The
VMCC's Dreadnought
(Click
any
photo to see a larger picture - then just follow the slide show.)
The
following was written by Harold Karslake and published in a small
booklet in 1911.
My
"Dreadnought"
In the early days of motorcycling we all had ideas of our own as to
what would improve the machine of the day. My ideal was a 65 by 65
outside flywheel engine, overhead valves, belt drive, 1 3/4 tandem
tyres, and weighing complete just over 100 lbs., and I had one. After
using it for two years and making many alterations to it, I decided
that a lightweight was not suitable for all round riding. Thus it came
about that I decided upon building a machine myself, and early in 1903
I got hold of a stout loop frame and set to work to acquire the various
component parts. Some I obtained from friends and some were bought
through the Motor-Cycle
then just started. It was a quaint little paper at the time, compared
with the present sumptuous publication, and 2d too.
However, to return to the subject, I bought a front wheel which ran on
the machine until early this year. the back wheel I built up myself.
And then came the question of the engine. I watched the advertisements
and at last saw one of a 3 1/2 BAT, 80 by 80, at Woking. After some
correspondence I went to see it, taking £5 with me (all I possessed).
The engine turned out to be new, but the owner said that it had a
terrible knock in it. No wonder! The
contact breaker was put on the wrong way round. I didn't
tell him so, but got it for £4.10s and nearly killed myself carrying it
to the station. It fitted my frame very well, and I was then able to
fit the belt rim and make the tanks.
As I was building the machine in my spare time, it was the end of the
year before I got everything done to my liking, but early in
January I had my trial run on it. Although I only went three
miles, I think it was the most enjoyable run I have ever had. And all
my own work too. At Easter I went on my first long run to Huntingdon. I
did it non-stop, and wasn't I proud! But, as usual, pride went before a
fall. I couldn't start the engine next day as the contact breaker (De
Dion trembling blade) had got out of adjustment, and many were the
sorry tricks it served me before I understood it.
At
the end of the summer (1904) I decided to fit a seat in place of a
saddle, and thought out it's present sprung seat. this has proved
satisfactory in every way, and I am vain enough to think it is of the
pattern which will be fitted as a standard in ten years time. I also
lowered the foot boards to their present position, and with a new type
of handle-bars the machine was getting quite comfortable. This sufficed
for 1905.
In 1906 I ventured further afield, and went on a
holiday tour around Cornwall, returning via North Devon. As the machine
was fitted with only a single gear of 4 1/2 to 1, I had to push up a
good many hills and I consequently began to think of two speed gears,
which I had scorned hitherto. In those days there was no choice of
gears. It was Vindec or N.S.U. or trouble. It was over a year before I
could get one, an N.S.U., and it has served me magnificently ever
since. I cannot find words to describe its worth, but its present day
popularity speaks for me. When in North Devon in 1906 I was shown the
redoubtable Barbrook Mill Hill; I registered a vow to conquer it. To
enable me to do this I fitted a chain from the gear to a large pulley
on the bottom bracket, and so got 14-1 on the low gear. With this I was
able to climb the hill at the first attempt, a thing that had never
been accomplished before. The hill is now too well known to need any
description here. I also climbed Porlock Hill after a number of
attempts to get round the first corner in the saddle. This was at
Easter 1908. As the cylinder had now got considerably worn, I decided
to have the engine re-bored, and this was done, increasing it to 86 mm.
I also used the cycle as a passenger machine this year, taking a friend
on a trailer. Then belt troubles began, so I got a Whittle which ended
them promptly. I also fitted the live axle and bearings.
In
January 1909, I was invited to a M.C.C. Smoking Concert, and although I
did not know a single person there I was made perfectly at home. I was
so pleased with the boys that I decided to join them. At Whitsuntide I
entered my first competition, the London-Edinburgh - and I got through
without any trouble, but lost my medal for being ahead of time at York.
My next competition was the M.C.C. 24 hours, 466 miles. In this
competition I was lucky in two ways. I won the handsome silver cup
outright, and made the acquaintance of Hugh Gibson. I cannot speak too
highly of him, for we rode for twelve hours within 30 seconds of one
another's time, and yet he corrected my watch outside each control, so
that we should compete on skill and not watches. The old machines ran
perfectly throughout. A fortnight later we started together on the
M.C.C. ride, London to Land's End and back, but after trouble at the
start, I got as far as Launceston, where I broke my engine shaft, and
parted with Gibson. I trained home, the first and only time the
"Dreadnought" has not come home under power. It was this year that I
suggested the Winter Ride, and got laughed at for it. Who laughs now?
