Bruf in Bluff
I guess I always knew that the motorcycle in the
middle room of our house in Hutt Street in Hull was special. One of my earliest
memories is of around 7 years of age talking to my school friends about the
“Super” motorcycle my Father owned. The motorcycle was on it’s stands in the
house surrounded by lots of other items of great interest to an inquisitive
child, junk to most other people. I guess one trait I have inherited from my
Father was the reluctance to throw anything away, just in case! The motorcycle was
huge, with plenty of levers to play with once you had managed to climb onto the
seat. Including the petrol tank with revolting smells to amuse any youngster.
So how did we end up 12,000 miles away at the southern end of New Zealand 40
years later?
It’s a Brough!
My Father told me he came across the motorcycle when
he was doing some work in a house and saw it under a sheet. Like most in the
1940’s motorcycles were more important than cars so he asked to have a look.
“You don’t know what it is lad” the owner said to which he responded “It’s a
Brough”. Suitably impressed he got to see it and finally acquired it in 1950. A
1934 Brough Superior OHV 680 registered AAT 286. He identified it by the peak
on the headlight rim, or so he always claimed to me. His motorcycling days came
to an end in 1955 with the arrival of my eldest brother, Mick. My Mother put
her foot down about riding pillion any more. The motorcycle stayed however,
despite several house moves it always found a nice dry, secure storage place.
Not always stored in the house however.
I would never class myself as a true biker. I only
took my motorcycle test as a means of survival. With a full driving licence I
could legally ride a 125cc motorcycle on ‘L’ plates. I acquired my Honda CG-125
whilst a student in London as a way to get around a bit more cheaply. I soon
realised that commuting into Central London in the rush hour was not for the
feint hearted. The time saving of 40 minutes by foot/underground to 15 minutes
by motorcycle combined with the adrenalin rush of surviving another trip had me
hooked though. I took a training course for self preservation, and acquired my
full license at the end but never moved up to a larger motorcycle. My first
full time job was just outside London in Chessington and the ride down some
twisty tree lined lanes was fine in the summer, but with autumn approaching my
self preservation instincts kicked in again and I bought my first Mini, selling
the Honda to Mick who was the biker in the family now. It would be 18 years
before I would again get astride a motorcycle.
Owner in Name
Only
With my interest firmly on Mini’s and MG’s I was
following my Fathers restoration of a 1936 MG PB with keen interest. As a
retirement project on a limited pension this was a challenge. I guess I will
never know whether or not I was set up, but on one of my irregular monthly
visits he announced he was going to see one of his mates who had a collection
of motorcycles. Since this would delay our visit to the local pub I came along.
We were picked up by this smart new Mercedes, my first time in a modern luxury
car, and taken to his house just a few miles up the road. We saw his ‘shed’
with numerous classic motorcycles smartly arranged and all looking in pristine
condition. We were also introduced to his mechanic who restored and maintained
them. When he started talking about how much he would like to add a Brough to
his collection the penny dropped. At the pub later my Father mentioned how he
had to sell the Brough as he needed money to finish off the MG. He had been
offered £7500 which he thought was a fair price in it’s condition and was
considering it. He would never ask for financial help or charity, even later
when my own finances were more secure and I offered willingly to help out in
some way he would never accept directly. It was a challenge to find a way to
circumvent his principles. In this instance I think I subconsciously reckoned
that as he had kept the Brough for 44 years by now, 39 years off the road, he
had some fondness for it. I also had many childhood memories of it in the
middle room in Hutt Street. So although I was broke (due to the 1988 property
crash I had a 200% mortgage) later that day I offered to match the price, so
long as I could pay in instalments. This was agreed and I paid my first £500 on
September 18th 1994. All duly noted in his note book, and also in my
own computerised accounts. Something else we seemed to have in common. The
final payment was made on 21st July 1997. The Brough stayed with my
Father however, “For you to restore when you can get around to it” I said.
Knowing I would never know where to start on a project like that.
