Manky Monkey Motors

The Sunbeam MCC have been organising the Pioneer Run since 1930, and 2011 is the 73rd running of an event that it is widely recognised as the premier event for pre-1915 veteran motorcycles.

The run starts at Tattenham Corner (Tattenham Corner is where the horse racing is held) in Epsom, Surrey, and finishes at Madeira Drive on the Brighton seafront.

If you fancy seeing around 350 pre 1915 veteran motorcycles (which includes tricycles) out on the Queen's highway, the first machines set off at 07:00 on Sunday 20th March 2011.

Bikes are despatched in batches of half a dozen or so at 4 minute intervals, and assemble on Madeira Drive Brighton upon completion of the run.

Many of these bikes are leather belt-drive, have V block braking (if you're lucky the front wheel will have a brake too!! :o), total-loss hand-pumped oil systems, some don't have a clutch (which makes pulling away and stop interesting! ???) and tyres the size of a modern mountain bike, so if you follow the route towards Brighton, please give these wondrous machines plenty of braking/manoeuvring space as they're a real challenge to ride.

That's not say technology wasn't rearing its head all those years ago tho, bikes can be seen that have in-line liquid cooled 4 cylinder engines or multiple valve porting.

I've been watching this event off and on for while now and try and get to the start before  8 am as it gives a really good feel for the event. The first time I saw a Pioneer Run was the 49th running, and each time I'm amazed.

http://sunbeam-mcc.co.uk/

I went to this year's event with Chevy Rick and thoroughly enjoyed it.  I would definitely recommend a trip out to this especially if you can be at the start to see some of the bikes off and then get to Brighton to see the riders' relief and exhilaration at making it to the finish.

My comments on 2010's event (http://www.mankymonkeymotors.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=7409.msg89911#msg89911)

Here's a couple of pics from the 2010 run, bright n early at Epsom.

When the site's back to full speed, there's a gallery of shots too.

First shot is my friend Bob starting his FN by spinning the back wheel by hand. The bike is an in-line 4 and shaft drive.

And for all you three-wheeler fans.... maybe some inspiration??

and just to prove we were foolish enough to get there early................

That pierced metal certainly looks better than the awful chequerplate that's on so many!

That's a cool rally trike.  :)
Presumably front wheel drive? So how's it driven? And is that a disc brake, (or a drive cog)?

Disc brake or sprocket? In 1903?

'tis a sprocket to take the chain drive from that monster of an engine...... 450cc 2-stroke developing (wait for it!) 3 ½ HP on a 1903 German Cyclonette made by Cyklon company

http://www.motorbase.com/manufacturer/by-id/2099389115

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9HqJ3j-owZw


Bearing in mind the Cyclonette was built in 1903, and disc brakes really came of age in 1953 when good old Jaguar won Le Mans (jolly well done chaps!), the suggestion of it being a disc brake is nearer to the mark than some of us might have thought! So it looks like I'm gonna hi-jack my own thread and go off on one about disc brakes (I'm a bloke, feeling sorry for myself with a yukky cold and connected to interweb, what do you expect?.................)


(some of the following courtesy of Wikipedia & how Stuff Works, some from a couple of my grey cells)

Disc-style brakes development and use began back in the 1890s with the first calliper-type auto-mobile disc brake being patented by Frederick Lanchester in his Birmingham factory (I say, another Brit invention!) in 1902, and used successfully on Lanchester cars. The problem was there was a limited choice of metals which meant  he had to use copper as the braking 'pad', which wore quickly on the dusty roads and made the disc brake system non-viable.

In 1953 Jaguar fitted disc brakes developed by Dunlop to the C-Type (C for competition) and it won Le Man - reliable modern disc brakes were with us.

Just to show I'm really sad, disc brakes were fitted to the 1952 BRM (British Racing Motors) supercharged V16, only then to find the World Championship regulations had changed, meaning it could only race in Formula Libre and 'home' events.

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/jaguar-c-type5.htm

If you made it through that lot, well done. Now where's my night nurse???

I wonder if this design was the inspiration all those trike builders needed that like to use Dexion & chequer plate in their build  ???

 ;D

In the 1920s Douglas built the first disc brakes, and had a Royal Warrant for the supply of motorcycles to the Princes, Albert and Henry.

Hi Tony out of interest did you know Douglas Motorcycles of Bristol used disc brakes on their competition RA models in 1923 , at Beaulieu Motor Museum there was one of these machines on display in the motorcycle section.

Hello Rick,

The Douglas brake was a new one on me!

