[John] So another fantastic looking machine from the Dick Shepherd collection. This time
competition Grand Prix machine, this one Dick then. [Dick] Yeah this is, between 1947 and 1950
they built 159 Grand Prixs. They built nine Mk 1 Grand Prixs. These were built between '47 and '48
and these bikes were supplied to preferred dealers, these nine bikes, for the dealers to try and get
interest in the Grand Prixs, before they built two batches of 75, what they call Mk 2 Grand Prixs.
The Mk 1 Grand Prix had longer megas and there's a few other subtle differences with the
Mk 1s as well. The mudguard was a lot longer on the front, and also they had a chrome four
and a quarter gallon tank. These are four and a half gallon tanks, and painted as well.
But this particular bike is a Mk 3 Grand Prix. [John] Mk 3, so what year is this?
[Dick] This is 1950. This is the last works Grand Prix built for Dave Whitworth, and he was the
development rider for Triumphs, for the Grand Prixs. He had the very first Mk 1 Grand Prix.
He used this throughout Europe because it was hidden up from the prying eyes of the press, to
test the Grand Prix to make sure before they went into production it was fit to race. [John] So they were
over-the-counter race bikes that you could buy and race yourself, but this is a works one.
[Dick] Yeah there was very few works bikes, but Dave Whitworth throughout the period of the
'47 to '50 he had a few works bikes, and this was the last works bike built for Dave Whitworth.
And this was built to challenge the TT in 1950. Unfortunately Dave never got a chance to ride
it because he was killed on a Velocette before he got a chance to ride it. It's a very rare bike.
Normally on a Grand Prix the exhaust pipes come straight out the head either side.
This has got a square barrelled head, the same head casting, but it's got a splayed head so the exhaust
come out at an angle. It's also got the casting of a square barrel, but it's actually a round barrel.
It's also running a Lucas magneto, whereas most of the Grand Prixs ran
BTH magneto. So again, quite rare. And another thing it's got is the oil fillers on this side, so that
when they came in the TT, they weren't running around the other side to check and fill the oil.
It's also running a Mk 2 sprung hub. This was the first time that they used a Mk 2 sprung
hub in the Grand Prixs. It was developed in 1950 to Mk 2 because of the bearings in the Mark 1s
kept collapsing. But also this is quite unique because it's got the later
heavy-duty gearbox in it. This was the first time they ever used the
gearbox, the heavy duty one, on this Grand Prix. It also runs a band around the clutch because they
were having problems with the actual clutch basket spreading on the Grand Prix, so it's quite
unique. It's also running an air scoop on the front of the brake. It's got like a floating brake
shoe arrangement in there. [John] Some really trick features on it then. And was this actually used
in competitions bike in the end or not then? [Dick] Well the trouble is, because Dave Whitworth didn't ride it,
we're not sure too much of its history. We know it went back to the factory because
one of the old employees remembers it being in the factory. But we think after 1950 it was sold off
and possibly could have been raced by privateers, you know. But it certainly wasn't run after 1950
for the factory. Lovely bike to have. It's the only Mk 3 Grand Prix with a splayed head.
There is another head we've located, so they obviously had a spare head, but
this one ran also Amal TT carbs, inch carbs with separate floats. So it's pretty trick
this thing, you know. [John] Yeah, yeah. And this would go well then. You have this on the track? [Dick] We have,
yeah. John McGuinness rode this in 2016 on part of the TT course. We took over for the anniversary
of Ernie Lyons winning the Manx Grand Prix. Six Grand Prixs. And as I say, John rode this one and he
actually went over the line first. [John] Ah fantastic. [Dick] But I did say to him, whatever you do don't let Henry
Cole go over the line first because we'll never hear the last of it. So John went over first, my
son-in-law went over second, I think Gary Johnson was third, and then fourth was Henry, and then
Steve Parish. We put him on a Grand Prix that's got a reverse gear shift and he missed a gear, so he went over fifth.
And then one of the guys that works for us he went over sixth. So to have six Grand Prixs
running round part of the TT course, the noise was absolutely amazing. [John] And you can say now
then that this has been written by a TT winner, and actually came first at the TT. [Dick] Absolutely,
absolutely yeah. We actually started them up at the Creg ny Baa, and it's the first time
I've ever emptied a pub. But we had all six running, and we emptied the pub at the Creg ny Baa. [John] What
a sound that much have been. [Dick] Yeah very, very special bike this, you know. Hopefully we're going to do more of
these evenings so if people want to come and see some of these rare bikes starting, you know, we will
be starting them all. And they all run, even the 1901 runs, you know. [John] Oh yes, fantastic. [Dick] As you know.
[John] Yeah, yeah we really enjoyed that one. But no, it's great to see it, thanks Dick. [Dick] No problem.