Knowing how wide-ranging the knowledge, experience & interest is on this Forum, I thought it'd be OK to share something a couple of us have been working on as my pal wanted to share his knowledge before he died
I lost an old friend a couple of weeks ago - complications following yet another surgery. Mike was a cantankerous old git, but we loved him for it! He was also, over his life, an engineer, TT Race Marshall, Racer & Classic Racer sponsor; designer and maker of beautiful Belt primary Drives & dry-clutch systems.
He had an encyclopedic knowledge & was always willing to explain the answers to dumb questions for as long as it took Mike was nothing if not genuinely knowledgeable... there's all too few of these legends left. It always amazed me that he'd be talking about the 'greats' of our engineering / manufacture / racing industry on 1st name terms - all in his address book - they were 'only' pals to him! If he didn't know the answer to a question, he damned well knew someone who did!
The one thing he couldn't stand was charlatans who made stupid claims for their products & who couldn't back it up with facts (one 'expert' in particular who sells motorcycle belt Drives "Designed to be run in oil!").
Over the years, a couple of us persuaded him to put some of his knowledge, thoughts & experiences on paper.
If anyone feels inclined, here's an online link to the 'book(let)':
a20b767e.magix.net/?fbclid=IwAR03YgwfIGCidVg1ZMMKCUQXu2Bh6GwrDpsNlnGNnzruQIhbXhhSnMXb6Cc
Essentially a guide to the Norton Diaphragm Spring Clutch; to Belt Drive conversions & anecdotes around the decline of the British Motorcycling Industry - backed by experience AND facts!
Please ignore the generic pics - sadly Mike died before we could persuade him that he needed photographs to 'hook' the casual reader - his answer was always "If they want to bloody well see a picture, they can always search for it themselves!" :vsad:
If you find it interesting, or informative, feel free to share it.
Thanks.
I lost an old friend a couple of weeks ago - complications following yet another surgery. Mike was a cantankerous old git, but we loved him for it! He was also, over his life, an engineer, TT Race Marshall, Racer & Classic Racer sponsor; designer and maker of beautiful Belt primary Drives & dry-clutch systems.
He had an encyclopedic knowledge & was always willing to explain the answers to dumb questions for as long as it took Mike was nothing if not genuinely knowledgeable... there's all too few of these legends left. It always amazed me that he'd be talking about the 'greats' of our engineering / manufacture / racing industry on 1st name terms - all in his address book - they were 'only' pals to him! If he didn't know the answer to a question, he damned well knew someone who did!
The one thing he couldn't stand was charlatans who made stupid claims for their products & who couldn't back it up with facts (one 'expert' in particular who sells motorcycle belt Drives "Designed to be run in oil!").
Over the years, a couple of us persuaded him to put some of his knowledge, thoughts & experiences on paper.
If anyone feels inclined, here's an online link to the 'book(let)':
a20b767e.magix.net/?fbclid=IwAR03YgwfIGCidVg1ZMMKCUQXu2Bh6GwrDpsNlnGNnzruQIhbXhhSnMXb6Cc
Essentially a guide to the Norton Diaphragm Spring Clutch; to Belt Drive conversions & anecdotes around the decline of the British Motorcycling Industry - backed by experience AND facts!
Please ignore the generic pics - sadly Mike died before we could persuade him that he needed photographs to 'hook' the casual reader - his answer was always "If they want to bloody well see a picture, they can always search for it themselves!" :vsad:
If you find it interesting, or informative, feel free to share it.
Thanks.
