Just for the hell of it I thought I would post a few more questions,
books are allowed I used them to set the questions.

Firsts

The earliest known illustration of a motorcycle
Date (I will settle for the year here)
Name


First Motorcycles just the builder and year and this one refers to
prototypes. 2pts each.

UK
France
Germany
US

These are the countries I have references for, there is a bonus for
coming up with verifiable firsts for other countries.

Manufacturers

Several started by producing something else. Ignoring bicycle
manufacturers name them and what they were noted for before getting into
motorcycles.

Some unexpected people produced prototypes which never made it to
production. Which razor blade manufacturer did?


Up to WW2 a lot of firms made wide use of bought in engines. One point
for each engine supplier you can come up with. This one includes
tricycles.

Miscellaneous

The sidecar replaced what?
What system was used to indicate engine size in the UK prior to WW2?
What was a Snowden?
How did the Gold Star get it's name?

Racing

What was unusual about the early TT races?
Last sidevalve to win a senior TT?
Which firm took 1,2,3 in a TT race with new bikes?
Which firm produced a V8 racing engine for the TT?

I will leave this for a while, though I will respond to requests for
clarification if any questions are ambiguous.

Ken Young

We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the
drugs began to take hold. I remember (E-Mail Removed) saying
something like:

> Just for the hell of it I thought I would post a few more questions,
>books are allowed I used them to set the questions.

>
> Miscellaneous
>
> The sidecar replaced what?

The Village Idiot - there being a terrible shortage of them post WW1.

> What system was used to indicate engine size in the UK prior to WW2?

The TBLM Systeme International... Tiddler, Boys, Ladies, Mens,

> What was a Snowden?

A type of motorised igloo used in Wales. Not seen since the Great
Warming of 1922.

> How did the Gold Star get it's name?

It was an award given to the first manufacturer to successfully take
part in the TT races without every gearbox stripping its teeth.

>
> Racing
>
> What was unusual about the early TT races?

They were run underwater in the Irish Sea.

> Last sidevalve to win a senior TT?

Spagthorpe Italia. Single cylinder - 3500cc of pure torque.

> Which firm took 1,2,3 in a TT race with new bikes?

Spagthorpe. 1940. Because of a communication breakdown nobody informed
the factory the race was cancelled that year. The bikes were unloaded
from the ferry and Jeremy Spagthorpe declared his factory team winners
by default without doing a single lap.

> Which firm produced a V8 racing engine for the TT?

The Spagthorpe JouleMeister motorcycle used a scaled down version of
their WaveShagger powerboat engine. Only 50 of these engines were
available, largely because that's how many were made until it was
realised that the drawings were at the wrong scale.

In article <(E-Mail Removed)>, Grimly
Curmudgeon <(E-Mail Removed)> writes
>
>> What system was used to indicate engine size in the UK prior to WW2?
>
>The TBLM Systeme International... Tiddler, Boys, Ladies, Mens,
^^^^
Substantially correct.


>Spagthorpe Italia. Single cylinder - 3500cc of pure torque.

Although Sir appears to have misspelt "Gentleman's" as indicated above

Tsk, tsk tsk.


--
steve auvache

We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the
drugs began to take hold. I remember steve auvache
<(E-Mail Removed)> saying something like:

>>The TBLM Systeme International... Tiddler, Boys, Ladies, Mens,
> ^^^^
>Substantially correct.
>
>Although Sir appears to have misspelt "Gentleman's" as indicated above
>
>Tsk, tsk tsk.

I used the traditional nomenclature employed by members of the retailing
classes involved in the preparation and sale of two-wheeled conveyances
to the General Public. Apostrophes and grammar were more of an art in
such an application. Indeed, the TBLM Systeme had little or nothing to
say on the matter, leaving it largely to the preferences of the
individual proprietor. Oddly, the use of "Gentleman's" would be more
found in the establishments catering to the lower orders than ones more
used to dealing with the moneyed classes.

