JEFF DECKER'S 'BLACK LIGHTNING' AT AUCTION

From the Bonhams Quail Lodge auction catalog (which I wrote!):

Jeff Decker is rightly famous for his sculpture, “the motorcycle equivalent of Frederick Remington”, which has earned him the position of ‘official Harley Davidson sculptor’; his twice life-size ‘Hillclimber’ bronze statue outsidethe Harley-Davidson Museum in Milwaukee is truly magnificent and a testament to his tremendous artistic talent.  Mr. Decker is also a collector of rare motorcycles (Crockers, genuine racing Harleys from the 1920s onwards, Speedway machines, etc), motorcycle memorabilia, motoring artwork, and ‘1%er club cutoffs’, the sleeveless vests emblazoned with motorcycle club logos.  All of his obsessions with the art and culture around motorcycling have made him a legend in his lifetime, especially for his outspoken opinions on these same subjects.

Jeff Decker is equally outspoken regarding his ultra-famous customized motorcycle, a 1952 Vincent Rapide which he calls ‘The Black Lightning.’Decker uses the term ‘Lightning’ to emphasize his machine’s full-race specification, and to puncture any inflated notions that the infamous Vincent Black Lightning – of which only 31 were built – was the greatest motorcycle ever.  In truth, the men who made Vincent famous by setting numerous speed records and winning ‘drag races’ all across the Southwest - Marty Dickerson and Rollie Free – used race-tuned Rapide and Black Shadow models.  

The fact that the most famous Vincents are not actual ‘Black Lightnings’ is critical to understanding Jeff Decker’s motorcycle: the parts used in its creation are mostly ex-Marty Dickerson, as used in his Bonneville Salt Flat record attempts and drag-racing career. They were gathered from archVincent collector and recognized authority Herb Harris, who supplied the ex-Dickerson crankcases, two front cylinder heads, and genuine Black Lightning wheel hubs.  Most parts used are genuine Vincent, and the engine is tuned to Black Lightning specification, with MkIII racing cams, and two ‘front’ cylinder heads.  As the important parts of his machine were actually used in competition, Jeff Decker says “my bike’s got more racing history than 90 percent of the Lightnings out there.”

After collecting the necessary basics, Decker set about narrowing the fuel tank by 4.5” and lowering that tank as much as possible onto the engine to emphasize the brutal beauty of the Vincent V-twin engine.  The tiny ‘banana’ seat is cantilevered from the rear engine mount, and makes the saddle height nearly 8” lower than stock.  He fabricated a custom exhaust system with terminates in a ‘waffle box’ silencer underneath the engine.  The handlebars are straight, with Decker’s own custom-fabricated controls.  The headlamp is a tiny unit tucked well into the girder forks, which use a custom hydraulic shock absorber.  The alloy wheel rim flanges are ‘Deckerated’ with aesthetic drilling, along with the brake cooling ribs, andan original Black Shadow speedometer crowns the front girder fork.  The complete machine is amazingly compact and light, weighs significantly less than a standard Vincent, and looks lean and tough.

Jeff Decker’s “Black Lightning” is a rare thing; a custom motorcycle built by an actual artist, with his hands and by his own design, as an homage to the machines which passed into legend through their racing and record-breaking success.  It is especially rare being a ‘sculpture’ by a famous artist which can actually be ridden down the road, and ridden hard.

'TOP 20' MAKES ROOM FOR TWO MORE...

My 'Top 20 Motorcycle Prices at Auction' webpage has been updated; the recent HandH sale at the Imperial War Museum in Duxford, England, on April 13th brought two heavy-hitter motorcycles to the auction block; a 1948 Vincent-HRD 'Black Lighting', and a very rare 4-cylinder Brough Superior from 1932.

This 1932 Brough Superior 'BS4' with watercooled Austin 7 motor and twin rear wheels sold for £266,500 ($377,950)

The infamous 'three wheel Brough' is one of 10 produced, and this particular example is well known in the Brough Superior world, having been in Frank Solano's possession for many years.  While the watercooled Austin-engined motorcycle was intended for sidecar work, it was perfectly possible to ride the machine solo, which was Solano's preference.  He delighted in demonstrating the odd handling of the non-differential twin rear wheels - which means one of the rear wheels was usually airborne; a disconcerting feeling, as I found when he offered a ride many years ago, but the handling was perfectly safe.  Click here for The Vintagent's 2009 road test of this model.