My Father with his restored 1936 MG PB
Back in Black
With the MG restored to all its glory, winning
trophies and admiration all around I had hopes of getting the Brough restored
one day. After his recovery from major surgery I felt my Father needed a new
incentive to get him back to his old active ways and dangled the carrot of the
Brough project to which he bit and on 28th October 1999 he started
work, spending 2 hours dismantling it. He meticulously recorded the hours spent
every day and tasks carried out, until on 14th March 2003 when he
reached 924 hours with the comment “I gave up adding hours”. The job was
essentially complete by then.
The Beginning
The first thing we decided upon was that this would
not be a ‘cheque book’ type restoration. If specialist work was required it
would be paid for and any unserviceable parts would be replaced. If a part was
serviceable, even though worn, it would be retained. We wanted it to remain as
close to originality as possible. We also agreed to finish it in Black Alpine
trim, partly due to our Yorkshire heritage coming to the fore and the cost of
re-chroming the tank not being trivial, but also because I was intending to
ride it and did not want to spend all my time polishing brightwork. My Father
carried out the majority of the work though with some assistance from his colleagues
in the local bike and car clubs if they had a specialty he required, “Got this
done for a couple of packets of fags” or “Cost me some old motorcycle
magazines” were comments I got used to. All purchase invoices were dutifully
kept, both of us recording payments made with due care. I am still amazed by
the number of nuts and bots that were bought for this project. No wonder I have
plenty of spares! Many parts were only available from the Brough Superior Club
which he rejoined, reacquiring his original membership number of 81.
Three Wheels On
Your Wagon
To add a bit more interest to the project we acquired
a petrol tube sidecar chassis, complete but needing restoration and not
including a body. I was then regaled with stories (yes down at the pub) of the
joys of riding with a sidecar, particularly when it is frosty, and how to take
a tight left hand bend. Looking for a body and we found a newly built
Cruiser for sale, but I much preferred a Zeppelin type. Both options sadly
outside of my price range at the time so I opted for a 1950’s Watsonian Monza fibreglass
body which I bought for £150 including the chassis, selling the chassis for
£100 later on Ebay.
Petrol Tube Sidecar Chassis
Born Again
My first ride on the Brough, with sidecar chassis but
no body, was
on 5th May 2002. Being trained on the use of advance / retard and
the dire consequences of kick starting if fully advanced should I stall. Just a
quick ride around the front driveway, being surprised at how sprightly it was
though there was not enough room to get out of first gear. There was then a few
abortive attempts to ride it to the MOT station in June 2002, abandoned due to
misfires or sticking valves. I finally acquired a suitable sidecar trailer and
delivered it to my Father on 2nd November 2002, the Brough was then
MOT’d on 5th November with 16 miles recorded. Acquiring the MOT and
trailer should have given me some forewarning of the challenges ahead in the
coming years.
First Ride
Trailer Woes
On the morning of 2nd November 2002 I set
off in my MGB GT to view a trailer, only getting to the end of the driveway
before it came to a spluttering halt. I parked it up then got into my MG ZR to
keep my viewing appointment. The trailer was perfect so I bought it, saying I
would collect it as soon as I could get the MGB going, as that had a towbar. On
returning home I found a few gentle taps with the hammer to the fuel pump got
that going so I set off again. This time getting 5 miles and just onto the
motorway when it died yet again, this time the hammer trick did not work so
hailed the AA. Towed back home and into the garage to find an electrical fault
in the fuse box, duly fixed so set off for my third attempt that day and this
time made it to pick up the trailer. I continued on to deliver it to my Father
but my problems were not yet over. It started to rain and on smelling burning
rubber discovered my wiper motor was overheating, this sits just above your
right knee in an MGB. Thankfully the rain was not too hard and using the wipers
on intermittent kept the motor cool enough. Until a few miles later when the
wiper arms got out of synchronisation and jammed themselves together.
