Description: Yes we combine shipping for multiple purchases.Add multiple items to your cart and the combined shipping total will automatically be calculated. 1955 J.A.P. Speedway Short Track Pierre Mion - 1-Page Vintage Motorcycle Article Original, Vintage Magazine ArticlePage Size: Approx. 8" x 11" (21 cm x 28 cm)Condition: Good The author, Pierre Mion,in the saddle of a po-tent J.A.P, Class ASpeedway bike. Enginedevelops over 40 hp,with bike weighing only140 lbs.A Ride on a J.A.P.WHILE in Pool, a small town on thesouthern coast of England, I hadthe opportunity to see a Speedwayrace, or as we know it, Short Track.To me this sport had been long dead,but there before my admiring eyeswere the legendary “Iron Men” of thepast broadsiding their J.A.P. equippedbikes around a flat, cinder, one fifth ofa mile track. The grandstand wasjammed and the fans were obviously asenthusiastic about the events takingplace as any Dodger fan at the WorldSeries. After the races were over I de-cided I must try this sport myself orI would leave England a babbling,frustrated, maniac. I lept over thegrandstand wall and into the pits al-most falling on top of the man Iwanted to see. The Pool team managerlooked at me a little startled andgood naturedly said, “Great Scott oldman, you don’t have to pin me down;I’m not leaving this place for a bloodyhour.” I apologized, and rather over-enthusiastically explained why Iwanted to see him. He was a bit waryat first but upon producing my A.M.A.competition license and a batteredphoto of myself in leathers seated onmy Norton he warmed up. He told mewhere to go and who to see, so on thefollowing Sunday I went over to anearby town called Ringwood to prac-tice with the “Ringwood Turfs” team.Stepping off the bus, carrying asmall bag loaded with racing gear, Ihurried out to the track. There I wasmet by the manager of the Ringwoodteam who told me he had received aphone call from the Pool manager andhad a “kit” (English term for Speed-way racer) waiting for me to try. Iwent into the club house and quicklychanged into my leathers and strappedon my hot shoe, which I found out laterwas of practically no use to me. Emerg-ing from the club house I saw mymount waiting for me looking like astallion who knows its rider is mount-ing for the first time. To be honest Iwas darned nervous for there aroundme were the old experts waiting to seeme pilot this contraption. The front tirewas the size of a bicycle’s, the backnot much wider, the saddle was a bi-cycle saddle, the frame no heavier thana bicycle’s, and the fuel tank held abouttwo quarts of “Dope.” (Their term forhot fuel) But powering this seeminglyflimsy contraption was a 16.1 compres-sion ratio, 47 hp, overhead valve, 30 cu.in., J.A.P. engine. The bike had onlyone gear and a clutch, and no foot pegon the left side. Unlike my familiar290 pound Norton this kit weighed amere 140 pounds and looked little morethan a Schwinn bicycle with a highpowered racing engine slung from itsspindly frame.I climbed on and after being pushedto a start to take a few slow lapsaround the cinder track. Then I openedthe throtttle and the surge of powerthat followed and the deep throated bel-low .from its exhaust pipe told me inan instant that what I had in my handswas no back yard masterpiece. Flyinginto a corner I exercised what I hadbeen instructed to do and slid myweight well forward cocking the han-dlebars away from the turn and ap-plied full power. The back wheel slidout and in a rakish angle I skiddedthrough the turn sending up a showerof cinders. After a few more laps Itried the now not so favored styleof dragging the toe. This placed my leftknee about two or three inches fromthe cinders. The remarkable featureabout these machines is that theframes are so designed that it is almostimpossible to overslide and with theweight balanced properly and a sensi-tive throttle touch they can be held inan even slide indefinitely.Although my performance wasrather sloppy the team manager askedme to return and practice and aftertwo or three weeks join the team. Icame back a few times but soon mywad of Pound notes grew considerablysmaller and I had to return to Paris.However, my intense curiosity hadbeen satisfied and one look at the toe ofmy left boot will tell you that thistype of racing is no picnic. 14706-5504-02
Price: 12.74 USD
Location: Kingsport, Tennessee
End Time: 2024-09-25T01:21:37.000Z
Shipping Cost: 5.95 USD
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