How many vincent guys out there?

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Feb 9, 2012
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I'm in the process of gathering the $ to buy a '53 Rapide that i found, unadvertised! It's a matching numbers bike with a lot of documentation and receipts through the years. Has 2 front cylinders on it, shadow speedo, ribbed shadow brake drums..19'' wheels front and rear...beautiful machine. Not sure what exactly is inside the motor as far as shadow cams, what compression pistons etc. Was just looking for any advice from you vincent guys...i think i have all my bases covered but it doesnt hurt to ask. Also coming soon to the For Sale section the rest of my nortons so i can afford this thing!

How many vincent guys out there?
 
Britbike dot com has a Vincent specific forum, and I am sure the Vincent club does too, obviously. Can we call you by your last name for short?
 
thanks for the help buddy. I"m already on the Vincent forum. I respect a lot of people on this forum and know theres some vincent guys out there....and hey...don't we all like to talk bikes? some just like to talk sh*t.
 
A standard Vincent which is not set up right can easily chuck you on your head, however I'd still love to own that bike. What is the current market price like for one with decent mechanicals ?
 
there are a lot of factors of course but anywhere from low 40's to high 50's. One with no title and non matching sold recently i believe for 38
 
Find out when the engine and trans were last rebuilt and by whom. It likely has two front heads rather than two front cylinders as the cylinder muffs are the same fore and aft. The heads are not. This was done quite often in the early days in order to allow for bigger porting. The rear head only has enough meat around the intake port to allow for 32 mm porting,(stock ports are 28 mm) which is plenty. Back then folks thought the bigger the ports were, the faster it would go. We now know that is not the case, (see Jim Comstock's head thread)
This two front heads mod was often done on bikes used for competition, since it is fairly extreme. I have a bike like this, it was used for sprinting in the UK in the sixties. It came to Canada in completely knackered condition and was thoroughly rebuilt by one of the best there is, John McDougall. I bought it about 500 miles and twenty years post rebuild (long story)
It it tuned to near Black Lightning levels, but my stockish 28 mm port bike which is has smallish 28 mm carbs and 8 to one cr has more power. In fact the lower tuned bike has put the run on all the hotted up Vincents around here.
So much for high performance mods! Perhaps the original designers and builders knew what they were doing?
The cosmetics of the bike in the photo look good, however it is the internal stuff that really costs $ with a Vincent. A club member recently bought a lovely looking Black Shadow that was said to be freshly rebuilt. That turned out to be untrue and the cost to do up the engine and trans exceeded $25,000.

Glen
 
great info thank you. Its currently at a shop of a guy i trust getting it ready to change owners. I will verify that it runs properly and everything works as it should. I know the clutch setup is difficult and crucial. I had heard about the port size thing and he checked they're the stock 28mm. I dont know what exactly is in the engine. Supposedly it was brought to shadow spec. I have a letter from 2 owners ago that says it is a mike white engine but i havent been through all the documentation yet (there's a stack) to see if there's receipts supporting this. You can tell the engine has been put together fairly recently because it's absolutely spotless and gorgeous

How many vincent guys out there?
 
Mike White is one of the best.
Strange that they would use two front heads and not port the bike out, the front heads sell for about double the price of rear(used) because of the porting ability.

Glen
 
worntorn said:
Find out when the engine and trans were last rebuilt and by whom. It likely has two front heads rather than two front cylinders as the cylinder muffs are the same fore and aft. The heads are not. This was done quite often in the early days in order to allow for bigger porting. The rear head only has enough meat around the intake port to allow for 32 mm porting,(stock ports are 28 mm) which is plenty. Back then folks thought the bigger the ports were, the faster it would go. We now know that is not the case, (see Jim Comstock's head thread)
This two front heads mod was often done on bikes used for competition, since it is fairly extreme. I have a bike like this, it was used for sprinting in the UK in the sixties. It came to Canada in completely knackered condition and was thoroughly rebuilt by one of the best there is, John McDougall. I bought it about 500 miles and twenty years post rebuild (long story)
It it tuned to near Black Lightning levels, but my stockish 28 mm port bike which is has smallish 28 mm carbs and 8 to one cr has more power. In fact the lower tuned bike has put the run on all the hotted up Vincents around here.
So much for high performance mods! Perhaps the original designers and builders knew what they were doing?
The cosmetics of the bike in the photo look good, however it is the internal stuff that really costs $ with a Vincent. A club member recently bought a lovely looking Black Shadow that was said to be freshly rebuilt. That turned out to be untrue and the cost to do up the engine and trans exceeded $25,000.
Glen
Re; “It it tuned to near Black Lightning levels, but my stockish 28 mm port bike which is has smallish 28 mm carbs and 8 to one cr has more power. In fact the lower tuned bike has put the run on all the hotted up Vincents around here”
This I can well believe, it is a mistake sometimes to open up the inlet ports to a bigger size, as it will ultimately slow the gas speed down at low revs, it will also mean it will tick over reliably.
What type of ignition is fitted, mag or coil :?:
 
Beautiful Bike ,hope you have great time with it. Always enjoy learning more about other models through this forum rather than any other. So whats the deal with the 2 front cylinders? what was the rationale back in the day?
 
The lower tuned bike that runs so well has converted Norton Commando dual point dual coil 6 volt ignition (12volt system with ballst resistor)

Speirmoor, the explanation for the two front heads (not cylinders) is in my rather long winded first post. :)

Glen
 
worntorn said:
Speirmoor, the explanation for the two front heads (not cylinders) is in my rather long winded first post. :)
Glen
Missed that first time just read now. Well explained,cheers
 
:p The Dual Front Head trick was std for raceing , as the intake manifolds the dregs with the rear head , for that sort of thing . AND the carb gets missplaced .

the other heads all awkward , and best discarded . SO , its ' standard ' like that too . In fact theyd build them to your specification , as far as options went .

Maybe Worntorn would post the prep bulliten I sent him ? :wink: from the original . The Tuner quoted a ' Standard ' one will get 90 Hp & 160 mph , but he might not have entirely the same interpretation of ' standard ' as you .
crank output shaft and bearing were the initial limitations . ' Non standard ' parts required to further development . Not quite sure you should .

Saw one on a Friday Evening at Leaura a month or so ago , or heard it . two up with his son , into the roundabout . Raced over and told him ' You should get rid of that old thing and get youself one of these Hondas '
as it was a pleasant evening Im sure
he realised this was in jest . :D

If you buy a Manx too , you could put the vin emgine in it .
 
I would never own a Norvin, however I'd love an original Manx or an original Vincent. I think a Norvin is a bastard of a bike, and Tritons are not much better unless they give you a nostalgia kick. I lived through that era , and I recognize a genuine Triton from the fifties. A nice original Vincent set up with all the fork bush clearances correct, and the dampers under the seat correctly adjusted would be really lovely to own, regardless of it's state of tune.
 
I feel the urge again. That is a beautiful bike - I'd really love to have a ride on it.
 
If you put a good luggage rack on it and some Craven hard luggage you can really cover some ground with that bike.They are a wonderful touring machine. I did about six thousand miles on mine last year, no probs at all.

Glen

How many vincent guys out there?
 
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