Sheltering under a bridge on the motorway the cause was found, the passenger
side wiper arm had been sliding on the wheel box polishing it smooth so it
could not grip. Removed the arm and continued on, finally arriving safe and
sound. I had to return home that night however but my Father had some spray on
dispersant which helped, so long as you keep above 50mph.
The Brough
Complete
First Event
It was not until 3rd May 2003 that I
finally brought the Brough home, now with 51 miles on the clock. This was just
in time because I had planned to attend the Tamworth Classic Bike Club run and
Concourse the next day. Starting at Clifton Campville for a run around the
lanes. It was quite exciting, if not a bit frightening. I quickly learnt how
fast you can take a left hand bend, luckily lack of oncoming traffic prevented
any serious mishaps but the grass cuttings stuck in the right front mudguard
stays and foot pedal attest to how wide I got. Perhaps a bit more practice
beforehand would have been wise.
On Show
The Disaster
It was three weeks before I had the chance to ride it
again. A few minor adjustments to get the oil feed right to stop the plugs
oiling up and tightening up a few loose nuts and bolts. Note to remember to get
some loctite to put on them all. A quick trip around the local area until close
to home and it started to misfire, limping the last few hundred yards on one
cylinder. I thought it was the cylinder head bolts that had come loose so had
decided to try shakeproof washers when I discovered the front cylinder
crankcase was broken where they screw in and the rear one was cracked.
Devastated I left the Brough in the garage. Only 116 miles covered and to my
current eyes wrecked.
The Brough – Wrecked
Design
Modification
Research beforehand strongly recommended the ‘4 Bolt
Conversion’ to the OHV 680 engine. This involves drilling through the barrels
to bolt the heads directly into the crankcase, rather than the heads to the
barrels and the barrels to the crankcase. This does involve drilling and
tapping holes in the crankcase with little tolerance for error. On dismantling
I discovered one of these holes had been helicoiled. This left insufficient
wall thickness and the casting failed. The annoying part of the problem is that
later I was told that the reason for the conversion is that after the barrels
have been rebored several times they tend to fail at the bottom flange. Since
my barrels had never been rebored the modification was probably not required.
My first visit to the Annual Meeting of the Brough
Superior Club at Wimpole Hall was a great experience. A few more people had
joined between my Father’s number 81 and my own 1773. A few 680’s were there as well to compare and contrast, not one the
same! I also collected a spare crankcase. I did not use it however as I decided
a modified conversion was possible so I could retain the original. I filled in
the broken sections with ‘Magic Metal’ and reverted to bolting the bottom
flange to the crankcase on the broken side. To bolt the head onto the barrel
the top flange was retapped and new studs made so I could attach and remove the
heads with the engine installed in the frame. I left the two through bolts on
the other side of the engine as that side was fine.
Trials and
Tribulations
With the engine repaired it was now time to work out
how to ride and maintain it. Adjusting the timing, setting the oil feed correct
and finding appropriate plugs to stop oiling up. The latter was an ongoing
problem for a while making starting difficult at times. The good thing about
the sidecar was I could take my full toolbox with me. I realised what a godsend
this was the one time when I took the sidecar off to see how it would ride
solo. Riding at 80mph with no fairing in the typical ‘sit up and beg’ position,
and limited brakes, was thrilling. But stalling at the bottom of my local hill
with no tools to remove the plug to wipe off the accumulated oil is no fun. Not
wanting to leave it I pushed it home uphill about ½ mile. Another biker did
stop to offer me some help, but only after I was on the level again and with
home in site. I put the sidecar back on the next day.
Further journeys around the local lanes were taken
with varying degrees of success. I suppose it may be a tribute to George Brough
that even though brake and clutch cables may snap, gear change mechanisms may
fall off and kickstarts wear out during a ride you can usually limp home. How
many modern motorcycles would make it 20 miles down busy roads with only one
gear (2nd) without causing havoc? I only once had to resort to
calling the AA, after starting on the VMCC Founders Relay Rally in 2004 I made
it to Hockley Heath with no problems for a cup of tea and an interesting chat.
