Seeley Motorcycles

Seeley Motorcycles
legal form
founding	1966
resolution	1979
Reason for dissolution	closure
Seat	Belvedere ( Kent ), United Kingdom
management	Colin Seeley
Branch	Motorcycle manufacturer

Seeley Motorcycles was a British motorcycle manufacturer based in Belvedere ( Kent ) from 1966 to 1979 . The company, which initially traded in motorcycles, was founded by motorcycle racer Colin Seeley .

history

After Seeley no longer competed in motorcycle competitions at the end of the 1965 season, he concentrated on the design and construction of racing motorcycles with his own frame, which were initially powered by AJS and Matchless engines.

After several experiments over the winter months, the first frame prototype appeared. It was built from Reynolds 531 tubes and was over 4 kg lighter than the series frame of the Matchless G50 , whose 500 cc single-cylinder engine was installed. The prototype of a Manx Norton front fork with a 200 mm duplex brake , designed by engineer Edwin Robinson and later marketed separately by Seeley. The bike also had a Manx Norton rear swing arm and a tapered Manx rear hub.

The frames, which were later mass-produced, had a rear swing arm manufactured by Seeley and - depending on the customer's requirements - a four, five or six-speed gearbox.

Derek Minter tested the bike on the circuit closest to him and Colin Seeley - Brands Hatch - and described it as "the most manoeuvrable solo machine I've ever ridden." He rated the front brake as better than the normal one from Oldani that he had installed on his own Norton Manx .

When Associated Motor Cycles (AMC) gave up their in-house racing team in 1963 due to financial problems, the engines could no longer be used, although spare parts were still available.

At that time there were no longer any manufacturers of new 350 and 500 cc racing engines that could have been bought, with the exception of a 350 cc Aermacchi engine. This cast doubt on the reliability of the existing AMC racing machines and led some tuners to use street racing machines like the Triumph Tiger 100 (GMS 'Monard' and DWS Triton by Geoff Mon ty and Allen Dudley W ard and Brian Bennett's double carburetor triumph) to develop. Although they were not expected to hold their own against the AMC machines with overhead camshafts , they were a good alternative for private drivers.

In late 1966, Seeley bought all of AMC's tools and spare parts for their AJS, Matchless and Norton brands . The availability of AJS-7R and Matchless G50 motors was thus assured and Seeley did not have to think about manufacturing other AJS or Matchless parts. The Manx Norton spare parts were resold in 1969 to the former motorcycle trailer driver John Tickle and then changed hands twice until 1994.

production

Production began in late July 1966. David Dixon tested a version with a 350 cc AJS 7R engine for Motor Cycle on the track. The bike wasn't exactly right for him because the frame had been tailored to the smaller David Minter and a new engine had been installed. He stated that the Schafleitner six-speed motorcycle was "the softest tuned 7R I've ever ridden." Dixon also wrote that there were two transmissions to choose from - a four-speed and a six-speed gearbox at an additional cost.

Dixon further reported in November 1966 that Seeley "... was hoping to step up the output of his Seeley 349 cc-AJSs and 549 cc Matchlesses for 1967. These will, as in the past, be sold as complete machines ready to race." (Eng. ... "hoped to be able to increase their output on 349 cc AJS and 549 cc Matchless 1967. These will, as in the past, be sold as finished racing machines.") Seeley was also out as a supplier of frames Reynolds 531 pipes.

Seeley soon also supplied frames for other machines. The URS 500cc four-cylinder was driven by John Blanchard in 1967 , but problems arose with the Seeley frame (provided by Colin Seeley Race Developments ), and suddenly a front brake that was not from Seeley, but from his Competitor Rickman came, Seeley confiscated all of his landing gear with the exception of the Rickman brake. This prompted the URS team, led by Helmut Fath , to only use Rickman- Métisse frames from 1968 onwards . Colin Seeley sold the frame privately. Blanchard later bought it, built in a Fath-URS engine and created a successful Grand Prix machine that the German Karl Hoppe drove.

Seeley-Triumph, built in 1969 (750 cm³, 80 PS), with Gustl Auinger at the Oldtimer Grand Prix 2016 in Schwanenstadt

1968 developed Seeley framework for road racing bikes with 250-cm³- QUB - two-cylinder - two-stroke engine , followed by the 500-cm³- QUB -Einzylinder-two-strokes, both by Dr. Gordon Blair from Queen's University Belfast .

Other engines came from Yamaha and led to the Yamsel , which was so successfully driven by John Cooper , and later also by Norton . In 1971, Seeley developed a roadster with a Matchless G50 engine called the Seeley Condor .

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, when almost all major motorcycle manufacturers had withdrawn from the motorcycle world championship , the frame designed by Seeley became the most suitable racing device for private riders. John Cooper won the 500cc class at the North West 200 in 1968 and Brian Ball was second behind Giacomo Agostini in the senior category of the Isle of Man TT in the same year, both on Seeley-Matchless. In 1969 John Blanchard and Brian Steenson finished first and second on Seeley motorcycles in the 500 cc class of the North West 200. In the 1969 Senior TT, Seeley motorcycles took four of the top ten places, a third, a fourth, and a sixth and a seventh place. But Seeley achieved the best result in the 1970 motorcycle world championship , when Tommy Robb drove one of his machines to fourth place in the 500 cc class of the motorcycle world championship. Seeley later used other Japanese engines in his frame, e.g. B. 1971 a Suzuki T500 engine from Hi-Tac for Barry Sheene . Sheene won the British Championships on the motorcycle, stating that it was the best road-holding motorcycle he had ever ridden.

