Finding the Ultra light-weight Cheney Gold Stars.

[team clark]

Eric Cheney made a batch of six Ultra light-weight frames in late 1964, four for Gold Star motors and one for a Triumph 650 and one for a Matchless G50. In true Cheney legend he only finished two Gold Star bikes with oil tanks for Jerry Scott and Keith Hickman. Kiwi Colin Dixon and Eric then modify the third  and forth frames to oil in the frame, then go back and modify Scott and Hickman’s original bikes. The Matchless frame only is sold to Mike Hickin, who completes the bike with a G85 motor. Hickin sells it to Brian Curtis who makes it in to oil in the frame. (AJ bike). The Triumph frame is finished and sold to Dick Sutton for the 1968 ISDT with a oil tank. (Recently sold on E-bay). We have one of the Gold Star oil in the frame bikes here in NZ which Colin Dixon brought back with him, another is in the book Motocross America. That leaves two to find???

[firko]

I've been slowly putting an article together on Jonesy's Cheney (#120) which has an amazing history as Clarky has stated. It's history in Australia is equally as interesting, being ridden on the street for a number of years and raced by Peter Scaysbrook (Jims brother). We've always known it's a special bike if only for its works numbered G85CS engine.

[SAABCOMBI]

There`s that works word coming up again[/glow].

[flower pot racing]

Firko, have you got the photos of the matchless outside the shop as it is today?

Brian's bike is the original B&W image and then about 2 years ago I took a pic of another of Brian's bikes (an HL this time) outside what was Westbury Motorcycles.  (which is in Bristol, about 5 miles from where I live)

Today it is a kitchen shop!  (progress?!!!!)

There is a ratehr special Cheney Goldstar for sale in the Uk at the moment.  I think it is £12k.  Not the one that has been on ebay, It's the one that Vic Vaughan owns.  It has been advertised in Old Bike Mart which is a monthly news paper.  They do have a website, but you have to pay extra to have a web advert. 

Since being restored it has been in Vic's lounge.  Any takers?....

[flower pot racing]

http://www.oldbikemart.co.uk/Content/classifieds

Cheney Goldstar, built by Eric Cheney in 1965/6, rare example of an original bike with GP carburettor, large Lucas magneto, owned/stored by Richard Brough for 40 years, been fully restored by me (Vic Vaughan) to its original condition. Its one of very few early Cheneys, the same as ones built for Jerry Scott, Keith Hickman and myself. The wife wants it out of the sitting room! £12,000. Tel. 01823-490677/07971-590530, [email protected] OB422580C

[firko]

Firko, have you got the photos of the matchless outside the shop as it is today 

I have Ben but I can't find it. I'll post it as soon as I dig it out. Here's a shot of it in 1966 just after it had arrived in Australia.
       

[223]

ciao
sorry.....the green framed Triumph engined machine is not a Cheney....
Graz.
<a href="http://tinypic.com?ref=245x3xc" target="_blank"><img src="http://i56.tinypic.com/245x3xc.jpg" border="0" alt="Image and video hosting by TinyPic"></a>
Dick Sutton 1967 isdt.

[flower pot racing]

ciao
sorry.....the green framed Triumph engined machine is not a Cheney....
Graz.
<a href="http://tinypic.com?ref=245x3xc" target="_blank"><img src="http://i56.tinypic.com/245x3xc.jpg" border="0" alt="Image and video hosting by TinyPic"></a>
Dick Sutton 1967 isdt.

mmmmm I'm not so sure.  That bike was very comprehensively advertised on ebay.  Look at the details on the frame.  Lots of Cheney detail.  It looks like it uses original factory frame lugs that Eric removed from the original frame and then retubed the whole chassis in lighter stronger tubing with his features along the way.  This is how my Cheney frame has been made and it is correct.

Personally I think it is Cheney.

[firko]

Here's some further guff on AJ's Cheney Matchless.
Below: Here's the photo of the bike outside Westbury motorcycles when it was for sale in 1966. Flower Pot Ben sent me a photo taken 40 years later outside the same shop with a Curtis built HL in the shot where the Curtis built Cheney is in this photo. Unfortunately I can't find it in my files.

Below: A close up of the works SO numbered engine Hickin fitted to the Cheney. Matchless experts will notice the different web castings to that of a stocker. The engine's pretty trick inside

Below: The letter from Westbury Motors in Bristol to Trevor Hunt from Geelong mapping out the purchase price of the Cheney. Hunt imported the bike later in 1968. He never raced it to my knowledge but it was used as a farm an play bike.

[firko]

Here's the shot I previously mentioned showing Flower Pot Bens genuine Curtis HL out the front of the kitchen shop that had once been Westbury Motorcycles. The shot was taken 40 years after the one showing the Cheney in roughly the same spot (above).

[Husky500evo]

     I had a Cheney frame (with an oil in the frame set-up) to suit a Gold Star BSA motor, stored for someone, in my shed for a couple of years. I don't know a lot about these things , so it may well be a later copy of the original 4 described in the first post of this thread. I moved the frame onto a friend of the owner to take care of. I don't know if the owner will eventually get the bike going, as he has "issues".
     I also have a couple of pictures of the number 75 bike shown in an earlier post, that I took at a VMX meeting near Auckland when I was in NZ on holidays a few years back .
   

[dfisher]

The Ebay Sutton bike caused a bit of a stir with my Facebook Cheney Group.  While some of the bits may be from the original machine it was doubtful the frame was.  Here is a picture of Dick Sutton's IDST Cheney.