Robert and Kathy Watson with some of their rare Vincent motorcycles.Alyn Edwards In 1948, a British-built HRD Vincent Black Shadow motorcycle taken right out of the shipping crate could do 125 miles per hour. That same year a Black Shadow was clocked at 150 mph on the Bonneville Salt Flats. In 1956 a Vincent in New Zealand held the FIM (International Motorcycling Federation) record at 186 mph.Back in the mid-20th Century this was the worlds fastest motorcycle and it shattered every land speed record in the United States. The Black Shadow is slightly faster than the Vincent Rapide and a fair number of them were sold new in the Forties and early Fifties by Vancouver distributor British Motorcycles.We have the records for every model sold in Vancouver, says Fraser Valley Vincent guru Robert Watson, whose amazing collection includes a 1939 Series A Vincent Rapide plus examples built in 1947 and 1949 along with a single-cylinder 1949 Comet that he affectionately calls Half-a-Vincent.He says the only differences between a Black Shadow and a Rapide are slightly higher compression, carburetors and the letter B added to the number stamped on the Black Shadows engine block. Watsons most collectible Vincent is a 1937 TT-replica one of only 38 pre-war racing TTR bikes built as an homage to the three 1936 TT factory racers that competed in the famed Isle of Man race that year. This was one of two rare Vincent motorcycles that were all apart and for sale in Toronto.I bought a van in Toronto, picked up all the parts and pieces and drove back to Vancouver, Watson says.With five Vincent motorcycles in his stable and a track record of restoring many basket cases, Robert Watson is a world authority on the marque.Why the Vincent?I was about 15 years old when I saw a group of Vincent owners go by in Vancouver. I thought: Is that the mystical black motorcycle that I heard about?Although his first motorcycle was a modest Yamaha 80 purchased when he was in Grade 12, Watson developed a passion for motorcycles and, later, motorcycle racing.He got a degree in industrial design at the British Columbia Institute of Technology and began designing and selling industrial conveyor systems.He bought a new 1979 Kawasaki 550 and went for a ride up Mount Baker with his brother and some of his friends.I had the Kawasaki pinned at one hundred and Dan Smith pulled up beside me on his Vincent and shifts into fourth gear. I had to get one, he says.In 1985, he bought his first Vincent. It was a jigsaw puzzle with all the parts laid out on sheets of plywood. It was the 1949 Vincent Rapide that he has now ridden thousands of kilometres with wife Kathy. They have participated in many rallies in the U.S., Europe and Australia. He has only restored one Vincent that wasnt his.The owners grandfather, Fred R. Hancock, bought the Rapide new in Vancouver on September 23, 1949, he explains. It was crashed in Rossland decades ago and he put it away in his basement in Lillooet where he was the high school vice principal.The restoration took 18 months.The engines are complicated. Just the cams are a horrendous collection of bushings and spacers. You can spend $25,000 in a heartbeat if the motor isnt good, Watson says.The local chapter of the Vincent Owners Club has determined there are at least 70 Vincent motorcycles registered in B.C. The club, with 2,600 members worldwide, operates a parts supply company in England with six employees to keep the supply of spares available to enthusiasts.HRD Vincent made about 1,000 motorcycles before World War two and 11,000 post-war models. The club knows the whereabouts of approximately 7,000 Vincent motorcycles, an indication of how much they are valued. The club has production records with all the correct serial numbers and parts numbers.Its a closely guarded database and you can determine fakes, Watson says.Vincent motorcycles have become highly sought after and very expensive with restored Series A Rapides fetching around US$400,000 and the much coveted and extraordinarily rare Black Lightning models crossing the million-dollar mark at auctions.But to Vincent owners, the real value is riding their motorcycles.I will still run the A Rapide hard up the Duffy Lake Road or thrash the TTR on a track given the opportunity, Watson says. When you get them sorted, they are amazing. Every year when I get on my Rapide and run it out on the freeway, I say, God, I love this motorcycle.Alyn Edwards is a classic car enthusiast and partner in Peak Communicators, a Vancouver-based public relations company.
Origin: Vincent: The legend of the fastest motorcycle in the world