In
1910 I had a much more ambitious programme, and having caught the
competition fever, I joined the Herts County A.C. (Motor Cycle
Section). At Easter I went on the Harrogate Tour, when the big end
seized at Wentbridge, but I worked all night, and next day I climbed
Sutton Bank, and then had to ride dead on time to qualify for a bronze
medal. how's that for a "holiday"? At Whitsun I did the
London-Edinburgh and back, and later on, I rode for the M.C.C. in the
Teams Trial, non-stop. Then I beat the crowd at the M.C.C. Petrol
Consumption trial, besides some other medals for minor events.
I
had found so much trouble with accumulators spilling acid and eating up
tank sides and wires that I decided to give dry batteries a trial. I
was approached by Messrs Siemens Brothers & Co. to try their's,
and, although I did not altogether trust the system, I gave it a fair
trial and found it completely successful. Since adapting these
batteries I have had no ignition troubles whatever, and, as far as
attention is concerned, the ignition system might just as well not be
there. the results I have obtained from the Siemens dry batteries have
been extensively published, and it is not necessary for me to repeat
them here.
My first event for this season (1911) was the Winter
Ride last Christmas, when I obtained a gold medal. Then followed the
Land's End ride at Easter, which captured for me the silver medal. This
was undoubtedly my best ride, as I survived where half the modern
machines failed. On the London-Edinburgh ride at Whitsuntide I gained
the gold medal, but my frame broke on the return journey. Then there
was the M.C.C. 100-mile non-stop, including three hills used for hill
climbing competitions. Then I won the silver medal, and since a number
of other events. Thus I have qualified for eight awards out of eight
entries - 100 per cent.
To return to the machine itself, it has
run something like 60,000 or 70,000 miles, and the engine has still the
original main bearings on both sides. This is undoubtedly due to the
low compression and heavy flywheels. All but one of the other bearings
have been renewed from time to time, and a new piston and several sets
of rings fitted. The successful running of the "Dreadnought" in
competitions is due, in a large measure, to the brainy work put in by
by my friend Mr Simpkins, the clever inventor of the ingenious system
of chain drive bearing his name, and it would be unfair on my part if I
did not give him his due in this respect.
Harold Karslake -
1911
A
bit about the man
himself.
Born in 1881, Harold
was a young, impecunious engineering student when he dreamed up the
Dreadnought. The frame he acquired in early 1903 is believed to be made
by Quadrant. However, the whole project really hinged around the big
MMC engine(a de Dion made under licence in Coventry which he picked up
in good condition in Woking. It was really intended for a motor
tricycle where it's height and weight could be accommodated but
Karslake saw it as the answer to the emancipation of the motorcycle. It
was an engine of sufficient power to be able to cast off the pedals
that were preserving the motorized-pushbike image. In fact the
Dreadnought has never been fitted with pedals and, as such, was
probably the first motorcycle to be built without them. Instead Harold
fitted long wooden footboards, stretching from the front of the
crankcase to beneath the rear wheel spindle. This gave an infinitely
variable riding position. His real piece de resistance was his sprung
saddle arrangement. The Dreadnought was, in fact, a mobile test bed and
there is no record of the original specification and it was continually
developed until by 1909 the specification of the Dreadnought had
crystalized and can be considered final. One of the most common beliefs
in those days was to get the exhaust gases out as quickly as possible
and then the inlet gases could look after themselves. To that end
Harold deduced that two exhaust outlets would be better than one. He
took an extra exhaust pipe from a hole drilled into the exhaust valve
pocket. The manner of the fitting, by two short lengths of spoke with
nipples to act as a crude turnbuckle arrangement, is pure Heath
Robinson; but who could condemn a jury rig which has stood the test of
time like this?
Another experiment in the evacuation of the
exhaust gases, no doubt inspired by early aircraft engines, was to cut
ports in the cylinder near the bottom of the piston travel so spent
gases could escape to atmosphere at the end of the stroke. Messy! Oil
was blown all over the place. Maybe that is why he became known as Oily
Karslake, a nickname that stuck to him till he died at in Nottingham
during early 1962 at
the ripe old age of
81. The nickname might equally have
been
suggested by his later job as a salesman for Speedwell oils.
This photo, taken in 1921, shows
Harold, on the right, aboard the 'Karbro Express', a machine that he
built using his own frame design and a 1500cc engine when he was at the
Brough Superior works.
Yet another attempt at producing a customized machine. Harold was a
great friend of
George Brough, his most trusted employee and right-hand
man. Where George was slim and dapper and exhibitionistic, ‘Oily’ was a
shambling giant, at 6’4” tall. He had his own ideas on how to
make his motorcycle better and more attractive than what was
commercially available.
