The club for all Douglas motorcycle owners, everywhere.
Thanks to everyone who turned out for the Popham Mega Meet. Ten Douglases spanning the years from the early ’30s to the late ’50s made an impressive display, and included a rare model D33. Always great to see unusual machines out on the road, where they belong.
One of my favourite events of the vintage and classic year, the VMCC’s Taverners Section’s rally, takes place on the 21st of July. The venue is Stanford Hall, near Lutterworth in Leicestershire, as usual.
The London Douglas MCC will have our usual stand there, so please come along, have a chat and admire the machines!
Apart from being a good day out, the Founder’s Day rally also features an excellent auto-jumble – I invariably come home with more ‘stuff’ I didn’t know I needed! Fingers crossed for the weather …
Sunday 12th May is the diary date for a social meeting at the Royal Armouries in Fareham, PO17 6AN. Bike parking, the cafe and the Armouries are all free of charge, so it’s a good opportunity to fire up the Douglas* and enjoy some Spring sunshine. Meeting time is 12.00 and we look forward to seeing you there.
*Other machines are also welcome!
One of my regular tasks as webmaster is to update the Douglas Spares lists on this site – click pre-war and post-war if you haven’t looked at them recently. Recent additions to the post-war list include battery carriers for Mark Series models and crankcase breather valves for Dragonflys; new parts are added regularly, so it’s worth bookmarking the page. The Club’s spares scheme is open to all members, and the unsung heroes who run the pre- and post-war schemes deserve a vote of thanks for helping the rest of us keep our machines on the road!
I was asked recently where one could buy a battery for a Dragonfly. My answer was that I didn’t know; I presume motorcycle shops still sell lead-acid batteries but clearly one cannot order them on-line to be sent through the post! I haven’t bought one in years – not since I discovered sealed AGM batteries. AGM stands for Absorbent Glass Mat and is an advanced type of lead acid battery that is sealed, spill-free, and maintenance-free. I have them on all my older machines – they are inexpensive, unaffected by vibration and appear to hold their charge almost indefinitely! Ebay offers a wide range of sizes and capacities. The only change needed is to the connectors, which are generally the Lucar spade type found on modern vehicles. So, if the Douglas is laid up for the winter and you’re wondering if the lights will still work come next spring – I can strongly recommend an AGM battery as the way forward!
The London Douglas Motor Cycle Club 