“Saracen: historically referred to Arab or Muslim peoples in the Middle Ages, originating from a nomadic tribe near Roman Syria, later used by Europeans for any Muslim during the Crusades.“

Words: Trials Guru; the late Deryk Wylde; David Brand; Sammy Miller MBE; Bernie Schreiber; Trevor Kemp; Steve Wilson; Jon Bliss; Don Morley; Peter Salt; Erwan Spiral; Jeff Koskie; John Hart; Jay Lael; Christian Rayer; Nigel D. Green; David McNeil; Jon Griffin; David Pickering; Andrew Cooke.

Read Time: 67 minutes.

Photos: David Brand; Don Morley; Keith Walker; OffRoad Archive; Derek Soden, Wales; Erwan Spiral; Jeff Koskie; Nigel D. Green; David McNeil; Olivier Barjon; Christian Rayer; John Hart; Trevor Kemp; Rob Smith; Jay Lael; Jon Bliss; Ron Goodfellow; Jon Griffin; David Pickering; Andrew Cooke; Yamaha Motor Company; Saracen Motorcycles.

With special thanks to: David Brand; Olivier Barjon; Jon Bliss and Jean Caillou for additional material and information.

Introduction:

“The Saracen 125 was the first trials bike I had ever seen, It was in Los Angeles, California, Jeff Koskie had one.” – Bernie Schreiber, 1979 FIM World Trials Champion.

There are three stages to this story of Saracen Motorcycles, not so much a ‘beginning, middle and end’ – it is more of a first stage (Saracen Engineering Ltd), second stage (David Brand & Co Ltd) and thereafter. We bring you the story of a modestly successful small capacity trials, scrambles and enduro machine, built in England, exported overseas with some still being used as they were intended.

A significant part of the first stage was researched, written and published by the late Deryk Wylde, suitably updated and corrected as necessary. [1]

The second and third stages have been researched and compiled by Trials Guru with assistance from trials enthusiasts across the globe, including those who were part of the companies that produced the product. We also spoke with dealers, current and past owners of Saracen motorcycles. Some of the photos exhibited have never been seen prevously.

The late Ralph G.V. Venables, the doyen of off-road motorcycle sport journalists, gave the small capacity two-stroke trials machines the generic description ‘Clockwork Mice‘ in the late 1960s. This unfortunate description stuck for many years to come.

The first Stage of Saracen, 1967-1971:

In 1967, a couple of neighbours in Meysey Hampton near Cirencester, were experiencing the problems of wanting to buy a new Bultaco trials model, but ‘enjoying’ the asset of a shiney new mortgage ruled that out!

The novel answer for enthusiasts, Ron Goodfellow and Frank Underwood, was to set about building their own bikes. The late Deryk Wylde spent a pleasant visit with Ron Goodfellow at his home in 2001 on the Cambrian coast recalling those heady days.

Ron Goodfellow designed and built the Saracen motorcycles from 1967. The company built about three hundred machines in total in all of various types, the majority being exported to the USA. Other countries included France and Sweden.

The original prototype was a BSA Bantam engined version but supply of British made engines was fraught with difficulty at this time, so Saracen opted for the German made Sachs engines, initially with the Iron barrel, but later the all aluminium engine. They also built a small number of Triumph Tiger Cub powered machines. Saracen also designed a spine framed 100cc American Hodaka engined trail bike.

The Bantam Saracen:

The first prototype Saracen trials model was constructed from T45 aircraft quality tubing, the original intention was to create a quality rolling chassis with excellent handling characteristics to be sold as a kit.

Alternatively, sold as individual components into which a variety of motors could be fitted such as the BSA Bantam, Triumph Cub or Villiers units. In the case of the Bantam frame, the height of the power unit meant that the fuel tank could be mounted below the frame top tube to lower the centre of gravity. Ready to go, the plot weighed close to 180 pounds, so was a competitive machine.

From the outset, the swinging arms were mounted in eccentric adjusters which meant that chain adjustment was made with a single spanner, to loosen the swinging arm spindle nut, which then allowed the whole swinging arm to move forwards and backwards and set the chain tension without affecting wheel alignment. The sales brochures claimed that chain adjustment could be made ‘from the saddle’.

In the case of the slightly longer frame for the Tiger Cub, of which only a few were made, one of which for Dave Chick, the oil was carried in the frame with the tank formed in reinforced gussets for the steering head.

In September 1968, the retail price of the BSA Bantam, ‘reconditioned and tuned’, engined Saracen was £167 10s 6d in ‘kit’ form. Complete machines less engines were available depending on specification at £135. Frame kits which included swinging arm, adjusters, Timpken taper roller head races and finished in bright nickel plating were made available to customers, a kit suitable for a BSA Bantam was offered at £29 and 15 shillings; for the Villiers engine at £32 and 17 shillings and 6 pence and the Triumph Tiger Cub engine at £34 and 15 shillings. [7]

End of ‘Kit Form’:

Changes in the purchase tax regulations hit the kit form market hard and made Saracen eventually take a leap of faith into the complete machine manufacture market.

Ron and Frank went to the Sachs factory at Schweinfurt, Germany and bought five units on the spot which they brought back in the boot of the car. Five frames were built, the tubes were cut to the drawings and sent to Technical Tubes in Wimbourne to be bent to drawing. Whilst that was going on, a jig was built at South Cerney where Ron had moved into a bungalow. Imagine the situation when the tubes arrived back in Dorset and slotted straight into the jig, ready for the bronze welding. There were no lugs on the frame to save weight.

When the first bike was complete, literally hand built, Ron who at the time continued in his job as a lecturer at the agricultural college in Cirencester, took a day off to take the bike to Comerfords, where Bert Thorn and the team had a careful look and promptly ordered three on the spot.

On then to Ken Heanes, who ordered two and bingo, the first five were sold. Putting the next five sets of frames into the process saw the team move into a production mode. They hired a room above a tyre fitting centre in Cirencester. Then a stateside visitor, John Olsen of Cycle Trends of Santa Monica, California, saw the models at Ken Heanes and promptly ordered twenty, effectively becoming the US importer.

The Saracen story was underway. Proper production facilities were essential, so a unit was found at Stafford’s Mill, Thrupp near Stroud, where the five staff that included Jack Galloway and Jon Bliss, started making machines in earnest.

Iron or alloy?:

A significant number of the iron barreled Sachs model were sold, mainly to the United States. When Sachs introduced the alloy barrel and head, with a greater power output, an order for forty models for the States was in hand, so the alloy motors were fitted and a container loaded with the forty bikes. Checking delivery details with the stateside customer, Ron gave him the good news that the bikes had the alloy motor, wherupon the customer said that he didn’t want the alloy motor, but the iron barreled model, and it was the cost of that thwarted shipment of forty bikes that proved impossible to fund that would eventually take the company down.