The 1948 Vincent Black Lighting needs no introduction - one of the most sought-after motorcycles, with the most recognizable name of all.  Discovered in Argentina, it has been rebuilt to 'as new' spec.

The 1948 Vincent-HRD Lighting was found in a highly modified form in Argentina, and was brought back to 'as new' condition from a derelict state, and the oil tank/frame is from a Black Shadow.  The Vincent Owner's Club gave its blessing to the machine though, stating in effect, 'a Lightning is all about the engine', and the engine on this machine is the genuine article. Click here for The Vintagent's road test of this model.

THE BLUE BIKE

Marty Dickerson on his Rapide in 1953 at the Bonneville Salt Flats

In 1948, an eighteen year old walked into ‘Mickey’ Martin’s Burbank Vincent-HRD dealership, putting a cash deposit on the $1120 sale price of a new ‘Series B’ Touring Rapide, starting a payment plan on what was then the most expensive motorcycle in the world.  The inspiration for his trip to Martin’s LA emporium were the boasts of a Vincent-owning Scotsman who spoke of leaving ‘long black streaks’ on the highway while passing cars, in third gear and 70mph no less. Readers of the late 40s motorcycle press were familiar with Vincent-HRD ads touting impossible speeds, right beside ads for x-ray glasses and miracle bodybuilding powders.  Very few Americans had actually seen a Vincent, even less had ridden one to test the claims.

Marty Dickerson, the youth in question, thought the Rapide was ugly, but he “wanted that power, wanted that speed”.  He was not disappointed with his purchase, and quickly came to understand he now owned the fastest motorcycle on the planet, and soon, as young men will do, set about proving that fact to SoCal motorcyclists who believed they had the fastest bikes.  Harley Davidson had been around since the early part of the Century, as had rival Indian, and their American devotees used the collected wisdom of decades of engine-tuning to make some pretty hot bikes by the 1940s, the toughest and fastest of which tended to be ‘strokers’ with huge motors of over 100 cubic inches displacement (1600cc).  Dickerson and his Vincent aroused the curiosity and pride of LA’s fastest street-racers, who formed an increasingly short line to challenge him to a ‘drag’.  No matter the fame of the engine builder or skill of his rival at fast getaways, it was always Marty’s Rapide which first crossed whatever waved-sweater or crossed headlamp finish line was laid, out there on the lonely roads appropriate for such contests.

There were other ways to test speed, and the SCTA (Southern California Timing Association) provided timed evidence to bolster a reputation gained on the streets.  At Muroc Dry Lake that year, Marty squeezed 118mph from his Rapide, while his buddy ‘Tex’ Luce, a Vincent mechanic fated to make his own mark on the racing world, found just a bit more, and recorded 122.04mph on the bone-stock machine, with all lights, mudguards, and mufflers intact and present. Motorcyclists are a stubborn and loyal bunch, and the evidence of a new ‘fastest’ motorcycle didn’t translate into immediate sales.  In truth, Vincent-HRD sales were dismal in California, and by June 1949, ‘Mickey’ Martin had 20 unsold Vincents languishing on his showroom floor.  Knowing of Dickerson’s antics in back-road street racing, and more importantly his success at the game, Martin hatched a plan to send young Marty on a ‘tour’ of the southwest quadrant of the US, to raise awareness of the Vincent-HRD marque in the best way – nudge, wink – he knew how.  Martin offered to cover all travel expenses, and take over the Rapide’s loan payments, and soon Marty Dickerson had the best possible job in the world for a 19 year old, being paid to street race all comers in small towns across America, astride the fastest production motorcycle built.

The Rapide becoming 'Californized', with a bobbed rear fender, trumpet exhaust, cowhorn 'bars...

