Smoke and sunshine in the Peak District, it’s the Scott Rally at Abbotsholme School.
It is said that part of the lateral thinking that characterised Alfred Angas Scott’s attitude to design was fostered by an education at Abbotsholme. The man behind the unorthodox Scott motorcycle was both a student and a master for a time at Abbotsholme, a forward thinking establishment that has always encouraged its students to learn life skills, animal husbandry at the on-site farm for example, rather than simply ramming their heads full of parrot-fashion, learning for learning’s sake…well, maybe that’s just my view of conventional education…
Anyway, the great thing is that once a year, in honour of its marginally famous pupil, the school opens up to the Scott Owners Club and we all get to stay in a stately home for a weekend with excellent food provided by the catering team and a couple of kegs of local ale. Sleeping accommodation is provided in the student quarters (empty at this time of year) or space for camping.
There’s a good length run through the beautiful scenery of the Peak District on Saturday and the ‘Scott Gathering’ a small show and autojumble open to the public on Sunday. This year I decided to take my 1932 600cc Sunbeam with the Dog Box for Finbar on the back…
Irish Terrier considers his immediate future…
I would like to regail you with pictures of dog and man forging through the dramatic countryside but we had a bit of a problem. About twenty miles out, Judy pulled over. Her 1928 Scott Flying Squirrel had started making a noise remarkably like a big end with no rollers in it. Not good. Especially since I had been riding behind her thinking that the lack of smoke suggested we put a bit more oil in the petrol at the next stop. You see, I had topped up the tank with petrol before the run and forgotten to add any two stroke oil…
This is not as disastrous as it sounds; Scotts have a positive lubrication system that is the subject of much discussion. A twin pump feeds a drip supply to the left and right cylinders; well, not the cylinders but to the crankcases. This predominantly lubricates the big ends, mains and the curious spring-loaded, gland-type crankshaft seals. Obviously this oil in the crankcase is picked up by the incoming neat petrol and swept up to the combustion chamber but it’s a good idea to add a bit of oil to the petrol, then you can back off the drip feed to a lesser amount. Carefully figured out, this minimises smoking while maintaining good lubrication. I had backed the pump off but that made adding the bit to the tank all the more important. And I forgot it.
Of course the great thing with Scotts is that it is literally a matter of a minute to inspect the big end (see the previous post about ignition timing). You just loosen a nut, swing the retaining strap out of the way and pop off the crankcase door. This done on both sides, all looked well, with a reassuring little puddle of oil in the crankcase oil wells. So it looked like the piston was the problem; oh well…. Leaving Finbar to keep Judy company, I thrashed back to Abbotsholme to fetch the van and the three of us went to Bakewell for a commiserative cream tea.
There were some nice bikes on display at the Gathering on Sunday to cheer us up.This is a Silk single raced by Graham Rhodes who turned up with his father, Ivan. The bike was based on a trials machine that George Silk prototyped and is a one-off.
I also liked this splendid outfit. The wicked looking chair has been attached to a ‘barn find’ bike that I featured in the report on last year’s event in Classic Bike. Of course me being me, I was a bit disappointed that the bike has been repainted but to each his own and that sidecar is a definite wiinner.
Racing legend Sheelagh Neal and her husband Dave brought Sheelagh’s father’s famous racing sidecar outfit along, appreciated here by another great name in the world of racing Scotts, Roger Moss in the red overalls.
The Sunday gathering is open to the public and a pleasant way to spend the day should you be in the area for next year.
Cheers Rick