The Sachs alloy motor:

Working through the five-speed gearbox, the output of the Iron top end Sachs was around 15 bhp, which was a cool 35-40% greater than the average Villiers supplied for trials use. So allied with the light weight, the bike was quite pokey, and suited the likes of Jon Bliss. In terms of specification, the wheelbase was 52 inches and the ground clearance a genuine ten and a half inches. The frame, initially drawn seamless 17 gauge tubing, which proved to be far more robust in trials use. The fork travel was six and a half inches and the standard rear suspension was Girling. Outwardly, the cylinder finning on the all-alloy engine was appreciably larger that the preceeding iron version.

Production:

Ron Goodfellow remembered one of the aspects of their production efforts: “Everything was very much hand-to-mouth, we bought all sorts of machine tools second-hand. Indeed there wasn’t a new piece of equipment in the place. Typical was the creation of the little ‘D’ shaped lugs that supported the rear mudguards, chainguards, and the like. There were about twenty on each bike and we used to cut them by hand and file them to shape. Then we saw a hydraulic press for sale for £40, so we bought it and got Boughan Engineering, Chris Stagg in those days, to make a cutter that would stamp out the ‘D’ shape. That made it all so simple we made so many we were able to sell them to other manufacturers.”

Press coverage:

Jack Galloway had won the Welsh national St. David’s trial in 1970 which brought the small capacity Saracen to the notice of the trials press and the trials machine buying public at the time.

Cycle World in the USA [5] ran an interesting test on the Saracen in their March 1970 edition, penned by well-known English journalist Max King who did a series of articles for the North American publication on several machines and various articles on the sport.

The test machine was TOU811H, a 125cc Sachs iron barrel model which appeared to be used for publicity purposes. King had enlisted a local friend, John Poate to compare the Saracen with a 1969 250cc Bultaco at an XHG Tigers club event near Bournemouth. Overall, King was very impressed with the performance of the Saracen. It is interesting to note in Max’s article that the engine in the test bike was the oil injection variant (Sachs 1251/5A) which was offered as an option. King also mentions in the report that Saracen Engineering also made agricultural machinery at the same time as producing motorcycles.

The French Connection:

The French Saracen importer was multiple French Trials Champion, Christian Rayer who had ridden for Greeves and Montesa, assisting in the development of their Cota 247 model in 1968. Rayer had a trials shop called ‘Motos 92’ and it was from here that he received machines from Saracen.

Christian Rayer: “I was the importer of Saracen motorcycles in 1971 with my shop in Paris. But there was more to it than just importing the British built Saracen. I was approached by Yamaha to develop a trials motorcycle for them. I had the first frame of my prototype for the first Yamaha Trial, manufactured by Saracen in England.“

“This was also in 1971, which I used to compete in the French and European championships. I quickly developed it further by working directly with the Japanese factory to arrive at the final TY model, which went on sale in 1973. When Mick Andrews arrived at Yamaha to become their factory rider, the machine was already completely finished in its final form for 1974 customers to buy, this was before he transformed it with the cantilever version and gave it a much different look.” – Christian Rayer

It is interesting that Saracen had a hand in the development of a model by the giant Yamaha concern, it gave the Japanese factory an initial platform to start from.

Rayer then made a second Yamaha Trial prototype, this machine was based on the OSSA chassis which had of course been developed by Mick Andrews who then moved to Yamaha.

Saracen at the 1971 SSDT:

There was a solitary Saracen entered for the 1970 Scottish Six Days Trial, that of David Banks, son of Monty Banks, who ran J M Banks Motorcycles of Cambridge Heath, East London, on a 150cc model, unfortuately David isn’t listed in the results as a finisher.

From August 1970, several improvements were made which included beefing up the swing arm spindle to 17mm with heavy duty nylon bushings, the option of both types of Sachs engine could be specified, the ‘Standard Trials’ with the iron barrel and ‘De-Luxe’ with the all-alloy unit. The fibreglass side panels were introduced and the whole chassis was now nickel plated.

The following year, Saracen Engineering entered a three rider team for the 1971 Scottish Six Days, consisting of Jack Galloway, born at Yarm-on-Tees, North Yorkshire and a former member of the Parachute Regiment. Galloway had left the British Army in 1970, moved to Cheltenham and began working for Saracen Engineering building machines at the Stroud production unit, he remained there for two years.

The other two members were Jon Bliss from Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, also an employee of Saracen and Birmingham’s Steve Wilson who worked at Elstar motorcycles at Oldbury and who had been scrambling a Cheney BSA, having his sights firmly focussed on the Shell Under 21 championship. Wilson was a latecomer to the party in that he had been posting some good results on the Vale-Onslow supplied 125 Saracen which he received in the February of 1971. The Saracen had been acquired as a trade-in and issued to Steve to compete as a dealer supported rider. This included an outright win at the Amman Valley Club, E. J. W trial at Gwynfe, Carmarthen in early 1971. The machines ridden by Galloway and Bliss were factory bikes.

Albeit the sales brochure hailed the Saracen 125 as ‘Super Trials’, the company looked to have decided to give the model another name, the ‘Highlander’ this was prior to the 1971 SSDT. The model name was mentioned by tester and staffman, Peter Fraser in the Motor Cycle of 7th April 1971 when testing Galloway’s earlier works mount, registered WAD32J the frame of which had the tubes under the engine. The retail price in kit form in April 1971 was £265. [2]

Both Galloway and Bliss being employed at the factory, had bang up to the minute, but tested works machines for the Six Days. Galloway was on XDF9J and Bliss on WDD63J both registered in Gloucester, both the frames on these machines had alloy sump plates and no frame tubes below the engine, similar to what Sammy Miller had done to the Bultaco Sherpa frame to create his ‘Hi-Boy’ version. Wilson’s Vale-Onslow machine had the standard production frame with tubes under the engine and was Birmingham registered as WOF5J.

All three machines were using the 125cc all alloy Sachs engines. The riders were issued with the new style TT Leathers ‘Rufryda’ red trials suits with a ‘Team Saracen’ badge sewn on the right shoulder area. These were the first coloured trials suits to be seen at the SSDT.

Steve Wilson: “Although I was in the official factory team for the 1971 Scottish Six days, the Saracen I rode was supplied second-hand by Vale Onslows in Birmingham. Russel Gough, a great sign writer did the paint stripes on the tank and side panels. I had fitted a Honda 50 front hub, a Montesa front mudguard and my frame had the tubes and not a bash plate under the engine, which was wearing out by the time the Scottish came around. I did put extra tubing under the engine to protect the crankcases from damage. I then built and rode the Saracen framed ‘Valon’ with the special Bonkey Bowers replica Bantam engine in late 1971 and rode it until my Vale-Onslow Ossa arrived in February 1972. I remember that I lost eight marks on the Town Hall Brae, having chosen second gear for the climb, the engine started to gas up, so I started footing to get through the first section, but the engine suddenly died when in the second sub.“

Top ten finish:

The Saracen team members did exceptionally well with Jack Galloway being the top performer of the trio coming back to the finish at Edinburgh’s Blackford Hill with the capacity class win up to 150cc and an eighth position overall, losing 66 marks, a solid performance. Next was Jon Bliss in forty-sixth place with 147 marks lost and Steve Wilson in sixty-seventh position on 190 marks lost. Three riders started and three finished.

