THE COLLECTION - Bikes for Sale - About Bar - Current Projects - Links - Archives - Contact - Main
Origainally published in International Motorcycle, January 2003 Vol.13/Iss.1 | |
Scottby Steve Bond | |
|
Quick - name a liquid cooled, twin cylinder, two-stroke motorcycle. Most of you probably blurted out Yamaha designations - RZ, TZ or LC. Bonus points awarded to anyone who said 'Scott.' This obscure British manufacturer was making liquid cooled two-strokes decades before Yamaha thought of wrapping a water jacket around the venerable RD. This particular Scott is a 600cc 1934 TT Replica and was restored by Andrew Bosson of Columbus, Ontario. Bosson first saw the machine in a neighbor's yard deteriorating and slowly sinking into the mire. "It was just a frame and crankcases with the radiator shell and fuel tank dangling in the wind." | |
 "This is what they look like when they have stood in the garden for years and years and years ..."
| |
| The engine and gearbox were in several boxes. The kickstart, gearshift and many other associated parts were missing completely. Bosson is a patternmaker by trade and has the ability to manufacture one-off parts but the scarcity of Scotts in Canada made it virtually impossible to determine what the missing parts should even look like. Bosson located the Scotts Owners Club in Britain and began to accumulate documentation and pictures of similar models. "It was more difficult than most projects as virtually no one in Canada knows anything about these motorcycles." Andrew manufactured the horn, engine shield, battery holder and many more unique parts including the front kickstand, "No two Scotts were alike when they left the factory. Customers could specify 18 or 19-inch wheels and many other different options. The front stand is a very rare feature." | |
 "The 1934 Scott arrives at its new home. Acquired by Bar Hodgson (left) for the Bar Hodgson Collection from restorer Andrew Bosson (right)."
|
The tapered roller wheel bearings were a size that's no longer available so Bosson modified modern bearings and races to fit. The clutch was shot and the three-speed transmission was pretty well all there but needed some refurbishing to get it operating. The nickel-plated radiator is a hand made new unit that is an exact duplicate of the original and works perfectly.
"I rounded up as many of the engine parts as I could and sent it over to the Scott expert in England. He rebuilt it with remanufactured parts - re did the crank, the cylinder, piston etc. Scotts have a rather odd crankshaft in that each crankpin is only supported on one side. The other end of the pin only has a washer and screw keeping the connecting rod in place."
Approximately 18 months later, Andrew installed the engine. "It blew up after five kilometers when the crankpin broke. So I sent it back to England again." Bosson had to pay for shipping both ways and getting it through Canada Customs was a bureaucratic nightmare.
"After the bike was sorted out, it turned to be quite reliable and I probably put over 1800 km on it before Bar
Hodgson acquired it for his Collection."
|
|
top | |
The Collection - Bikes for Sale - About Bar - Current Projects - Links - Archives - Contact - Main