Vintage Thing No.8 - Vincent-HRD Series A Rapide

The beast at bay

I am currently researching Vincent motorcycles because Nick Hob, the Horsepower Whisperer and central character in my book of that name, rides a highly modified one. The reputation of the Vincent stands head and shoulders above any of its contemporaries. When introduced, it was the fastest production roadster on two, three or four wheels - and that probably includes some aircraft as they take off and land.

This is an example of the very first Vincent V-twin, the series A Vincent-HRD Rapide. Legend has it that the two Phils, Phil Vincent and Phil Irving, were in the drawing office one day when a breeze caused two blueprints of their recently introduced 500cc single to land one upon another in a vee formation. The potential was obvious and, once Phil Irving had designed a new crankcase, the machine became an awe-inspiring reality.

By adopting an angle of 47 degrees between the cylinder barrels, the same tooling for the single cylinder versions could be used. Doubling up the 84 x 90 499cc single produced a 998cc twin putting out 45 bhp or 34kW and weighing 430 lb, about 195kg.

The Vincent Series A Rapide became known as "The Snarling Beast" due to its prodigious performance. Nothing could touch it. It also became known as "The Plumber's Nightmare" because it had an external oil pump. Although many Italian machines often had similar amounts of plumbing all over them, for Anglo-Saxon tribes it looked a bit messy.

Do plumbers dream? Later Vincents are handsome brutes but the Series A Rapide has so much more going on in the engine room. Pity that gearbox why don't you?

C S Lewis once explained that he was frightened of insects because "like French locomotives, they had all their works on the outside." Vincent and Irving subsequently cleaned up the external appearance with a comprehensive re-design. Changing to a 50 degree angle meant they could use proprietary electrical equipment and by designing a unitary gearbox of their own design they addressed the big bike's Achilles heel. So much useable power had proved too much for the bought in Burman gearbox and clutch. To look at, the later Vincent v-twin engines are brilliant examples of rolling sculpture, epitomising plain, brute power.

Only 78 Series A Vincent-HRD Rapides were made in the three years prior to World War 2 so this example shown at the annual Morval Show in Cornwall is incredibly rare.

Phil Vincent's company was very small but, even so, I can't help but think that all Vincents should have enjoyed higher production numbers. What was wrong with people? It was probably too expensive for many but still - whaaor, though eh? For men who as school boys had wanted to drive clean limbed British steam locomotives, maybe the cluttered line of the Vincent-HRD Series A engine put them off.

There was still a tale going round Cornwall in the early eighties of a Vincent twin coming down the main road into Goonhavern. At the foot of the hill just before entering the village, the council had dug a trench across half of the road. Onlookers stared in horror as the rider seemed not to notice this and took no avoiding action. In fact the Vincent carried on regardless.

Once in the village they asked him, "How did you get across that trench?" His reply was "What trench?" He'd been going too fast to see or feel it for the Vincent had a well sprung rear wheel when everything else had hardtails. Who knows? It might have been this very bike.