As documented elsewhere, Wilson moved on to ride the 250cc Ossa for Vale-Onslows and Bliss continued to ride a Saracen for David Brand. In the 1972 SSDT, Jon Bliss still riding a Saracen (CUR12K) with riding number 206 and finished in sixty-seventh position on 250 marks, with the Saracen company owner David Brand in one-hundreth position on 309 marks riding a 125. Jack Galloway had by this time moved on and was competing on a 247cc Montesa before joining Don Smith’s factory Kawasaki team for 1973.

The second stage of Saracen – Brand Reborn:

The remnants of Saracen (Engineering) Limited were eventually sold by the official receivers to David Brand and Company Limited, who ran a builders supply company in Watford, in 1972. Brand bought the rights to use the name, Saracen and also attended the liquidation auction where he bid for and purchased redundant stock which included complete frames and other items. ‘Saracen Competition’ became a division of Brand’s company.

David Brand naturally moved the production south to Old’s Approach, Tolpits Lane, Watford, Hertfordshire, but by then the domination of the world’s trials markets by the Spanish Bultaco, Montesa and Ossa brands was considerable. Much has been written implying that this was the fundamental reason why Saracen eventually ceased production. But there was much more to it than just that. By June 1972, the pound to Deutsch Mark exchange became unfavourable with Chancellor Anthony Barber abandoning fixed exchange rates, called the ‘Bretton Woods’ system, allowing the pound sterling to float on the open money markets.

So who is David Brand and what really happened to Saracen?

David Brand: “How did I become interested in motorcycle trials? Good question, I’m not sure, possibly due to competing in cyclo cross events as a teenager. I started riding a DOT in 1959, a James Captain and then a 197cc Norman which had the leading link front forks. These were replaced by BSA forks and the engine was bored out to 225cc. This combination suited my style of riding and resulted in quite a few awards. Then followed a number of Triumph Tiger Cubs, an ex-Ken Streeter AJS, a 250cc Royal Enfield and then a 250cc Bultaco.“

“To sum up my ability, I was not in the league of the top riders of the time, in part there was no opportunity to ride on rocks in the south midland centre. Nevertheless, I won a couple of open to centre and meteor group trials. Time and Observation was my forte, I think I won every one I competed in, notably winning with fastest overall time on a 90cc Honda.”

“I had the desire to compete in the International Six Days Trial and so I rode in the Welsh Two Day on a 125cc Saracen in 1973 and in anticipation of riding in the ISDT the following year, I built a 50cc Saracen with Sachs engine and won the up to 100cc class in the Welsh. Prior to the event, Rond Sachs in Belgium approached me to build their new design frames, so a prototype frame was adapted to the fifty. The bike was going well in the Italian ISDT in 1974, I think I was the only 50cc running at the end of the day, but unfortunately I struck a rock with my left boot which resulted in retirement and many months of inactivity followed. My son Mark campaigned the 50cc Saracen with smaller wheels fitted in schoolboy events with success against much larger engined machines. Having restored the bike, I kept it and is still in my possession.”

David Brand was kind enough to contribute directly to this article, particularly commenting on the ‘Invader’ models and some special machines which he manufactured, which corrects previous articles published elsewhere:

David Brand: “The Saracen Watford story begins with my interest in ‘Clockwork Mice’, having owned a Gaunt Suzuki, a Honda 90 and a Clive Mills 200cc Honda.“

“My business involved marketing central heating, plumbing equipment and bathrooms. The core business was importing central heating radiators. We offered a curving and angling service, each order being tailor made from a template, which meant it was not possible to pre-make anything. As the trade was seasonal, it sometimes proved difficult to keep my four skilled welders employed. So I was looking for a product which required welding and could be put into stock.”

“I then heard of Saracen’s liquidation sale. I contacted the receiver and purchased the name Saracen and the jigs, then purchased most of the stock in trade at the displenishing sale.”

Getting started:

David Brand: “The finished frames, from memory a dozen or so, that were obtained at the sale were completed and sold. In the meantime, the frame jig was modified to suit the new under shield, the same as the Saracen works bikes. Simultaneously, fibreglass petrol tanks became outlawed. An alloy tank was sourced and air filter redesigned with alloy side panels. The 123cc Sachs engine lacked power, so I had the engine bored out to 199cc, Metal Profiles undertook this task. The original cylinder head was retained which resulted in high compression, this made the engine prone to stall easily. To overcome this, weight was added to the flywheel. Smaller diameter REH alloy hubs and black VF mudguards finished off the Invader model.“

The 1973 Scottish Six Days entry list viewed like a sea of Bultaco, Montesa and Ossa motorcycles, but there were three Saracens entered. Number 42: Billy McMaster Junior, son of W.A. ‘Billy’ McMaster, the Irish Representative to the Fédération Internationale Motocycliste (FIM) and a member of their CSI (International Sporting Commission), was entered by Saracen Motor Cycles and riding under the Farnham Royal club based in Buckinghamshire, albeit Billy was brought up in Belfast. He was entered by Saracen Motor Cycles on the 125cc Saracen ‘Invader’. Billy was twenty-seventh placed on 153 marks for the week. It is possible that Billy McMaster was receiving support from the dealers, Windsor Comp Shop in Slough at this time.

Number 126: David E.S. Brand, the company owner on a 248cc Saracen riding under the Leavesden club of which he was chairman for many years, he finished in one-hundred and ninth place on 375 marks.

Private entrant, issued number 142 was P. Butler of the Middlesbrough club on a 125 Saracen, who finished in eighty-sixth place on 336 marks.

What’s in a name?

During the research for this article, we found the following names to describe models of the Saracen which ranged from: ‘Super Trials’ to ‘Standard’ and ‘De-Luxe’ to ‘Highlander’ and finally one that stuck, ‘Invader’!

David Brand: “Many people have asked the question why I chose the name ‘Invader’ for the second series Saracen.”

“In the middle ages, Saracens were invaders, renowned for horsemanship, utilising speed and manoeuverability, so the name Invader seemed appropriate.”

How Saracen came to a final closure:

Last ditch effort with the Mickmar 250

David Brand: “Various accounts of the Saracen story, written in books and magazines are not very accurate. To put the record straight, during the years 1972-1975, we had the 1974 miner’s strike and industry was only allowed to work three days a week. The pound was devalued in 1972 and interest rates had soared. Consequently, the cost of the Sachs engines was just not viable. Common sense prevailed and the Saracen trials bike ended.”

“I did however continue to search for another suitable engine, then I came across the new Mickmar 250cc motor designed by Michael Martin.”

“I thought all my Christmases had arrived at once, a British made engine of two-fifty displacement. Build the prototype and incorporate a front disc brake.”

“Unfortunately the Mickmar was virtually unrideable, the gearbox was full of neutrals and the front disc brake arrangement was not a lot better, both required much more development. It was a great shame as the complete motorcycle looked fantastic.”

“We also built a CCM 500cc trials bike as a one-off for a customer, but I have no idea what happened to it.”

