Entries are now officially open (17/10/2018) for the annual Scottish Six Days Trial which takes place in Lochaber, Scotland on May 6th – 11th 2019.
Entries are likely to be oversubscribed, so the inevitable ballot will be used.
However if you don’t attempt to enter, then you certainly won’t be in the event!
Entries are only possible online by accessing the official website owned and operated by the Edinburgh & District Motor Club Ltd.
Link HERE
Saturday 13th October is the date in the diary of trials enthusiasts for the 2018 Scott Trial which gets kick-started into action at 09:00 GMT at Feldom Lane, Richmond, the official starter being Councillor John Blackie of Richmondshire council, himself a great supporter of the event.
The usual favourite to win riders will be there, strategically starting at the back of the 200 field of entrants and once again it will be run in what is described in the programme by the Scott Sage, Bruce Storr as a ‘backwards Scott’.
Some new hazards have been plotted by the Clerk of the Course and the setting out teams to keep riders on their toes.
Trials Guru’s John Moffat will be on hand to provide some start field commentary and also at the finish to interview riders as they catch their breath after hauling up the finish field on Park Top Farm land.
Remember to buy your Scott Trial programme which will be available at the start field and in local shops in Reeth and Richmond area. It is an essential piece of kit, priced at £5.00 the proceeds of which go to the ‘Scott Charities’, local worthy causes in the Richmond area.
Also please try and keep traffic flows going according to the signage, perk sensibly or better still in the areas provided, these are all located in the programme. There are several catering units near spectator heavy sections along with Ladies conveniences, all arranged by the organizing committee.
Have a great Scott day!
This article first appeared in the April 2018 edition of Old Bike Mart, and is reproduced here with permission and as a tribute to John Holmes.
For more features and news from the classic motorcycling world, and to subscribe to Old Bike Mart, visit: www.oldbikemart.co.uk
Recalling being blown into the weeds by a sharp-sounding and decidedly rapid JH Special Triumph Tiger Cub, John McCrink visits the man who created it and marvels at his home-brewed craftsmanship.
About ten years ago, while taking part in one of Pete Remington’s excellent Nostalgia Road Runs in the Lake District, I was riding out of Ambleside on my Triumph 500 and quickly found myself on an extremely steep, uphill climb (1-in-4 no less) known locally and most aptly as ‘The Struggle’.
As the revs plummeted and I was about to drop down a gear, I was suddenly overtaken by a decidedly rapid and fantastic-sounding Tiger Cub trials bike that was making easy meat of the gradient. I got only got a quick glimpse of bike and rider before they disappeared in the direction of the Kirkstone Pass, but it was enough to tell me that I’d been blown into the weeds by none other than John Holmes from Natland, near Kendal, on one of his famous JH Specials.
I first saw John competing on one of his Cubs back in 1991 when we were both riding in the Saturday night trial at the famous Nostalgia Scrambles track near Sedbergh, Cumbria. His bike certainly lived up to the title ‘Special’ as it simply bristled with innovation and inventiveness. That was the first of John’s specials that I had ever clapped eyes on, but a few more have been built since then, all of them demonstrating the Holmes hallmarks of originality, ingenuity, uniqueness and pure craftsmanship. John’s bikes have become extremely well-known and widely admired in the classic trials scene, not only because they look superb, but also because they perform so brilliantly, but we’ll come to that later.
It’s difficult to know where to start when trying to best describe John’s bikes. His trials Cubs are lightweight indeed, consisting of numerous home-fabricated components. The engines are meticulously assembled using his own-manufactured barrels, and here’s the thing: they are created from solid billet using hacksaws and files, as are the connecting rods – a real labour of love. There are no fancy, high-tech milling machines in the Holmes workshop, just honest toil, and patience is a virtue. The frames and swing-arms are altered to improve handling and, where necessary, to accommodate John’s own oil tank/airbox needs as well as the home-brewed exhaust and silencer.
All these mods are done within eligibility rules and in the spirit of classic trialling, for after all, hacksaws, files and metal working tools were all available before 1965.
Unlike many of us, John is not put off by dealing with electrics, and where necessary he has created his own systems that work really well, but I’ll not get into technical details here because in truth it’s way beyond me! Undoubtedly they’re far superior to anything Joseph Lucas would have offered back in the day.
Most ‘special’ builders, having successfully shoehorned the modified engine into the modified frame, could be forgiven for then purchasing ‘over the counter’ items such as fuel tank, footrests, kick-start, control levers, rear suspension units and so on, but not John Holmes. Instead, out come the hand tools again.
Undoubtedly his background as a panel-beater, working on high-end vehicles, honed his metalworking skills and allows him to create such quality items as his petrol tanks. He originally made a wooden former for this task, but has developed his technique to a point where a former is no longer required.
