Whatever Happened To the Vincent?
WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE VINCENT?
THE Vincent, Phil Irving's design masterpiece, ended a 19-year run in 1955 with the Series "D" models, most of which were equipped with total streamlining. Although this provided the rider with protection from the elements, engine and drive train, public opinion was not with the factory, which had recently been through a series of financial reversals. Eventually, the factory went into receivership, and production was stopped during the early fall of 1955.
In addition to the financial problems the factory was encountering, British motorcyclists were beginning to turn toward the smaller, lighter machines being produced. Price was also a consideration: the Vincents were the most expensive machines manufactured in the world at that time.
But the Vincent name will be a long time in dying. Enthusiasts all over the
world are maintaining Vincents in per fect condition, and the Vincent Owners Club chapters are some of the most enthusiastic to he found.
Although complete engines are no longer available, certain of the more important spares, including remanufactured engines and frame kits, are still available from Roger Slater Engineering in Worcestershire, England. The Vincent factory in Stevenage, England, now called Harper Engines Ltd., is also making spare parts, but Conway Motors in London probably does the most business in parts. They are expensive, but are all of high quality.
Aching for a closer glimpse ot the fabled Vincent, we went over to Dave burst’s shop at 1127 N. La Brea Ave., Inglewood, Calif, to see one of his. Dave is considered one of the men to see on the West Coast for Vincent spares and information. He has recently returned from a trip to the factory in England, where he picked up a load of spare parts and a great deal of information.
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Dave graciously went through a partial strip of his own “Lightningized” Black Shadow engine to give us a closer look at what makes it tick. He’s grafting it into a Norton Featherbed frame (the sixth NorVin he’s constructed) and should have it completed in a couple of months. With 11:1 compression pistons, Lightning cams, l!4-in. Amal carburetors and a Dolphin Motors dual point set-up, which allows precise ignition timing, the completed machine promises to be a real bomb. Modifications to the Norton Featherbed frame include Ceriani forks, a Ceriani four leading-shoe front brake, and a Honda rear wheel. Dave has promised us the privilege of testing it as soon as it’s completed.
We had heard several stories about the demise of the Vincent, one of which Dave was able to confirm. He maintains that, aside from the factory’s financial problems, the biggest single cause of the halt in production was Britain’s reaction to the streamlined models. “Big Lambrettas, they called them. The Englishmen just weren't ready for them, nor, evidently, was the rest of the world.
“I talked for quite a while with George Brown, owner of Nero, the world record holder for drag racing motorcycles for a number of years. George was also Vincent’s development engineer during the last years of the company’s existence. I asked him if it would be possible to begin manufacturing Vincents, or at least new Vincent engines again, and he said that he estimated it would take 1 million pounds sterling (almost $2.5 million!) to get production into full swing again, and that he was sure it would never happen.”
We asked Dave what happened to the dies for the crankcase, cylinder and cylinder head castings. “Well, it seems that all the dies were out in a shed beside the works. The shed was on the property of a school next door and the school was planning to expand and tear down the shed.
The people at Vincent were told to get their stuff out of the shed, but somehow the dies were left and the wrecking crew carted them off to places unknown. So, it’s just not possible to get those parts now. The cases you see in the corner of the shop were the best used set I could find in England, and at $150 ! wouldn’t have considered them a couple of years ago.”
And so, the fabulous Vincent is slipping further and further from the picture, but people like Dave Fürst and Coburn Benson are helping to keep the legend alive.