Setting off on the next stop I got as far as the next roundabout when I heard a
dreaded grinding noise and lost drive. The rear sprocket had sheared from the
hub. Nothing to do but call for help and wave at all the other bikers going
past.
Broken Again
Wimpole Hall
I have managed to attend three of the Brough Superior
Clubs Annual Rallies, all at Wimpole Hall, from 2003 to 2005. The second in
2004 was the only time by Brough and was by far the longest ride I had ever
attempted in one day (and still is) of around 100 miles each way. A fine ride
there and it was also almost a fine ride back until on seeing the storm clouds
gathering ahead I pulled into a layby on the A5 to put on the wet weather gear.
My pride and joy then let me down by refusing to start, despite using all of my
usual tricks. The good news was the layby was on a slight incline so I pushed
it to the high end and then tried to bump start it downhill. On the second
attempt it nearly worked but pushing it up for the third time I was getting hot
and bothered with all my gear on. Thankfully a passing motorist came in to
offer some help and we got it going. Then followed the usual conversation which
starts “My mate used to have one of those …”.
Seeing my Brough together with others was a fine sight,
despite my still to be replaced sidecar. The only annual meeting it has ever
attended, and sadly probably the only one it will ever attend unless
repatriation should occur in the far future. I recall Mike Leatherdale was
suitable impressed as he added the sidecar chassis number 188 to his
collection. It was useful for me to compare and contrast with the other 680’s,
discovering I must put my front brake linkage on the right way before anyone
notices. Bought a postcard of Wimpole Hall and wrote “AAT 286 was here!” on it,
posting it in a nearly letterbox to my Father.
A Brough in
Clover
Sidecar Sorted
I finally came across a sidecar body that suited my
requirements. I was not too keen on the traditional Cruiser body. Partly
because I was never one to follow custom, but mainly because I wanted something
different. A Zeppelin or torpedo shape was what I was looking for. I finally
came across something which might suit and for the princely sum of £300 bought
a 1920’s single seater sports sidecar complete with chassis and wheel, again
offsetting the cost by this time selling the chassis for £50 and the old Watsonian
body for £200. The body did need restoration which I carried out, finally
replacing the fibreglass body with something more appropriate at the end of
2005. The combination now looking the part, and quite smart to my eyes at least
alongside my 1963 Wolseley Hornet which I had just restored.
Restoration Completed
Time for a
Change
My interest in New Zealand started in 1994 when
browsing though a second hand bookstore in Oxford I bought a New Zealand
guidebook for about £1. I only bought the book because I find it very difficult
not to buy a book whenever I go in a bookstore, and do my best to support the
second hand trade. There was no way I could afford to travel to New Zealand at
this time so it remained in my ‘to be read’ pile for many years. Most likely
due to my Yorkshire heritage I find it difficult to see money wasted, if I had
known how much that £1 book would cost me I may wish I had bought something
else. In 2003 I finally had accumulated enough Air Miles for a free trip, but
only as far as Sydney. Australia did not appeal, I was going to see New Zealand
as I already had the guide book! I paid for the extra flight to Auckland and
had a wonderful 3 week tour of both islands, blue skies and warm weather all
the time. I soon discovered that my 1994 guide book was seriously out of date
and actually never took it with me on the trip, but never mind that.
