Janaury 2024
JACK THOMPSON TRIAL DECEMBER 3
This year’s Jack Thompson trial, hosted by the Sidcup and District Motorcycle Club, attracted over 150 competitors to Canada Heights, showcasing a fantastic variety of bikes and riders, young and old
Steve Higgins 1951 Vincent Comet
Steve Higgins rockets up one of the trial’s slippery and leaf strewn inclines on his self-built Vincent single. Higgins specialises in Vincents (his business is Conway Motors) and apparently built this with spare parts that were in his workshop. “[I built it] purely because I restore Vincents for a living,” explains Higgins. “It’s a scrap cylinder head – a rear head, not a front head – crankcases we had lying around and my dad had had the gearbox for the last 30 years, so it is sort of workshop sweepings. It’s a basically a 1951 Vincent Comet. The oil tank is normally steel, so we made it out of aluminium to make it lighter; we also split it in half so it’s half oil/half fuel. We made a rigid rear end for it, because most ’50s trials bikes had a rigid rear end. This is my first time riding it. It’s not too bad; taking a bit of getting used to, and the gearings not quite right, but we’re getting round.”
Tony Martin Triumph T100
The shiniest bike at the trial, Tony Martin’s Triumph sits proudly in the woods. “It’s a 500 pre-unit T100 Triumph with a Norton gearbox and a hand-made frame which is about 25 years old now. The geometry of it is pretty competitive by today’s standards – not as trick as some out there, but it’s a big old lump” says Martin. “It’s got a lot of engine braking, so when you shut the throttle off they do throw you over the handlebars quite a bit – which is quite tricky when you’re doing a lot of slow technical riding. But they do grip very well, even compared to modern bikes. So on a muddy day, if it’s not tight and technical, you can actually have the upper hand on the modern bikes. It’s good to go to an event where all the bikes are different; everything’s been built in a shed somewhere. It’s good fun– they’re hot, smelly and put a smile on your face”.
Dave Blanchard 1938 Triumph Tiger 70
Dave Blanchard stands with his 1938 Triumph Tiger 70 250cc, one of the oldest bikes competing at the trial. “It’s got no back suspension and minimal movement on the front girder forks,” says the 77-year-old. “Because the spring [on the forks] is a bit weak, I’ve got some elastic band/inner tubes to try and offset the sagging spring. You need a bit of suspension to get the grip on the back, but I’ve done a few things here today that a lot of the springers [bikes with full suspension] couldn’t get up. So how the hell I did that I don’t know!” he adds with a smile. A veteran of the event, it’s his 28th Jack Thompson