For one month in that summer of ’49, Marty Dickerson had the ‘drag racing adventure of a lifetime’, covering 5000 miles through Phoenix, Dallas, Tulsa, Ft.Worth, Tyler, Kansas City, and smaller towns in Colorado and Utah.  He raced the fastest motorcycles And cars the locals could muster, sometimes legendary monsters which had never been bested.  There were close calls, such as when he didn’t have time to change a fouled spark plug before a race, and the Vincent spluttered on one-and-a-half cylinders while his rival rocketed ahead.  Quick thinking and a ‘poor man’s tuneup’ (downshifting from 3^rd to 2^nd at high revs to blast the plugs clean) cleared the cough and saw Marty take the lead once again. There were other times when ‘sore losers’, with much time and reputation invested in their Harleys or Hotrods, made a hasty exit the prudent choice for young Mr. Dickerson.  It must have been infuriating when some short, big-nosed kid on a strange motorbike (‘Harley R Davidson?’) kept pace with the Knucklehead you’d spent months tuning for speed, until your throttle was hard on the stop while you crouched low over the tank…only to watch ‘that kid’ shift into 4^th gear, and leave you eating his dust.

The Vincent had its problems in that hard month of racing, requiring the total replacement of a clutch cable and a few engine shock absorber springs, which weren’t expecting such abuse. 

Dickerson’s exploits were legend, and rumors spread like pond ripples from a cherry bomb about ‘a kid’ with a really fast Vincent, kicking butt all over the Southwest.  He came and went through towns so fast nobody remembered it was ‘Marty Dickerson’ riding, he was the Street Racer with No Name, but tales of his exploits reverberate to this day, and form the actual backbone of the Vincent story in America.

On his undefeated return to LA, Dickerson was employed at Martin’s Vincent emporium as a mechanic, joining ‘Tex’ Luce and another fellow with a history of street racing and record-breaking; Rollie Free. In 1950, Free and his pal Marty took a newly delivered Vincent Black Lightning to the Bonneville Salt Flats, and set about taking records in Class ‘A’ racing, in which special fuels were used. Rollie Free raised his infamous ‘bathing suit’ record (taken at 150mph, in 1948), making his Vincent again the fastest standard motorcycle in the world, averaging over 156mph. 

The salt bug bit Marty deep, and he decided to modify his trusty Rapide for higher speeds, choosing Class ‘C’ (pump gas) to avoid direct competition with his pal Rollie.  The Rapides’ transformation from ‘daily rider’ to ‘salt flat racer’ was completed with Lightning parts from the Vincent factory, and a change of color scheme: she was now the ‘Blue Bike’.   A new set of crankcases was required after 3 years of drag racing, and the Blue Bike gained engine cases marked ‘301’.  Two years of development were required before things really came together for this machine; larger carbs and hotter cams gave a new Class ‘C’ record in 1953, averaging 147.58mph, with a fastest timed speed of 150.959mph, on pump gas, with Marty sitting on the seat (not stretched out as Rollie did), and a class-mandated 8:1 compression ratio.  The Blue Bike was massaged, but all the parts were Vincent items, and the bike wasn’t so high strung that it couldn’t be ridden on the street.  That 150mph record stood for over twenty years!  It took a change of rules (allowing higher than 82 Octane fuel), and a hot Yoshimura Kawasaki, to break it.

Over the years,  Marty continued to develop the Blue Bike, returning to Bonneville in 1976, ’80, ’86, ’96, and finally, at 67 years old for the man and 49 years the machine, in 1997.   His later years competing at Bonneville were less dramatically successful than those early days, but had the important function of cementing Dickerson’s reputation among younger riders and new generations of racing enthusiasts, amazed at his stories and respectful of the legends around Marty and his Rapide.  All of which happen to be true.

The number of motorcycles worldwide which have endured serious competition for 50 years can be counted on one hand.  Within this very special group, machines which have taken world records at Bonneville, and cemented the reputation of an entire brand in recognizably stock form, can be counted on one finger.  The Blue Bike is unique.

If you want to see it in person, the Blue Bike is on display at Altai Design in Los Angeles.

