pre 75 siders

[pancho]

what is the general opinion on an eligebility criteria for pre 75 sliders ..apart from the obvious rule of manufacture prior to dec 94? remembering that there existed plenty of motors with 4 valves ,o/head cams etc before that date and there was a fair few home made sliders with all sorts of modified road motors slotted in place .... and some with wierd front forks ...its a bit hard to find anything precise in the gcr.it seems that a few more sliders are appearing on the scene, maybe some discourse would be healthy.cheers wally.

[Freakshow]

i have no idea but surely if the motor is pre 75 who cares.  Twin shock and some kind of front end with less than 7" travel would be he basis for anydiscussion.

So long as its air coolled and pre 75 sliding is just an option surely

[mike1948]

Given that home made slider frames, based on speedway frames with extra wheelbase and twin shock rear suspension were quite common pre 70, a sensible eligibility limit would be the date of engine manufacture.  After all, we are hardly talking major leaps in suspension technology in this type of bike.

[jimg1au]

mike i agree with you
 my oldest bike is still to be restored but here it is
1940 ariel 350 built by the famous art senior with a sid willis piston motor and box
plunger bsa bantam forks and wheel in 23in steel rim
 1955 ariel rear end and wheel.
1950s rotrax jap speedway tank
1968 home made diamond all welded in to make i very solid bike even has oil in down tube like a real one.
i know for a fack this bike was raced pre70 as my brother built it and raced it at nepean befor 1970.

have a pre 75 antig mx250 to be restored
also a 1975 tt500 in a pre 75 gen hagon frame

other c/port stuff
cheers

[pancho]

i would love to see the old art senior ariel on the track he was one of australias' great tuning geniuses along with ted carey sid willis and several others .sid used to make pistons for my ex debo B33 and my carey tiger 70.a tech teacher i new borrowed the cary cams from my B33 and did a full graph study on them for a thesis on cam design he was doing .the cams were made in the middle fifties .he said they were identical profile to  iskederian patten for push rod engines they claimed to invent in the late 70s. they called them "polydyne".art senior was said to have welded long handles to a pair of scissors and cut his own hair while using 2 mirrors.an independent thinker!!

[pancho]

who can remember when sliders first appeared on the aust. scene? i think i remember their appearance at taree old bar about 1965... can any body remember? also when did the first alf hagon type grass track machines [same thing] appear in england? it seems to me we could easily have a pre '70 slider class as well as pre 75 if the numbers appeared. is it relevent when they appeared in the old dart? why exclude o/head cams & 4 valve heads & twin cyl motors ?i saw the great jack ahearn ride a manx norton  [not a slider] in the 100 pound race at musswellbrook about '64. i think any motor should be allowed provided it was pre '70 or '75 and the frame has the slider configuration. another thought ..should american flat trackers fit into the category? probably not....cheers wally

[jimg1au]

WALLY
they must have been around as my brothers one he finished in 1968.it appered in the spokesman (st george club mag)front cover in 1971 with him riding it at nepean.he still has it i have a scan of the pic at home on my pc.he also has a vidio of the 1970 aust vs england test series all riding sliders.
ps
you only missed water on sunday

[Noel]

Hi Wally,
I've got a book which gives there introduction in 1956, in England,
"A history Miscellany of Motorcycle grass track racing"
If you come to Canberra I'll take the book with me.
written by Tom Smith and Mick Nokes

[pancho]

howdy jim & noel i hope to spectate on saturday & sunday so look forward to a chat. i was at nepean for that spectacular days racing at nepean... who could forget the fantastic sideways action by chris pusey around the speedway bend?