Riding the Vincent
RIDING THE VINCENT
Jody Nicholas, On An Impeccable Rapide
THE AURA OF THE first Vincent I ever rode, sonic 15 years ago, has never been obscured by any of the many motorcycles I,ve ridden since. I can distinctly remember having to have the owner start it for me, balance the machine while I climbed aboard, give me a shove to get me underway (because I couldn’t touch the ground then) and catch me after I finished the ride.
I shudder to think what would have happened had I found it necessary to stop, or had I stalled the engine, but my brief 10-minute introduction to the world of the Vincent was one which I'll never forget.
During the ensuing years, I’ve only ridden a few scattered examples of the machine which has developed a following that few other machines will equal. Vincent owners, for the most part, are loath to allow “outsiders” to ride their machines, and it is quite difficult to find a truly “-standard” Vincent. The owners are fairly consistent in that they prefer to use genuine parts, but they don't seem to mind swapping them around with other Vincent models. You’re quite likely to find a Rapide with Black Shadow pistons, or Lightning cams, but the exterior looks quite like it did when it left Stevenage.
Vincent Owners Club member Don Halliday, of Hollywood, Calif., has a machine that I wanted to ride: a 195 2 Series C Rapide in nearly original condition, which he has owned for many years and kept in immaculate shape.
When 1 arrived at Don's house that brisk Sunday morning, he was busy installing the exhaust pipe which had just been replated and was making a few minute adjustments here and there. I waited impatiently for him to finish, watched carefully as he went through the starting drill, and forgot my gloves in my haste to get aboard when he returned from a warm-up run around the block.
Don explained that he had installed the stiffer sidecar springs front and rear because he and his wife usually ride together and carry quite a lot of luggage. He also admonished me to remember to tighten the steering damper ever so slightly before taking to the freeway, and listed a half-dozen other hints which I immediately forgot. I needn’t have worried, however, as the big Vincent was deceptively easy to manipulate.
Despite what you may have heard about starting a Vincent Twin, there is no reason why one shouldn’t start on the first kick. Don’s bike proved to follow suit, as it never failed to start immediately and begin idling like a BMW. The machine’s excellent throttle response is due, no doubt, to its fine mechanical condition and the substitution of 32-mm Amal Concentric's for the standard carburetors.
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Clutch action is amazingly light; only two fingers were necessary to depress the handlebar lever. Feeding the clutch back out resulted in a smooth start, contrary to what one usually finds with the Vincent. A properly adjusted Vincent clutch is capable of delivering an ultra-smooth start. There was no slippage at any time during the ride.
Shifting is very smooth, but it pays to take one’s time as it’s easy to overshift and go through the next gear. With an overall top gear ratio of 3.5:1, the big Twin idles along quite happily at 45 mph in high, and the Rapide’s lack of “camminess” and brute torque makes it possible to accelerate smoothly and smartly from a lower speed without down shifting. Even though a slight vibration is noticeable, it is more comforting than objectionable. The Vincent's forte is high speed touring, and with an engine that is apparently just loafing along at legal freeway speeds, and the low, English-style handlebars that allow the rider to lean into the wind, long trips are much easier to enjoy.
Vincent brakes have been objects of criticism from nearly every motorcycle publication at one time or another, but I found that a Vincent with properly set-up brakes stops nearly as well as any road machine available today. The brake backing plates must be perfectly free from distortion and the drums must be perfectly true, but when everything is in order, braking is consistently straight and rapid, with little sign of fade.
Stiff suspension certainly does little for the comfort of a rider of my weight, but a series of fast, sweeping bends (with the steering damper screwed down a little) brought back a thrill which can usually be found only on a full-blown road racer. The large diameter wheels and small cross-section tires contributed immensely to the Rapide's rock-solid tracking and precise steering, and the stiff suspension felt reassuring except when the road got really rough.
Due to the limited suspension travel. I wasn't able to be completely objective about the ride’s comfort factor. But Don assured me that the machine is very comfortable with two aboard.
Most Vincent owners are purists who don’t mind the extra effort involved in keeping their machines spotless and mechanically sound, and the Vincent Owners Club members are a tight-knit group who know and love the big Twins (and Singles) from Stevenage. It’s really a shame that they are no longer being manufactured, but if they were, they would undoubtedly lose some of the mystique that surrounds them.
