Author Topic: 1951 BSA D1 - 1952 ISDT Austria Gold medal winner  (Read 1151 times)

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urbanghost

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1951 BSA D1 - 1952 ISDT Austria Gold medal winner
« on: 20 September, 2018, 13:53:20 »
hi
I am a new member and thought I would introduce myself by showing you my Bantam that I just purchased.
The bike was owned by a Welsh time trial racer called Fitzroy Allen.  He used the bike to win a gold medal at the 1952 ISDT in austria.
The bike was put into storage after the race and has only been out a handfull of times when he took it to shows.  So it has everything still on it from the last race in austria.  When he purchased the bike he went to the BSA factory and picked the parts that he wanted for racing and it has a lot of BSA competition parts on it plus some extras like an extra tool box, air bottle tyre inflator, external oiltank.  Even has the spare cables for brake and clutch in place ready for any breakages and spare spokes taped to the mudguard.
Also it has white paint marks with numbers written on them on major parts of the bike, which I have been informed were put on the bike before the race to see if you changed any of the parts during the 6 days of racing.
So I am a very happy first time D1 owner.  I was going to restore it but I have been advised to leave the bike as it is and just get it running right and clean.  So this is what I will be doing over this winter.
If anyone knows anything about Fitzroy allen or this bike it would be great if you contacted me with the info.  Trying to get anything and everything to put with bike to show it.

Dean Southall

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Re: 1951 BSA D1 - 1952 ISDT Austria Gold medal winner
« Reply #1 on: 23 September, 2018, 15:09:43 »
What a lovely bike and great history.
To restore would be to erase its history and in my book would be sheer vandalism!
Thanks for posting and I hope she brings you many years of pleasure.
BSA: turning ordinary men into mechanics since 1910

urbanghost

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Re: 1951 BSA D1 - 1952 ISDT Austria Gold medal winner
« Reply #2 on: 23 September, 2018, 22:56:37 »
What a lovely bike and great history.
To restore would be to erase its history and in my book would be sheer vandalism!
Thanks for posting and I hope she brings you many years of pleasure.
Thank you for your comments.  At the moment I dont know what to do with the bike.  I am trying to get it in a few local shows and see what happens

JulianS

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Re: 1951 BSA D1 - 1952 ISDT Austria Gold medal winner
« Reply #3 on: 24 September, 2018, 09:08:31 »
A Dating certificate from the BSA Owners Club should tell you when the bike left the factory and to where it was sent.

urbanghost

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Re: 1951 BSA D1 - 1952 ISDT Austria Gold medal winner
« Reply #4 on: 26 September, 2018, 00:29:17 »
A Dating certificate from the BSA Owners Club should tell you when the bike left the factory and to where it was sent.

Thank you I will look into that.
I have found a picture in an american magazine called cycle from 1952 which shows him in the race on the bike, it is exactly the same bike and has same number plate.

STAR TWIN

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Re: 1951 BSA D1 - 1952 ISDT Austria Gold medal winner
« Reply #5 on: 26 September, 2018, 07:34:32 »
What an amazing find. Think very carefully before doing anything to the bike - get it running but do not under any circumstances tackle paintwork. As it stands, the patina and provenance are perfect. An intact gold medal winning survivor of the 1952 ISDT is probably unique.
The National Motorcycle Museum has a Star Twin from the 1952 ISDT. However, that was built up from the frame and crankcases only and then subsequently burnt out in the fire and rebuilt again. No patina there! 

urbanghost

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Re: 1951 BSA D1 - 1952 ISDT Austria Gold medal winner
« Reply #6 on: 26 September, 2018, 09:49:08 »
What an amazing find. Think very carefully before doing anything to the bike - get it running but do not under any circumstances tackle paintwork. As it stands, the patina and provenance are perfect. An intact gold medal winning survivor of the 1952 ISDT is probably unique.
The National Motorcycle Museum has a Star Twin from the 1952 ISDT. However, that was built up from the frame and crankcases only and then subsequently burnt out in the fire and rebuilt again. No patina there!

I am going to do nothing to the bike at this time, just pump the tyres up to push it around.  There has been a bit of confusion about the gold medal, when I first had bike I saw a newspaper clipping that said he won a medal in 1952.  But after doing some research and checking the ISDT results he actually won a gold medal in the 1951 ISDT in Italy.  The picture above is from the 1951 race but the magazine reported about it in the January 1952 edition of the magazine. Thats where the mix up started.
I think he should be remembered as there is hardly anything online about him and he seems to have been forgotten and the British team of that year get all the glory.  Lets not forget that the British team were heavily sponsored and had the weight of BSA behind them.  Fitzroy Allen bought his own bike and paid for himself to go and represent a small club from Wales, called Dulais Valley Motorcycle Club, and won a gold medal with no penalties.  I think that is an amazing achievement and he should be remembered for it.
I am trying to get as much publicity as I can for the bike and Fitzroy at the moment and thinking of taking it to a few shows.  The bike is in Swansea Classic Motorcycle Show on October 7th if anyone would like a look at the bike.
« Last Edit: 26 September, 2018, 09:51:02 by urbanghost »