“It wasn’t quite the end of Saracen. I continued making a small number of horse drawn carriages unsurprisingly called ‘Saracens’. When I stopped competing with horses, that really was the very end of Saracen at Watford.” – David Brand

Following the final demise of Saracen motorcycles, David Brand still required a hobby as his plumbing and building supplies company went from strength to strength, so he threw his enthusiasm into a new sport for him, Horse Driving trials, four in hand, a class dominated by HRH Prince Philip and David became British Driver’s Champion on multiple occasions. A different kind of trials. The company, Brands of Watford Limited is still very much in business, David Brand having sold the company when he retired aged fifty-seven. He did have a try at Pre65 motorcycle trials with a very well sorted Triumph 500cc twin as well as car racing with a Lotus 22 and taking up Historic Sporting Car Trials using a Cannon.

Saracen specifications:

The Saracen in production form by 1971 was a smart looking trials motorcycle, the frames were single downtube, finished in Nickle plating and adorned with a bright red glassfibre fuel tank and on later versions, the matching side panels.

Early models had the full cradle frame with tubing under the engine, but by early 1971 the works bikes’ frames had the alloy sump plate made popular when Sammy Miller had modified the Bultaco Sherpa frame to create the ‘Hi-Boy’ variant. The frames normally utilised a single downtube to cradle the engine, as the Sachs motor had an offset exhaust port. Subsequent frames made for the Mickmar engine as an example, would require a twin-spar downtube to accommodate centralised exhaust ports.

The polished alloy fork legs and conical polished alloy, six inch diameter REH wheel hubs set the machines apart from the then current offerings from Spain.

Dunlop chrome plated steel wheel rims, WM1 front and WM3 rear, were used, later models such as the Invader were shod with aluminium alloy rims front and rear. REH front forks were used initially on some machines with later bikes fitted with the MP Metal Profile ‘S600’ forks. Later models used the smaller five inch diameter REH conical hubs, available from 1972 onwards. All up weight was a miserly 169 pounds according to Peter Fraser’s test of the factory ‘Highlander’ of Jack Galloway. [2] The steering head used one inch taper roller bearings. Later versions were fitted with aluminium alloy fuel tanks given that the UK government in 1972 outlawed non-metal fuel tanks on motorcycles for road use. The speedometer was driven directly from the gearbox, saving a long speedo cable.

The revised ‘Invader’ model eventually utilised the Sachs six-speed 175cc GS engine, also intended as a power plant for military use in the German Hercules motorcycle. This modified engine for the Saracen received a brass ring on the flywheel and a larger counter weight on the clutch side of the crankshaft, this was done to improve the bottom end performance. All Saracens built under David Brand’s ownership were fitted with frames that had no tubing under the engine and employed the alloy sump plate, exactly like the factory machines ridden in the 1971 season by both Galloway and Bliss.

Carburation was taken care of by a German Bing 24mm carburettor, later models, a 26mm version.

The 123,5cc engine sported a compression ration of 9:1 with an all square bore of 55mm and stroke of 55mm. The 1970 specification stated 12.5 bhp at 7,300 rpm, this increased to a claimed 18 bhp on 1971 versions. The swinging arm was initially mounted on rubber bonded bearings, later models used nylon bushings. Machines were supplied with Girling oil damped suspension units. 1970 model year machines were devoid of side panels and a mesh air cleaner looked after air filtration. Later models were fitted with side panels fabricated from glassfibre resin and sponge type filtration, accessed by a separate detachable panel. The exhaust system on early models was as a straight pipe to a ‘Peco’ style silencer, later models had a more efficient expansion chamber system fitted.

Diversification:

Saracen had dabbled a fair bit with the emerging Enduro market which started out in the USA and the firm had established connections there. The Sachs engine was suited to enduro work. Even under David Brand’s stewardship, he too looked at this market segment.

Jon Bliss on Saracen:

Well-known trials rider, Jon Bliss from Cheltenham had been involved in plumbing and heating as a trade, but jumped at the opportunity to work for and build trials bikes with Saracen in Cirencester, not far from his home in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire. He would ride the Scottish Six Days twice on Saracen, then a third and final time at aged 50 in 1989 on a 250cc GasGas.

Jon Bliss: “I worked at Saracens from 1970 until 1973, I suppose my job title was ‘Works Dog’, actually it was ‘Production Engineer’ – I did all the engineering to produce all the jigs to fabricate the components to make the frames and swingarms. The most difficult was the alloy barrel engines which had a central exhaust port. The factory in Cirencester was on the third floor and no lift system, so everything had to be carried up to the factory floor and all the completed bikes taken down the stairs for despatch. I was involved when the all-alloy engine was being used.“

“It was quite an agricultural process in some ways, there was no hydraulic tube bender, it was a Hilmore tube bender with battens screwed to floor in a circle to obtain purchase and the use of a ten-foot scaffold pole to bend the tubing. When we moved to Thrupp near Stroud, we had a lot more room. I made boxfuls of frame parts that David Brand purchased for probably a fraction of the cost of producing.“

“Ron purchased a fifty-ton press and my job en̈tailed making ǰigs to produce the cams on the spindle ends which allowed for chain adjustment.“

“The factory team bikes ridden in the 1971 Scottish had altered frames with a six millimeter thick alloy sump shield and no tubes under the engine. I did my own and Jack Galloway’s frames. The modifications had to be done in the evening at the factory, as all the equipment was there and I did it in my own time. The six millimeter sump shield I designed followed the shape of the engine which had ribs underneath and eliminated the front down tube bend and the two bends on the side tubes, so consequently didn’t increase manufacturing costs very much. I told Ron Goodfellow that this was the way to go and get the jig altered to start making these frames to raise the ground clearance on the production bikes. Ron just couldn’t be convinced, he didn’t get the idea, he feared that it would put the price of the bike up. I told him to increase the price, they were retailing for around £235, whereas the Greeves Pathfinder was selling around £275 and the Saracen was a much better bike overall. My friend, Scott Ellis tried hard to improve the Greeves, but it was never a patch on the Saracen. You could rev the Sachs engine all day and they would take it, you couldn’t do that with the Puch engine. Ron said that he was under-cutting the Greeves to out-sell them, whereas I knew that by providing a trials rider with a slightly more expensive bike that rode and performed better, was definitely the way to go. He simply couldn’t get his head around that and I knew the Americans would have loved the bike with the modernised frame. I always wished that Sachs had made a full two-fifty engine, that would have made such a difference.“

“The electro plating of the frames and swinging arms was carried out by a local company which was about a mile from the Saracen works at Thrupp.”

