Brough Superior?

Dec 84 Classic Motor Cycle

Who among us wouldn't want a nice stylish Brough Superior sitting in the garage, big V twin JAP motor filling the frame, feeding into the twin fishtail mufflers...

 Here are two models that in my opinion fall short of that Brough appeal, The Brough Superior Dream, above with its stacked horizontally opposed engine and below ( continuing the car engines in a motorcycle series) the Austin-engined inline four longitudinally mounted which drove not one but two rear wheels. Both just look wrong to me.

Feb 87 Classic Motor Cycle

 

Sidecar Sunday

 

Richardson wrench

Seen at a local flea market today. a number of Richardson wrenches. I've not seen the name before but they do resemble Craftsman wrenches. I can find no further info on them, the back just says Drop Forged Tool Steel.

 I see a Richardson patent from 1863 for the first ratchet wrench and on ebay is a bicycle wrench marked Richardson Chicago, it does not look related.
 

Aerite foot pump

This is a nice solid foot operated air pump probably from the 1950s and made in England, just the thing to keep in the trunk of your car for emergencies. 

I used foot and bicycle pumps far too often when I was a kid, I'm a compressor fan these days.

Triumph H fork issues

1911

The Triumph model H was used during WW1, 30,000 were produced for the army and by and large they worked well gaining the nickname "Trusty Triumph". However the girder fork spring, pointing forward and working against a yoke, took a lot of abuse. On the rough roads and off road, the yoke was known to fail, causing the fork to collapse forward almost certainly resulting in a crash. The DRs soon learned to put a strong leather strap around the fork in order to avoid this eventuality. Somewhere I've seen a picture of a bike with collapsed fork, I've given up trying to find it. If someone finds that picture, I'll add it to the post.

 

Clipper ship, Andrew Jackson

The clipper ship Flying Cloud set a record of 89 days, 8 hours from New York to San Francisco, averaging 200 miles per day in 1845.

 In 1860 the Andrew Jackson finally beat that record by 4 hours. This was enough to claim the title of the fastest ship in the world, as the above sailing card proclaims. 

 

Mini cross-section

 The original Mini cross-sectioned to show interior space and layout.

Suzuki RM100

Unlike that anemic TM75, the RM100 was about the coolest thing a kid could imagine in 1976.
 

Drive carefully past animals

 

Gacan Forge Wrench

I picked this wrench up a while back online, no sizes marked but one end is .580 (14.7mm), the other .520" (13.2mm). Forged on one side is the name and city; it appears to be Gacan Forge- Welland Ont., a manufacturer we've never heard of. On the other side is Forged Steel Treated. Another little mystery wrench!