I had a chance to head over to Siemens’ office in Solihull earlier today to meet with the Solid Edge guys and the team from Local Motors about their plans for the Solid Edge Design1 – a post will be forthcoming next week once I’ve had a chance to type it up. But on my way back, I took the chance to pop into the National Motorcycle Museum, just outside Birmingham International Airport.
Those that follow me on twitter might be aware that I have something of a perchant for motorcycle design in its many forms, but nothing gets me going (yup. going) than classic British motorcycles.
I’ve lived in Wolverhampton since I was four and the town itself is steeped in the development of the motorcycle industry. In fact, its even mentioned in the introductory paragraphs of the classic but incongruously entitled (first edition in the 40s, last updated in the 70s) workshop manual, Modern Motorcycle Mechanics.
While wondering around and between, frankly, drooling at all manner of Vincent’s, Triumphs and Nortons, I spotted two items that struck an interesting cord and thought I’d share a few photos. These show how products were sectioned and for designers and engineers, particularly those that have been trained using computer based methods, might be interesting.
1965 Ariel FieldMaster Sectioned Twin Engine 493cc
Triumph engine – I forgot to take a note of the model number and background.
Now this is a curious one. Anyone with even a passing interest in motorcycling will be familiar with BSA – its just one of those brands, but its often forgotten that the history of the name is Birmingham Small Arms – once the largest manufacturer of motorcycles in the world.
Then I spotted this tribute to the name on the gearbox. Nicely done. Have a good weekend peeps.