“I met Stan Dibben of sidecar road race fame who by then was the new NGK spark plug rep. Jack Galloway and my bikes were gobbling up Champion spark plugs at an alarming rate, he gave us a box of B77HC NGKs, we only used one each ever!“

“Eventually I altered the frame jig to make the frames without under engine tubing and all the later ‘Invader’ bikes were built with these later frames, many from the stock that David Brand had bought at the auction.“

“The Marzocchi forks had parallel clamps, so I made angled bearing holders to move the front wheel spindle forward about twenty millimetres to decrease the trail, a very intricate operation.“

“I worked with Frank Underwood, he was a former scrambles rider. My original Saracen (WDD63J) had a five-speed engine, which had much better torque than my later six-speed model (CUR12K).“

“I left Saracen some time after David Brand had taken over production and I started my own motorcycle shop in Gloucester called Cotswold Motorcycles. It was opened by Don Smith who was quite a character. I liked Don, he was a good rider and a good friend. By the time Don opened my shop, he was employed by Kawasaki as a sales rep and development rider and tried unsuccessfully to get me to take on a Kawasaki agency, but I was happy with Yamaha and Piaggio, and selling and riding the Saracen for David Brand.” – Jon Bliss

Steve Wilson on Saracen:

Steve Wilson: “There is a saying, ‘if it looks right, it generally is right.’ The Sachs Saracen of the early 1970s, it did look right. A quality tube, T45, neatly fillet brazed and finished in bright nickel plating. Either by luck or great design judgement, it had a steeper than average steering head angle, more like today’s bikes really and the steering was superb. We could easily pivot turn the bike because it was so lightweight overall. Innovative chain adjustment at the swinging arm pivot point by eccentric snail cams, meant you could change the height of the pivot point to aid wheel grip, and they did grip well.

“The big alloy barreled Sachs engine gave good grip. The riding style of the time was rev it in first gear in most sections, as there was no surplus power left to spin the wheel. The bikes were beautifully finished with red fibre glass components, a low engine position by the standards of what was to follow but very comfortable stand up riding position, and competitive in the right hands. In my opinion a step forward by David Brand making a bike better than its 125 mini predecessors like the Sprite, Dalesman, and even the Greeves Pathfinder. Incidentally, a fillet brazed frame was air tight internally, apart from open ends like steering head. A good plating company back in the day would copper dip, nickel plate the thick bit, then Chrome plate the thin bit. All this should be rust and weather resistant. Many frames have survived forty to fifty years because of all the above.“

“I built the Saracen for Len Vale-Onslow senior with a Mickmar engine in 1974 and tested it marking out the British Experts course in Wales with Ross Winwood in November 1974.

Len senior who we all referred to as ‘Mister’ he commissioned the Mickmar build, I can even remember I charged them £70 for all the work done. I told them that it’s fragile in the gearbox department and suggested to Vale-Onslows that they get Alan Wright to ride it which they did for the 1974 – 1975 winter season.“

“David Brand of Saracen approached Bonkey and I to see if we would ride in the 1972 Welsh Two-Day as he was building a couple of enduro bikes of which the Sachs engine was well suited to. We agreed and the bikes came with very large speedometers with very long speedo cables and bulb horn and large alloy tanks. We set about preparing them and entered the event.”

“Bonkey managed to lose his chain completely in a deep ditch, he never found the chain, so he retired. I got through day one, so they allowed Bonkey to follow me round on day two. I proceeded to wipe myself out drifting through a series of bends and managed to crash heavily, hurting my shoulder. Bonkey appeared on the scene and whipped my helmet off. Then Andy Roberton stoopped and asked if I needed an ambulance? I said I was OK, but I had concussion due to a bang on the head. Game over! Bonkey was bitten by the enduro bug and I guess that Saracen ride set him up to ride successfully in those events thereafter.” – Steve Wilson

Sammy Miller MBE on Saracen:

We have been supplied with a press feature that was used by Saracen to promote their product, a machine test and report by eleven times British and twice European Trials Champion, Sammy Miller. [6]

‘Harassing Saracens’ by Sammy Miller.

“The Saracens had a reputation for harassing more powerful enemies and this is exactly what new manufacturer David Brand plans to do with his Sachs-engined one-two-five. One of the most attractive foreign-powered trials bikes made in Britain, the Saracen now sports a six-speed gearbox which provides usable ratios for the rough stuff and the road. Very wisely, the revivalist of a make which seemed doomed to disappear has made a few changes to the original specifications of a machine on which Jack Galloway finished eighth in the Scottish Six Days. With its orange-red glass fibre and bright nickel frame, the Saracen is a high quality product designed to stand the rigours of an all-weather sport. Price is £252 in kit form.

The 52 inch wheel base is about the best compromise. Shorter machines tend to lift the front wheel without provocation. During the test, on my practice ground, near Christchurch, Hants., the handling could not be faulted.

Thanks to a 10 1/2 inch ground clearance, rock sections presented no problem but, as with all 125s, the small engine was inclined to struggle on steep climbs.

Gear ratios range from a 44.6 bottom to a 11.9 to 1 top. This provides a good spread of available power, first and second being the most usable cogs for observed sections.

Third gear is a shade too high for anything except unusually flat mud but the sheer guts of the motor enabled me to crest severe gradients in second gear. Top gear was good for 60-65 mph on the road.

Though retaining buzzy characteristics of previous Sachs units, the engine packed a lot of top end power. The test bike was fitted with a normal contact breaker but the first batch of production jobs from Watford will have transistorised ignition.

The Saracen breathes through a 26mm Bing carburetter and a well conceived air filter with detachable cover in the glass fibre centre section.

Silencing was well above average for a 125. Exhaust noise was about the same level as that of a 250 trials machine and well within the ACU decibel limit which comes into force in the New Year.

Travel of a rather high geared kickstarter is restricted by a folding footrest. It took me a little time to master the technique but starting was generally a first prod affair requiring little effort.

The combination of alloy folding pegs and five inch lift handlebar gave a good riding position from which I appreciated luxurious Amal light alloy levers and nylon cables. The MP 600 series telescopic forks worked smoothly and Sprite brakes on both wheels were waterproof. If anything, the bike was over-braked, a good point on any machine.

Standard equipment includes steel rims and a prop stand neatly tucked away on the left, which really does its job.

Timpken taper roller bearings are fitted to the steering head while the rear suspension is pivoted on nylon bushes.

Girling rear suspension legs with a rating of 60 to 90 lb proved ideal. The bike was an aggressive little rock bug with no vices on teasing out-crops.

An admirable choice for the beginner to whom a 250 could prove too much of a handful. The Saracen is light, reliable, and well finished job with adequate power.

Not least of its attributes is the sales policy of the man responsible for perpetuating the name. David Brand is acutely aware of the importance of after sales service and he intends to carry a full range of engine and cycle spares.

I am sure this will pay dividends for there is nothing more disappointing to a customer than owning a bike and being unable to enjoy it because of poor service.” – Sammy Miller

Don Morley and the Saracen’s achilles’ heel:

“I am of the opinion they were THE best handling of the Mini Bikes of their time and I did test one at one stage. I also decided to actually buy one, if I could minus engine, with the view to then altering the frame fittings so to take a 200cc Triumph Tiger Cub engine instead.

However I did not do so in the finish because it became obvious the Saracen frame had one particular design fault, being the swinging arm fixing and more especially the swinging arm spindle. To me the swingarm itself was too spindly and weak.

