Bolt up featherbed frame

Dear Adrian,

Perhaps I can speak from aquasi-authoritative perspective via currently owning and riding a '53 bolt-up Inter, '60 wideline ES2 and '65 slimline 650ss.

The '53 Inter is a Clubman's Special which utilised a slightly thinner gauge Reynolds 531 tubing in pursuanceof lightness. As far as I know the bolt-up manufacturing methodceased fairly rapidly for obvious reasons when you look at a wideline featherbed - ease of manufacture. I would estimate that '54 saw the end of bolt-up machines, perhaps even '53 with some "stock" being sold in '54. The standard Inters had their frames and bolt-up elements manufactured from thicker gauge commercial tubing.

The bolt-up bike handles very well and I am very confident rounding corners on it - to be brutal I don't notice any differences between the frame types but then I don't push riding anywhere near the limit.

All the machines are adifferent rideon the road and I put this down to their having differing engine types: OHC single, pushrod single and vertical twin and I cannot truly say thatany of them are inferior or superior to the others in the handling arena at the speeds at which I corner.

Essentially it was down to ease of production.

Regards,

Peter Bolton

Previously wrote:

Dear Adrian,

Perhaps I can speak from aquasi-authoritative perspective via currently owning and riding a '53 bolt-up Inter, '60 wideline ES2 and '65 slimline 650ss.

The '53 Inter is a Clubman's Special which utilised a slightly thinner gauge Reynolds 531 tubing in pursuanceof lightness. As far as I know the bolt-up manufacturing methodceased fairly rapidly for obvious reasons when you look at a wideline featherbed - ease of manufacture. I would estimate that '54 saw the end of bolt-up machines, perhaps even '53 with some "stock" being sold in '54. The standard Inters had their frames and bolt-up elements manufactured from thicker gauge commercial tubing.

The bolt-up bike handles very well and I am very confident rounding corners on it - to be brutal I don't notice any differences between the frame types but then I don't push riding anywhere near the limit.

All the machines are adifferent rideon the road and I put this down to their having differing engine types: OHC single, pushrod single and vertical twin and I cannot truly say thatany of them are inferior or superior to the others in the handling arena at the speeds at which I corner.

Essentially it was down to ease of production.

Regards,

Peter Bolton

Hello - The bolt up framerear end is the original design which was designed on the back of a woodbine packet by my great uncle, Freddie Dixon. As they were on a night out, driving from pub to pub, and Rex was talking about frame design - and "a better mouse-trap", as he called the motorcycle frame, my great uncle treated Rex McCandless as a son and taught him all he knew about engineering so this design was a freebee as he was going back to Ireland with barrels for Triumph 500cc and piston made too fit from a 1500cc Riley high compression pistons these were for Ernest Lyons - a closes friend of Freddie. Rex fitted the barrels and tuned the bike for the Manx GP in 1946, and he won. When word got back to Edward Turner he had used Riley Piston In a Triumph He was not best pleased and later he found out that Rex McCandles was involved with the tuning well that 'marked his card' where Turner was concerned. Later on in 1949 whenRexMcCandlesshad the first featherbed frame built it was offered to Triumph But Turner refused it , then later on 1949 he was spotted by Joe Craig and Norton was very interested in the new Frame the first prototype had a FIAT 600 four fitted inline with the frame And Rex McCandles entered it inbelfast race and he won. It handled well round the back streets of Belfast, Bill Nicholson built the rigs and did the welding and heused aircraft tubing from the local Shorts Brothers factory in Belfast, So a legend was born! Yours Anna J Dixon Hope You Like The Story

hello Adrian you may not beleve this story But Its A True Story ED Turner was a great Engineer But Freddie W Dixon Was A pioneer and genius engineer ,And brilliant Rider and later racing Car Driver ,He As 15 patents registered under his name heres some of the Motorcycle frame Design , the Disc Brake 1923 the Allen Key System , the geared Oil pump , Carburetters design and tuneing ,the 4 wheel drive system and 4wheel streering and 4wheel indpendant suspension , the frist 6 cylinder whashplate engine 1930 , and the designer of the Brough Superior Golden Dream 4 Cylinder ,And Now ANNA J DIXON As taken outthe first Patent the Y Drive system this does away with nuts there will be only 20 size screw bolts that will make assembling quicker and easyer this is the future ??