Cheney Goldstar

[dfisher]

Hmm,  Blue frame Higgi? 

[firko]

Beautiful.

[GD66]

Yeah, that's yummy. And interesting to see that being a "Jerry Scott Replica" he has the full-width AMC front hub with the fins machined off, just as Scott did. Nice.

[pancho]

Morning Pancho, the clutch fitted to my Goldi is a Norton 3spring type with an alloy pressure plate which was standard fitment on Cheneys and from what I understand on most BSA's when used in competition . The main shaft is off a plunger BSA with a bolt up gearbox, the shaft has a spline on the end that the Norton clutch fits on to without any machining and the gears are all standard BSA B series gears.As you say the key slot is the weak point on the original shaft, hope this helps, shame your so far away , I have somewhere a shaft that I would photograph if I could find it but don't hold your breath.

Thanks Higgy wish I new that back in the day, those bits would have been fairly easy to source back then.
cheers Pancho.

[dfisher]

Another article acquired.  Earliest Hickman photo in the collection, November 1966.

[OverTheHill]

Great photos. Keith Hickman was down here [in NZ] with John Burton in probably 1965 [at a guess], mates & i were on just converted cast iron B33's & the like & of course he made us all look like total novices. Was a good guy [as was John Burton--who gave us some laughs thinking back]. Keith, if i'm right, was only 19 then. [that was on the Cheney pre unit Goldy of course]--Burton on the unit T100 type Metisse. Thanks for the memory.

[flower pot racing]

I bought my Goldi in 1985 and my Dad thought I was completely nuts spending £900 on an old bike, the man I got it from new it was a Cheney but had no other information about it. As the pictures show it has a GP carb and a Lucas 2MTT magneto as fitted to Manx Nortons ,7Rs and G50s, it has road races cams and the Cheney mod taking oil from the pressure feed to the cams up to the rocker feed, when I spoke to Mr Cheney he said he carried out this mod to all his Goldstar mx bikes. The gearbox has scramble ratios and Timkin needle rollers on the lay shaft .
Back in 1996 I was riding the bike at a meeting near Aldershot when I was approached by this tall thin man who introduced himself as Eric Cheney , he asked me if it was my bike and did I know any of it's history which I said only that it was built by you, he then laid on his back and pointed to an old frame repair and said that it was carried out in Czechoslovakia during the 1963 Europeon championship . He said the bike was built for Keith Hickman , he said he built 3 in 1962, 1 for Jerry Scott which he new of its where abouts, 1 for Frank Underwood which he new where it was and 1 for Keith Hickman which untill that day he didnt know where it was.most of his bikes were sold through Ken Covels shop near Cambridge .
I asked him to put it all down on paper and send it to me which he did at a later date, the bike went back to his for major frame repairs in 1998, he could have made a new OIF frame cheaper than it cost to have my frame repaired but I wanted to retain the bikes originality . The job was done and it's now after many years going back together proberbly never to have its neck rung in anger again.
Hopefully the pictures will be clear because they are originally photos which I copied using my iPhone .
Thanks for reading my ramblings,
Simon

I have the Frank Underwood bike

[flower pot racing]

Hmm,  Blue frame Higgi? 

mmmmm Goodwood Revival this year by the looks of it.  Nice bike bikes everywhere!!!!!

[OverTheHill]

I see Frank Underwoods name mentioned, he was another international that Tim Gibbes bought down here in the [trying to think] mid-late 60's & was on a "Wasp" T100 pre unit [metisse looking] bike. Good guy too as were all the internationals over the years. Us young wanna be's thought they were gods. Hell i remember Dave Bickers demonstrating how to negotiate a difficult downhill blind jump & mucking it up but saved it just [360cz], we were sooo impressed & Jeff Smith [instructing] said-that's 'not' how to do it. Things you never forget aye!! [In NewZealand that was sorry]

[firko]

Jonesy's similar Cheney was being built by Eric for Chris Horsfield with a Matchless G50 GP engine but he picked up a works CZ ride and sold the unfinished bike less the G50 engine to Mike Hickin who commissioned a now forgotten grass tracker builder to finish it off using the unique Ariel Leader swingarm and fitted an ex works G85CS Matchy motor. Hickin not long after retired and sold the bike to Brian Curtis (father of the NVT HL Yamaha)who made further mods to it and raced it briefly before selling it to it's Aussie owner in 1966.

The history behind these old bikes is often as interesting as the bikes themselves.
                                                                       
                                                                         The bike for sale at Westbury Motorcycles in the UK circa 1966
                                                                       
                                                                          Sitting in the backyard in Geelong, later in 1966.
                                                                       
                                                                        Forty four years later in 2010. The bike will return to racing for the first time in 30 years in 2013

[Andrew L]

Firko my dads best mate owned that bike and the photo is in his back yard in Geelong sadly he's gone to ride with the big guy now. I showed dad the photo you put up and he had great memories of riding that bike back in the day said it was the one that got away he help deliver it to Sydney to its new owner but he didn t think it was to your mate jonesy he said who it was but I cant recall his name now. The bikes these blokes owned and let go between them makes me cry when they tell the old stories, if only they new, oh well they raced them loved doing it and moved on to next best thing as young blokes still do today.

[firko]

Mavman, the Geelong bloke and his brother sold the bike to Jim Scaysbrooks brother Peter who raced and won the very first vintage race in Oz on it back in the early 80's at Amaroo Pk, run in conjunction with a big international meeting. Jonesy bought it from Scaysbrook in about 1985.

[Andrew L]

It made the old man smile to see it was still alive and about to used again.