Although John’s Tiger Cubs are unique, many people will remember the incredible BSA 500 trials bike he built, mating a B31 bottom end to a B25 cylinder-head, joined together with a barrel of his own manufacture which utilised a VW liner and piston. It created quite a sensation not just because of the hybrid engine but also due to the incredible inventiveness of the rolling chassis and other component parts all too many to mention (but please see the photograph). Some readers might remember that Trials & Motocross News did a detailed feature on this machine a few years back.
So John’s bikes are unusual in their originality and look fantastic. They are well fettled and beautifully turned out with all that alloy and stainless steel glistening – but how do they perform in the heat of serious competition? There can be no better testament to John’s engineering skills and the reliability of his bikes than to take the honours at that most famous and demanding of classic trials, the Pre’65 Scottish Two-Day Trial at Kinlochleven.
To win such an arduous event you need not only a good bike but also a good rider, and in 2007 John had that winning combination when Yorkshireman, Tony Calvert piloted the JH Special Cub to a fantastic win, dropping only one mark on the first day and zero on the second – quite an achievement. At the time Tony said: “I was chuffed with the win for John as much as myself.”
John’s bike impressed Tony so much that he had to have a Cub of his own, and managed to find one. The bike was then prepped by John in readiness for the 2008 ‘Scottish’, and guess what? History repeated itself and Tony triumphed once again, with only one mark dropped over the two days. What a team!
The Cambridge Dictionary defines the word ‘modest’ as meaning “unassuming in the estimation of one’s abilities or achievements” – and that perfectly sums up John Holmes, for he would never consider crowing about his bike-building skills.
Similarly, he keeps quiet about his competition successes over many years of participating in trials. He joined the Westmorland Motor Club in 1958 and was still competing 40 years later. Some people might be surprised to find that back in 1963, 64 and 66, John not only rode in that most demanding event, The Scott Trial, but also finished in the awards and won a coveted Scott Spoon on each occasion. So what happened in the 1965 Scott? That’s another story.
In 1965 the International Six Days Trial took place on the Isle of Man, and well-known North West scrambler Tony Sharp was down to ride the event on an Eddie Crooks-sponsored 175 CZ. Unluckily for Tony, just before the event he was injured and John took over the ride. It turned out to be one of the wettest and hardest ISDTs on record.
Out of 300 entrants, only 77 were British, of whom only nine finished – quite a rate of attrition, with lots of established factory riders dropping out – but John Holmes was one of the few finishers, and still has the bronze medal to prove it. Although not over-keen on two-strokes, he does concede that the wee Czech buzz-bomb did go well over the six days.
Perhaps the demands of that ISDT had taken it out of John because, come the autumn, although he rode in the Scott Trial, on that occasion he missed out on a spoon.
The trials world was saddened to hear of the passing of Kidderminster’s Jim Pickering on October 4th 2018, best known as the man behind the ‘Drayton’ brand special framed machines that have come to dominate Pre’65 classic trials over the past few years. Jim bravely fought cancer which did not preclude him from riding in trials, the sport he loved.
A talented engineer, always full of enthusiasm and advice, Jim was a regular competitor at classic events countrywide and was overjoyed when Scotland’s Gary Macdonald was the first Scotsman to win the Pre’65 Scottish in 2017 on a Drayton Triumph.
John Moffat of Trials Guru said: “I bought a frame kit from Jim to house a spare BSA B40 motor I had lying under the bench. He could not be more helpful with advice. He was a very friendly, open gentleman who I enjoyed very much conversing with when we met. He will be greatly missed in the sport.”
Trials Guru send it’s sincere condolences to his widow, Jayne and the Pickering family.
Jim’s funeral will take place on 18th October, 2018 at 15.30 hrs at the Wyre Forest Crematorium. The family have requested casual dress code with jeans acceptable. Please, family flowers only. Donations if desired, to West Midlands Air Ambulance & Millbrook Suite , Kidderminster Hospital.
Words: George Gage & Trials Guru
Photos: George Gage & Fin Yeaman
It comes as no surprise then that when Scottish trials dealer Garry Coward of Highland Leisure Sport had sourced a similar machine, George had to have it.
George was unlucky to develop Testicular cancer which then spread to his lungs, which resulted in 3 months of chemotherapy treatment. George Gage is a cancer survivor.
Goerge takes up the story:
Garry Coward sourced the bike for me, he knew where the machine was as he had serviced it for a customer for some years. The owner had the bike from new and bought it from an old motorcycle dealer in the Highlands. The owner moved overseas, so the bike came on the market. I bought it with the intention of using it unrestored, but this soon changed when I started working on it. Before i knew it, the Yamaha was stripped and the frame was getting prepared for painting.
George began work and did the following tasks:
The Richmond Motor Club has now released the start times and rider’s numbers for their 2018 Scott Trial which starts at Feldom Lane, Richmond on Saturday 13th October at 09:00.
