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Motorcycle shops in 70's Sheffield

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There was Bill Beevers at pagehall he was a good rider too

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I'm afraid that I have to go back to the 50's with my memories but I recall a shop on London Road (I think) called Cadwalladers, who dealt in trials and scrambler machines. I remember trying to scrape up enough for a Triumph Trophy but didn't actually manage it. In the fullness of time, I finished up with a Norton Dominator.

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Is anyone old enough to remember J.A. Stacey at the bottom of Ecclesall Road? John Stacey was a keen bike racer in the 1920s, and had a business "Stacey's Motor Garage" which sold motorcycles until the 1940s, but then he sold mainly cars. I have some old photos of Stacey and his pals with pre-1918 Triumphs and Matchlesses. They turned up on eBay, together with a badge that he fitted to every machine, and some paperwork. He lived at Endcliffe (must have been posh) and died aged 82 in 1957.

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Nimrod,

Re your quote:

A Sheffield lad who turned out to be a very capable sidecar racer in the late 60's and 70's was Barry Dungworth from Wadsley. He raced in GPs with a works BMW engine. He finished 6th in the World Championships one year.

Anyone know if he is still around?

 

I know of a Barry Dungworth who will now be in his seventies, What was his occupation?

 

Also thanks for the name of the dealer you gave, it was Ropers.

 

 

Barry was an electrician and lived on Laird Drive. He will be around 70 years old now.

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There was Bill Beevers at pagehall he was a good rider too

 

I remember Bill Beevers, a very keen racer. Officialdom finished his racing career, they banned guys over 55 years old from International events like the TT.

He raced everything from 125's to 500's.

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In the early 1970s there was also Bradbury's on London Road, and Grays (Bridge Street, then West Street - sold a lot of secondhand bikes).

 

Do you remember the manager at Dan Bradbury's who was a tall very smart guy? He lives in one of the flats on the left of Sharrow Vale Rd going towards the roundabout, must be a fair old age.

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I do indeed remember the tall, smart manager at Dan Bradbury's - nice to know he is still around. Their spares department (up the back stairs) was second to none, and often had just the bit I needed. My dad bought an NSU "Quickly" moped from Bradbury's - with its 50 cc engine and two gears (top and bottom...) it did about 35 mph flat-out and got him to work and back for years. NSU produced a 3-gear model before they gave up bikes in favour of cars.

 

Nimrod - looking on http://www.findmypast.com I found that a Barry Dungworth was born in Sheffield in April-June 1936, so you weren't far out with your "around 70 years old" guesstimate!

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My dad was a motorcycle cop at Attercliffe in the 50's - 60's I have a photo of him on his Vellocette LE leading the Lord Mayors Parade in the 60's.

I remember he had a radio in a box on the back with a telephone handset.

 

He used to wear a normal bobbys helmet with a cork lining and an extra chin strap it, I have still got it somwhere.

 

He once said the LE was reveloutinary at the time with lots of novel ideas that became normal on later bikes.

 

He told me a story that when he tried to get up Jenkin Avenue he used to have to get off and run with it up the hill as it wouldnt get up it with him on it. The kids used to chuck stones at him but, he couldnt stop and give em a clip round the ear, as he'd never get it moving again.

 

Anyone rememer Ropers on London Road?

 

 

Wadsleyite,

When I was small my dad used to show me all the different bikes in shops and on the road and I got to know a lot of the makes and models.

I was once taken on a tour of Attercliffe Police station and shown their Velocette LE bikes that they had just got, they were grey as I recall.

When I worked at one bike shop, they had a Velocette Vouge, I think that was based on the LE as it was a 200cc water cooled,shaft drive flat twin.

My Mums cousin used to have a Bantam, I think it was the D1, It was ex GPO finished in pillar box red with single saddle and bulb horn near speedometer.

I was only small, but can still see John tickling the carb etc prior to starting it.

Nearly bought a BSA 250 a few years ago, but found out it had a fibreglass tank (Barracuda model?) which I thought could be a bit iffy if involved in an accident.

 

Thanks for sharing your bike memories.

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Roper's on London Road was a very good shop - in fact in the heyday of Motorcycling I think Sheffield bikers did very well regarding dealers. The LE Velocette was indeed a revolutionary design, with its Little Engine (L.E.) with twin horizontally-opposed cylinders. The engine was water-cooled, drive to the back wheel was not via a chain but a shaft, and the box-type silencer was very efficient, making the bike purr softly as it went along. There was also the all-encompassing body and the legshields keeping your legs dry (and warm - in winter you got warm air from the radiator blowing on to them). One drawback of the LE was the number of special tools that were needed for major maintenance jobs. The bike also had a number of foibles - you had to know it to run it trouble-free - but it had many devotees, and of course there is a thriving owner's club.

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Someone mentioned Dave Tye's motorbike shop at Cromford. Dave must be related to Johnny who was my uncle's lifelong friend and best man. They both were in the RAF and raced motorcycles too. They were also friends with John Cooper of Derby (Mooneyes).

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Just thought of another but for the life of me I can't remember who ran it.

It was in Beighton bottom near the railway lines. I think it was were the Car dealer (Coopers)? is now. I got a lift down there once from Hackenthorpe with a guy called Pete Drinkwater. I sat pillion on his Gold Star Rocket why he tried to impress me by "doing the ton" down Drakehouse Lane. No helmets. Oh he impressed me allright. I nearly **** myself. I was only 14.

 

He wanted me to look at the speedo over his shoulder. That was a laugh with those wopping great pistons thumping up and down. My eyeballs were rattling about in the sockets. Most of the guys that ride these multi cylinder Jap bikes today have no idea what it was like to ride on a old thumper.

 

I ride a jap v-twin which has the feel of a Brit bike when it gets going. Anything over 60 and it vibrates like mad. Get up to the top end and my visor rattles like a tin of marbles. I love it.

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Very descriptively written, it brought a smile to my face and turned up long lost memories.

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