More veteran Rudge features

More veteran Rudge features

Motor Cycling Manual, a hard-cover guide published by Motor Cycling magazine was in its 4th edition and 70 thousandth copy by 1916. While not the biggest manufacturer, Rudge gets a pretty good go in 4th edition, and here we see some of the highlights. Published in the thick of war, the models and features described here can be taken as typical of those at the end of the veteran period.

Foot-operated oil pumps were a feature of all 1914 model Rudges. Racing experience had highlighted the difficulty of removing a hand from the bars to inject the oil when travelling at high speed on bumpy roads. Here we see the slim tank of the standard Multi and single speeder, and the long but smooth cable run. Note the oil entry point at the rear of the crankcase, and the absence of fins on the lower part of the barrel - good dating points for 1914-on motors.
	With the Multi gear, the outer part of the belt pulley moved relative to the inner, so the usual period braking system of an angled shoe wedged into the "V" of the belt pulley was just not on. Instead, a large flat shoe bore onto a flat region of the inner belt pulley. Note that in this illustration, the pulley is pressed directly into the wheel rim. Prior to 1914, and for some later sports models, the pulley was spoked into the wheel.
There were in fact several incarnations of the Senspray carburettor, this one being the last of the "veteran" style. This model has a steel body, enamelled black, with screw-in nickel-plated brass endcaps and angled cable entry. Post WW1, Sensprays had aluminium bodies, and their aluminium endcaps were held in place by a flat spring-steel clip. Most often seen with a large air cleaner.
	If discovered today, this machine would be labelled a "bitsa" and quickly returned to "original" condition. Pity. In Don't Trudge It, Rudge It Bryan Reynolds mentions that machines actually left the factory fitted with 2-speed gears (I had thought the Roc 2-speed hub, of which there is a survivor) but this Albion 2-speed conversion looks pretty neat. The Sturmey Archer 3-speed hub appeared on a catalogued model.

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