Remember to buy your souvenir official programme, priced at £5.00 it is regarded as a Scott Trial essential. 88 pages of trial informtaion, detail, map, where to see, articles and rider list, the proceeds all go to local charities.
Link to rider list 2018 – Click Here
The annual Scott Trial, the toughest one day trial in the UK, kicks off at 9.00am on Saturday 13th October, 2018. Main sponsor this year is Riverside Quarry.
The ‘must have’ official souvenir programme will be on sale from Saturday, 29th September. It carries the full 2018 entry list, articles on local riders with Scott history, landowners and where to watch guide by the ‘Scott Sage’ Bruce Storr.
You can get your 88 page copy from the usual local outlets or get a copy online via the Richmond Motor Club website. (www.richmondmotorclub.com)
Price in the shops is £5.00 and online £6.50 to any UK postal address.
Local stockists include:
Brookes and Victoria Road Petrol Stations; CJ Tennant, Richmond; Neeps & Tatties, Richmond; Smith and Allan, Darlington; Piercebridge Farm Shop; AG Bikes, Low Row. Plus all the usual Reeth outlets.
Remember, all proceeds go to the local ‘Scott Charities’
Over the next few weeks we will be ‘freshening up’ some of the pages on Trials Guru. This is due to articles having become ‘time-bound’ as they were written when an event was just run and is effectively dated.
We don’t go in for a lot of trials reports on here, we leave that to the motorcycle press and other websites to cover. Reports are only relevant at the time.
For example we don’t carry all the results of the SSDT other than the podium as the official SSDT website already has downloads available for some of the results.
What we are most interested in is bringing you articles and photos, facts and figures from the sport.
So we will be withdrawing and amending some postings within Trials Guru so that the content is less time-bound and is more relevant to readers finding out more about our sport or help those remember how it used to be.
We are always looking for interesting stories and photos from the world of trials, ancient and modern.
This story is regarding the Scottish Six Days Trial.
Here is a photo taken by Ray Foulds, a trials and motorcycling enthusiast from Glasgow, Scotland who was happily taking photographs at the 1961 Scottish Six Days Trial. He managed to get to the top of the Grey Mare’s Ridge group and positioned himself just beyond the section ends cards. Ray Foulds rode trials, was a Glasgow Mercury MCC member and was also an active member of the Glasgow Lion MCC.
We are not sure in which order riders attempted the section, but what we do know is that Gordon Jackson, who carried number 166 on the factory AJS, lost his solitary one mark at this section. The famous ‘Jackson Dab’ was captured for posterity by the late Peter Howdle of Motor Cycle News and the image is the intellectual property of Mortons Media, having bought the rights to the photograph some years ago.
If you look closely at the photo of number 164, George Noble on his 500cc Royal Enfield, you will see the young observer, David Johnston (second person facing camera from the left) from Edinburgh watching George’s progress to the ends cards feet on the rests. Peter Howdle is on the right wearing an anorak, crouching with camera still in hand, the very camera that took the famous Jackson photograph.
The observer, David Johnston emigrated to Canada some years ago.
For those interested in the location, the hill on the left is ‘Pap of Glencoe’ and the Loch Leven forms the background to the shot. The section is located high above the village of Kinlochleven.
George was a farmer from the village of Skirling, near Biggar in North Lanarkshire, Scotland. He was also the brother-in-law of George Hodge, the seven times Scottish Scrambles Champion. George Noble was a regular first class award winner in Scottish trials. His son George Noble junior was a Scottish Motocross champion and rode for Mickey Oates Motorcycles on a 500cc Kawasaki. The family farm is called ‘Galalaw’ and was used by the Edinburgh St. George club to run the annual Evening News Trial from 1977 – 1990.
This was indeed an interesting machine, registered in Edinburgh in 1959, it was built from parts by Bell & Small in Broughton Place, Edinburgh, who were Royal Enfield sub-agents of Alexanders. A similar machine of 350cc capacity was built at the same time. The Royal Enfield was ridden in the SSDT twice, the first time was by John N. Clarkson in 1960 and then by George Noble, Clarkson’s cousin as seen in this article in 1961. The machine was subsequently owned by A.M.L. ‘Laurie’ MacLean from Haddington. In the 1980s it was bought by Willie Dalling, who became clerk of the course of the SSDT, but the registration documents had been lost by previous owners and the registration number was suspended.
For more information on the Scottish Six Days Trial go to our SSDT Page.
The story of the ‘BSA that Alf Rode‘ has been updated with fresh information and new photographs of the bike that has a great deal of SSDT history.
The latest news is that the very bike may be at next years Scottish Six Days Trial as a tribute to local man Ron S. Thomson, 60 years after it was first ridden in the SSDT in 1959!
Watch this space as they say!
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