows a gallery of some of my current bike collection. Not suprisingly, the emphasis is on both SOHC Norton's and our two Vincent's, but there are a smattering of other bikes as well.
To look at a bigger version of each photograph, click on the photo. If you are going to use these photographs in any other website pages, please credit my name and provide a link to this website, thank you.

I also have a couple of other SOHC Cammy build projects for the future:

- 1930's/40's Trials - open frame 500T style with scolloped hub and some 500T parts. Looking for 500T fork yokes and 500T tank. Going to fit SOHC engine in it I think

- Also looking for 1950-53 magnesium front conical wheel and brake plate

As I update this article in late 2018, early 2019 - this bike is still a bit of question mark as to if it will come off ok?. I did not really intend on building this chassis until a long time in the future, as the starting point for it was a non-Manx Gardengate chassis I had put aside some years ago for a future build.

However, circumstances change - and as I realise I am not getting any younger - rather than swapping out the race engine in my 1938 Racing Inter (see top of this page), to test an engine using our M30 magnesium crankcases - I would rather just build it into a complete bike with many of the parts I had reserved for a pre-war 39 Manx Specifiction older, As many of my customers know - whom have been enquiring, I dont mind admitting that getting the engine together has taken much longer to get complete than I originally expected - simply because of other commitments and keeping the other parts in our catalog in stock.

That said, as update this article in early 2019, work is progressing and I have most of the parts needed to build this bike up reasonably quickly (other than petrol tank that is wonderfully original - but does need total restoration. See below photos of some of the parts that form this bike - which I am hoping will be Gardengate 1938-39 spec:

One of my favourite and most fortunate E-Bay purchases!
This is a genuine and original plunger Manx/M30 rear wheel, still on the original spokes and ultra rare Borrini/Rudge 20" Alloy rear wheel rim.
I have spent many years looking for these rare 20" allioy rims, which were the first alloy rims fitted to Manx Norton rear wheels in the late 1930's to late 1940's - and only have one other, and that I fitted to my Vincent Black Lightning replica.

Look at the bottom of the rim in the main photo and you will see these flanged rims (which proceeded all Borrini flanged alloy rims) have a plate welded over them to give them strength. Not also the other giveaway this was from a Manx/M30 spec motorcycle - the Plunger Norton rear hub (which on first sight looks relatively standard plunger Gardengate) has an unmachined timing side flange - while normal hubs are machined and have two slots in them to fit a Speedo drive. Therefore this is very early Manx Norton, probably pre-war . . . and the perfect rear wheel to fit to my 1938-39 spec Gardengate M30

This Magnesium cambox is another one of the items I purchased from Arthur Moore in Australia many years ago. It came from an original pre-war M30 (Manx Specification) 500 racing engine - see photo below.
I could not afford the complete engine + shipping at the time (having already bought many other parts) and had earmarked another similar cambox, along with the green Manx chassis and many other parts. However, when Arthur checked this cambox as part of selling the engine, he realised one of the rear legs had cracked and asked if he could swap it out for the new Australian buyer for the cambox earmarked for myself - but Arthur was kind enough to include a spare/bare cambox shell into the deal . . . knowing that pre-war Norton magnesium often will just not weld. For me this was fine - knowing I was receiving a very original untouched cambox, to swap out the shell . . . and if it did weld, then I might end up with a spare shell.
However, he did tell me that it was definitely untouched and original pre-war, and that when his family had purchased this engine many years ago - the previous owner had been told it may have been a 'Works' engine. I personally would doubt this - I dont know what the original engine number was, but know they were using DOHC on Works bikes by 1937'ish- but you never know . . .

Same Brackley meeting and I took two bikes - the 38 Racing Inter and here, bump starting the 55 DOHC Manx with the help of fellow cammy Norton enthusiast Neil Ford.
I did not have the Solo bike rollers then, and trying to bump start a race Norton on high first gear in a side road with members of public and their children just walking around you was a bit scary. At least they got out of the way and soon as the bike fired up and they heard what an open Megga sounds like!

I did a short article on the meeting at the time, click on the link:

Brackley Bike Festival 2011

For anyone not familiar - Brooklands is the oldest (and arguably most famous) purpose built race track in the UK, being built and opened in approximately 1909. It was most well known for its amazing banking with huge behemoth racings cars running round it at amazing speeds for those pre WWII days.. It closed to racing at the outbreak of the second world war (1939) - never to repopen to competitive racin, its track being partly built over for the war effort.

Now, very much like a time capsule, parts of this historic track, set in the urban sprawl of Weybridge Surrey still exist in dilapadated and overgrown state - which just adds to the amazing atmosphere. This photograph taken in 2008 shows how the original concrete banking looks today

The next set of photos are of my 1948 Vincent Black Lightning Replica, most of these been taken shortly after completion in Summer 2014
I first purchased this bike wasy back in 1988 as an incomplete basket case, but it came from a well known and respected Vincent family and all the main castings and parts were in excellent condition. The basis for the bike is a very early 1948 Rapide (some Vincent people feel the early crankcases such as this one were the best quality - these ones certainly looked excellent and were one of the main reasons I purchased the bike).