As I recall quite a few who did actually buy these otherwise lovely little early bikes suffered this fate. I can’t remember the full details now but seem to remember the swing arm spindles or swing arm gave problems. And again if I remember correctly it was not possible for most to be able to cure, not least as it would need a new and heftier swing arm assembly which could also allow for the fitting of a much larger diameter and stronger spindle. Other than that, a beautifully finished motorcycle.” – Don Morley

Derek Cranfield, motorcycle dealer on Saracen:

“I had a shop in Farnborough, Hampshire, trading as Len Savage Motorcycles, we were one of the first Saracen dealers in the south and I was one of the first to ride one. It was my first trials bike with the brake on the right and the gear-lever on the left, frightening! When going down a small road in Devon, a car came quite fast the other way, I went to brake, stabbed down on the gear lever instead. Those Saracens could rev!” – Derek Cranfield

Active trials rider in the 1960s and 70s, John A. Davies from Llandrindod Wells, Wales:

“I received a Saracen issued by the factory for a short period, but I was asked to compete with it at all the National trials, especially the trade supported ones. I politely declined this offer with appreciation of a bike with spares, as I was a newly family man and had started our business in April 1965. I wasn’t financially fit enough to have time off, especially Saturdays which were the best day of the week for us.

I asked to buy a new Saracen which they sold me at a special price and I rode it with a lot of success here in Wales or gave a good account of my little Saracen, where maybe the opposition wasn’t too strong too often although we had a lot of Midland and Western Centre riders frequently which we fought against in Welsh Trials. The late Roger Maughfling of Superprox sold sprockets to Saracen and he was the instigator of my Saracen ‘works’ bike originally. The boss man, Ron Goodfellow was a real gentleman and a proper engineer, he really knew his stuff, but sadly didn’t have, I understand, the business acumen to deal with the running of his factory and in a very short time it closed down. To my mind at the time, they should never have gone as they were a very nicely engineered motorcycle and a good engineer behind them, which should have succeeded but sadly didn’t.” – John A. Davies

Five times ACU Cheshire Centre Trials Champion, Peter Salt:

” Some thirty five years ago, I came across a Sprite and Saracen that had been stored in a cellar of an engineering business in an old cotton mill at Congleton, Cheshire which had flooded when the nearby river burst its banks. The bikes needed completely stripping down to make sure there was no ongoing damaged caused by the water ingress. The frame was well protected by the nickle plating and the bike was quite an easy restoration. I still have both these bikes, but never used them for competition.” – Peter Salt

Trevor Kemp, formerly of Honda UK, Silkolene and Yamaha Factory Racing and the Saracen Mickmar:

Trevor Kemp: “I own a Saracen fitted from new with a 250cc Mickmar engine and have done so for many years in fact. A very good and local trials rider friend of mine, Alan Garrett bought it from David Brand via an advert.

He only rode it once in a trial in which it broke down. He then placed an advert and sold it to a gentleman called Mr. T Knight from Norwich. It was he who sent the engine to Michael Martin, who was by this time at Talon Engineering, to be re-built. This was back in 1976.“

“I bumped into Mr. Knight at a Honda dealer opening in Norfolk several years later where he told me he had this bike and was putting it together to ride. I did mention to him that if he ever wanted to sell it I would be interested. I saw him maybe a couple years later and he informed me that he had got no further with the Saracen and would be prepared to sell it to me. This was in early 1988.”

“I did strip the engine more out of interest than anything else. Some of the Lucas ignition was missing, so I fitted a different ignition system. Despite a strong spark, I could not get it to start, although it did fire now and again. When checking the timing I noticed the engine looked to be running backwards. I thought this can’t be, so I rang Michael Martin with the information on who I had got the bike from. Michael came back to me later and that particular engine was actually designed to run backwards, with the idea it would give more traction to the back wheel. He did say that that engine was the first one produced and was sold to Saracen with a potential order for more.“

“I rode it several times with great success. I won a couple of Pre65 events until someone rightly pointed out that a machine built in 1973 wasn’t truly Pre65!

When I moved across to the USA with my work, Pete Carson bought it off me. He never rode it in a trial but had the engine out and stripped the frame down. Pete never put it back together and I now have it back again to put it back together once more. There are a few bits missing frame wise that I am currently trying to source.” – Trevor Kemp

More on Mickmar:

The Mickmar engine, designed and manufactured by Michael Martin, formerly of BSA under the business name of Mickmar Engines Ltd, which he set up in 1972 with his redundancy severance payment from BSA, had the following specification:

Bore: 72mm x Stroke: 60mm, giving a capacity of 246cc, output of 18 BHP at 5,750 rpm, Torque of 20 ft/lb at 4,800 rpm. The engine in Trevor Kemp’s Saracen, being an early unit, was built at Selly Oak, Birmingham and supplied to Saracen at Watford in 1973.

Michael Martin then joined forces with George Sartin, trading as Talon Mickmar Engineering Ltd. from May 1975 to 31st December 1976.

There were other machines built with the 246cc Mickmar engine fitted which included a ‘Walwin’ version, registered GON6L, which was made by Ross Winwood using Reynolds ‘531’ tubing and the Walwin trademark Dural aluminum plate subframe. The machine is now located in France.

The ‘Talon Mickmar’ complete machine, made in Yeovil, Somerset, by Talon Mickmar Engineering Ltd, is now exhibited in Sammy Miller’s most excellent museum in New Milton, Hampshire in the trials section. The prototype chassis was made for Talon Mickmar by George Greenland when he worked with WASP Motorcycles in Wiltshire. After use, the machine was eventually restored by Jock Wilson of Comerfords and SWM fame, before being sent to Sammy Miller’s museum.

Four-stroke Saracen:

We reported earlier in this article that there had been a Saracen frame kit that would accept a Triumph Tiger Cub T20 engine. So we researched this further and came into contact with trials enthusiast Dave Pickering from Nottingham who had such a machine, still in use.

David Pickering: “The little I know is a friend of mine, Brian Dale bought the bike many years ago and Edwin Wooliscroft was with him. Edwin organised Greeves owners club trials around the late 1980s, early 1990s and a regular competitor was a George Bown from Oxford who trailered his Greeves behind a Wosleley 1500. But one day he turned up with the Saracen cub. Some time later he sold it to Brian. Brian changed the position of the oil tank to between the steering head plates and may have made several modifications over the years whilst campaigning the bike. He sold the bike to Paul Flint who left it in a friend’s shed in Derbyshire for many years where I’d seen it and subsequently acquired it. I love the bike but the only thing that I think that shows its age in today’s trials are the forks which are an inch and quarter.” – David Pickering

We were able to check a few details, including the location of the engine oil reservoir and frame tubes under the engine, which indicated that this was perhaps one of a small number of Saracen frames built to take the Triumph engine or a converted frame which once held a Sachs engine.

Frames:

The Saracen frames were all fabricated in house, there are no factory records available to indicate the number of kits or complete machines manufactured by either Saracen Engineering or David Brand & Co. The production ran from 1968 until 1974. Frame numbers are usually stamped on the headstock. It is believed they were year dated. For example: 6960111 where the ’69’ refers to ‘1969’.

