A rare vintage motorcycle

[John Colter]

I know there are some motorcycle enthusiasts on these pages: you might be interested in this old bike which is a regular visitor to my local transport cafe. It is a 1930 Scott 'Squirrel', 500cc twin cylinder, water cooled two stroke. The owner is a 79 year old man and he has had the bike since he was 16 years old. It was 30 years old when it came into his possession - it is now 93.

He tells me that the crankshaft was replaced many years ago; the magneto and dynamo have been reconditioned several times; the wheels were rebuilt recently. Apart from ball ended control levers and turn indicators it is mostly original and unrestored.

An unusual feature is that the crankshaft has bearings at the centre, between the cylinders, but not at the ends.

The performance is quite sprightly and it sounds very distinctive.

 

[Yukio]

Water cooled! That is a rare feature on such an old bike. Was the red anodizing on the cylinder block original, too? It gives it a futuristic look with the colour and absence of heat fins.

 

[John Colter]

Water cooled! That is a rare feature on such an old bike. Was the red anodizing on the cylinder block original, too? It gives it a futuristic look with the colour and absence of heat fins.

The barrels were cast iron (I think), enamelled red as standard.

 

[DuckyI]

That's phenomenal John!

 

[MarTay6]

Wow! Never heard of such a critter! How very cool! Cool story, too.

 

[Wiggy]

2-stroke and Water-cooled!
I'd never heard of a Scott cycle either.
There is a "Wiki" page for it.
Jay Leno has one one, of course

 

[TerryM]

Quite comely. Bet it screams when wound up.

 

[Oldscruggsfan]

I know there are some motorcycle enthusiasts on these pages: you might be interested in this old bike which is a regular visitor to my local transport cafe. It is a 1930 Scott 'Squirrel', 500cc twin cylinder, water cooled two stroke. The owner is a 79 year old man and he has had the bike since he was 16 years old. It was 30 years old when it came into his possession - it is now 93.

He tells me that the crankshaft was replaced many years ago; the magneto and dynamo have been reconditioned several times; the wheels were rebuilt recently. Apart from ball ended control levers and turn indicators it is mostly original and unrestored.

An unusual feature is that the crankshaft has bearings at the centre, between the cylinders, but not at the ends.

The performance is quite sprightly and it sounds very distinctive.
View attachment 152691

Very cool! My larger-than-life, 95-yo-uncle passed away last weekend. He'd sadly suffered from dementia for at least 3 years. At some point during that time, his family gave his orange 1964 Honda CT200 Trail90 to a cousin.

Uncle Bill was the only person with whom I was personally acquainted whose draftee service involved an extended posting with a MASH unit in South Korea. The enlisted soldiers were the folks you saw in the TV version of MASH rushing up the hill to the helipad, then lugging stretchers laden with wounded soldiers, Marines and airmen. Behind the scenes, they were the folks mopping the bloody plywood floors within the ER tent, manning the mess hall, and spreading wheelbarrows full of quicklime over blood trails in the often- frozen mud between the helipad and the ER. As the crass but accurate saying goes, Uncle Bill had seen some $%&t. Though he had a keen sense of humor and loved a good practical joke, he flatly but quietly refused to watch MASH. He found nothing funny about the South Korea that our Uncle Sam had forced him to see.

The Trail 90 is of course 34 years newer than the Scott Squirrel but its 59-year-old, 4-stroke, 87cc engine runs just as well as it ever did.

 

[John Colter]

Quite comely. Bet it screams when wound up.

Scotts have relatively low revving engines. The pistons and the porting arrangements are very different from those used in modern two strokes. The sound is more of a roar than a scream.

 

[rustydusty]

Scotts were famous for their “smoke trail”! Early 2 stroke engines burned a gas/oil mixture with an emphasis on the oil. Just last weekend I was at a pretty big “Classic Motorcycle Rally” but did not see a Scott. I did bring my 1960 BSA Super Rocket that got an “honorable mention” in the custom category. I’ve owned this bike since 1972…

 

[TerryM]

... The sound is more of a roar than a scream.

Ah, more like a quarter of this one? (2-stroke V8 marine engine in a Volvo Amazon)

 

[Tin Ear]

Scotts were famous for their “smoke trail”! Early 2 stroke engines burned a gas/oil mixture with an emphasis on the oil. Just last weekend I was at a pretty big “Classic Motorcycle Rally” but did not see a Scott. I did bring my 1960 BSA Super Rocket that got an “honorable mention” in the custom category. I’ve owned this bike since 1972…View attachment 152721

That is beautiful !

 

[captain-janeway]

Scotts were famous for their “smoke trail”! Early 2 stroke engines burned a gas/oil mixture with an emphasis on the oil. Just last weekend I was at a pretty big “Classic Motorcycle Rally” but did not see a Scott. I did bring my 1960 BSA Super Rocket that got an “honorable mention” in the custom category. I’ve owned this bike since 1972…View attachment 152721

My 40 yo mopeds burn gas/oil too

 

[Nickie]

Wow, these are so very cool! I don't have it anymore, but this is just like my 1st ever motorcycle, when I was just sweet 16.

 

[JEngle1122]

View attachment 152730View attachment 152731
My 40 yo mopeds burn gas/oil too

I've wanted an Urban Express for literal decades. Are they as fun as they look? Do you ride them all?

 

[Nickie]

 

[captain-janeway]

I've wanted an Urban Express for literal decades. Are they as fun as they look? Do you ride them all?

Two of the 4. One's turned into a parts bike, and one is up with a "friend" and I may never see it again. I don't ride much anymore since I'm healing from a knee replacement/ back injury. I love them. The red one is my main rider. All the work they need is my form of meditation lol. 40 yo modified engines need a lot of TLC

 

[captain-janeway]

Loved the history

 

[JEngle1122]

Two of the 4. One's turned into a parts bike, and one is up with a "friend" and I may never see it again. I don't ride much anymore since I'm healing from a knee replacement/ back injury. I love them. The red one is my main rider. All the work they need is my form of meditation lol. 40 yo modified engines need a lot of TLC

Yeah I thought that might be the case. I asked a local motorcycle shop once about buying a bike like this, and he said in the shop they call them "princess bikes" because "they always need something". I don't even have a garage where I could work on one if I decided to take it up as a hobby, so probably not in this lifetime for me. But they sure are cool.

 

[Tin Ear]

Vintage motorcycles are very cool. I also like Custom 70's style Choppers. Never owned a real bike but have had many cool old cars in my life.
Do admire bikes. Spent a lot of time on a mini bike as a kid. Never did get a motorcycle though.

Cool stuff in this thread.