Big names like Douglas, Triumph and Zenithmight have dominated the scene before theFirst WorldWar, but that didn’t stop anyone with a passion for speed from building a motorcycle and putting a new name on the petrol tank. And that’s just what CharlesThackray did.
The owner of Denby & Co, with premises at Contrast Works, he was one of the best riders in the local Ilkley and District Motor Cycle Club. One sunny Saturday morning in June 1911, ‘Chas’ arrived for the start of the club’s reliability trial. And he was riding the first Contrast-JAP.
The 500cc single-cylinder side-valve engine was installed in a frame of his own design. Chas used Druid forks, a popular choice for manufacturers and specials builders alike, and a Boschmagneto – the best in the business. He obviously knew how to screw a motorcycle together because the single-speed Contrast-JAP effortlessly completed the 180-mile run from Ilkley to Newark and back to win him the President’s Trophy and a gold medal that would look good dangling from the chain of his pocket watch.
A sturdy man with a warm smile and a handsome moustache, Chas was back in action on August 5, 1911, and this time the Contrast-JAP was stripped for speed. There were no mudguards, and not even a chainguard for the magneto drive. He was up against some stiff competition in the club’s hill climb, which was held on a half-mile stretch of road on Snowden Moor between Otley and Blubberhouses. J H Hoffman and J N Longfield were both riding new TT Triumphs, while Bill Manghamwas on a Matchless twin. But with a top speed of 60mph, it was the Contrast-JAP that won the day, and Chas went home with a handsome silver cup and another gold medal.
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der January 2020-Ausgabe von The Classic MotorCycle.
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Diese Geschichte stammt aus der January 2020-Ausgabe von The Classic MotorCycle.
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