REPLICATING OLD BILL
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| BS Allen with his Brough Superior Old Bill replica, with twin-cam JAP 980cc SV engine, and little else! |
I recently posted a compelling photo of BS Allen from 1923 (on my Facebook site), beside a replica of George Broughs infamous sprinter Old Bill. I hadnt realized Brough Superior had built replicas of Georges personal testbed/winning sprinter, but of course, GB would sell a bike to anyone willing to pay, in any specification they chose!  |
| BS Allen as Royal Flying Corps pilot in WW1 |
Dave Clark of the Brough Superior Club saw my post, and filled in a few details: "Brian Seamer Allen to be precise, was a real speed nut, and was formerly a Royal Flying Corps pilot in WW1 on the Western front, flying an SE5a. After the war Allen opened a motorcycle dealership as a partner of a Mr Bennett, trading as Allen-Bennett motorcycles in Croydon, selling Brough Superiors among many others. |
| A fitting prelude to Brough Superior ownership; an SE5a biplane... |
Allen-Bennett sold T. E. Lawrence some of his seven Broughs, and ocasionally BS Allen rode out with Lawrence on very early morning rides around Croydon... a bat out of hell job I think. The 1923 photo here was taken during the London to Lands End Trial, with Allen on a standard 1923 Brough Superior SS80 with single-cam JAP sidevalve 980cc engine. The regist ration number is BY 9587.
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| The 1923 London-Lands End Trial, with BS Allen on his single-cam SS80 |
The next photo shows the same machine, re-engined and beautiful, with a very shiny chair, at a hillclimb in mid- to late-1923. |
| A gorgeous improvement! The SS80 now with twin-cam JAP racing engine and aluminum zeppelin sidecar |
The BS Allen mystery deepens a bit, as he was pictured in the 1924 Brough Superior catalogue with an exceedingly special-framed SS80 JAP sprinter. This was of course the same time as the birth of George Broughs Old Bill with its engine specially tuned by Bert Le Vack.  |
| BS Allen as he appears in the 1924 Brough Superior catalogue |
Brough Superior built another Old Bill replica for Pilot Officer Beaumont, who advertised the bike for sale in December 1923. I reckon Brian, being a former RFC pilot, brokered the deal with George Brough to build Beaumonts replica, a deal which included a very special Le Vack engine for Allen himself, after he realized how good this special-framed sprinter. Allen first installed this special two-cam racing engine in his old chassis, now the re-engined BY 9587. Note the magneto chain drive cover, which is the same style on the various photos.  |
| The 1924 advert for PO Beaumonts Old Bill replica |
When Allen-Bennet folded in the late 1920s, Brian subsequently returned to his other love - flying, setting up shop as Brian Allen Aviation, and dealing with light aircraft, including the Belgian E.O.Tipps, and the American Stinson.
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| Worth a second view - the zeppelin sports sidecar offered by Brough Superior |
Brian and his wife Kathleen were killed by a blast from a German flying bomb in WW2." |
| Probably a plane inside...the truck of Brian Allen Aviation Ltd. |
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