1950 VINCENT
"GREY FLASH." Apart from entries from A.J.S. and Norton, up to the middle
fifties, the Senior T.T. entry jjsts have, with one noteworthy exception, been
completely avoided by British manufacturers since the war.
The exception to this unfortunate "rule" was made by the Vincent
works of Stevenage, who, in 1950, had the courage to enter a team of
three riders on almost standard "Grey Flash" models. It took courage
to do this, for the Vincent 500, with its push-rod motor, was
basically intended as a luxury touring model, the "Comet".
Pre-war,
Vincent's had built a 500 c.c. engine with a high camshaft and short "crossed"
push-rods. This machine, in one form, was sold as the "Comet". Then, in 1936-37,
the Australian genius Phil Irving, who had designed the "Comet", designed a
1,000 c.c. Vee-twin, employing two "Comet" engines. As it was intended to go
quickly it was named the "Rapide".
During the war period, and shortly afterwards, the "Rapide" design
was cleaned up so that it lost its nickname of "plumber's nightmare"
and all the external oil-feed pipes were done away with. The new
engine was in unit with Vincent's own clutch and gearbox (the clutch
had been the weak link in the pre-war big twin).
The Series B "Rapide" was launched in 1947, and soon afterwards
Vincent's did the opposite to their pre-war effort—they halved the
big twin to make a 500 c.c. single, the new-type "Comet". This had a
similar bottom half to the 1,000 c.c. engine, with an impressively
sturdy crankshaft assembly, but a separate Burman gearbox was
employed to cut down costs.
The post-war
"1,000" had no frame in the true sense (turn forward two pages for details under
"Gunga Din") and the 1,000 c.c. pieces were used on the "500", except that a
couple of struts were led from the seat nose to the rear of the crankcase to
replace the "missing" pot. Large alloy
plates encircled the gearbox and supported the rear swinging-fork, whilst
Vincent's patented "Girdraulic" fork was used at the front.
As was
expected, the "Grey Flash" entries didn't win the 1950 T.T., but they did lap
surprisingly quickly, their best efforts being in the 84 m.p.h. region. A young
apprentice at Vincent's made one go very well in short-circuit events; his first
win was on one at Boreham in August, 1951.
His name was John Surtees.
Specifications:
Engine: single-cylinder 500 c.c. o.h.v.; valve operation by high
camshafts and short push-rods.
Ignition: magneto.
Transmission: chain via four-speed gearbox.
Frame: backbone member incorporating oil tank; rear swinging-fork
suspension pivoted from rear of
gearbox plates.
Forks: hydraulically damped girders.
Any corrections or more information on these motorcycles will be kindly appreciated.