I have subsequently found out that the engine was possibly from the Rapide that came 2nd in the 1948 Clubmans TT, ridden by an old friend of mine, the late Phil Heath. I wish I had known this while he was alive as I would have loved to ask him about the ride and if he had any photos of the bike - I have subequently scanned the web and been unable to find anything (if anyone has a photo - I would dearly like to see it).

The intention was always to build the bike to as close to original Black Lighntning 1948 specification as possible (as per the 48 Catalog picture), however, in the early days I built the wheels over more modern 18" alloy rims and big Classic Racing race rubber - with a view to racing it in VMCC pre-58 Unlimited class. Since then my views have changed and more recently I rebuilt the wheels to the original rims size - 21" front and 20" rear, using a rare original 20" rear alloy rim.
I am pleased to say the final build has come out as close to original Lightning spec for that year as I am likely to be able to achieve - with quite a few genuine Lightning parts, or new parts to Lightning spec
Inside the engine it is fully rebuilt to Black Lightning specification - rebuilt and balanced Maugan crank and racing Big End ( with the inclusion of more modern updates like Carillo conrods) 32mm tract flowed cylinder heads, lightened steel idler wheel/cam wheels, 2A cams, slipper pistons, Lightning clutch etc.
The machine took over 20 years to build - mainly because other builds and racing got in the wasy, but I got it finished back in 2014 at long last. Since that time - due to other projects and the business getting in the way I have not had chance to run it properly - but sure I will when I get more time . .. it is fully built and waiting for an airingl.
By the way, this was the subject matter for the original Racing Vincent website, and all of those original articles are still available by going to my 'Articles' web page.
As a final point - I am looking for a Steib S501 (or possibly even S351) sidecar to purchase - irrespective of condition, to go with this bike. i was thinking - with a sidecar I could probably fit an electric starter and put the battery in the boot of the sidecar - could be a very sporty and unusual road bike!

As always - 'click' on the photo for a larger version - and some of these are big enough to be used as screensavers or wallpaper

Another Vincent in our family is a very original Comet that my father bought way back in 1960, and in many ways was the catalyst for my enthusiasm for this marque.
I can remember from the very earliset age listening for the distinctive crack of the Comet exhaust, which signified my father coming home from work - so this model is very close to my heart. Although always considered the 'poor relation' to the Vincent Twin, the Comet (and rarer Meteor) was actually a very nice bike in its own right, and no slouch either. I well remember working on this bike with my father as a child and can remember how easily it could be taken apart to work on. I also remember my father constantly struggling with the Miller electrics - and eventually resigning himself to fitting a common mod - a Lucas rectifier!
When I restored the bike in @2013-2014 I found myself retrospectively putting back the shitty Miller electrics, which I am sure would have made my dad laugh. well, at least they look like the original electrics - but the original Miller regulator box hides a modern solid state unit, the dynamo has been treated to new windings and brushes and rear light and dipswitch are modern replica's - as the originals were too broken and tired. It is now in regular 'Sunday ride in the country' use, and when sat in my garage makes an interesting comparison with the Honda CBR600RR sat next to it!

The final Vincent is this long term build of a Vincent Grey Flash - the road racing version of a Vincent Comet, of which Vincent's only made approximately 20 machines between 1949 - 50, but many replica's have been put together since!
As a teenager I often pestered my father, asking if we could consider building one, using up a number of spares he had - including UFM, engine, forks etc. Although we talked about it a few times, we never got round to doing it - but it never stopped my desire to one day build one of these rare Vinnie racer's with the unusual grey paint finish. Particularly the main parts I did not have was a rear swinging arm (RFM) and the racing Albion box particular to this model.

Skipping forward many years, although genuine Grey Flash or (or any original racing Vincent parts) have been few and far between, and because this has been a 'back burner' project - with what little cash I have had always reserved for s always another, more urgent project, it has been slow going. But thanks to a 'growing spurt' in the md 2000'teens, I now have the majority of the parts I need - including a nice quality Comet RFM and that all important Albion racing gearbox.
I now just need some time to start on the 'build' of this interesting project proper - whcih no doubt will get covered in a future article. The intention will be to build it close to original spec and look - but i will probably use the 18" alloy rims and competition chewy rubber I originally bought for the Lighting wheels, so I can use it for the odd twisty sprint. Below are some photographs of parts accumulated, and a link to an article I wrote back in

Some other items I have reserved for the Grey Flash Rep. on the left is possibly the most exotic - this is a special headstock recently manufactured, which has different geometry from the standard Vincent Girdraulics. I am told it will transform the handling of a Vincent. I have a spare standard set of Girdraulics, which will have the alloy blades milled on the inside - as per original Grey Flash models, but will also fit this item.
On the right is a Grey Flash inlet manifold fitted to a long neck Amal RN carb, which is almost certainly the carb I will build onto the bike at the start. However, in the middle I also have a Grey Flash inlet manifold to fit the hard to find 32mm clip fitting RN/GP carbs . . . should one come my way!