Top Trumps

Sideburn #19 sees the start of a new series on classic Top Trumps cards. As prepubescent youths, before we got our hands dirty, motorcycles (and dragsters, and trains, exotic cars, and cricketers) were battling each other by torch-light under bedsheets purely on their technical specification.

Our first featurette, is this wonderful Jawa 897 engined Hagon grass tracker photographed by Andy Baker of the Jerkyls. BP

In Aus we don't have any grasstracks so we use dirt tracks which have both right and left hand corners some of which are tight and require gear changes and brakes are required under the current rules. This bike is made up from what we could get our hands on. The chassis is a Hagon sand racer with a homemade swinging arm slightly longer than standard. The engine is a Jawa 987. Wheel adapters, brakes and exhaust are home made.
Here is some extra spec:
compression ratio 14:1; Carburettor Dell'orto 36mm round slide; Ignition is a Pal magneto; Gearbox is a Norton AMC 3-speed with 1st gear removed; wheels 23" front 19" rear; Brakes front Hagon drum, rear Yamaha disc (handlebar operated); suspension front is rubber bands, rear are Hagon shocks.
Cheers Geoff
[fettling the bike in the photo, who built the bike along with Steve Constable and Chris Murrey]