I have looked after this engine for the last 8 years. It’s lived in the barn with the (now all gone) dozen or so motorcycles and miscellaneous parts that formed “Nirvana Motorcycles”.
It was built in the early 90s by Dave Jupp (of VJMC fame) from a set of F2 crankcases that had suffered from a chain “blow” and various other scrap pieces that were about. It lived in Tippetts Motors showroom in Surbiton until the inevitable glass/chrome corporate refurb consigned it to the scrapheap. No room for this sort of thing in a modern motorcycle dealer.
Dave did a fantastic job. He split the duplex primary chain and half of it descends into the box below where there lives a large electric motor with a small electronic timer. Press the button and the motor ran for about 60 seconds before resetting. A glass mirror case and internal lighting completed the show.
I decided that the engine had to find a new home (not least because the owner of the barn was retiring and wanted to sell up and move to the coast), but had to be sure that it went somewhere that would appreciate and look after it.
Sammy Miller fitted the bill and after a few calls they admitted that they had just completed a new extension to the museum and that this would make a fitting addition to the new exhibits.
Today, Bill (the curator) came down and collected the engine for the beginning of the next stage of its life…
More soon.
) and has put that experience and his time into this book – urged on by the members of course!
