Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

1 •. •• • • ... - _:.-1•• .... .I"I~ ~. "-11- Happenings In Motorcycling Very Important Ducatis Molly Culver, who plays Tasha Dexter in the syndicated television show YIP, does a bit of road racing in her spare time at Willow Springs. Obviously a motorcycle fan, Culver has introduced a few Ducatis to her cast members and they will be shown on YIP (which stars Pamela Anderson) the weekend of May 4-5. Check it out. And you thought all of this was information-free - just another way of working a pretty woman into the newspaper. Shame on you. By Ro al Rnlnble We've been getting periodic updates from a group of daft Brits who are organizing a seven-day ride through southern India on Royal Enfields (the actual ride will see the use of new 350cc Bullets, unlike the tired model being repaired by several preparation-team members in this photo). Called Enduro India 2003, the ride carries a 3000-pound (approximately $4300) entry fee, and that includes everything except beer, lunch and water money (plus airfare for non-Euros). At least 50 percent of the money will go to charities, Mileage will average around 100 miles a day. If all of this sounds like your idea of fun, either seek mental help or log on to www.enduroindia.com. ALAN CATHCART • • A Matchless Possibility In the wake of John Bloor's success In restoring the Triumph name to its its former glory, another of the most historic British marques of yesteryear may be set for revival, but In a I'llther different form: Matchless. Founded in 1899 by the London-based Collier brothers - so, three years older than Triwnph, which this year celebrates its centenary - Matchless was, for many years, the largest British motorcycle company, and from 1901 onward produced a series of well-regarded and reliable production road bikes which brought the fast-growing company significant commercial success. These were promoted in the early years of the last century by the series of race victories scored by Matchless machines in the hands of Charlie and Harry Collier themselves, who were the dominant force in Britain in the early days of road and oval-track racing. Matchless also held the World Speed Record marks for many years over the mile and kilometer distances. After World War I, the Comers concentrated on building up their road bike range, to the detriment of their competition activlties, eventually forming Associated British Motorcycles, which, in due course, ironically acquired the Norton marque to go alongside its earlier purchase, AJS. After World War It surviving brother Charlie Collier sanctioned a return to racing for the Matchless marque, with the development of the fast-but-fragile G45 pushrod SOOcc twin, racing alongside the company's successful existing AJS 7R sohc 350cc GP bike, first produced just after the war ended. In due course, the obvious happened, and the 7R was scaled up into the G50 Matchless 500cc single, which in the 1960s became the Manx Norton's great rival for single· cylinder racing supremacy, and in due course. housed in a Seeley chassis, became the machine of choice for Grand Prix privateers well into the dawn of the two-stroke era in the 1970s. Matchless and AMC were acquired by Norton-Yilliers in 1966 in the death throes of the British motorcycle industry, but NVT built its last Matchless motorcycle in 1969, henceforth concentrating on the Norton and Triumph brands. After NVT's demise, the name was acquired in the early '80s by Les Harris, whose Harris International concern used it to market a Rotax-powered, single-cylinder road bike built alongside the old-style, air-cooled Triumph Bonneville model manufactured under license from the marque's new owner, John Bloor. With the relaunch of the Hinckley·bullt Triumph range in 1990, Harris International's license to build Triumphs was terminated, and this, in turn, brought the end of born-again Matchless production. Memories of Matchless' glorious racing history have become relevant once more because, according to respected Australian Web site magazine AIiMoto, Les Harris has recently sold the rights to the Matchless marque for an undisclosed sum to a consortium of Swiss, British and German business interests, with connections to Formula One car racing and the petroleum industry. Sources insist that the reason these investors have acquired the name is to attach it to another entry for the new MotoGP four-stroke series, which will be unveiled at the British GP held at Doningtoo Park in JUly this year. It will form the basis of a future range of Matchless streetbikes, therefore by definition in due course will also become a Superbike cootender. No • not April Fool: the news leaked out on April 5th. Les Harris is unavailable for comment on the deal, which may perhaps involve the same Petronas/Sauber interests as the Foggy FP-1 prototype Superbike triple presently under fast· track development for its intended race debut at Laguna Seca in July, after the first 75 FP- 1 streetbikes have been built for homologation purposes, using an all-new, three-cylinder engine quite different from that developed by the Swiss-based Sauber F1 team with backing from Malaysian oil giant Petronas, which klckstarted the whole project. However, Foggy Petronas Racing's marketing director Neil Bramwell specifically denies any Matchless connection with the Foggy project, and it would seem contrary to the millions Petronas have ·nvested in acquiring the latent goodwill of Carl Fogarty's name that they would seek to couple this with the Matchless brand. More likely. possibly, is that Petronas may have acquired '\atchless to attach it to the three-cylinder Sauber MotoGP project currently langUishing in imbo after the breakaway Foggy FP-l project, perhaps with support from their partner in Sauber, Dieter Materschitz, founder of the Austrian (not German!) energy drink. manufacturer, Red Bull. In which case. it'll be interesting to see if Red Bull's current MotoGP team, presently running two-stroke Yamahas for Aussle Garry McCoy and American rookie John rlopkins. ends up being the vehicle chosen to reintroduce the Matchless marque to the race tracks, and thence to the showrooms. Only one thing wrong - Red Bull Yamaha team owner Bob MacLean used to race Manx Nortons in his days as a road racer, not a G50 Matchless! To cast your vote, log on to http://www.cycle.news.com. cue. e n e "'" s MAY 1, 2002 3

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