ALBANY VINTAGE & CLASSIC MOTORCYCLE CLUB

February 2016 Club News

Club Members Old Picture Gallery

Sent in by Kelly Payne

“Found this picture of bundles of 5 bikes waiting to be trashed after the war.
Oh no! Not Beesas I hope” - Kelly. (They look like BSA M20's in the front row to me - web editor)

Pics sent in by Chris Offer

The following photographs are of Christine Offer’s uncle, Cecil Pearce, when he was in the army in Iraq and India in the 1920’s.

This is Cecil taken in May, 1922 on his Rudge Multi, which he rode around while stationed in Hinaidi, Iraq. The buildings behind him are airship sheds.

At the end of a motorcycle trip outside Khadimain Police Station in India on the Douglas. His friend’s Triumph had to be totally overhauled after the trip as Cecil reckons the pace he set over the shocking roads was quick.

Cecil and his Douglas at No 1 Squadron, India, in 1926 (instead of the Douglas badge he has a skull and crossbones on the tank - nothing's new!).

The Baluchistan trip, Cecil says: “Quite a normal view of the bike on that trip, this was the umpteenth spill, had so many, was exhausted and had to lay under the bike while the exhaust pipe sizzled my leg.” Look how bad the roads were.

This photo, also taken by Cecil in Hinaidi, Iraq, is of one of the two OEC Temple sidecar outfits on Malins and Oliver's trip around the world. They had already ridden through Holland, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, France, Spain, Gibraltar, Malta, Egypt, Sinai, Palestine and Syria.

This photo which first appeared in the English “Motorcycling” magazine of Geoffrey H. Malins and Charles Oliver at the completion of their round the world motorcycle trip in London.

Two Britons, Geoffrey H. Malins and Charles Oliver circled the world during 1926-27 (see Wikipedia article on Geoffrey Malins here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geoffrey_Malins) using a brace of OEC-Temple 1,000cc V-twin sidecar outfits using OEC’s unique duplex frame (an example is on display at the National Motorcycle Museum, Birmingham, England). The outfits were known as “Pip” and “Squeak”, or “The Heavenly Twins” and were powered by 1000cc ohv British Vulpine engines and the sidecars were specially-built Hughes.

Their route, based largely on British Empire territories and interests, covered 22,800 miles (36,500 km) from London through Western Europe to Gibraltar, Malta, Palestine, Iraq, India, Burma, Singapore, Java, Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Hawaii, across the USA and then the Atlantic crossing back to London.

The sidecars didn’t stand up to the journey too well and both sidecar chassis were replaced in Melbourne, Australia. We don’t know what make the new chassis were but it is suspected they were Melbourne made as by that time the Australians had long since discovered the frailties of stiff English sidecar chassis and built our own local product using Silentbloc bushes to give the necessary compliance and slight flexibility.