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Classic
Spagthorpe: |
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bike for which the word "superbike" was coined is none other than
the 1918 Spagthorpe Wildebeest, a 1800cc single cylinder monolith with a
six speed chain/sliding cog gearbox, which would have won the 1919 Rorlthorpe
TT except the cast iron piston was so heavy that the front wheel actually
jumped up off the road with every firing pulse, combined with the amazing
speed of the machine (over 120mph by the crude speed measuring technology
of the day) it was impossible to steer, and the machine failed to negotiate
a turn at Rowhams Corner and plunged into the Bay of Biscay.
From: Latte' Jed Date: Wed, 24 Aug 94 13:06 EDT http://www.captain.norton.clara.net/cnn2sec52.html
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