Black Shadow Reborn
BLACK SHADOW REBORN
IF YOU WANT PROOF THAT A manufacturer that ceased production in 1956 left a lasting impression on the world of motorcycles, here it is: a brand-new 1952 Vincent Series C Black Shadow, built by the Vincent Owners Club in England as a bold illustration of the status of its reproduction spare-parts program.
It has been a project for brave men, undertaken in early 2006, with the bike scheduled to run one year later. But major components like the main blade of Vincent’s unique Girdraulic fork and the complex top frame member (that doubles as an oil tank) were not available at that time, so the pressure was quite high.
Central to the commissioning of new parts was VOC Spares Company chief executive David Meadowcroft, whose five years in that post have seen parts availability grow from 63 to 90 percent. Specifications from a cooperation with Birmingham University produced fork blades of space alloy 2014 in rolled-billet form (for the correct grain structure), which stress tests proved 25 percent stronger than the original forged blades. The top frame member and forged fork top links were ordered from English Midland sources, where engineering craftsmanship is still available, and in January this year the complete bike was on display at
the Bristol Classic Motorcycle Show. It will be shown through the summer and sold in a sealed-bid auction open only to VOC members; the drawing will be on August 31 and the bike will be handed over to its lucky new owner at the club’s annual general meeting.
I rode the bike with just 280 miles showing on its traditional 5-inch speedometer dial. In town, the Vincent’s impatience to be free of the 30-mph speed limit was reflected by a bumpy ride over potholes. But out in the country, even a gentle throttle hand (it was yet to be broken-in, after all) had the dial eagerly reaching for 60 mph and beyond. At that speed, the thoroughbred animal emerged from hiding and the whole assembly worked in harmony, covering ground
with just a whisper from the exhausts. How much better might it be with 1000 miles under its wheels? The whole experience confirmed that the immortal Vincent is far from dead.
Plans call for a complete parts kit available for sale, to be assembled by an engineer acknowledged by the club. With such high investment and small-batch production costs, it won’t be inexpensive. The parts alone are roughly $55,000. But with values for original Vincents skyrocketing and making reproduction of spares ever more feasible, the opportunity to buy a new example will no doubt carry the legend to a wider
audience. Jim Reynolds
