sloper29 London Douglas Motor Cycle Club

Timing a Pre-War Douglas

Now, I expect everyone with a pre-war Douglas has thought of this already – but I was quite pleased with the idea!
Some of the smaller pre-war models, such as my A31, do not have a plugged drilling in the cylinder head to allow a marked rod to be used for measuring piston position, so setting the ignition timing with a degree disc is the only real alternative. Fitting a disc to the end of the crank, however, would involve removing the flywheel and primary drive, which felt like a lot of extra work. The alternative was to cut the centre out of an old degree disc and attach it to the flywheel with self-adhesive velcro pads. Clearly, it won’t fit anything else in future but it saved a lot of work!

Timing Disc on Douglas External Flywheel
Timing Disc on Douglas External Flywheel

The next challenge, of course, was to establish top dead centre (TDC). Again, in the absence of a drilling in the cylinder heads, I had to improvise, using a long blunt rod through one of the valve caps to establish when the piston ‘rocked’ at the top of its stroke. After a few attempts, I think I got pretty close.

Close enough? Ultimately it’s a low-compression side valve. Accuracy is limited by the keyed drive pinion on the magneto, so it will always be ‘the closest tooth’. And, if, my crankshaft is typical, TDC differs from one piston to the other! I think it’s close enough …

sloper29 London Douglas Motor Cycle Club

Founder’s Day 2023

The Taverner’s Section of the VMCC will be holding their annual Founder’s Day event at Stanford Hall, Leicestershire on Sunday, 23rd of July.

The LDMCC will have a stand, as we’ve done in previous years. Founder’s Day is always a good chance to buy bits and meet people – if you’re going, pop into the Douglas stand and say hello!

sloper29 Douglas motorcycles, London Douglas Motor Cycle Club

Greyhound under the Hammer

Animal lovers need not look away – this is a Greyhound of the two-wheeled variety, an unusual Douglas machine from 1933. Lot 155 of H&H Classics auction on 12th July at the National Motorcycle Museum is a Douglas D33 Greyhound. The machine – APH 256 – is one of just a handful of this model known to the Club and is listed in the Douglas Machine Register.

The D33 was an updated version of the successful S6/T6 models, designed by Freddie Dixon and launched at the 1929 Olympia Show. While S5/S6 and T5/T6 models from 1930-31 are relatively common, 1933 was a year of financial turmoil for Douglas, with an official Receiver appointed in July of that year. As a result very few 1933 machines were built, with London dealers still trying to move 1932 models at heavily discounted prices.

While I do not generally feature machines at auction in this blog, this is a most unusual example of a 1930s Douglas and appears from the photographs to be in remarkably original condition. I hope that it finds a new owner and a good home – in the LDMCC, of course!

sloper29 Douglas motorcycles, London Douglas Motor Cycle Club

Spring is Sprung …

… and the Surrey & Hampshire Section of the Douglas Club begins a new season of ride-outs for the year. These are informal gatherings for a run, coffee and a chat; Douglases are preferred, other machines are fine and you won’t be turned away if you arrive in a car! The main thing is to meet up and enjoy the company of other enthusiasts.

The first gathering of the year is on April 16th at Blackbush Airport cafe on the A30 at Blackwater, GU17 9LQ. More details of this and other Surrey & Hampshire section events from Roy Staunton, roystaunton@btinternet.com

sloper29 London Douglas Motor Cycle Club

Pre-War Spares Scheme

I’m pleased to report that the Club’s Pre-War Spares Scheme will be up and running again shortly, with a planned start date of 1st March 2023. A Club member has kindly stepped forward and agreed to take on this key role – full contact details will be included in the next issue of The New Con Rod magazine, posted to Club members at the end of February. As the owner of a pre-war machine myself, I view this as a particularly positive development!