MONTLHERY VINCENT: 100MPH FOR 6 HOURS

Coming to the Bonhams Stafford auction April 28th; the Montlhéry Vincent Black Shadow

The Montlhéry race circuit, just 15.5 miles south of Paris, holds a place much like Brooklands in England in the hearts of European speed-fans, but the track isn't a fractured memory from pre WW2, its a living thing in continuous usage since constructed in 1924.  Today the track is regularly pounded by automotive companies, being engineered to withstand 5,000lb racing cars traveling at 150mph - a far-sighted vision for 1920s engineers.  But then, French engineers of the early 20th Century were exactly that, out on the exploratory limbs of technology, making double overhead camshaft four-valve multi-cylinder motorcycles even in the 'Teens.  What Montlhéry became best known for, though, was long-distance record-breaking; while nearby Arpajon was an excellent spot for Land Speed Record attempts in the 1920s and 30s, Montlhéry was a perfect venue to circulate for hours around its steeply banked oval, being relatively smooth (well, smoother than Brooklands...) and amenable to 24-hour full-bore, unsilenced riding.

The most visible modification from 'standard' spec is the large capacity racing fuel tank.  The Shadow is a matching #s machine with History...

On May 13 1952, a pair of mildly modified 1,000cc Vincent Black Shadows arrived in Paris to attempt a new 24-hour speed record, with a slew of Vincent factory employees (including 18 year old apprentice John Surtees), a few pressmen, plus a French team contingent of riders, the record-attempt team manager, and timing officials from the FIM.  One of the machines was a 'test hack' which circulated for hours during testing, on which modifications were made for an average/acceptable riding position for the 11 riders participating; Phil Heath, John Surtees, Robin Sherry (AMC factory racer), Cyril Julian (TT rider), Vic Willoughby (infamous writer for The Motor Cycle), Dennis Lashmar,  and Danny Thomas, plus four French riders; Ken Bills was team manager.  All the riders save Danny Thomas were able to keep up the 100mph pace, so he was relieved of duty.

The Montlhéry Vincent Black Shadow in 1952, at the track

 Paul Richardson, the Vincent-HRD Service Manager, described the record-breaker thus:

"The record breaking machine is a standard Black Shadow with 8:1 compression as supplied to the American market. ... We used 1-5/32" T.T. Annals in conjunction with two inch open pipes, the fuel being non-leaded 80 octane... Lightning cams... We removed our front brakes and rear flap, fixed rearward foot rests were fitted... special five Gallon petrol tank and a Feridax perspex flyscreen. Modified handlebars gave a very flat riding position and riders lay on a Sorbo 'mattress' fastened to the tank top...Avon...Standard 300 x 20 front racing and 3.50 x 19 rear racing tyres..."  His complete (and delightful) account of the attempt can be found here on the VOC site.

Ted Davis, the Vincent competition manager, originally built the Montlhéry racers with a caged big-end bearing, an improvement over the standard crowded-roller item, but Philip Vincent insisted the standard item was good enough, and ordered them changed back to standard, 'to demonstrate the reliability of the standard Black Shadow', which of course it did, but not with the intended outcome!  It didn't help that France was having its hottest May on record - so hot that the Avon rear tires on the pair of Black Lightnings (brought over for high-speed records) shed their treads at high speed, and the Castrol XL oil was described by Davis (read here) as 'dirty hot black water' when drained from the engines.  

After ten hours forty minutes, the standard big-end of the Vincent crankshaft failed, and a deafening silence rang in the speed bowl; the team ran to the far side of the track (a mile!), and waited 20 minutes to push the bike over the 'line' to take the 11hour record.  While a Vincent never took the 24hr/100mph record (it took a Velocette for that one), the Vincent team still took and impressive eight World Records, including the six-hour record at 100.53mph and 1,000km at 100.67mph, and 10 hours at 99.17mph.   Other records were 7 hrs @ 99.73mph, 8 hrs @ 99.73mph, 9 hrs @ 99.40mph, 10 hrs @ 99.17mph, 11 hours @ 91.98mph, and 1,000 miles @ 99.20mph.

I mentioned above that TWO Black Shadows were taken to Montlhéry...one a 'test mule' and the other used in the attempt; both were tuned and prepared for the attempt, and both machines survive.  One is coming up for sale at the Bonhams Stafford sale on April 28th.  Apparently there is no record of 'which bike was which', but both can rightly claim to be part of the attempt at Montlhéry...