I have considered emigrating several times, and had
semi-seriously tried to go to Canada, USA and Australia in the 1980’s following
University. I could easily have moved to South Africa, but with the
anti-Apartheid movement taking off and most people of British heritage trying
to leave that did not seem wise. I have been fortunate throughout my life to
have travelled to many countries, as a child with my parents or through work
and on holiday. Many of these places are wonderful, but nowhere had I found
anywhere to match the UK for climate, language, culture and landscape, until
New Zealand. It is like rolling back the clock to the 1960’s with quiet roads,
few petrol stations outside of the towns and shops closed on weekends. The
landscape can be spectacular, if sometimes difficult to get to, and the Maori
culture interesting though somewhat confusing to a visitor. I had been back in
the UK for about 6 months when after a trip to an Expo on working oversees I
seriously began considering a move. It then took a while to go though all the
formalities until in August 2006 I received a two year Residents Visa, just a
month after being made redundant seemed quite prophetic. I sold my house,
Wolseley Hornet and Mini Cooper but could not bear to part with my MGB GT (I
had just had the engine reconditioned) and certainly not the Brough. They were
packed with all my belongings into a 40ft container by Pickfords and put in
storage. The requirements of the visa were that I had to land in New Zealand
within one year of issue, else it would lapse. With a healthy bank account I
decided a long holiday was in order so took a tour around some of my favourite
sites in the UK (Ironbridge, Sherwood Forest, Jodrell Bank, Duxford, Mount
Snowdon, Peak District, Yorkshire Dales, Bletchley Park, Dartmoor), to Iceland
to tour the glaciers and hot springs, then finally a round the world trip
through Singapore, Bangkok, Australia, Hawaii, Peru, Easter Island and the USA
(Arizona/Utah) before final farewells and landing in Wellington on 4th
August 2007.
I chose Wellington mainly because it was not Auckland!
Having escaped from an overcrowded UK I could not face another crowded city,
Wellington suited me fine as although the Capital City it was easy to travel
around, if a bit windy at times. My plan was to buy a camper van (having hired
one in Australia for 3 months and had a wonderful time) and just explore for a
year before looking for a job. I found one at a local hire company and within a
month was on the road, living the dream.
Camperman
Back to Work
Some people may find it hard to believe but travelling
is hard work. Never being one to sit on the beach I always need to keep moving,
wanting to see what is around the corner. After three months driving from end
to end and side to side on the North Island I was beginning to get itchy feet
about work. I was keeping an eye on the jobsites and saw one at the Tiwai
Aluminium Smelter (NZAS) way down at the bottom of the South Island. I knew of
NZAS making high purity aluminium as a customer in my previous job and knew my
25 years aluminium experience would see me in good stead. They had been at the
top of my possible list for several years. I had taken a photo of the smelter
from the viewpoint on Bluff Hill back in 2002 and had cheekily applied for a
job from their website whilst still in the UK. Following a brief technical
interview over the phone I was invited down to Tiwai. It was an interesting
visit, with the main concern seeming to be what I would do to keep myself
amused when not at work. I was offered and accepted the job and then had two
weeks to drive from Wellington to Invercargill, seeing as much of the South
Island as I could on the way. At least with the campervan I did not have to
worry about accommodation with three campsites close by and suggestions I could
camp in the company car park! I now contacted Pickfords to arrange for my
container to come over, anticipated six week journey from Birmingham to
Dunedin. Now to look for a house.
House Hunting
Looking for a house in New Zealand is a little different
to what I was used to in the UK. First problem was finding an estate agent that
was open on a Saturday morning so I could pop in for a chat. Then rather than
being given some address and arranging viewings, viewings were through Open
Houses or accompanied by the agent. I was taken around a few places and after
saying I was looking for a house outside of town with a bit of land was taken
to one with 5 acres of grassland. “The farmer next door will rent some off you
for his sheep” he suggested, then apologised that because I was not a permanent
resident I could only buy up to 5 acres. I finally found a house with a mere
half acre section, but half of that was native bush and although the neighbours
were close they were not easily visible. The garage was rundown but big enough
for a couple of cars and the Brough, plus with some derelict stables as well I
could envisage it all being replaced with something new and large. The property
was duly purchased and with excellent timing my container arrived in Dunedin
and my furniture was delivered to my new home the day after I moved in. The MG
was a bit more difficult. I arranged for a garage to collect it and try and get
it certified for the road, however they did not like the amount of rust
underneath and were insisting on an almost complete strip down to bare metal
before acceptance. I did get my trailer certified though and hired a truck to
collect it and the Brough to bring them home, arranging for the MG to come
later.
