Vincent Speedway Sidecar

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My youngest brother Doug Cotterell has been restoring several bikes for John Heaviside from Melbourne. The deal is that Doug restores the bikes and then has unlimited use of them, John pays for the restoration and owns the bikes. The Vincent sidecar in these photos was owned and raced by Dennis Skinner back in the 60s and 70s with his co-pilot Bob Curnow. The 880 JAP is the previous restoration and now has most of it's problems cured and is racing well. I would have thought that the Vincent would be quicker than the JAP - not so. So far the JAP has always been quicker. When these bikes are ridden, it is always at historic speedway events. The spectators believe they are watching spirited demonstrations. That is not really the case. My brother was Australian Long Track Champion in about 2001 with his 500cc Kawaski H1 sidecar. Ken Walker was Australian Speedway Sidecar Champion for many years with his Vincent. The competition between them is always intense. Personally I don't understand why the JAP is quicker, the motor is a much older design than the Vincent. I think you will agree that the Skinner Vincent has come up very well :

Vincent Speedway Sidecar


Vincent Speedway Sidecar


Vincent Speedway Sidecar


Vincent Speedway Sidecar
 
Re; “Personally I don't understand why the JAP is quicker, the motor is a much older design than the Vincent.”
That old question :?:

Not easy to explain when one has never ridded either, like me :!:

People like the British grass track champion, speedway & sprinter Alf Hagon usually preferred J.A.P power, but then this was what the JAP engine was specifically designed for, running on menthol on the track as opposed to a Vincent which was predominately a heavy road bike engine adapted for the track by some people. Sometimes it works ……sometimes it doesn’t

http://classic-motorbikes.net/wp/alf-hagon/

http://www.bing.com/search?q=Alf+Hagon& ... rsationid=
 
My brother told me that the JAP just 'walks away' from the Vincents. I am also in the position where I haven't ridden either bike. I can ride a sidecar, however I wouldn't dare get on either one of those bikes, they are too serious for me and I don't much like that fence whizzing past my left ear.

This was filmed in 2008 :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9rWQppj2oI

This in 2013 :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wOcznU_dKt0

We have now sorted the JAP's problems.
 
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