Deadman and Wolves

I've banged on about Wolverhampton and the English Black Country before, but I've yet to mention the brilliant Tommy Deadman. A pioneer of British speedway, Deadman captained one of the first English clubs, Wolverhampton Wolves, formed in 1928, as well as racing hillclimbs and grasstrack. He was also a pioneer of motorcycle football, later to be known as motoball and still responsible for the bloodied shins of devotees around the globe. A test rider at Sunbeam, he built the bike he's pictured on here, his 'Sprint Special', using bits cadged from broken factory racers. Loads more over at Wolverhampton History, along with photos and clippings, such as these here, supplied by Deadman's daughter, June. MP 

Up the Wolves

I'm back on the northern fringes of the English Black Country at the moment. The house where I grew up, and where my parents still live, is on the Wolverhampton Road, about seven miles from Wolverhampton itself. Over the past century or more, the English West Midlands has been home to more bike builders than any other British region, though almost every marque is now defunct. Sunbeam, of Wolverhampton, is just one of those.

The DT90 dirt track model was introduced in 1928 and featured the TT-winning 493cc Model 90 OHV engine, though fitted with single-port head instead of the twin-port on the road racers and road models. The Druid-style girder forks came in for a load of criticism from testers and racers, so for the following year (below) they were swapped for the Webb-type popular with dirt trackers. Wheels are a giddying 28in. MP