New Home
New Garage
If there is one thing I like about the New Zealand
lifestyle it is the realisation that you need a decent sized garage for all
your toys. None of these UK excuses for a garage which are barely big enough
for the car never mind all your other useful stuff. I looked around at garages,
the main choice really being aluminium or wooden framed. I decided to get the
stables demolished and have a Heritage Barn constructed. This had wooden
supports and frame and steel cladding and was a modest 8m deep and 12m wide
with three bays each with a roller door. Only problem was once it was built I
could only get through one of the doors as my old garage was in the way. So
next step was to demolish the old garage after transferring my old MG, the
Brough and another MGB GT I had bought into the new garage.
Heritage Barn
– Restricted Access
Brough on the
Road
With my new garage and lots more space I could now
start to think about getting the Brough certified for use in New Zealand. All I
needed to do was repair the flanges on the end of my exhaust pipes which were
not sealing properly. Then in April 2009, two and a half years since putting it
away in the UK, I took it down to the local VTNZ for certification by trailer,
not wanting to take any chances. Certification was ok, apart from drilling a
couple of holes in the frame to fix a new VIN plate. It was given a new number,
79ZWP. I did not get a Warrant of Fitness (equivalent to an MOT) because I did
not have a rear view mirror. I trailed round the motorcycle shops in town but
there was no handlebar mounted ones to be had, I eventually bought one for a
bicycle which was a bit wobbly but as the man said “I doesn’t have to useable,
it just has to be there”.
79ZWP
BRUF is Born
I could not cope with 79ZWP as a registration and one
of the good things about New Zealand is that you can buy any registration you
want with only a few rules. For cars it is six letters or numbers and for
motorcycles five. So BROUGH is not allowed for a motorcycle, and is in fact
already on a Brough car but BR0UGH is still available. I was thinking of
variants of AT286, BS680, 34BS, BSUP etc and finally settled on BRUF which I
bought for $719. I received a discount as I had just bought RAYSGT for my MGB
GT as well.
That’s Better
The End of the Road
Getting the Brough road legal was again just the start
of the fun. April is the end of summer in the southern hemisphere so it was not
until next spring that I managed to get some serious miles under my seat.
Suffering significant misfiring and loss
of power which I finally traced to poor tuning and gunged up carburettor and
then one fine day in September I packed all my tools into the sidecar, made
sure I had my AA membership card, and set off on the road south to Bluff. It
was only a 45 mile round trip but was 30 miles further than it had travelled in
one go for some time. We cruised along State Highway 1 at an easy 100kph, the
local speed limit so not holding anybody up. Not that there is ever any real
traffic to hold up anyway. For a change there were no hiccups, misfires, dramas
or disasters on the way. Passed the sign into Bluff “Where the highway begins”
and carried on through the town to the end of the road at Stirling Point and
the obligatory signpost. A few admiring comments from some tourists as usual as
they took photos. Then a kind lady offered to take my photo with the Brough by
the post pointing to Stewart Island in the distance and my journey is complete.
Encore
In 2011 the Brough Superior Club announced that the
2012 calendar would feature Broughs from Around the World. I had taken the
sidecar off at this time because the wheel bearing was a little bit grumbly.
Not enough to cause concern but the WOF people did not like it. Would be a
change to ride solo for a while anyway. It was heading into autumn and finally
there was a fine day so I took off down to Bluff again looking to get another
photo at Stirling Point, this time without me sitting on it, for the calendar.
Things were going ok until about half way when the engine suddenly got very
loud. Fearing the worst I pulled up to find the front exhaust had come off. I
did not have my large spanner so could only hand tighten it back on again
before carrying on to Stirling Point. Another photo by the signpost and also
one by the Anchor Chain then tightened up the exhaust again for the second
challenge which is the ride up the hairpin bends of Bluff Hill. An easy ride
up, certainly much easier than it would be with the sidecar. Just a short stop
at the top to take a photo of the Tiwai Smelter and then a slightly more
nervous descent. Steep, narrow, tight hairpin bends with a smattering of gravel
to add to the excitement before back on the main road home.
Work and Play
with BRUF
