to enhance itsprestig e? Intriguingly,aname loosely
connectedwith theoriginal founders of the Brooklands
clubwasacertainEvelyn CecilWalter Fitzherbert(1886-
1949). Could thisbe the mysteriousECW? Butevenhere,
the storysimply drops enigmaticallyaway,because
Fitzherbertdisappeared in Uruguayjustafter theSecond
World War, againinmyste riouscircumstances–the plot
thickens.
Movingswiftly on,youwill see from thepictures
the quality, freshness andattention todetailoft he
restoration. Items that were missing, and that hadto
be replacedbeforeany enginetrials could takeplace,
includedasilencer and exhaust pi pes. Paul approached
Made in Metal Motorcycles of GreatHaywood,Staffs,
who advertisethemselves asacompanythat focuses
on true craftsmanship and the highest qualitybespoke
workmanship.Sounds good–but would theydeliver?
Paul took the bikealongtotheir workshop,gave
them the brief tomake the downpipes and silencer,
requestingafishtail style similar to that of aVelocette.
This bit of intricateplumbingwas goingtotestthe best
of ingenuity. So theguyswenttowork, cutting, heating,
bendingand continually tryi ng theirhandiwork against
the engine, goingaroundand under ituntil it looked
likeithad grownthere. And,yes, theydid deliveravery
styl ish system, butbespoke work likethis doesn’t come
cheapand the billwas£600.
Apush-pull claxon hornwastastefullyfittedintothe
gapbehind the engine.Itmight notbeoriginal,butwho
knows what was? Anditl ooks andsounds pretty neat.
Thedelightful, shinyand expensive-lookin gpanniers
that go alongand abovethe rear wheel andthen follow
the contourofthe rear mudguard, areahistoric ally
sensitivedesign Paul came upwith himself.Hestarted
outwith cardboardpatterns that he took alongtoMark
Baker(AJS) whofolks couldhave encountered at the
Staffordshow.Mark wasasked to pr oduce the panniers
in the traditionalmaterials of thinsteeland leather
fron tpockets.Att his pointyou cansee that Paul is
approachingthis build with anocuttingcornersspared
philosophy–and lots ofcardboard. Mark duly goton
with th etask ofbuildingthe panniers,sayinglater words
to the effectthat they were apig to make–especiall ythe
curved bits. Butagain,int he end,Imustsay that they
do lookveryprofessional.Paul alsomade themudguard
stayshimself.Above:Longand
rakish,onewonders
what theoriginal
intendeduseforthe
ECWwas–and also
whenit wasbuilt.THE CLASSICMOTORCYCLE|SEPTEMBER 2019 41
-twin