Back
to the Dreadnought - A
motorcycle this
individual needed a name, and
‘Dreadnought’ was chosen after the first British battleships which used
steel plates for armor. The ‘Dreadnought’ debuted in 1904,
and proceeded to win dozens of Reliability Trials during its day, even
with its outdated spec. of tall Edwardian frame and ancient motor; in
fact the machine could be seen in road trials into the 1940s, still
with no clutch! It became popular in the press as well, which
cemented its enduring reputation, and was the first starter away,
ridden by George Brough, in the very first London-Brighton run, in
1930. Yes, the London-Brighton run was an ‘old timer’s ride’
even in 1930, but here’s the crazy part: George was honored
as first starter that year because he had won an ‘Old Crocks’
(pre-1904)
motorcycle trial from London to Brighton at an earlier date…
1914! It’s a fine line between Home-Built and Custom, but
certainly, this machine is the rootstock of the Custom family tree and
we are honoured that it is still in existence today - and being used.
Karslake's
Dreadnought
was bequeathed to the VMCC by the man himself just prior to his death
in early 1962 at the age of 81. The bike is the club's number one
treasured asset.
Data
Engine:
De Dion 402cc air-cooled four stroke single made under licence by MMC
(Motor Manufacturing Company) of Coventry, 80 x 80 mm bore and stroke.
Automatic overhead inlet valve, side exhaust. Two exhaust pipes from
single exhaust valve.
Lubrication:
Constant loss by hand pump on seat tube from pressurised oil
compartment.
Ignition:
By HT coil from rechargeable wet battery. Advance and retard by wire
from handlebar lever.
Carburation: Originally
AMAC two-lever spray carburettor with concentric control wires. Later
fitted with a two-lever B&B instrument.
Transmission:
Direct belt drive. Two-speed NSU engine-shaft gear conversion fitted in
1908 butlater discarded.
Frame:
Loop-type probably originally Quadrant. Braced, rigid front forks, no
rear springing. Lowered saddle support featuring telescopic spring
struts. Live rear axle to permit engine starting on stand by starting
handle, but now the engine is push start only.
Wheels:
Beaded-edge rims for 26 x 2 1/4 inch tyres. Belt rim rear brake, pedal
cycle type stirrup front brake.
Tanks:
Petrol tank slung from top frame tube, capacity approx 1 1/2 imperial
gallons. Oil tank between saddle tube and rear mudguard, capacity half
a gallon.
Dimensions:
Saddle height 30 inches. Handlebar width 24 inches.
Original
finish: Green paint. Now refinished with red and gold
lining on tank.
Performance:
Not known, but comfortable cruising speed 35 to 40 mph.
This
photo was taken by me in 1961 at the Banbury Run at Shenington
Airfield, when the bike was ridden by Peter Moffat the then President
of the club. The bike was on show as an appeal for funds to restore it,
subsequently carried out by Walter Green. At this time the bike was
still in the colour last painted by Harold Karslake - green bathtub
enamel.
This
picture I took at the 2010 'Festival of a 1000 bikes' just before I
rode the bike in one of the track sessions. There's 49 years between
the photos - have a good look.
December
2010
The following were taken after the bike had been power washed
and partly cleaned to get rid of the salt that it had picked up from
it's trip down to Wales.
Early
January 2011
First job in preparing the bike for
the Pioneer run was to sort out the
oil tank damage, which meant that it had to be removed from the bike.
Not an easy job, as it really is a
bespoke tank unit that also houses the ignition system. After removal
it was a case of finding out why the paint and filler had erupted and
determine if there was a leak or split in the tank. As luck
would
have it the tank was still sound. The thing about the Dreadnoughts oil
tank is that it has to be pressurised in order to 'help' the oil fill
the oil pump when it is drawn up. Under normal atmospheric
circumstances Oily found that the pump just couldn't suck the oil
through, so he added a schrader valve to the tank filler and
it
can be seen in some of the photos above. I must keep a mental
note of that item when I leap aboard the bike on the Pioneer run.
Anyway, after getting the tank out of it's mountings and having a good
look it soon became obvious that a previous user of the
bike had over-pressurised the oil tank, probably by
using a
powered air line and it had therefore bulged it's sides and
top. As there were no leaks, it's just a case of a re-paint. Not easy,
as
there is 'proper' lining on the tank and I don't want to destroy the
sides with a complete re-paint. We'll see how I get on.
February
2011
The tank has been repaired and painted. I was unable to find out from
the VMCC who had rstored the
bike after it had caught fire some years ago, consequently the
exact shade of green had to be mixed up and it wasn't easy. Anyway, job
done and the tank is now re-installed in the frame. The colour match is
not as good as I'd have liked but back in the bike the
slightly
different shade doesn't notice too much. On checking a few things, such
as the ignition system I found that the points sparked each time that
they opened and that is an indication that the capacitor(formerly
called a condenser) was not doing it's job properly. Out came my
Megger, which is an instrument needed to check the capacitor and it
proved that it was duff and no good, so that has been
changed. MOT booked for the 16th Feb - fingers crossed.
Post script
- the bike passed it's MOT and completed the Pioneer run successfully -
see the report on the Pioneer run elsewhere on this website.
BP