In article <(E-Mail Removed)>, Grimly
Curmudgeon <(E-Mail Removed)> writes
>We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the
>drugs began to take hold. I remember steve auvache
><(E-Mail Removed)> saying something like:
>
>>>The TBLM Systeme International... Tiddler, Boys, Ladies, Mens,
>> ^^^^
>>Substantially correct.
>>
>>Although Sir appears to have misspelt "Gentleman's" as indicated above
>>
>>Tsk, tsk tsk.
>
>I used the traditional nomenclature employed by members of the retailing

A gentleman's conveyance such as that made by Messrs Spagthorpe is never
retailed, it is purveyed.


--
steve auvache

(E-Mail Removed) wrote:

> Just for the hell of it I thought I would post a few more questions,
> books are allowed I used them to set the questions.
>
> Firsts
>
> The earliest known illustration of a motorcycle
> Date (I will settle for the year here)
> Name
>
>
> First Motorcycles just the builder and year and this one refers to
> prototypes. 2pts each.
>
> UK
> France
> Germany
> US
>
> These are the countries I have references for, there is a bonus for
> coming up with verifiable firsts for other countries.

Japan, N.S., 1909

>
> Manufacturers
>
> Several started by producing something else. Ignoring bicycle
> manufacturers name them and what they were noted for before getting into
> motorcycles.
>

I reckon you should exclude guns too, 'cos there were loads of them:
BSA, Enfield, Manufrance, FN, Jawa... and that's just a few I can
remember without having to look things up.

> Some unexpected people produced prototypes which never made it to
> production. Which razor blade manufacturer did?
>
>
> Up to WW2 a lot of firms made wide use of bought in engines. One point
> for each engine supplier you can come up with. This one includes
> tricycles.
>
> Miscellaneous
>
> The sidecar replaced what?

Trailer, I suppose... though you could also include the Forecar.

> What system was used to indicate engine size in the UK prior to WW2?
> What was a Snowden?

I'd guess that was one of the small bikes produced to take advantage of
the tax concession in the Snowden Budget of 1930-something (1931?) but
I've never heard them called that before. I though 'Pip-squeak' was the
common nickname (and, hence, the name 'Wilfred' being applied to
autocycles).

--
Andrew

On Wed, 25 Apr 2007 04:45:47 -0500, (E-Mail Removed) wrote:

> Just for the hell of it I thought I would post a few more questions,
>books are allowed I used them to set the questions.
>
>Manufacturers
>
> Several started by producing something else. Ignoring bicycle
>manufacturers name them and what they were noted for before getting into
>motorcycles.

Yamaha: reed organs, hence the tuning-fork logo.

Sunbeam: loads of domestic stuff.

Kawasaki: I *think* that Kawasaki Heavy Engineering produced bikes as
a a sideline to open up their presence in wider markets, but ICBW.

BMW: aircraft engines.

Latter-day Triumph: Bloor was in construction or something, wasn't he?
Dunno if there was a more direct link than that, though.

> Up to WW2 a lot of firms made wide use of bought in engines. One point
>for each engine supplier you can come up with. This one includes
>tricycles.

Villiers, JAP, Minerva

> Miscellaneous
>
> The sidecar replaced what?

Dunno: trikes?

> How did the Gold Star get it's name?

Something to do with someone earning a Brooklands Gold star for speed
round the track, I think.

> Which firm produced a V8 racing engine for the TT?

Moto Guzzi.

--
-Pip

wrote
> Just for the hell of it I thought I would post a few more questions,
>books are allowed I used them to set the questions.
>
> Racing
>
> What was unusual about the early TT races?

They went round the other way?
--
Roger Hunt

"platypus" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:XASXh.7302$(E-Mail Removed) k...

> ... Vespa originally produced hair-driers.

Nothing much changed then?

T.

Terry Richards <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

> "platypus" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> news:XASXh.7302$(E-Mail Removed) k...
>
> > ... Vespa originally produced hair-driers.
>
> Nothing much changed then?
>

<VVBG>



--
BMW K1100LT 750SS CB400F CD250 SL125
GAGARPHOF#30 GHPOTHUF#1 BOTAFOT#60 ANORAK#06 YTC#3
BOF#30 WUSS#5 The bells, the bells.....