Peter Williams in memoriam

Was it Ken Sprayson who was making Seeley frames in the 1970s ? When Rod Tingate was in the UK, he worked for Colin Seeley. He mentioned all the Seeley frames had 27 degree rake.
ibb.co

Arter-1-Main-jpg hosted at ImgBB

Image Arter-1-Main-jpg hosted in ImgBB
ibb.co ibb.co
 
acotrel said:
Peter Williams raced the Arter Matchless which was a Seeley. The steering geometry probably meant it did not handle similarly to many other motorcycles. It is a detail which is not easy to get at. The difference between a Seeley frame and a Featherbed is quite dramatic. They handle very differently.

Wagon Wheels: The Arter Matchless G50 - Motorcycle Classics

The Arter Matchless G50, also known as Wagon Wheels, was the first bike to wear cast magnesium alloy wheels.
www.motorcycleclassics.com
Click to expand...

YET AGAIN, NO, IT WAS NOT A SEELEY :mad:
 
Do you know what the steering geometry of the Arter Matchless and the John Surtees 7R was or is ? You tell me I am wrong - what is correct ? I would like to know. For Peter Williams to beat a TZ750 in a F750 race, he must have been doing something very different. A TZ750 has around 100 BHP.
 
I am not talking about PW competing in a F750 race with a Matchless 500. I meant the John PLayer Commando. The first road-going Commandos had steering geometry which was specified by PW. A few kids crashed them, usually after riding over cat's-eyes in the middle of wet roads. Apparently experienced riders would have simple ridden through the problem. PW was embarrassed; however I seriously believe he would not have made a mistake. Norton changed the fork yokes - fitting a steering damper might have been an admission their bike did not handle. But anyone who rides a bike which has road-race steering without the hydraulic damper, is an idiot.
My comment about the 750 race was a Commando 750 has 80 BHP max. A TZ750 has around 100BHP - to win PW must have had something different going for him, especially on a large circuit.
I have read a bit which PW has written, but that steering geometry thing was not really explained.
I think the geometry of the John Player bikes might have been the same as on the Arter Matchless.
It can make a really big difference to a bike's competitiveness. The bike can be used in a completely different way.
On small circuits the rider is more important than they are on large circuits.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top