Beschreibung:

Crankcase mating no. I64 'Well into the 1960s and even today, when it is wrapped in a mystique carefully cultivated by thousands of fanatically enthusiastic owners, the big Vincent retained that commanding air about it when you met one on the road, and many a rider of avowedly super-sporting machinery would be humiliated by having some much older Black Shadow come past at the canter...' - L J K Setright. Arguably Britain's foremost motoring journalist of his generation, the late Leonard Setright, himself a keen motorcyclist, was writing in the 1970s but what he said about the Vincent v-twin, and the Black Shadow in particular, remains every bit as true today. Like many of the best four-stroke engines of the classic era - Manx Norton, BSA Gold Star and Matchless G50 to name but three - the Vincent v-twin has continued to fascinate succeeding generations of engineers committed to improving on the original. In recent decades much of the development work on the big Vincent has been undertaken in Australia by companies such as V2 Engineering and Terry Prince's RTV, both of which have produced complete engines to improved specification, some in capacities greater than the original's 998cc, and even completely re-engineered motorcycles. Some Australian enthusiasts even went so far as to fit the Vincent engine into Ducati-type frames. In the USA one of the first Vincent aficionados to go down the latter road was renowned marque specialist Sid Biberman, whose son Matthew turned the story of their efforts into a book: 'Big Sid's Vincati', published by Penguin imprint, Plum. John Shola's version is built around a 1948 Vincent Rapide engine - 'F10AB/1/991' - that was despatched new to Esler in the USA in frame number 'R2981', though how much, or how little, of the original engine remains is debatable, such is the extent of the improvements made to it subsequently. John purchased the Rapide together with his Black Shadow in 1974. 'Big Sid' Biberman appears to have been commissioned to build John's 'Vincati', there being a vast quantity of related letters on file written by John to Sid and to his machinist, Bill Jean. Entitled 'John Shola's 1200cc Vincent Special', an accompanying feature dating from 2001 mentions specification highlights that include larger main bearings, provision for an electric starter, inter-connected inlet manifolds, increased cooling fin area and a new rocker oil feed system eliminating leaky joints and gaskets - all now replaced by modern 'O' rings throughout the entire motor. 'Big Sid' observes that 'oil tightness should be of a modern standard never before seen in a conventional Vincent motor' and goes on to praise Bill Jean's work: 'Less than his best is never considered, this evident in how very smoothly his motors spin round at a touch - every fit and finish contributing to a quality feel, and all masses now at identical weights for best balance.' John's 'Vincati' is fitted with Paioli front forks, cantilever mono-shock rear suspension and Brembo disc brakes. Its frame and swingarm were sourced from Terry Prince, though clearly the former bears little resemblance to the multi-tube trellis chassis that characterizes big modern Ducatis. This unique motorcycle is offered with the aforementioned correspondence, the 1974 purchase receipt, Vincent Owners Club Certificate of Authenticity and State of Illinois Certificate of Title.