BUILT IN THE BASEMENT

First came the astounding AJS V4 – astounding because apart from the single example that was manufactured in 1935 and exhibited at that year’s Earl’s Court Show in London and subsequently dismantled with the planned production run cancelled – virtually nothing exists. As we saw in issue 75, this almost total absence of reference material did nothing to deter Dan’s resolve, in fact quite the opposite.

Then came a second challenge – the fabled Velocette Roarer, but at least one example of the supercharged 500 twin that completed a solitary lap on the Isle of Man TT course in 1939 existed in the hands of Ivan Rhodes in UK. Dan was able to take measurements and compared notes with Ivan, but it was still an immense project, which was detailed in issue 76.

Now to complete the trio we bring you the story of how Dan Smith came to create a replica of the Vincent H.R.D. Series A Rapide, a machine for which he holds great affection. Like the AJS and the Velocette, Dan chose not to slavishly copy the original, instead incorporating some modern internal components and taking advantage of the availability of materials that were not in general supply nearly 80 years ago. And unlike the other