The Saracen Mickmar of Trevor Kemp is a short number and begins 73 and we have established that the machine was built in 1973.

Andrew Cooke, an owner from the 1970s to the present:

Andrew Cooke: “I stuck with my 1971 125cc Saracen until 1978, strange how l didn’t win much. But then I bought a Yamaha TY175 and John Shirt bored it to 200cc and modified the suspension and suddenly I was in the awards! When l bought both my Saracens to restore in the past few years, both had cracked frames just above the front engine bracket, which I presume was the potential weak spot after years of use.“

“The frames are incredibly light you can pick them up with one finger. My original Saracen in 1973 had a nickel-plated finish, but at £500 a time for replating l just had these two powder coated in a silver finish.”

“The odd engine spares I’ve needed so far came from Penton in America who still carry Sachs spares.” – Andrew Cooke

Across the pond, Saracens in the USA:

Jeff Koskie in California:

Jeff Koskie: “I started trials riding at age 13 in our California kid’s class. I rode a Yamaha 125 AT1 with modifications such as twenty-one inch front wheel and rearset foot pegs. Kids that were in this class and moved onto bigger things included Debbie Evans-Leavitt, US motocross champion and Indycar racer Jeff Ward, and of course, Bernie Schreiber, my neighbour.”

“At age fifteen, I graduated from the kids class and my parents bought me a new Saracen 125 iron barrel from the US importer, John Olson, founder of Cycle Trends. I competed in amateur and expert class, ultimately promoted to master class, against all the west coast greats.”

“I moved to the master class about the same time as the alloy barrel Saracen became available. Both bikes were modified to displace 152cc.“

“We arrived at 152cc by utilizing one piston of the Bridgestone 350 twin, and on the other bike using a piston from a Villiers 200. In addition, on one or both, the barrel to bottom end was modified to tame the port timing.“

“One of my memorable highlights was being briefly included in the movie, ‘On Any Sunday’, riding my iron barrel off a ledge.

“At age seventeen, I was offered an invitation to join the first US international trials team, being guest of Bultaco who provided a bike for the Spanish and French events we competed in.”

“Three months before the events I purchased a 250 Sherpa to train for the events, and my Saracen days ended. Probably would have anyway, since I’d sprouted to 6’2” and 180 pounds, still growing.“

“In mid 1973 I was approached by Suzuki to test their pre-production RL 250 both here and Japan. I became a Team Suzuki rider with Gordon Farley, primarily competing in US base events.”

“I rode through 1975 with Suzuki when their US team support waned. It would be forty-five years later before I got back onto a trials bike, competing on a 1976 250 Sherpa T.”

“I still have by original pre-production RL250. I completely restore and placed in a private collection.” – Jeff Koskie

Saracen machines today – Worldwide:

Export Drive:

It was mentioned earlier that Saracens were exported to the USA, France and Sweden with some ending up in Germany. We have tracked a number of these machines down in the United States, the UK and a very special one in France. Many of these bikes have changed hands over the years, but continue to be ridden in trial events. Testament to the build quality of these little machines, fifty years after they rolled off the production line so to speak.

David McNeil from California, USA:

David McNeil: “I bought the Saracen from a museum in the Midwest that was changing the bikes on display. I knew the man that had the bike before it went on display and had seen him ride it in trials events in California (John Hart). The bike was a good little trials bike for the Classic division as the motor had to be 175cc and under.“

“The bike rode well and it definitely got a lot of looks as the aluminum side panels were custom. I have only seen one other Saracen 125cc on the west coast.“

“I rode this Saracen 125cc to the AHMRA classic expert National championship America in 2016. I sold the bike in 2019 as I had seven other Bultaco trials bikes and needed to reduce the collection. Looking back at it now I wish I still had the bike as it was very unique and rare.” – David McNeil

John Hart in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA:

John Hart: “I’ve owned two Saracens. My first one was purchased back in the early 2000s, it came from a gentleman out of Arizona (Jay Lael). He competed in AHRMA vintage trials with it. I orginally was going to buy his Triumph Cub but it was a bit expensive, so I purchased the Saracen instead. I won a couple AHRMA National Championships on it. I ended up selling it to a gentleman out of the mid-west (David McNeil).”

“I stopped doing trials for a few years, just concentrated on vintage motocross which is my first passion. I just happened to find another Saracen in Southern California back in 2016, go figure!“

“In the movie ‘On Any Sunday’, at one hour and twelve minutes there is a brief shot of a rider on a Saracen. I was at an AHRMA event back in 2018, a gentleman came over to look at my bike. It turns out he was a factory rider for Saracen back in the day and he was the rider on the Saracen in the movie (Jeff Koskie). I’ve attached a picture of both Saracens plus a photo of the gentleman I met from On Any Sunday, he’s the one with the helmet on.” – John Hart

Erwan Spiral has a very different, special Saracen in France:

Erwan Spiral: “It was in 2019 that I met Jean Louis Leguérinel and his Saracen at one of the friendly trials I organised. I saw a motorbike leaning against a wooden post and immediately fell in love with it.”

“Jean Louis very kindly invited me to try it out, and the test ride was conclusive. He told me it was for sale. The deal was done immediately, without hesitation, I was now the owner of a 1969 Saracen.

It was afterwards that Jean Louis told me his story about being a mechanic for Christian Rayer and the creation of his ‘proto’, as he likes to call it (the Saracen). Christian had just imported this very manoeuvrable motorbike, but it had a small engine. Jean-Louis then had the idea of fitting a bigger engine and, as Christian was finishing his contract as a rider with Montesa, he had a spare Cota 247 engine on the shelf.”

“Christian sold five Saracens in France, three of which were modified. Two Saracens had Montesa 247 engines; Jean Louis’s and Olivier Favereau’s. Bernard Joquel’s Saracen had a Bultaco 325 engine.

The Saracens and their riders can be found in old Moto Journal and Moto Revue magazines, along with the results of French competitions. It also took part in the 3 Days of Corsica organised by Christian Rayer.

Unfortunately, all of them have disappeared except for Jean Louis’s, now mine, I have restored it to bring it closer to its original orange livery with its original fuel tank.

Jean Louis had fitted an identical tank in green, and I kept this colour too, as I like it. I still ride in a few competitions in Brittany, which I really enjoy, and I have a lot of fun riding it; we even finished first ahead of modern 125 motorcycles.” – Erwan Spiral

Jay Lael in Canby, Oregon, USA created a 125cc Hodaka powered Saracen:

Jay Lael: “My apologies to the original creators of the Saracen for this sacrelige, which I can’t help myself for doing. I put together this great bike some years ago.

I adjusted the steering head angle somewhat steeper from about 28 degrees, to exactly 24.5 degrees. I redesigned the lower frame cradle, to convert it to a flat bottom, so it will sit on a box without tipping over, and obviously got rid of the Sachs engine, so it required some changes to get the Hodaka engine to fit.

