Vintage Workshop
Services for Brough Superior motorcycles and their contemporaries

SS100 replica project main page

Here we go, what do we need to build a motorcycle? Sorry - not just a motorcycle - a Brough Superior SS100!

last update: 10/2022

A first prerequisite seems to be a decently equipped workshop.
I have looked to this end by upgrading my equipment a little. Do you feel like going on a little tour through my small basement workshop?

Well, then we need to know what to produce in the workshop. This means photos and DRAWINGS!

Please do not expect to find Brough SS100 engineering drawings in your next technical library.
I had made my own set of engine drawings from measurements taken from a number of engines and from a slightly hard-to-read print of an old works drawing my good friend Harry Cowley had obtained for me. This meant many many hours of labour, and thus kept these drawings jealously to myself.

03/2022

Meanwhile the original drawings were published on the web. Please have a look at https://loosefillings.com/jap-drawings/ where you will find them all! To be honest, I am not bothered - I have given up the idea of building JAP or Brough replicas for money long ago. If you want to do a decent job, there is no money in it and bodging up a Brough lookalike ist not what I enjoy to do...

Next we need to find or make a lot of components.
Let's start with the engine. A 1927 JAP KTOR 1000cc ohv . My absolute favourite!
If you want to buy one, expect to pay the price of a new 1000cc plastic rocket these days. And do not hope it will just need dismantling, cleaning and putting back together!
If you decide to build one, you might want to know how far I got in the meantime.

03/2022 I have added a page about making a crankshaft now and will possibly add some more now.

The engine needs  carburettor to breathe through. After looking out for a correct AMAL 6/022 carburettor for a long time I have decided to help myself. I built one out of a rather scruffy 6/024 (flange fitting) body...

And you will need a sturdy gearbox. A Sturmey Archer heavyweight 3-speed box will possibly do, but if you can get hold of the SB (Special Brough) type, all the better!
I have collected a few bits and bobs now and made a few new end covers for these boxes.

Another mountain we will need to climb is the frame. The first problem is making a drawing of it. Have you ever tried to make frame measurements on an assembled bike? I have spent much time trying to do so, and much more trying to consolidate these measurements in a CAD drawing with results that were not only satifactory...

Building that frame then means making a complete set of lugs cast in steel or malleable iron, machining them all, finding the correct tubes, making a jig according to the drawings to hold everything in place and braze the whole lot up. It can be done, of course...

03/2022 I have updated this page now.

At the frame's front end, we need a fork. A CASTLE fork. Quite unobtainable, but it bears a striking resemblance to a Harley font end, doesn't it?

last update: 03/2022
As described here I had to realise that my super nice replica frame would not work with the above forks I had built. A good Castle fork is extremely difficult to find these days. So I tried to find out if it can be reproduced . The short answer is: not really...

Frame and forks are cumbersome to move about unless you have a pair of wheels in.
Every wheel builder will lace one up for you, if you supply him a hub (in fact I like to lace up my wheels myself, as I think this is one of the easiest jobs, indeed). To start with, I have made a few 8" rear hubs.

As the above reproduction was quite a venture, I was more than happy that I made the acquaintance of Terry from Australia, who has now made me a front hub.

Oh my dear, now we still need the whole tin ware: two mudguards, toolboxes, primary and rear chain cover, an oil tank, and last but unfortunately absolutely not the least problem: a TANK!

03/2022 there has been progress in both of these departments now, I just need to find the time to report about it!

Then, there is still a host of smaller bits and pieces: Handlebars and levers, steering damper, footrests, rear and side stand, a saddle, all the lighting equipment, a lot of pipes, cables and wires and hundreds of correctly shaped nuts and bolts. Has somebody ever counted the number of bits a Brough Superior consists of?

03/2022 some progress also here, but same as above...

Oh yes, recently I got into repairing a broken SMITHS chronometric speedo head...

 

Any kind of feedback to is appreciated
(sorry, this is not a clickable 'mailto:' hyperlink. If you want to write me, please type my address in your mailer. )

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