Seeley motorcycles were so successful in competitions that Seeley earned a reputation as one of the best motorcycle frame designers in the business. In the 1970s, Seeley turned to automobile racing. Bernie Ecclestone recruited him to take over the management of Motor Racing Developments , work for the production of the Brabham racing car and from 1986 for the Formula 1 team of the same name.

Street motorcycles and others

Seeley-Honda 750, built in 1977

After the Condor roadster, in the mid-1970s, Seeley built a special, light, single-seat sports motorcycle with a 750 cc Honda sohc engine, Honda fork and tank, seat and exhaust of his own design under the name Colin Seeley International .

In 1977, Seeley manufactured a limited edition of 150 Phil Read Replica TT Formula 1 racing motorcycles for Honda based on the CB 750 F2 with add-ons from Seeley in the British Honda colors blue and red, followed by one in 1979 Revised version with the designation "CB 750 SS" in white with red and blue flashes.

Also in 1979, Seeley manufactured Honda TL-200 trial motorcycles, a smaller version of the factory motorcycle ridden by Rob Shepherd and with an XL-185 engine, Reynolds 531 frame, Marzocchi fork and Girling rear shock absorbers was equipped. All machines were made by hand and became collector's items due to the small number of pieces.

Other product lines were also developed. Seeley products were always immediately recognizable by their styling. Typical elements were the megaphone-shaped silencers with long cones that were labeled with Easy-Fit .

As interest in vintage motorcycle races increased, Seeley motorcycles came back to life with a win at the Manx Grand Prix in 1988. Since then, Seeley motorcycles have won this competition twelve times.

Web links

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d Seeley Specials in Motor Cycle , February 17, 1966. p. 220.

^ Eddie Robinson profile. The man they call the Frame Brain in Classic Bike , August 2002. pp. 58-61.

^ Special Equipment Review in Motor Cycle , May 5, 1966. p. 595.

^ David Dixon: Racing Line in Motor Cycle , November 4, 1965. P. 663: Great news for 7R and G50 owners! AMCs are now making a batch of spares and new engines. Already, some 15 G50s have been built but most have been sent abroad. However, more will be produced for the home market. Later, a smaller number of 7R engines will be built .

↑ Lookong Ahead in Motorcycle Mechanics , August 1966. p. 23: Following their racing successes at American classics such as the Daytona event, there is a strong rumor that the Triumph / BSA organization may start to market over – the – counter replicas of theirs Daytona racers. If they do, they will be the only firm in the world who can actually sell you a brand new racing bike over 350cc .

↑ Tag tables, price guide for new machines available in UK. Aermacchi Ala d'Oro racer 250 cc, £ 489 (GBP), 350cc £ 514 in Motor Cycle , October 6, 1966. p. 474.

^ DW Special - Norton Triumph 500 cc racer feature in Motor Cycle , April 29, 1965. P. 560.

↑ Ian Speller: Check your combustion, better balance in Motorcycle Mechanics , April 1965. p. 44: MM visited the workshops of Britain's leading engine tuner, Allen Dudley-Ward at Kingston on Thames, Surrey .

↑ Bruce Cox: Full Chat in Motorcycle Mechanics , November 1964. P. 7: ... he is using a highly-tuned T100SS with the unit-construction engine and gearbox. With development Brian thinks the Triumph motor could form the basis of a cheap, competitive and utterly reliable production racer.

↑ Villiers plan replica racer in Motorcycle , November 17, 1966. S. 680: Concerning racing plans, chairman Dennis Poore remarked: Because we have sold off some of the old racing equipment of AMC, this does not mean we did have given up the idea of racing. We have sold some extremely old equipment and had we tried to go racing with it, we would have been a laughing stock. After all, Villiers bought the manufacturing rights to the AMC marque names — not their past.

^ David Dixon: Racing Line in Motor Cycle , October 20, 1966. P. 542: AMC Racing Spares saved .

^ ^A ^b David Dixon: Clubmen's Grand Prix in Motor Cycle , November 24, 1966. p. 711: (…) he also hopes - eventually - to have enough Norton material to make complete Norton engines to fit into Featherbed frames made by Reynolds Tubes . and p. 689: Showscan: Seeley has been appointed as an official stockiest for Reynolds famous 531 frame tubing.

↑ John Tickle buys Manx rights from Seeley in Motorcycle News , November 12, 1969. Cover: John Tickle buys Manx rights from Seeley .

↑ Manx Norton . Molnar Precision Ltd . Retrieved December 5, 2014.

^ ^A ^b David Dixon: Lower and Lighter in Motor Cycle , September 1, 1966. p. 274.

↑ Photo and auction result of the Seeley-URS. Bonhams Auctions. Retrieved December 10, 2014.

↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d Colin Seeley: Racer and the Rest . Volume 1. p. 265. Retrieved December 10, 2014.

↑ QUB Technical Topics: Dr. Blair's 500 housed in the Colin Seeley frame in Motorcycle Mechanics . December 1970. pp. 46 + 47.

^ John Cooper interview with Charles E Deane: " I wish I'd started on the Matchless earlier, they're much cheaper to run than Norton. I still have the Seeley 500 and now the 250 and 350 Yamsels. " And " ... we're now producing the Yamsel road racing frames as kit for sale ... for the road racing boys who want a decent frame for their TR2 or TD2 motors. I have them in stock at my garage "in Motorcycle Mechanics . December 1970. pp. 36 + 37.

↑ ^a ^b North West 200 race results . northwest200.org. ( Memento of the original from July 21, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved June 11, 2011. @1@ 2