Got two chums restoring a brace of EWs (hello Scoot & Colin), and they rave about the Douglas website, so I went looking about the brake.

Here's a link

http://www.douglasmotorcycles.net/index.php/topic,1111.0.html

Piccie from the Douglas Website, posted by thier Global Moderator.

Having been a member of the LDMCC for many years this is the reason I happened to of noticed this at Beaulieu, some 20 years ago I had a barn find, a 1930 T6 Douglas one owner from new that had just been laid up in fairly restorable condition, the farm had changed hands over the years and the old brown log book had been passed on to the new farm owners (lucky for me). All this came about when I was selling a Chevy Camaro the guy that bought the car told me of the bikes where abouts so without hesitation I went straight after it and still own the bike now.

20 March 2011

The 73rd running of the Sunbeam Motorcycle Club's “Pioneer Run” started a bit chilly (in the saddle at 06.30 heading for Epsom), but it was dry which was the main thing.

Myself & Dslam went on 'modern' two-wheelers this year, so tucked them out of the way and wandered round the Tattenham Corner with a perpetual amazement at the machinery that had turned out for the run to Brighton.
The programme showed an entry of 371 machines, the oldest being made in 1896 (the Leon Bollee tricycles, in fact there were 5 of these this year), and the newest (newest!!!??) being made in 1914....... (those good at maths will have worked out that in 3 years time, all the bikes will be 100 years old or more... now that's impressive!)

We watched the first machine set off, perused the paddock, found our mates who getting ready for the off on their ancient two-wheeled engineering wonders, perused some more (and some more) and then headed south for a stop to grab a nice warm cup of tea in Handcross, where spent even more time just watching the bikes chug and splutter their way towards the seaside.
On the ride from Epsom to Handcross, there was the odd ( ???) 'old' vehicle parked up at the side of the road just kinda showing (maybe) solidarity with the old bikes.... these included a military Scout Car, a vintage tractor and a Ford Pop (ala Manky's).

A friend of ours, Steve, is a member of the Vincent Owners Club and invited us to the Vincent BBQ /chin wag on the way south, so (not wanting to appear rude!!) we hid the bikes down the road and wandered in. We were made very welcome (thanks guys!), met some other folk we knew, took some more photos, drooled at the bikes (about 40 of 'em), had a burger, chatted some more and made our excuses as it would soon be opening time for the W Sussex ale houses, and more sustenance was needed, so off to a friendly tucked-away pub and roast dinner.

I doesn't get much better.......

Called in to Newlands on the way back for a coffee, and then back home to watch the first round of this year's MotoGP.


Wouldn't be at all surpised if JayJay & Chevy Rick post some more stuff - hope you had a good days chaps ;)

A 1906 James H Heath (that's the bike, not the rider....)

Check out all the control levers on the tank.

These bikes often have levers etc for: throttle, air mixture, ignition control (if you're lucky), plus some form of manual control for oil feed pressure (as in you have to use a plunger to get oil pressure whick will allow the oill from the tank to drip into the engine) and oil feed drip rate.

Lighting would be coutesy of acetylene, which is produced on the bike.

Humber Olympia of 1904.

The big copper pipe that's white on the left side is the inlet manifold starting to ice up, even before stting off.

FN of 1913, 4 cylinder shaft drive, and oh so smooth.

Lovely engine, the v-twin Moto Reve from 1906.

I beleive its a Swiss made machine, and the name means "dream motorcycle"

The Flying Merkel, what a brillaint name for a bike. This one's from 1913.
They were made in Milwaukee, with the last one being made in 1917.

How's this for unusual finning...... a 1913 James, this one was hooked up to a sidecar.

Can't say I've seen one of these before, a Vincent single in a BSA (A7/A10?) frame.

mmmm, Egli Vincent at the Vincent BBQ.

More Vincents.................

A 'cafe' HRD Vincent. I think 1930s.

Looks the biz, me want to have a go on pleeeeeze  ;D

The 'cafe' HRD Vincent again.

The poodle's privates or what! ;D

Great photos -& words, as always Tony.
Fantastic to see the oldies still out & about -on their bikes.
Sounds like a most genteel way to spend a Sunday.

And it isn't just the oldies having fun.....

This shot taken at Handcross (about half way to Brighton)

Photos received by email & safely stored Tony. Thanks.  ;)

2012 INFO

The 74th Pioneer Run for pre 1915 Veteren motorcycles and tricycles takes place on Sun18th March 2012.


http://sunbeam-mcc.co.uk/entryinfo?id=93

http://sunbeam-mcc.co.uk/