I must admit, the sight of a Vincent impressed me as a schoolboy. Although the owner came back after I'd walked past, the roar as he kick-started it (no namby-pamby electric starters) woke me out of my teenage daze.
He then moved off, and the most remarkable thing to me was the impression the engine only fired about 10 times before he changed gear, and in top, it went bang (fired) ever third lamp-post. Ok so memory exaggerates, but it certainly was a slow revving engine.
For big capacity V twins, the engine in the Thunderbug is impressive. A 4,228cc V twin engine with two cylinders taken from an World War 1 aircraft’s radial engine mated to a crankcase from a 1909 Riley. And carried in a GN - a light weight cyclecar!
