Australian Motorcycle News — January 03, 2018

Ehret Vincent Series C Black Lightning

34 amcn.com.au

showing 6000rpm, at which

point you stab the gear lever

downwards with your right foot

for the next of four gears. There

are such massive amounts

of torque, even by today’s

standards, that the Vincent just

lunges forward when you get

back on the throttle again.

In returning the Vincent to

running condition, Godet was

at pains not to destroy the truth

of time.

“Once Nicolas decided to

preserve the bike in its current

state, and not restore it – which

was 1000 per cent the right

decision – I wanted to make

sure that any new parts I

fitted were as unobtrusive as

possible,” Godet says. “But to

make it safe to be ridden took

quite a lot of work, because the

engine parts were very worn,

and the crankshaft had been

repaired in a funny way. We

stripped the bike totally, and

rebuilt it using the original spec

parts we have manufactured

using the original Black

Lightning factory drawings

that we’ve obtained. The

(changes) are all inside where

you can’t see them, so while the

throttle and brake cables may

look old, all the internal wires

are brand new, to give a smooth

action. We’ve also converted

it to running on petrol rather

than methanol – we have much

better fuel available today than

they did back then.”

The 20-inch rear wheel has

been replaced by a 19-incher,

as 20-inch racing tyres are no

longer available. Now shod

with rear Avon GP rubber

matched to a front 21-inch

ribbed Avon Racing tyre,

the Ehret Vincent tracked

well through Carole’s infield

section, with good grip

delivered exiting both hairpin

bends, which on most race

bikes ask for bottom gear. Not

the Lightning, though, thanks

to its reserves of torque and the

way it breaks into a gallop very

quickly in second gear once

you’ve straightened up.

When that happens, you

find yourself thundering

past Yamaha R6s that have

outmanoeuvred you in the

infield section, only for them to

fly past again when you anchor

up early for the next hairpin.

The brakes on the Vincent

are easily the worst thing about

it. You need heaps of respect

for braking markers because

there’s little in reserve, and

it gets progressively worse

as the pair of tiny 7-inch

single leading-shoe drum

brakes fitted at each end fade

massively. These carry brand-

new Godet replica aluminium

brake plates rather than the

original Lightning magnesium

items, which are too fragile

to be safe. Probably no single

aspect of motorcycle design

has improved so much in the

past 67 years as brakes, and

for a 240km/h motorcycle

the Vincent’s stoppers are

definitely on the weak side.

But, given the bike, you

accept that. This ex-Ehret

Vincent Black Lightning

provides a window on the

refined but still raw-edged

performance that Philip

Vincent’s motorcycles

delivered more than 60 years

ago. How wonderful that it

gets ridden, rather than being

wrapped up as the mechanical

objet d’artit undoubtedly is.

Special thanks to Old Bike

Australasia editor Jim

Scaysbrook for supplying the

historical data in this article.

ironlegends

You need

to respect

braking

markers

because

there’s

very little

in reserve

Hammer

time!

This famous motorcycle

will soon have a new home.

It will be the star attraction

at Bonhams’ annual Las

Vegas motorcycle auction

on January 25. Bonhams

says it is “one of the world’s

most desirable machines”

but has not offered a

price estimate.