's Vintage Workshop Services for Brough Superior motorcycles and their contemporaries

03/2022 - a short (?) preface/explanation:

I have created these pages during the years 2001-2005 when I was very active on my bike projects.

Then, as it happens to many of us, real life got into the foreground - increasing demands in my university job, family commitments, the upkeep of house and garden and, let's face it, a certain age-related unability to burn midnight oil in the workshop... altogether resulting in my workshop activities converging slowly to zero.

My SS100 project lay more or less dormant for almost 15 years. I did the odd job on my Montgomery, just to get it all together - I hate to see a project laying in pieces for a long time. I managed to keep the SS80 and the 680 up and running - well until some time in 2019 when I realised that it had been mechanically more quiet originally. It is repaired by now - one day I might find the time to report on the repair.

People have written to me, saying they found my pages very helpful, but what had happened to my projects. I simply could not find time and motivation to keep updating my pages.

I realised that something had to change, and when I found that I had a chance of taking early retirement I made my application. What do you do with a wonderful pension when you are under the ground... So I quit my job in August 2020 and slowly resumed activites. Ok, there is still a substantial backlog in house renovation etc. but I can spend whole days in the workshop - how wonderful!! As a first job I turned my attention to the 680 engine. Quite a job, but now I have got both bikes back on the road MOT has long expired... And I am now really back at the SS100 project - see SS100 project

If I hadn't caught a bad cold that keeps me out of the workshop I would not have re-started work on my website, but thanks to those out there who gave me encouragement! Re-starting after 15 years of abstinence was hard. I have forgotten all about HTML, and an up-to-date version of selfHTML looked rather discouraging - there are so many functions I do not need! I looked at a few modern editors and found them not very inviting either.
So please bear with me for not brushing up the dated design of my pages - I have now just written straight, minimal HTML code in a text editor. I do not think you need to worry about not using https encryption - my pages require no input from your side at all so I cannot see a security issue.

'Nuff said now!!

Just another vintage motorbike nut...

(click on pic to enlarge)

My name is Wilfried. I am living in the South of Germany and have, despite (or because?) of the distance from their home country, grown a liking for British vintage bikes. I am not a terrible snob, but my everyday mount (not really every day, I admit to being a fair weather biker) is a 1937 SS80 Brough Superior. In my opinion this is a very well-mannered bike having good performance and very good handling characteristics, and it has even proved to be reliable!

For my engineering background, I have graduated with a Ph. D. in mechanical engineering in the late 1980's, but have been riding and rebuilding vintage motorcycles before and after that, that is for the last 30 years.

My motorcycling history is perhaps best given by quoting some of the bikes I remember to have rebuilt and ridden.

When my wife and I got married and we had two children I decided to drastically reduce the motorcycle related activities and sold most of the bikes that had accumulated. This was a bit sad but enabled me to acquire the above SS80 Brough Superior. I became a member of the Brough Superior Club and I still think this is a most wonderful Club. I have rebuilt the SS80 mechanically and have done some smaller cosmetic improvements. Since then I have done some 5000 trouble-free (well, save one incident) and most enjoyable miles on it.

I've rebuilt the odd Vespa in between. A 125cc and two 50cc's.

But a few more serious projects have crept back in over the years as well:

A 1926 350 cc Douglas EW (follow the above link for more information about this project)	(click on pic to enlarge)
A quite desolate 1931 Montgomery Greyhound (follow the above link for more information about this project)	(click on pic to enlarge)
A quite splendid 1929 Brough Superior 680ohv (follow the above link for more information about this project)	(click on pic to enlarge)
Now, I will come out with my latest project: A Brough Superior SS100 replica! (click the pic to learn more about this venture)
Or, if you are just interested in engineering, I'll take you on a tour through my small basement workshop! 10/2003: I have now added a page about DIY magneto rewinding!

I have acquired a few skills, some knowledge and experience along this way. I have also built a few casting patterns which might be put to good use. I thought about offering my services to fellow enthusiasts on a professional basis. However, I am still too young for early retirement, and I cannot afford to give up my bread & butter job.So, for the time being, while I can possibly help out with the odd reproduction part or service, I cannot undertake full restorations or any other major contracted work. However, if you are interested, please have a look at my various pages and contact me if you feel I might be able to help you with your project. Or if only to get in touch for what reason so ever.

Or, if you are interested in the replica parts I have made over the years, you might want to go straight to one of the following pages:
JAP KTOR crankcases, JAP GTO Timing side cover, JAP GTO camshafts, Enfield cush drive rear hub, Sturmey Archer HW gearbox end cover,  LUCAS tank top switch shell.

Oh yes, and if you take an interest in the dark, sinister abysms of vintage bike enthusiasm, have a look at this !

For any kind of feedback my e-mail address is

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

If you have not followed the links above, you might still want to have a look at my
Montgomery or my 680 Brough pages.

Or, why not pay a visit to the Brough Superior Club?

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