The wheels are Rickman Hodaka. The micro Metisse had a smaller rear hub than the Saracen came with originally, so it required some custom spacers. Mounting the Penton forks to the Saracen frame also required some custom machine work to get things to fit together. It has loose balls and races lifted from the Penton, and machined adapters that permit the Penton races to press into the Saracen frame. The swingarm bushings had to be fabricated from bronze material. I was able to mostly evict the whitworth bolts from the machine, using metric fasteners almost everywhere. The exception is the swingarm bolt, which is an amazing piece of work. The chain adjustment on this bike is easier to do than any bike I’ve ever seen. Just takes a minute and there’s no messing around with alignment as it stays spot on.”

“This was a very special piston ported two-stroke American Hodaka trials engine, which began life as a 125 cc ‘Wombat’, but this one has a heavier flywheel, lower internal gearing via primary gear from an ‘Ace 90’. Porting was done by the porting guru, Rich Gagnon from Utah.

This engine required a hybrid crankshaft, comprised of 125 Wombat left hand crank half, and early ‘Ace 100’ type right hand crank half, which has been welded to prevent the crank from slipping out of alignment.

The genuine ‘Sammy Miller’ muffler was a rare thing to find in the USA, and really sets the look of the machine. In the late sixties to early seventies. It has new old stock Girling dampers, Ceriani forks from a 1972 Penton motocross bike, which is fitted with only one spring, to make the front end soft enough for trials. I loved this bike. I eventually sold it to Vance Walker in 2023, a former SWM USA teenage champion who then sold it on to Tom Young, who sponsors a Canadian guy every year on it at Hodaka Days.” – Jay Lael

Jon Griffin from the UK:

Jon Griffin: “Here are my two Saracens, the complete one is ex-Brian Hyatt, who sadly is no longer with us.”

“It has for years been used by Brian in the Cotswold trials and still is by myself, I use it regularly. The frame has been modified before my ownership with two tubes under the engine instead of one.“

“It has an Ossa fuel tank and lightened Triumph Cub wheels. Like many others, it has a BSA Bantam engine fitted.”

“It’s a very nice bike to ride. The second frame is recently acquired from Marketplace and I am currently building it up.”

“The frame looks more original but it has been powder coated, so it’s difficult to tell what has been done.” – Jon Griffin

Motocross Saracens:

Nigel D. Green from Gloucestershire:

Nigel Green: “My personal affinity to the Saracen brand goes way back to my childhood. It was about 1968 when schoolboy scrambling was changing from homemade bikes being the BSA Bantams and so on to purpose built production bikes. My father was adamant I was to have a new British built bike, so he looked around and found a new local company, Saracen (Engineering) Ltd. He made contact and we were invited to Ron Goodfellow’s house in South Cerney near Cirencester, Gloucestershire,  this was to try the iron barrel 125cc Sachs engined Saracen, on a disused railway line. After which it was agreed they would build a new scrambles bike for me with the all new Sachs alloy barrel engine. Production was then moved from Ron’s house to a workshop above a tyre company in Cirencester and the bikes had to come down several flights of stairs to get to ground level, from where we collected my first brand new bike, a Saracen scrambles bike at that.”

“Jack Galloway and John Bliss both worked there building the bikes and being factory riders at the same time. Both had a great input into the bike they built for me and helped me so much over the next few years. The company then expanded and moved to a much bigger factory in Stroud, Gloucestershire, from where they continued to improve and develop the bike with help from Sachs and Mr. George Todd who designed the exhaust and engine porting.“

“They also built a small scrambles bike for a young Keith Ree which had a 100cc Hodaka engine fitted in it. As far I know, these were the only two scrambles bikes they produced before the unfortunate demise of the company, before Saracen was bought by David Brand and moved production to Watford.”

“About twelve years ago I heard of a Saracen for sale, so I went to take a look at it and, hey ho, I duly bought it and put it in the corner of the shed and forgot about it until I moved house about two years ago when it came back to light. I thought that I must get to and restore that bike and whilst restoring it, I found a lot of unusual things with the engine, so I start to do some research on the bike, only to find it was a special bike with alloy barrel Sachs engine bored and stroked to 205cc and built for the 1973 SSDT.“

“It was this Saracen that was ridden by David Brand I believe. Then I came across another 1973 Saracen 125cc Sachs alloy barrel at a local auction sale, needing a complete restoration. So I purchased it and restored it, so now I have two David Brand built Saracens. Then someone offered me an early Saracen in boxes of bits so I took a look and agreed to buy it, a 125 cc iron barrel 1969 Stroud built Ron Goodfellow’s bike. This is now under restoration to be completed real soon, I hope. So I now have three Saracen Trials machines. So I guess the search goes on for the elusive scrambles bike that I once had, you never know?” – Nigel Green

Saracen:

So, there we have it, probably the most in-depth article on Saracen motorcycles ever written, with first hand accounts from people who were involved with the marque.

A machine that was developed by trials enthusiasts to create their own trials bike from scratch, fraught with difficulties that were out with their control. Reborn and again thwarted with a different set of issues.

There were successful downhill mountain cycles named ‘Saracen Bikes’ thereafter, but there was no connection with Saracen motorcycles.

Bibliography, Source, Copyrights and Credits:

Parts of this article were researched and written by the late Deryk Wylde and published by his company Ariel Publishing. The Swan, St. Harmon, Powys in 2001.

Original text from Motorcycle Competition – Reference Library Volume 2 (Published 2001) – Deryk Wylde/Ariel Publishing – ISSN: 1368-5155 [1]

Cycle World (USA) – March 1970 – ‘Guest Test, Saracen Trials’ by Max King [5]

The Motor Cycle, 7th April 1971 – Article: ‘Saracen’s Highlander’ by Peter Fraser (1971) [2]

Cycle News, USA – January 15, 1974 (Front Cover) [3]

Bruce Brown Films & Solar Productions, USA – Screenshot from ‘On Any Sunday’ (1971) [4]

Article: ‘Harassing Saracens’ – by Sammy Miller MBE (1972) [6]

Saracen (Engineering) Ltd – 1968 Price List – Supplied by Olivier Barjon [7]

Trials and Motocross News – 10 January 1992 – Morecambe Press [8]

Trials Guru is indebted to Mr. David Brand, former owner of Saracen Competition and to Jon Bliss, former employee and works rider of Saracen Engineering Ltd for their assistance in the production of this article.

‘Saracen Motorcycles Story’ is the copyright of Trials Guru (2026) and the late Deryk Wylde (2001)

This article was compiled from information obtained by discussing matters from up to sixty years ago, with people who were involved with or competed on, Saracen motorcycles at the time. Apart from ‘Fair Dealing’ for the purpose of private study, research, criticism or review as permitted under the Copyright, Design and Patents Act, 1988, no part of this article may be copied, reproduced, stored in any form of retrieval system, electronic or otherwise or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, electrical, mechanical, optical, chemical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior written permission of the author as stated above. This article is not being published for any monetary reward or monetisation, be that online or in print. (If any photograph is found to be subject of any current copyright restrictions that we were unaware of, please contact this website and it will be removed accordingly.)